Search results for "CEP"

Conceptual Key Competency Model for Smart Factories in Production Processes

2020

Abstract Background and Purpose: The aim of the study is to develop a conceptual key competency model for smart factories in production processes, focused on the automotive industry, as innovation and continuous development in this industry are at the forefront and represent the key to its long-term success. Methodology: For the purpose of the research, we used a semi-structured interview as a method of data collection. Participants were segmented into three homogeneous groups, which are industry experts, university professors and secondary education teachers, and government experts. In order to analyse the qualitative data, we used the method of content analysis. Results: Based on the anal…

Adjusted bat algorithm for tuning of support vector machine parameters

2016

Support vector machines are powerful and often used technique of supervised learning applied to classification. Quality of the constructed classifier can be improved by appropriate selection of the learning parameters. These parameters are often tuned using grid search with relatively large step. This optimization process can be done computationally more efficiently and more precisely using stochastic search metaheuristics. In this paper we propose adjusted bat algorithm for support vector machines parameter optimization and show that compared to the grid search it leads to a better classifier. We tested our approach on standard set of benchmark data sets from UCI machine learning repositor…

Me, My Bot and His Other (Robot) Woman? Keeping Your Robot Satisfied in the Age of Artificial Emotion

2018

With a backdrop of action and science fiction movie horrors of the dystopian relationship between humans and robots, surprisingly to date-with the exception of ethical discussions-the relationship aspect of humans and sex robots has seemed relatively unproblematic. The attraction to sex robots perhaps is the promise of unproblematic affectionate and sexual interactions, without the need to consider the other&rsquo

2019

Final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from nuclear power plants (NPPs) is an ethical issue with implications within and across generations. We address this issue from the perspective of nuclear communities that host nuclear waste disposal sites. These are primarily the communities that face injustice due to the potential radiological risks. A resident survey (n = 454) was conducted in two Finnish nuclear communities, i.e. Eurajoki and Pyhajoki, that are being considered as alternative sites for a second repository for SNF. The nuclear waste management (NWM) company Posiva is already building a repository in Eurajoki, the first in Finland. These communities are in different stages of th…

Safety regulations : implications of the new risk perspectives

2016

Abstract The current safety regulations for industrial activities are to a large extent functionally oriented and risk-based (informed), expressing what to achieve rather than the means and solutions needed. They are founded on a probability-based perspective on risk, with the use of risk assessment, risk acceptance criteria and tolerability limits. In recent years several risk researchers have argued for the adoption of some new types of risk perspectives which highlight uncertainties rather than probabilities in the way risk is defined, the point being to better reflect the knowledge, and lack of knowledge, dimension of risk. The Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority has recently implement…

On the Influence of Affect in EEG-Based Subject Identification

2021

Biometric signals have been extensively used for user identification and authentication due to their inherent characteristics that are unique to each person. The variation exhibited between the brain signals (EEG) of different people makes such signals especially suitable for biometric user identification. However, the characteristics of these signals are also influenced by the user’s current condition, including his/her affective state. In this paper, we analyze the significance of the affect-related component of brain signals within the subject identification context. Consistent results are obtained across three different public datasets, suggesting that the dominant component of the sign…

‘Less Stale, Only Slightly Less Male, but Overwhelmingly Less Pale’: the 2015 New Conservative Brexiters in the House of Commons

2019

AbstractThis article will study the new face of Conservative Euroscepticism in the House of Commons, with a special focus on the 2015 intake of MPs who were supposedly ‘less stale, male and pale’ and their attitudes to the British referendum on the EU. In this respect, this article will also take a specific interest in new Conservative Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) MPs who turned out to be more active on the ‘leave’ side of the referendum campaign, thus serving as a showcase for the party's strategy of ‘decontaminating’ the Brexit brand and its hyperglobalist geopolitical perspective.

Exploring relationships between grid cell size and accuracy for debris-flow susceptibility models: a test in the Giampilieri catchment (Sicily, Italy)

2016

Debris flows are among the most hazardous phenomena in nature, requiring the preparation of suscep- tibility models in order to cope with this severe threat. The aim of this research was to verify whether a grid cell-based susceptibility model was capable of predicting the debris- flow initiation sites in the Giampilieri catchment (10 km2), which was hit by a storm on the 1st October 2009, resulting in more than one thousand landslides. This kind of event is to be considered as recurrent in the area as attested by historical data. Therefore, predictive models have been prepared by using forward stepwise binary logistic regression (BLR), a landslide inventory and a set of geo- environmental …

The role of social perception in disaster risk reduction: Beliefs, perception, and attitudes regarding flood disasters in communities along the Volta…

2017

Abstract People's perceptions of natural, spiritual, and social phenomena are socially constructed. Social perception is important because it helps people to make sense of the physical and social world and therein interact with it. Earlier research specializing in the study of human behaviour has emphasized a linkage between people's perceptions and their behaviour. In this article, the authors employ a similar theory with the intent of proposing a theoretical framework that examines the factors that influence people's perception and attitude (mitigation and response) towards the hazards they face. This discussion is done on the premise of “culture”, “experiences” and “disaster risk reducti…

Helices of disaster memory: How forgetting and remembering influence tropical cyclone response in Mauritius

2020

Abstract Tropical cyclones have had a considerable impact on Mauritius. Large cyclones are relatively rare, and in popular imagination are thought to hit Mauritius every 15 years. Yet it has been over 25 years since the last cyclone widely considered as ‘significant’. Critically, there is little known about the role of memory in responses to cyclones and details regarding responses to past cyclones in Mauritian history are scant. This article examines past experiences and impacts of cyclones in Mauritius, as well as contemporary perceptions of cyclone vulnerability and memories of historical cyclones. The analysis draws on both community interviews and archival research conducted in Mauriti…