Search results

Focussing on the event “Tlemcen Capital of Islamic Culture 2011”, the purpose of this paper is to examine the changing perception of the city’s image, assess its durability and determine its relationship with the development of sustainable cultural tourism.

This research is tested by an empirical study that combines a qualitative and a quantitative approach. The qualitative study is based on semi-directive interviews, whereas quantitative study is based on statistics from the Wilaya Tourism Department.

The results of this study indicate first of all that the perception of the city’s image by the inhabitants is not static and that it follows the same process of evolution of the perception of the image by tourists but in relation to other factors such as awareness and age. The second result shows that the sustainability of the image must be verified both inside and outside to achieve sustainable cultural tourism.

This study is in line with previous research with another point of view on the city’s image and another case study which is the historical city of Tlemcen. It serves to examine the evolution of the perception of the city’s image produced by the event and to assess its sustainability.

Ensemble methods have been widely used in the field of pattern recognition due to the difficulty of finding a single classifier that performs well on a wide variety of problems. Despite the effectiveness of these techniques, studies have shown that ensemble methods generate a large number of hypotheses and that contain redundant classifiers in most cases. Several works proposed in the state of the art attempt to reduce all hypotheses without affecting performance.

In this work, the authors are proposing a pruning method that takes into consideration the correlation between classifiers/classes and each classifier with the rest of the set. The authors have used the random forest algorithm as trees-based ensemble classifiers and the pruning was made by a technique inspired by the CFS (correlation feature selection) algorithm.

The proposed method CES (correlation-based Ensemble Selection) was evaluated on ten datasets from the UCI machine learning repository, and the performances were compared to six ensemble pruning techniques. The results showed that our proposed pruning method selects a small ensemble in a smaller amount of time while improving classification rates compared to the state-of-the-art methods.

CES is a new ordering-based method that uses the CFS algorithm. CES selects, in a short time, a small sub-ensemble that outperforms results obtained from the whole forest and the other state-of-the-art techniques used in this study.

This study aims to examine the awareness of the inhabitants regarding energy consumption in relation to comfort in Tlemcen and analyze the paths of influence and the effects of individual objective and subjective characteristic factors. This determines the factors' level of perception of the importance of energy retrofitting.

As part of an exploratory empirical study, this paper further discusses accompanied survey data from a sample of 208 properties, through a triangulation of in-depth qualitative studies and quantitative studies developed and analyzed by SPSS software (the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences).

Analysis of the results of the survey shows that the respondents have a level of awareness on comfort linked to energy savings but they lack guidance and recourse to specialists. The conclusion is that resident awareness is crucial and beneficial and that the key socio-demographic characteristics to determine the perception factors are related to age, occupation, household size and time lived in the house.

By exploring some of the key insights from the survey, this research improves residents' perception of the importance of energy retrofitting in the residential sector, highlighting the importance of priorities. This influences public attitudes and contributes to raising awareness in order to provide useful results for developing, in future studies, motivational strategies for these inhabitants. The present research is expected to add value to existing studies academically and methodologically and provide policy guidance to policy makers and other energy efficiency (EE) practitioners in the Maghreb region and beyond.

The preservation of historic urban centres prevents anarchic development of the city and ensures a harmonious evolution of the urban form. It also improves the quality of life in the context of climate and environmental change. Morphological and geometric indicators of the urban fabric are key parameters in the formation of external microclimates. They provide a positive effect on the thermal comfort of pedestrians. The objective of this work is to study the impact of the site morphology on the external microclimate and to understand the relationship between the subjective perception and the objective quantification of the thermal environment. The result of this study has allowed us to propose solutions for the creation of a microclimate favourable to the appropriation of outdoor spaces. The authors finally propose guidelines for the design and rehabilitation of the historic site based on the establishment of links between the site's configuration, microclimatic conditions and users' perceptions.

Part of this study included the analysis of the microclimate of the historic “Bab El Hadid” district of the City of Tlemcen, by developing a questionnaire survey and a numerical simulation validated by measurements of the microclimate the authors made on site. To complete this task, the authors applied the Envi-met 4.1 model during the coldest month of the winter and the hottest month of the summer. Urban parameters are represented at different measurement points characterised by a variability of the sky view factor (SVF).

The results presented in terms of average expected the predicted mean vote (PMV) voting, solar access and air temperature. They show that thermal conditions are directly related to the SVF, the height/width ratio (H/L) of streets as well as the orientation of urban canyons. The points located in the streets facing North–South, present an acceptable performance. Streets shaded by trees with a canyon aspect ratio of between 1.18 and 1.70 reduce heat stress in outdoor spaces. The PMV models discussed provide information on the most appropriate locations for pedestrians. The authors have proposed urban orientations that could limit unfavourable conditions in outdoor spaces. They are useful for architects and urban planners in the design and rehabilitation of historic centres.

In Tlemcen, the microclimate is not taken into account in the design and rehabilitation of urban fabrics. For this specific purpose, the authors want to stress in the research the importance of safeguarding urban heritage through the renewal of the old city and the bioclimatic rehabilitation of its urban spaces.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze energy performance of the multi-storey buildings built in the city of Tlemcen between 1872 and 2016.

A diagnosis based on a bottom-up methodology, using statistical techniques and engineering, has been developed and applied. To do this, demand condition analysis was conducted using a data collection survey on a sample of 100 case studies. Physical characteristics of the buildings have been determined through the archetype by period. This serves to define the strengths and weaknesses of buildings as energy consumers.

The obtained results showed that dwellings built between 1872 and 1920 offer better energy performance with a consumption index close to 130kWh/m²/year and this compared to the five periods considered. For dwellings built between 1974 and 1989, energy consumption is higher with an index approaching 300kWh/m²/year, thus qualifying the buildings of this period as energy intensive.

A database is established to collect physical information on the existing housing stock and thus allow their classification vis-à-vis of the energy label. This study is part of a research project aimed at evaluating and determining optimal measures for energy rehabilitation of multi-family buildings in Tlemcen. Thermal rehabilitation solutions are proposed using thermal simulations, in the following studies, to improve thermal performance of existing buildings. This study constitutes the first step of a roadmap applicable to other cities constituting climatic zones in Algeria. This helps to enrich the Algerian thermal regulation in thermal rehabilitation of existing residential buildings and conception of new ones, in urban areas with a similar climate.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a new improved solution and a new model to predict both shear and normal interfacial stress in simply supported beams strengthened with bonded prestressed FRP laminates by taking into account the fiber volume fraction spacing that play an important role on the interfacial stresses concentration.

The study has been conducted by using analytical approaches for interfacial stresses in plated beams. The analysis is based on the deformation compatibility approach where both the shear and normal stresses are assumed to be invariant across the adhesive layer thickness. In addition, an unrealistic restriction of the same curvatures in the RC beam and FRP panel commonly used in most of the existing studies is released in the present theoretical formulation.

To verify the analytical model, the present predictions are compared first with those of (Malek et al., 1998; Smith and Teng, 2001) in the case of the absence of the prestressing force; for the second time, the present method is compared with that developed by (Al-Emrani and Kliger, 2006; Benachour et al., 2008) in the case where only the prestressing force is applied. From the presented results, it can be seen that the present solution agree closely with the other methods in the literature.

The paper puts in evidence a new originality approach theory, taking into account the mechanical load, and the prestressed FRP plate model having variable fiber spacing which considers a strength rigidity and resistance of the damaged structures, which is one aspect that has not been taken into account by the previous studies.

The effects of the addition of poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VP) and its derivative poly(4‐vinylpyridine poly‐3‐oxide ethylene) (P4VPPOE) on the corrosion of Cu60‐Zn40 in 0.5M HNO₃ have been investigated by potentiodynamic and weight loss measurements. Both of the studied polymers decrease the corrosion rate. Their inhibition efficiency (E%) increases with the concentration. The maximum of inhibition was obtained for P4VPPOE (100 per cent at 10^–5M). E% obtained from cathodic Tafel plots and weight loss methods were in good agreement. The inhibitors were adsorbed on the Cu60‐Zn40 surface according to the Frumkin adsorption isotherm model. P4VPPOE acts as a cathodic inhibitor and its efficiency is temperature independent.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the physicochemical properties, fatty acids, tocopherols, and polyphenols of Algerian argan oil.

The argan oil was extracted from the kernel by an organic solvent, the n‐hexane. Several methods and techniques (spectrophotometric, titrimetric, refractometric, and chomrtographic (CPG/high‐performance liquid chromatographic – HPLC) were used to characterise to argan oil.

The argan oil was yellow oil with faintly marked smell and flavour. The physicochemical analysis showed that the oil was pure, fresh, not siccative and rich in C₁₈ medium chain unsaturated fatty acids, particularly the oleic acid. A HPLC and gaseous phase chromatography methods were developed for the quali‐quantitative analysis of α‐tocopherol and fatty acids composition, respectively.

This highlight shows that the composition of argan oil is oleic‐linoleic type rich in α‐tocopherol (20 mg/kg). The phenolic fraction known for its antioxidant properties ranges from 30 to 50 mg/kg. The argan oil is mainly rich in antioxidant compounds such as phenolic compounds and α‐tocopherol. Argan oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, tocopherol and phenolic compounds.

Considering its rich composition in antioxidant compounds and essential fatty acid, argan oil has been used for a long time as a food and for body care, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and some cancers diseases. A deep knowledge of the chemical composition of argan oil will certainly show that is has a high‐nutritional potentiality and is claimed to have favourable medicinal and cosmetic properties.

No such research has been carried out on the argan oil extracted from Argania spinosa (L.) of Algeria. The present work was undertaken to study the physicochemical and nutritional properties of the argan oil.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis has been carried out on the aerodynamic and thermal behavior of an incompressible Newtonian fluid having a constant property and flowing turbulently through a two-dimensional horizontal high-performance heat transfer channel with a rectangular cross section. The top surface of the channel was kept at a constant temperature, while it was made sure to maintain the adiabatic condition of the bottom surface. Two obstacles, with different shapes, i.e. flat rectangular and V-shaped, were inserted into the channel; they were fixed to the top and bottom surfaces of the channel in a periodically staggered manner to force vortices to improve the mixing and consequently the heat transfer. The first fin-type obstacle is placed on the heated top channel surface, and the second baffle-type one is placed on the insulated bottom surface. Five different obstacle situations were considered in this study, which are referred as cases FF (flat fin and flat baffle), FVD (flat fin and V-downstream baffle), FVU (flat fin and V-upstream baffle), VVD (V-downstream fin and V-downstream baffle) and VVU (V-Upstream fin and V-upstream baffle).

The flow model is governed by Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations with the k-epsilon turbulence model and the energy equation. These governing equations are discretized by the finite volume method, in two dimensions, using the commercial CFD software FLUENT software with the Semi Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations (SIMPLE) algorithm for handling the pressure-velocity coupling. Air is the test fluid with the flow rate in terms of Reynolds numbers ranging from 12,000 to 32,000.

Important deformations and large recirculation regions were observed in the flow field. A vortex causes a rotary motion inside the flow field, which enhances the mixing by bringing the packets of fluid from the near-wall region of the channel to the bulk and the other way around. The largest value of the axial variations of the Nusselt number and skin friction coefficient is found in the region facing the baffle, while the smallest value is in the region near the fin, for all cases. The thermal enhancement factor (TEF) was also introduced and discussed to assess the performance of the channel for various obstacle situations. It is found that the TEF values are 1.273-1.368, 1.377-1.573, 1.444-1.833, 1.398-1.565 and 1.348-1.592 for FF, FVD, FVU, VVD and VVU respectively, depending on the Re values. In all cases, the TEF was found to be much larger than unity; its maximum value was around 1.833 for FVU at the highest Reynolds number. Therefore, the FVU may be considered as the best geometrical configuration when using the obstacles to improve the heat transfer efficiency inside the channel.

This study can be a real application in the field of shell-and-tube heat exchangers and flat plate solar air collectors.

Product category involvement and relationship proneness are crucial in explaining relationship outcomes. Nevertheless, the authors know little about their roles in the formation of loyalty, especially in the retail industry. Individual consumer traits and preferences are likely to play a critical role in the success of relationship marketing. Yet, relationship marketing studies have fallen short of considering such individual differences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effects of product category involvement and relationship proneness on the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty in retail clothing stores.

Data were obtained using a survey of 220 consumers. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed theoretical model.

The results show that satisfaction significantly affects product category involvement and relationship proneness, which, in turn, significantly affect purchase intention and word-of-mouth (WOM). The results also show that product category involvement and relationship proneness partially mediate the impact of satisfaction on purchase intention and WOM.

Product category involvement and relationship proneness play a critical role in explaining the satisfaction–loyalty link. Future research could consider the role of potential moderating variables.

Retail managers should not only focus on improving customer satisfaction to achieve customer loyalty, but should also consider the importance of product category involvement and relationship proneness, and their role in the formation of customer loyalty both in traditional and online environments.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the mediating effects of product category involvement and relationship proneness on the relationship between satisfaction, purchase intention and WOM in the retail industry.