Search results for: semarang state university

Authors: N. Scheidegger, A. Mueller

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Job preferences are a well-developed research field. Many studies analyze the preferences using simple ratings with a sample of university graduates. The current study analyzes the preferences with a mixed method approach of a qualitative preliminary study and adaptive conjoint-analysis. Preconditions of accepting job offers are clarified for professionals in the industrial sector. It could be shown that, e.g. wages above the average are critical and that career opportunities must be seen broader than merely a focus on formal personnel development programs. The results suggest that, to be effective with their recruitment efforts, employers must take into account key desirable job attributes of their target group.

Keywords: conjoint analysis, employer attractiveness, job preferences, personnel marketing

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Authors: Madhukar Kasarla, Sumit Fogla, Kiran Panuganti, Gaurav Jain, Abhijit Ramanujam, Astha Jain, Shashank Kraleti, Sharat Musham, Arun Chaudhury

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Patients have often chosen to travel for care — making pilgrimages to academic meccas and state-of-the-art hospitals for sophisticated surgery. This culture is still persistent in the landscape of US healthcare, with hundred thousand of visitors coming to the shores of United States to seek the high quality of medical care. One of the major challenges in this form of medical tourism has been the language barrier. Thus, an Iraqi patient, with immediate needs of communicating the healthcare needs to the treating team in the hospital, may face huge barrier in effective patient-doctor communication, delaying care and even at times reducing the quality. To circumvent these challenges, we are proposing the use of a state-of-the-art tool, Talk2All, which can translate nearly one hundred international languages (and even sign language) in real time. The tool is an easy to download app and highly user friendly. It builds on machine learning principles to decode different languages in real time. We suggest that the use of Talk2All will tremendously enhance communication in the hospital setting, effectively breaking the language barrier. We propose that vigorous incorporation of Talk2All shall overcome practical challenges in international medical and surgical tourism.

Keywords: language translation, communication, machine learning, medical tourism

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Authors: Rilwanu, Bello, Usmn Bello Saad, Hamza Umar Yaro, Isyka Ibrahim, Adebayo Oluwole, Jimoh Abdurrahman

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Urban solid waste management is a critical issue affecting the sustainability of urban infrastructure globally. In rapidly growing cities like Sokoto metropolis inefficient waste management practices led to significant environmental and economic challenges. The research aimed at assessing the effect of waste management practices on the sustainability of urban infrastructure in Sokoto. It also includes assessing the current state of solid waste management practices and its impact on the sustainability of sokoto urban infrastructure. The methodology adopted both primary and secondary sources of data. The targeted population include the staff of SUDA, STEPA and some of the resident in the metropolis. Descriptive method was adopted in the analysis and presentation of data. The study revealed that the waste management practice adopted is solid metropolis was very poor as its associated with poor funding, no availability of sufficient vehicles, bad attitude of resident upon waste disposal which led to blockage of streets and water channels which can subsequently lead to flood. The study recommended that the state government need to increase in funding the relevant authority and also provide the waste dumping sites as well as modern vehicles and equipment to ensure effective solid waste management and disposal.

Keywords: waste, infrastructure, sustainability, management, S, sustainability, solid waste, urban infrastructure

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Authors: Adewale Oladapo, Carolyn A. Afolami

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Agricultural production should be the major financial contributor to the Nigerian economy; however, the petroleum sector had taken the importance attached to this sector. The situation tends to be more worsening unless necessary attention is given to adequate credit supply among food crop farmers. This research analyses the effect of credit use on the technical efficiency of cassava farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from two hundred randomly selected cassava farmers through a multistage sampling procedure in the study area. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Findings revealed that 95.0% of the farmers were male while 56.0% had no formal education and were married. The SFA showed that cassava farmer’s efficiency increased with farm size, herbicide and planting material at 5%,10% and 1% respectively but decreased with fertilizer application at 1% level while farmers’ age, education, household size, experience and access to credit increased technical inefficiency at 10%. The study concluded that cassava farmers are technically inefficient in the use of farm resources and recommended that adequate and workable agricultural policy measures that will ensure availability and efficient fertilizer distribution should be put in place to increase efficiency. Furthermore, the government should encourage youth participation in cassava production and ensure improvement in farmer’s access to credit to increase farmer’s technical efficiency.

Keywords: agriculture, access to credit, cassava farmers, technical efficiency

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Authors: Megumi Yamasaki, Eiko Shimizu

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The term academic advisor system first appeared in 2012 in Japan. After ten years, it is not yet functioning. One of Japanese college students’ characteristics is that they choose an institution but may not be interested in a major and want to earn a degree for a career. When the university encourages students to develop competencies as well as students to set personal goals during college life, it is critical to support students develop self-directed attitudes and advocacy skills. This paper will analyze the students’ current stage and how academic advising supports their development.

Keywords: academic advising, student development, self-directed, self-advocacy

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Authors: Kshitij Bhardwaj, R.K. Trivedi, Shipra Dixit

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We used biological detoxification method that converts toxic residue waste of Jatropha curcas oil seeds (non edible oil seed) into industrial bio-products and animal feed material. Present study describes the complete degradation of phorbol esters by Aspergillus Niger strain during solid state fermentation (SSF) of deoiled Jatropha curcas seed cake. Phorbol esters were completely degraded in 15 days under the optimized SSF conditions viz deoiled cake 5.0 gm moistened with 5.0 ml distilled water; inoculum 2 ml of overnight grown Aspergillus niger; incubated at 30◦ C, pH 7.0. This method simultaneously induces the production of Protease enzyme by Aspergillus Niger which has high potential to be used in feedstuffs .The maximum Protease activities obtained were 709.16 mg/ml in Jatropha curcas oil seed cake. The protein isolate had small amounts of phorbol esters, phytic acid, and saponin without any lectin. Its minimum and maximum solubility were at pH 4.0&12.0. Water and oil binding capacities were 3.22 g water/g protein and 1.86 ml oil/g protein respectively.Emulsion activity showed high values in a range of basic pH. We concluded that Jatropha Curcas seed cake has a potential to be used as a novel source of functional protein for food or feed applications.

Keywords: solid state fermentation, Jatropha curcas, oil seed cake, phorbol ester

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Authors: Elvin Lim

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This article integrates the debate about presidential powers with the debate about federalism, arguing that there are two ways of exercising presidential powers, one working in tandem with expanding federal powers, and the other working against it. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson—the former a Federalist and the latter echoing the views of many Anti-Federalists—disagreed not only on the constitutional basis of prerogative, but also on the ends for which it should be deployed. This tension has always existed in American politics, and is reproduced today. Modern Democrats and Republicans both want a strong executive, but the Democrats who want a strong executive to pass legislation to expand the reach of the federal government; naturally, they must rely on an equally empowered Congress to do so. Republicans generally do not want an intrusive federal government, which is why their defense of a strong presidency does not come alongside a call for a strong Congress. This distinction cannot be explained without recourse to foundational yet opposing views about the appropriate role of federal power. When we bring federalism back in, we see that there are indeed two presidencies; one neo-Federalist, in favor of moderate presidential prerogative alongside a robust Congress directed collectively to a national state-building agenda and expanding the federal prerogative; another, neo-Anti-Federalist, in favor of expansive presidential prerogative and an ideologically sympathetic Congress equally suspicious of federal power to retard or roll back national state-building in favour of states rights.

Keywords: US presidency, federalism, prerogative, anti-federalism

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Authors: Oljana Hoxhaj

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The integration process of Albania into the European family carries many difficulties. In this context, the Albanian legislator is inclined to implement in the domestic legal framework models which have been successful in other countries. Our paper aims to present an analytical and comparative approach to the health system in Albania and France, mainly focusing on citizen’s access to these services. Different standards and cultures between states, in the context of an approximate model, will be the first challenge of our paper. Over the last few years, the Albanian government has undertaken concrete reforms in this sector, aiming to transform the vision on which the previous health system was structured. In this perspective, the state fulfills not only an obligation to its citizens, but also consolidates progressive steps toward alignment with European Union standards. The necessity to undertake a genuine reform in this area has come as an exigency of society, which has permanently identified problems within this sector, considering it ineffective, out of standards, and corrupt. The inclusion of health services on the Albanian government agenda reflects its will in the function of good governance, transparency, and broadening access to the provision of quality health services in the public and private sectors. The success of any initiative in the health system consists of giving priority to patient needs. Another objective that should be in the state's consideration is to create the premise to provide a comprehensive process on whose foundations partnership and broader co-operation with beneficiary entities are established in any decision-making that is directly related to their interests. Some other important and widespread impacts on the effective realization of citizens' access to the healthcare system coincide with the construction of appropriate infrastructure, increasing the professionalism and qualification of medical staff, and the allocation of a higher budget. France has one of the most effective healthcare models in Europe. That is why we have chosen to analyze this country, aiming to highlight the advantages of this system, as well as the commitment of the French state to drafting effective health policies. In the framework of the process of harmonization of the Albanian legislation with that of the European Union, through our work, we aim to identify the space to implement the whole of these legislative innovations in the Albanian legislation.

Keywords: effective service, harmonization level, innovation, reform

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Authors: Sara Dragisic

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Using the theoretical analysis of the birth of biopolitics that Foucault performed through the history of liberalism and neoliberalism, in this paper we will try to show how, precisely through problematizing the role of international institutions, the model of governance differs from previous ways of objectifying body and life. Are the state and its mechanisms still a Leviathan to fight against, or can it be even the driver of resistance against the proponents of modern governance and the biopolitical power? Do paradigmatic examples of biopolitics still appear through sovereignty and (international) law, or is it precisely this sphere that shows a significant dose of incompetence and powerlessness in relation to, not only the economic sphere (Foucault’s critique of neoliberalism) but also the new politics of freedom? Have the struggle for freedom and human rights, as well as the war on terrorism, opened a new spectrum of biopolitical processes, which are manifested precisely through new international institutions and humanitarian discourse? We will try to answer these questions, in the following way. On the one hand, we will show that the views of authors such as Agamben and Hardt and Negri, in whom the state and sovereignty are seen as enemies to be defeated or overcome, fail to see how such attempts could translate into the politicization of life like it is done in many examples through the doctrine of liberal interventionism and humanitarianism. On the other hand, we will point out that it is precisely the humanitarian discourse and the defense of the right to intervention that can be the incentive and basis for the politicization of the category of life and lead to the selective application of human rights. Zizek example of the killing of United Nations workers and doctors in a village during the Vietnam War, who were targeted even before police or soldiers, because they were precisely seen as a powerful instrument of American imperialism (as they were sincerely trying to help the population), will be focus of this part of the analysis. We’ll ask the question whether such interpretation is a kind of liquidation of the extreme left of the political (Laclau) or on this basis can be explained at least in part the need to review the functioning of international organizations, ranging from those dealing with humanitarian aid (and humanitarian military interventions) to those dealing with protection and the security of the population, primarily from growing terrorism. Based on the above examples, we will also explain how the discourse of terrorism itself plays a dual role: it can appear as a tool of liberal biopolitics, although, more superficially, it mostly appears as an enemy that wants to destroy the liberal system and its values. This brings us to the basic problem that this paper will tackle: do the mechanisms of institutional struggle for human rights and freedoms, which is often seen as opposed to the security mechanisms of the state, serve the governance of citizens in such a way that the latter themselves participate in producing biopolitical governmental practices? Is the freedom today "nothing but the correlative development of apparatuses of security" (Foucault)? Or, we can continue this line of Foucault’s argumentation and enhance the interpretation with the important question of what precisely today reflects the change in the rationality of governance in which society is transformed from a passive object into a subject of its own production. Finally, in order to understand the skills of biopolitical governance in modern civil society, it is necessary to pay attention to the status of international organizations, which seem to have become a significant place for the implementation of global governance. In this sense, the power of sovereignty can turn out to be an insufficiently strong power of security policy, which can go hand in hand with freedom policies, through neoliberal governmental techniques.

Keywords: neoliberalism, Foucault, sovereignty, biopolitics, international organizations, NGOs, Agamben, Hardt&Negri, Zizek, security, state power

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Authors: Marat Kozhomberdiev

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The research will investigate the modern corporate finance management technologies currently used in the era of digitalization of the global economy and the degree to which financial institutions are utilizing these new technologies in the field of corporate finance management in Kyrgyzstan. The main purpose of the research is to reveal the role of financial management technologies as joint service centers, intercompany banks, specialized payment centers in the third-world country. Particularly, the analysis of the implacability of automated corporate finance management systems such as enterprise resource planning system (ERP) and treasury management system (TMS) will be carried out. Moreover, the research will investigate the role of cloud accounting systems in corporate finance management in Kyrgyz banks and whether it has any impact on the field of improving corporate finance management. The study will utilize a data collection process via surveying 3 banks in Kyrgyzstan, namely Mol-Bulak, RSK, and KICB. The banks were chosen based on their ownerships, such as state banks, private banks with local authorized capital, and private bank with international capital. The regression analysis will be utilized to reveal the correlation between the ownership of the bank and the use of new financial management technologies. The research will provide policy recommendations to both private and state banks on developing strategies for switching and utilizing modern corporate finance management technologies in their daily operations.

Keywords: digital economy, corporate finance, digital environment, digital technologies, cloud technologies, financial management

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Authors: Yansong Gao, Damith C.Ranasinghe, Siad F. Al-Sarawi, Omid Kavehei, Derek Abbott

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Passive crossbar arrays is in principle the simplest functional electrical circuit, together with memristive device in cross-point, holding great promise in future high-density, non-volatile memories. However, the greatest problem of crossbar array is the sneak path current. In this paper, we investigate one type of memristive device with intrinsic rectification behavior to address the sneak path currents. Firstly, a SPICE behavior model written in Verilog-A language of the memristive device is presented to fit experimental data published in literature. Next, systematic performance simulations including read margin and power consumption of crossbar array, which uses the self-rectifying memristive device as storage element at cross-point, with respect to different crossbar sizes, interconnect resistance, ratio of HRS/LRS (High Resistance State/ Low Resistance State), rectification ratio and different read schemes are conducted. Subsequently, Trade-offs among reading margin, power consumption, and reading schemes are analyzed to provide guidelines for circuit design. Finally, performance comparison between the memristive device with/without intrinsic rectification behavior is given to show the worthiness of this intrinsic rectification behavior.

Keywords: memristive device, memristor, crossbar, RRAM, read margin, power consumption

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Authors: Daria Lozovskaia

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This paper is focused on the news coverage of public opinion polls about Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Russian state-controlled media. After the announcement of the start of the so-called “Special Military Operation” on February 24, 2022, the number of publications of the results of public opinion polls increased many times over, and the poll numbers began to be discussed on social media and in the Kremlin’s official informational agenda. Headlines like "72 Percent of Russian Citizens Support the Operation " or "Russians Believe in Victory in the Special Military Operation" have become prominent parts of Russian state propaganda news stories and newspapers. At the same time, public opinion in Russia, as a concept and model, differs from the generally accepted democratic concept and has its own specifics. As a result, public opinion polls and their results, especially after February 24, have a number of features in the form of the dominance of the discourse of political elites in the media, which leads to a decrease in public awareness, the prevalence of the effect of joining the majority and a high number of non-responses due to fear of reprisals. The aim of this study was to determine the role of public opinion polls in the system of Russian war propaganda in Ukraine. For this purpose, were selected publications of the Russian media, the agenda of which corresponds to the official information policy of the Russian authorities. First, using frame analysis for the categories "Explicit trust", "Implicit trust", "Implicit distrust" and "Explicit distrust", provided by Irina Dusakova, the broadcast level of trust in the data of public opinion polls was determined. The results of this phase of the study showed that the Russian media broadcast an absolute level of confidence in public opinion polls regarding support for the war in Ukraine. The second stage of the study was the content analysis of publications. The categories of this analysis were derived from Anna Morelli's 10 Principles of Military Propaganda and Haavard Koppang's Definition of Propaganda to determine the purposes of the use of public opinion polls by Russian propaganda. The results of the study not only confirmed the widespread hypothesis that public opinion polls in Russia are used as a tool of state propaganda, but also showed that their purpose is to demonstrate the consolidation of society in support of the war and President Vladimir Putin.

Keywords: propaganda, public opinion, public opinion polls, Russian studies

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Authors: Ghaneshree Moonsamy, Nodumo N. Zulu, Rajesh Lalloo, Suren Singh, Santosh O. Ramchuran

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The abalone industry of South Africa is under severe pressure due to illegal harvesting and poaching of this seafood delicacy. These abalones are harvested excessively; as a result, these animals do not have a chance to replace themselves in their habitats, ensuing in a drastic decrease in natural stocks of abalone. Abalone has an extremely slow growth rate and takes approximately four years to reach a size that is market acceptable; therefore, it was imperative to investigate methods to boost the overall growth rate and immunity of the animal. The University of Cape Town (UCT) began to research, which resulted in the isolation of two microorganisms, a yeast isolate Debaryomyces hansenii and a bacterial isolate Vibrio midae, from the gut of the abalone and characterised them for their probiotic abilities. This work resulted in an internationally competitive concept technology that was patented. The next stage of research was to develop a suitable bioprocess to enable commercial production. Numerous steps were taken to develop an efficient production process for V. midae, one of the isolates found by UCT. The initial stages of research involved the development of a stable and robust inoculum and the optimization of physiological growth parameters such as temperature and pH. A range of temperature and pH conditions were evaluated, and data obtained revealed an optimum growth temperature of 30ᵒC and a pH of 6.5. Once these critical growth parameters were established further media optimization studies were performed. Corn steep liquor (CSL) and high test molasses (HTM) were selected as suitable alternatives to more expensive, conventionally used growth medium additives. The optimization of CSL (6.4 g.l⁻¹) and HTM (24 g.l⁻¹) concentrations in the growth medium resulted in a 180% increase in cell concentration, a 5716-fold increase in cell productivity and a 97.2% decrease in the material cost of production in comparison to conventional growth conditions and parameters used at the onset of the study. In addition, a stable market-ready liquid probiotic product, encompassing the viable but not culturable (VBNC) state of Vibrio midae cells, was developed during the downstream processing aspect of the study. The demonstration of this technology at a full manufacturing scale has further enhanced the attractiveness and commercial feasibility of this production process.

Keywords: probiotics, abalone aquaculture, bioprocess technology, manufacturing scale technology development

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Authors: Khaled Suleiman Mohammed Al-Mashrafi

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A compositional plume is a fluid flow in a directional channel of finite width in another fluid of different material composition. The study of the dynamics of compositional plumes plays an essential role in many real-life applications like industrial applications (e.g., iron casting), environmental applications (e.g., salt fingers and sea ice), and geophysical applications (e.g., solidification at the inner core boundary (ICB) of the Earth, and mantle plumes). The dynamics of compositional plumes have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experimental works observed that the plume flow seems to be stable, although some experiments showed that it can be unstable. At the same time, the theoretical investigations showed that the plume flow is unstable. This is found to be true even if the plume is subject to rotation or/and in the presence of a magnetic field and even if another plume of different composition is also present. It is noticeable that all the theoretical studies on the dynamics of compositional plumes are conducted in unbounded domains. The present work is to investigate theoretically the influence of vertical walls (boundaries) on the dynamics of compositional plumes in the absence/presence of a rotation field. The mathematical model of the dynamics of compositional plumes used the equations of continuity, motion, heat, concentration of light material, and state. It is found that the presence of boundaries has a strong influence on the basic state solution as well as the stability of the plume, particularly when the plume is close to the boundary, but the compositional plume remains unstable.

Keywords: compositional plumes, stability, bounded domain, vertical boundaries

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Authors: G. A. Adamu, M. S. Sallau, S. O. Idris, E. B. Agbaji

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Drinking water is supplied to Danbatta, Makoda and some parts of Minjibir local government areas of Kano State from the surface water of Thomas Reservoir. The present land use in the catchment area of the reservoir indicates high agricultural activities, fishing, as well as domestic and small scale industrial activities. To study and monitor the quality of surface and drinking water of the area, water samples were collected from the reservoir, treated water at the treatment plant and potable water at the consumer end in three seasons November - February (cold season), March - June (dry season) and July - September (rainy season). The samples were analyzed for physical and chemical parameters, pH, temperature, total dissolved solids (TDS), conductivity, turbidity, total hardness, suspended solids, total solids, colour, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chloride ion (Cl^-) nitrite (NO₂^-), nitrate (NO₃^-), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and phosphate (PO₄^3-). The higher values obtained in some parameters with respect to the acceptable standard set by World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) indicate the pollution of both the surface and drinking water. These pollutants were observed to have a negative impact on water quality in terms of eutrophication, largely due to anthropogenic activities in the watershed.

Keywords: surface water, drinking water, water quality, pollution, Thomas reservoir, Kano

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Authors: Muhammad Umar Usman

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This study investigates the entrepreneurial intentions, drivers and challenges of starting a business among final year students in Jigawa State polytechnic. Nigeria. Final year students of Jigawa State Polytechnic from the department of accounting, business administration and management and public administration were used as a case study. The study became necessary due to the alarming rate of graduate unemployment in Nigeria. The study adopted a holistic case study approach involving a multiple methods of questionnaires involving (182) Higher National Diploma (HND) and National Diploma (ND) final year students and a telephone interview with two lecturers teaching entrepreneurship in the college. The findings clearly indicate that exposer to entrepreneurship education increases students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The result found that desire for independence, confidence and strong intention are the most important factors that influence students’ entrepreneurial intention. The study identified 3 key drivers of students’ entrepreneurial intentions. These are to earn a living, to seek job security and provision of employment. The result again identified 4 factors namely lack of support, finance, insecurity and erratic power supply as the major challenges in starting a business in Nigeria. It was also revealed that the current entrepreneurship education programme prepares students on how to open up a business not becoming an entrepreneur. The study concluded entrepreneurship helps students toward building and driving their intention to venture into business. However, the challenges of entrepreneurship in Nigeria need to be addressed in order to enable individuals to become an entrepreneur and create employment opportunities that will lead to the development of Nigerian economy. Thus, the government should provide adequate support particularly the issue of infrastructures. The Federal Government of Nigeria in collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education should fashion out the curriculum thereby making it more practically-oriented so that students may become more interested. Polytechnics should develop an internship programme for students to work in firms so as to put theory learnt in the class to practice. Students should try to align the theory learnt in college with the practical application in dynamic economic environment. Hence, this will help in building their capabilities toward entrepreneurship development in Nigeria.

Keywords: entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial drivers, challenges, entrepreneurial education

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Authors: Pinn Tsin Isabel Yee

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Students are increasingly turning towards online learning materials to supplement their education. One such approach would be the gamified student engagement platforms (GSEPs) to instill a new learning culture. Data was collected from closed-ended questions via content analysis techniques. About 81.8% of college students from the Monash University Foundation Year agreed that GSEPs (Quizizz) was an effective tool for learning. Approximately 85.5% of students disagreed that games were a waste of time. GSEPs were highly effective among students to facilitate the learning process.

Keywords: engagement, gamified, Quizizz, technology

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Authors: L. Abubakar, B. M. Sokoto, I. U. Mohammed, M. S. Na’allah, A. Mohammad, A. N. Garba, T. S. Bubuche

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Onion (Allium cepa var. cepa L.) is the most important species of the Allium group belonging to family Alliaceae and genus Allium. It can be regarded as the single important vegetable species in the world after tomatoes. Despite the similarities, which bring the species together, the genus is a strikingly diverse one, with more than five hundred species, which are perennial and mostly bulbous plants. Out of these, only seven species are in cultivation, and five are the most important species of the cultivated Allium. However, Allium cepa (onion) and Allium sativum (Garlic) are the two major cultivated species grown all over the world of which the onion crop is the most important. North Western Nigeria (Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States) constitute the major onion producing zone in Nigeria, which is primarily during the dry season. However, onion production in the zone is seriously affected by two main factors i.e. diseases and storage losses, in addition to other constraints that limits the cultivation of the crop during the rainy season which include lack of prolonged rainy season to allow for proper maturation of the crop. The major onion disease in this zone is purple blotch caused by a fungus Alternaria porri and currently efforts are on to develop onion hybrids resistant to the disease. Genetic diversity plays an important role in plant breeding either to exploit heterosis or to generate productive recombinants. Assessment of a large number of genotypes for a genetic diversity is the first step in this direction. The objective of this research therefore is to evaluate the genetic potentials of the onion cultivars of North Western Nigeria, with a view of developing new cultivars that address the major production challenges to onion cultivation in North Western, Nigeria. Thirteen onion cultivars were collected during an expedition covering North western Nigeria and Southern part of Niger Republic during 2013, which are areas noted for onion production. The cultivars were evaluated at two locations; Sokoto, in Sokoto State and Jega in Kebbi State all in Nigeria during the 2013/14 onion season (dry season) under irrigation. The objective of the research was to determine the genetic potentials of onion cultivars of north western Nigeria as a basis for breeding purposes. Combined analysis of the results revealed highly significant variation between the cultivars across the locations with respect to plant height, number of leaves/plant, bolting %, bulb height, bulb weight, mean bulb yield and cured bulb weight, with significant variation in terms of bulb diameter. Tasa from Warra Local Government Area of Kebbi State (V4) recorded the greatest mean fresh bulb yield with Jar Albasa (V8) from Illela Local Government Area of Sokoto State recording the least. Similarly Marsa (V5) from Silame Local Government Area recorded the greatest mean cured bulb yield (marketable bulb)with Kiba (V11) from Goronyo Local Government of Sokoto State recording the least. Significant variation was recorded between the locations with respect to all characters, with Sokoto being better in terms of plant height, number of leaves/plant, bolting % and bulb diameter. Jega was better in terms of bulb height, bulb yield and cured bulb weight. Significant variation was therefore observed between the cultivars.

Keywords: evaluation, genetic, onions, North Western Nigeria

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Authors: Joshua Kim Schimpf, Kyun Doo Kim, Jaseok Heo

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In this study, the droplet behavior of under horizontal stratified flow regime for air and water flow in horizontal pipe experiments from a 0.24 m, 0.095 m, and 0.0486 m size diameter pipe are examined. The effects of gravity, pipe diameter, and turbulent diffusion on droplet deposition are considered. Models for droplet entrainment and deposition are proposed that considers developing length. Validation for experimental data dedicated from the REGARD, CEA and Williams, University of Illinois, experiment were performed using SPACE (Safety and Performance Analysis Code for Nuclear Power Plants).

Keywords: droplet, entrainment, deposition, horizontal

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Authors: Siddiq Mohammed

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This study sought to identify the perceived difficult concepts in the new mathematics curriculum by senior secondary school students and mathematics teachers in Kwara State. The study involved a survey research type. Random sampling technique was used to select the 32 sampled schools, 469 students, and 103 teachers. The instrument used in data collection was a research-designed questionnaire tagged 'Perceived Difficult Concepts in Mathematics' (PDCM) was validated by two experts in mathematics education. The test-retest reliability index of 0.69 was obtained. Data analysis was carried out using frequency count percentages and chi-square. The result of the study showed that eight topics were identified as difficult to teach by the teachers, while 14 topics were also identified as difficult to learn by the students. This study also revealed that there was no significant difference in the topics perceived as difficult between the teachers teaching in the school located in urban and rural area. However, there was a significant difference in the perceived difficult topics between student schooling in the schools located in urban and rural area. It was therefore recommended among others that mathematics teachers should undergo training on how to concretize the abstractness of some of the topics especially the new ones as well as use appropriate teaching aid to facilitate teaching/learning of the difficult concepts. It was also recommended that there is a need for evenly development of human and materials among the schools in urban and rural areas.

Keywords: curriculum, difficult concepts, mathematics, perceived

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Authors: Umeda Junaydova

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Legal aid is a key element of access to justice. According to UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems, state members bear the obligation to put in place accessible, effective, sustainable, and credible legal aid systems. Regarding this obligation, developing countries, such as Tajikistan, faced challenges in terms of financing this system. Thus, many developed nations have launched rule-of-law programs to support these states and ensure access to justice for all. Following independence from the Soviet Union, Tajikistan committed to introducing the rule of law and providing access to justice. This newly established country was weak, and the sudden outbreak of civil war aggravated the situation even more. The country needed external support and opened its door to attract foreign donors to assist it in its way to development. In 2015, Tajikistan, with the financial support of development partners, was able to establish a state-funded legal aid system that provides legal assistance to vulnerable and marginalized populations, including in criminal cases. In the beginning, almost the whole system was financed from donor funds; by that time, the contribution of the government gradually increased, and currently, it covers 80% of the total budget. All these governments' actions toward ensuring access to criminal legal aid for disadvantaged groups look promising; however, the reality is completely different. Currently, not all disadvantaged people are covered by these services, and their cases are most of the time considered without appropriate defense, which leads to violation of fundamental human rights. This research presents a comprehensive exploration of the interplay between donor assistance and the effectiveness of legal aid services in Tajikistan, with a specific focus on criminal cases involving vulnerable groups, such as women and children. In the context of Tajikistan, this study addresses a pressing concern: despite substantial financial support from international donors, state-funded legal aid services often fall short of meeting the needs of poor and vulnerable populations. The study delves into the underlying complexities of this issue and examines the structural, operational, and systemic challenges faced by legal aid providers, shedding light on the factors contributing to the ineffectiveness of legal aid services. Furthermore, it seeks to identify the root causes of these issues, revealing the barriers that hinder the delivery of adequate legal aid services. The research adopts a socio-legal methodology to ensure an appropriate combination of multiple methodologies. The findings of this research hold significant implications for both policymakers and practitioners, offering insights into the enhancement of legal aid services and access to justice for disadvantaged and marginalized populations in Tajikistan. By addressing these pressing questions, this study aims to fill the gap in legal literature and contribute to the development of a more equitable and efficient legal aid system that better serves the needs of the most vulnerable members of society.

Keywords: access to justice, legal aid, rule of law, rights for council

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Authors: Yu-Mei Hsueh, Wei-Jen Chen, Yung-Kai Huang, Cheng-Shiuan Tsai, Kuo-Cheng Yeh

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Prostate cancer occurs in men over the age of 50, and rank sixth of the top ten cancers in Taiwan, and the incidence increased gradually over the past decade in Taiwan. Arsenic is confirmed as a carcinogen by International Agency for Research on (IARC). Arsenic induces oxidative stress may be a risk factor for prostate cancer, but the mechanism is not clear. Selenium is an important antioxidant element. Whether the association between plasma selenium levels and risk of prostate cancer are modified by different genotype of selenoprotein is still unknown. Glutathione peroxidase, selenoprotein P (SEPP1) and 15 kDa selenoprotein (SEP 15) are selenoprotein and regulates selenium transport and the oxidation and reduction reaction. However, the association between gene polymorphisms of selenoprotein and prostate cancer is not yet clear. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between plasma selenium, polymorphism of selenoprotein, urinary total arsenic concentration and prostate cancer. This study is a hospital-based case-control study. Three hundred twenty-two cases of prostate cancer and age (±5 years) 1:1 matched 322 control group were recruited from National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Medical University Hospital, and Wan Fang Hospital. Well-trained personnel carried out standardized personal interviews based on a structured questionnaire. Information collected included demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle and disease history. Blood and urine samples were also collected at the same time. The Research Ethics Committee of National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, approved the study. All patients provided informed consent forms before sample and data collection. Buffy coat was to extract DNA, and the polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to measure the genotypes of SEPP1 rs3797310, SEP15 rs5859, GPX1 rs1050450, GPX2 rs4902346, GPX3 rs4958872, and GPX4 rs2075710. Plasma concentrations of selenium were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).Urinary arsenic species concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography links hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometer (HPLC-HG-AAS). Subject with high education level compared to those with low educational level had a lower prostate cancer odds ratio (OR) Mainland Chinese and aboriginal people had a lower OR of prostate cancer compared to Fukien Taiwanese. After adjustment for age, educational level, subjects with GPX1 rs1050450 CT and TT genotype compared to the CC genotype have lower, OR of prostate cancer, the OR and 95% confidence interval (Cl) was 0.53 (0.31-0.90). SEPP1 rs3797310 CT+TT genotype compared to those with CC genotype had a marginally significantly lower OR of PC. The low levels of plasma selenium and the high urinary total arsenic concentrations had the high OR of prostate cancer in a significant dose-response manner, and SEPP1 rs3797310 genotype modified this joint association.

Keywords: prostate cancer, plasma selenium concentration, urinary total arsenic concentrations, glutathione peroxidase, selenoprotein P, selenoprotein 15, gene polymorphism

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: N. Didiş Körhasan, D. Kaltakçı Gürel

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Many students have difficulty in learning physics from elementary to university level. In addition, students' expectancy, attitude, and motivation may be influenced negatively with their experience (failure) and prejudice about physics learning. For this reason, physics educators, who are also physics teachers, search for the best ways to make students' learning of physics easier by considering cognitive, affective, and psychomotor issues in learning. This research critically discusses the history of physics education, fundamental pedagogical approaches, and models to teach physics, and transformation of physics education with recent research.

Keywords: pedagogy, physics, physics education, science education

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Sujit Kumar Sinha, R. Chattopadhyay

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In the course of processing phases and use, fibres, yarns, or fabrics are subjected to a variety of stresses and strains, which cause the development of internal stresses. Given an opportunity, these inherent stresses try to bring back the structure to the original state. As an example, a twisted yarn always shows a tendency to untwist whenever its one end is made free. If the yarn is not held under tension, it may form snarls due to the presence of excessive torque. The running performance of such yarn or thread may, therefore, get negatively affected by it, as a snarl may not pass through the knitting or sewing needle smoothly, leading to an end break. A fabric shows a tendency to form wrinkles whenever squeezed. It may also shrink when brought to a relaxed state. In order to improve performance (i.e., dimensional stability or appearance), stabilization of the structure is needed. The stabilization can be attained through the release of internal stresses, which can be brought about by the process of annealing and/or other finishing treatments. When a fabric is subjected to heat, a change in the properties of the fibers, yarns, and fabric is expected. The degree to which the properties are affected would depend upon the condition of heat treatment and on the properties & structure of fibres, yarns, and fabric. In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of annealing treatment on the properties of polyester cotton yarns with varying sheath structures.

Keywords: friction spun yarn, annealing, tenacity, structural integrity, decay

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: E. Montesinos-Pedro, L. G. Toscano-Flores, N. Domínguez-Ramírez

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Water scarcity is a worldwide issue, coupled with climate change is a relevant problem, that affect not only large cities, but also rural areas. The Municipality of Santiago Tilantongo belongs to the district of Nochixtlán Oaxaca, it’s built up from 14 communities, one of them San Martin de las Palmas. This community was founded in 1900, at that time the inhabitants were supplied with water through rivers of the region which were abundant (they used containers filled in the river for that purpose); However, over the years the level of the rivers began to drop and in 1994 specific wells were located to store water and at the same time make it drinkable, this whit support of the state of Oaxaca and the program Procampo. By the year 2000 the shortage of water in the supply sources was notorious, the community requested support from the Oaxaca State government to solve the problem. The government’s response consisted in the implementation of ferro-cement tanks (2005) and water wells (2010), both for rainwater collection, Hower, it was not enough. Now days the community has a population of 60 inhabitants who have resisted and adapted to water scarcity, not only with the programs implemented by the government, but they also have implemented important structural analysis strategies. The objective of this research is to know the adaptation strategies used by the community to analyze them and propose improvements for water conservation and mitigation of this scarcity.

Keywords: adaptation, climate change, mitigation, resiliencia

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Michael Wagner, Philipp Steinbauer, Andrea Katharina Lietz, Alexander Hoffelner, Johannes Fessler

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Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitations are stressful situations in which vital decisions must be made within seconds. Lack of routine due to the infrequency of pediatric emergencies can lead to serious medical and communication errors. Virtual reality can fundamentally change the way simulation training is conducted in the future. It appears to be a useful learning tool for technical and non-technical skills. It is important to investigate the use of VR in providing a strong sense of presence within simulations. Methods: In this randomized study, we will enroll doctors and medical students from the Medical University of Vienna, who will receive learning material regarding the resuscitation of a one-year-old child. The study will be conducted in three phases. In the first phase, 20 physicians and 20 medical students from the Medical University of Vienna will be included. They will perform simulation-based training with a standardized scenario of a critically ill child with a hypovolemic shock. The main goal of this phase is to establish a baseline for the following two phases to generate comparative values regarding cognitive load and stress. In phase 2 and 3, the same participants will perform the same scenario in a VR setting. In both settings, on three set points of progression, one of three predefined events is triggered. For each event, three different stress levels (easy, medium, difficult) will be defined. Stress and cognitive load will be analyzed using the NASA Task Load Index, eye-tracking parameters, and heart rate. Subsequently, these values will be compared between VR training and traditional simulation-based training. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that the VR training and the traditional training groups will not differ in physiological response (cognitive load, heart rate, and heart rate variability). We further assume that virtual reality training can be used as cost-efficient additional training. Objectives: The aim of this study is to measure cognitive load and stress level during a real-life simulation training and compare it with VR training in order to show that VR training evokes the same physiological response and cognitive load as real-life simulation training.

Keywords: virtual reality, cognitive load, simulation, adaptive virtual reality training

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Jongsung Kim, Daegun Han, Myungjin Lee, Soojun Kim, Hung Soo Kim

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Recently, the frequency and magnitude of natural disasters are gradually increasing due to climate change. Especially in Korea, large-scale damage caused by heavy rainfall frequently occurs due to rapid urbanization. Therefore, this study proposed a Heavy rain Damage Risk Index (HDRI) using PSR (Pressure – State - Response) structure for heavy rain risk assessment. We constructed pressure index, state index, and response index for the risk assessment of each local government in Gyeonggi-do province, and the evaluation indices were determined by principal component analysis. The indices were standardized using the Z-score method then HDRIs were obtained for 31 local governments in the province. The HDRI is categorized into three classes, say, the safest class is 1st class. As the results, the local governments of the 1st class were 15, 2nd class 7, and 3rd class 9. From the study, we were able to identify the risk class due to the heavy rainfall for each local government. It will be useful to develop the heavy rainfall prediction function by risk class, and this was performed in this issue. Also, this risk class could be used for the decision making for efficient disaster management. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2017R1A2B3005695).

Keywords: natural disaster, heavy rain risk assessment, HDRI, PSR

Procedia PDF Downloads 200

Authors: C. W. Kan

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Fabrics can be treated to equip them with certain functional properties in which water repellency is one of the important functional effects. In this study, commercial water repellent agent was used under different application conditions to cotton fabric. Finally, the water repellent effect was evaluated by standard testing method. Thus, the aim of this study is to illustrate the proper application of water repellent finishing to cotton fabric and the results could provide guidance note to the students in learning this topic. Acknowledgment: Authors would like to thank the financial support from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for this work.

Keywords: learning materials, water repellent, textiles, cotton

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Olusegun Adeleke Adenuga

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The study examined effect of fishbone creative thinking strategy on problem-solving skills of public teachers in Ogun state, Nigeria. A 2x2x2 factorial design was employed for the study which consisted of 80 participants made up of 40 male and 40 female public teachers randomly selected among public teaching personnel from the two local government area headquarters (Ijebu-ode and Ijebu-Igbo) within Ogun East Senatorial District. Each treatment group received 45minutes instructions and training per week for 8weeks. Data was collected from participants with the use of standardized instrument tagged ‘Problem Solving Inventory’ (PSI) developed by the researchers prior to the training to form a pre-test and immediately after eight weeks of training to form a post-test. One hypothesis was tested; the data obtained was analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) tested at significance level of 0.05. The result of the data analysis shows that there was a significant effect of the fishbone creative thinking technique on the participants (F (2,99) = 12.410; p <.05). Based on the findings, it is therefore recommended that the report of this study be used to effect organizational change and development of teaching service in Nigeria through teachers’ retraining and capacity building.

Keywords: fishbone, creative thinking strategy, and problem-solving skills, public teachers

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Deike Janssen

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In the scenery of the Tyrolean mountains, at an altitude of 1300 meters, stands a building. Residents and activists call it a prison. However, it is not a prison -according to authorities, it is a 'Return Counseling Facility' where migrants and refugees should be "motivated" to return "voluntary" to their countries of origin. This paper argues that the geographical location of the camp functions as a site of exclusion, isolation, and coercion where no one can decide “voluntary” to return, but where people are brought to despair to leave Austria. Through a qualitative case study, this paper documents the heavy impact of offshore detention on the mental, physical and social state of the residents and a variety of human rights problems in the centre. Different developments at the Return Counselling Facility and the law that back up the centre uncover a worrying dynamic that deliberately accepts human rights problems in order to enforce borders, a policy that disregards humanitarian, legal, and ethical stands in order to deport people at all hazards. It, therefore, can be seen as a creative and ultimate exercise of state power, which uses isolated locations to control migration. While the analysis revises the micro and macro implications of the facility and, therefore, the legal and political facets, it also sheds light on the role of the civil society, which tries to increase through constant and collective efforts the human rights efforts of the government.

Keywords: deportation, human rights, migration, refugee detention, voluntary return

Procedia PDF Downloads 138