Search results for: new role

Authors: M. Louise Humbert, Karen E. Chad, Natalie E. Houser, Marta E. Erlandson

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Physical literacy is the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and takes responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life. In recent years, physical literacy has emerged as a determinant of health, promoting a positive lifelong physical activity trajectory. Physical literacy’s holistic approach and emphasis on the intrinsic valuation of movement provide an encouraging avenue for intervention among children to develop competent and confident movers. Although there is research on physical literacy interventions, no evidence exists on the outcomes of multi-sectoral interventions involving a combination of home, school, and community contexts. Since children interact with and in a wide range of contexts (home, school, community) daily, interventions designed to address a combination of these contexts are critical to the development of physical literacy. Working with school administrators and teachers, sports and recreation leaders, and community members, our team of university and community researchers conducted and evaluated one of the first multi-contextual and multi-sectoral physical literacy interventions in Canada. Schools played a critical role in this multi-sector intervention, and in this project, teachers and administrators focused their actions on developing physical literacy in students 10 to 14 years of age through the instruction of physical literacy-focused physical education lessons. Little is known about the experiences of educators when they work alongside an array of community representatives to develop physical literacy in school-aged children. Given the uniqueness of this intervention, we sought to answer the question, ‘What were the experiences of school-based educators involved in a multi-sectoral partnership focused on creating a physical literacy enriched community intervention?’ A thematic analysis approach was used to analyze data collected from interviews with educators and administrators, informal conversations, documents, and observations at workshops and meetings. Results indicated that schools and educators played the largest role in this multi-sector intervention. Educators initially reported a limited understanding of physical literacy and expressed a need for resources linked to the physical education curriculum. Some anxiety was expressed by the teachers as their students were measured, and educators noted they wanted to increase their understanding and become more involved in the assessment of physical literacy. Teachers reported that the intervention’s focus on physical literacy positively impacted the scheduling and their instruction of physical education. Administrators shared their desire for school and division-level actions targeting physical literacy development like the current focus on numeracy and literacy, treaty education, and safe schools. As this was one of the first multi-contextual and multi-sectoral physical literacy interventions, it was important to document creation and delivery experiences to encourage future growth in the area and develop suggested best practices.

Keywords: physical literacy, multi sector intervention, physical education, teachers

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Authors: Al. I. Diwedar, Moheb Iskander, Mohamed Yossef, Ahmed ElKut, Noha Fouad, Radwa Fathy, Mustafa M. Almaghraby, Amira Samir, Ahmed Romya, Nourhan Hassan, Asmaa Abo Zed, Bas Reijmerink, Julien Groenenboom

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Coastal problems are stressing the coastal environment due to its complexity. The dynamic interaction between the sea and the land results in serious problems that threaten coastal areas worldwide, in addition to human interventions and activities. This makes the coastal environment highly vulnerable to natural processes like flooding, erosion, and the impact of human activities as pollution. Protecting and preserving this vulnerable coastal zone with its valuable ecosystems calls for addressing the coastal problems. This, in the end, will support the sustainability of the coastal communities and maintain the current and future generations. Consequently applying suitable management strategies and sustainable development that consider the unique characteristics of the coastal system is a must. The coastal management philosophy aims to solve the conflicts of interest between human development activities and this dynamic nature. Modeling emerges as a successful tool that provides support to decision-makers, engineers, and researchers for better management practices. Modeling tools proved that it is accurate and reliable in prediction. With its capability to integrate data from various sources such as bathymetric surveys, satellite images, and meteorological data, it offers the possibility for engineers and scientists to understand this complex dynamic system and get in-depth into the interaction between both the natural and human-induced factors. This enables decision-makers to make informed choices and develop effective strategies for sustainable development and risk mitigation of the coastal zone. The application of modeling tools supports the evaluation of various scenarios by affording the possibility to simulate and forecast different coastal processes from the hydrodynamic and wave actions and the resulting flooding and erosion. The state-of-the-art application of modeling tools in coastal management allows for better understanding and predicting coastal processes, optimizing infrastructure planning and design, supporting ecosystem-based approaches, assessing climate change impacts, managing hazards, and finally facilitating stakeholder engagement. This paper emphasizes the role of hydraulic models in enhancing the management of coastal problems by discussing the diverse applications of modeling in coastal management. It highlights the modelling role in understanding complex coastal processes, and predicting outcomes. The importance of informing decision-makers with modeling results which gives technical and scientific support to achieve sustainable coastal development and protection.

Keywords: coastal problems, coastal management, hydraulic model, numerical model, physical model

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Authors: N. Zerzouri, N. Benalia, N. Bensiali

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During recent years wind turbine technology has undergone rapid developments. Growth in size and the optimization of wind turbines has enabled wind energy to become increasingly competitive with conventional energy sources. As a result today’s wind turbines participate actively in the power production of several countries around the world. These developments raise a number of challenges to be dealt with now and in the future. The penetration of wind energy in the grid raises questions about the compatibility of the wind turbine power production with the grid. In particular, the contribution to grid stability, power quality and behavior during fault situations plays therefore as important a role as the reliability. In the present work, we addressed two fault situations that have shown their influence on the generator and the behavior of the wind over the defects which are briefly discussed based on simulation results.

Keywords: doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), wind energy, grid fault, electrical engineering

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Authors: Hyeondal Jeong, Yoonjung Baek

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This study examines the relationship between ethical leadership and individual creativity and focused on mediating effects of psychological safety. In order to clarify the mechanism of ethical leadership, psychological safety of the members was set as a mediator. Using data gathered from a sample of 150 employees. For data analysis, exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression analysis and Sobel-Test were performed. The results showed that ethical leadership had a positive effect on psychological safety and individual creativity, and psychological safety had a positive mediating effect. Since the mediating effect of psychological safety has been confirmed, we need to find ways to improve the psychological safety of the members in terms of organizational management. Psychological safety has a positive effect on individual creativity, which can have a positive impact on innovation throughout the organization.

Keywords: ethical leadership, creativity, psychological safety, ethics management, innovative behaviors

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Authors: Nan Tang, Bin Wu, Cunfu He

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The trapezoid rods are widely used in civil engineering as load –carrying members. Ultrasonic guided wave is one of the most popular techniques in analyzing the propagation of elastic guided wave. The goal of this paper is to investigate the propagation of elastic waves in the isotropic bar with trapezoid cross-section. Dispersion curves that describe the relationship between the frequency and velocity provide the fundamental information to describe the propagation of elastic waves through a structure. Based on the SAFE (semi-analytical finite element) a linear algebraic system of equations is obtained. By using numerical methods, dispersion curves solved for the rods with the trapezoid cross-section. These fundamental information plays an important role in applying ultrasonic guided waves to NTD for structures with trapezoid cross section.

Keywords: guided wave, dispersion, finite element method, trapezoid rod

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Authors: Huei Chu Weng, Chien-Hung Liu

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This paper presents a study on the effect of second-order slip and jump on forced convection through a long isothermally heated or cooled planar microchannel. The fully developed solutions of thermal flow fields are analytically obtained on the basis of the second-order Maxwell-Burnett slip and Smoluchowski jump boundary conditions. Results reveal that the second-order term in the Karniadakis slip boundary condition is found to contribute a negative velocity slip and then to lead to a higher pressure drop as well as a higher fluid temperature for the heated-wall case or to a lower fluid temperature for the cooled-wall case. These findings are contrary to predictions made by the Deissler model. In addition, the role of second-order slip becomes more significant when the Knudsen number increases.

Keywords: microfluidics, forced convection, gas rarefaction, second-order boundary conditions

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Authors: Kaushiki Sanyal, Rajesh Chakrabarti

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In India, on average, about 60 Bills are passed every year in both Houses of Parliament – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (calculated from information on websites of both Houses). These are debated in both Lok Sabha (House of Commons) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States) before they are passed. However, lawmakers rarely use empirical evidence to make a case for a law. Most of the time, they support a law on the basis of anecdote, intuition, and common sense. While these do play a role in law-making, without the necessary empirical evidence, laws often fail to achieve their desired results. The quality of legislative debates is an indicator of the efficacy of the legislative process through which a Bill is enacted. However, the study of legislative debates has not received much attention either in India or worldwide due to the difficulty of objectively measuring the quality of a debate. Broadly, three approaches have emerged in the study of legislative debates. The rational-choice or formal approach shows that speeches vary based on different institutional arrangements, intra-party politics, and the political culture of a country. The discourse approach focuses on the underlying rules and conventions and how they impact the content of the debates. The deliberative approach posits that legislative speech can be reasoned, respectful, and informed. This paper aims to (a) develop a framework to judge the quality of debates by using the deliberative approach; (b) examine the legislative debates of three Bills passed in different periods as a demonstration of the framework, and (c) examine the broader structural issues that disincentive MPs from scrutinizing Bills. The framework would include qualitative and quantitative indicators to judge a debate. The idea is that the framework would provide useful insights into the legislators’ knowledge of the subject, the depth of their scrutiny of Bills, and their inclination toward evidence-based research. The three Bills that the paper plans to examine are as follows: 1. The Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985: This act was passed to curb drug trafficking and abuse. However, it mostly failed to fulfill its purpose. Consequently, it was amended thrice but without much impact on the ground. 2. The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2013: This act amended the Indian Penal Code to add a section on human trafficking. The purpose was to curb trafficking and penalise traffickers, pimps, and middlemen. However, the crime rate remains high while the conviction rate is low. 3. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021: This act bans commercial surrogacy allowing only relatives to act as surrogates as long as there is no monetary payment. Experts fear that instead of preventing commercial surrogacy, it would drive the activity underground. The consequences would be borne by the surrogate, who would not be protected by law. The purpose of the paper is to objectively analyse the quality of parliamentary debates, get insights into how MPs understand the evidence and deliberate on steps to incentivise them to use empirical evidence.

Keywords: legislature, debates, empirical, India

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Authors: Tashinga Matindike

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By means of definition, digital artworks encompass an array of artistic productions that are expressed in a technological form as an essential part of a creative process. Examples include illustrations, photos, videos, sculptures, and installations. Within the context of the visual arts, the process of repatriation involves the return of once-appropriated goods. Archiving denotes the preservation of a commodity for storage purposes in order to nurture its continuity. The aforementioned definitions form the foundation of the academic framework and premise of the argument, which is outlined in this paper. This paper aims to define, discuss and decipher the complexities involved in digitising artworks, whilst explaining the benefits of the process, particularly within the South African context, which is rich in tangible and intangible traditional cultural material, objects, and performances. With the internet having been introduced to the African Continent in the early 1990s, this new form of technology, in its own right, initiated a high degree of efficiency, which also resulted in the progressive transformation of computer-generated visual output. Subsequently, this caused a revolutionary influence on the manner in which technological software was developed and uterlised in art-making. Digital technology and the digitisation of creative processes then opened up new avenues of collating and recording information. One of the first visual artists to make use of digital technology software in his creative productions was United States-based artist John Whitney. His inventive work contributed greatly to the onset and development of digital animation. Comparable by technique and originality, South African contemporary visual artists who make digital artworks, both locally and internationally, include David Goldblatt, Katherine Bull, Fritha Langerman, David Masoga, Zinhle Sethebe, Alicia Mcfadzean, Ivan Van Der Walt, Siobhan Twomey, and Fhatuwani Mukheli. In conclusion, the main objective of this paper is to address the following questions: In which ways has the South African art community of visual artists made use of and benefited from technology, in its digital form, as a means to further advance creativity? What are the positive changes that have resulted in art production in South Africa since the onset and use of digital technological software? How has digitisation changed the manner in which we record, interpret, and archive both written and visual information? What is the role of South African art institutions in the development of digital technology and its use in the field of visual art. What role does digitisation play in the process of the repatriation of artworks and artefacts. The methodology in terms of the research process of this paper takes on a multifacted form, inclusive of data analysis of information attained by means of qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Keywords: digital art, digitisation, technology, archiving, transformation and repatriation

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Authors: Xiao-Jing Zhu, Liang Zhou, Shi-Zhong Zheng

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Various studies have shown that diallyl trisulfide (DATS) can protect the liver injury, and DATS has a strong antioxidant property. The aim of this study is to evaluate the in vivo role of DATS in protecting the liver against injury and fibrogenesis and further explores the underlying mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that DATS protected the liver from CCl4-caused injury by suppressing the elevation of ALT and AST activities, and by improving the histological architecture of the liver. Treatment with DATS or colchicine improved the liver fibrosis by sirius red staining and immunofluorescence. In addition, immunohistochemistry, western blot, and RT-PCR analyses indicated that DATS inhibited HSC activation. Furthermore, DATS attenuated oxidative stress by increasing glutathione and reducing lipid peroxides and malondialdehyde. These findings suggest that the protective effect of DATS on CCl4-caused liver injury and liver fibrogenesis was, at least partially, attributed to its antioxidant activity.

Keywords: liver fibrogenesis, liver injury, oxidative stress, DATS

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Authors: Muhammad Danish Khan, Imran Naeem, Mudassar Imran

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In this article, we study time-space Fractional Advection-Dispersion (FADE) equation and time-space Fractional Whitham-Broer-Kaup (FWBK) equation that have a significant role in hydrology. We introduce suitable transformations to convert fractional order derivatives to integer order derivatives and as a result these equations transform into Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). Then the Lie symmetries and corresponding optimal systems of the resulting PDEs are derived. The symmetry reductions and exact independent solutions based on optimal system are investigated which constitute the exact solutions of original fractional differential equations.

Keywords: modified Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative, lie-symmetries, optimal system, invariant solutions

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Authors: Wafa' Alsharafat, Suhila Farhan Abu-Owida

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Genetic algorithm (GA) is a powerful evolutionary searching technique that is used successfully to solve and optimize problems in different research areas. Genetic Algorithm (GA) considered as one of optimization methods used to solve Travel salesman Problem (TSP). The feasibility of GA in finding a TSP solution is dependent on GA operators; encoding method, population size, termination criteria, in general. In specific, crossover and its probability play a significant role in finding possible solutions for Symmetric TSP (STSP). In addition, the crossover should be determined and enhanced in term reaching optimal or at least near optimal. In this paper, we spot the light on using a modified crossover method called modified sequential constructive crossover and its impact on reaching optimal solution. To justify the relevance of a parameter value in solving the TSP, a set comparative analysis conducted on different crossover methods values.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, crossover, mutation, TSP

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Authors: C. V. Chen, Y. H. Jeng, S. J. Wang

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Leadership is essential to enhancing followers’ psychological empowerment and has an effect on their willingness to take on extra-role behavior and aim for greater performance. Authentic leadership is confirmed to promote employees’ positive affect, psychological empowerment, well-being, and performance. Employees’ spontaneous undertaking of organizationally desired behaviors allows organizations’ gaining the edge in the fiercely competitive business environment. Apart from the contextual factor of leadership, individuals’ goal orientation is found to be highly related to his/her performance. To better understand the psychological process and potential moderation of personal goal orientation, this study investigates the effect of authentic leadership on employees’ task performance and organizational citizenship behavior by including psychological empowerment as the mediating factor and goal orientation as the moderating factor.

Keywords: authentic leadership, task performance, organizational citizenship behavior, goal orientation

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Authors: Vanitha Dapparabail

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Dowry is a system attached to Indian marriage system, it is practice of exchanging the goods and articles in a majority of Indian weddings. Although its practice became illegal in 1961, dowry flourishes among all social classes. Families of the bride and groom negotiate transfer of assets to the groom and his family in exchange for marrying the bride, often within the context of an arranged marriage. Dissatisfaction with the amount of dowry may result in abuse of the bride. In extreme cases “dowry deaths” or the murder of the bride by her husband and his family take place. This article conducts a feminist psychological analysis of the dowry phenomenon, its link to domestic violence against women, and the role of the perpetrators. Existing and new explanations of the dowry system and its ramifications are explored. Psychologically dowry system is greater mental stress for the Indian women and it is a really a part of gender discrimination. This part of the study can explore the amount of gender discrimination in Indian society.

Keywords: Dowry system, violence, gender discrimination, India

Procedia PDF Downloads 487

Authors: Benjamin Legros, Jan Fransoo, Oualid Jouini

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This study aims to evaluate street-turn strategies for empty container repositioning in the hinterland. Containers arrive over time at the (importer) consignee, while the demand for containers arises from the (exporter) shipper. A match can be operated between an empty container from the consignee and the load from the shipper. Therefore, we model the system as a double-ended queue with non-zero matching time and a limited number of resources in order to optimize the reposition- ing decisions. We determine the performance measures when the consignee operates using a fixed withholding threshold policy. We show that the matching time mainly plays a role in the matching proportion, while under a certain duration, it only marginally impacts the consignee’s inventory policy and cost per container. Also, the withholding level is mainly determined by the shipper’s production rate.

Keywords: container, double-ended queue, inventory, Markov decision process, non-zero matching time, street-turn

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Authors: A. Kudrev

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The duplex Poly(A)-Poly(U) denaturation in an aqueous solutions in mixtures with the tetracationic MeTMPyP4 (Me = 2H, Zn(II); TMPyP4 is 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin), was investigated by monitoring the changes in the UV-Vis absorbance spectrum with increasing temperatures from 20°С to 70°С (рН 7.0, I=0.15M). The absorbance data matrices were analyzed with a versatile chemometric procedure that provides the melting profile (distribution of species) and the pure spectrum for each chemical species present along the heating experiment. As revealed by the increase of Tm, the duplex structure was stabilized by these porphyrins. The values of stabilization temperature ΔTm in the presence of these porphyrins are relatively large, 1.2-8.4 °C, indicating that the porphyrins contribute differently in stabilizing the duplex Poly(A)-Poly(U) structure. Remarkable is the fact that the porphyrin TMPyP4 was less effective in the stabilization of the duplex structure than the metalloporphyrin Zn(X)TMPyP4 which suggests that metallization play an important role in porphyrin-RNA binding. Molecular Dynamics Simulations has been used to illustrate melting of the duplex dsRNA bound with a porphyrin molecule.

Keywords: melting, Poly(A)-Poly(U), TMPyP4, Zn(X)TMPyP4

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Authors: Thea Silayro, Isabella Tan, Carlo Manuel, Denisse Abellon

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Romantic love is highly universal and exists in most cultures. The current study explored its definition for people in different relationship durations and explored how this definition influences their expression of love and their conflict resolutions. Gender‟s influence on the definitions was explored, as well. Nine couples from different relationship durations (2-3 years, 7-10 years and more than 25 years) were interviewed. Transcripts of the interviews underwent thematic analysis. The results of the study suggest that 2-3 years in the relationship is the courting stage, 7-10 years in the relationship is the settling down stage and more than 25 years, the most stable stage. Men and women have similar ways of expressing love and resolving conflicts, but differ in such a way that men highlight actions and women highlight emotions when talking about love; changes in definitions arise internally in men and externally in females. Generally, romantic love is expressed through service. Communication is essential among all couples, and they become more secure with time.

Keywords: relationship duration, love, expressions of love, relationships

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Authors: L. Tirabeni, K. E. Soderquist, P. Pisano

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Our purpose is to investigate how the relationship between employees and innovation management processes can drive organizations to successful innovations. This research is deeply related to a new way of thinking about human resources management practices. It’s not simply about improving the employees’ engagement, but rather about a different and more radical commitment: the employee can take on the role traditionally played by the customer, namely to become the first tester of an innovative product or service, the first user/customer and eventually the first investor in the innovation. This new perception of employees could create the basis of a novelty in the innovation process where innovation is taken to a next level when the problems with customer driven innovation on the one hand, and employees driven innovation on the other can be balanced. This research identifies an effective approach to innovation where the employees will participate throughout the whole innovation process, not only in the idea creation but also in the idea definition and development by giving feedback in parallel to that provided by customers and lead-users.

Keywords: employee-driven innovation, engagement, human resource management, innovative companies

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Authors: Holly A. Rick, Melissa McCartney

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The role of faculty has changed from the impact of Covid-19. Universities are changing faculty expectations. There is a changes in faculty workloads, and shift in how faculty work within a university. The research will identify areas where faculty are satisfied with their work, areas they would like their organizations to change, and how the faculty life is impacted by outside university obligations. A survey to obtain work-life balance, teaching responsibilities, and how a faculty’s personal life impacts their ability to work at their organization was conducted. The results of this research will identify areas where faculty have opportunities to engage in teaching, to balance their work life, and where organizations can change to support their faculty. Different ways of teaching including hyflex and other multimodal models will allow for faculty to engage in their teaching practice, professional development, and begin to establish work-life balance activities.

Keywords: faculty engagement, faculty responsibilities, HyFlex, teaching, work-life balance

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Authors: Ibrahim Shinbira

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In urban design, much has been discussed on the significance of the physical qualities in creating the place identity; however, the role of walkability as a physical quality that can evokes people's perception of place identity has not been adequately explored. This paper is based on the part findings of a doctoral research examining place identity in the city centre of Misurata, Libya. A number of 176 questionnaire and 23 face-to-face interviews were conducted with residents of the city to investigate physical qualities of place identity that evoked resident's perception. The finding demonstrates that walkability within the city centre is strong and it influences the users’ perception on the place identity. These were regarded as very important in sustaining the socio-cultural values, enjoyment, options, vitality and comfort. The paper concludes by establishing that walkability has a substantial contribution to the place identity, therefore should be considered in the design of urban places specifically the redevelopment one.

Keywords: perception, walkability, physical environment, place identity, residents

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Authors: Sanaa Ali Ahmed Alrashid

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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of synchronous music in gymnastics' motor skill performance among undergraduate female students in physical education college at Basra University. The researcher used an experimental design. 20 female students of physical education divided equally into two groups, (10)experimental group with music, (10) control group without music. All participants complete 8 weeks in testing. Data analysis based on T-test shows a significant difference at (α = 0.05) in all skills level between experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group. Results of this study contribute to developing the role of synchronous music in improving gymnastic skills performance.

Keywords: performance, motor skill, music, synchronous

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Authors: Thauane Silva, Gabrielle do Vale, Andre Ferreira, Marilda Siqueira, Thiago Moreno L. Souza, Milene D. Miranda

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The exposure of A(H1N1)pdm09-infected epithelial cells (HeLa) to HIV-1 viral particles, or its gp120, enhanced interferon-induced transmembrane protein (IFITM3) content, a viral restriction factor (RF), resulting in a decrease in influenza replication. The gp120 binds to CCR5 (R5) or CXCR4 (X4) cell receptors during HIV-1 infection. Then, it is possible that the endogenous ligands of these receptors also modulate the expression of IFITM3 and other cellular factors that restrict influenza virus replication. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze the role of cellular receptors R5 and X4 in modulating RFs in order to inhibit the replication of the influenza virus. A549 cells were treated with 2x effective dose (ED50) of endogenous R5 or X4 receptor agonists, CCL3 (20 ng/ml), CCL4 (10 ng/ml), CCL5 (10 ng/ml) and CXCL12 (100 ng/mL) or exogenous agonists, gp120 Bal-R5, gp120 IIIB-X4 and its mutants (5 µg/mL). The interferon α (10 ng/mL) and oseltamivir (60 nM) were used as a control. After 24 h post agonists exposure, the cells were infected with virus influenza A(H3N2) at 2 MOI (multiplicity of infection) for 1 h. Then, 24 h post infection, the supernatant was harvested and, the viral titre was evaluated by qRT-PCR. To evaluate IFITM3 and SAM and HD domain containing deoxynucleoside triphosphate triphosphohydrolase 1 (SAMHD1) protein levels, A549 were exposed to agonists for 24 h, and the monolayer was lysed with Laemmli buffer for western blot (WB) assay or fixed for indirect immunofluorescence (IFI) assay. In addition to this, we analyzed other RFs modulation in A549, after 24 h post agonists exposure by customized RT² Profiler Polymerase Chain Reaction Array. We also performed a functional assay in which SAMHD1-knocked-down, by single-stranded RNA (siRNA), A549 cells were infected with A(H3N2). In addition, the cells were treated with guanosine to assess the regulatory role of dNTPs by SAMHD1. We found that R5 and X4 agonists inhibited influenza replication in 54 ± 9%. We observed a four-fold increase in SAMHD1 transcripts by RFs mRNA quantification panel. After 24 h post agonists exposure, we did not observe an increase in IFITM3 protein levels through WB or IFI assays, but we observed an upregulation up to three-fold in the protein content of SAMHD1, in A549 exposed to agonists. Besides this, influenza replication enhanced in 20% in cell cultures that SAMDH1 was knockdown. Guanosine treatment in cells exposed to R5 ligands further inhibited influenza virus replication, suggesting that the inhibitory mechanism may involve the activation of the SAMHD1 deoxynucleotide triphosphohydrolase activity. Thus, our data show for the first time a direct relationship of SAMHD1 and inhibition of influenza replication, and provides perspectives for new studies on the signaling modulation, through cellular receptors, to induce proteins of great importance in the control of relevant infections for public health.

Keywords: chemokine receptors, gp120, influenza, virus restriction factors

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Authors: J.T. Chivanga

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This paper conceptualizes the significance of human rights activism by the Zimbabwean diaspora in the United Kingdom by analyzing how the diaspora advocates for the promotion of the rights of the people in Zimbabwe. It critiques the strategic essentialism theory that is used by the government of Zimbabwe as a basis to discredit the work of transnational advocacy groups. The research advances this position by articulating that the diaspora does not falsify nor simplify them to garner external support on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe. It establishes and shows the significance of transnational advocacy by articulating how the Zimbabwean diaspora addresses and brings to the attention of the international community human rights violations in Zimbabwe that would otherwise not have seen the light of day due to the absence of a conducive environment in that country that stifles the organization of protests under repressive laws such as the public order and security act of 2009.

Keywords: strategic essentialism, transnational advocacy, public order and security act, Zimbabwe diaspora

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Authors: Zahra Ranjbar

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Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is a well-established methodology for identifying relationships among specific variables, which define a problem or an issue. In this study most important variables that have critical role in children obesity problem were introduce by ISM questionnaire technique and their relationships were determine. Our findings suggested that sedentary activities are top level variables and school teachers and administrators, public education and scientific collaborations are bottom level variables in children obesity problem. Control of dietary, Physical education program, parents, government and motivation strategies variables are depend to other variables. They are very sensitive to external variables. Also, physical education program, parents, government, motivation, school teachers and administrators, public education and collaboration variables have strong driving power. They are linkage factors; it means that they can be effective on children obesity problem directly.

Keywords: ISM, variable, obesity, physical education, children

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Authors: Khoa K. Doan

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Assessment plays an essential role in teaching and learning English as it aims to measure the learning outcomes. Designing appropriate test types and procedures for four skills, especially productive skills, is a very challenging task for teachers of English. The assessment scheme is supposed to provide precise measures and fair opportunities for students to demonstrate what they can do with their language skills. This involves content domains, measurement techniques, administrative feasibility, target populations, and potential sources of testing bias. Based on these elements, a review of end-of-term speaking tests for English-majored students at Ho Chi Minh City Open University (Viet Nam) was undertaken for the purpose of analyzing the strengths and limitations of the testing tool for the speaking assessment. It helped to identify what could be done to facilitate the process of teaching and learning in that context.

Keywords: assessment, oral tests, speaking, testing

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Authors: Mohammad Rahman, Guy Burton, Megan Mathias

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Strategic management as an organizational practice was adopted by the public sector in the New Public Management (NPM) era that began in most parts of the world in the 1980s. Strategy as a new public management concept was subscribed by governments in both developed and developing world, as they were persuaded that clearly defined vision, mission and goals, as well as programs and projects - aligned with the goals - could potentially help achieve government vision at the national level and organizational goals at the service-delivery level. The advocates for strategic management in the public sector saw an inherent link between strategy and performance, claiming that the implementation of organizational strategy has an effect on the overall performance of an organization. Arguably, many government entities that have failed in enhancing team and individual performance had poorly-designed strategy or weak strategy implementation. Another key argument about low-level performance is linked with lack of strategic sense-making and orientation by middle managers in particular. Scholars maintain that employees at all levels need to understand strategic management plan in order to facilitate its implementation. Therefore, involving employees (particularly the middle managers) from the beginning potentially helps an organization avoid the drop in performance, and on the contrary would increase their commitment. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is well known for adopting public sector reform strategies and tools since the 1990s. This observation is contextually pertinent in the case of the Government of Dubai, which has provided a Strategy Execution Guide to all of its entities to achieve high level strategic success in service delivery. The Dubai public sector also adopts road maps for e-Government, Smart Dubai, Expo 2020, investment, environment, education, health and other sectors. Evidently, some of these strategies are bringing tangible (e.g. Smart Dubai transformation) results in a transformational manner. However, the amount of academic research and literature on the strategy process vis-à-vis staff performance in the Government of Dubai is limited. In this backdrop, this study examines how individual performance of public sector employees in Dubai is linked with their sense-making, engagement and orientation with strategy development and implementation processes. Based on a theoretical framework, this study will undertake a sample-based questionnaire survey amongst middle managers in Dubai public sector to (a) measure the level of engagement of middle managers in strategy development and implementation processes as perceived by them; (b) observe the organizational landscape in which role expectations are placed on middle managers; and (c) examine the impact of employee engagement in strategy development process and the conditions for role expectations on individual performance. The paper is expected to provide new insights on the interface between strategic sense-making and performance in order to contribute a better understanding of the current culture/practices of staff engagement in strategic management in the public sector of Dubai.

Keywords: employee performance, government of Dubai, middle managers, strategic sense-making

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Authors: Lee Woong-Kyu

Abstract:

Fierce competition in smartphone market may encourage users to switch brands when buying a new smartphone. However, many smartphone users continue to use the same brand although other branded smartphones are perceived to be more attractive. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the effects of brand loyalty toward incumbent smartphone on new smartphone adoption. For this purpose, a research model including two hypotheses, the positive effect on rational judgments and the negative effect on rational judgments, are proposed based on the dual process theory. For the validation of the research model, the data was collected by surveying Korean university students and tested by the group comparison between high and low brand loyalty. The results show that the two hypotheses were statistically supported.

Keywords: brand loyalty, dual process theory, incumbent smartphone, smartphone adoption

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Authors: Raja Irfan Sabir, Nargis Dewan

Abstract:

This study examines the role of SMS marketing on perception of young consumers and its impact on society by keeping in mind the culture, values and communication norms of Pakistan. The study focused on the consumer’s perception towards SMS Marketing of Entertainment, Informativeness, Credibility and Irritation factor which can have influence on the perception of young consumer positively or negatively. It’s also observed that some of the message contents do have good or bad impact on the society’s norm. The result derived from a sample of 200 consumers indicate that communication medium ‘SMS marketing’ positively influence the consumers perception but the messages that consumers receive from these companies are against the social norms and have bad impact. So Pakistani entrepreneurs of cellular industries should be more aware that there is need to somehow modify their message content strategies according to culture, norms and values of our society and environmental situation.

Keywords: SMS marketing, messages content, consumers’ perception, cultural values and norms

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Authors: Nidhi Kaushal, Sanjit Mishra

Abstract:

Narrative writings in literature are ample source of knowledge and easily understandable. In every old tradition, we found that people learn ethics from oral tales. They had their leaders and lessons of leadership in their stories. In India, we have sufficient amount of stories of leaders. Whether the story is of an ordinary person or a corporate leader of large firm, it always has a unique message of motivation. The objective of this paper is to elaborate the story lines in literature and get the leadership lessons from them, so that we can set up a new concept of leadership based on scholarship of literature. This is our hypothesis that leadership lessons can be learned from the study of literary writings and it can also act an innovative way of learning the management skills through literature. The role of the leader can be familiarly communicated in the form of the tales. Describing a positive psychological narrative from the text is the best way to manifesting an idea into the minds of people. We accomplished this paper that leadership as an attribute can be learned from the folk psychological literary writings.

Keywords: leadership, literature, management, psychology

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Authors: Bo Sun, Ni Zhong

Abstract:

Bilateral investment treaties have played a role in the construction of the Belt and Road, providing institutional protection for Chinese companies' overseas investments. However, such treaties between China and countries along the Belt and Road were signed in the 1980s and 1990s, and their provisions are outdated and insufficiently detailed to provide adequate legal protection for Chinese investors when they initiate investment arbitration against host countries. By studying cases involving China in international investment arbitration, this paper suggests that China should pay attention to further clarifying the identity of "investors", the scope of disputes that can be submitted to arbitration, and the concept of "indirect expropriation" when updating bilateral investment treaties in the future, in order to reduce the risk of losing cases for Chinese investors.

Keywords: belt and road, bilateral investment agreement, investment arbitration, indirect expropriation

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Authors: Katerina Samartzi

Abstract:

This study focuses on the teacher’s discourses in Greece, about the relation between the children and the media, concerning sex education and widely the childhood. The teachers’ input reflect the anxieties and the dominant discourses that exist around these issues. The study begins with the critical discussion of the available literature concerning the potential impact of media and the ‘moral panics’, their role in sex education and the children’s use of sexual material. Moreover, the study analyses the social construction of childhood and sexuality. Given the lack of explicit and official protocol for the sex education in Greece and due the fact that the young people are familiar with all the material provided by the New Media and their part as an informal education, this project aims to point out the factors that reinforce these gaps. This study focuses on the way the adults and specifically teachers contextualize the children’s relation with media, their sexuality, the sex education, the use of sexual material and the childhood.

Keywords: childhood, children's sexuality, media, moral panics, pornography, sex education

Procedia PDF Downloads 173