Structure Evaluation Criteria Research Articles

AN INVESTIGATION AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT OF THE EXISTING WATER CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE IN SELECTED SMALLHOLDER IRRIGATION SCHEMES: CASE OF TUGELA FERRY IRRIGATION SCHEME AND MOOI RIVER IRRIGATION SCHEME, SOUTH AFRICA

AbstractThis study investigated and evaluated the condition of the existing water conveyance, storage and control infrastructure in the Mooi River Irrigation Scheme (MRIS) and the Tugela Ferry Irrigation Scheme (TFIS), in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. An infrastructure condition assessment (ICA) was undertaken based on inspections and condition scoring or grading. In addition, technical experts were consulted to determine the weights of the structural evaluation criteria using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Furthermore, the fishbone ‘Ishikawa’ diagram and the relative causal index (RCI) method were used to carry out the root cause analysis (RCA). For RCI, questionnaires were administered to stakeholders to capture their perception of the causal factors. According to the study, the fishbone ‘Ishikawa’ diagram characterized and identified 23 probable causal factors that led to infrastructure dilapidation. The RCI quantified the causal factors and revealed the converging points between technical experts (te) and the extension workers (ex) regarding causal factors. The converging causal factors were related to maintenance (RCIte = 0.8, RCIex = 0.7), people (RCIte = 0.7, RCIex = 0.7), institutions (RCIte = 0.7, RCIex = 0.6) and the environment (RCIte = 0.8, RCIex = 0.7). The study further revealed that the stakeholders involved had points of divergence on causes of infrastructure decay. Follow‐up questionnaires were again administered to discover the reasons for diverging thoughts. The study recommends participatory engagement in process and procedure design for enhanced infrastructure conditions. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Accelerating the detection of unfeasible hypothetical zeolites via symmetric local interatomic distance criteria

In silico prediction of potential synthetic targets is the prerequisite for function-led discovery of new zeolites. Millions of hypothetical zeolitic structures have been predicted via various computational methods, but most of them are experimentally inaccessible under conventional synthetic conditions. Screening out unfeasible structures is crucial for the selection of synthetic targets with desired functions. The local interatomic distance (LID) criteria are a set of structure rules strictly obeyed by all existing zeolite framework types. Using these criteria, many unfeasible hypothetical structures have been detected. However, to calculate their LIDs, all hypothetical structures need to be fully optimized without symmetry constraints. When evaluating a large number of hypothetical structures, such calculations may become too computationally expensive due to the forbiddingly high degree of freedom. Here, we propose calculating LIDs among structures optimized with symmetry constraints and using them as new structure evaluation criteria, i.e., the LIDsym criteria, to screen out unfeasible hypothetical structures. We find that the LIDsym criteria can detect unfeasible structures as many as the original non-symmetric LID criteria do, yet require at least one order of magnitude less computation at the initial geometry optimization stage.

Kinematic Synthesis of Structures for Metamorphic Serial Manipulators

In this work a method for the kinematic synthesis of structure topologies for modular metamorphic serial manipulators is presented. A detailed description of this class of robot manipulators is presented, in order to clarify their basic elements and their basic structural definitions. Based on these, the metamorphic structure representation (MSR) is proposed for the systematic representation of this type of metamorphic manipulator structures. A thorough examination of the possible metamorphic links that can be constructed is presented and used for the definition of the manipulator's structure evaluation criteria, to formulate a multicriteria evaluation index. The problem of the optimal kinematic synthesis of metamorphic structures is formulated and the process of automated generation of structures according to the specified requirements is presented. The results are presented in detail, in order to reflect their validity and the advantages that the proposed process for the kinematic synthesis of topologies for the modular metamorphic manipulator provides to the designer.

Factor exploration and multi-criteria assessment method (AHP) of multi-generational consumer in electronic commerce

In previous researches, many of the instruments to consumer decision making style were developed in the context of the consumer offline buying process. With the proliferation of the internet and World Wide Web applications, users are increasing interfacing and interacting with web-based applications and have already started purchasing electronically. It is, therefore, important to develop new or redefine previous instruments and scales, which are directly targeted to the consumer who buy electronically. This research is directed towards multi-generational consumers (n = 411) of India to understand the consumers’ electronic decision making style instruments. The study empirically examines the influence of eight extracted factors by the authors and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach used for prioritisation. A hierarchical structure evaluation criteria model has been constructed, and the global priority weight of each criterion in the model has also been determined. The results of this research give a new insight to understand decision making instruments of consumers’ electronic purchase and help the electronic service provider to better understand more influencing factors of the electronic consumer, which can help them to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in global markets and a way of enhancing performance.

Simplified Elastic-Plastic Analysis Methods in the JSME Rules on Design and Construction

In a fatigue analysis for Class 1 components in the Rules on Design and Construction for Nuclear Power Plants (The First Part : Light Water Reactor Structural Design Standard) in the JSME Codes for Nuclear Power Generation Facilities, a simplified elastic-plastic analysis is used when the primary plus secondary stress intensity exceeds 3 times the Design Stress Intensity. The simplified elastic-plastic analysis is to multiply elastic-analysis-based stress by a Ke-factor. It is well-known that the Ke-factor of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section III has a large amount of conservatism. Hence, to develop an appropriate Ke-factor evaluation method, the Ke-factor Advisory Committee was established in June 1999 as a research committee of the Thermal and Nuclear Power Energy Society. Typical basic models were selected from actual structures. Elastic analyses and elastic-perfectly plastic analyses were performed for the basic models and the Ke-factors were calculated. equations were established by bounding the Ke-factors. The new equation was verified by using experimental data of piping. The factors for typical actual nozzles of which Ke-factors were relatively higher were directly analyzed and it was confirmed that the developed evaluation method could be higher than the Ke-factor directly analyzed. Based on those evaluations, the Ke' equation expressed by Primary + Secondary Stress Intensity (Sn) and the Ke equation expressed by Primary + Secondary + Peak Stress Intensity (Sp) were developed. The Ke' equation has been taken in the JSME Design and Construction Code and the Ke equation has been taken in the Code Case, Alternative Structural Evaluation Criteria for Class 1 Vessels based on Elastic-Plastic Finite Element Analysis.

Evaluation of Nurses' Competency in Nurse-Patient Communication about Medications: Conversational Analysis Approach

The purpose of this study was to develop evaluation criteria for conversations about medication and to demonstrate conversational analysis with actual dialogues on medication as examples. This study was a secondary analysis of qualitative research using conversational analysis which showed functional phases and patterns of dialogue about medication (greeting, identifying the patient, medicating, finishing). Nurse-patient conversations were videotaped and transcribed and 75 conversations were used for analysis. Not all functional phases were showed in the conversations about medication. Therefore, conversations about medication can be considered as incomplete dialogues. The evaluation-criteria were represented in terms of the structure and content of the dialogues. Structural evaluation-criteria were the same as the functional phases, as functional stage is the standard for evaluation. The criteria of evaluation for content suggested 3 domains, content, expression, and interaction with 20 items scored on a Likert-type scale of 5-points. Finally, analysis of actual conversations about medication according to the evaluative criteria were provided. The results provide the basic data to develop educational programs and strategies to improve nurses' competency in conversation about medication.

機械学会設計・建設規格における簡易弾塑性解析手法

In a fatigue analysis for Class 1 components in the Rules on Design and Construction for Nuclear Power Plants (The First Part : Light Water Reactor Structural Design Standard) in the JSME Codes for Nuclear Power Generation Facilities, a simplified elastic-plastic analysis is used when the primary plus secondary stress intensity exceeds 3 times the Design Stress Intensity. The simplified elastic-plastic analysis is to multiply elastic-analysis-based stress by a Ke-factor. It is well-known that the Ke-factor of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section III has a large amount of conservatism. Hence, to develop an appropriate Ke-factor evaluation method, the Ke-factor Advisory Committee was established in June 1999 as a research committee of the Thermal and Nuclear Power Energy Society. Typical basic models were selected from actual structures. Elastic analyses and elastic-perfectly plastic analyses were performed for the basic models and the Ke-factors were calculated. equations were established by bounding the Ke-factors. The new equation was verified by using experimental data of piping. The factors for typical actual nozzles of which Ke-factors were relatively higher were directly analyzed and it was confirmed that the developed evaluation method could be higher than the Ke-factor directly analyzed. Based on those evaluations, the Ke' equation expressed by Primary + Secondary Stress Intensity (Sn) and the Ke equation expressed by Primary + Secondary + Peak Stress Intensity (Sp) were developed. The Ke' equation has been taken in the JSME Design and Construction Code and the Ke equation has been taken in the Code Case, Alternative Structural Evaluation Criteria for Class 1 Vessels based on Elastic-Plastic Finite Element Analysis.

AHP and CA Based Evaluation of Website Information Service Quality: An Empirical Study on High-Tech Industry Information Center Web Portals

Web portal is a useful way for high-tech information center providing information services for high-tech enterprises. The importance of evaluating the information service quality of the web portal has been recognized by both information service researchers and practitioners. By applying for an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach, a hierarchical structure evaluation criteria model has been constructed, and the global priority weight of each criterion in the model has also been determined in this study. According to the model, two different methods—comprehensive score method and correspondence analysis (CA) have been used to analyze and evaluate the information service quality of ten primary information center web portals in China hightech industry from different aspects. The findings of this study pro-vide a useful instrument for researchers who wish to measure the information service quality of web portals, as well as for hightech information center managers who want to enhance their web portals service performance.

LEARNING AND EVALUATING BAYESIAN NETWORK EQUIVALENCE CLASSES FROM INCOMPLETE DATA

In this paper, we propose a new method, named Greedy Equivalence Search-Expectation Maximization (GES-EM), for learning Bayesian networks from incomplete data. Our method extends the recently proposed Greedy Equivalence Search (GES) algorithm10 to deal with incomplete data. For the quality evaluation of learned networks, we make use of the expected Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) scoring function. In addition, we propose a new structural evaluation criterion. This so-called SEC criterion is more suitable than existing structural evaluation criteria, since it is based on the comparison of learned networks to the generating ones through Completed Partially Directed Acyclic Graphs (CPDAGs). Experimental results show that GES-EM algorithm yields more accurate structures than the standard Alternating Model Selection-Expectation Maximization (AMS-EM) algorithm.15.

Synthesis and structure analysis of kinematic structures of 6-dof parallel robotic mechanisms

Based on basic structure theory of parallel robotic mechanisms, this paper presents a novel type synthesis methodology for synthesizing kinematic structures of 6-dof parallel mechanisms, which considers hybrid single-opened chain as the “limbs” connecting the moving platform with the base. The 27 promising 6-dof parallel kinematic structures with lower coupling degree between independent loops, actuated by six rotation joints mounted on the base, are presented originally in this paper. The moving platform of these parallel structures can possess general spatial motions, i.e. three translation motions and three rotation motions. Many more alternatives to these kinematic structures can also be obtained by altering the location and the type of driving joints within loops or by changing some partial sub-structures relevant to the branch loops. The classification of these parallel kinematic structures is identified according to the four structure evaluation criteria suggested here by the authors, i.e. (a) structure topological symmetry; (b) coupling degree between independent loops, (c) structure simplicity (with fewer links and fewer joints); (d) manufacturability, from which optimal 6-dof parallel kinematic structures are recommended in terms of different design requirements. Lastly, structural characteristics analysis for a promising parallel mechanism is illustrated.

Symbolic violence: The disappearance of the individual in marxist thought

According to Pierre Bourdieu, educational systems are characterized by inculcation, by a need to produce and reproduce the structural and relational conditions of their existence. This need fulfills the educational system's social function of passing on the "cultural arbitrary "1 of both the school and the society. Schooling cannot deviate from this function: it must reproduce the relations between groups and classes as they exist in schools and in the adult world (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). In their theory of "'symbolic violence "= Bourdieu and his associates pose the phenomenological question: What must an educational system be in order for it to be able to create and maintain the institutional conditions which allow it to produce a "habitus "3 and to assure its misrecognition by students and teachers alike? They found that it was not possible to reduce this question to an historicai search for the social conditions of a particular educational system. Disagreeing with Durkheim (1956) who sought to understand the nature of educational systems by looking to the early Christian habitus and Greco-Roman heritage, they looked at the forms which schooling and society adopt as they try to solve the problems which confront them. They believed that by examining such structures they could come to understand the social forces which gave rise to such social processes as the division of labour and the autonomization of intellectual centres, the development of a bureaucratic organization of educational systems, and so on. Progress made by such systems -- including payment of teachers, organization and training, standardization of educational organizations over a wide area, examinations, civil service status, and the like -- have all been part of the establishment and institutionalization of pedagogic work. Durkheim identified the medieval university as the first educational "system" in Europe because it had within its structure evaluation criteria which validated the results of inculcation (the diploma). This evaluation component was Durkheim's primary consideration because it united the pedagogic action of inculcation and