Search results for: the health service industry

Authors: Justyna Żywiołek, Marek Matulewski

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Data, is information processed by enterprises for primary and secondary purposes as processes. Thanks to processing, the sales process takes place; in the case of the surveyed companies, sales take place online. However, this indirect form of contact with the customer causes many problems for both customers and furniture manufacturers. The article presents solutions that would solve problems related to the analysis of data and information in the order fulfillment process sent to post-warranty service. The article also presents an analysis of threats to the security of this information, both for customers and the enterprise.

Keywords: ordering furniture online, information security, furniture industry, enterprise security, risk analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: T. H. Bitebe, T. M. Lima, F. Charrua-Santos, C. J. Matias Oliveira

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This study aims to present a proposal for an economic integration model for the development of the manufacturing industry in Cabinda, Angola. It seeks to analyze the degree of economic integration of Cabinda and the dynamics of the manufacturing industry. Therefore, in the same way, to gather information to support the decision-making for public financing programs that will aim at the disengagement of the manufacturing industry in Angola and Cabinda in particular. The Cabinda Province is the 18^th of Angola, the enclave is located in a privileged area of the African and arable land.

Keywords: economic integration, industrial development, Cabinda industry, Angola

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Abbas Raza Ali

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Big Data technology is gradually becoming a dire need of large enterprises. These enterprises are generating massively large amount of off-line and streaming data in both structured and unstructured formats on daily basis. It is a challenging task to effectively extract useful insights from the large scale datasets, even though sometimes it becomes a technology constraint to manage transactional data history of more than a few months. This paper presents a framework to efficiently manage massively large and complex datasets. The framework has been tested on a communication service provider producing massively large complex streaming data in binary format. The communication industry is bound by the regulators to manage history of their subscribers’ call records where every action of a subscriber generates a record. Also, managing and analyzing transactional data allows service providers to better understand their customers’ behavior, for example, deep packet inspection requires transactional internet usage data to explain internet usage behaviour of the subscribers. However, current relational database systems limit service providers to only maintain history at semantic level which is aggregated at subscriber level. The framework addresses these challenges by leveraging Big Data technology which optimally manages and allows deep analysis of complex datasets. The framework has been applied to offload existing Intelligent Network Mediation and relational Data Warehouse of the service provider on Big Data. The service provider has 50+ million subscriber-base with yearly growth of 7-10%. The end-to-end process takes not more than 10 minutes which involves binary to ASCII decoding of call detail records, stitching of all the interrogations against a call (transformations) and aggregations of all the call records of a subscriber.

Keywords: big data, communication service providers, enterprise data warehouse, stream computing, Telco IN Mediation

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Misbah Shaheen, Anam Qureshi

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In this work we will discuss the challenges faced by tourism industry in Pakistan. Tourism plays vital role in the socio-economic growth of a country. The countries of world, with less tourism opportunities are lagging behind from other nations of the world. Pakistan is one of those countries which rich in historical places, natural beauty, and uniqueness in handmade items and also of green forests. Present study will discuss the challenges being faced by tourism industry with special focus on hotel industry and law and order situation.

Keywords: Pakistan, tourism, handmade items, hotel industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 393

Authors: Sufrin Hannan, Budi Suharjo, Rita Nurmalina, Kirbrandoko

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The challenge for independent surveyor service companies now is growing with increasing uncertainty in business. Protection from the government for domestic independent surveyor industry from competitor attack, such as entering the global surveyors to Indonesia also no longer exists. Therefore, building customer loyalty becomes very important to create a long-term relationship between an independent surveyor with its customers. This study aims to develop a model that can be used to build customer loyalty by looking at various factors that determine customer loyalty, especially on independent surveyors for coal inspection in Indonesia. The development of this model uses the relationship marketing approach. Testing of the hypothesis is done by testing the variables that determine customer loyalty, either directly or indirectly, which amounted to 10 variables. The data were collected from 200 questionnaires filled by independent surveyor company decision makers from 51 exporting companies and coal trading companies in Indonesia and analyzed using Structural Equation Model (SEM). The results show that customer loyalty of independent surveyors is influenced by customer satisfaction, trust, switching-barrier, and relationship-bond. Research on customer satisfaction shows that customer satisfaction is influenced by the perceived quality and perceived value, while perceived quality is influenced by reliability, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy.

Keywords: relationship marketing, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, switching barriers, relationship bonds

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Victoria Legkikh

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To create a new Orthodox service of Jerusalem rite and to make it possible for a performance, one had to use several types of books. These are menaions and triodion, cleargy service book, stichirarion and typikon. These books keep a part of the information about the service, which a medieval copyist had to put together like a puzzle. But an abundance of necessary books and their variety created a lot of problems in copying services. The main problem was the difference of text in notated and not notated manuscripts (they were corrected at a different time) and lack of information in typikon, which provided only a type of hymns and their mode. After all, a copyist could have both corrected and not corrected manuscripts which also provided a different type of service. It brings us to the situation when we hardly have a couple of manuscripts containing the same service, and it is difficult to understand which changes were made voluntarily and which ones were provided by different types of available manuscripts. A recent paper proposes an analysis of every type of liturgical book and a way of using them in copying and correcting a service so we can divide voluntary changes and changes due to various types of books. The paper also proposes an index showing the “material” life of hymns in different types of manuscripts and the changes of its version and place in the same type of manuscript. This type of index can help in reconstructing the way of creation/copying service and can be useful for publication of the services providing necessary information of every hymn in every used manuscript.

Keywords: orthodox church music, creation, manuscripts, liturgical books

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Ge Zhan

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Mobile health (mHealth) concerns the use of mobile technologies to deliver health care and improve wellness. In this paper, we ask the question of what are the drivers of positive consumer attitude toward mHealth programs. Answers to this question are important to consumer health, but existing marketing and health care service literature does not provide sufficient empirical conclusions on the use of mobile technologies for consumer health. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap by investigating mHealth use and consumer attitude. A content analysis was conducted with sample mHealth programs and online consumer reviews in Hong Kong, UK, US, and India. The research findings will contribute to marketing and health services literature.

Keywords: mobile health, consumer attitude, content analysis, online marketing

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: Farshad Kalantari

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Tourism industry has gained a progressive trend within the past years, which affect the cultural exchange among different nations. It is obvious that each country has its own culture, heritage and history, which can be manifested in the population lifestyle and pattern of living. the lifestyle can be considered as an indicator for health status, as the culture may affect way of living, which known as lifestyle and its components, including dietary pattern, physical activity status and other social behaviours. As a result, it seems that each culture can transfer the lifestyle to other societies by international communications. Moreover, different regions and countries may benefit from natural resources, which can be a leading cause for tourist attraction, in the other words, natural resources and culture, can affect the tourist turnover in a region, and as a result, it can be hypothesised that it may affect the exchange of lifestyle including dietary pattern and physical activity. In the positive way, this can make a region to health pole for other nationalities to gain benefit from that culture in order to improve their quality of life and health status. In this paper has aimed to assess the effect of culture and heritage on tourism rate and the effect of natural resources along with cultural lifestyle on public health and international exchange between other regions. It was hypothesised that by using culture in a positive manner, positive aspect of lifestyle, including ancient physical activity patter, can be transfer and exchange with other regions, which can improve health status as a result. Moreover, it was focused on how to design and recruit strategies to improve the way of gaining benefits from resources and lifestyle in order to improve tourism industry and its rate, which may bring beneficial outcomes, including financial, cultural and health outcomes.

Keywords: toursim, health, culture, sport, lifestyle

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Authors: S M Abdus Sattar

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Introduction: The tourism industry is a vital component of economies, providing opportunities for economic growth and cultural exchange. At the heart of this industry lies the concept of hospitality. Tourism refers to the activity of traveling for leisure or business and hospitality refers to the welcoming, amenities and providing of services to guests in the travel and accommodation industries. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. Objectives: The most important objective of Tourism and Hospitality study are: To assess different aspects, To identify the reasons, To analyze the contribution in GDP of Bangladesh, To identify importances of hospitality, To identify challenges, To Development of leadership characteristics, communication, teamwork skill, customer service and problem-solving, To provide welcoming treatment to guests, offering accommodation, food, transportation and entertainment services to ensure guests feel safe and comfortable away from home, To explore future prospects in Bangladesh and To suggests some recommendations for development of these sector. Methodology: Statistical method has been adopted in this study. Common characteristics of the people of particular area are found out. Tourism data is collected through various methods, such as surveys, interviews, visitor registration, travel agency records, hotel bookings, transport ticketing systems, online platforms, social media, Bangladesh Tourism Corporation, World Travel and Tourism Council, Quantitative and qualitative research methods are used while collecting and analyzing data. Findings: Tourism and Hospitality focuses on marketing, management, attractions, recreation events, travel related services, lodging, operations of restaurants and food services. Tourism offers great opportunities for emerging economies and developing countries. It creates jobs, strengthens the local economy, contributes to local infrastructure development, can help to conserve the natural environment, cultural assets, traditions, reduce poverty and inequality. The hospitality industry contributes to the economy of a country by employing its human resources. It generates new employment, contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country. Around 330 million people were employed in the Tourism and Hospitality sector in globally. Tourism and Hospitality industry is creating high tax revenues. Tourism is a rising industry in Bangladesh. Studying hospitality can also help develop a range of essential skills that are valuable in any industry. Conclusion: As the conclusion, tourism industry is focused on providing quality attractions and events in order to entice tourists to come. The hospitality industry provides the good service for client. Hospitality and Tourism are closely related. Hospitality built up the relationship between host and guest. The importance of hospitality in tourism industry is immense. The Tourism and Hospitality industry is an important contributor to Bangladesh's economy. It is necessary to develop the Tourism infrastructure, maintain tourist destinations, railway stations, airports, rest house, hotels and improve the quality of services.

Keywords: tourism, hospitality, GDP, employment, economy

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Authors: Mario C. Nierras

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This study aimed to determine the extension services’ needs of small farmers in Biliran province, Philippines. It also sought to find out other issues/concerns of the small farmers. Extension services’ needs of small farmers were gathered through personal interviewing and observational analysis of randomly-selected small farmers in Biliran, Philippines. Biliran small farmers extension services’ needs include: raising fruits, raising legumes, raising vegetables, raising swine, raising cattle, and raising chicken (as priority broad skills). For the specific skills, diagnosing symptoms on fertilizer deficiencies, controlling plant pests and diseases, diagnosing signs on specific pest and disease damage, controlling animal pests and diseases, and doing artificial insemination were the priority skills. They considered an on-farm trial of new technology as most needed to be coupled with industry and quality-orientedness, as positive behaviors needed in farming success. The farmers still adhere to the so-called wait-and-see attitude, thus they are more convinced to follow a particular technology if they see a concrete result of the introduced changes. Technical needs prioritization of Biliran small farmers showed that they have a real need for crop and animal production skills to include the other issues/concerns. Extension service program planning for small farmers should be patterned after their technical needs giving due attention to some issues/concerns so that extension work could deliver the right skills for the right needs of the farmers.

Keywords: extension, extension service, extension service needs, extension service program, farmers, small farmers, marginal farmers

Procedia PDF Downloads 436

Authors: Malki Nadia Fatima Zahra, Kellal Chaimaa, Brahimi Houria

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Quality is one of the most important modern management patterns that organizations seek to achieve in all areas and sectors in order to meet the needs and desires of customers and to remain continuity, as they constitute a competitive advantage for the organization, and among the most prominent organizations that must be available on the quality factor are health organizations as they relate to the most valuable component of production It is a person and his health, and that any error in it threatens his life and may lead to death, so she must provide health services of high quality to achieve the highest degree of satisfaction for the patient. This research aims to study the quality of health services and the extent of their impact on patient satisfaction, and this is through an applied study that relied on measuring the level of quality of health services in the university hospital center of Algeria and the extent of their impact on patient satisfaction according to the dimensions of the quality of health services, and we reached a conclusion that the determinants of the quality of health services. It affects patient satisfaction, which necessitates developing health services according to patients' requirements and improving their quality to obtain patient satisfaction.

Keywords: health service, health quality, quality determinants, patient satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Raúl González Muñoz, Essam Shehab, Martin Weinitzke, Chris Fowler, Paul Baguley

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Software applications have become crucial for the aerospace industry, providing a wide range of functionalities and capabilities. However, due to the considerable time difference between aircraft and software life cycles, obsolescence has turned into a major challenge for industry in last decades. This paper aims to provide a view on the different causes of software obsolescence within aerospace industry, as well as a perception on the importance of each of them. The key research question addressed is what drives software obsolescence in the aerospace industry, managing large software application portfolios. This question has been addressed by conducting firstly an in depth review of current literature and secondly by arranging an industry workshop with professionals from aerospace and consulting companies. The result is a set of drivers of software obsolescence, distributed among three different environments and several domains. By incorporating monitoring methodologies to assess those software obsolescence drivers, benefits in maintenance efforts and operations disruption avoidance are expected.

Keywords: aerospace industry, obsolescence drivers, software lifecycle, software obsolescence

Procedia PDF Downloads 413

Authors: S. W. Liu, J. H. Lv, W. Z. Wang

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In recent years, the failure accidents in petrochemical industry have been frequent, and have posed great security problems in personnel and property. The improvement of petrochemical safety is highly requested in order to prevent re-occurrence of severe accident. This study focuses on surveying the failure cases occurred in petrochemical field, which were extracted from journals of engineering failure, including engineering failure analysis and case studies in engineering failure analysis. The relation of failure mode, failure mechanism, type of components, and type of materials was analyzed in this study. And the analytical results showed that failures occurred more frequently in vessels and piping among the petrochemical equipment. Moreover, equipment made of carbon steel and stainless steel accounts for the majority of failures compared to other materials. This may be related to the application of the equipment and the performance of the material. In addition, corrosion failures were the largest in number of occurrence in the failure of petrochemical equipment, in which stress corrosion cracking accounts for a large proportion. This may have a lot to do with the service environment of the petrochemical equipment. Therefore, it can be concluded that the corrosion prevention of petrochemical equipment is particularly important.

Keywords: cases analysis, corrosion, failure, petrochemical industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Ying Yu, Wen-Chi Kuo, Tung-Jung Sung

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The Product-Service System (PSS) has received widespread attention due to the increasing global competition in manufacturing and service markets. Today’s smart products and services are driven by Internet of things (IoT) technologies which will promote the transformation from traditional PSS to smart PSS. Although the smart PSS has some of technological achievements in businesses, it often ignores the real demands of target users when using products and services. Therefore, designers should know and learn the User Experience (UX) of smart products, services and systems. However, both of academia and industry still lack relevant development experience of smart PSS since it is an emerging field. In doing so, this is a case study of Xiaomi’s Chunmi, the largest IoT platform in the world, and addresses the two major issues: (1) why Chunmi should develop smart PSS strategies with UX; and (2) how Chunmi could successfully implement the strategic objectives of smart PSS through the design. The case study results indicated that: (1) the smart PSS can distinguish competitors by their unique UX which is difficult to duplicate; (2) early user engagement is crucial for the success of smart PSS; and (3) interaction, expectation, and enjoyment can be treated as a three-dimensional evaluation of UX design for smart PSS innovation. In conclusion, the smart PSS can gain competitive advantages through good UX design in the market.

Keywords: design, smart PSS, user experience, user engagement

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: S. M. Abdus Sattar

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Introduction: The objectives of the study are to assess different aspects of the tourism and hospitality industry, analyze its contributions to the Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh, identify the importance of the tourism and hospitality industry, explore future prospects in the sectors, identify challenges and provide recommendations for the development of these industries. The study explores the significance of the tourism and hospitality industry in economic growth and defines its role. Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today. Methodology: The study adopts statistical methods and utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Data is collected through surveys, interviews, visitor registration, online platforms and analysis of various tourism-related records. The study focuses on marketing, management, attractions and services in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Result: The tourism and hospitality industry offers great opportunities for emerging economies and developing countries. The industry provides job creation, infrastructure development, cultural assets and environmental conservation, essential skills development, revenue generated, foreign exchange earned, economic growth and reduced poverty and inequality. Discussion: The study focuses on improving infrastructure and service quality in the tourism and hospitality industry to attract tourists. The industry significantly contributes to the Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh. It highlights how the tourism and hospitality sectors can drive economic development, reduce poverty and promote cultural and environmental conservation. It also explores the challenges and future prospects in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Conclusion and Future Scope: The opportunities for tourism of Bangladesh are agricultural tourism, religious tourism, sports tourism, eco-tourism, educational tourism, rural tourism and cultural tourism. However, there is a lack of research and plans to explore the development of the industry. The tourism and hospitality industry offers numerous opportunities for growth and development. There are job opportunities for travel consultants, tour operators, event planners, hotel managers, travel writers, tourism development officers and airline executives in the future. The study recommends to development of tourism infrastructure, maintaining tourist destinations, railway stations, airports, rest houses, hotels and improving the quality of services.

Keywords: tourism, hospitality, employment, economic, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 26

Authors: Rahman Mofidi, Sina Rahimi, Farnoosh Darban

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Communication plays a key role in today’s world, and to support it, the quality of service has the highest priority. It is very important to differentiate between traffic based on priority level. Some traffic classes should be a higher priority than other classes. It is also necessary to give high priority to customers who have more payment for better service, however, without influence on other customers. So to realize that, we will require effective quality of service methods. To ensure the optimal performance of the network in accordance with the quality of service is an important goal for all operators in the mobile network. In this work, we propose an algorithm based on control parameters which it’s based on user feedback that aims at minimizing the access to system transmit power and thus improving the network key performance indicators and increasing the quality of service. This feedback that is known as channel quality indicator (CQI) indicates the received signal level of the user. We aim at proposing an algorithm in control parameter criterion to study improving the quality of service and throughput in a cellular network at the simulated environment. In this work we tried to parameter values have close to their actual level. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm improves the system throughput and thus satisfies users' throughput and improves service to set up a successful call.

Keywords: quality of service, key performance indicators, control parameter, channel quality indicator

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Authors: Ibrahim Bashir, Yahaya Y. Yusuf

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The ongoing shift towards Industry 4.0 represents a critical growth factor in the industrial enterprise, where the digital transformation of industries is increasingly seen as a crucial element for competitiveness. This transformation holds substantial potential, yet its full benefits have yet to be realized due to the fragmented approach to introducing Industry 4.0 technologies. Therefore, this pilot study aims to explore the individual and collective impact of Industry 4.0 technologies and digital transformation on organizational performance. Data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey across 51 companies in the manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom. The correlations and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship and impact between the variables in the study. The results show that Industry 4.0 and digital transformation positively influence organizational performance and that Industry 4.0 technologies positively influence digital transformation. The results of this pilot study indicate that the implementation of Industry 4.0 technology is vital for increasing organizational performance; however, their roles differ largely. The differences are manifest in how the types of Industry 4.0 technologies correlate with how organizations integrate digital technologies into their operations. Hence, there is a clear indication of a strong correlation between Industry 4.0 technology, digital transformation, and organizational performance. Consequently, our study presents numerous pertinent implications that propel the theory of I4.0, digital business transformation (DBT), and organizational performance forward, as well as guide managers in the manufacturing sector.

Keywords: industry 4.0 technologies, digital transformation, digital integration, organizational performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Nurulhuda A. Manaf, Nor Najihah Zainal Abidin, Nur Amalina Jamaludin

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Coordinating service interactions are a vital part of developing distributed applications that are built up as networks of autonomous participants, e.g., software components, web services, online resources, involve a collaboration between a diverse number of participant services on different providers. The complexity in coordinating service interactions reflects how important the techniques and approaches require for designing and coordinating the interaction between participant services to ensure the overall goal of a collaboration between participant services is achieved. The objective of this research is to develop capability of steering a complex service interaction towards a desired outcome. Therefore, an efficient technique for modelling, generating, and verifying the coordination of service interactions is developed. The developed model describes service interactions using service choreographies approach and focusing on a declarative approach, advocating an Object Management Group (OMG) standard, Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Rules (SBVR). This model, namely, SBVR model for service choreographies focuses on a declarative deontic rule expressing both obligation and prohibition, which can be more useful in working with coordinating service interactions. The generated SBVR model is then be formulated and be transformed into Alloy model using Alloy Analyzer for verifying the generated SBVR model. The transformation of SBVR into Alloy allows to automatically generate the corresponding coordination of service interactions (service choreography), hence producing an immediate instance of execution that satisfies the constraints of the specification and verifies whether a specific request can be realised in the given choreography in the generated choreography.

Keywords: service choreography, service coordination, behavioural modelling, complex interactions, declarative specification, verification, model transformation, semantics of business vocabulary and rules, SBVR

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Authors: Ameen Alawneh

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The cost of material management across the supply chain represents a major contributor to the overall cost of goods in many companies both manufacturing and service sectors. This fact combined with the fierce competition make supply chains more efficient and cost effective. It also requires the companies to improve the quality of the products and services, increase the effectiveness of supply chain operations, focus on customer needs, reduce wastes and costs across the supply chain. As a heavy industry, steel manufacturing companies in particular are nowadays required to be more environmentally conscious due to their contribution to air, soil, and water pollution that results from emissions and wastes across their supply chains. Steel companies are increasingly looking for methods to reduce or cost cut in the operations and provide extra value to their customers to stay competitive under the current low margins. In this research we develop a green framework model for the sustainability of a steel company supply chain using Mixed integer Linear programming.

Keywords: Supply chain, Mixed Integer linear programming, heavy industry, water pollution

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Authors: George Hanna Abdelmelek Henien

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Quality and safety issues are common in Ethiopia's food processing industry, which can negatively impact consumers' health and livelihoods. The country is known for its various agricultural products that are important to the economy. However, food quality and safety policies and management practices in the food processing industry have led to many health problems, foodborne illnesses and economic losses. This article aims to show the causes and consequences of food safety and quality problems in the food processing industry in Ethiopia and discuss possible solutions to solve them. One of the main reasons for food quality and safety in Ethiopia's food processing industry is the lack of adequate regulation and enforcement mechanisms. Inadequate food safety and quality policies have led to inefficiencies in food production. Additionally, the failure to monitor and enforce existing regulations has created a good opportunity for unscrupulous companies to engage in harmful practices that endanger the lives of citizens. The impact on food quality and safety is significant due to loss of life, high medical costs, and loss of consumer confidence in the food processing industry. Foodborne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid and cholera are common in Ethiopia, and food quality and safety play an important role in . Additionally, food recalls due to contamination or contamination often cause significant economic losses in the food processing industry. To solve these problems, the Ethiopian government began taking measures to improve food quality and safety in the food processing industry. One of the most prominent initiatives is the Ethiopian Food and Drug Administration (EFDA), which was established in 2010 to monitor and control the quality and safety of food and beverage products in the country. EFDA has implemented many measures to improve food safety, such as carrying out routine inspections, monitoring the import of food products and implementing labeling requirements. Another solution that can improve food quality and safety in the food processing industry in Ethiopia is the implementation of food safety management system (FSMS). FSMS is a set of procedures and policies designed to identify, assess and control food safety risks during food processing. Implementing a FSMS can help companies in the food processing industry identify and address potential risks before they harm consumers. Additionally, implementing an FSMS can help companies comply with current safety and security regulations. Consequently, improving food safety policy and management system in Ethiopia's food processing industry is important to protect people's health and improve the country's economy. . Addressing the root causes of food quality and safety and implementing practical solutions that can help improve the overall food safety and quality in the country, such as establishing regulatory bodies and implementing food management systems.

Keywords: food quality, food safety, policy, management system, food processing industry food traceability, industry 4.0, internet of things, block chain, best worst method, marcos

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Authors: António J. R. Neves, Rui Garcia, Paulo Dias, Alina Trifan

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With the aging of the world population and the continuous growth in technology, service robots are more and more explored nowadays as alternatives to healthcare givers or personal assistants for the elderly or disabled people. Any service robot should be capable of interacting with the human companion, receive commands, navigate through the environment, either known or unknown, and recognize objects. This paper proposes an approach for object recognition based on the use of depth information and color images for a service robot. We present a study on two of the most used methods for object detection, where 3D data is used to detect the position of objects to classify that are found on horizontal surfaces. Since most of the objects of interest accessible for service robots are on these surfaces, the proposed 3D segmentation reduces the processing time and simplifies the scene for object recognition. The first approach for object recognition is based on color histograms, while the second is based on the use of the SIFT and SURF feature descriptors. We present comparative experimental results obtained with a real service robot.

Keywords: object detection, feature, descriptors, SIFT, SURF, depth images, service robots

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Authors: Siphesihle Hlongwane

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Background: Globally, alcohol consumption, smoking, and the use of illicit drugs kill more than 11.8 million people each year. In sub-Saharan Africa, substance abuse is responsible for more than 6.4% of all deaths recorded and about 4.7% of all Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), with numbers still expected to grow if no drastic measures are taken to curb and address drug use. In a setting where substance use is rife, understanding contextual factors that influence an individual’s perceived eligibility to seek rehabilitation is paramount. Using the candidacy framework, we unpack how situational factors influence an individual’s perceived eligibility for healthcare uptake in adolescents and youth with substance use disorder (SUD). Methods: The candidacy framework is concerned with how people consider their eligibility for accessing a health service. The study collected and analyzed primary qualitative data to answer the research question. Data were collected between January and July 2022 on participants aged between 18 and 35 for drug users and 18 to 60 for family members. Participants include 20 previous and current drug users and 20 family members that experience the effects of addiction. A pre-drafted semi-structured interview guide was administered to a conveniently sampled population supplemented with a referral sampling method. Data were thematically analyzed using the NVivo 12pro software to manage the data. Findings: Our findings show that people with substance use disorders are aware of their drug use habits and acknowledge their candidacy for health services. Candidacy for health services is also acknowledged by those around them, such as family members and peers, and as such, information on the navigation of health services for drug users is shared by those who have attended health services, those affected by drug use, and this includes health service research by family members to identify accessible health services. While participants reported willingness to quit drug use if assistance is provided, the permeability of health care services is hindered by both individual determinations to quit drug use from long-time use and the availability of health services for drug users, such as rehabilitation centers. Our findings also show that drug users are conscious and can articulate their ailments; however, the hunt for the next dose of drugs and long waiting cues for health service acquisition overshadows their claim to health services. Participants reported a mixture of treatments prescribed, with some more gruesome than others prescribed, thus serving as both a facilitator and barrier for health service uptake. Despite some unorthodox forms of treatments prescribed in health care, the majority of those who enter treatment complete the process of treatment, although some are met with setbacks and sometimes relapse after treatment has finished. Conclusion: Drug users are able to ascertain their candidacy for health services; however, individual and environmental characteristics relating to drug use hinder the use of health services. Drug use interventions need to entice health service uptake as a way to improve candidacy for health use.

Keywords: substance use disorder, rehabilitation, drug use, relapse, South Africa, candidacy framework

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Authors: Olteanu Constanta, Olteanu Lucian

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Researchers note that algebraic reasoning and sense making is essential for building conceptual knowledge in school mathematics. Consequently, pre-service teachers’ own reasoning and sense making are useful in fostering and developing students’ algebraic reasoning and sense making. This article explores the forms of reasoning and sense making that pre-service mathematics teachers exhibit and use in the process of analysing problem-posing tasks with a focus on first-degree equations. Our research question concerns the characteristics of the problem-posing tasks used for reasoning and sense making of first-degree equations as well as the characteristics of pre-service teachers’ reasoning and sense making in problem-posing tasks. The analyses are grounded in a post-structuralist philosophical perspective and variation theory. Sixty-six pre-service primary teachers participated in the study. The results show that the characteristics of reasoning in problem-posing tasks and of pre-service teachers are selecting, exploring, reconfiguring, encoding, abstracting and connecting. The characteristics of sense making in problem-posing tasks and of pre-service teachers are recognition, relationships, profiling, comparing, laddering and verifying. Beside this, the connection between reasoning and sense making is rich in line of flight in problem-posing tasks, while the connection is rich in line of rupture for pre-service teachers.

Keywords: first-degree equations, problem posing, reasoning, rhizomatic assemblage, sense-making, variation theory

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Authors: Huixuan Xu

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The present study was set out to investigate the extent to which and how service-learning fostered a sample of 138 Hong Kong undergraduates’ interpersonal competence and cooperative orientation development. Interpersonal competence is presented when an individual shows empathy with others, provides intelligent advice to others and has practical judgment. Cooperative orientation reflects individuals’ willingness to work with others to achieve common goals. A quality service-learning programme may exhibit the features of provision of meaningful service, close link to curriculum, continuous reflection, youth voice, and diversity. Mixed methods were employed in the present study. Pre-posttest survey was administered to capture individual undergraduates’ development of interpersonal competence and cooperative orientation over a period of four months. The respondents’ evaluation of service-learning elements was administered in the post-test survey. Focus groups were conducted after the end of the service-learning to further explore how the certain service-learning elements promoted individual undergraduates’ development of interpersonal competence and cooperative orientation. Three main findings were reported from the study. (1) The scores of interpersonal competence increased significantly from the pretest to the posttest, while the change of cooperative orientation was not significant. (2) Cooperative orientation and interpersonal competence were correlated positively with the overall course quality respectively, which suggested that the more a service-learning course complied with quality practice, the students became more competent in interpersonal competence and cooperative orientation. (3) The following service-learning elements showed higher impacts: (a) direct contact with service recipients, which engaged students in practicing interpersonal skills; (b) individual participants’ being exposed to a situation that required communication and dialogue with people from diverse backgrounds with different views; (c) experiencing interpersonal conflicts among team members and having the conflicts solved; (d) students’ taking a leading role in a project-based service. The present study provides compelling evidence about what elements in a service-learning program may foster undergraduates’ development of cooperative orientation and interpersonal competence. Implications for the design of service-learning programmes are provided.

Keywords: undergraduates, interpersonal competence, cooperation orientation, service-learning

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Authors: Sabyasachi Behera, Shiv Kumar, Pramod Gautam, Anisur Rahman, Pawan Pathak, Rahul Bhadouria

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Background: The increasing proportion of population especially urban poor and vulnerable groups or groups with specific needs, with health indicators worse than their rural counterparts in India face various issues related with availability and quality of health care. The reasons are myriad, starting from information and awareness of the community, especially, in a scenario wherein the needs and challenges of floating and migrant urban populations remain poorly understood. Weak linkages between health care facilities and slum dwellers and vulnerable populations hinder the improvement of health services for urban poor. Method: To address this issue, TCIHC program is helping health department of Indore city of Madhya Pradesh to establish a referral mechanism with a dual approach: at both community and facility level. The former is based on the premise of ‘building social capital’, i.e. norms and networks within a community facilitating collective action, helps improve the demand and supply of health services at appropriate levels of care (Minus 2: Accredited Social Health Activist and Community Health Groups; Minus 1: Urban Health Nutrition Days; Zero: Urban Primary Health Center; Plus 1: secondary facility with BEmONC services; Plus 2: secondary facilities with CEmONC services; Plus 3: tertiary level facility) for the urban poor. The latter focuses on encouraging the provision of all services at various levels of service delivery points and stakeholders to function in a coordinated manner to ensure better health service availability and coverage in underserved slum areas. Results: This initiative has enhanced the utilization of community based, primary and secondary level services through defined referral pathways that are clearly known to a community dweller. Conclusion: An ideal referral mechanism should begin with referral at the community level wherein services of a frontline health care provider are accessed by them at their door-step, causing no delay in both understanding and decision on the health issues faced by them.

Keywords: levels of care, linkages, referral mechanism, service delivery

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Authors: Pei-Ti Hsu, I-Ju Chen, Jeu-Jung Chen, Cheng-Fen Chang, Shiu-Yan Yang

Abstract:

Taiwan now is an aging society Research on the elderly should not be confined to caring for seniors, but should also be focused on ways to improve health and the quality of life. Senior citizens who participate in volunteer services could become less lonely, have new growth opportunities, and regain a sense of accomplishment. Thus, the question of how to get the elderly to participate in volunteer service is worth exploring. Apply the Transtheoretical Model to understand stages of change in regular volunteer service and voluntary service behaviour among the seniors. 1525 adults over the age of 65 from the Renai district of Keelung City were interviewed. The research tool was a self-constructed questionnaire and individual interviews were conducted to collect data. Then the data was processed and analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 (Windows version) statistical software program. In the past six months, research subjects averaged 9.92 days of volunteer services. A majority of these elderly individuals had no intention to change their regular volunteer services. We discovered that during the maintenance stage, the self-efficacy for volunteer services was higher than during all other stages, but self-perceived barriers were less during the preparation stage and action stage. Self-perceived benefits were found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in the previous stage, and self-efficacy was found to have an important predictive power for those with regular volunteer service behaviors in later stages. The research results support the conclusion that community nursing staff should group elders based on their regular volunteer services change stages and design appropriate behavioral change strategies.

Keywords: seniors, stages of change in regular volunteer services, volunteer service behavior, self-efficacy, self-perceived benefits

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Authors: Oumayma Tajouri

Abstract:

The relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and innovation is conflictual. Some scholars suggest that TQM has an effect on incremental improvement and would not lead to innovation and creativity. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the association between TQM and different types of innovation. Our goal is to examine to what extent the implementation of TQM practices is indeed supporting innovation in the Tunisian ISO 9001 certified industries. Using a self-administered survey to sample ISO9001 certified industry companies, this study examines five hypotheses and tests the relation between TQM practices and innovation. The principal finding of this study is that TQM has significant and positive effects on innovation in the Tunisian context. The results support that TQM has an influence on incremental, radical, and administrative innovation.

Keywords: total quality management, incremental innovation product and/service, radical innovation product/service, incremental innovation process, radical innovation process, administrative innovation

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Authors: Yunita Anwar, Maya Safira Dewi

Abstract:

With the increasing importance on digital TV industry, there must be several incentives given to support the growth of the industry. Prior research have found mixed findings of economic and fiscal incentives to economic growth, which means these incentives do not necessarily boost the economic growth while providing support to a particular industry. Focusing on a setting of digital TV transition in Indonesia, this research will conduct document analysis to analyze incentives have been given in other country and incentives currently available in Indonesia. Our results recommend that VAT exemption and local tax incentives could be considered to be added to the incentives list available for digital TV industry.

Keywords: Digital TV transition, Economic Incentives, Fiscal Incentives, Policy.

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Authors: Amanda Noble

Abstract:

The process of exiting/escaping situations of sex trafficking can be arduous and fraught with numerous barriers. In this paper the results of a national Canadian study on escaping situations of sex trafficking is discussed. Surveys and focus groups were conducted with 201 stakeholders in 8 cities, including 50 survivors of sex trafficking, service providers, health care providers and police. The results show that survivors are both vulnerable to being exploited and experience barriers to exiting as a result of structural factors such as colonialism, poverty, and discrimination based on race and gender. Survivors also face numerous barriers within various systems such as child welfare and the legal system. In addition, survivors contend with multiple psychological and psychosocial factors when exiting including the trauma bond, complex trauma and mental health concerns, substance use, isolation, and adjusting to ‘mainstream’ life. In light of these factors, the service needs of survivors escaping sex trafficking are discussed, and promising practices, such as trauma-informed practice and working from a stages of change model are outlined. This paper is useful for service providers that work with survivors, policy makers, or anyone who has ever wondered why survivors that are not being physically detained don’t ‘just leave’ or escape their exploitative situations.

Keywords: Barriers, Exiting, Promising Practices, Sex Trafficking

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Authors: Mohammed Alquraish

Abstract:

Saudi Arabia and other emerging nations have faced significant challenges in the sustainable construction industry. This paper presents a quantitative approach to assessing sustainability risk in the Saudi Arabian construction industry and offers insights into holistic sustainability design in industry operations. The implementation of sustainable construction industry practices in the manufacturing sector has been susceptible to several risk factors that need to be identified. In order to successfully execute sustainable building projects, decision makers in the fields of construction and industry can benefit greatly from the advice this study offers by promoting the elements that motivate sustainability implementation. Sustainability risk can be measured from combining failure probability with cumulative effects from sustainability factors: social, environmental, and economic; that affect the integrity of the construction industry. The cumulative effects of sustainability risk are measured by classifying the outcomes resulting from these consequences. Operators of industrial construction can strategically manage and minimize potential disruptions affecting long-term sustainability incentives by measuring sustainability risk. Thus, the suggested strategy greatly reinforces the crucial role of the construction industry.

Keywords: sustainability, risk, construction industry, Saudi Arabia

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