Sustainability of Olive Oil System

Sustainability, defined as ‘meeting current needs without compromising the future’, is a widely accepted goal across many sectors of society. Sustainability’s criteria and indicators often only regard sustaining present conditions through increased resilience, intended as a system’s capacity to experience shocks while retaining essentially the same functions and structures. However, new sustainability concepts, sometimes referred to as “sustainagility”, also consider the properties and assets of a system that sustains the ability (agility) of agents to adapt and meet their needs in new ways, preparing for future unpredictability and unforeseen changes. Therefore, resilience must coexist with adaptive capacity for real, long-term sustainability. Consumers are paying increasing attention to the sustainability of the food supply chain; thus, sustainable development is necessary for all food processes. Since the olive oil sector has a well-established historical tradition, any change and innovation that aims to obtain a sustainable development not only needs to be analyzed in terms of environmental, economic, and social aspects, it should also be significantly improved and closely monitored. Thus, this Special Issue is a collection of papers that can increase sustainability knowledge in the olive-oil-processing chain, to take a significant step forward in future developments

The development and implementation of e-health services for the Libyan NHS: case studies of hospitals and clinics in both urban and rural areas

This thesis provides an assessment of the readiness levels within both urban and rural hospitals and clinics in Libya for the implementation of E-health systems. This then enabled the construction of a framework for E-health implementation in the Libyan National Health Service (LNHS). The E-health readiness study assessed how medications were prescribed, how patients were referred, how information communication technology (ICT) was utilised in recording patient records, how healthcare staff were trained to use ICT, and how the ways in which consultations were carried out by healthcare staff. The research was done in five rural clinics and five urban medical centres and focused on the E-health readiness levels of the technology, social attitudes, engagement levels and any other needs that were apparent. Collection of the data was carried out using a mixed methods approach with qualitative interviews and quantitative questionnaires. The study indicated that any IT equipment present was not being utilised for clinical purposes and there was no evidence of any E-health technologies being employed. This implies that the maturity level of the healthcare institutions studied was at level zero in the E-health maturity model used in this thesis. In order for the LNHS to raise its maturity levels for the implementation of E-health systems, it needs to persuade LNHS staff and patients to adopt E-health systems. This can be carried out at a local level throughout the LNHS, though this will need to be coordinated at a national level through training, education and programmes to encourage compliance and providing incentives. In order to move E-health technology usage in the participating Libyan healthcare institutions from Level 0 to Level 2 in the E-health Maturity Model levels, an E-health framework was created that is based on the findings of this research study. The primary aim of the LNHS E-Health Framework is the integration of E-health services for improving the delivery of healthcare within the LNHS. To construct the framework and ensure that it was creditable and applicable, work on it was informed directly by the findings from document analysis, literature review, and expert feedback, in conjunction with the primary research findings presented in Chapter Five. When the LNHS E-Health Framework was compiled there were several things taken into consideration, such as: the abilities of healthcare staff, the needs of healthcare institutions and the existing ICT infrastructure that had been recorded in the E-readiness assessment which was carried out in the healthcare institutions (Chapter 5). The framework also provides proposals for E-health systems based on the infrastructure network that will be developed. The processes addressed are electronic health records, E-consultations, E-prescriptions, E-referrals and E-training. The researcher has received very positive, even enthusiastic, feedback from the LNHS and other officals, and that expect the framework to be further developed and implemented by the LNHS in the near future

Bioinspired metaheuristic algorithms for global optimization

This paper presents concise comparison study of newly developed bioinspired algorithms for global optimization problems. Three different metaheuristic techniques, namely Accelerated Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO), Firefly Algorithm (FA), and Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) are investigated and implemented in Matlab environment. These methods are compared on four unimodal and multimodal nonlinear functions in order to find global optimum values. Computational results indicate that GWO outperforms other intelligent techniques, and that all aforementioned algorithms can be successfully used for optimization of continuous functions

Experimental Evaluation of Growing and Pruning Hyper Basis Function Neural Networks Trained with Extended Information Filter

In this paper we test Extended Information Filter (EIF) for sequential training of Hyper Basis Function Neural Networks with growing and pruning ability (HBF-GP). The HBF neuron allows different scaling of input dimensions to provide better generalization property when dealing with complex nonlinear problems in engineering practice. The main intuition behind HBF is in generalization of Gaussian type of neuron that applies Mahalanobis-like distance as a distance metrics between input training sample and prototype vector. We exploit concept of neuron’s significance and allow growing and pruning of HBF neurons during sequential learning process. From engineer’s perspective, EIF is attractive for training of neural networks because it allows a designer to have scarce initial knowledge of the system/problem. Extensive experimental study shows that HBF neural network trained with EIF achieves same prediction error and compactness of network topology when compared to EKF, but without the need to know initial state uncertainty, which is its main advantage over EKF

New Research and Trends in Higher Education

This book aims to discuss new research and trends on all dimensions of Higher Education, as there is a growing interest in the field of Higher Education, regarding new methodologies, contexts, and technologies. It includes investigations of diverse issues that affect the learning processes in Higher Education: innovations in learning, new pedagogical methods, and new learning contexts.In this sense, original research contributions of research papers, case studies and demonstrations that present original scientific results, methodological aspects, concepts and educational technologies, on the following topics:a) Technological Developments in Higher Education: mobile technology, virtual environments, augmented reality, automation and robotics, and other tools for universal learning, focusing on issues that are not addressed by existing research;b) Digital Higher Education: mobile learning, eLearning, Game-based Learning, social media in education, new learning models and technologies and wearable technologies for education;c) Case Studies in Higher Education: empirical studies in higher education regarding digital technologies, new methodologies, new evaluation techniques and tools, perceptions of learning processes efficiency and digital learning best practice

Expanding the possibilities of translation memory systems : from the translators wishlist to the developers design

Imperial Users onl

UNSTABLE TERRITORIES OF REPRESENTATION: Architectural Experience and the Behaviour of Forms, Spaces and the Collective Dynamic Environment

This thesis applies an interdisciplinary cybernetic and phenomenological analysis to contemporary theories of representation and interpretation of architecture, resulting in a speculative theoretical model of architectural experience as a behavioural system. The methodological model adopted for this research defines the main structure of the thesis where the narrative and the contributing parts of its complexity emerge. The narrative is presented through objectives and hypotheses that shift and slide between architectural representation and its experience based on three key internal components in architecture: the architectural forms and spaces, the active observers that interact with their environment, and finally, the responsive environment. Three interrelated research questions are considered. The first seeks to define the influence of the theoretical instability between complex life processes, emerging technologies and active perception upon architecture. The second questions the way in which the architectural experience is generated. The third asks: Does architecture behave? And if so, is it possible to define its behavioural characteristics related to its representation, experience and the medium of communication in-between? The thesis begins by exploring the effect of developments in digitally interactive, biological, and hybrid technologies on representation in architecture. An account of architectural examples considers the shift in the meaning of representation in architecture from the actual and literal to the more conceptual and experimental, from the individual human body and its relations to the multifaceted ecosystem of collective and connected cultures. The writings of Kester Rattenbury, Neil Leach, and Peter Cook among others contribute to the transformation of the ordinary perceptual experience of architecture, the development of experimental practices in architectural theory, and the dynamism of our perception. The thesis goes on to suggest that instability in architectural representation does not only depend on the internal components of the architectural system but also on the principles and processes of complex systems as well as changes in active perception and our consciousness that act as the external influences on the system. Established theoretical endeavours in biology of D’Arcy Thompson, Alan Turing, and John Holland and philosophies of Merleau-Ponty, Richard Gregory, and Deleuze and Guattari are discussed in this context. Pre-programmed and computational models, illustrative and generative, are presented throughout the thesis. In the final stage of the development of the thesis architecture is analysed as a system. This is not an unprecedented notion, however defining the main elements and components of this system and their interactions and thereafter identifying that the system behaves and defining its behavioural characteristics, adds to the knowledge in the field of theoretical and experimental architecture. This thesis considers the behavioural characteristics of architecture to be derived from the hypothetical links and unstable thresholds of its non-dualistic notions of materiality and immateriality, reality and virtuality, and finally, intentionality and interpretation

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRIVATELY MANAGED MARINE RESERVES IN SUSTAINING NEARSHORE FISHERIES IN THE TROPICAL COASTAL ZONE

There is an emergent need to increase protection of nearshore resources from a growing human population, which is deteriorating coral reef ecosystems through coastal development, overfishing and destructive fishing practices. A possible solution involves increasing the number of smaller Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), creating a network of reserves with greater fisheries potential, while locally remaining small enough not to overly impinge on fishers available fishing grounds. Coral reefs are often found in developing countries, where governments financially struggle to establish successfully managed MPAs. A growing number of Hotel Managed Marine Reserves (HMMRs) have partly therefore, recently been established. Hotels arguably often have adequate funding, resources, and incentive to protect adjacent coastal areas - an HMMR could allow hotels to establish a market niche for a growing environmentally aware tourist. The principals of an Ecosystem-based Management (EBM) approach was adopted to test protection potential of an HMMR in Vietnam (Whale Island Resort: WIR) from a biological and socioeconomic point of view. Biannual visual fish census surveys (October 2005-April 2007) were conducted at the two marine reserves adjacent to WIR. The 6-year protected Whale Island Bay Reserve (WIB: 11 ha) showed significantly higher fish densities, richness, average size and number of fish >15 cm compared with two unprotected control sites. Fish stocks at the second, newer reserve, Whale Island Bay Peninsula Reserve (WIBP: 5 ha), quickly increased following protection. Fish assemblages at the 5 Artificial Reefs (ARs), made from clay pots (AR areas: 4.2-14.9 m^) in WIB, were greater than adjacent area-equivalent Natural Reefs (NRs) (11.15 greater biomass). showing larger fish assemblages with increasing AR size, adding to local fish stocks enhancement. Surveys were conducted with local fishermen to gauge socioeconomic impacts and management performance of the HMMRs. Fishermen mainly dependent on beach seining mostly opposed the HMMRs, while fishermen using other fishing techniques were generally in favour of the HMMRs, welcoming more protection and confirming spillover of fish, including large food fishes. In a Willingness to Pay (WTP) survey (n=211). 97.5 % of tourists at WIR supported HMMRs and 86.3 % were willing to pay an extra 10 % of the average room rate to stay at such hotels. In a worldwide survey of existing HMMRs, protecting areas from 1-700 ha (average 110 ha +/-13.22 SE), the average management rating attained was high (Good - HMMR is enforced). The accumulated findings from WIR and HMMRs globally, support the great potential of HMMRs as an added tool to protecting a part of our nearshore natural resources