Conceptual Model for an Intelligent Persuasive Driver Assistant

Traffic congestion is a serious issue for large cities.  This is especially critical for cities that has insufficient mass transit system like Bangkok.  Although transportation infrastructure projects and rail mass transit lines are being implemented, these efforts require major financial investment and take a long time to complete.  This work proposes to help reduce traffic problems through influencing a change in driver behavior.  In this initial stage, a model for an intelligent persuasive driver assistant is conceptualized as a voice-interactive smart assistant on a smartphone.  The system uses information about the driver, his physical state, vehicle performance information, and geolocation information to form persuasive strategies to influence driver behavior and to adapt user interfaces and interactions to reduce driver distraction.  Integrating these components together is expected to provide improved assistance in driving tasks and affect driving behavior changes. Keywords: intelligent driver assistant, navigation, smart assistant, persuasive technolog

Towards Improving User Interaction with Navigation Apps: an Information Quality Perspective

Traffic congestion is a major problem for large cities, and with the ubiquitous use of smartphones with GPS capabilities, drivers have increasingly come to rely on navigation applications for avoiding traffic congestion and routing to unfamiliar destinations.  However, in certain situations the suggested route may not be what the user expects and could result in perceived delays over known routes, increased stress and frustration for the driver, or even back tracking.  This has created a situation where drivers perceive that the information provided by navigation applications are not completely reliable and do not follow the suggested routes, thereby reducing the overall effectiveness of congestion avoidance. Additionally, drivers also make additional interaction with the navigation applications to verify the believability of the suggestions routes, creating more distraction and reducing on-road safety.  As such, this preliminary work assesses mobility information quality provided by leading navigation applications (Google Maps and Waze) against four dimensions of the PSP/IQ information quality framework to identify areas for improving information quality in three common driving scenarios.  The results indicate that both apps have similar levels of completeness, concise representation, and consistent representation.  And while the relevancy of the information quality is also similar in both apps, Waze’s representation of the some information elements allowed for quicker comparison and decision making. The findings from this work can be used to enhance user interaction and information presentation in navigation applications in order to improve user perceptions of information quality.Keywords: smart mobility information, mobility information quality, congestion avoidanc

Developing and Administering a Nonmetropolitan Teachers Education Program in Northeastern Thailand

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of the rural teachers preparation program in specific curriculum components, field experience and training, and preparation. A secondary purpose is to determine the need for these components and a limited evaluation of other delivery systems for rural teaching in eight nonmetropolitan teachers colleges in Northeast Thailand. The questionnaire of the Rural Education Association (REA) developed by Barbara Jean Jones was employed to collect data from a random sampling of 352 teachers college instructors and administrators and randomly selected 352 elementary school teachers and administrators. Analysis of data from 508 respondents, were analyzed by using the descriptive statistic and t-test, revealed that: (a) the REA model components were available and are essential for teachers preparation program at Thai teachers colleges in the Northeast, (b) public relations and educational technology including computer literacy components should be developed to meet the public need, (c) teachers college faculty members should receive special training for preparing students to teach in a rural environment, (d) teachers colleges should provide a teacher training site in the provinces, (e) teaching in a rural and an urban environment are significantly different, and (f) there is a need for a special preservice training for teaching in a rural environment

Influence of partial replacement of olive oil on frying performance of palm olein

The influence of partial replacement of palm olein (POo) with olive oil (Oo), (25 and 50%, w/w) was investigated during five consecutive days of frying. The results indicated that frying performance of POo was significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by partial replacement with olive oil. The highest change in peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV), totox value (TV), total polar compound (TPC), viscosity and melting point was shown by the control sample; whereas the replacement of 50% (w/w) palm olein with 50% (w/w) olive oil exhibited the least changes in PV, AV, TV, TPC, viscosity and melting point during the frying process. This study suggests that the partial replacement of palm olein containing a high proportion of saturated fatty acids (i.e., palmitic acid) with olive oil containing a high content of monounsaturated fatty acid (i.e., oleic acid) can provide oil blends with higher chemical stability against oxidation. On the other hand, the prepared oil blend remained liquid at ambient temperature, thereby enhancing the physical stability induced by partial replacement with olive oil

Green composites based on wheat gluten matrix and posidonia oceanica waste fibers as reinforcements

[EN] In this work, green composites from renewable resources were manufactured and characterized. A fibrous material derived from Posidonia oceanica wastes with high cellulose content (close to 90 wt% of the total organic component) was used as reinforcing material. The polymeric matrix to bind the fibers was a protein (wheat gluten) type material. Composites were made by hot-press molding by varying the gluten content on composites in the 10¿40 wt% range. Mechanical properties were evaluated by standardized flexural tests. Thermo-mechanical behavior of composites was evaluated with dynamic mechanical analysis (torsion DMA) and determination of heat deflection temperature. Morphology of samples was studied by scanning electronic microscopy and the water uptake in terms of the water submerged time was evaluated to determine the maximum water uptake of the fibers in the composites. Composites with 10¿40 wt% gluten show interesting mechanical performance, similar or even higher to many commodity and technical plastics, such as polypropylene. Water resistance of these composites increases with the amount of gluten. Therefore, the sensitiveness to the water of the composites can be tailored with the amount of gluten in their formulation.The authors would like to acknowledge the Wallenberg and Lars-Erik Thunholms Foundation for the economical support through the concession of a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Forest related. Authors would also like to thank Marcos and Elena for helping in collecting P. oceanica balls.Ferrero Penadés, B.; Boronat Vitoria, T.; Moriana Torró, R.; Fenollar Gimeno, OÁ.; Balart Gimeno, RA. (2013). Green composites based on wheat gluten matrix and posidonia oceanica waste fibers as reinforcements. Polymer Composites. 34(10):1663-1669. doi:10.1002/pc.22567S16631669341

Effects of processing conditions on the quality of vacuum fried cassava chips (Manihot esculenta Crantz)

[EN] Concern for the nutritional quality of chips is growing due to rising consumption, motivating research and development of new snack products that contribute to a lower calorie and fat intake in the diet while retaining their good flavor and facility of consumption. The objective of this study was to investigate the behavior of cassava chips, blanched or unblanched and processed under either atmospheric or vacuum frying conditions, in order to determine the influence of these treatments on mechanical and acoustic parameters, optical properties and oil absorption. Vacuum frying trials (17 kPa) were conducted at 120, 130 and 140 degrees C and compared with frying at atmospheric pressure (101.3 kPa) at 165 degrees C. Pre-blanching brings a considerable improvement in the color of the vacuum-treated samples and less oil absorption. Vacuum frying pre-blanched cassava chips may be an alternative to atmospheric frying since it improves the color of the samples, reduces the oil gain and maintains crispness. The treatment at 130 degrees C under vacuum conditions after pre-blanching achieved the best results. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.García Segovia, P.; Urbano-Ramos, AM.; Fiszman Dal Santo, S.; Martínez Monzó, J. (2016). Effects of processing conditions on the quality of vacuum fried cassava chips (Manihot esculenta Crantz). LWT - FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. 69:515-521. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2016.02.014S5155216

The Development of a Model for a Provincial Science Museum in Thailand to Provide Education in Science and Technology

This study was designed to develop a provincial science museum model for expanding science museums to the provinces in Thailand

Effects of superheated steam on the drying of rubberwood

Rubberwood drying is the most time and energy consuming step in the processing of wood product. This research studied the effect of superheated steam drying on the drying time required and the physical and mechanical properties of rubberwood after drying. In this study, a cylindrical drying chamber with a length of 1.2 m and a diameter of 0.5 m was constructed and injected with superheated steam. The dimensions of the wood lumber were 1 m × 7.62 cm × 2.54 cm. The wood samples were impinged with alternating cycles of superheated steam and hot air at ratios of 6:1, 4:1 and 1:6 hours until the moisture content was less than 15% dry basis. The conditions inside the chamber were 110ºC and ambient pressure. Continuous superheated steam and continuous hot air were also used for comparisons. The drying rate and the temperature profile for each process were determined.Initial acceptability of the dried wood was conducted using the prong test and visual inspection. Results showed that if the drying rate was too fast, the dried wood did not pass the prong test due to stress buildup. Therefore, an optimum drying condition was developed based on minimizing defects and reducing the drying time. For the optimum condition, the following schedule was carried out: (1) saturated steam at 100ºC was used during the first 4 hours of drying to prevent the wood surface from drying too quickly which would minimize the moisture gradient between the center and wood surface, (2) superheated steam at 105ºC and 110ºC was used in alternating cycle with hot air (80ºC) during the main drying stages to rapidly remove the free water and majority of the bound water inside the wood, and (3) hot air was used continuously during the final stages of drying to reduce the relative humidity inside the chamber making it possible for the removal of the residual bound water. This process successfully reduced the drying time to less than 2 days without causing any defects which compared favorably to the conventional hot air drying process of 7-8 days. Moreover, results of the mechanical properties for the optimum condition showed that the shear-parallel-to-grain was 13.46 MPa and the compression strength parallel-to-grain was 37.73 MPa, both of which were higher than the literature values. Thus, using superheated steam in conjunction with hot air presents a substantial saving in operating time and energy consumption compared to the conventional method while retaining the desired mechanical properties of the wood

Simulation of the heat and mass transfer processes during the vacuum frying of potato chips

A fundamental two-dimensional model to predict the heat and mass transfer that occur during the vacuum frying of potato chips was solved using the Finite Element toolbox in MATLAB 6.1. The simulation of the heat transfer process included the convection of heat from the surface to the product, the conduction of heat into the product, and a loss of heat using the heat source term representing evaporation. The mass transfer process was divided into two periods: (1) water loss and (2) oil absorption. The first scenario included a diffusion term and a source term. The source term represented the convection and evaporation of water from the product. For the second period, the diffusion term represented the gradual absorption of oil through capillary diffusion.From the simulation, a good agreement between the experimental data and the predicted values was obtained. From the heat transfer model, the rapid increase in temperature of the product toward the boiling point of water (at the associated pressure) followed by its steady increase toward the temperature of the oil was validated. Furthermore, by separating the rate of moisture loss into two parts to represent the constant rate and falling rate period of drying, the model was able to predict an initial period of rapid moisture loss followed by a decreasing rate of moisture loss. The simulation also demonstrated the formation of the crust and the gradual movement of the crust inward. Finally, using two sets of diffusion coefficients that correlated to the two schemes of moisture loss, the model predicted the rapid flux of oil into the product during the constant drying stage, followed by a small amount of oil absorption into its interior once the crust had been established