To begin with, rating systems are a beneficial tool in determining the efficiency of a building’s ability to utilise its resources effectively. In this study, the two elements under comparison are the Building Rating...To begin with, rating systems are a beneficial tool in determining the efficiency of a building’s ability to utilise its resources effectively. In this study, the two elements under comparison are the Building Rating Systems (BRSs) and Occupant Rating Systems (ORSs). The main objective of this paper is to be able to examine the most commonly applied international and national BRS and ORS and, based on that, discover the possibility of developing an integration of both the BRS and ORS into one rating system. Quite simply, a BRS is a method by which buildings are assessed and given a score based on numerous features such as the efficiency of each of the services, total energy consumption, and alternate options of consumption. There are various BRSs that are implemented globally, each with its own set of criteria and specifications. Thus, based on the analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of both types of rating systems, it could be deduced that a well-rounded rating system with all technical and non-technical aspects combined would be beneficial to both the efficiency of the building as well as the building occupants’ health and well-being.展开更多
Overpopulation globally is an addressed issue impacting human lives, marine lives, and the surrounding ecosystem;it is adding pressure on the available resources that should be optimized to suit the needs. Yet with im...Overpopulation globally is an addressed issue impacting human lives, marine lives, and the surrounding ecosystem;it is adding pressure on the available resources that should be optimized to suit the needs. Yet with improper management of resources and monitoring of daily activities, the environment will be further negatively impacted. With overpopulation higher urbanization rates are noticed with the demand of seeking better health facilities, better education, better jobs and better well-being;this progression is driving more demand into the infrastructure sector to be able to accommodate the growth rates. Hence, the need to having sustainable communities aiming at optimizing the resources used, working towards more feasible, environmentally friendly and cost-effective communities with a better occupant’s experience is in action. Sustainable development goals (SDG) are vital goals developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2015 to address and guide through 17 interconnected global goals serving the previously mentioned trend. Out of the 17 goals, Sustainable Cities and Communities (goal #11) and Good Health and Well-Being (goal #3) are the focus of this paper directed towards holding a comparative analysis between the community scale commonly known and mostly used rating system Leadership of Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-Cities and Communities) (USA) versus similar rating systems like Tarsheed-Communities (Egypt) and Estidama-Pearl (UAE) rating systems meeting sustainable development goal #11. Conjointly, another complimenting comparative review of the occupant’s health and wellbeing rating systems, such as Fitwel (USA) and Well (USA) are studied under sustainable development goal #3;however, they are focused on a building scale assessment. Living Community Challenge (LCC, USA) rating system linking community rating system with health & wellbeing credits was first issued in 2006, yet is it not cost effective neither easy to apply acting as a primary step while being affordable, accessible, and easy to implement. The objective of this paper is to highlight the pros and gaps under both categories of studies of community rating system and occupants’ health & wellbeing rating systems based on scientific content and commercial acceptance and do-ability. This comparison is done via comparing credits and sections within each rating system type;this will support in addressing the focal points needed for an integrated rating system between both categories that will serve in meeting SDG Sustainable Cities and Communities (goal #11) and Good Health and Well-Being (goal #3).展开更多
Coal mines are continuously seeking to determine the performance of entries with different ground control products and installation methods.There are many factors that impact how an entry will perform which include bu...Coal mines are continuously seeking to determine the performance of entries with different ground control products and installation methods.There are many factors that impact how an entry will perform which include but are not limited to geology,overburden,bolting type and pattern,and mine design.At the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH),research has been instituted to examine the relationship of the parts of a coal mine entry as a system and not as individual components.To study this relationship,the first step in this study was to create a numeric rating system that accurately reflects visual observations of the mine entry and is easy to implement.NIOSH researchers devised this rating system to improve upon previous ideas,offering increased flexibility which can be incorporated into an overall entry condition that offers different levels of confidence based on the user’s time devoted to the inspection.This new entry rating system was implemented at three different mines over varying periods of time to evaluate the ground response to the geology,bolt installation pattern,stress changes by mining,overburden,and time dependency.展开更多
This work details the simulation of tsunami waves generated by seaquakes in the Manila Trench and their effect on fixed oil and gas jacket platforms in waters offshore North Borneo. For this study, a four-leg living q...This work details the simulation of tsunami waves generated by seaquakes in the Manila Trench and their effect on fixed oil and gas jacket platforms in waters offshore North Borneo. For this study, a four-leg living quarter jacket platform located in a water depth of 63 m is modelled in SACS v5.3. Malaysia has traditionally been perceived to be safe from the hazards of earthquakes and tsunamis. Local design practices tend to neglect tsunami waves and include no such provisions. In 2004, a 9.3Mw seaquake occurred off the northwest coast of Aceh, which generated tsunami waves that caused destruction in Malaysia totalling US$ 25 million and 68 deaths. This event prompted an awareness of the need to study the reliability of fixed offshore platforms scattered throughout Malaysian waters. In this paper, we present a review of research on the seismicity of the Manila Trench, which is perceived to be high risk for Southeast Asia. From the tsunami numerical model TUNA-M2, we extract computer-simulated tsunami waves at prescribed grid points in the vicinity of the platforms in the region. Using wave heights as input, we simulate the tsunami using SACS v5.3 structural analysis software of offshore platforms, which is widely accepted by the industry. We employ the nonlinear solitary wave theory in our tsunami loading calculations for the platforms, and formulate a platform-specific risk quantification system. We then perform an intensive structural sensitivity analysis and derive a corresponding platform-specific risk rating model.展开更多
Baosteel＇s 60000 m^3/h air separation unit （ASU） is the largest oxygen generating system in China. The operational cost of such a giant system is very high. How to reduce the operational cost is a critical issue. T...Baosteel＇s 60000 m^3/h air separation unit （ASU） is the largest oxygen generating system in China. The operational cost of such a giant system is very high. How to reduce the operational cost is a critical issue. This paper discusses the system＇s characteristics,the current operational status and the difficulties in reducing the cost,and analyzes relevant indicators, such as the technical and economical indicators of individual units and systems as well as the indicators concerning the costs. The relationship between the cost and each economical indicator and measures to optimize an economical operation of the oxygen generating system are also discussed in this paper.展开更多
Rock mass classification systems are the very important part for underground projects and rock mass rating(RMR) is one of the most commonly applied classification systems in numerous civil and mining projects. The typ...Rock mass classification systems are the very important part for underground projects and rock mass rating(RMR) is one of the most commonly applied classification systems in numerous civil and mining projects. The type of rock mass consisting of an interbedding of strong and weak layers poses difficulties and uncertainties for determining the RMR. For this, the present paper uses the concept of rock bolt supporting factor(RSF) for modification of RMR system to be used in such rock mass types. The proposed method also demonstrates the importance of rock bolting practice in such rock masses. The geological parameters of the Shemshak Formation of the Alborz Tunnel in Iran are used as case examples for development of the theoretical approach.展开更多
This study investigates the heat and mass transfer mechanism of a marine engifie exhaust-powered adsorption refrigerating system by using irreversible thermodynamics. The equations of entropy-production rate and the l...This study investigates the heat and mass transfer mechanism of a marine engifie exhaust-powered adsorption refrigerating system by using irreversible thermodynamics. The equations of entropy-production rate and the linear phenomenological equations of thermodynamic flux and force are established. The conventional experimental facilities of unit tube are developed and the phenomenological coefficients are obtained by fitting the experimental data. It is concluded that the thermodynamic process in the adsorbent bed is determined by the coupling effect of the heat and mass transfer; furthermore, the mass transfer is determined by the heat transfer. Taking some measures to increase heat transfer can improve the performance of the adsorption refrigerating system. The conclusions presented in this paper may be of value to the engineering applications of the system.展开更多
Healthcare is one of the core operating sectors all over the world with a designated Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being of the international Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), while three other goals addressed the er...Healthcare is one of the core operating sectors all over the world with a designated Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being of the international Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), while three other goals addressed the eradication of causes of healthcare problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the increase of healthcare expenditure to be $2 - $4 Billion USD by the year 2030 as a result of Climate change. As a developing country, Egypt has a fast-growing healthcare sector, which is a good opportunity to direct the sector towards a more sustainable development scheme to reduce the cost of the service, while maintaining a high service level for the patience and reducing the environmental impacts of operation, which are the pillars of sustainable development. The aim of the work presented is to develop sustainability rating system for new and existing healthcare facilities suitable to the Egyptian context that encourages the facilities to operate more sustainably using the concept of cradle-to-cradle resources management. The rating system developed is based on a points system with the awardable levels of achievement: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The points divided among three main categories: Energy, Water and Habitat, and additionally, two general prerequisites are added for the top management commitment towards sustainability and developing an environmental management plan. The system divides the facilities into new and existing, with each type having different awardable points that take into consideration the differences in applicability between the two types of facilities.展开更多
The main purpose of this article is to determine the factors affecting credit rating and to develop the credit rating system based on statistical methods, fuzzy logic and artificial neural network. Variables used in t...The main purpose of this article is to determine the factors affecting credit rating and to develop the credit rating system based on statistical methods, fuzzy logic and artificial neural network. Variables used in this study were determined by the literature review and then the number of them was reduced by using stepwise regression analysis. Resulting variables were used as independent variables in the logistic model and as input variables for ANN and ANFIS model. After evaluating the models and comparing with each other, the ANFIS model was chosen as the best model to forecast credit rating. Rating determination was made for the countries that haven’t had a credit rating. Consequently, the ANFIS model made consistent, reliable and successful rating forecasts for the countries.展开更多
The ratings in many user-object online rating systems can reflect whether users like or dislike the objects,and in some online rating systems,users can directly choose whether to like an object.So these systems can be...The ratings in many user-object online rating systems can reflect whether users like or dislike the objects,and in some online rating systems,users can directly choose whether to like an object.So these systems can be represented by signed bipartite networks,but the original unsigned node evaluation algorithm cannot be directly used on the signed networks.This paper proposes the Signed Page Rank algorithm for signed bipartite networks to evaluate the object and user nodes at the same time.Based on the global information,the nodes can be sorted by the Signed Page Rank values in descending order,and the result is SR Ranking.The authors analyze the characteristics of top and bottom nodes of the real networks and find out that for objects,the SR Ranking can provide a more reasonable ranking which combines the degree and rating of node,and the algorithm also can help us to identify users with specific rating patterns.By discussing the location of negative edges and the sensitivity of object SR Ranking to negative edges,the authors also explore that the negative edges play an important role in the algorithm and explain that why the bad reviews are more important in real networks.展开更多
Recently, online rating systems are gaining popularity. Dealing with unfair ratings in such systems has been recognized as an important but challenging problem. Many unfair rating detection approaches have been develo...Recently, online rating systems are gaining popularity. Dealing with unfair ratings in such systems has been recognized as an important but challenging problem. Many unfair rating detection approaches have been developed and evaluated against simple attack models. However, the lack of unfair rating data from real human users and realistic attack behavior models has become an obstacle toward developing reliable rating systems. To solve this problem, we design and launch a rating challenge to collect unfair rating data from real human users. In order to broaden the scope of the data collection, we also develop a comprehensive signai-based unfair rating detection system. Based on the analysis of real attack data, we discover important features in unfair ratings, build models and generator developed in this paper can be directly attack models, and develop an unfair rating generator. The used to test current rating aggregation systems, as well as to assist the design of future rating systems.展开更多
There are five different publications that establish guidelines for sustainable building development that are examined in this report:(1)Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(“LEED”);(2)CalGreen;(3)the Inter...There are five different publications that establish guidelines for sustainable building development that are examined in this report:(1)Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(“LEED”);(2)CalGreen;(3)the International Green Construction Code(“IGCC”);(4)ASHRAE Standard 189.1(“Standard 189.1”);and(5)The San Francisco’s Green Building Ordinance(“SFGBO”).Having multiple publications can cause confusion among building developers,architects,engineers,building consultants,or various jurisdictions on what publication to follow,use,or reference in building development projects.This article will provide various parties involved in building development a thorough understanding of each publication and the similarities or differences between them,which will ultimately assist in identifying areas for all publications to improve.Specifically,this article demonstrates that the Material and Energy sections for all the publications must advance beyond the current requirements.Also,the comparison validates that CalGreen’s Tier 2 is similar to LEED’s local ordinances,like the SFGBO.This may mean two things:(1)LEED will need to advance its gold or platinum certification requirements,or potentially become less relevant;or(2)local ordinances should reference or adopt CalGreen Tier 2 so that there is common language between local and state regulations.This article identifies that LEED has the most stringent guidelines under the Building Site section out of all the publications.Likewise,the IGCC and Standard 189.1 have provisions under the Water Use section,that goes beyond other publications.Additionally,similar language between LEED and Standard 189.1 was found,which was unsurprising as both publications are authored by the USGBC.展开更多
Low rating reliability has long been the primary concern in school-based oral English achievement tests. In this study, a computer-aided rating system （CARS） was developed to improve inter- and intra-rater reliabili...Low rating reliability has long been the primary concern in school-based oral English achievement tests. In this study, a computer-aided rating system （CARS） was developed to improve inter- and intra-rater reliability through the instantiation of rating criteria, task division and random distribution, on-line training, reliability verification and sound wave ＂reading＂ and ＂writing.＂ A rating experiment was conducted among six raters to compare intra- and inter-rater reliability between traditional rating and rating with CARS. At the end of each round of rating, a conference was held. Both quantitative an~ qualitative analyses show that CARS can significantly improve inter- and intra-rater reliability, mainly through helping raters use criteria more accurately and focus more attention on rating. In addition, the research has also shed light upon further study on improving rating reliability.展开更多
Green Building rating systems are the main vehicles for commercial application of ecologically sustainable design for buildings.Using less materials,modular design for deconstruction,long life structure,using recovera...Green Building rating systems are the main vehicles for commercial application of ecologically sustainable design for buildings.Using less materials,modular design for deconstruction,long life structure,using recoverable materials are emerging concepts to reduce environmental impacts and increase the resource and economic efficiency of buildings.It has been argued that because of recent emergence of these concepts,Green Building rating systems do not fairly recognise the environmental benefits gained.This paper quantifies the impacts of the building reuse concept on the environment and the Green Building rating system scores and compares this with the energy category.It was found that lifecycle embodied greenhouse gas emission of approximately 20 kg CO_(2)-e/m^(2)/annum could be saved,if 80%of the office building components(structure,façade,wall,floor and roof)were reused in Australia.A second finding was that the current BREEAM 2008 and LEED 2009 tools do not provide fair recognition of the potential lifecycle embodied greenhouse gas emission reduction of building reuse compared to operational greenhouse gas emission reduction.展开更多
When attempting to achieve sustainability goals for integrated facilities,many green rating systems are available to guide the design,construction,operations and maintenance of a project.Due to the large number of sus...When attempting to achieve sustainability goals for integrated facilities,many green rating systems are available to guide the design,construction,operations and maintenance of a project.Due to the large number of sustainability tools that are available or mandated,it can be confusing to determine which set of guidelines to follow.For the Washington State Ferries(WSF),there is no green rating system which correlates perfectly with the unique intermodal challenges presented by ferry terminals.This paper focuses on five rating systems applicable to WSF:GreenLITES,LEED,Sustainable Sites Initiative,The Port Authority of NY/NJ Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines(draft),and the draft Marine Vessel Environmental Performance Assessment(MVeP).These rating systems are integrated with a developing set of sustainable ferry guidelines in a green rating integration platform(GRIP).The GRIP readily relates credits and guidelines across multiple systems,aiding WSF in making decisions in accordance with sustainability goals.The GRIP format might similarly be applied to other integrated projects to more effectively and economically address sustainability across all aspects of projects and facility operations.展开更多
Collaborative Filtering(CF) is a leading approach to build recommender systems which has gained considerable development and popularity. A predominant approach to CF is rating prediction recommender algorithm, aiming ...Collaborative Filtering(CF) is a leading approach to build recommender systems which has gained considerable development and popularity. A predominant approach to CF is rating prediction recommender algorithm, aiming to predict a user's rating for those items which were not rated yet by the user. However, with the increasing number of items and users, thedata is sparse.It is difficult to detectlatent closely relation among the items or users for predicting the user behaviors. In this paper,we enhance the rating prediction approach leading to substantial improvement of prediction accuracy by categorizing according to the genres of movies. Then the probabilities that users are interested in the genres are computed to integrate the prediction of each genre cluster. A novel probabilistic approach based on the sentiment analysis of the user reviews is also proposed to give intuitional explanations of why an item is recommended.To test the novel recommendation approach, a new corpus of user reviews on movies obtained from the Internet Movies Database(IMDB) has been generated. Experimental results show that the proposed framework is effective and achieves a better prediction performance.展开更多
Recommendation systems are going to be an integral part of any E-Business in near future.As in any other E-business,recommendation systems also play a key role in the travel business where the user has to be recommend...Recommendation systems are going to be an integral part of any E-Business in near future.As in any other E-business,recommendation systems also play a key role in the travel business where the user has to be recommended with a restaurant that best suits him.In general,the recommendations to a user are made based on similarity that exists between the intended user and the other users.This similarity can be calculated either based on the similarity between the user profiles or the similarity between the ratings made by the users.First phase of this work concentrates on experimentally analyzing both these models and get a deep insight of these models.With the lessons learned from the insights,second phase of the work concentrates on developing a deep learning model.The model does not depend on the other user's profile or rating made by them.The model is tested with a small restaurant dataset and the model can predict whether a user likes the restaurant or not.The model is trained with different users and their rating.The system learns from it and in order to predict whether a new user likes or not a restaurant that he/she has not visited earlier,all the data the trained model needed is the rating made by the same user for different restaurants.The model is deployed in a cloud environment in order to extend it to be more realistic product in future.Result evaluated with dataset,it achieves 74.6%is accurate prediction of results,where as existing techniques achieves only 64%.展开更多
This paper aims at developing a structural health monitoring(SHM)-based bridge rating method for bridge inspection of long-span cable-supported bridges.The fuzzy based analytic hierarchy approach is employed,and the h...This paper aims at developing a structural health monitoring(SHM)-based bridge rating method for bridge inspection of long-span cable-supported bridges.The fuzzy based analytic hierarchy approach is employed,and the hierarchical structure for synthetic rating of each structural component of the bridge is proposed.The criticality and vulnerability analyses are performed largely based on the field measurement data from the SHM system installed in the bridge to offer relatively accurate condition evaluation of the bridge and to reduce uncertainties involved in the existing rating method.The procedures for determining relative weighs and fuzzy synthetic ratings for both criticality and vulnerability are then suggested.The fuzzy synthetic decisions for inspection are made in consideration of the synthetic ratings of all structural components.The SHM-based bridge rating method is finally applied to the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong as a case study.The results show that the proposed method is feasible and it can be used in practice for longspan cable-supported bridges with SHM system.展开更多
This study investigates the effect of flexible tax enforcement on firms’excess goodwill using unique manually collected data on taxpaying credit rating in China from 2014 to 2021.We document that A-rated taxpayer fir...This study investigates the effect of flexible tax enforcement on firms’excess goodwill using unique manually collected data on taxpaying credit rating in China from 2014 to 2021.We document that A-rated taxpayer firms have less excess goodwill;A-rated firms reduce excess goodwill by 0.005 vis-a-vis non-Arated firms,which accounts for 100%of the mean value of excess goodwill.This finding holds after multiple robustness tests and an endogeneity analysis.Moreover,this negative effect is more pronounced in firms with low information transparency,that are non-state-owned and that are located in regions with low tax enforcement intensity.The channel test results suggest that taxpaying credit rating system as flexible tax enforcement reduces firms’excess goodwill through a reputation-based effect and not a governance-based effect.This study reveals that the taxpaying credit rating system in China as flexible tax enforcement can bring halo effect to A rating firms,thereby limiting irrational M&As and breaking goodwill bubble.展开更多
In this work, a numerical study for designing a new kind of MHD （Magneto-Hydrn-Dynamic） pumps is presented. This technique makes a compromise between electrolysis prevention and high flow rate performance. This tech...In this work, a numerical study for designing a new kind of MHD （Magneto-Hydrn-Dynamic） pumps is presented. This technique makes a compromise between electrolysis prevention and high flow rate performance. This technique should eliminate electrolytic bubble generation, electrodes wear and fluid propriety modification. All these side phenomena are prevented by considering isolated electrodes. The numerical presented results in this paper demonstrate that continuous MHD pumping is possible with isolated electrodes. The MHD excitation combines a high frequency altering current with a low frequency altering magnetic field. In order to validate our results, two independent theoretical methods for computing flow rate are followed. The two presented independent approaches show that high flow rate is possible even with isolated electrodes. To overcome the problem of dimensioning this kind of pumps, a generic numerical analysis is proposed. Hence, the pump performances as functions of the external parameter are studied and tools to calculate for a given fluid and the optimal high frequency regime are provided.展开更多
文摘To begin with, rating systems are a beneficial tool in determining the efficiency of a building’s ability to utilise its resources effectively. In this study, the two elements under comparison are the Building Rating Systems (BRSs) and Occupant Rating Systems (ORSs). The main objective of this paper is to be able to examine the most commonly applied international and national BRS and ORS and, based on that, discover the possibility of developing an integration of both the BRS and ORS into one rating system. Quite simply, a BRS is a method by which buildings are assessed and given a score based on numerous features such as the efficiency of each of the services, total energy consumption, and alternate options of consumption. There are various BRSs that are implemented globally, each with its own set of criteria and specifications. Thus, based on the analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of both types of rating systems, it could be deduced that a well-rounded rating system with all technical and non-technical aspects combined would be beneficial to both the efficiency of the building as well as the building occupants’ health and well-being.
文摘Overpopulation globally is an addressed issue impacting human lives, marine lives, and the surrounding ecosystem;it is adding pressure on the available resources that should be optimized to suit the needs. Yet with improper management of resources and monitoring of daily activities, the environment will be further negatively impacted. With overpopulation higher urbanization rates are noticed with the demand of seeking better health facilities, better education, better jobs and better well-being;this progression is driving more demand into the infrastructure sector to be able to accommodate the growth rates. Hence, the need to having sustainable communities aiming at optimizing the resources used, working towards more feasible, environmentally friendly and cost-effective communities with a better occupant’s experience is in action. Sustainable development goals (SDG) are vital goals developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in 2015 to address and guide through 17 interconnected global goals serving the previously mentioned trend. Out of the 17 goals, Sustainable Cities and Communities (goal #11) and Good Health and Well-Being (goal #3) are the focus of this paper directed towards holding a comparative analysis between the community scale commonly known and mostly used rating system Leadership of Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-Cities and Communities) (USA) versus similar rating systems like Tarsheed-Communities (Egypt) and Estidama-Pearl (UAE) rating systems meeting sustainable development goal #11. Conjointly, another complimenting comparative review of the occupant’s health and wellbeing rating systems, such as Fitwel (USA) and Well (USA) are studied under sustainable development goal #3;however, they are focused on a building scale assessment. Living Community Challenge (LCC, USA) rating system linking community rating system with health & wellbeing credits was first issued in 2006, yet is it not cost effective neither easy to apply acting as a primary step while being affordable, accessible, and easy to implement. The objective of this paper is to highlight the pros and gaps under both categories of studies of community rating system and occupants’ health & wellbeing rating systems based on scientific content and commercial acceptance and do-ability. This comparison is done via comparing credits and sections within each rating system type;this will support in addressing the focal points needed for an integrated rating system between both categories that will serve in meeting SDG Sustainable Cities and Communities (goal #11) and Good Health and Well-Being (goal #3).
文摘Coal mines are continuously seeking to determine the performance of entries with different ground control products and installation methods.There are many factors that impact how an entry will perform which include but are not limited to geology,overburden,bolting type and pattern,and mine design.At the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health(NIOSH),research has been instituted to examine the relationship of the parts of a coal mine entry as a system and not as individual components.To study this relationship,the first step in this study was to create a numeric rating system that accurately reflects visual observations of the mine entry and is easy to implement.NIOSH researchers devised this rating system to improve upon previous ideas,offering increased flexibility which can be incorporated into an overall entry condition that offers different levels of confidence based on the user’s time devoted to the inspection.This new entry rating system was implemented at three different mines over varying periods of time to evaluate the ground response to the geology,bolt installation pattern,stress changes by mining,overburden,and time dependency.
基金Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Research Grant(No.0153B2-A44)
文摘This work details the simulation of tsunami waves generated by seaquakes in the Manila Trench and their effect on fixed oil and gas jacket platforms in waters offshore North Borneo. For this study, a four-leg living quarter jacket platform located in a water depth of 63 m is modelled in SACS v5.3. Malaysia has traditionally been perceived to be safe from the hazards of earthquakes and tsunamis. Local design practices tend to neglect tsunami waves and include no such provisions. In 2004, a 9.3Mw seaquake occurred off the northwest coast of Aceh, which generated tsunami waves that caused destruction in Malaysia totalling US$ 25 million and 68 deaths. This event prompted an awareness of the need to study the reliability of fixed offshore platforms scattered throughout Malaysian waters. In this paper, we present a review of research on the seismicity of the Manila Trench, which is perceived to be high risk for Southeast Asia. From the tsunami numerical model TUNA-M2, we extract computer-simulated tsunami waves at prescribed grid points in the vicinity of the platforms in the region. Using wave heights as input, we simulate the tsunami using SACS v5.3 structural analysis software of offshore platforms, which is widely accepted by the industry. We employ the nonlinear solitary wave theory in our tsunami loading calculations for the platforms, and formulate a platform-specific risk quantification system. We then perform an intensive structural sensitivity analysis and derive a corresponding platform-specific risk rating model.
文摘Baosteel＇s 60000 m^3/h air separation unit （ASU） is the largest oxygen generating system in China. The operational cost of such a giant system is very high. How to reduce the operational cost is a critical issue. This paper discusses the system＇s characteristics,the current operational status and the difficulties in reducing the cost,and analyzes relevant indicators, such as the technical and economical indicators of individual units and systems as well as the indicators concerning the costs. The relationship between the cost and each economical indicator and measures to optimize an economical operation of the oxygen generating system are also discussed in this paper.
文摘Rock mass classification systems are the very important part for underground projects and rock mass rating(RMR) is one of the most commonly applied classification systems in numerous civil and mining projects. The type of rock mass consisting of an interbedding of strong and weak layers poses difficulties and uncertainties for determining the RMR. For this, the present paper uses the concept of rock bolt supporting factor(RSF) for modification of RMR system to be used in such rock mass types. The proposed method also demonstrates the importance of rock bolting practice in such rock masses. The geological parameters of the Shemshak Formation of the Alborz Tunnel in Iran are used as case examples for development of the theoretical approach.
文摘This study investigates the heat and mass transfer mechanism of a marine engifie exhaust-powered adsorption refrigerating system by using irreversible thermodynamics. The equations of entropy-production rate and the linear phenomenological equations of thermodynamic flux and force are established. The conventional experimental facilities of unit tube are developed and the phenomenological coefficients are obtained by fitting the experimental data. It is concluded that the thermodynamic process in the adsorbent bed is determined by the coupling effect of the heat and mass transfer; furthermore, the mass transfer is determined by the heat transfer. Taking some measures to increase heat transfer can improve the performance of the adsorption refrigerating system. The conclusions presented in this paper may be of value to the engineering applications of the system.
文摘Healthcare is one of the core operating sectors all over the world with a designated Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being of the international Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), while three other goals addressed the eradication of causes of healthcare problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the increase of healthcare expenditure to be $2 - $4 Billion USD by the year 2030 as a result of Climate change. As a developing country, Egypt has a fast-growing healthcare sector, which is a good opportunity to direct the sector towards a more sustainable development scheme to reduce the cost of the service, while maintaining a high service level for the patience and reducing the environmental impacts of operation, which are the pillars of sustainable development. The aim of the work presented is to develop sustainability rating system for new and existing healthcare facilities suitable to the Egyptian context that encourages the facilities to operate more sustainably using the concept of cradle-to-cradle resources management. The rating system developed is based on a points system with the awardable levels of achievement: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The points divided among three main categories: Energy, Water and Habitat, and additionally, two general prerequisites are added for the top management commitment towards sustainability and developing an environmental management plan. The system divides the facilities into new and existing, with each type having different awardable points that take into consideration the differences in applicability between the two types of facilities.
文摘The main purpose of this article is to determine the factors affecting credit rating and to develop the credit rating system based on statistical methods, fuzzy logic and artificial neural network. Variables used in this study were determined by the literature review and then the number of them was reduced by using stepwise regression analysis. Resulting variables were used as independent variables in the logistic model and as input variables for ANN and ANFIS model. After evaluating the models and comparing with each other, the ANFIS model was chosen as the best model to forecast credit rating. Rating determination was made for the countries that haven’t had a credit rating. Consequently, the ANFIS model made consistent, reliable and successful rating forecasts for the countries.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos.61573065and 71731002。
文摘The ratings in many user-object online rating systems can reflect whether users like or dislike the objects,and in some online rating systems,users can directly choose whether to like an object.So these systems can be represented by signed bipartite networks,but the original unsigned node evaluation algorithm cannot be directly used on the signed networks.This paper proposes the Signed Page Rank algorithm for signed bipartite networks to evaluate the object and user nodes at the same time.Based on the global information,the nodes can be sorted by the Signed Page Rank values in descending order,and the result is SR Ranking.The authors analyze the characteristics of top and bottom nodes of the real networks and find out that for objects,the SR Ranking can provide a more reasonable ranking which combines the degree and rating of node,and the algorithm also can help us to identify users with specific rating patterns.By discussing the location of negative edges and the sensitivity of object SR Ranking to negative edges,the authors also explore that the negative edges play an important role in the algorithm and explain that why the bad reviews are more important in real networks.
基金supported by the NSF of USA under Grant No.0643532the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.60673183the National Research Foundation for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China under Grant No.20060001044
文摘Recently, online rating systems are gaining popularity. Dealing with unfair ratings in such systems has been recognized as an important but challenging problem. Many unfair rating detection approaches have been developed and evaluated against simple attack models. However, the lack of unfair rating data from real human users and realistic attack behavior models has become an obstacle toward developing reliable rating systems. To solve this problem, we design and launch a rating challenge to collect unfair rating data from real human users. In order to broaden the scope of the data collection, we also develop a comprehensive signai-based unfair rating detection system. Based on the analysis of real attack data, we discover important features in unfair ratings, build models and generator developed in this paper can be directly attack models, and develop an unfair rating generator. The used to test current rating aggregation systems, as well as to assist the design of future rating systems.
文摘There are five different publications that establish guidelines for sustainable building development that are examined in this report:(1)Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(“LEED”);(2)CalGreen;(3)the International Green Construction Code(“IGCC”);(4)ASHRAE Standard 189.1(“Standard 189.1”);and(5)The San Francisco’s Green Building Ordinance(“SFGBO”).Having multiple publications can cause confusion among building developers,architects,engineers,building consultants,or various jurisdictions on what publication to follow,use,or reference in building development projects.This article will provide various parties involved in building development a thorough understanding of each publication and the similarities or differences between them,which will ultimately assist in identifying areas for all publications to improve.Specifically,this article demonstrates that the Material and Energy sections for all the publications must advance beyond the current requirements.Also,the comparison validates that CalGreen’s Tier 2 is similar to LEED’s local ordinances,like the SFGBO.This may mean two things:(1)LEED will need to advance its gold or platinum certification requirements,or potentially become less relevant;or(2)local ordinances should reference or adopt CalGreen Tier 2 so that there is common language between local and state regulations.This article identifies that LEED has the most stringent guidelines under the Building Site section out of all the publications.Likewise,the IGCC and Standard 189.1 have provisions under the Water Use section,that goes beyond other publications.Additionally,similar language between LEED and Standard 189.1 was found,which was unsurprising as both publications are authored by the USGBC.
文摘Low rating reliability has long been the primary concern in school-based oral English achievement tests. In this study, a computer-aided rating system （CARS） was developed to improve inter- and intra-rater reliability through the instantiation of rating criteria, task division and random distribution, on-line training, reliability verification and sound wave ＂reading＂ and ＂writing.＂ A rating experiment was conducted among six raters to compare intra- and inter-rater reliability between traditional rating and rating with CARS. At the end of each round of rating, a conference was held. Both quantitative an~ qualitative analyses show that CARS can significantly improve inter- and intra-rater reliability, mainly through helping raters use criteria more accurately and focus more attention on rating. In addition, the research has also shed light upon further study on improving rating reliability.
文摘Green Building rating systems are the main vehicles for commercial application of ecologically sustainable design for buildings.Using less materials,modular design for deconstruction,long life structure,using recoverable materials are emerging concepts to reduce environmental impacts and increase the resource and economic efficiency of buildings.It has been argued that because of recent emergence of these concepts,Green Building rating systems do not fairly recognise the environmental benefits gained.This paper quantifies the impacts of the building reuse concept on the environment and the Green Building rating system scores and compares this with the energy category.It was found that lifecycle embodied greenhouse gas emission of approximately 20 kg CO_(2)-e/m^(2)/annum could be saved,if 80%of the office building components(structure,façade,wall,floor and roof)were reused in Australia.A second finding was that the current BREEAM 2008 and LEED 2009 tools do not provide fair recognition of the potential lifecycle embodied greenhouse gas emission reduction of building reuse compared to operational greenhouse gas emission reduction.
文摘When attempting to achieve sustainability goals for integrated facilities,many green rating systems are available to guide the design,construction,operations and maintenance of a project.Due to the large number of sustainability tools that are available or mandated,it can be confusing to determine which set of guidelines to follow.For the Washington State Ferries(WSF),there is no green rating system which correlates perfectly with the unique intermodal challenges presented by ferry terminals.This paper focuses on five rating systems applicable to WSF:GreenLITES,LEED,Sustainable Sites Initiative,The Port Authority of NY/NJ Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines(draft),and the draft Marine Vessel Environmental Performance Assessment(MVeP).These rating systems are integrated with a developing set of sustainable ferry guidelines in a green rating integration platform(GRIP).The GRIP readily relates credits and guidelines across multiple systems,aiding WSF in making decisions in accordance with sustainability goals.The GRIP format might similarly be applied to other integrated projects to more effectively and economically address sustainability across all aspects of projects and facility operations.
基金supported in part by National Science Foundation of China under Grants No.61303105 and 61402304the Humanity&Social Science general project of Ministry of Education under Grants No.14YJAZH046+2 种基金the Beijing Natural Science Foundation under Grants No.4154065the Beijing Educational Committee Science and Technology Development Planned under Grants No.KM201410028017Academic Degree Graduate Courses group projects
文摘Collaborative Filtering(CF) is a leading approach to build recommender systems which has gained considerable development and popularity. A predominant approach to CF is rating prediction recommender algorithm, aiming to predict a user's rating for those items which were not rated yet by the user. However, with the increasing number of items and users, thedata is sparse.It is difficult to detectlatent closely relation among the items or users for predicting the user behaviors. In this paper,we enhance the rating prediction approach leading to substantial improvement of prediction accuracy by categorizing according to the genres of movies. Then the probabilities that users are interested in the genres are computed to integrate the prediction of each genre cluster. A novel probabilistic approach based on the sentiment analysis of the user reviews is also proposed to give intuitional explanations of why an item is recommended.To test the novel recommendation approach, a new corpus of user reviews on movies obtained from the Internet Movies Database(IMDB) has been generated. Experimental results show that the proposed framework is effective and achieves a better prediction performance.
文摘Recommendation systems are going to be an integral part of any E-Business in near future.As in any other E-business,recommendation systems also play a key role in the travel business where the user has to be recommended with a restaurant that best suits him.In general,the recommendations to a user are made based on similarity that exists between the intended user and the other users.This similarity can be calculated either based on the similarity between the user profiles or the similarity between the ratings made by the users.First phase of this work concentrates on experimentally analyzing both these models and get a deep insight of these models.With the lessons learned from the insights,second phase of the work concentrates on developing a deep learning model.The model does not depend on the other user's profile or rating made by them.The model is tested with a small restaurant dataset and the model can predict whether a user likes the restaurant or not.The model is trained with different users and their rating.The system learns from it and in order to predict whether a new user likes or not a restaurant that he/she has not visited earlier,all the data the trained model needed is the rating made by the same user for different restaurants.The model is deployed in a cloud environment in order to extend it to be more realistic product in future.Result evaluated with dataset,it achieves 74.6%is accurate prediction of results,where as existing techniques achieves only 64%.
基金The work was financially supported by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University through its niche area program on performance-based structural health monitoring of large civil engineering structuresthe Hong Kong Highways Department through a contract research on bridge health and engineering.
文摘This paper aims at developing a structural health monitoring(SHM)-based bridge rating method for bridge inspection of long-span cable-supported bridges.The fuzzy based analytic hierarchy approach is employed,and the hierarchical structure for synthetic rating of each structural component of the bridge is proposed.The criticality and vulnerability analyses are performed largely based on the field measurement data from the SHM system installed in the bridge to offer relatively accurate condition evaluation of the bridge and to reduce uncertainties involved in the existing rating method.The procedures for determining relative weighs and fuzzy synthetic ratings for both criticality and vulnerability are then suggested.The fuzzy synthetic decisions for inspection are made in consideration of the synthetic ratings of all structural components.The SHM-based bridge rating method is finally applied to the Tsing Ma suspension bridge in Hong Kong as a case study.The results show that the proposed method is feasible and it can be used in practice for longspan cable-supported bridges with SHM system.
基金funded by a grant from the Natural Science Foundation of China(No.71762014)Soft Science Foundation in Gansu(No.23JRZA374).
文摘This study investigates the effect of flexible tax enforcement on firms’excess goodwill using unique manually collected data on taxpaying credit rating in China from 2014 to 2021.We document that A-rated taxpayer firms have less excess goodwill;A-rated firms reduce excess goodwill by 0.005 vis-a-vis non-Arated firms,which accounts for 100%of the mean value of excess goodwill.This finding holds after multiple robustness tests and an endogeneity analysis.Moreover,this negative effect is more pronounced in firms with low information transparency,that are non-state-owned and that are located in regions with low tax enforcement intensity.The channel test results suggest that taxpaying credit rating system as flexible tax enforcement reduces firms’excess goodwill through a reputation-based effect and not a governance-based effect.This study reveals that the taxpaying credit rating system in China as flexible tax enforcement can bring halo effect to A rating firms,thereby limiting irrational M&As and breaking goodwill bubble.
文摘In this work, a numerical study for designing a new kind of MHD （Magneto-Hydrn-Dynamic） pumps is presented. This technique makes a compromise between electrolysis prevention and high flow rate performance. This technique should eliminate electrolytic bubble generation, electrodes wear and fluid propriety modification. All these side phenomena are prevented by considering isolated electrodes. The numerical presented results in this paper demonstrate that continuous MHD pumping is possible with isolated electrodes. The MHD excitation combines a high frequency altering current with a low frequency altering magnetic field. In order to validate our results, two independent theoretical methods for computing flow rate are followed. The two presented independent approaches show that high flow rate is possible even with isolated electrodes. To overcome the problem of dimensioning this kind of pumps, a generic numerical analysis is proposed. Hence, the pump performances as functions of the external parameter are studied and tools to calculate for a given fluid and the optimal high frequency regime are provided.
