• Title/Summary/Keyword: Technical Challenges

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Nuclear Corrosion: Achievements and Challenges

  • Feron, Damien
    • Corrosion Science and Technology
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.113-119
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    • 2016
  • Corrosion science faces new challenges in various nuclear environments. Three main areas may be identified where increases of knowledge and understanding have been done and are still needed to face the technical needs: (i) the extension of the service time of nuclear power plants from 40 years, as initially planned, to 60 years and probably more as expected now, (ii) the prediction of long term behaviour of metallic materials in nuclear waste disposal where the corrosion processes have to be predicted over large periods of time, some thousands years and more, (iii) the choice of materials for use at very high temperatures as expected in Generation IV power plants in environments like gas (helium), supercritical water, liquid metals or salts. Service time extension, deep geological waste repositories and high temperature reactors sustain researches and developments to model corrosion phenomena at various scales, from atoms to components.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Industry-Based Complex Problem-Solving: Sustainable Policy Solutions to the Malaysian Water Crisis

  • Richards, Cameron;Padfield, Rory
    • Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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    • v.5 no.1
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    • pp.55-77
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    • 2016
  • This paper focuses on how an integrated or systemic approach is needed to both investigate and connect different kinds of interdisciplinary inquiry and knowledge within and beyond universities to encourage more productive collaboration with the other three ‘macro stakeholders’ - government, business, and the wider community. In this way universities can and should provide a greater leadership role in sustainability, innovation and policy studies. Such a framework is needed to also help to change the view of many that academics should just play a supporting role of providing specialised technical expertise only to the other macro stakeholders. The interdisciplinary and collaborative framework developed here is applied to the on-going water crisis in Malaysia - an exemplary complex problem-solving basis for seeking sustainable policy solutions to diverse challenges. As further discussed, this was applied also in practice to a multi-stakeholder seminar on addressing the difficult policy challenges of the Malaysian water industry and sector.

Relation between the Help Seeking Behaviors, Self-disclosure and Self-consealment in Female College Women (여대생의 도움추구 행위, 자기개방성 및 자기은폐 간의 관계)

  • PARK, Jeong-Eon;PARK, Euna
    • Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.47-58
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    • 2016
  • The college students were faced with not just technical challenges that require skill acquisition but adaptive challenges that require transforming one's mindset to a more complex way of making meaning. The purpose of this study was confirmed the relations among the help-seeking behavior, self-disclosure and self-concealment of 343 female college students'. As a result of data analysis, positive help seeking attitude was higher when the level of self-concealment was lower and self-disclosure, but regarding help-seeking intention, consultation intention was shown to be higher in the case of lower self-disclosure and higher self-concealment. Therefore, female college students need to visit college consultation centers more often while attending college and it needs to provide those students with mediation so that they can use mental health consultation services easily.

A Survey on Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Image Steganography and Steganalysis

  • Hussain, Israr;Zeng, Jishen;Qin, Xinhong;Tan, Shunquan
    • KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.1228-1248
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    • 2020
  • Steganalysis & steganography have witnessed immense progress over the past few years by the advancement of deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN). In this paper, we analyzed current research states from the latest image steganography and steganalysis frameworks based on deep learning. Our objective is to provide for future researchers the work being done on deep learning-based image steganography & steganalysis and highlights the strengths and weakness of existing up-to-date techniques. The result of this study opens new approaches for upcoming research and may serve as source of hypothesis for further significant research on deep learning-based image steganography and steganalysis. Finally, technical challenges of current methods and several promising directions on deep learning steganography and steganalysis are suggested to illustrate how these challenges can be transferred into prolific future research avenues.

Application of structural health monitoring in civil infrastructure

  • Feng, M.Q.
    • Smart Structures and Systems
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    • v.5 no.4
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    • pp.469-482
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    • 2009
  • The emerging sensor-based structural health monitoring (SHM) technology has a potential for cost-effective maintenance of aging civil infrastructure systems. The author proposes to integrate continuous and global monitoring using on-structure sensors with targeted local non-destructive evaluation (NDE). Significant technical challenges arise, however, from the lack of cost-effective sensors for monitoring spatially large structures, as well as reliable methods for interpreting sensor data into structural health conditions. This paper reviews recent efforts and advances made in addressing these challenges, with example sensor hardware and health monitoring software developed in the author's research center. The hardware includes a novel fiber optic accelerometer, a vision-based displacement sensor, a distributed strain sensor, and a microwave imaging NDE device. The health monitoring software includes a number of system identification methods such as the neural networks, extended Kalman filter, and nonlinear damping identificaiton based on structural dynamic response measurement. These methods have been experimentally validated through seismic shaking table tests of a realistic bridge model and tested in a number of instrumented bridges and buildings.

Bridging the Digital Divide : The Case of Nepal Wireless

  • Pun, Mahabir
    • Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.105-127
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    • 2013
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a vital instrument for delivering a number of services such as education, healthcare and public services. Community wireless networks are community-centric telecommunication infrastructure developed to provide affordable communication for those who live in remote areas. This chapter discusses the role of Nepal Wireless in achieving socio economic development of rural communities by facilitating affordable Internet access. We analyze the challenges Nepal Wireless faced and articulate on the approaches it took to address those challenges such as lack of technical skills, appropriate technology and funding, difficult geographical terrains, unstable political situation, and expensive devices. In addition, we address the success and failure factors of this community-based ICT4D approach in order to guide similar endeavors. We conclude the chapter by some suggestions for policy makers, community developers, and academicians.

Commercialization of Scientific Research Activity Results at Vietnam's Universities: Current Challenges and Solutions

  • Quoc Cuong Nguyen;Hoang Tuan Nguyen
    • International journal of advanced smart convergence
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.135-142
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    • 2023
  • Commercialization of research results plays an important role in the socio-economic development of a country based on science, technology and innovation. However, in recent years, the commercialization of research results by universities in Vietnam remains ineffective because scientists often carry out research on issues they find interesting, and don't listen to enterprises to find out what the latter need. In the other hand, the process of commercializing research results in universities encounters difficulties, including the issue of establishing intellectual property rights the limited quality of research results, and the limited access to capital resources to develop inventions. This paper focuses on analyzing the current challenges of commercialization of research results in universities and propose solutionsto promote commercialization of research results from the universities, suitable to the conditions of Vietnam.

A Survey of Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Healthcare Systems

  • Adwan Alownie Alanazi
    • International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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    • v.23 no.6
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    • pp.155-161
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    • 2023
  • In the process of remarkable progress in the medical and technical field and activating the role of technology in health care services and applications, and since the safety of medical data and its protection from security violations plays a major role in assessing the security of health facilities and the safety of medical servers Thus, it is necessary to know the cyber vulnerabilities in health information systems and other related services to prevent and address them in addition to obtaining the best solutions and practices to reach a high level of cybersecurity against attackers, especially due to the digital transformation of health care systems and the rest of the dealings. This research is about what cyberattacks are and the purpose of them, in addition to the methods of penetration. Then challenges, solutions and some of the security issues will be discussed in general, and a special highlight will be given to obtaining a safe infrastructure to enjoy safe systems in return.

Small Unmanned Aerial System (SUAS) for Automating Concrete Crack Monitoring: Initial Development

  • Kang, Julian;Lho, B.C.;Kim, J.W.;Nam, S.H.
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2015.10a
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    • pp.310-312
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    • 2015
  • Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) have been gaining a special attention in the U.S. recently because it is capable of getting aerial footages conveniently and cost effectively, but also because of its potential threat to the safety of our society. Regarding the benefits, one can easily find successful cases. For example, remote controlled or pre-programmed unmanned aircraft help ranch owners monitor their livestocks or crop harvesting status cost-effectively without having to hire human pilots. The professionals in the construction industry also acknowledge the benefits they could gain from using SUAS. Some firms already use a small unmanned aircraft for monitoring their construction activities, which may help project managers figure out construction progress, resolve disputes in real time, and make proactive decisions for quality control. However, there are many technical challenges that my hinder the use of small unmanned aircraft in the construction industry. This paper explores opportunities and challenges in using unmanned aircraft to monitor concrete cracks on the surface of containment building in the nuclear power plant.

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Creating an e-Benchmarking Model for Authentic Learning: Reflections on the Challenges of an International Virtual Project

  • LEPPISAARI, Irja;HERRINGTON, Jan;IM, Yeonwook;VAINIO, Leena
    • Educational Technology International
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.21-46
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    • 2011
  • International virtual teamwork offers new opportunities for the professional development of teachers. In this paper, we examine the initial experiences in an ongoing international virtual benchmarking project coordinated by the Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences. What challenges does an international context present for project construction and collaboration? Data from five countries, in the form of participant reflections and researchers' observations, were analysed according to four types of barriers: language, time, technical and mental barriers. Initial data indicates that trust is an essential starting point, as there is neither time nor possibilities to build mutual trust by traditional means. Organisational confidentiality issues, however, can complicate the situation. The project introduces 'collision' as a method of professional development, in which physical and organisational borders are crossed and the skills and competencies needed in global learning environments are acquired.