Search results for: aligning IT with business strategies

Authors: A. M. Sagir

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This paper derived four newly schemes which are combined in order to form an accurate and efficient block method for parallel or sequential solution of third order ordinary differential equations of the form y^'''= f(x,y,y^',y^'' ), y(α)=y_0,〖y〗^' (α)=β,y^('' ) (α)=μ with associated initial or boundary conditions. The implementation strategies of the derived method have shown that the block method is found to be consistent, zero stable and hence convergent. The derived schemes were tested on stiff and non-stiff ordinary differential equations, and the numerical results obtained compared favorably with the exact solution.

Keywords: block method, hybrid, linear multistep, self-starting, third order ordinary differential equations

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Authors: Amarendar Reddy Addula

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Definition of Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence is the simulation of mortal intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Explicit operations of AI comprise expert systems, natural language processing, and speech recognition, and machine vision. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an original medium for digital business, according to a new report by Gartner. The last 10 times represent an advance period in AI’s development, prodded by the confluence of factors, including the rise of big data, advancements in cipher structure, new machine literacy ways, the materialization of pall computing, and the vibrant open- source ecosystem. Influence of AI to a broader set of use cases and druggies and its gaining fashionability because it improves AI’s versatility, effectiveness, and rigidity. Edge AI will enable digital moments by employing AI for real- time analytics closer to data sources. Gartner predicts that by 2025, further than 50 of all data analysis by deep neural networks will do at the edge, over from lower than 10 in 2021. Responsible AI is a marquee term for making suitable business and ethical choices when espousing AI. It requires considering business and societal value, threat, trust, translucency, fairness, bias mitigation, explainability, responsibility, safety, sequestration, and nonsupervisory compliance. Responsible AI is ever more significant amidst growing nonsupervisory oversight, consumer prospects, and rising sustainability pretensions. Generative AI is the use of AI to induce new vestiges and produce innovative products. To date, generative AI sweats have concentrated on creating media content similar as photorealistic images of people and effects, but it can also be used for law generation, creating synthetic irregular data, and designing medicinals and accoutrements with specific parcels. AI is the subject of a wide- ranging debate in which there's a growing concern about its ethical and legal aspects. Constantly, the two are varied and nonplussed despite being different issues and areas of knowledge. The ethical debate raises two main problems the first, abstract, relates to the idea and content of ethics; the alternate, functional, and concerns its relationship with the law. Both set up models of social geste, but they're different in compass and nature. The juridical analysis is grounded on anon-formalistic scientific methodology. This means that it's essential to consider the nature and characteristics of the AI as a primary step to the description of its legal paradigm. In this regard, there are two main issues the relationship between artificial and mortal intelligence and the question of the unitary or different nature of the AI. From that theoretical and practical base, the study of the legal system is carried out by examining its foundations, the governance model, and the nonsupervisory bases. According to this analysis, throughout the work and in the conclusions, International Law is linked as the top legal frame for the regulation of AI.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, ethics & human rights issues, laws, international laws

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Authors: Ilya A. Snegirev

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The article focuses on the comparative study of Russian military poetry of the 20th century. To make a complete description, the verse of different genres, mainly minor lyrical form, is taken. The study makes it possible to emphasize the idea that genre is not completely representative for a comprehensive research, as it is also necessary to dwell upon the strategies of war description in verse. Furthermore, the tendency of lyrical hero individualization is noted. This tendency can be traced throughout the whole second half of the 20th century – the poets of the Second World War – and further, to the whole post-war poetry. To characterize these changes, the texts by K.M. Simonov and A.A. Surkov are being analyzed as the examples of the qualitative transition to an individual hero.

Keywords: literature’s evolution, narrator, storytelling poetry, tradition

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Authors: Laima Zakaraite, Vaidas Morkevicius

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The COVID-19 pandemic brought important and pressing challenges for politicians around the world. Governments, parliaments, and political leaders had to make quick decisions about containment of the pandemic, usually without clear knowledge about the factual spread of the virus, the possible expected speed of spread, and levels of mortality. Opinions of experts were also divided, as some advocated for ‘herd immunity’ without closing down the economy and public life, and others supported the idea of strict lockdown. The debates about measures of pandemic containment were heated and involved strong moral tensions with regard to the possible outcomes. This paper proposes to study the manifestations of moral imagination in the political debates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, moral imagination is associated with twofold abilities of a decision-making actor: the ability to discern the moral aspects embedded within a situation and the ability to envision a range of possibilities alternative solutions to the situation from a moral perspective. The concept was most thoroughly investigated in business management studies. However, its relevance for the study of political decision-making is also rather clear. The results of the study show to what extent politicians are able to discern the wide range of moral issues related to a situation (in this case, consequences of COVID-19 pandemic in a country) and how broad (especially, from a moral perspective) are discussions of the possible solutions proposed for solving the problem (situation). Arguably, political discussions and considerations are broader and affected by a wider and more varied range of actors and ideas compared to decision making in the business management sector. However, the debates and ensuing solutions may also be restricted by ideological maxims and advocacy of special interests. Therefore, empirical study of policy proposals and their debates might reveal the actual breadth of moral imagination in political discussions. For this purpose, we carried out the qualitative study of the parliamentary debates related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania during the first wave (containment of which was considered very successful) and at the beginning and consequent acceleration of the second wave (when the spread of the virus became uncontrollable).

Keywords: decision making, moral imagination, political debates, political decision

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Authors: Atnafu Ashenef Wondim

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In today’s highly competitive business environment, employees are considered a source of competitive advantage. Researchers have looked into job autonomy's effect on organizational commitment and declared superior organizational performance strongly depends on the effort and commitment of employees. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between job autonomy and organizational commitment from newcomer’s point of view. The mediation role of employee engagement (physical, emotional, and cognitive) was also examined in the case of Ethiopian Commercial Banks. An exploratory survey research design with mixed-method approach that included partial least squares structural equation modeling and Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis technique were using to address the sample size of 348 new employees. In-depth interviews with purposive and convenientsampling techniques are conducted with new employees (n=43). The results confirmed that job autonomy had positive, significant direct effects on physical engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement (path coeffs. = 0.874, 0.931, and 0.893).The results showed thatthe employee engagement driver, physical engagement, had a positive significant influence on affective commitment (path coeff. = 0.187) and normative commitment (path coeff. = 0.512) but no significant effect on continuance commitment. Employee engagement partially mediates the relationship between job autonomy and organizational commitment, which means supporting the indirect effects of job autonomy on affective, continuance, and normative commitment through physical engagement. The findings of this study add new perspectives by positioning it within a complex organizational African setting and by expanding the job autonomy and organizational commitment literature, which will benefit future research. Much of the literature on job autonomy and organizational commitment has been conducted within a well-established organizational business context in Western developed countries.The findings lead to fresh information on job autonomy and organizational commitment implementation enablers that can assist in the formulation of a better policy/strategy to efficiently adopt job autonomy and organizational commitment.

Keywords: employee engagement, job autonomy, organizational commitment, social exchange theory

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Authors: Lamiche Chaabane

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In this study, a new method for solving sequence alignment problem is proposed, which is named ITS (Improved Tabu Search). This algorithm is based on the classical Tabu Search (TS). ITS is implemented in order to obtain results of multiple sequence alignment. Several ideas concerning neighbourhood generation, move selection mechanisms and intensification/diversification strategies for our proposed ITS is investigated. ITS have generated high-quality results in terms of measure of scores in comparison with the classical TS and simple iterative search algorithm.

Keywords: multiple sequence alignment, tabu search, improved tabu search, neighbourhood generation, selection mechanisms

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Authors: Pradeep Kumar Sahoo

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Facilitating writing skill among the young techies seems a bit challenging. Various factors may owe to this difficulty. Inappropriate syllabus, inadequate infrastructure, to some extent, untrained faculty members and above all the background of learners may be treated as the components that make the process challenging. In order to convert/create/prepare writing skill friendly, the focused items will have to be different from the classroom the present day traditional classroom situation. This paper focuses on the multiple contemporary strategies for approaching a wide range of typical problems that the writers face in a specific technical university of Odisha.

Keywords: background of learners, classroom friendly approach, inappropriate syllabus, traditional classroom situation

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Authors: Sylvain Fauveaux, T. Nowicki

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Lightning protection is nowadays applied worldwide since the advent of international standards. Lightning protection is widely justified by the casualties and damages involved. As a matter of fact, the lightning business is constantly growing as more and more sensible areas need to be protected. However, the worldwide demand of copper materiel is increasing as well, its price too. Furthermore, the most frequently used method of protection is consuming a lot of copper. The copper production is also consuming a large amount of natural and power resources, not to mention the ecologic balance.

Keywords: ESEAT, Lightning protection , natural resources management, NF C 17-102, sustainable development

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Authors: Hend Albassam, Nouf Alrumaih

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Nowadays we are in the age of technologies and communication and there is no doubt that technologies such as the Internet can offer many advantages for many business fields, and the health field is no execution. In fact, using the Internet provide us with a new path to improve the quality of health care throughout the world. The e-healthcare offers many advantages such as: efficiency by reducing the cost and avoiding duplicate diagnostics, empowerment of patients by enabling them to access their medical records, enhancing the quality of healthcare and enabling information exchange and communication between healthcare organizations. There are many problems that result from using papers as a way of communication, for example, paper-based prescriptions. Usually, the doctor writes a prescription and gives it to the patient who in turn carries it to the pharmacy. After that, the pharmacist takes the prescription to fill it and give it to the patient. Sometimes the pharmacist might find difficulty in reading the doctor’s handwriting; the patient could change and counterfeit the prescription. These existing problems and many others heighten the need to improve the quality of the healthcare. This project is set out to develop a distributed e-healthcare system that offers some features of e-health and addresses some of the above-mentioned problems. The developed system provides an electronic health record (EHR) and enables communication between separate health care organizations such as the clinic, pharmacy and laboratory. To develop this system, the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is adopted as a design approach, which helps to design several independent modules that communicate by using web services. The layering design pattern is used in designing each module as it provides reusability that allows the business logic layer to be reused by different higher layers such as the web service or the website in our system. The experimental analysis has shown that the project has successfully achieved its aims toward solving the problems related to the paper-based healthcare systems and it enables different health organization to communicate effectively. It implements four independent modules including healthcare provider, pharmacy, laboratory and medication information provider. Each module provides different functionalities and is used by a different type of user. These modules interoperate with each other using a set of web services.

Keywords: e-health, services oriented architecture (SOA), web services, interoperability

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Authors: Arun Kumar R. K. Gothra, Hasan Alhakamy

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With increasing expectations and demands for warehousing and distribution, Warehouse Solution Incorporated in Victoria has been looking at ways to improve on its business processes to maintain the competitive edge. To maintain the provision of high quality service standards at competitive and affordable prices, improvements in the logistics management are necessary. One such avenue is to make efficient use of space available in the warehouse. This paper is based on a study of the collaboration of Warehouse Solution Inc with Dandenong Distribution Centre (DDC) to solve congestion problem and enhance efficiency of the whole warehouse activities.

Keywords: space optimization, optimal utilization, warehouse, DDC

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Authors: Janaina Pereira, Barbara Gonzalez, Valentina Chitas, Teresa Molina

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Intro: The positive impact of opioid maintenance programs on the health of heroin addicts, and on public health in general, has been widely recognized, namely on the prevalence reduction of infectious diseases as HIV, and on the social reintegration of this population. Nevertheless, a part of patients in these programs cannot remain heroin abstinent, or has relapses, during the treatment. Method: Thus, this cross-sectional research aims at analyzing the relation between a set of psychological and psychosocial variables, which have been associated with the onset of heroin use, and assess if they are also associated with absence of abstinence in participants in an opioid maintenance program. A total of 62 patients, aged between 26 and 58 years old (M= 40.87, DP= 7.39) with a time in opioid maintenance program between 1 and 10 years (M= 5.42, DP= 3.05), 77.4% male and 22.6% female, participated in this research. To assess the criterion variable (heroin use) we used the mean value of positive results in urine tests during the participation in the program, weighted according to the number of months in program. The predictor variables were the coping strategies, the dispositional sensation seeking, and the existence of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results: The results showed that only 33.87% of the patients were totally abstinent of heroin use since the beginning of the program, and the absence of abstinence, as the number of positive heroin tests, was primarily predicted by less proactive coping, and secondarily by a higher level of sensation seeking. 16.13% of the sample fulfilled diagnosis criteria for PTSD, and 67.74 % had at least one traumatic experience throughout their lives. The total of PTSD symptoms had a positive correlation with the number of physical health problems, and with the lack of professional occupation. These results have several implications for the clinical practice in this field, and we suggest the promotion of proactive coping strategies should integrate these opioid maintenance programs, as they represent the tendency to face future events as challenges and opportunities, being positively related to positive results on several fields. The early identification of PTSD in the participants, before entering the opioid maintenance programs, would be important as it is related to negative features that hinder social reintegration, Finally, to identify individuals with a sensation seeking profile would be relevant, not only because they face a higher risk of relapse, but also because the therapeutical approaches should not ignore this dispositional feature in the alternatives they propose to the patients.

Keywords: opioid maintenance programs, proactive coping, PTSD, sensation seeking

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Authors: Beatriz Cortés, Andrés Boza, David Pérez, Llanos Cuenca

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The Internet of Things (IoT) field is been applied in industries with different purposes. Sensing Enterprise (SE) is an attribute of an enterprise or a network that allows it to react to business stimuli originating on the internet. These fields have come into focus recently on the enterprises and there is some evidence of the use and implications in supply chain management while finding it as an interesting aspect to work on. This paper presents a revision and proposals of IoT applications in supply chain management.

Keywords: industrial, internet of things, production systems, sensing enterprises, sensor, supply chain management

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Authors: B. Godefroy, D. Beladjine, K. Beddiar

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In France, construction BIM actors commonly evoke the BIM gains for exploitation by integrating of the life cycle of a building. The standardization of level 7 of development would achieve this stage of the digital model. The householders include local public authorities, social landlords, public institutions (health and education), enterprises, facilities management companies. They have a dual role: owner and manager of their housing complex. In a context of financial constraint, the BIM of exploitation aims to control costs, make long-term investment choices, renew the portfolio and enable environmental standards to be met. It assumes a knowledge of the existing buildings, marked by its size and complexity. The information sought must be synthetic and structured, it concerns, in general, a real estate complex. We conducted a study with professionals about their concerns and ways to use it to see how householders could benefit from this development. To obtain results, we had in mind the recurring interrogation of the project management, on the needs of the operators, we tested the following stages: 1) Inculcate a minimal culture of BIM with multidisciplinary teams of the operator then by business, 2) Learn by BIM tools, the adaptation of their trade in operations, 3) Understand the place and creation of a graphic and technical database management system, determine the components of its library so their needs, 4) Identify the cross-functional interventions of its managers by business (operations, technical, information system, purchasing and legal aspects), 5) Set an internal protocol and define the BIM impact in their digital strategy. In addition, continuity of management by the integration of construction models in the operation phase raises the question of interoperability in the control of the production of IFC files in the operator’s proprietary format and the export and import processes, a solution rivaled by the traditional method of vectorization of paper plans. Companies that digitize housing complex and those in FM produce a file IFC, directly, according to their needs without recourse to the model of construction, they produce models business for the exploitation. They standardize components, equipment that are useful for coding. We observed the consequences resulting from the use of the BIM in the property industry and, made the following observations: a) The value of data prevail over the graphics, 3D is little used b) The owner must, through his organization, promote the feedback of technical management information during the design phase c) The operator's reflection on outsourcing concerns the acquisition of its information system and these services, observing the risks and costs related to their internal or external developments. This study allows us to highlight: i) The need for an internal organization of operators prior to a response to the construction management ii) The evolution towards automated methods for creating models dedicated to the exploitation, a specialization would be required iii) A review of the communication of the project management, management continuity not articulating around his building model, it must take into account the environment of the operator and reflect on its scope of action.

Keywords: information system, interoperability, models for exploitation, property industry

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Authors: Juan Sepúlveda

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Energy is a fundamental component in sustainability, the access and use of this resource is related with economic growth, social improvements, and environmental impacts. In this sense, energy efficiency has been studied as a factor that enhances the positive impacts of energy in communities; however, the implementation of efficiency requires strong policy and strategies that usually rely on individual measures focused in independent dimensions. In this paper, the problem of energy efficiency as a multi-objective problem is studied, using scientometric analysis to discover trends and patterns that allow to identify the main variables and study approximations related with a further development of models to integrate energy efficiency and MCA into policy making for small communities.

Keywords: energy efficiency, MCA, scientometric, trends

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Authors: Kubra Korkmaz Onat

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Decision-making significantly influences outcomes and shapes future actions, making it a crucial aspect of both personal and professional life. This study examines various decision-making approaches, focusing on their procedures and applications. The rational decision-making model is highlighted for its systematic approach and reliance on data analysis and logical reasoning. Additionally, the study explores consensus, weighted scoring, voting, and brainstorming analysis methods. Key findings indicate that each method has unique strengths and is best suited for specific contexts. The article concludes by offering practical guidance for how to choose the appropriate decision-making approach based on the circumstances.

Keywords: decision-making, decision-making process, decision-making methods, group decision-making

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Authors: Glenn A. Palmer, Lorenzo Bowman, Juanita Johnson-Bailey

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The ubiquitous economic upheaval that has gripped the global environment in the past few years displaced many workers through unemployment or underemployment. Globally, this disruption has caused many adult workers to seek additional education or skills to remain competitive, and acquire the ability and options to find gainful employment. While many learners have availed themselves of some opportunities to be retrained and retooled at locations within their communities, others have explored those options through the online learning environment. This paper examines the empirical research that explores the various strategies that are used in the adult online learning community that could also foster transformative learning.

Keywords: online learning, transformational learning, adult education, economic crisis, unemployment

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Authors: Tarek K. Jalouta, Jolietta R. Holliman, Kathryn R. Burke, Kathleen M. Bewley-Thomas

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Background: Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In the United States, HCV screening awareness, treatment, and linkage to care are under continues ascending progress. However, still millions of people are asymptomatically infected and undiagnosed yet. Through this community mission, we sought to identify the best and the newest strategies to identify those infected people to educate them, link them to care and cure them. Methods: We have identified patients that did not have a prior HCV screening in our Electronic medical record (EMR) including all our different hospital locations (South Suburban Chicago, Northern, Western and Central Indiana). Providing education to all Primary care/Gastroenterology/Infectious diseases providers and staff in the clinic to increase awareness of the HCV screening. Health-related quality of life, chronic clinical complications, and demographics data were collected for each patient. All outcomes of HCV antibody-reactive and HCV RNA–positive results were identified and statistically analyzed. Results: From July 2016 to July 2018 we screened 35,720 individuals of birth cohort in our different Franciscan’s health medical centers. Of the screened population, 986 (2.7%) individuals were HCV AB-reactive. Of those, 319 (1%) patients were HCV RNA-positive, and 264 patients were counseled and linked to providers. 34 patients initiated anti-HCV therapy with successful treatment. Conclusions: Our HCV screening augmentation project considered the largest screening program in the Midwest. Augmenting the HCV screening process through creating a Best Practice Alert (BPA) in the EMR (Epic Sys.) and point of care testing could be helpful. Although continued work is required, our team is working on increase screening through adding HCV test to CBC-Panels in Emergency Department settings, phone calls to all birth cohort individuals through Robo-Calling System aimed to reach 75,000 individuals by 2019. However, a better linkage to care and referral monitoring system to all HCV RNA positive patients is still needed, and access to therapy, especially for uninsured patients, is challenging.

Keywords: chronic hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis C treatment, chronic hepatitis C screening, chronic hepatitis C prevention, liver cancer

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Authors: Aydin Azizi, Abdurrahman Tanira

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With the onset of climate change and limited fuel resources, improving fuel efficiency has become an important part of the motor industry. To maximize fuel efficiency, development of technologies must come hand-in-hand with awareness of efficient driving strategies. This study aims to explore the various driving habits that can impact fuel efficiency by reviewing available literature. Such habits include sudden and unnecessary acceleration or deceleration, improper hardware maintenance, driving above or below optimum speed and idling. By studying such habits and ultimately applying it to driving techniques, in combination with improved mechanics of the car, will optimize the use of fuel.

Keywords: fuel efficiency, driving techniques, optimum speed, optimizing fuel consumption

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Authors: Zhiwei Wang

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Much emphasis has been placed on the political dimension of digitised Chinese national(ist) discourses and their embodied national identities, which neglects other important dimensions constitutive of their discursive nature. A further investigation into how Chinese national(ist) discourses are daily (re)shaped online by diverse socio-political actors (especially ordinary users) is crucial, which can contribute to not only deeper understandings of Chinese national sentiments on China’s Internet beyond the excessive focus on their passionate, political-charged facet but also richer insights into the socio-technical ecology of the contemporary Chinese digital (and physical) world. This research adopts an ethnographic methodology, by which ‘fieldsites’ are Sina Weibo and bilibili. The primary data collection method is virtual ethnographic observation on everyday national(ist) discussions on both platforms. If data obtained via observations do not suffice to answer research questions, in-depth online qualitative interviews with ‘key actors’ identified from those observations in discursively (re)producing Chinese national identity on each ‘fieldsite’ will be conducted, to complement data gathered through the first method. Critical discourse analysis is employed to analyse data. During the process of data coding, NVivo is utilised. From November 2021 to December 2022, 35 weeks’ digital ethnographic observations have been conducted, with 35 sets of fieldnotes obtained. The strategy adopted for the initial stage of observations was keyword searching, which means typing into the search box on Sina Weibo and bilibili any keywords related to China as a nation and then observing the search results. Throughout 35 weeks’ online ethnographic observations, six keywords have been employed on Sina Weibo and two keywords on bilibili. For 35 weeks’ observations, textual content created by ordinary users have been concentrated much upon. Based on the fieldnotes of the first week’s observations, multifarious national(ist) discourses on Sina Weibo and bilibili have been found, targeted both at national ‘Others’ and ‘Us’, both on the historical and real-world dimension, both aligning with and differing from or even conflicting with official discourses, both direct national(ist) expressions and articulations of sentiments in the name of presentation of national(ist) attachments but for other purposes. Second, Sina Weibo and bilibili users have agency in interpreting and deploying concrete national(ist) discourses despite the leading role played by the government and the two platforms in deciding on the basic framework of national expressions. Besides, there are also disputes and even quarrels between users in terms of explanations for concrete components of ‘nation-ness’ and (in)direct dissent to officially defined ‘mainstream’ discourses to some extent, though often expressed much more mundanely, discursively and playfully. Third, the (re)production process of national(ist) discourses on Sina Weibo and bilibili depends upon not only technical affordances and limitations of the two sites but also, to a larger degree, some established socio-political mechanisms and conventions in the offline China, e.g., the authorities’ acquiescence of citizens’ freedom in understanding and explaining concrete elements of national discourses while setting the basic framework of national narratives to the extent that citizens’ own national(ist) expressions do not reach political bottom lines and develop into mobilising power to shake social stability.

Keywords: national identity, national(ist) discourse(s), everyday nationhood/nationalism, Chinese nationalism, digital nationalism

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Authors: Joanna K. Konstantinou

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The aim of this study is to explore the need of small and medium-sized businesses in tourism and hospitality industry to adopt technology and enhance their degree of digitalization, along with the main benefits enjoyed by technology and the main challenges that hinder its adoption. Within a hermeneutic phenomenological perspective, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three hotel owners and the focus was to identify the main reasons of adoption of technology, enablers and barriers. The findings were grouped with the goal of identifying typology of business practices in using and adopting technology.

Keywords: digitization, SMEs, tourism and hospitality, challenges, benefits

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Authors: G. Petruzzelli, F. Pedron, M. Grifoni, F. Gorini, I. Rosellini, B. Pezzarossa

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Composting is a controlled technology to enhance the natural aerobic process of organic wastes degradation. The resulting product is a humified material that is principally recyclable for agricultural purpose. The composting process is one of the most important tools for waste management, by the European Community legislation. In recent years composting has been increasingly used as a remediation technology to remove biodegradable contaminants from soil, and to modulate heavy metals bioavailability in phytoremediation strategies. An optimization in the recovery of resources from wastes through composting could enhance soil fertility and promote its use in the remediation biotechnologies of contaminated soils.

Keywords: agriculture, biopile, compost, soil clean-up, waste recycling

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Authors: K. Usanova

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This study contributes to the conceptual and empirical understanding of how gender diversity management (GDM) is integrated into talent management (TM). Following the grounded theory, we interviewed 40 HR managers and talents from the space industry in Luxembourg. We provide a nuanced picture of what attitude on the GDM in TM organizations have, what strategies and practices they conduct, and how they differ from each other. Based on these differences, we developed three types of GDM integration to TM and explained the talents’ view on this issue. To the author's best knowledge, this study is the first empirical investigation of GDM in TM in the space industry that integrates both the TM executives' and TM receivers' views on gender equality in TM.

Keywords: gender diversity management, high-technology industry, human resource management, talent management

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Authors: Ankush, Harshit Sosan Lakra, Rachita Kuthial

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Climate change poses significant challenges to vulnerable communities, particularly indigenous populations in ecologically sensitive regions. Jharkhand, located in the heart of India, is home to several indigenous communities, including the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The Indigenous architecture of the region functions as a significant reservoir of climate adaptation wisdom. It explores the architectural analysis encompassing the construction materials, construction techniques, design principles, climate responsiveness, cultural relevance, adaptation, integration with the environment and traditional wisdom that has evolved through generations, rooted in cultural and socioeconomic traditions, and has allowed these communities to thrive in a variety of climatic zones, including hot and dry, humid, and hilly terrains to withstand the test of time. Despite their historical resilience to adverse climatic conditions, PVTG tribal communities face new and amplified challenges due to the accelerating pace of climate change. There is a significant research void that exists in assimilating their traditional practices and local wisdom into contemporary climate resilience initiatives. Most of the studies place emphasis on technologically advanced solutions, often ignoring the invaluable Indigenous Local knowledge that can complement and enhance these efforts. This research gap highlights the need to bridge the disconnect between indigenous knowledge and contemporary climate adaptation strategies. The study aims to explore and leverage indigenous knowledge of vernacular architecture as a strategic tool for enhancing climatic resilience among PVTGs of the region. The first objective is to understand the traditional wisdom of vernacular architecture by analyzing and documenting distinct architectural practices and cultural significance of PVTG communities, emphasizing construction techniques, materials and spatial planning. The second objective is to develop culturally sensitive climatic resilience strategies based on findings of vernacular architecture by employing a multidisciplinary research approach that encompasses ethnographic fieldwork climate data assessment considering multiple variables such as temperature variations, precipitation patterns, extreme weather events and climate change reports. This will be a tailor-made solution integrating indigenous knowledge with modern technology and sustainable practices. With the involvement of indigenous communities in the process, the research aims to ensure that the developed strategies are practical, culturally appropriate, and accepted. To foster long-term resilience against the global issue of climate change, we can bridge the gap between present needs and future aspirations with Traditional wisdom, offering sustainable solutions that will empower PVTG communities. Moreover, the study emphasizes the significance of preserving and reviving traditional Architectural wisdom for enhancing climatic resilience. It also highlights the need for cooperative endeavors of communities, stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers to encourage integrating traditional Knowledge into Modern sustainable design methods. Through these efforts, this research will contribute not only to the well-being of PVTG communities but also to the broader global effort to build a more resilient and sustainable future. Also, the Indigenous communities like PVTG in the state of Jharkhand can achieve climatic resilience while respecting and safeguarding the cultural heritage and peculiar characteristics of its native population.

Keywords: vernacular architecture, climate change, resilience, PVTGs, Jharkhand, indigenous people, India

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Authors: Rob van den Dam

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Today’s Internet of Things (IoT) comprises more than a billion intelligent devices, connected via wired/wireless communications. The expected proliferation of hundreds of billions more places us at the threshold of a transformation sweeping across the communications industry. Yet, we found that the IoT architecture and solutions that currently work for billions of devices won’t necessarily scale to tomorrow’s hundreds of billions of devices because of high cost, lack of privacy, not future-proof, lack of functional value and broken business models. As the IoT scales exponentially, decentralized networks have the potential to reduce infrastructure and maintenance costs to manufacturers. Decentralization also promises increased robustness by removing single points of failure that could exist in traditional centralized networks. By shifting the power in the network from the center to the edges, devices gain greater autonomy and can become points of transactions and economic value creation for owners and users. To validate the underlying technology vision, IBM jointly developed with Samsung Electronics the autonomous decentralized peer-to- peer proof-of-concept (PoC). The primary objective of this PoC was to establish a foundation on which to demonstrate several capabilities that are fundamental to building a decentralized IoT. Though many commercial systems in the future will exist as hybrid centralized-decentralized models, the PoC demonstrated a fully distributed proof. The PoC (a) validated the future vision for decentralized systems to extensively augment today’s centralized solutions, (b) demonstrated foundational IoT tasks without the use of centralized control, (c) proved that empowered devices can engage autonomously in marketplace transactions. The PoC opens the door for the communications and electronics industry to further explore the challenges and opportunities of potential hybrid models that can address the complexity and variety of requirements posed by the internet that continues to scale. Contents: (a) The new approach for an IoT that will be secure and scalable, (b) The three foundational technologies that are key for the future IoT, (c) The related business models and user experiences, (d) How such an IoT will create an 'Economy of Things', (e) The role of users, devices, and industries in the IoT future, (f) The winners in the IoT economy.

Keywords: IoT, internet, wired, wireless

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Authors: Sylvie Michel, Sylvie Gerbaix, Marc Bidan

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Artificial intelligence (AI) can be held accountable for its detrimental impacts. This question gains heightened relevance given AI's pervasive reach across various domains, magnifying its power and potential. The expanding influence of AI raises fundamental ethical inquiries, primarily centering on biases, responsibility, and transparency. This encompasses discriminatory biases arising from algorithmic criteria or data, accidents attributed to autonomous vehicles or other systems, and the imperative of transparent decision-making. This article aims to stimulate reflection on AI accountability, denoting the necessity to elucidate the effects it generates. Accountability comprises two integral aspects: adherence to legal and ethical standards and the imperative to elucidate the underlying operational rationale. The objective is to initiate a reflection on the obstacles to this "accountability," facing the challenges of the complexity of artificial intelligence's system and its effects. Then, this article proposes to mobilize Edgar Morin's complex thought to encompass and face the challenges of this complexity. The first contribution is to point out the challenges posed by the complexity of A.I., with fractional accountability between a myriad of human and non-human actors, such as software and equipment, which ultimately contribute to the decisions taken and are multiplied in the case of AI. Accountability faces three challenges resulting from the complexity of the ethical issues combined with the complexity of AI. The challenge of the non-neutrality of algorithmic systems as fully ethically non-neutral actors is put forward by a revealing ethics approach that calls for assigning responsibilities to these systems. The challenge of the dilution of responsibility is induced by the multiplicity and distancing between the actors. Thus, a dilution of responsibility is induced by a split in decision-making between developers, who feel they fulfill their duty by strictly respecting the requests they receive, and management, which does not consider itself responsible for technology-related flaws. Accountability is confronted with the challenge of transparency of complex and scalable algorithmic systems, non-human actors self-learning via big data. A second contribution involves leveraging E. Morin's principles, providing a framework to grasp the multifaceted ethical dilemmas and subsequently paving the way for establishing accountability in AI. When addressing the ethical challenge of biases, the "hologrammatic" principle underscores the imperative of acknowledging the non-ethical neutrality of algorithmic systems inherently imbued with the values and biases of their creators and society. The "dialogic" principle advocates for the responsible consideration of ethical dilemmas, encouraging the integration of complementary and contradictory elements in solutions from the very inception of the design phase. Aligning with the principle of organizing recursiveness, akin to the "transparency" of the system, it promotes a systemic analysis to account for the induced effects and guides the incorporation of modifications into the system to rectify deviations and reintroduce modifications into the system to rectify its drifts. In conclusion, this contribution serves as an inception for contemplating the accountability of "artificial intelligence" systems despite the evident ethical implications and potential deviations. Edgar Morin's principles, providing a lens to contemplate this complexity, offer valuable perspectives to address these challenges concerning accountability.

Keywords: accountability, artificial intelligence, complexity, ethics, explainability, transparency, Edgar Morin

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Authors: Kuo-Wei Hsu, Wei-Chin Lo

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In these years, urban agriculture development has been wide spreading all over the world. The development of urban agriculture is an evolution process of highly urbanization, as well as an agricultural phenomenon closely related to the development of economy, society and culture in urban areas. It provides densely populated areas with multi-functional uses of land, impacting strategic development of both large and small towns in the area. In addition, the participation of social enterprises keeps industrial competitiveness and makes gains when facing rapid transformation of industrial structures and new patterns of lifestyles in urban areas. They create better living conditions as well as protect the environment with innovative business beliefs, which give new ways for development of urban agriculture. Also, through building up the value chain, these social enterprises are capable of creating value for urban agriculture. Most of research regarding to social enterprises currently explore the relationship between corporate responsibilities and its role play, operational mode and performance and organizational patterns. Merely some of them discuss the function of social entrepreneurship in the development of urban agriculture. Moreover, none of them have explored the value creation for development of urban agriculture processed by social enterprises, as well as how social enterprises operate to increase competitive advantages, which make it possible to achieve industrial innovation, increase corporate value and even provide services with value creation. Therefore, this research mainly reviews current business patterns and operational conditions of social enterprises. This research endowed social responsibilities, and discusses current development process of urban agriculture. This research adopts Value Chain perspective to discuss key factors for value creation with respect to the development of urban agriculture processed by social enterprises. Thereby after organization and integration this research develops the prospect of value creation referring to urban agriculture processed by social enterprises and builds the value chain for urban agriculture. In conclusion, this research explored the relationship between value chain and value creation, which relates to values of customer, enterprise, society and economy referring to the development of urban agriculture uniquely, in consideration of the participation of social enterprises, and hence built the connection between value chain and value creation in the development of urban agriculture by social enterprises. The research found, social enterprises help to enhance the connection between the enterprise value and society value, mold corporate image with social responsibility and create brand value, and therefore impact the increase of economic value.

Keywords: urban agriculture development, value chain, social enterprise, urban systems

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Authors: Syeda Fatima Manzelat

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This chapter investigates the biodeterioration of parks in the UK caused by lichens, focusing on Campbell Park and Great Linford Manor Park in Milton Keynes. The study first isolates and identifies potent biodeteriogens responsible for potential biodeterioration in these parks, enumerating and recording different classes and genera of lichens known for their biodeteriorative properties. It then examines the implications of lichens on biodeterioration at historic sites within these parks, considering impacts on historic structures, the environment, and associated health risks. Conservation strategies and preventive measures are discussed before concluding.Lichens, characterized by their symbiotic association between a fungus and an alga, thrive on various surfaces including building materials, soil, rock, wood, and trees. The fungal component provides structure and protection, while the algal partner performs photosynthesis. Lichens collected from the park sites, such as Xanthoria, Cladonia, and Arthonia, were observed affecting the historic walls, objects, and trees. Their biodeteriorative impacts were visible to the naked eye, contributing to aesthetic and structural damage. The study highlights the role of lichens as bioindicators of pollution, sensitive to changes in air quality. The presence and diversity of lichens provide insights into the air quality and pollution levels in the parks. However, lichens also pose health risks, with certain species causing respiratory issues, allergies, skin irritation, and other toxic effects in humans and animals. Conservation strategies discussed include regular monitoring, biological and chemical control methods, physical removal, and preventive cleaning. The study emphasizes the importance of a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach to managing lichen-induced biodeterioration. Future management practices could involve advanced techniques such as eco-friendly biocides and self-cleaning materials to effectively control lichen growth and preserve historic structures. In conclusion, this chapter underscores the dual role of lichens as agents of biodeterioration and indicators of environmental quality. Comprehensive conservation management approaches, encompassing monitoring, targeted interventions, and advanced conservation methods, are essential for preserving the historic and natural integrity of parks like Campbell Park and Great Linford Manor Park.

Keywords: biodeterioration, historic parks, algae, UK

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Authors: Meduranda Marco

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This paper aimed to discuss the Integrative Assessment (IA) initiative of the Schools Division Office - Navotas City. The introduction provided a brief landscape analysis of the current state of education, the context of SDO Navotas, and the rationale for the administration of Integrative Assessment (IA) in schools. The IA methodology, procedure, and implementation activities were also shared. Feedback and reports on IA showed positive results as all schools in the Division were able to operationalize IA and consequently foster academic ease for learners and parents. Challenges met after compliance were also documented and strategies to continuously improve the Integrative Assessment process were proposed.

Keywords: distance learning assessment, integrative assessment, academic ease, learning outcomes evaluation

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Authors: Satya Narayan

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India, a rapidly growing economy with a burgeoning population, grapples with the dual challenge of meeting rising energy demands and reducing its carbon footprint. Geothermal energy, an often overlooked and underutilized renewable source, holds immense potential for addressing this challenge. Geothermal resources offer a valuable, consistent, and sustainable energy source, and may significantly contribute to India's energy. This paper discusses the importance of geothermal exploration in India, emphasizing its role in achieving sustainable energy production while mitigating environmental impacts. It also delves into the methodology employed to assess geothermal resource feasibility, including geophysical surveys and borehole drilling. The results and discussion sections highlight promising geothermal sites across India, illuminating the nation's vast geothermal potential. It detects potential geothermal reservoirs, characterizes subsurface structures, maps temperature gradients, monitors fluid flow, and estimates key reservoir parameters. Globally, geothermal energy falls into high and low enthalpy categories, with India mainly having low enthalpy resources, especially in hot springs. The northwestern Himalayan region boasts high-temperature geothermal resources due to geological factors. Promising sites, like Puga Valley, Chhumthang, and others, feature hot springs suitable for various applications. The Son-Narmada-Tapti lineament intersects regions rich in geological history, contributing to geothermal resources. Southern India, including the Godavari Valley, has thermal springs suitable for power generation. The Andaman-Nicobar region, linked to subduction and volcanic activity, holds high-temperature geothermal potential. Geophysical surveys, utilizing gravity, magnetic, seismic, magnetotelluric, and electrical resistivity techniques, offer vital information on subsurface conditions essential for detecting, evaluating, and exploiting geothermal resources. The gravity and magnetic methods map the depth of the mantle boundary (high-temperature) and later accurately determine the Curie depth. Electrical methods indicate the presence of subsurface fluids. Seismic surveys create detailed sub-surface images, revealing faults and fractures and establishing possible connections to aquifers. Borehole drilling is crucial for assessing geothermal parameters at different depths. Detailed geochemical analysis and geophysical surveys in Dholera, Gujarat, reveal untapped geothermal potential in India, aligning with renewable energy goals. In conclusion, geophysical surveys and borehole drilling play a pivotal role in economically viable geothermal site selection and feasibility assessments. With ongoing exploration and innovative technology, these surveys effectively minimize drilling risks, optimize borehole placement, aid in environmental impact evaluations, and facilitate remote resource exploration. Their cost-effectiveness informs decisions regarding geothermal resource location and extent, ultimately promoting sustainable energy and reducing India's reliance on conventional fossil fuels.

Keywords: geothermal resources, geophysical methods, exploration, exploitation

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Authors: Mohamed Fairooz Abdul Khir

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The linkage between liability for risk and legitimacy of reward is a governing principle that must be fully observed in financial transactions. It is the cornerstone of any Islamic business or financial deal. The absence of risk taking principle may give rise to numerous prohibited elements such as ribā, gharar and gambling that violate the objectives of financial transactions. However, fiqhī domains from which it emanates have not been clearly spelled out by the scholars. In addition, the concept of risk taking in relation to contemporary risks associated with financial contracts, such as credit risk, liquidity risk, reputational risk and market risk, needs further scrutiny as regard their Sharīʿah bases. Hence, this study is imperatively significant to prove that absence of risk taking concept in Islamic financial instruments give rise to prohibited elements particularly ribā. This study is primarily intended to clarify the concept of risk in Islamic financial transactions from the fiqhī perspective and evaluate analytically the selected issues involving risk taking based on the established concept of risk taking from fiqhī viewpoint. The selected issues are amongst others charging cost of fund on defaulting customers, holding the lessee liable for total loss of leased asset under ijārah thumma al-bayʿ and capital guarantee under mushārakah based instruments. This is a library research in which data has been collected from various materials such as classical fiqh books, regulators’ policy guidelines and journal articles. This study employed deductive and inductive methods to analyze the data critically in search for conclusive findings. It suggests that business risks have to be evaluated based on their subjects namely (i) property (māl) and (ii) work (ʿamal) to ensure that Islamic financial instruments structured based on certain Sharīʿah principles are not diverted from the risk taking concept embedded in them. Analysis of the above selected cases substantiates that when risk taking principle is breached, the prohibited elements such as ribā, gharar and maysir do arise and that they impede the realization of the maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah intended from Islamic financial contracts.

Keywords: Islamic finance, ownership risk, ribā, risk taking

Procedia PDF Downloads 331