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Commenced in January 2007 Frequency: Monthly Edition: International Paper Count: 103
Numerical Investigation on the Interior Wind Noise of a Passenger Car
Liu Ying-jie, Lu Wen-bo, Peng Cheng-jian
With the development of the automotive technology and electric vehicle, the contribution of the wind noise on the interior noise becomes the main source of noise. The main transfer path which the exterior excitation is transmitted through is the greenhouse panels and side windows. Simulating the wind noise transmitted into the vehicle accurately in the early development stage can be very challenging. The basic methodologies of this study were based on the Lighthill analogy; the exterior flow field around a passenger car was computed using unsteady Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) firstly and then a Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to compute the interior acoustic response. The major findings of this study include: 1) The Sound Pressure Level (SPL) response at driver's ear locations is mainly induced by the turbulence pressure fluctuation; 2) Peaks were found over the full frequency range. It is found that the methodology used in this study could predict the interior wind noise induced by the exterior aerodynamic excitation in industry.
Wind noise, computational fluid dynamics, finite element method, passenger car.
Digital Article Identifier (DOI):
urn:dai:10.1999/1307-6892/10010942
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Statistical Approach to Identify Stress and Biases Impairing Decision-Making in High-Risk Industry
Ph. Fauquet-Alekhine
Decision-making occurs several times an hour when working in high risk industry and an erroneous choice might have undesirable outcomes for people and the environment surrounding the industrial plant. Industrial decisions are very often made in a context of acute stress. Time pressure is a crucial stressor leading decision makers sometimes to boost up the decision-making process and if it is not possible then shift to the simplest strategy. We thus found it interesting to update the characterization of the stress factors impairing decision-making at Chinon Nuclear Power Plant (France) in order to optimize decision making contexts and/or associated processes. The investigation was based on the analysis of reports addressing safety events over the last 3 years. Among 93 reports, those explicitly addressing decision-making issues were identified. Characterization of each event was undertaken in terms of three criteria: stressors, biases impairing decision making and weaknesses of the decision-making process. The statistical analysis showed that biases were distributed over 10 possibilities among which the hypothesis confirmation bias was clearly salient. No significant correlation was found between criteria. The analysis indicated that the main stressor was time pressure and highlights an unexpected form of stressor: the trust asymmetry principle of the expert. The analysis led to the conclusion that this stressor impaired decision-making from a psychological angle rather than from a physiological angle: it induces defensive bias of self-esteem, self-protection associated with a bias of confirmation. This leads to the hypothesis that this stressor can intervene in some cases without being detected, and to the hypothesis that other stressors of the same kind might occur without being detected too. Further investigations addressing these hypotheses are considered. The analysis also led to the conclusion that dealing with these issues implied i) decision-making methods being well known to the workers and automated and ii) the decision-making tools being well known and strictly applied. Training was thus adjusted.
Bias, expert, high risk industry, stress.
Simultaneous Optimization of Design and Maintenance through a Hybrid Process Using Genetic Algorithms
O. Adjoul, A. Feugier, K. Benfriha, A. Aoussat
In general, issues related to design and maintenance are considered in an independent manner. However, the decisions made in these two sets influence each other. The design for maintenance is considered an opportunity to optimize the life cycle cost of a product, particularly in the nuclear or aeronautical field, where maintenance expenses represent more than 60% of life cycle costs. The design of large-scale systems starts with product architecture, a choice of components in terms of cost, reliability, weight and other attributes, corresponding to the specifications. On the other hand, the design must take into account maintenance by improving, in particular, real-time monitoring of equipment through the integration of new technologies such as connected sensors and intelligent actuators. We noticed that different approaches used in the Design For Maintenance (DFM) methods are limited to the simultaneous characterization of the reliability and maintainability of a multi-component system. This article proposes a method of DFM that assists designers to propose dynamic maintenance for multi-component industrial systems. The term "dynamic" refers to the ability to integrate available monitoring data to adapt the maintenance decision in real time. The goal is to maximize the availability of the system at a given life cycle cost. This paper presents an approach for simultaneous optimization of the design and maintenance of multi-component systems. Here the design is characterized by four decision variables for each component (reliability level, maintainability level, redundancy level, and level of monitoring data). The maintenance is characterized by two decision variables (the dates of the maintenance stops and the maintenance operations to be performed on the system during these stops). The DFM model helps the designers choose technical solutions for the large-scale industrial products. Large-scale refers to the complex multi-component industrial systems and long life-cycle, such as trains, aircraft, etc. The method is based on a two-level hybrid algorithm for simultaneous optimization of design and maintenance, using genetic algorithms. The first level is to select a design solution for a given system that considers the life cycle cost and the reliability. The second level consists of determining a dynamic and optimal maintenance plan to be deployed for a design solution. This level is based on the Maintenance Free Operating Period (MFOP) concept, which takes into account the decision criteria such as, total reliability, maintenance cost and maintenance time. Depending on the life cycle duration, the desired availability, and the desired business model (sales or rental), this tool provides visibility of overall costs and optimal product architecture.
Availability, design for maintenance, DFM, dynamic maintenance, life cycle cost, LCC, maintenance free operating period, MFOP, simultaneous optimization.
A Data Driven Approach for the Degradation of a Lithium-Ion Battery Based on Accelerated Life Test
Alyaa M. Younes, Nermine Harraz, Mohammad H. Elwany
Lithium ion batteries are currently used for many applications including satellites, electric vehicles and mobile electronics. Their ability to store relatively large amount of energy in a limited space make them most appropriate for critical applications. Evaluation of the life of these batteries and their reliability becomes crucial to the systems they support. Reliability of Li-Ion batteries has been mainly considered based on its lifetime. However, another important factor that can be considered critical in many applications such as in electric vehicles is the cycle duration. The present work presents the results of an experimental investigation on the degradation behavior of a Laptop Li-ion battery (type TKV2V) and the effect of applied load on the battery cycle time. The reliability was evaluated using an accelerated life test. Least squares linear regression with median rank estimation was used to estimate the Weibull distribution parameters needed for the reliability functions estimation. The probability density function, failure rate and reliability function under each of the applied loads were evaluated and compared. An inverse power model is introduced that can predict cycle time at any stress level given.
Accelerated life test, inverse power law, lithium ion battery, reliability evaluation, Weibull distribution.
An Implementation of Fuzzy Logic Technique for Prediction of the Power Transformer Faults
Omar M. Elmabrouk., Roaa Y. Taha., Najat M. Ebrahim, Sabbreen A. Mohammed
Power transformers are the most crucial part of power electrical system, distribution and transmission grid. This part is maintained using predictive or condition-based maintenance approach. The diagnosis of power transformer condition is performed based on Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA). There are five main methods utilized for analyzing these gases. These methods are International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) gas ratio, Key Gas, Roger gas ratio, Doernenburg, and Duval Triangle. Moreover, due to the importance of the transformers, there is a need for an accurate technique to diagnose and hence predict the transformer condition. The main objective of this technique is to avoid the transformer faults and hence to maintain the power electrical system, distribution and transmission grid. In this paper, the DGA was utilized based on the data collected from the transformer records available in the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) which is located in Benghazi-Libya. The Fuzzy Logic (FL) technique was implemented as a diagnostic approach based on IEC gas ratio method. The FL technique gave better results and approved to be used as an accurate prediction technique for power transformer faults. Also, this technique is approved to be a quite interesting for the readers and the concern researchers in the area of FL mathematics and power transformer.
Fuzzy logic, dissolved gas-in-oil analysis, DGA, prediction, power transformer.
Studies on the Characterization and Machinability of Duplex Stainless Steel 2205 during Dry Turning
Gaurav D. Sonawane, Vikas G. Sargade
The present investigation is a study of the effect of advanced Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coatings on cutting temperature residual stresses and surface roughness during Duplex Stainless Steel (DSS) 2205 turning. Austenite stabilizers like nickel, manganese, and molybdenum reduced the cost of DSS. Surface Integrity (SI) plays an important role in determining corrosion resistance and fatigue life. Resistance to various types of corrosion makes DSS suitable for applications with critical environments like Heat exchangers, Desalination plants, Seawater pipes and Marine components. However, lower thermal conductivity, poor chip control and non-uniform tool wear make DSS very difficult to machine. Cemented carbide tools (M grade) were used to turn DSS in a dry environment. AlTiN and AlTiCrN coatings were deposited using advanced PVD High Pulse Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) technique. Experiments were conducted with cutting speed of 100 m/min, 140 m/min and 180 m/min. A constant feed and depth of cut of 0.18 mm/rev and 0.8 mm were used, respectively. AlTiCrN coated tools followed by AlTiN coated tools outperformed uncoated tools due to properties like lower thermal conductivity, higher adhesion strength and hardness. Residual stresses were found to be compressive for all the tools used for dry turning, increasing the fatigue life of the machined component. Higher cutting temperatures were observed for coated tools due to its lower thermal conductivity, which results in very less tool wear than uncoated tools. Surface roughness with uncoated tools was found to be three times higher than coated tools due to lower coefficient of friction of coating used.
Cutting temperatures, DSS2205, dry turning, HiPIMS, surface integrity.
Design for Metal Additive Manufacturing: An Investigation of Key Design Application on Electron Beam Melting
Wadea Ameen, Abdulrahman Al-Ahmari, Osama Abdulhameed
Electron beam melting (EBM) is one of the modern additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. In EBM, the electron beam melts metal powder into a fully solid part layer by layer. Since EBM is a new technology, most designers are unaware of the capabilities and the limitations of EBM technology. Also, many engineers are facing many challenges to utilize the technology because of a lack of design rules for the technology. The aim of this study is to identify the capabilities and the limitations of EBM technology in fabrication of small features and overhang structures and develop a design rules that need to be considered by designers and engineers. In order to achieve this objective, a series of experiments are conducted. Several features having varying sizes were designed, fabricated, and evaluated to determine their manufacturability limits. In general, the results showed the capabilities and limitations of the EBM technology in fabrication of the small size features and the overhang structures. In the end, the results of these investigation experiments are used to develop design rules. Also, the results showed the importance of developing design rules for AM technologies in increasing the utilization of these technologies.
Additive manufacturing, design for additive manufacturing, electron beam melting, self-supporting overhang.
Automated, Objective Assessment of Pilot Performance in Simulated Environment
Maciej Zasuwa, Grzegorz Ptasinski, Antoni Kopyt
Nowadays flight simulators offer tremendous possibilities for safe and cost-effective pilot training, by utilization of powerful, computational tools. Due to technology outpacing methodology, vast majority of training related work is done by human instructors. It makes assessment not efficient, and vulnerable to instructors' subjectivity. The research presents an Objective Assessment Tool (gOAT) developed at the Warsaw University of Technology, and tested on SW-4 helicopter flight simulator. The tool uses database of the predefined manoeuvres, defined and integrated to the virtual environment. These were implemented, basing on Aeronautical Design Standard Performance Specification Handling Qualities Requirements for Military Rotorcraft (ADS-33), with predefined Mission-Task-Elements (MTEs). The core element of the gOAT enhanced algorithm that provides instructor a new set of information. In details, a set of objective flight parameters fused with report about psychophysical state of the pilot. While the pilot performs the task, the gOAT system automatically calculates performance using the embedded algorithms, data registered by the simulator software (position, orientation, velocity, etc.), as well as measurements of physiological changes of pilot's psychophysiological state (temperature, sweating, heart rate). Complete set of measurements is presented on-line to instructor's station and shown in dedicated graphical interface. The presented tool is based on open source solutions, and flexible for editing. Additional manoeuvres can be easily added using guide developed by authors, and MTEs can be changed by instructor even during an exercise. Algorithm and measurements used allow not only to implement basic stress level measurements, but also to reduce instructor's workload significantly. Tool developed can be used for training purpose, as well as periodical checks of the aircrew. Flexibility and ease of modifications allow the further development to be wide ranged, and the tool to be customized. Depending on simulation purpose, gOAT can be adjusted to support simulator of aircraft, helicopter, or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Automated assessment, flight simulator, human factors, pilot training.
Design and Fabrication of a Parabolic Trough Collector and Experimental Investigation of Wind Impact on Direct Steam Production in Tehran
H. Akhbari, M. Bidi, A. Bakhtiari, S. Eslami
The present paper aims to the techno-economic feasibility of enhancing low-cost parabolic trough collectors in the light of developing the use of solar energy in under-developed regions where expensive high-tech solar devices cannot be afforded. Moreover, the collector is aimed to produce steam so that its performance is based on heat which can be discovered. In this regard, the manufacturing process and the detailed design models in Solidworks software are elaborated. Furthermore, the colletor's material is chosen in a way to minimize the costs. Finally, to assess the performance of the built collector, it is installed in the site of Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, and the values of the effective peripheral parameters, such as temperature, wind speed, and most importantly, solar irradiance, are recorded simultaneously in June. According to the results obtained, the manufactured collector with the aperture area of 2 m2 (1×2 m) is capable of producing 350 ml.h-1 steam. Also, the wind influence is comprehensively investigated in this paper. As a case in point, it was measured that as the wind speed maximized to 9.77 km/h, the amount of steam outlet is minimized to 580 ml.
Direct steam production, design and fabrication parabolic trough collector, solar water heater, wind impact, experimental investigation.
Managing Multiple Change Projects in Supply Chains: A Case Study of a Moroccan Multi-Technical Services Company
Abdelouahab Errida, Bouchra Lotfi, Elalami Semma
In this paper, we try to address the topic of multiple change management by adopting an engineered research methodology, conducted within a Moroccan company during its implementation of several change projects that aim at improving its supply chain management performance. Firstly, we present the key concepts related to our research, namely change management, multiproject management and supply chain management. Then, we try to assess how the change management and multi-project management are applied in this company. Finally, we try to propose an approach that will help managers in dealing with multiple change projects. This approach proposes to integrate change management, project management and multi-project management for managing change projects according to three organizational levels: executive level, project portfolio level and change project level.
Change management, multi-project management, project management, change portfolio, supply chain management.
WiFi Data Offloading: Bundling Method in a Canvas Business Model
Majid Mokhtarnia, Alireza Amini
Mobile operators deal with increasing in the data traffic as a critical issue. As a result, a vital responsibility of the operators is to deal with such a trend in order to create added values. This paper addresses a bundling method in a Canvas business model in a WiFi Data Offloading (WDO) strategy by which some elements of the model may be affected. In the proposed method, it is supposed to sell a number of data packages for subscribers in which there are some packages with a free given volume of data-offloaded WiFi complimentary. The paper on hands analyses this method in the views of attractiveness and profitability. The results demonstrate that the quality of implementation of the WDO strongly affects the final result and helps the decision maker to make the best one.
Bundling, canvas business model, telecommunication, WiFi Data Offloading.
The Effect of Pulsator on Washing Performance in a Front-Loading Washer
Eung Ryeol Seo, Hee Tae Lim, Eunsuk Bang, Soon Cheol Kweon, Jeoung-Kyo Jeoung, Ji-Hoon Choic
The object of this study is to investigate the effect of pulsator on washing performance quantitatively for front-loading washer. The front-loading washer with pulsator shows washing performance improvement of 18% and the particle-based body simulation technique has been applied to figure out the relation between washing performance and mechanical forces exerted on textile during washing process. As a result, the mechanical forces, such as collision force and strain force, acting on the textile have turned out to be about twice numerically. The washing performance improvement due to additional pulsate system has been utilized for customers to save 50% of washing time.
Front-loading washer, mechanical force, fabric movement, pulsator, time saving.
Performance Improvement of Information System of a Banking System Based on Integrated Resilience Engineering Design
S. H. Iranmanesh, L. Aliabadi, A. Mollajan
Integrated resilience engineering (IRE) is capable of returning banking systems to the normal state in extensive economic circumstances. In this study, information system of a large bank (with several branches) is assessed and optimized under severe economic conditions. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) models are employed to achieve the objective of this study. Nine IRE factors are considered to be the outputs, and a dummy variable is defined as the input of the DEA models. A standard questionnaire is designed and distributed among executive managers to be considered as the decision-making units (DMUs). Reliability and validity of the questionnaire is examined based on Cronbach's alpha and t-test. The most appropriate DEA model is determined based on average efficiency and normality test. It is shown that the proposed integrated design provides higher efficiency than the conventional RE design. Results of sensitivity and perturbation analysis indicate that self-organization, fault tolerance, and reporting culture respectively compose about 50 percent of total weight.
Banking system, data envelopment analysis, DEA, integrated resilience engineering, IRE, performance evaluation, perturbation analysis.
Mathematical Modeling of Drip Emitter Discharge of Trapezoidal Labyrinth Channel
N. Philipova
The influence of the geometric parameters of trapezoidal labyrinth channel on the emitter discharge is investigated in this work. The impact of the dentate angle, the dentate spacing, and the dentate height are studied among the geometric parameters of the labyrinth channel. Numerical simulations of the water flow movement are performed according to central cubic composite design using Commercial codes GAMBIT and FLUENT. Inlet pressure of the dripper is set up to be 1 bar. The objective of this paper is to derive a mathematical model of the emitter discharge depending on the dentate angle, the dentate spacing, the dentate height of the labyrinth channel. As a result, the obtained mathematical model is a second-order polynomial reporting 2-way interactions among the geometric parameters. The dentate spacing has the most important and positive influence on the emitter discharge, followed by the simultaneous impact of the dentate spacing and the dentate height. The dentate angle in the observed interval has no significant effect on the emitter discharge. The obtained model can be used as a basis for a future emitter design.
Drip irrigation, labyrinth channel hydrodynamics, numerical simulations, Reynolds stress model.
Optimizing and Evaluating Performance Quality Control of the Production Process of Disposable Essentials Using Approach Vague Goal Programming
Hadi Gholizadeh, Ali Tajdin
To have effective production planning, it is necessary to control the quality of processes. This paper aims at improving the performance of the disposable essentials process using statistical quality control and goal programming in a vague environment. That is expressed uncertainty because there is always a measurement error in the real world. Therefore, in this study, the conditions are examined in a vague environment that is a distance-based environment. The disposable essentials process in Kach Company was studied. Statistical control tools were used to characterize the existing process for four factor responses including the average of disposable glasses' weights, heights, crater diameters, and volumes. Goal programming was then utilized to find the combination of optimal factors setting in a vague environment which is measured to apply uncertainty of the initial information when some of the parameters of the models are vague; also, the fuzzy regression model is used to predict the responses of the four described factors. Optimization results show that the process capability index values for disposable glasses' average of weights, heights, crater diameters and volumes were improved. Such increasing the quality of the products and reducing the waste, which will reduce the cost of the finished product, and ultimately will bring customer satisfaction, and this satisfaction, will mean increased sales.
Goal programming, quality control, vague environment, disposable glasses' optimization, fuzzy regression.
Aerodynamic Coefficients Prediction from Minimum Computation Combinations Using OpenVSP Software
Marine Segui, Ruxandra Mihaela Botez
OpenVSP is an aerodynamic solver developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that allows building a reliable model of an aircraft. This software performs an aerodynamic simulation according to the angle of attack of the aircraft makes between the incoming airstream, and its speed. A reliable aerodynamic model of the Cessna Citation X was designed but it required a lot of computation time. As a consequence, a prediction method was established that allowed predicting lift and drag coefficients for all Mach numbers and for all angles of attack, exclusively for stall conditions, from a computation of three angles of attack and only one Mach number. Aerodynamic coefficients given by the prediction method for a Cessna Citation X model were finally compared with aerodynamics coefficients obtained using a complete OpenVSP study.
Aerodynamic, coefficient, cruise, improving, longitudinal, OpenVSP, solver, time.
Analysis of Impact Load Induced by Ultrasonic Cavitation Bubble Collapse Using Thin Film Pressure Sensors
Moiz S. Vohra, Nagalingam Arun Prasanth, Wei L. Tan, S. H. Yeo
The understanding of generation and collapse of acoustic cavitation bubbles are prerequisites for application of cavitation erosion. Microbubbles generated due to rapid fluctuation of pressure induced by propagation of ultrasonic wave lead to formation of high velocity microjets and or shock waves upon collapse. Due to vast application of ultrasonic, it is important to characterize and understand cavitation collapse pressure under the radiating surface at different conditions. A comparative investigation is carried out to determine impact load and dynamic pressure distribution exerted upon bubble collapse using thin film pressure sensors. Measurements were recorded at different input conditions such as amplitude, stand-off distance, insertion depth of the horn inside the liquid and pulse on-off time of acoustic vibrations. Impact force of 2.97 N is recorded at amplitude of 108 μm and stand-off distance of 1 mm from the sensor film, whereas impulsive force as low as 0.4 N is recorded at amplitude of 12 μm and stand-off distance of 5 mm from the sensor film. The results drawn from the investigation indicated that variety of impact loads can be achieved by controlling generation and collapse of bubbles, making it suitable to use for numerous application.
Ultrasonic cavitation, bubble collapse, pressure mapping sensor, impact load.
Implementation of ALD in Product Development: Study of ROPS to Improve Energy Absorption Performance Using Absorption Part
Zefry Darmawan, Shigeyuki Haruyama, Ken Kaminishi
Product development is a big issue in the industrial competition and takes a serious part in development of technology. Product development process could adapt high changes of market needs and transform into engineering concept in order to produce high-quality product. One of the latest methods in product development is Analysis-Led-Design (ALD). It utilizes digital engineering design tools with finite analysis to perform product robust analysis and valuable for product reliability assurance. Heavy machinery which operates under severe condition should maintain safety to the customer when faced with potential hazard. Cab frame should able to absorb the energy while collision. Through ALD, a series of improvement of cab frame to increase energy absorption was made and analyzed. Improvement was made by modifying shapes of frame and-or install absorption device in certain areas. Simulation result showed that install absorption device could increase absorption energy than modifying shape.
ALD, ROPS, energy absorption, cab frame.
Dimensional Accuracy of CNTs/PMMA Parts and Holes Produced by Laser Cutting
A. Karimzad Ghavidel, M. Zadshakouyan
Laser cutting is a very common production method for cutting 2D polymeric parts. Developing of polymer composites with nano-fibers makes important their other properties like laser workability. The aim of this research is investigation of the influence different laser cutting conditions on the dimensional accuracy of parts and holes from poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) material. Experiments were carried out by considering of CNTs (in four level 0,0.5, 1 and 1.5% wt.%), laser power (60, 80, and 100 watt) and cutting speed 20, 30, and 40 mm/s as input variable factors. The results reveal that CNTs adding improves the laser workability of PMMA and the increasing of power has a significant effect on the part and hole size. The findings also show cutting speed is effective parameter on the size accuracy. Eventually, the statistical analysis of results was done, and calculated mathematical equations by the regression are presented for determining relation between input and output factor.
Dimensional accuracy-PMMA-CNTs-laser cutting.
Development of a Tilt-Rotor Aircraft Model Using System Identification Technique
Antonio Vitale, Nicola Genito, Giovanni Cuciniello, Ferdinando Montemari
The introduction of tilt-rotor aircraft into the existing civilian air transportation system will provide beneficial effects due to tilt-rotor capability to combine the characteristics of a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft into one vehicle. The disposability of reliable tilt-rotor simulation models supports the development of such vehicle. Indeed, simulation models are required to design automatic control systems that increase safety, reduce pilot's workload and stress, and ensure the optimal aircraft configuration with respect to flight envelope limits, especially during the most critical flight phases such as conversion from helicopter to aircraft mode and vice versa. This article presents a process to build a simplified tilt-rotor simulation model, derived from the analysis of flight data. The model aims to reproduce the complex dynamics of tilt-rotor during the in-flight conversion phase. It uses a set of scheduled linear transfer functions to relate the autopilot reference inputs to the most relevant rigid body state variables. The model also computes information about the rotor flapping dynamics, which are useful to evaluate the aircraft control margin in terms of rotor collective and cyclic commands. The rotor flapping model is derived through a mixed theoretical-empirical approach, which includes physical analytical equations (applicable to helicopter configuration) and parametric corrective functions. The latter are introduced to best fit the actual rotor behavior and balance the differences existing between helicopter and tilt-rotor during flight. Time-domain system identification from flight data is exploited to optimize the model structure and to estimate the model parameters. The presented model-building process was applied to simulated flight data of the ERICA Tilt-Rotor, generated by using a high fidelity simulation model implemented in FlightLab environment. The validation of the obtained model was very satisfying, confirming the validity of the proposed approach.
Flapping Dynamics, Flight Dynamics, System Identification, Tilt-Rotor Modeling and Simulation.
Order Optimization of a Telecommunication Distribution Center through Service Lead Time
Tamás Hartványi, Ferenc Tóth
European telecommunication distribution center performance is measured by service lead time and quality. Operation model is CTO (customized to order) namely, a high mix customization of telecommunication network equipment and parts. CTO operation contains material receiving, warehousing, network and server assembly to order and configure based on customer specifications. Variety of the product and orders does not support mass production structure. One of the success factors to satisfy customer is to have a proper aggregated planning method for the operation in order to have optimized human resources and highly efficient asset utilization. Research will investigate several methods and find proper way to have an order book simulation where practical optimization problem may contain thousands of variables and the simulation running times of developed algorithms were taken into account with high importance. There are two operation research models that were developed, customer demand is given in orders, no change over time, customer demands are given for product types, and changeover time is constant.
CTO, aggregated planning, demand simulation, changeover time.
Analysis of the Diffusion Behavior of an Information and Communication Technology Platform for City Logistics
Giulio Mangano, Alberto De Marco, Giovanni Zenezini
The concept of City Logistics (CL) has emerged to improve the impacts of last mile freight distribution in urban areas. In this paper, a System Dynamics (SD) model exploring the dynamics of the diffusion of a ICT platform for CL management across different populations is proposed. For the development of the model two sources have been used. On the one hand, the major diffusion variables and feedback loops are derived from a literature review of existing diffusion models. On the other hand, the parameters are represented by the value propositions delivered by the platform as a response to some of the users' needs. To extract the most important value propositions the Business Model Canvas approach has been used. Such approach in fact focuses on understanding how a company can create value for her target customers. These variables and parameters are thus translated into a SD diffusion model with three different populations namely municipalities, logistics service providers, and own account carriers. Results show that, the three populations under analysis fully adopt the platform within the simulation time frame, highlighting a strong demand by different stakeholders for CL projects aiming at carrying out more efficient urban logistics operations.
City logistics, simulation, system dynamics, business model.
Entrepreneurship Education as a 21st Century Strategy for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
M. Fems Kurotimi, Agada Franklin, Godsave Aladei, Opigo Helen
Within the last 30 years, entrepreneurship education (EE) has continued to gain massive interest both in the field of research and among policy makers. This surge in interest can be attributed to the perceived importance EE plays in the equipping of potential entrepreneurs and as a 21st century strategy to foster economic growth and development. This paper sets out to ascertain the correlation between EE and economic growth and development. A desk research approach was adopted where a multiplicity of literatures in the field were studied intensely. The findings reveal that indeed EE has a positive effect on entrepreneurship engagement thereby fostering economic growth and development. However, some research studies reported the contrary. That although EE may be able to equip potential entrepreneurs with requisite entrepreneurial skills and competencies, it will only be successful in producing entrepreneurs if they are internally driven to become entrepreneurs, because we cannot make people what they are not. The findings also reveal that countries that adopted EE early have more innovations inspired by entrepreneurs and are more developed than those that only recently adopted EE as a viable tool for entrepreneurship and economic development.
Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, economic development, economic growth, sustainable development.
Experimental Analysis and Optimization of Process Parameters in Plasma Arc Cutting Machine of EN-45A Material Using Taguchi and ANOVA Method
Sahil Sharma, Mukesh Gupta, Raj Kumar, N. S Bindra
This paper presents an experimental investigation on the optimization and the effect of the cutting parameters on Material Removal Rate (MRR) in Plasma Arc Cutting (PAC) of EN-45A Material using Taguchi L 16 orthogonal array method. Four process variables viz. cutting speed, current, stand-off-distance and plasma gas pressure have been considered for this experimental work. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been performed to get the percentage contribution of each process parameter for the response variable i.e. MRR. Based on ANOVA, it has been observed that the cutting speed, current and the plasma gas pressure are the major influencing factors that affect the response variable. Confirmation test based on optimal setting shows the better agreement with the predicted values.
Analysis of variance, Material removal rate, plasma arc cutting, Taguchi method.
A Design for Supply Chain Model by Integrated Evaluation of Design Value and Supply Chain Cost
Yuan-Jye Tseng, Jia-Shu Li
To design a product with the given product requirement and design objective, there can be alternative ways to propose the detailed design specifications of the product. In the design modeling stage, alternative design cases with detailed specifications can be modeled to fulfill the product requirement and design objective. Therefore, in the design evaluation stage, it is required to perform an evaluation of the alternative design cases for deciding the final design. The purpose of this research is to develop a product evaluation model for evaluating the alternative design cases by integrated evaluating the criteria of functional design, Kansei design, and design for supply chain. The criteria in the functional design group include primary function, expansion function, improved function, and new function. The criteria in the Kansei group include geometric shape, dimension, surface finish, and layout. The criteria in the design for supply chain group include material, manufacturing process, assembly, and supply chain operation. From the point of view of value and cost, the criteria in the functional design group and Kansei design group represent the design value of the product. The criteria in the design for supply chain group represent the supply chain and manufacturing cost of the product. It is required to evaluate the design value and the supply chain cost to determine the final design. For the purpose of evaluating the criteria in the three criteria groups, a fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) method is presented to evaluate a weighted index by calculating the total relational values among the three groups. A method using the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is used to compare and rank the design alternative cases according to the weighted index using the total relational values of the criteria. The final decision of a design case can be determined by using the ordered ranking. For example, the design case with the top ranking can be selected as the final design case. Based on the criteria in the evaluation, the design objective can be achieved with a combined and weighted effect of the design value and manufacturing cost. An example product is demonstrated and illustrated in the presentation. It shows that the design evaluation model is useful for integrated evaluation of functional design, Kansei design, and design for supply chain to determine the best design case and achieve the design objective.
Design evaluation, functional design, Kansei design, supply chain, design value, manufacturing cost, fuzzy analytic network process, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution.
A Case Study of Clinicians' Perceptions of Enterprise Content Management at Tygerberg Hospital
Temitope O. Tokosi
Healthcare is a human right. The sensitivity of health issues has necessitated the introduction of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) at district hospitals in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The objective is understanding clinicians' perception of ECM at their workplace. It is a descriptive case study design of constructivist paradigm. It employed a phenomenological data analysis method using a pattern matching deductive based analytical procedure. Purposive and s4nowball sampling techniques were applied in selecting participants. Clinicians expressed concerns and frustrations using ECM such as, non-integration with other hospital systems. Inadequate access points to ECM. Incorrect labelling of notes and bar-coding causes more time wasted in finding information. System features and/or functions (such as search and edit) are not possible. Hospital management and clinicians are not constantly interacting and discussing. Information turnaround time is unacceptably lengthy. Resolving these problems would involve a positive working relationship between hospital management and clinicians. In addition, prioritising the problems faced by clinicians in relation to relevance can ensure problem-solving in order to meet clinicians' expectations and hospitals' objective. Clinicians' perception should invoke attention from hospital management with regards technology use. The study's results can be generalised across clinician groupings exposed to ECM at various district hospitals because of professional and hospital homogeneity.
Clinician, electronic content management, hospital, perception, technology.
Achievements of Healthcare Services Vis-À-Vis the Millennium Development Goals Targets: Evidence from Pakistan
Saeeda Batool, Ather Maqsood Ahmed
This study investigates the impact of public healthcare facilities and socio-economic circumstances on the status of child health in Pakistan. The complete analysis is carried out in correspondence with fourth and sixth millennium development goals. Further, the health variables chosen are also inherited from targeted indicators of the mentioned goals (MDGs). Trends in the Human Opportunity Index (HOI) for both health inequalities and coverage are analyzed using the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PLSM) data set for 2001-02 to 2012-13 at the national and provincial level. To reveal the relative importance of each circumstance in achieving the targeted values for child health, Shorrocks decomposition is applied on HOI. The annual point average growth rate of HOI is used to simulate the time period for the achievement of target set by MDGs and universal access also. The results indicate an improvement in HOI for a reduction in child mortality rates from 52.1% in 2001-02 to 67.3% in 2012-13, which confirms the availability of healthcare opportunities to a larger segment of society. Similarly, immunization against measles and other diseases such as Diphtheria, Polio, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), and Hepatitis has also registered an improvement from 51.6% to 69.9% during the period of study at the national level. On a positive note, no gender disparity has been found for child health indicators and that health outcome is mostly affected by the parental and geographical features and availability of health infrastructure. However, the study finds that this achievement has been uneven across provinces. Pakistan is not only lagging behind in achieving its health goals, disappointingly with the current rate of health care provision, but it will take many additional years to achieve its targets.
Socio-economic circumstances, unmet MDGs, public healthcare services, child and infant mortality.
Implementing Green IT Practices in Non-IT Industries in Sri Lanka: Contemplating the Feasibility and Methods to Ensure Sustainability
Manuela Nayantara Jeyaraj
Green IT is a term that refers to the collective strategic and tactical practices that unswervingly condense the carbon footprint to a diminished proportion in an establishment's computing procedures. This concept has been tightly knit with IT related organizations; hence it has been precluded to be applied within non-IT organizations in Sri Lanka. With the turn of the century, computing technologies have taken over commonplace activities in every nook and corner in Sri Lanka, which is still on the verge of moving forth in its march towards being a developed country. Hence, it needs to be recursively proven that non-IT industries are well-bound to adhere to 'Green IT' practices as well, in order to reduce their carbon footprint and move towards considering the practicality of implementing Green-IT practices within their work-arounds. There are several spheres that need to be taken into account in creating awareness of 'Green IT', such as the economic breach, technologies available, legislative bounds, community mind-set and many more. This paper tends to reconnoiter causes that currently restrain non-IT organizations from considering Green IT concepts. By doing so, it is expected to prove the beneficial providence gained by implementing this concept within the organization. The ultimate goal is to propose feasible 'Green IT' practices that could be implemented within the context of Sri Lankan non-IT sectors in order to ensure that organization's sustainable growth towards a long term existence.
Computing practices, green IT, non-IT industries, Sri Lanka, sustainability.
Entrepreneurship Education as a Pre-Requisite for Graduate Entrepreneurship: A Study of Graduate Entrepreneurs in Yenagoa City
Kurotimi M. Fems, Francis D. W. Poazi, Helen Opigo
The concepts of entrepreneurship education together with graduate entrepreneurship have taken centre stage in many countries as a 21st century strategy for economic growth and development. Entrepreneurship education has been viewed as a pre-requisite tool for a more effective and successful business operation. This paper seeks to verify if entrepreneurship education is pre-requisite to graduate entrepreneurship, and to ascertain if such other factors as the need for achievement, competence and experience etc. also play a foundational role in the choice of a graduate becoming an entrepreneur. The scope of the research study is entrepreneurs within Yenagoa metropolis in Bayelsa state, Nigeria. The sample target is graduates engaged in entrepreneurship activities (graduates who own and run businesses). Stratified sampling technique was used and 101 responses were obtained from a total of 300 questionnaires issued. Bar chart, tables and percentages were used to analyze the collected data. The findings revealed that personality traits, situational circumstance, need for achievement and experience/competence were the foundational factors stimulating graduate entrepreneurs to engage in entrepreneurial pursuits. Of all, personality trait showed the highest score with 73 (73%) out of 101 entrepreneurs agreeing. Experience/Competence and situational circumstances followed behind with 66 (65%) and 63 (62.4%), respectively. Entrepreneurship education revealed the least score with 33 (32.3%) out of 101 participating entrepreneurs. All hope, however, is not lost, as this shows that something can be done to increase the impact of entrepreneurship education on graduate entrepreneurship.
Creative destruction, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship education, graduate entrepreneurship, pre-requisite.
Implementing Delivery Drones in Logistics Business Process: Case of Pharmaceutical Industry
Nikola Vlahovic, Blazenka Knezevic, Petra Batalic
In this paper, we will present a research about feasibility of implementing unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as 'drones', in logistics. Research is based on available information about current incentives and experiments in application of delivery drones in commercial use. Overview of current pilot projects and literature, as well as an overview of detected challenges, will be compiled and presented. Based on these findings, we will present a conceptual model of business process that implements delivery drones in business to business logistic operations. Business scenario is based on a pharmaceutical supply chain. Simulation modeling will be used to create models for running experiments and collecting performance data. Comparative study of the presented conceptual model will be given. The work will outline the main advantages and disadvantages of implementing unmanned aerial vehicles in delivery services as a supplementary distribution channel along the supply chain.
Business process, delivery drones, logistics, simulation modelling, unmanned aerial vehicles.


text:
Media, News and Radio
Mormon Beliefs
Billionaire Businesswoman Gail Miller is Inducted into the Junior Achievement Utah Business Hall of Fame
Feb 9, 2018 | What's New | 0 comments
On Tuesday evening, 6 February 2018, LDS billionaire businesswoman, Gail Miller, joined by several of Utah's elected and business leaders, became the recipient of a leadership award from the Utah chapter of a national nonprofit connecting students and business.
The honor was first given in 1991. Of 40 recipients, Gail Miller is the third woman to be inducted into the Junior Achievement Utah Business Hall of Fame. Her late husband, Larry Miller, received the same award in 1992.
KSL.com reports, "Friends and colleagues at the event in Salt Lake City cast the Utah Jazz owner as a gracious leader and praised her philanthropy, focus on family and business acumen." At the event's dinner held at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, Miller remarked, "I had the opportunity when Larry died to decide whether I would continue the legacy we started, or whether I would just fold up my tent and sell the business and stay home and be a grandma and a wife and a mother." She continued, "I knew there was something special about business — something special about being able to provide jobs for people who needed jobs — and especially jobs where one of the parents could stay home and raise their children and make a difference in our society. I'm so grateful I made that choice and I'm grateful to my children for helping me carrying that on."
According to the Utah chapter of the national Junior Achievement program, the honor Miller received is reserved for those leaders who are inspiring, have remarkable vision, and whose innovative work has made a "major positive difference" in Utah. In 2003, Rhoda Ramsey, a real estate agent was awarded the honor. And in 2006, Janet Morris, operator of the low-fare airline Morris Air that was eventually bought by Southwest Airlines, won the award.
In a video honoring Miller, Christy Tribe, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Utah, said, "Miller is going to show the way for girls, that they can have it all, so they can be great mothers and great wives, and they can be strong business people, and philanthropic." Miller also comments in the video, that she wants to encourage girls and women "to overcome the fear of stepping in the spotlight. Because it's a scary thing to do, but it doesn't need to be. You are capable. You have the opportunity to develop your skills and do things that anyone can do."
Other Famous Mormons:
Utah Governor Herbert Creates New Teen Suicide Task Force Motab Has a New Video Abraham Thomas and Emmanuel Martinez Cover "Tears in Heaven" LDS Couple Featured on Forbes.com for their Successful Business Startup Which Mark-and-Lindsey dance are you?
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


there`s a thousand pictures of this bridge out there, well done finding a less famous perspective. such a good picture!
there`s so many pictures of this bridge, well done in capturing it from a less famous perspective. lovely colours in it too!


Humboldt Area Foundation (HAF) is a community foundation based in Bayside, CA. Its headquarters are the original estate of Vera Vietor, who founded HAF in 1972, leaving her property and a financial bequest to serve the community. HAF partners with its affiliate Wild Rivers Community Foundation (WRCF) to serve more than 200,000 residents across Humboldt, Trinity, Del Norte, and Curry counties and Tribal lands.
· Donor Engagement: HAF stewards the generous gifts of our donors through establishing and managing funds, and providing planned giving assistance. HAF manages $126 million in assets and pools investments for over 800 funds.
· Grantmaking: HAF distributes over $4 million annually in grants and scholarships focused on community building, youth services, health and wellness, art and culture, and much more. HAF supports the Humboldt Health Foundation to provide additional resources for health and dental care, and partners with eight other local funders through the North Coast Grantmaking Partnership to collaboratively strengthen impact in the region. Since 1972, more than $80 million in grants and scholarships have been awarded to local communities.
o Native Cultures Fund, initiated and led by Native peoples, which works to support the transmission of knowledge between generations through the renaissance of California Native art culture, sacred sites and language development.
o Northern California Association of Nonprofits (NorCAN), which offers professional development opportunities, board support, and networking connections for local nonprofits.
o Cascadia Center for Leadership, which works with current and emerging leaders to strengthen their abilities and commitment to build stronger organizations and communities.
· Initiatives: HAF incubates initiatives that particularly support and cultivate leaders to improve the wellbeing of historically underrepresented communities in our region. HAF is currently leading the Equity Alliance of the North Coast, which works to reduce racialized inequity in Humboldt County through coaching, support and trainings for organizations and government entities. WRCF leads the 10-year Building Healthy Communities initiative dedicated to creating and supporting health equity, services and opportunities in neighborhoods and schools in Del Norte County and Tribal lands.
The people who inform HAF's work are unique, diverse and resilient. They care deeply about their neighbors and the place they call home. To honor this passion and compassion, HAF provides a non-partisan and inclusive place for people to come together, define community issues and search for solutions.
Community foundations serve a vital and unique role in our communities. They encourage individuals, organizations and companies to fund important community activities where they live and work. They also support the community in working together to promote common goals. They issue grants to support activities which will have positive impacts on the lives of the residents while bringing community members and leaders together to address social and regional challenges. Click here for more information about community foundations.


Gold has been offering good returns over the investment for a long time. The investors who are thinking about buying this treasured metal in papers consider ETFs (exchange-traded funds) as a prodigious way of investing in gold. These funds are handled by the experts in gold and you get a chance of winning better money than any other option. The gold price at a particular time would always affect the gold ETFs.
We have chosen five gold ETFs on the basis of their net assets. These funds don't pay off a dividend and include different expenses.
This fund includes the purchase of gold bullion due to which its price is very sensitive to the gold rates and follow the changing trends closely. The share of GLD represents more gold than the other funds which don't include the buying of physical gold. No one can loan or borrow the gold bars and this is the major benefit of holding the gold stocks. Internal Revenue Service considers gold as a collectible entity with higher prospects of long-term profits.
The GraniteShares Gold Trust seeks the performance on the gold prices. It is a new ETF which will be one-year-old on August 31 this year. There are fewer trust expenses committed with this ETF. This ETF has achieved the net asset of $14.3 million in a years' time.
SGOL makes the storage of gold in a Zurich vault. The shareholders are the owners of the portion of that gold. The fund is highly liquid and it is feasible to buy or sell the shares with ease. There is a probability to take profits efficiently and add the shares while making a decision to buy the dips. The major difference between SGOL and other ETFs is that the gold is exclusively warehoused in the Switzerland vaults for SGOL.
This ETF also aims at buying a physical form of gold. The fund includes the insurance, transport and warehouse expenses for gold. The vaults of IAU are located in various global locations. The fund managers consider the buying of gold as a long-term investment and hold the gold bullion rather than selling it when the prices go up. It is a stable fund and includes low expenses in comparison to the other options. One share of the fund equals to the 1/100th value of an ounce of old. The returns of this ETF in 2017 was 12.91%.
DGL doesn't buy gold but instead has a focus on buying the future contracts. The investors get a K-1 form during tax season and pay taxes as the partners of the company. Additionally, the fund managers need to fight contango which is a situation where the futuristic contract is more than the future spot gold price. Investors lose money as the futures contract need to be adjusted in a way to match the spot price. The net assets of the ETF are $200.02 million which is on the higher side in comparison to other ETFs.
Gold is a speculative form of investment and ETFs are considered to be less risky than making other gold-related investments. For the direct investments in gold, the profits and losses are directly dependent on the gold price.


Hi! I'm Abby and I'm the owner of Solo N' Co. My brand started because of a few things. Firstly, I wanted to begin a project that would allow me to spend time with my Nan. She taught me how to sew and always encouraged me to be creative. Secondly, my life was blessed with an amazing addition to my family. In June 2017 we adopted a rescue dog from the RSPCA named Solomon. I fell in love with him immediately and wanted to spoil him in all ways possible. I mixed those two ideas together and voila - Solo N' Co was born!
As the name may suggest, Solo N' Co is about celebrating all pets big and small! To me, our customers, followers, and everyone who has been a part of our journey is family and I strive to make it feel that way. Even though Solo N' Co has grown to cater for pets all across the globe, we pride ourselves on being a close-knit, loving #soloncofamily.


The Automation Technology C5-CS series is a laser triangulation camera that computes 3D data by implementing the laser sheet-of-light-method. The C5-CS combines camera, optics and a laser - with a predefined fixed angle - in a robust IP67 aluminium housing. Additionally, a Scheimpflug adaptor is integrated in the optical path.
Its high resolution sensor delivers precise results at high speed via GigE Vision. The onboard preprocessing of the raw image data provides previously unattainable data rates for inspection, measurement and sorting in the third dimension.
C5-CS series compact sensors come precalibrated from the factory and can be ordered with a measurement protocol. This offers easy integration and setup of complete systems without the need for further calibration, even with several sensor heads. The documented preconfiguration stage guarantees that all sensors behave exactly the way they are expected. Automatic measurement processes allow the delivery of identical sensor configurations at any time, independent of human influences during the calibration process.
A multitude of device configurations are available for different demands depending on field of view, z-range, resolution as well as laser wavelength and intensity. This means that changing requirements in the application does not necessarily result in being forced to change to a different supplier or a different technology. In most cases switching to another compact sensor model is sufficient. Therefore fast implementation and exchange is simplified. Fully customer specific models can be manufactured as well, in order to meet the application requirements quickly and with minimum effort.
The C5-CS series uses the GenICam protocol enabling software configuration without a manufacturer SDK. Any GenICam compliant software solution such as CVB 3D can be used. There's all the flexibility required when choosing new software or continuing using existing one. This avoids time-consuming training sessions for new software solutions.
The C5-CS features a number of integrated high-precision image processing algorithms for measurements with subpixel accuracy. Its HDR 3D technology is perfectly suited for objects with high differences in brightness and highly reflective surfaces.


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Hong Kong's Apple Daily Vows to Fight On After Owner Arrested
August 11, 2020China
Bundles of the Apple Daily newspaper, with a headline "Apple Daily will fight on" after media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was arrested by the national security unit, are seen at the company's printing facility in Hong Kong on Aug. 11, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
HONG KONG—Hong Kong's Apple Daily tabloid responded with defiance on Tuesday to the arrest of owner Jimmy Lai. under a new national security law imposed by Beijing, promising to fight on in a front-page headline over an image of Lai in handcuffs.
Readers stood in line from the early hours to get copies of the pro-democracy tabloid a day after police raided its offices and took Lai into detention, the highest-profile arrest under the national security law.
"Apple Daily must fight on," the front-page headline read, amid fears the new law erodes media freedoms in the semi-autonomous territory.
"The prayers and encouragement of many readers and writers make us believe that as long as there are readers, there will be writers, and that Apple Daily shall certainly fight on."
More than 500,000 copies were printed, compared with the usual 100,000, the paper said on its website.
Mainland-born Lai, who was smuggled into Hong Kong on a fishing boat when he was a penniless 12-year-old, is one of the most prominent democracy activists in the Chinese-ruled city and an ardent critic of Communist Party rule in Beijing.
His arrest comes amid a crackdown on the pro-democracy opposition in Hong Kong that has drawn international criticism and raised fears for the freedoms promised by Beijing when the former British colony returned to China in 1997.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily, is detained by the national security unit in Hong Kong on Aug. 10, 2020. (Tyrone Siu TPX Images of the day/Reuters)
The sweeping security law imposed on June 30 punishes anything China considers secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
The city's Beijing-backed government and Chinese authorities say the law is necessary to restore order after months of protests last year, sparked by fears China was slowly eroding the city's freedoms.
Hong Kong has since become another source of contention between the United States and China, whose relations were already at their most strained in years over issues including trade, the novel coronavirus, China's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority, and its claims in the South China Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday called Lai a "patriot" saying Beijing had "eviscerated" Hong Kong's freedoms.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a speech on Communist China and the future of the free world at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., on July 23, 2020. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Britain said Lai's arrest was further evidence the security law was a "pretext to silence opposition," to which China's embassy replied by urging London to stop "using freedom of the press as an excuse to discredit" the law.
'Dancing With the Enemy'
Police detained Lai for suspected collusion with foreign forces after about 200 officers searched the newspaper's offices, collecting 25 boxes of evidence.
Handcuffed and apparently wearing the same clothes after spending the night in jail, he was driven by police on Tuesday to his yacht which police searched, according to media footage.
Beijing has labeled Lai a "traitor" in the past and issued a statement supporting his arrest.
The Beijing-backed China Daily newspaper said in an editorial Lai's arrest showed "the cost of dancing with the enemy." The paper added that "justice delayed didn't mean the absence of justice."
(L-R) Ivan Lam, Joshua Wong, and Agnes Chow speak to reporters after appearing in court in Hong Kong on July 6, 2020. (Song Bilung/The Epoch Times)
Police arrested 10 people in all on Monday, including other Apple Daily executives and 23-year-old Agnes Chow, one of the former leaders of young activist Joshua Wong's Demosisto pro-democracy group, which disbanded before the new law came into force.
Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement has managed to sustain broad support across the community.
Shares in Next Digital, which publishes Apple Daily, surged for a second day, gaining more than 2,078 percent from Friday's close, after online pro-democracy forums called on investors to show support.
Its market value rose as high as HK$5.17 billion ($666.7 million) from some HK$200 million.
In the working-class neighborhood of Mong Kok, dozens of people stood in line from as early as 2 a.m. to buy Lai's paper.
"What the police did yesterday interfered with press freedom brutally," said 45-year-old Kim Yau as she bought a copy.
"All Hong Kong people with a conscience have to support Hong Kong today, support Apple Daily."
In another show of support, long queues formed at lunch time at the Cafe Seasons restaurant owned by Lai's son, Ian, who was also arrested on Monday.
The United States last week imposed sanctions on several top officials over what it said was their role in curtailing political freedoms in Hong Kong. China responded with sanctions on top U.S. legislators and others.
By Yoyo Chow


Set amid bermuda covered dunes and 200 year old oaks draped in spanish moss, Dunes West Golf Club is a nationally acclaimed golf facility. Dunes West was designed by Arthur Hills and was built to blend its historical rich environment with a great golf course. A great option for all South Carolina golf packages.
4-stars by Golf Digest as best places to play. Stono Ferry Golf Course is located on the intracoastal waterway with breathtaking views and an intimidating island green on the 18th hole. Historical location with the battle of Stono Ferry in 1779 at this location.
Built on the intracoastal waterway at Wild Dunes Resort with six par 3s - golfers can experience the true beauty of the island and play every club in their bag. Harbor course has large greens, water hazards on on 17 of the 18 holes, and extensive bunkers. 30 minutes from Charleston.
Consistently ranked in the top 100 by Golf Digest, the Isle of Palms Link course features breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean. The Links course has large sand dunes, rolling terrain and 3 finishing holes located ocean side. This is the first course bearing Tom Fazio's name as a solo course designer.


Christian Science Monitor | World: China's rust belt gets long-awaited bridge to Russia. But is it still a lifeline?
NYT > Home Page: Common Sense: Trump Says G.O.P. Tax Bill Wont Benefit Him. Thats Not True.
People in Hollywood are already wondering when the comeback tours will start.
Mr. Nabors found fame as an amiable bumpkin while pursuing as a second career as a singer with a booming baritone voice.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, spoke during a press conference on proposed Republican tax legislation on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
Corn outside a silo in Paoli, Colo. The Trump administration will keep in place rules requiring refineries to blend biofuel much of it ethanol made from corn into the nations gasoline supply.
Washington and Moscow accuse each other of violating the landmark nuclear arms treaty severely enough that it could collapse. If it does, the sense of safety that it brought to Europe the region primarily in range of the weapons the treaty bans could evaporate as well.
Locals in this frigid corner of China are counting on a rail bridge to Russia to revive a struggling economy. But while they've waited, the country has transformed making the heavy industries it was built to support look more like the past than the future.
Written to educate young women about various industries, the books are as historically interesting as they are entertaining sociology lesson plus soap opera.
A pharmacy in Rohnert Park, Calif. The National Academy of Sciences called Thursday for sweeping changes in the pricing, sale and promotion of prescription drugs.
The tax legislation hurtling through Congress this week seems almost tailor-made to benefit the president, despite his claims that the bills are not good for me.
Russell Simmons in 2016. He has been accused of assaulting two women at different times.
Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain arriving in Amman, Jordan, on Thursday. She has worked hard to cultivate close ties with President Trump.
The top choices of this years wine books include an essential Champagne guide, an argument to organize wine by soil type and a thin volume of advice.
One of Representative John Conyers Jr.s accusers appeared on Today to explicitly detail her harassment accusations, prompting the Democratic leader to say he should go.
Confounded by work, politics or just too much digital activity, anxious New Yorkers are turning to crafts as a balm and a corrective.
The Trump administration plans to instate Mike Pompeo, the current director of the CIA, as secretary of state within the next few weeks, the New York Times reports. Sen. Tom Cotton, a republican from Arkansas, would replace Pompeo as CIA director. The transition would conclude a contentious year for Tillerson, who has come under public scrutiny for the mass departure of State Department officials during his tenure. Cotton has been regarded as a strong supporter for President Donald Trump in the Senate on issues related to national security and immigration. His departure would open up another seat in the 2018 midterm elections.On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council convened for an emergency meeting to address North Koreas launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to the Washington Post. Despite condemnation of Pyongyangs missile launch, permanent members of the Security Council remain divided. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., called for tougher actions against Pyongyang. China and Russia both suggested less aggressive action against North Korea, with Russia calling for the United States to halt its scheduled military drill next month in an effort to prevent the crisis from escalating.


The interior of the Franklin Street Station stood in disrepair before the renovations.
A dilapidated rail station has found new life as a bus facility after undergoing a significant restoration and transformation led by Gannett Fleming and Sowinski Sullivan Architects. Located in downtown Reading, Pa., the Franklin Street Station that had served as the main station for the Reading Railroad Company starting in 1929 saw its last train depart in 1981 and stood in disrepair for more than three decades.
The dirty stone walls were marked with graffiti, the windows were broken, and the original concrete platform, walkways, and paving were cracked and broken. Inside, the leaking roof damaged the ornate plaster ceiling, walls, and cornices, and the building had become a refuge for pigeons. All electrical and mechanical systems were in need of replacement.
In an effort to salvage the building and convert the site into an intermodal facility, the Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority acquired the property. Gannett Fleming was selected as project engineers to team with prime consultant Sowinski Sullivan Architects to lead the transformation. The pigeons were ousted, and the grandeur was restored to give travelers modern comfort and convenience, while still maintaining the historic feel of the original station building. The tall windows, terra-cotta walls, terrazzo flooring, iron designs around windows, and the wall clock, all originals, are now thoroughly cleaned and restored.
Gannett Fleming performed surveys for the design, transit studies, planning, project management, and construction phase services for the project's structural, electrical, lighting, telecommunications, mechanical, and site development engineering and landscaping.


Most of the 360 tools are assessment tools and not a change tool. They typically tell the managers 'what' to change not 'how' to change. With no clear priorities for behavior change, the typical 360 presents information that increases managers' resistance to change.
TSG is known for its innovative approach to the challenge of building better talent faster. Their radically different, proven, effective approach to 360 is highlighted in the best-selling book One Page Talent Management: Eliminating Complexity, Adding Value (Harvard Business Press, 2010) co-authored by The Talent Strategy Group President, Marc Effron.
The OPTM360 provides participants an opportunity to receive useful feedback from managers, peers, direct reports, or other internal or external clients, as defined by the organization. The OPTM360 accelerates individual development by making it easy for everyone to give, receive and take action on feedback. It focuses on the few vital things that people should change and provides them with specific relevant and practical advice on how to change.


The Beginning or End of Hope? Transforming the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict through Nation Building. Reviews of Married to Another Man by Ghada Karmi, The One-State Solution by Virginia Tilley and One Country by Ali Abunimah.
Abstract: Merali reviews three recent books supporting a one state solution for the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. From Virginia Tilley's seminal volume of 2005, The One State Solution, through Electronic Intifada's Ali Abunimah's One Country to Ghada Karmi's Married to Another Man, the review examines the three authors' claims on the one state solution as a normative and practical project, comparing and contrasting the three sets of claims, and applying their ideals to the current situation in Palestine.
I admit that most, if not all of my writing, particularly from my youth is emotional. I always thought it was my strength – not hiding my beliefs and transforming that anger into words that might just change, if not the world, at least someone's mind.
It is an admission that colleagues may find frustrating, after my endless advice to them not to get emotional in television and radio interviews. It further makes some of my following observations and at times uneasiness about the books under review – fairly hypocritical. I apologise to all three authors in advance. Reading their work has made me critically assess my own, and for that I thank all three.
It is that initial recognition amongst early Zionists that Palestine belonged to another nation that starts Karmi's account of her own journey. Her experiences as a child of expelled Palestinians, brought up in the diaspora, often alongside Zionists who, try as she might to explain to them, simply could not or more specifically would not let go of the idea that somehow along the way Palestine has become or always had been Israel.
Karmi's account, through many examples of exchanges she has had with Zionist supporters, deals with the very difficult issues of Jewish pain post-Holocaust and the framing of Israel as necessary to not simply Jewish identity but existence. Such exchanges, often in the most mundane of settings, notably as part of café life in North West London, brings out both the pain of Karmi's personal experience, but also sets the grand claims of 'Israel' on an equal footing – two supporters of different sides across a table and coffee not amidst guns, each side presented for the reader to discern whose account, whose opinion makes more sense.
Needless to say, each encounter leaves Karmi more frustrated, a situation heightened by the shift in the 'official' Palestinian line on statehood, transposing into an acceptance of two states after the Oslo Accords. Married to Another Man is at times so compulsive, that the reader is drawn into the most intense feelings experienced by the author in a way that makes one lose hope in anything redemptive – the hopelessness of Palestinian diaspora experience as Karmi portrays, its politicking, the lack of understanding of its more noble aspirations at reconciliation with justice, the failure of liberal Jews to renounce the Zionist cause and with it claims to superiority over Palestinians, is so unrelentlessly depressing, one might argue that there is no solution to the issue, be it one, two, three or no state. Yet from this agony, Karmi is able to take the reader to her own conclusion that only one state for both Palestinians and Israelis can offer an end to the violence that demands justice.
Despite the command of the book in conveying this, indeed despite its 'happy ending' of the beleaguered activist retaining the moral high ground, the author's vulnerability nags. Who will this book convince beyond those who can so deeply empathise either by shared experience or equally passionate support for the Palestinian cause? As a reviewer, my hope is placed in the latter camp; it concerns me that if I at times had to quell some doubts as to the rather sweeping generalisations that paint all those with whom the author disagrees with roughly the same contempt, how would others react? Some foes from a Jewish doctor friend in North Finchley and members of the PLO who accepted with little regret the idea of two states instead of one, are at least humanised through their appearance as actors in the life history of the author. Others, be they as disparate as historical Zionists or 'Islamic fundamentalist' of the vague variety (a creature which also inhabits Tilley's accounts), all put in an appearance as villains with no singular humanity to lock onto as agents. Karmi does not hide her polemicism and she should be commended for that, but it is a limitation that may not help sell what is a remarkable journey through an ideology to a wider audience that needs to listen.
There are few heroes in this account. The brief references to her father and his generation – their amazing sense of understanding and magnanimity is a starting point for Ali Abunimah's One Country to be discussed later, and set both accounts by Palestinians out from the third contribution.
Very few Israelis or Palestinians measure up to the standards Karmi expects of them. Karmi's high expectations of all sides leaves her open to some of the charges that have already been levelled at her and which she meticulously recounts: of being unrealistic, unwilling to speak peace and often promoting prolonged conflict. Whilst clearly this book seeks to self-justify, it does more than that. In making this journey so centred on herself, Karmi's vulnerability as author makes this account more convincing. It does not just vindicate her own beliefs but sets out the stall for why others should share them.
Virginia Tilley's otherwise excellent account of exactly – in fact exactly – why a two state solution is dead in the water, is plagued by a gnawing sense of despair, and inconsistency in its treatment of foes, of which there appear to be three. Two of them, through the one state solution, may in her contention eventually be reconciled, i.e. Palestinians and Israelis. The third foe however is a bogey, never adequately defined let alone examined like their Zionist and to lesser extent Palestinian counterparts. Often poorly generalised, the 'Islamic threat' Tilley hopes may be neutralised as a result of lasting and just peace.
However the normative stall Tilley sets out suffers in part again from her clear attachment to the Palestinian cause – more emotion. That emotion mirrors in some way Karmi's disillusion with ongoing practices in this field. Tilley is perhaps more forgiving of Palestinian acts. Her frustrations are levelled almost entirely towards an Israeli public and political class whose attachment to Zionism, she meticulously unpacks as essentially nefarious and unredeemed.
Whilst many, many pages are given to analysing and refuting Zionist arguments, the lack of such precision in assessing Palestinian claims, has the effect of equating Palestinian nationalist aspiration and imagination with Zionist iconographies. Given Tilley's attachment to the Palestinian cause, driven in part by her belief that Palestinians may be more inclined to democratic principles than other Arabs (amongst whose ranks she rather negligently adds Iranians and Iran), such equivalence is likely unintentional. However it still harries. It suggests that peoples are inherently disposed to unpalatable ideas be they Zionist Jews or Arabs (and / or Iranians). There is no universal or transformable personhood in Tilley's reasoning, and she later explicitly reckons that this fact needs to be incorporated into any future project – saving Zionist chauvinism tailored to a unitary state.
This apocalyptic vision of effectively Muslim violence smacks of the very anti-Palestinian rhetoric that is invoked by the so-called war on terror at every turn. In one paragraph (p.93) she is able to dismiss Hizbollah and Al-Qaeda as 'Islamic terrorism' born out of Israeli aggression. All Islam and Islamists are bad – the suggestion being one that is more usually represented by Melanie Phillips and Daniel Pipes that somehow there is a link and a line from Al-Qaeda to Hamas. 'Stop terrorism – give the Palestinians a shared state with Israelis' is not a convincing banner or indeed a tempting bandwagon to jump on.
Abunimah's work, like Karmi's, recounts a blissful past of co-existence and harmony between Jewish and Palestinian communities. Abunimah's hark back however is the starting point and lynch pin of the book's thesis. Again grounded in a personal impression and ideal, Abunimah's continuous search for a way back to the time when his grandparents lived side by side with Jewish residents in Palestine, and children from all groups played together, carries the reader in hope of a possible blissful future. The desperation of the other two authors' very real encounters with chauvinism from all sides and a brutal realpolitik that sees political players striving for their own survival as much as any 'ideal' of statehood, also features in Abunimah's account. These are obstacles however to the end prize, upon which Abunimah's eyes are very really fixed. His search for a solution is not born out of a desperate ideal that may in time and through much education redeem two sets of deeply embittered peoples, but as a way of return to happier times, set in a thoroughly modern context.
Whilst looking to Belgium and Northern Ireland – perhaps not so traditional loci for examples – Abunimah returns to the most salient parallel, that of South Africa for a way of transforming the Israeli- Palestinian conflict into Israel-Palestine, Palestine-Israel. Whilst not wanting to impose his own version of one state, he irresistibly outlines norms and names that could provide a blueprint to transformation of intractable conflict to pluralist society.
It is a question I add as a litmus test to the authors' attempts to understand local Palestinian politics en route to ideals of secular democracy and / or binationalism. It is a little unfair to view Tilley's 2005 book through the same lens, given that it precedes the election of Hamas in 2006. However her throwaway description of Hamas as an 'anti-democratic' force whose gains would need to be curbed in any nascent state of Palestine in a two state context, herald the events of 2006 and 2007 and the strangling of the Hamas government. The irony that Hamas' gains are in fact democratic is lost in Tilley's analysis, or indeed the idea that external support that would effectively halt Hamas' progress and marginalise the then PA leadership, would be anti-democratic.
Both Karmi and Abunimah deal with Hamas better. Whilst neither are supporters, they see trends in Palestinian society that reject the cronyism and corruption of the PLO and the former PA incumbents. Abunimah in particular tries to come to terms with what an Islamic or Islamist agenda might mean in the context of Hamas' governance and long term aspirations. Unlike Tilley he sees the difference between those who threatened Christians with violence after the Danish cartoon controversy, and the support of the Hamas leadership to Christian communities as a result of that threat. The role of Islamic or Islamist politics in the long term future of one state are also mooted by Abunimah. His ideal one state envisages alliances between religious parties from various faiths, including Islam and Judaism, against other alliances that seek the liberalising of some of that society's more conservative norms. It is a state where tribe no longer matters, and values are shared across the board. There is redemption and there is hope in this world after all.
Arzu Merali is a mother, one of the founders of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, based in London, UK, and editor in chief of Palestine Internationalist.


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As Arkansas Erects Ten Commandments Monument, The Satanic Temple Prepares to File Religious Discrimination Suit
Apr 29, 2018 | Baphomet Monument, Updates
By erecting a privately donated Ten Commandments monument on Capitol Grounds while refusing the placement of a Satanic monument, the state engages in illegal viewpoint discrimination, argues The Satanic Temple
After nearly a year since the destruction of the first installation of Arkansas's controversial Ten Commandments -- toppled by a self-described "born again" Christian -- a replacement monument will be installed tomorrow on the Little Rock Capitol grounds. Litigation from groups who feel that the overtly religious monument is unconstitutional and/or discriminatory is immediately forthcoming. Having offered a monument of their own in honor of pluralism and religious freedom, The Satanic Temple now intends to sue the state of Arkansas, arguing that the rejection of their monument establishes unconstitutional religious preference by the state. "As soon as other invested parties file their lawsuits disputing the constitutionality of the Ten Commandments monument, we will file an 'intervenor,' essentially merging the cases," The Satanic Temple's spokesperson and co-founder, Lucien Greaves, explains.
The placement of the Ten Commandments monument on Little Rock Capitol grounds is the result of efforts by a state senator, Stanley "Jason" Rapert, who passed a bill in favor of the monument in 2015. Greaves feels confident that the Ten Commandments display is so flagrantly in violation of constitutional principles that the monument has virtually no chance of remaining on Capitol grounds, further asserting that Rapert's conduct demonstrates an open abuse of his public office.
"Rapert is obviously a mindless tool for theocratic interests originating outside of Arkansas, as his bill utilized the exact language used in failed efforts to maintain a Ten Commandments monument at the capitol in Oklahoma -- legal language that the simple senator was unable to comprehend," Greaves claims.
"The Arkansas bill directly stated that the placement of the Ten Commandments at the Capitol was not to be 'construed to mean the state of Arkansas favors any particular religion or denomination over another,' in recognition of the fact that such viewpoint discrimination would be illegal. But if the bill itself couldn't be construed as religious favoritism, the state's rejection of other religious viewpoints certainly is. Further destroying the state's already untenably difficult defense of the monument, Rapert has taken to local pulpits declaring the United States a 'Christian Nation,' openly discussing his agenda to bring his religion alone to the public square, to the exclusion of all others. Arkansas's state constitution holds that 'no pre ference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment, denomination or mode of worship, above any other.' Rapert's misconstrual of law goes beyond mere incompetence, his manipulation of truth beyond mere misinformation, his abuse of his office beyond mere misconduct. I would posit that his bald efforts to undermine, ignore, and utterly diminish the constitution he swore to uphold, abusing his office to illegally impose his religious viewpoint, is tantamount to treason. Rapert has so loudly declared his unconstitutional agenda so often that he's destroyed any credible legal defense of his efforts. In the future, the well-financed, well-organized theocrats who use easily-manipulated fools like Rapert to advance their hostile coup against democratic pluralism and religious liberty, would be well advised to find useful idiots who are somewhat less idiotic."
There will be a dedication for the new 10 Commandments monument following which there will be a Press Conference held by Senator Rapert. Lucien Greaves will be in attendance. Check the Lucien Greaves Facebook page for live video around 11:30am CENTRAL time.
Original post can be seen HERE
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Washington Post- Arkansas replaces Ten Commandments monument at state Capitol
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Snaketivity 2016 Press Release


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DigitalCorpora.org is a website of digital corpora for use in computer forensics education research. All of the disk images, memory dumps, and network packet captures available on this website are freely available and may be used without prior authorization or IRB approval. We also have available a research corpus of real data acquired from around the world. Use of that dataset is possible under special arrangement.
Many of the corpora are distributed in RAW, EnCase E01, and Advanced Forensic Format (AFF) formats. We also make available a Digital Forensics XML file for many of the disk images that describes the files contained within each volume. You can download tools for working with AFF and XFXML files from our companion website, http://afflib.org/.
Publications describing these corpora and our related research can be found on our publications page.


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