Smooth Integration Research Articles

The Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Education: Opportunities and Challenges

Objective: To explore the current and potential role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the educational sector, addressing its benefits and potential challenges.
 Method: A comprehensive review of the existing literature and applications of AI in various fields, with a specific focus on its implications for education.
 Results: AI has seamlessly integrated into various aspects of our daily lives, from automated systems in vehicles to personalized online advertisements. In the realm of education, AI promises to enhance the teaching and learning experience. It aims to supplement, not replace, educators by making the learning process more engaging and efficient. AI systems can provide feedback on student performance, highlighting areas of improvement, and ensuring inclusivity for students with special needs or language barriers. Additionally, AI can automate many administrative tasks, allowing educators more time for lesson planning and instructional improvement.
 Conclusions: While AI presents numerous advantages for the educational sector, its integration should be approached with caution. Both educators and students need preparation for this technological shift to maximize its benefits and mitigate potential challenges.
 Implications: The onus is on governments, educational institutions, and related organizations to facilitate the smooth integration of AI in education. Proper training and awareness are essential to ensure that AI is utilized responsibly and effectively in educational settings.

Effect of an efficient numerical integration technique on the element-free Galerkin method

The reproducing kernel gradient smoothing integration (RKGSI) is an efficient technique to tackle the integration problem and optimal convergence in meshless methods. In this paper, the effect of the RKGSI on the element-free Galerkin (EFG) method is studied for elliptic boundary value problems with mixed boundary conditions. Theoretical results of smoothed gradients in the RKGSI are provided. Fundamental criteria on how to determine integration points and weights of quadrature rules are established according to necessary algebraic precision. By using the Nitsche's technique to impose Dirichlet boundary condition, the existence, uniqueness and error estimations of the solution of the EFG method with numerical integration are analyzed. Numerical results validate the theoretical analysis and the optimal convergence of the method.

The Benefits and Challenges of Customization within SaaS Cloud Solutions

The Benefits and Challenges of Customization within SaaS Cloud Solutions

Current situation, bottlenecks, and path options for the development of capital flows and integration in the Yangtze River Delta region

IntroductionCapital plays a crucial role in the development of regional economies, especially in low-income regions where it acts as a primary driver of economic growth. Efficient capital flow is essential for optimizing resource allocation and facilitating the development of integrated capital markets. This passage introduces the topic of capital, capital flow, and capital market integration and highlights their significance in regional development.MethodsTo gain a comprehensive understanding of capital flow and integration in the Yangtze River Delta region, the researchers conducted a connotative analysis. They constructed indicators from various aspects, including social fixed asset investment, bank capital flow, government transfer payments, social financing structure, and foreign direct investment. By utilizing these indicators, the researchers aimed to assess the current situation and identify bottlenecks related to capital flow and integration. Additionally, they drew on experiences from foreign capital flow and integration development to enrich their analysis.ResultsThe analysis revealed several primary bottlenecks affecting capital flow and integration in the Yangtze River Delta region. These bottlenecks include an unsound banking management system, the presence of government competition and administrative barriers, and shortcomings within listed companies. The results highlight the specific challenges that hinder the smooth functioning and integration of capital in the region.DiscussionTo promote the development of capital flows and integration in the Yangtze River Delta region, the researchers propose various recommendations. These suggestions include promoting the development of listed companies, establishing a robust banking management model, improving relevant government policies, and optimizing the investment environment. These recommendations serve as important guidelines for policymakers to enhance capital flow and integration in the Yangtze River Delta city cluster. Furthermore, they emphasize the need to strengthen financial supervision and improve institutional mechanisms within the three provinces and one city comprising the region.

The Attitude of Students and the Mediating Effect of Acceptance, Interactivity and LMS on Integration of Technology

Although the phenomenon of technology is gradually being integrated into tertiary education in Ghana, the perceptions of students to adopt and adapt to learning technologies for smooth integration of technology into academic programmes in public universities is an issue of concern. Using the Constructivist and Positivist paradigm, this study adopted the quantitative approach and the purposive and quota sampling technique to solicit data from 1704 level 400 students in six (6) accredited public universities. Adopting the regression analyses approach with ten hypotheses tested the results were analyzed with PLS-SEM. The study found that the attitudes of students significantly impact the integration of technology. Indirectly, Students’ Acceptance and Adjustment (AA) to use technology and Learning Management System (LMS) usage significantly mediates the relationship between the Attitude of Students (AS) and the Integration of technology (IG). Furthermore, students’ acceptance and adjustment to adopt technology and the use of the LMS, are key predictors of the integration of technology, but Interactivity is a weak predictor of the integration of technology into academic programmes in the topmost public universities in Ghana. Keywords: Attitude, Acceptance and Adjustment, Interactivity, Learning Management Systems, Integration of Technology.

Perception of Students and the Mediating Effect of Acceptance, Interactivity and LMS on Integration of Technology in HEIs

Although the phenomenon of technology is gradually being integrated into tertiary education in Ghana, the perceptions of students to adopt and adapt to learning technologies for smooth integration of technology into academic programmes in public universities is an issue of concern. From the Constructivist and Positivist paradigm, this study adopted the quantitative approach and the purposive and quota sampling technique to solicit data from 1704 level 400 students in six (6) accredited public universities. Adopting the regression analyses approach with ten hypotheses tested the results were analyzed with PLS-SEM. The study found that the perceptions of students significantly impact the integration of technology. Indirectly, Students' Acceptance and Adjustment (AA) to use technology and Learning Management System (LMS) usage significantly mediates the relationship between the Perception of Students (PS) and the Integration of technology (IG). Furthermore, students' acceptance and adjustment to adopt technology and the use of the LMS, are key predictors of the integration of technology, but Interactivity is a weak predictor of the integration of technology into academic programmes in the topmost public universities in Ghana.

Magnetohydrodynamic and Thermal Performance of Electrically Conducting Fluid along the Symmetrical and Vertical Magnetic Plate with Thermal Slip and Velocity Slip Effects

Numerical and physical simulations of the magnetohydrodynamic mixed convective flow of electrically conducting fluid along avertical magnetized and symmetrically heated plate with slip velocity and thermal slip effects have been performed. The novelty of the present work is to evaluate heat transfer and magnetic flux along the symmetrically magnetized plate with thermal and velocity slip effects. For a smooth algorithm and integration, the linked partial differential equations of the existing fluid flow system are converted into coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations with specified streaming features and similarity components. By employing the Keller Box strategy, the modified ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are again translated in a suitable format for numerical results. The MATLAB software is used to compute the numerical results, which are then displayed in graphical and tabular form. The influence of several governing parameters on velocity, temperature distribution and magnetic fields in addition to the friction quantity, magnetic flux and heat transfer quantity has been explored. Computational evaluation is performed along the symmetrically heated plate to evaluate the velocity, magnetic field, and temperature together with their gradients. The selection of the magnetic force element, the buoyancy factor 0<ξ<∞ , and the Prandtl parameter range 0.1≤Pr≤7.0 were used to set the impacts of magnetic energy and diffusion, respectively. In the domains of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), artificial heart wolves, interior heart cavities, and nanoburning systems, the present thermodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic issuesare significant.

The Science and Technology Courses that Choose the Preservice Teachers during their Studies in Greece

Education has as its fundamental goal the cultivation, socialization, and smooth integration of individuals into the needs of modern society. The goals of education include the understanding of the content of the Physical Sciences (P.E.) course, which is analyzed at all educational levels, as well as the necessity of the modern teacher to know Physical Sciences. The present work has as its object of study the investigation of the preference of the elective courses of Physical Sciences, Technology, Environment, and Mathematics. 140 students of the Undergraduate Study Program of the Department of Primary Education of the University of Ioannina (DPE) participated in the research carried out. The questionnaire, completed by the students, consists of 33 multiple-choice, closed, and open-type questions. A descriptive analysis of the responses for each question and the correlation of student preference with Gender and High School Orientation Group was performed. According to the results, it seems that students generally choose more Physical Sciences and Environment courses than Technology and Mathematics. Regarding the comparison between Gender, for all four years of study, females seem to prefer these electives more than males. Regarding the Orientation Group, the students coming from the Humanities Studies show, with a small difference, a greater preference than those from the Sciences Studies and Economics and Computer Studies. Of particular interest are the results regarding how courses are selected and, in general, with the existing curriculum related to Gender.

Innovate and Stockpile: Respiratory Protection for Essential Workers in a Catastrophic Pandemic.

Innovate and Stockpile: Respiratory Protection for Essential Workers in a Catastrophic Pandemic.

Active balancing control for distributed battery systems based on cooperative game theory

For the smooth integration of renewable and volatile energy sources in the electricity grid, there is a need for scalable and efficient storage systems. Stationary battery systems provide the required efficiency but lack the scalability to meet varying requirements. In this article, we present a novel distributed control approach for active balancing of battery cells facilitating a scalable and flexible battery system design. For the proposed algorithm, the topology of the underlying battery system is assumed to be not predefined and can change at runtime. In such a system, each battery cell may has its own power electronics and processing unit which are used to manage the control actions for active balancing on cell level. Thus, the battery system is objected as a multi agent system (MAS) with battery cells as agents. Each agent locally computes and optimises its own control actions in a leaderless MAS setup based on cooperative bargaining games and the Nash solution. Each cell is required to find a single partner or multiple partners to form coalitions and exchange energy for active balancing. The working principle and capability of the distributed control algorithm is evaluated by simulations and compared to a passive balancing approach and a central optimal control algorithm.

Evaluating Organizational Guidelines for Enhancing Psychological Well-Being, Safety, and Performance in Technology Integration

Organizations that integrate new technologies, such as collaborative robots, often struggle to maintain workers’ psychological well-being during transitions. Integrating new technologies can, in fact, negatively impact job satisfaction, motivation, and organizational culture. It is thus essential to prioritize workers’ psychological sustainability to benefit fully from these technologies’ advantages, such as reduced production times and increased flexibility. This study evaluates the impact of eight guidelines designed to support organizations in optimizing human–robot collaboration. The guidelines focus on safety, training, communication, worker agency, and stakeholder involvement. We investigated possible implementation solutions and assessment methods or KPIs for each guideline. We conducted an online survey targeting experts in robotics to gather opinions on the guidelines’ potential impact on workers’ psychological well-being, safety, and performance. The survey also asked about implementation solutions and KPIs for evaluating their effectiveness. Proposed solutions, such as demonstration videos and hands-on training, have the potential to enhance users’ perceived safety and confidence in the system. KPIs, such as subjective perceived safety, risk assessment, and user satisfaction, can be employed to assess the success of these implementations. The study highlights key strategies for ensuring workers’ psychological well-being, optimizing performance, and promoting a smooth integration of robotic technologies. By addressing these factors, organizations can better navigate technology integration challenges, fostering a more sustainable and human-centric approach to deploying robotic systems in the workplace.

Yield or not to yield? An inquiry into drivers’ behaviour when a fully automated vehicle indicates a lane-changing intention

Automated vehicles have started to be integrated into the road transportation system and operate in a mixed traffic environment. To ensure a smooth and successful integration, it is vital to have a good understanding of the human factor challenges involved in the process, especially the issues related to other road users who will share roads with automated vehicles. The study focuses on conventional vehicle drivers’ acceptance of and interaction with fully automated vehicles (FAV). An online survey with experimental scenarios showing an FAV’s lane-changing intention was designed to test the interaction responses of participants. The survey also collected the participants’ demographic information (e.g., age, gender, driving experience), self-reported general driving behaviours (e.g., errors, lapses and violations), past benchmark behaviour in the same situation and their acceptance of FAVs. The study recruited 838 participants in total, comprising 465 participants from Australia (216 males vs. 249 females) and 373 participants from China (172 males vs. 201 females). Ordered probit models were developed to predict three types of behavioural responses of drivers in the lane-changing scenario, i.e., positive, disregardful and aggressive responses. The results showed that older drivers, females, and drivers who had less driving experience were more likely to adopt positive interactions with FAVs than their counterparts. Drivers who reported frequent risky driving behaviours (e.g., aggressions, lapses and errors) were less likely to report positive interaction but more likely to report disregardful and aggressive interactions. Drivers reporting more positive/favourable attitudes and a higher trust toward FAVs demonstrated a higher possibility of positive interaction, and those with higher perceived behaviour control were more likely to restrain disregardful interaction. The study helps to form a greater understanding of conventional vehicle drivers’ perception of FAVs and the underlying factors that may influence their interaction behavioural tendency.

Development of a method for changing the surface properties of a three-dimensional user avatar

The object of study of this research paper is the processes of changing the properties of three-dimensional surfaces of a user avatar in real time. In the course of this work, the research addressed the limitations of existing solutions for synthesizing three-dimensional user avatars, particularly in terms of realism and personalization on mobile devices. Furthermore, the study tackled the challenge of efficiently adjusting color attributes without compromising the underlying texture information, ultimately enhancing user experience across various applications such as gaming, virtual reality, and social media platforms. A method consisting of three key components is proposed: pre-designed 3D models, multi-layer texturing, and software and hardware implementation. The multilayer texturing approach includes different texture maps, such as diffuse and occlusion maps, which contributes to the smooth integration of texture attributes and the overall realism of 3D avatars. The real-time change of surface properties is achieved by mixing the diffusion map with other texture maps using the Metal hardware accelerator, allowing users to efficiently adjust the color attributes of their 3D avatars while preserving the underlying texture information. The paper presents a software algorithm that uses the SceneKit game engine and the Metal framework for rendering 3D avatars on iOS devices. The result of the developed method and tool is a mobile application for the iOS platform that allows users to modify a digital 3D avatar by changing the model's colors. The paper presents the results of testing the proposed methods, means and developed application and compares them with existing solutions in the industry. The developed method can be implemented in areas such as gaming, virtual reality, video conferencing, and social media platforms, offering greater personalization and a more immersive user experience.

The IFMIF-DONES remote handling control system: Experimental setup for OPC UA integration

The devices used to carry out Remote Handling (RH) manipulation tasks in radiation environments address requirements that are significantly different from common robotic and industrial systems due to the lack of repetitive operations and incompletely specified control actions. This imposes the need of control with human-in-the-loop operations. These RH systems are used on facilities such PRIDE, CERN, ESS, ITER or IFMIF-DONES, the reference used for this work.For the RH system is crucial to provide high availability, robustness against radiation, haptic devices for teleoperation and dexterous operation, and smooth coordination and integration with the centralized control room. To achieve this purpose is necessary to find the best approach towards a standard control framework capable of providing a standard set of functionalities, tools, interfaces, communications, and data formats to the different types of mechatronic devices that are usually considered for Remote Handling tasks. This previous phase of homogenization is not considered in most facilities, which leads towards a costly integration process during the commissioning phase of the facility.In this paper, an approach to the IFMIF-DONES RH Control framework with strong standard support based on protocols such as OPC UA has been described and validated through an experimental setup. This test bench includes a set of physical devices (PLC, conveyor belt and computers) and a set of OPC UA compatible software tools, configured and operable from any node of the University of Granada network. This proof-of-concept mockup provides flexibility to modify the dimension and complexity of the setup by using new virtual or physical devices connected to a unique backbone. Besides, it will be used to test different aspects such as control schemes, failure injection, network modeling, predictive maintenance studies, operator training on simulated/real scenarios, usability or ergonomics of the user interfaces before the deployment. In this contribution, the results are described and illustrated using a conveyor belt set-up, a small but representative reference used to validate the RH control concepts here proposed.

Integrated Nanogrid for the Impressed Current Cathodic Protection System in Desalination Plant

The impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) scheme is a more reliable and efficient method of corrosion prevention mechanism than the sacrificial method. Currently, the grid connected transformer rectifier units supported with a battery banks are used for the ICCP-based corrosion protection system in the desalination plant. This conventional method is entirely grid-dependent, more expensive, and suffers during prolonged grid failure. The present trend of industrialization is the application of multi-renewable energy sources based on a nanogrid to power the station’s auxiliary power supply. This paper introduces a concept of distributed energy resources (DERs) operated integrated nanogrid (ING) system to provide a stable power supply solution to the ICCP scheme. A 100-million-litter per day capacity-based seawater desalination plant (SWDP) in India has been chosen as the test station. The conceptual hardware design and operational logic details for smooth integration of the integrated nanogrid module into the ICCP scheme of the Desalination plant is proposed. This research aims to investigate the behaviour of DERs during on-grid, off-grid and switching over from one mode of operation to another and vice-versa by using the accelerated Gauss–Seidel method in ETAP software (version 16.0.0). The simulation results confirm that the ING suffers from a high-frequency change rate during islanded operation, and in some cases, a complete blackout occurs. A PLC-based Smart Versatile ING Controller has been suggested to overcome the blackout issue. Finally, it has been proven that the stability of an industrial power system can be improved further by introducing the ING module into it.

Nurse educators' views of integrating culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses into healthcare settings: A qualitative descriptive study.

To describe nurse educators' views of how culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses are integrated into healthcare settings. A qualitative descriptive design was adopted. A total of 20 nurse educators were recruited from three higher education institutions in Finland. Participants were recruited in the spring of 2021 through snowball sampling. Individual semi-structured interviews were held and recorded. The collected data were analysed using inductive content analysis. The performed content analysis identified a total of 534 meaning units from the data, which were categorized into 343 open codes and 29 sub-categories. Furthermore, nine categories were identified and categorized into three main categories. The first main category was pre-graduation and represented a time point during which educators experienced early integration, nurse educator support and cooperation with stakeholders. The second main category was integration strategies into healthcare settings, which included workplace strategies, language competence and individual competencies and attributes. The third main category was the post-graduation experience, during which educators reported organizational readiness, migration and efficacy of the integrational model. The results revealed a need for increased resources linked to how nurse educators support the integration of culturally and linguistically diverse future registered nurses. Moreover, a nurse educator's presence during the last clinical placement, early transition and integration was found to exert a significant effect on the smooth integration of culturally and linguistically diverse future nurses. This study establishes the need to enhance stakeholder cooperation between universities and other organizations towards supporting the integration process. Maximizing nurse educators' support during the final clinical practice, early transition and post-graduation allows for successful integration and intention to stay. This study was reported according to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR). Participating educators shared their experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse future nurses' integration.

Physical Analysis of Thermophoresis and Variable Density Effects on Heat Transfer Assessment along a Porous Stretching Sheet and Their Applications in Nanofluid Lubrication

Nanofluids are engineered colloidal suspensions of nanoparticles in the base fluids. At very low particle concentration, nanofluids have a much higher and strongly temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, which enables them to enhance the performance of machining applications such as the cooling and lubrication of the cutting zone during any machining process, the vehicle’s braking system, enhanced oil recovery (EOR), engine oil, and the drilling process of crude oil. In the current work, the density is assumed as an exponential function of temperature due to larger temperature differences. The main focus of this mechanism is the variable density effects on heat and mass characteristics of nanoparticles across the stretching porous sheet with thermophoresis and Brownian motion to reduce excessive heating in high-temperature systems. This is the first temperature-dependent density problem of nanofluid across the stretching surface. The coupled partial differential equations (PDEs) of the present nanofluid mechanism are changed into nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with defined stream functions and similarity variables for smooth algorithm and integration. The changed ODEs are again converted in a similar form for numerical outcomes by applying the Keller Box approach. The numerical outcomes are deduced in graphs and tabular form with the help of the MATLAB (R2013a created by MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA) program. In this phenomenon, the velocity, temperature, and concentration profile, along with their slopes, have been plotted for various parameters pertaining to the current issue. The range of parameters has been selected according to the Prandtl number 0.07≤Pr≤70.0 and buoyancy parameter 0<λ<∞, respectively. The novelty of the current work is its use of nanoparticle fraction along the porous stretching sheet with temperature-dependent density effects for the improvement of lubrication and cooling for any machining process and to reduce friction between tool and work piece in the cutting zone by using nanofluid. Moreover, nanoparticles can also be adsorbed on the oil/water surface, which alters the oil/water interfacial tension, resulting in the formation of emulsions.

A Systematic Approach To Investigate BIM Implementation in Turkish Construction Industry

Architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is currently in a transition process that deeply affects the long-established way of collaboration and building information modelling (BIM) is at the centre of this transition. Achieving the smooth integration of BIM in construction projects requires companies to spend great effort and resources. In that sense, it is crucial to generate a comprehensive list of critical success factors (CSFs) of BIM adoption. This study aims to systematically identify the CSFs of BIM implementation in the construction phase and evaluate their effectiveness on real projects for Turkish construction industry. Within this context, an extensive literature review was conducted and CSFs were identified. The number of times each factor had been cited in the literature was recorded as the frequency. A comprehensive framework with 6 components was utilized including drivers, inputs, enablers, barriers, benefits and impacts. The identified CSFs were assigned to relevant components based on their contents. In an attempt to distinguish the responsibilities of the industry, firms, and project teams; each factor was categorized into three levels of influences (industry-, firm-, and project-level). A case study was employed to examine the effectiveness of each factor in practice through conducting interviews with the practitioners of 18 different construction projects. The interviewees were asked to specify the effectiveness of each factor in a 1-5 Likert Scale based on their experience in that particular project. This study is expected to promote BIM implementation in the construction industry and inform the industry professionals about the most significant factors to focus on. Further research may utilize the framework to conduct similar studies in different countries.

Thermal conductivity effects on mixed convection flow of electrically conducting fluid along vertical magnetized plate embedded in porous medium with convective boundary condition

The temperature dependent thermal conductivity, surface heat flux and magnetohydrodynamic effects on electromagnetic fluid across the magnetically vertical surface placed in porous material have been performed numerically. To reduce excessive heating, the aligned magnetic field acts like a coating material to insulate the heat which is a very important mechanism in modern technologies. To solve this problem, the primary goal of the current analysis is to magnetize the surface. The developed partial differential equations of the present magnetic mechanism are changed in nonlinear coupled ordinary differential equations with defined stream functions and similarity variables for smooth algorithm and integration. The changed ODEs are again converted in similar form for numerical outcomes by applying Keller Box approach. The numerical outcomes are deduced in graphs and tabular form with the help of MATLAB program. The distinct parameters like thermal-conductivity number ξ, Biot number Bi, and porous number Ω in the flow model are affected by physical features such skin friction, heat transfer, and magnetic flux for velocity profile, magnetic field profile, and temperature profile together with their slopes. After obtaining the velocity graph, magnetic-field graph, and temperature graph, their gradients are numerically examined across the magnetically vertical surface. The current thermal and magneto hydrodynamics problem is very important in the fields of MRI resonance sequences, artificial heart wolves, internal heart cavities, and nanoburning technologies.

Assessment of energy losses in power distribution systems with individual prosumers and energy communities

AbstractAchieving the energy transition target will require the extensive engagement of consumers and the private sector in investment and operation of renewable‐based power systems. Support of individual prosumers and proliferation of energy communities are efficient ways to implement this engagement. To facilitate smooth integration of prosumers with photovoltaic (PV) installations, while satisfying effective operation of the power distribution system (PDS), it is important to fundamentally assess energy losses for different grid development scenarios. In this paper, the energy losses are compared for two alternatives: (a) when prosumers with PV installations act as individual grid users, and (b) when prosumers become participants of a solar energy community. To achieve this goal, modeling of loads, prosumers’ behavior and PV generation was performed. Furthermore, it has been analyzed how the physical topology of the distribution network can be harmonized with the underlying bidirectional power flows for each alternative, while complying with system constraints. The IEEE 123 Node Test Feeder was employed to capture the performance of the PDS and to estimate the energy loss with various penetration levels of prosumers. The results indicate that reduction of energy losses is only possible until a certain PV penetration level, after which additional PV capacities cause increase in energy losses and complicate the PDS's operation. Lower energy losses were supervised for the cases with dispersed PV generation, compared to the cases focused on energy communities. This means that the PDS demonstrates better tolerance to evenly distributed prosumers, rather than to single sources of a larger scale installed in one node. The outputs of this study will help the energy planners and utilities in improving performance of the PDS in terms of loss minimization and loadability maximization.