Hasil untuk "Technology (General)"

C. Wannous, German Velásquez

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 was agreed at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan in March 2015 and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in June 2015. The goal of the Sendai Framework is to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk. UNISDR coordinates and ensures synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations system and regional organizations and stakeholders The role of science and technology in providing the evidence and knowledge on risk features prominently in the Sendai Framework. Expanding the interface between science, technology and policy is therefore essential for effective disaster risk reduction. In January 2016, UNISDR hosted the Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework. The main outcome of the conference was the launching of the Science and Technology Partnership and the endorsement of the science and technology roadmap that outlines expected outcomes, actions, and deliverables under each of the four priority actions of the Sendai Framework. Over the last twenty years, the majority of disasters have been caused by floods, storms, heatwaves and other weather-related events. Most of these disasters can cause landslides, which in turn cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage and hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries each year The International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) 2015–2025 and The Sendai Partnerships promotes global understanding and reduction of landslide disaster risk. They will contribute significantly to the implementation of the science and technology roadmap by providing practical solutions and tools, education and capacity building, and communication and public outreach to reduce landslides risks. UNISDR fully supports the work of the Sendai Partnerships and the community of practice on landslides risks

Svein Ølnes, J. Ubacht, M. Janssen

Blockchain refers to a range of general purpose technologies to exchange information and transact digital assets in distributed networks. The core question addressed in this paper is whether blockchain technology will lead to innovation and transformation of governmental processes. To address this question we present a critical assessment of the often exaggerated benefits of blockchain technology found in the literature and discuss their implications for governmental organizations and processes. We plea for a shift from a technology-driven to need-driven approach in which blockchain applications are customized to ensure a fit with requirements of administrative processes and in which the administrative processes are changed to benefit from the technology. Having sound governance models are found to be a condition for realizing benefits. Based on a critical assessment we offer directions for further research into the potential benefits of BC applications in e-government and the role of governance of BC architectures and applications to comply with societal needs and public values.

Eleni Adamopoulou, Lefteris Moussiades

The use of chatbots evolved rapidly in numerous fields in recent years, including Marketing, Supporting Systems, Education, Health Care, Cultural Heritage, and Entertainment. In this paper, we first present a historical overview of the evolution of the international community’s interest in chatbots. Next, we discuss the motivations that drive the use of chatbots, and we clarify chatbots’ usefulness in a variety of areas. Moreover, we highlight the impact of social stereotypes on chatbots design. After clarifying necessary technological concepts, we move on to a chatbot classification based on various criteria, such as the area of knowledge they refer to, the need they serve and others. Furthermore, we present the general architecture of modern chatbots while also mentioning the main platforms for their creation. Our engagement with the subject so far, reassures us of the prospects of chatbots and encourages us to study them in greater extent and depth.

E. Vaportzis, Maria Giatsi Clausen, A. Gow

Background: New technologies provide opportunities for the delivery of broad, flexible interventions with older adults. Focus groups were conducted to: (1) understand older adults' familiarity with, and barriers to, interacting with new technologies and tablets; and (2) utilize user-engagement in refining an intervention protocol. Methods: Eighteen older adults (65–76 years old; 83.3% female) who were novice tablet users participated in discussions about their perceptions of and barriers to interacting with tablets. We conducted three separate focus groups and used a generic qualitative design applying thematic analysis to analyse the data. The focus groups explored attitudes toward tablets and technology in general. We also explored the perceived advantages and disadvantages of using tablets, familiarity with, and barriers to interacting with tablets. In two of the focus groups, participants had previous computing experience (e.g., desktop), while in the other, participants had no previous computing experience. None of the participants had any previous experience with tablet computers. Results: The themes that emerged were related to barriers (i.e., lack of instructions and guidance, lack of knowledge and confidence, health-related barriers, cost); disadvantages and concerns (i.e., too much and too complex technology, feelings of inadequacy, and comparison with younger generations, lack of social interaction and communication, negative features of tablets); advantages (i.e., positive features of tablets, accessing information, willingness to adopt technology); and skepticism about using tablets and technology in general. After brief exposure to tablets, participants emphasized the likelihood of using a tablet in the future. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that most of our participants were eager to adopt new technology and willing to learn using a tablet. However, they voiced apprehension about lack of, or lack of clarity in, instructions and support. Understanding older adults' perceptions of technology is important to assist with introducing it to this population and maximize the potential of technology to facilitate independent living.

T. Zander, C. Kothe

Tingzhu Wu, C. Sher, Yue Lin et al.

Displays based on inorganic light-emitting diodes (LED) are considered as the most promising one among the display technologies for the next-generation. The chip for LED display bears similar features to those currently in use for general lighting, but it size is shrunk to below 200 microns. Thus, the advantages of high efficiency and long life span of conventional LED chips are inherited by miniaturized ones. As the size gets smaller, the resolution enhances, but at the expense of elevating the complexity of fabrication. In this review, we introduce two sorts of inorganic LED displays, namely relatively large and small varieties. The mini-LEDs with chip sizes ranging from 100 to 200 μm have already been commercialized for backlight sources in consumer electronics applications. The realized local diming can greatly improve the contrast ratio at relatively low energy consumptions. The micro-LEDs with chip size less than 100 μm, still remain in the laboratory. The full-color solution, one of the key technologies along with its three main components, red, green, and blue chips, as well color conversion, and optical lens synthesis, are introduced in detail. Moreover, this review provides an account for contemporary technologies as well as a clear view of inorganic and miniaturized LED displays for the display community.

Brian S. Peters, P. Armijo, Crystal Krause et al.

J. Eaton, Samuel Kortum

Kieran Mathieson

S. Qin, T. A. Badgwell

B. Wixom, P. Todd

Chrysi Rapanta, L. Botturi, P. Goodyear et al.

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for rethinking assumptions about education in general and higher education in particular. In the light of the general crisis the pandemic caused, especially when it comes to the so-called emergency remote teaching (ERT), educators from all grades and contexts experienced the necessity of rethinking their roles, the ways of supporting the students’ learning tasks and the image of students as self-organising learners, active citizens and autonomous social agents. In our first Postdigital Science and Education paper, we sought to distil and share some expert advice for campus-based university teachers to adapt to online teaching and learning. In this sequel paper, we ask ourselves: Now that campus-based university teachers have experienced the unplanned and forced version of Online Learning and Teaching (OLT), how can this experience help bridge the gap between online and in-person teaching in the following years? The four experts, also co-authors of this paper, interviewed aligning towards an emphasis on pedagogisation rather than digitalisation of higher education, with strategic decision-making being in the heart of post-pandemic practices. Our literature review of papers published in the last year and analysis of the expert answers reveal that the ‘forced’ experience of teaching with digital technologies as part of ERT can gradually give place to a harmonious integration of physical and digital tools and methods for the sake of more active, flexible and meaningful learning.

Anshul Awasthi, A. Shukla, Murali Manohar S.R. et al.

Abstract Solar energy is vast, abundant, cost free, green renewable source of energy. Due to the aforementioned qualities, the world is today researching and exploring the most feasibly optimized way of harnessing this energy and solar tracking system is a result of this quest. This paper begins with a brief introduction to the solar PV cells and the materials used in their construction. It also discusses the types of solar PV systems and types of solar tracking systems. It mainly focuses on the design and performance analysis of the various dual-axis tracking solar systems proposed in recent years. Although the choice on the use of trackers mainly depends upon the physical features of the land but in general this system has proved to be more efficient and advantageous than its single-axis and fixed counterparts.

Jonggeol Na, Bora Seo, Jeongnam Kim et al.

Electrochemical processes coupling carbon dioxide reduction reactions with organic oxidation reactions are promising techniques for producing clean chemicals and utilizing renewable energy. However, assessments of the economics of the coupling technology remain questionable due to diverse product combinations and significant process design variability. Here, we report a technoeconomic analysis of electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction–organic oxidation reaction coproduction via conceptual process design and thereby propose potential economic combinations. We first develop a fully automated process synthesis framework to guide process simulations, which are then employed to predict the levelized costs of chemicals. We then identify the global sensitivity of current density, Faraday efficiency, and overpotential across 295 electrochemical coproduction processes to both understand and predict the levelized costs of chemicals at various technology levels. The analysis highlights the promise that coupling the carbon dioxide reduction reaction with the value-added organic oxidation reaction can secure significant economic feasibility. Coupling of carbon dioxide reduction and organic oxidation is promising for sustainable chemicals production; however, economics are impacted by variations in product combinations and process design. Here the authors report technoeconomic analysis for a range of technologies and coproduction processes.

A. Slavov

The milk processing industry is one of the world's staple industries, thus the treatment possibilities of dairy effluents have been attracting more and more attention. The purpose of the paper is to review contemporary research on dairy wastewater. The origin, categories, as well as liquid by-products and general indicators of real dairy wastewater are described. Different procedures applied for dairy wastewater management are summarised. Attention is focused on in-factory treatment technologies with the emphasis on biological processes. Aerobic and anaerobic methods with both their advantages and disadvantages are discussed in detail. Consecutive anaerobic and aerobic systems are analysed, too. Finally, future research niches are identified.

J. Helsen, I. Roth, E. Onorati et al.

Yixian Chen, Sofie De Geeter, Jean Poesen et al.

Gully formation is a significant driver of soil erosion and land degradation worldwide and often leads to important downstream impacts. Nonetheless, our understanding of the global patterns and the factors controlling this process remains limited. Here, we present the first global assessment of gully density's spatial patterns. Using mapped observations from over 17,000 representative study sites worldwide, we trained random forest models that simulate both the susceptibility to gullying at a 1 km2 resolution and the corresponding gully head density (GHD). Through an interpretable machine learning framework, we demonstrate that global GHD patterns result from a combination of environmental factors with non-linear interactions, leading to significant regional variations in the dominant factors controlling GHD. We distinguish between gully hotspots driven primarily by natural factors such as topography, geomorphology, tectonics, pedology or climate and those where land use and land cover play a dominant role. Based on these insights, we identified critical global areas of gully erosion, i.e., hotspots where gully occurrence is likely highly sensitive to anthropogenic drivers. These include the Chinese Loess Plateau, the Ethiopian Highlands, and large parts of the Mediterranean and Sahel regions. Also desert regions are often characterized by high GHDs. However, in these cases, their occurrence is mainly driven by natural factors. The insights we provide are valuable to inform land management and targeted erosion mitigation strategies.

C. Blease, T. Kaptchuk, Michael H Bernstein et al.

Background The potential for machine learning to disrupt the medical profession is the subject of ongoing debate within biomedical informatics and related fields. Objective This study aimed to explore general practitioners’ (GPs’) opinions about the potential impact of future technology on key tasks in primary care. Methods In June 2018, we conducted a Web-based survey of 720 UK GPs’ opinions about the likelihood of future technology to fully replace GPs in performing 6 key primary care tasks, and, if respondents considered replacement for a particular task likely, to estimate how soon the technological capacity might emerge. This study involved qualitative descriptive analysis of written responses (“comments”) to an open-ended question in the survey. Results Comments were classified into 3 major categories in relation to primary care: (1) limitations of future technology, (2) potential benefits of future technology, and (3) social and ethical concerns. Perceived limitations included the beliefs that communication and empathy are exclusively human competencies; many GPs also considered clinical reasoning and the ability to provide value-based care as necessitating physicians’ judgments. Perceived benefits of technology included expectations about improved efficiencies, in particular with respect to the reduction of administrative burdens on physicians. Social and ethical concerns encompassed multiple, divergent themes including the need to train more doctors to overcome workforce shortfalls and misgivings about the acceptability of future technology to patients. However, some GPs believed that the failure to adopt technological innovations could incur harms to both patients and physicians. Conclusions This study presents timely information on physicians’ views about the scope of artificial intelligence (AI) in primary care. Overwhelmingly, GPs considered the potential of AI to be limited. These views differ from the predictions of biomedical informaticians. More extensive, stand-alone qualitative work would provide a more in-depth understanding of GPs’ views.

Yong Wang, Hongwen He, Yuankai Wu et al.

An effective energy management strategy (EMS) is essential to optimize the energy efficiency of electric vehicles (EVs). With the advent of advanced machine learning techniques, the focus on developing sophisticated EMS for EVs is increasing. Here, we introduce LearningEMS: a unified framework and open-source benchmark designed to facilitate rapid development and assessment of EMS. LearningEMS is distinguished by its ability to support a variety of EV configurations, including hybrid EVs, fuel cell EVs, and plug-in EVs, offering a general platform for the development of EMS. The framework enables detailed comparisons of several EMS algorithms, encompassing imitation learning, deep reinforcement learning (RL), offline RL, model predictive control, and dynamic programming. We rigorously evaluated these algorithms across multiple perspectives: energy efficiency, consistency, adaptability, and practicability. Furthermore, we discuss state, reward, and action settings for RL in EV energy management, introduce a policy extraction and reconstruction method for learning-based EMS deployment, and conduct hardware-in-the-loop experiments. In summary, we offer a unified and comprehensive framework that comes with three distinct EV platforms, over 10  000 km of EMS policy data set, ten state-of-the-art algorithms, and over 160 benchmark tasks, along with three learning libraries. Its flexible design allows easy expansion for additional tasks and applications. The open-source algorithms, models, data sets, and deployment processes foster additional research and innovation in EV and broader engineering domains.

Janine Wesslowski, Sadia Safi, Michelle Rottmann et al.

Upon engagement of one of the nineteen secreted Wnt signaling proteins with one of the ten Frizzled transmembrane Wnt receptors (FZD_1–10), a wide variety of cellular Wnt signaling responses can be elicited, the selectivity of which depends on the following: (1) the specific Wnt-FZD pairing, (2) the participation of Wnt co-receptors and (3) the cellular context. Co-receptors play a pivotal role in guiding the specificity of Wnt signaling, most notably between β-catenin-dependent and -independent pathways, where co-receptors such as LRP5/6 and ROR1/2/PTK7 play major roles, respectively. It remains less understood how specific Wnt/FZD combinations contribute to the selectivity of downstream Wnt signaling, and we lack accurate comparative data on their binding properties under physiological conditions. Here, using fluorescently tagged Wnt3a, Wnt5a and Wnt16 proteins and cell lines expressing HiBiT-tagged Frizzled, we build on our ongoing efforts to provide a complete overview of the biophysical properties of all Wnt/FZD interactions using full-length proteins. Our real-time NanoBRET analysis using living cells expressing low receptor levels provides more accurate quantification of binding and will help us understand how these binary engagements control Wnt signaling outputs. We also provide evidence that LRP6 regulates the binding affinity of Wnt/FZD interactions in the trimeric Wnt-FZD-LRP6 complex.