Search results for: social structure

Authors: Tanvir Hasan, Minhaz Uddin, Anwar Sadat Anik

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A pressurizer is a safety-related reactor component that maintains the reactor operating pressure to guarantee safety. Its structure is usually made of high thermal and pressure resistive material. The mechanical structure of these components should be maintained in all working settings, including transient to severe accidents conditions. The goal of this study is to examine the structural integrity and stress of the pressurizer in order to ensure its design integrity towards transient situations. For this, the finite element method (FEM) was used to analyze the mechanical stress on pressurizer components in this research. ANSYS MECHANICAL tool was used to analyze a 3D model of the pressurizer. The material for the body and safety relief nozzle is selected as low alloy steel i.e., SA-508 Gr.3 Cl.2. The model was put into ANSYS WORKBENCH and run under the boundary conditions of (internal Pressure, -17.2 MPa, inside radius, -1348mm, the thickness of the shell, -127mm, and the ratio of the outside radius to an inside radius, - 1.059). The theoretical calculation was done using the formulas and then the results were compared with the simulated results. When stimulated at design conditions, the findings revealed that the pressurizer stress analysis completely fulfilled the ASME standards.

Keywords: pressurizer, stress analysis, finite element method, nuclear reactor

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Authors: Nartan Rajpriya

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City is a multiplex ecological system made up of social, economic and natural sub systems. Green space system is the foundation of the natural system. It is also suitable part of natural productivity in the urban structure. It is dispensable for constructing a high quality human settlements and a high standard ecocity. Ahmedabad is the fastest growing city of India. Today urban green space is under strong pressure in Ahmedabad city. Due to increasing urbanization, combined with a spatial planning policy of densification, more people face the prospect of living in less green residential environments. In this research analyzes the importance of available Green Space at Bodakdev Park, Ahmedabad, using remote sensing and GIS technologies. High resolution IKONOS image and LISS IV data has been used in this project. This research answers the questions like: • Temporal changes in urban green space area. • Proximity to heavy traffic or roads or any recreational facilities. • Importance in terms of health. • Availability of quality infrastructure. • Available green space per area, per sq. km and per total population. This projects incorporates softwares like ArcGIS, Ecognition and ERDAS Imagine, GPS technologies etc. Methodology includes the field work and collection of other relevant data while preparation of land use maps using the IKONOS imagery which is corrected using GPS.

Keywords: urban green space, ecocity, IKONOS, LISS IV

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Authors: Mark Williams

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The digital revolution has radically transformed our social environment creating vast opportunities for interconnectivity and social interaction. This revolution, however, has also changed the reach and impact of hate crime, with social media providing a new platform to victimize and harass users in their homes. In this way, developments in the information and communication technologies have exacerbated and facilitated the commission of hate crime, increasing its prevalence and impact. Unfortunately, legislators, policymakers and criminal justice professionals have struggled to keep pace with these technological developments, reducing their ability to intervene in, regulate and govern the commission of hate crimes online. This work is further complicated by the global nature of this crime due to the tendency for offenders and victims to reside in multiple different jurisdictions, as well as the need for criminal justice professionals to obtain the cooperation of private companies to access information required for prosecution. Drawing on in-depth interviews with key criminal justice professionals and policymakers with detailed knowledge in this area, this paper examines the specific challenges the police and prosecution services face as they attempt to intervene in and prosecute the commission of hate crimes online. It is argued that any attempt to reduce online othering, such as the commission of hate crimes online, must be multifaceted, collaborative and involve both innovative technological solutions as well as internationally agreed ethical and legal frameworks.

Keywords: cybercrime, digital policing, hate crime, social media

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Authors: Kayla Fanning

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Theocritus’ use of near-pastoral motifs in creating the lamenting narrative in “The Sorceress” idyll suggests a link between Simaetha and the quintessential shepherd that ultimately transcends the bucolic serenading structure, evident in “The Serenade”, as it pertains to depictions of women. In Theocritus’ “The Serenade”, an anonymous goatherd serenades his beloved, Amaryllis, in hopes of persuading her to reciprocate his love. This serenade soon turns into a vicious lament where all hope for reciprocation dissolves, leaving the goatherd severely melancholic and malignant. In “The Cyclops’ Serenade”, the cyclops, Polyphemus, sings of Galatea in solitude; in so doing, he negotiates between feelings of heartache and anger that eventually subside. His depiction of Galatea, in being less vindictive than the goatherd’s, manifests less toxicity. In adopting, and essentially creating, this serenading structure, Theocritus illustrates his ability to alter portrayals of women while maintaining the premise of the pastoral serenade; that is the shepherd's lament of his indifferent beloved. A thematic intertextual analysis of the idylls reveals a variety of ways in which the toxicity of the goatherd’s relation to Amaryllis is mutated or even inverted. In “The Sorceress”, a powerful witch named Simaetha spellbinds her unfaithful lover and angrily laments his betrayal in a way that is reminiscent of the goatherd's harmful behavior towards Amaryllis.

Keywords: femininity, pastoral, serenade, Theocritus

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Authors: Bahareh Golchin, Nooshin Riahi

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One of the most significant issues as attended a lot in recent years is that of recognizing the sentiments and emotions in social media texts. The analysis of sentiments and emotions is intended to recognize the conceptual information such as the opinions, feelings, attitudes and emotions of people towards the products, services, organizations, people, topics, events and features in the written text. These indicate the greatness of the problem space. In the real world, businesses and organizations are always looking for tools to gather ideas, emotions, and directions of people about their products, services, or events related to their own. This article uses the Twitter social network, one of the most popular social networks with about 420 million active users, to extract data. Using this social network, users can share their information and opinions about personal issues, policies, products, events, etc. It can be used with appropriate classification of emotional states due to the availability of its data. In this study, supervised learning and deep neural network algorithms are used to classify the emotional states of Twitter users. The use of deep learning methods to increase the learning capacity of the model is an advantage due to the large amount of available data. Tweets collected on various topics are classified into four classes using a combination of two Bidirectional Long Short Term Memory network and a Convolutional network. The results obtained from this study with an average accuracy of 93%, show good results extracted from the proposed framework and improved accuracy compared to previous work.

Keywords: emotion classification, sentiment analysis, social networks, deep neural networks

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Authors: Mirjana Dragas, Marli Gonan Bozac, Morena Paulisic

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Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a balance between strategic and financial goals of companies, as well as social needs. The integration of competitive strategy and CSR in food and beverage industry has allowed companies to find new sources of competitive advantage. The paper discusses the fact that socially responsible companies encourage co-operation with socially responsible suppliers in order to strengthen market competitiveness. In addition to the descriptive interpretation of the results obtained by a questionnaire, factor analysis was used, while principal components analysis was applied as a factor extraction method. The research results based on two multiple regression analyses show that: (1) selecting the CSR supplier explains a statistically significant part of the variance of the results on the scale of financial aspects of competitiveness (as much as 44.7% of the explained variance); and (2) selecting the CSR supplier is a significant predictor of non-financial aspects of competitiveness (explains 43.9% of the variance of the results on the scale of non-financial aspects of competitiveness). A successful competitive strategy must ultimately support the growth strategy. This implies an analytical approach to finding factors that influence competitiveness through socially sustainable solutions and satisfactory top management decisions.

Keywords: competitiveness, corporate social responsibility, food and beverage industry, supply chain decision making

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Authors: Adine Gericke, Jiri Militky, Mohanapriya Venkataraman

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Mohair, obtained from the Angora goat, is a luxury fiber and recognized as one of the best quality natural fibers. Expansion of the use of mohair into technical and functional textile products necessitates the need for a better understanding of how the use of mohair in fabrics will impact on its thermo-physiological comfort related properties. Despite its popularity, very little information is available on the quantification of the thermal and moisture management properties of mohair fabrics. This study investigated the effect of fibrous matter composition and fabric structural parameters on conductive and convective heat transfers to attain more information on the thermal comfort properties of mohair fabrics. Dry heat transfer through textiles may involve conduction through the fibrous phase, radiation through fabric interstices and convection of air within the structure. Factors that play a major role in heat transfer by conduction are fabric areal density (g/m2) and derived quantities such as cover factor and porosity. Convective heat transfer through fabrics is found in environmental conditions where there is wind-flow or the object is moving (e.g. running or walking). The thermal comfort properties of mohair fibers were objectively evaluated firstly in comparison with other textile fibers and secondly in a variety of fabric structures. Two sample sets were developed for this purpose, with fibre content, yarn structure and fabric design as main variables. SEM and microscopic images were obtained to closely examine the physical structures of the fibers and fabrics. Thermal comfort properties such as thermal resistance and thermal conductivity, as well as fabric thickness, were measured on the well-known Alambeta test instrument. Clothing insulation (clo) was calculated from the above. The thermal properties of fabrics under heat convection was evaluated using a laboratory model device developed at the Technical University of Liberec (referred to as the TP2-instrument). The effects of the different variables on fabric thermal comfort properties were analyzed statistically using TIBCO Statistica Software. The results showed that fabric structural properties, specifically sample thickness, played a significant role in determining the thermal comfort properties of the fabrics tested. It was found that regarding thermal resistance related to conductive heat flow, the effect of fiber type was not always statistically significant, probably as a result of the amount of trapped air within the fabric structure. The very low thermal conductivity of air, compared to that of the fibers, had a significant influence on the total conductivity and thermal resistance of the samples. This was confirmed by the high correlation of these factors with sample thickness. Regarding convective heat flow, the most important factor influencing the ability of the fabric to allow dry heat to move through the structure, was again fabric thickness. However, it would be wrong to totally disregard the effect of fiber composition on the thermal resistance of textile fabrics. In this study, the samples containing mohair or mohair/wool were consistently thicker than the others even though weaving parameters were kept constant. This can be ascribed to the physical properties of the mohair fibers that renders it exceptionally well towards trapping air among fibers (in a yarn) as well as among yarns (inside a fabric structure). The thicker structures trap more air to provide higher thermal insulation, but also prevent the free flow of air that allow thermal convection.

Keywords: mohair fabrics, convective heat transfer, thermal comfort properties, thermal resistance

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Authors: Joshua Harrell, Gideon Osei Bonsu, Susan Garza, Clarence Conner, Da’Neisha Harris, Emma Bukoswki, Zohreh Safari

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The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) stands as a pivotal tool for gauging community resilience amidst diverse stressors, including pandemics like COVID-19. This paper synthesizes recent research and underscores the significance of SVI in elucidating the differential impacts of crises on communities. Drawing on studies by Fox et al. (2023) and Mah et al. (2023), we delve into the application of SVI alongside emerging data sources to uncover nuanced insights into community vulnerability. Specifically, we explore the utilization of SVI in conjunction with mobility data from platforms like SafeGraph to probe the intricate relationship between social vulnerability and mobility dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic. By leveraging 16 community variables derived from the American Community Survey, including socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics, SVI offers actionable intelligence for guiding targeted interventions and resource allocation. Building upon recent advancements, this paper contributes to the discourse on harnessing AI techniques to mitigate health disparities and fortify public health resilience in the face of pandemics and other crises.

Keywords: social vulnerability index, mobility dynamics, data analytics, health equity, pandemic preparedness, targeted interventions, data integration

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Authors: Ndidi Ofole

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Ongoing Boko Haram crisis and instability in North-Eastern Nigeria has placed additional stress on academic resilience of female undergraduates who are already challenged by gender discrimination in educational opportunities. Students without resilience lack stress hardiness to cope with academic challenges. There is a limited study on academic resilience targeting this disadvantaged population in Nigeria. Consequently, survey research design was employed to investigate the contextual and personal factors that could predict academic resilience among female undergraduates in Boko Haram Neighbourhood in North-Eastern, Nigeria. Five hundred and thirty female students with age range of 18 to 24 years ( = 19.2; SD=6.9) were randomly drawn from 3 Universities in North-Eastern Nigeria. They responded to five instruments, namely; Academic Resilience scale (r=0.72); Social Support questionnaire (r=0. 64); Social Connectedness questionnaire (r=0.75); Self-Efficacy scale (r=0. 68) and Emotional Regulation questionnaire (r=78). Results showed that there was significant positive relationship between the four independent variables and academic resilience. The variables jointly contributed 5.9% variance in the prediction of academic resilience. In terms of magnitude, social support was most potent while self-efficacy was the least. It concluded that the factors considered in this study are academic resilience facilitators. The outcomes of the study have both theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords: academic resilience, emotional regulation, school connectedness, self-efficacy , social support

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Authors: M. Verde, G. Falzarano

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The paper examines the connection between corporate social responsibility (CSR), capability approach and poverty reduction; in particular, the local employment development (LED) by way of CSR initiatives. The joint action of LED/CSR results in a win-win situation, not only for the enterprises but also for all the stakeholders involved; in this regard, subsidiarity and coordination between national and regional/local authorities are central to a socially-oriented market economy. In the first section, the CSR is analysed on the basis of its social function in the fight against poverty, as a 'capabilities deprivation'. In the central part, the attention is focused on the relationship between CSR and LED; ergo, on the role of the enterprises in fostering capabilities development (the employment). Besides, all the potential solutions are presented, stressing the possible combinations, in the last part. The benchmark is the enterprise as an economic and a social institution: the business should not be combined with profit merely, paying more attention to its sustainable impact and social contribution. In which way could it be possible? The answer is the CSR. The impact of CSR on poverty reduction is still little explored. The companies help to reduce poverty through economic contribution, human rights and social inclusion; hence, the business becomes an 'agent of development' in order to fight against 'inequality'. The starting point is the pyramid of social responsibility, where ethic and philanthropic responsibilities involve programmes and actions aimed at personal development of the individuals, improving human standard of living in all forms, including poverty, when people do not have a choice between different 'life options', ranging from level of education to employment. At this point, CSR comes into play and works on two dimensions: poverty reduction and poverty prevention, by means of a series of initiatives: first of all, job creation and precarious work reduction. Empowerment of the local actors, financial support and combination of top down and bottom up initiatives are some of CSR areas of activity. Several positive effects occur on individual levels of educations, access to capital, individual health status, empowerment of youth and woman, access to social networks and it was observed that these effects depend on the type of CSR strategy. Indeed, CSR programmes should take into account fundamental criteria, such as the transparency, the information about benefits, a coordination unit among institutions and more clear guidelines. In this way, the advantages to the corporate reputation and to the community translate into a better job matching on the labour market, inter alia. It is important to underline that the success depends on the specific measures of the areas in question, by adapting them to the local needs, in light of general principles and index; therefore, the concrete commitment of the all stakeholders involved is decisive in order to achieve the goals. The enterprise would represent a concrete contribution for the pursuit of sustainable development and for the dissemination of a social and well being awareness.

Keywords: capability approach, local employment development, poverty, social inclusion

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Authors: Zoya Khan, Amina Muzaffar

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Social media based brand communities are communities that are developed around a brand. In the highly globalized world of today, Facebook is undoubtedly being regarded and has been widely recognized as a trendy and well-accepted medium of marketing. By means of a Facebook fan page, organizations can effectually create, enhance, and sustain customer-brand relationship. In this article, we explore whether brand communities based on social media (a special type of online brand communities) have positive effects on the main community elements and value creation practices in the communities as well as on brand trust and brand loyalty. A survey was conducted and 201 valid responses were used for analysis. The results of structural equation modeling show that brand communities established on social media have positive effects on value creation practices. Brand use, impression management practices and brand identification has an impact on brand trust and this brand trust then further leads to brand loyalty.

Keywords: relationship quality, impression management practices, brand identification, brand trust, brand loyalty

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Authors: Matteo Mazzucato, Elena Faccio, Antonio Iudici

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Prison is a social reality constructed by everyday interactions between an inmate, other social actors (cellmates, prison officers, educationalists and psychologists or other detainees) and the external world which participates in this complex construction through the social discourses on prison reality and its problems. Being a detainee means performing a self dealing with processes of stereotypization, attribution of a social role and prejudices assigned by various interlocutors and depending on what kind of crime one has been convicted of. Among all inmates, sex offenders are the ones who risk more to be socially condemned beyond a legal sentence since they have committed one of the most hated and disapproved crime. Regarding this, prison has to be considered as a critical context in which all community expectations and beliefs are converged: for common sense, rapists and child molesters are dangerous people who have to be stigmatized, punished and isolated. Furthermore, other detainees share a code of conduct by which the ‘sex offender’ is collocated at the lowest level of the social hierarchy of the prison. The penitentiary administration too defines this kind of detainee as a ‘vulnerable person to protect’ while prison staff considers him as a particular inmate who has to be treated and definitely changed. Considering all the complexities connected with being imprisoned as a sex offender, our research aimed at exploring how people convicted of sex crimes are called upon to manage all these hetero-narrations about their selves. Set this goal, textual data retrieved from this qualitative research show that sex offenders tend to not face the stigma assigned to them. They are rather used to minimize the story telling about their selves and costruct alternative biographies to be shared with other inmates. Managing narrations about their selves in this way permits to distance them from all the threats perceived living together with other detainees but it blocks sex offenders’ ri-signification of their offences during prison treatment. Given these results, prison administration should develop activities in order to create fields of interaction between detainees where experiencing new versions of their selves spendable even in external social situations. Regarding this it’s important to re-consider prison as part of the community and the sex offenders as a member of it.

Keywords: interactions, qualitative research, prison reality, sex offender

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Authors: P. M. Sreekanth

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Teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) is a tree species indigenous to India and other Southeastern countries. It produces high-value timber and is easily established in plantations. Reforestation requires a constant supply of high quality seeds. Seed Production Areas (SPA) of teak are improved stands used for collection of open-pollinated quality seeds in large quantities. Information on the genetic diversity of major teak SPAs in India is scanty. The genetic structure of four important seed production areas of Kerala State in Southern India was analyzed employing amplified fragment length polymorphism markers using ten selective primer combinations on 80 samples (4 populations X 20 trees). The study revealed that the gene diversity of the SPAs varied from 0.169 (Konni SPA) to 0.203 (Wayanad SPA). The percentage of polymorphic loci ranged from 74.42 (Parambikulam SPA) to 84.06 (Konni SPA). The mean total gene diversity index (HT) of all the four SPAs was 0.2296 ±0.02. A high proportion of genetic diversity was observed within the populations (83%) while diversity between populations was lower (17%) (GST = 0.17). Principal coordinate analysis and STRUCTURE analysis of the genotypes indicated that the pattern of clustering was in accordance with the origin and geographic location of SPAs, indicating specific identity of each population. A UPGMA dendrogram was prepared and showed that all the twenty samples from each of Konni and Parambikulam SPAs clustered into two separate groups, respectively. However, five Nilambur genotypes and one Wayanad genotype intruded into the Konni cluster. The higher gene flow estimated (Nm = 2.4) reflected the inclusion of Konni origin planting stock in the Nilambur and Wayanad plantations. Evidence for population structure investigated using 3D Principal Coordinate Analysis of FAMD software 1.30 indicated that the pattern of clustering was in accordance with the origin of SPAs. The present study showed that assessment of genetic diversity in seed production plantations can be achieved using AFLP markers. The AFLP fingerprinting was also capable of identifying the geographical origin of planting stock and there by revealing the occurrence of the errors in genotype labeling. Molecular marker-based selective culling of genetically similar trees from a stand so as to increase the genetic base of seed production areas could be a new proposition to improve quality of seeds required for raising commercial plantations of teak. The technique can also be used to assess the genetic diversity status of plus trees within provenances during their selection for raising clonal seed orchards for assuring the quality of seeds available for raising future plantations.

Keywords: AFLP, genetic structure, spa, teak

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Authors: Mohsen Tehranizadeh, Mahboobe Forghani

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The impact of higher modes on the seismic response of dual structural system consist of concrete moment-resisting frame and with RC shear walls is investigated against near-field earthquakes in this paper. a 20 stories reinforced concrete shear wall-special moment frame structure is designed in accordance with ASCE7 requirements and The nonlinear model of the structure was performed on OpenSees platform. Nonlinear time history dynamic analysis with 3 near-field records are performed on them. In order to further understand the structural collapse behavior in the near field, the response of the structure at the moment of collapse especially the formation of plastic hinges is explored. The results revealed that the amplification of moment at top of the wall due to higher modes, the plastic hinge can form in the upper part of wall, even when designed and detailed for plastic hinging at the base only (according to ACI code).on the other hand, shear forces in excess of capacity design values can develop due to the contribution of the higher modes of vibration to dynamic response due to the near field can cause brittle shear or sliding failure modes. The past investigation on shear walls clearly shows the dual-hinge design concept is effective at reducing the effects of the second mode of response. An advantage of the concept is that, when combined with capacity design, it can result in relaxation of special reinforcing detailing in large portions of the wall. In this study, to investigate the implications of multi-design approach, 4 models with varies arrangement of hinge plastics at the base and height of the shear wall are considered. results base on time history analysis showed that the dual or multi plastic hinges approach can be useful in order to control the high moment and shear demand of higher mode effect.

Keywords: higher mode effect, Near-field earthquake, nonlinear time history analysis, multi plastic hinge design

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Authors: Myriam Rousseau, Suzie McKinnon, Mathieu Mireault, Anaïs V. Berthiaume, Marie-Hélène Poulin, Jacinthe Bourassa, Louis-Simon Maltais

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The increasing presence of young people with autism is forcing schools to adapt to this new situation and to offer services that meet the needs of this clientele. However, school staff often feels unqualified to support these students, lacking the preparation, skills and training to meet their needs. Continuing education for these staff is therefore essential to ensure that they can meet the needs of these students. As a result, the Government of Quebec has developed a bilingual (French and English) online training on autism specific to the needs of school staff. Therefore, adequate training for all school staff is likely to provide quality learning opportunities for these students. The research project focuses on the participants' appreciation, contributions, and social validity of the training. More specifically, it aims to: 1) evaluate the knowledge and self-efficacy of the participants, 2) evaluate the social validity and 3) document the evaluation of the ergonomics of the platform hosting the training. The evaluation carried out as part of this descriptive study uses a quantitative method. Data are collected using questionnaires completed online. The analysis of preliminary data reveals that participants' knowledge of autism and their sense of self-efficacy increased significantly. They value the training positively and consider it to be acceptable, appropriate, and suitable. The participants find it important for school staff to take this training. Almost all the items measuring the ergonomics of the platform have averages above 4.57/5. In general, the study shows that the training allows participating of the trainee school staff to improve their knowledge of autism and their sense of self-efficacy with young people with autism. In addition, participants recognize that the training has good social validity and appreciate the online modality. However, these results should be interpreted with caution given the limited number of participants who completed the research project. It is therefore important to continue the research with a larger number of participants to allow an adequate and general representativeness of the social validity, the feeling of competence and the appreciation of the platform.

Keywords: autism, online training, school staff, social validity

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Authors: Krishnamoorthy Sathiyan, Shanti Gopal Patra, Ronen Bar-Ziv, Tomer Zidki

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Developing efficient non-noble metal catalysts that are cheap and durable for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a great challenge. Moreover, altering the electronic structure of the catalyst and structural engineering of the materials provide a new direction for enhancing the OER. Herein, we have successfully synthesized Fe and Co incorporated MoS₂ catalysts, which show improved catalytic activity for OER when compared with MoS₂, Fe-MoS₂, and Co-MoS₂. It was found that at an optimal ratio of Fe and Co, the electronic and structural modification of MoS₂ occurs, which leads to change in orientation and thereby enhances the active catalytic sites on the edges, which are more exposed for OER. The nanocomposites have been well characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Elemental Mapping, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) analysis. Among all, a particular ratio of FeCo-MoS₂ exhibits a much smaller onset with better catalytic current density. The remarkable catalytic activity is mainly attributed to the synergistic effect from the Fe and Co. Most importantly, our work provides an essential insight in altering the electronic structure of MoS₂ based materials by incorporating promoters such as Co and Fe in an optimal amount, which enhances OER activity.

Keywords: electrocatalysts, molybdenum disulfide, oxygen evolution reaction, transition metals

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Authors: Lara Bettinelli, Bernhard Glatz, Josef Fink

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Planning engineers and researchers use various calculation models with different levels of complexity, calculation efficiency and accuracy in dynamic calculations of railway bridges under high-speed traffic. When choosing a vehicle model to depict the dynamic loading on the bridge structure caused by passing high-speed trains, different goals are pursued: On the one hand, the selected vehicle models should allow the calculation of a bridge’s vibrations as realistic as possible. On the other hand, the computational efficiency and manageability of the models should be preferably high to enable a wide range of applications. The commonly adopted and straightforward vehicle model is the moving load model (MLM), which simplifies the train to a sequence of static axle loads moving at a constant speed over the structure. However, the MLM can significantly overestimate the structure vibrations, especially when resonance events occur. More complex vehicle models, which depict the train as a system of oscillating and coupled masses, can reproduce the interaction dynamics between the vehicle and the bridge superstructure to some extent and enable the calculation of more realistic bridge accelerations. At the same time, such multi-body models require significantly greater processing capacities and precise knowledge of various vehicle properties. The European standards allow for applying the so-called additional damping method when simple load models, such as the MLM, are used in dynamic calculations. An additional damping factor depending on the bridge span, which should take into account the vibration-reducing benefits of the vehicle-bridge interaction, is assigned to the supporting structure in the calculations. However, numerous studies show that when the current standard specifications are applied, the calculation results for the bridge accelerations are in many cases still too high compared to the measured bridge accelerations, while in other cases, they are not on the safe side. A proposal to calculate the additional damping based on extensive dynamic calculations for a parametric field of simply supported bridges with a ballasted track was developed to address this issue. In this contribution, several different approaches to determine the additional damping of the supporting structure considering the vehicle-bridge interaction when using the MLM are compared with one another. Besides the standard specifications, this includes the approach mentioned above and two additional recently published alternative formulations derived from analytical approaches. For a bridge catalogue of 65 existing bridges in Austria in steel, concrete or composite construction, calculations are carried out with the MLM for two different high-speed trains and the different approaches for additional damping. The results are compared with the calculation results obtained by applying a more sophisticated multi-body model of the trains used. The evaluation and comparison of the results allow assessing the benefits of different calculation concepts for the additional damping regarding their accuracy and possible applications. The evaluation shows that by applying one of the recently published redesigned additional damping methods, the calculation results can reflect the influence of the vehicle-bridge interaction on the design-relevant structural accelerations considerably more reliable than by using normative specifications.

Keywords: Additional Damping Method, Bridge Dynamics, High-Speed Railway Traffic, Vehicle-Bridge-Interaction

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Authors: Makito Sakai, Takahiro Kiwata, Takumi Awa, Hiroshi Teramoto, Takaaki Kono, Kuniaki Toyoda

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Using experimental and numerical results, this paper describes the effects of tabs on the flow characteristics of a plane jet at comparatively low Reynolds numbers while focusing on the velocity field and the vortical structure. The flow visualization and velocity measurements were respectively carried out using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and particle image velocimetry (PIV). In addition, three-dimensional (3D) plane jet numerical simulations were performed using ANSYS Fluent, a commercially available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software application. We found that the spreads of jets perturbed by large delta tabs and round tabs were larger than those produced by the other tabs tested. Additionally, it was determined that a plane jet with square tabs had the smallest jet spread downstream, and the jet’s centerline velocity was larger than those of jets perturbed by the other tabs tested. It was also observed that the spanwise vortical structure of a plane jet with tabs disappeared completely. Good agreement was found between the experimental and numerical simulation velocity profiles in the area near the nozzle exit when the laminar flow model was used. However, we also found that large eddy simulation (LES) is better at predicting the developing flow field of a plane jet than the laminar and the standard k-ε turbulent models.

Keywords: plane jet, flow control, tab, flow measurement, numerical simulation

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Authors: M. S. Belashov, A. V. Benin, Lin Hong, Sh. Sh. Nazarova, O. B. Sabirova, A. M. Uzdin, Lin Hong

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The features of calculating structures for the action of weak earthquakes are analyzed. Earthquakes with a recurrence of 30 years and 50 years are considered. In the first case, the structure is to operate normally without damage after the earthquake. In the second case, damages are allowed that do not affect the possibility of the structure operation. Three issues are emphasized: setting elastic and damping characteristics of reinforced concrete, formalization of limit states, and combinations of loads. The dependence of damping on the reinforcement coefficient is estimated. When evaluating limit states, in addition to calculations for crack resistance and strength, a human factor, i.e., the possibility of panic among people, was considered. To avoid it, it is proposed to limit a floor-by-floor speed level in certain octave ranges. Proposals have been developed for estimating the coefficients of the combination of various loads with the seismic one. As an example, coefficients of combinations of seismic and ice loads are estimated. It is shown that for strong actions, the combination coefficients for different regions turn out to be close, while for weak actions, they may differ.

Keywords: weak earthquake, frequent earthquake, damage, limit state, reinforcement, crack resistance, strength resistance, a floor-by-floor velocity, combination coefficients

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Authors: Miramar Damanhouri

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This study examines the relationship between language use in computer-mediated communication and the social identity of the user. The data were collected by surveying 298 Saudi bilingual speakers who are familiar with Arabizi, a blend of Latin characters and Arabic numerals to transliterate Arabic sounds, and then analyzed quantitatively by running tests for statistical confidence in order to determine differences in perceptions between young adults (ages 15-25 years) and middle-aged adults (ages 26-50 years). According to the findings of this study, English is the dominant language among most of the young adults surveyed, and when they do use Arabic, they use Arabizi because of its flexibility, compatibility with modern technology, and its acceptance among people of their age and sociocultural backgrounds. On the other hand, most middle-aged adults surveyed here tend to use Arabic, as they believe that they should show their loyalty to their origin. The results of the study demonstrate a mutual relationship between language use in computer-mediated communication and the user’s social identity, as language is used both to reflect and construct that identity.

Keywords: Arabizi, computer mediated communication, digital communication, language use

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Authors: Athena Daniilidou, Maria Platsidou

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Recently developed scales addressed -specifically- teachers’ resilience. Although they profited from the field, they do not include some of the critical protective factors of teachers’ resilience identified in the literature. To address this limitation, we aimed at designing a more comprehensive scale for measuring teachers' resilience which encompasses various personal and environmental protective factors. To this end, two studies were carried out. In Study 1, 407 primary school teachers were tested with the new scale, the Teachers’ Protective Factors of Resilience Scale (TPFRS). Similar scales, such as the Multidimensional Teachers’ Resilience Scale and the Teachers’ Resilience Scale), were used to test the convergent validity, while the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale was used to assess the discriminant validity of the new scale. The factorial structure of the TPFRS was checked with confirmatory factor analysis and a good fit of the model to the data was found. Next, item response theory analysis using a two-parameter model (2PL) was applied to check the items within each factor. It revealed that 9 items did not fit the corresponding factors well and they were removed. The final version of the TPFRS includes 29 items, which assess six protective factors of teachers’ resilience: values and beliefs (5 items, α=.88), emotional and behavioral adequacy (6 items, α=.74), physical well-being (3 items, α=.68), relationships within the school environment, (6 items, α=.73) relationships outside the school environment (5 items, α=.84), and the legislative framework of education (4 items, α=.83). Results show that it presents a satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. Study 2, in which 964 primary and secondary school teachers were tested, confirmed the factorial structure of the TPFRS as well as its discriminant validity, which was tested with the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale-Short Form. In conclusion, our results confirmed that the TPFRS is a valid instrument for assessing teachers' protective factors of resilience and it can be safely used in future research and interventions in the teaching profession. In conclusion, our results showed that the TPFRS is a new multi-dimensional instrument valid for assessing teachers' protective factors of resilience and it can be safely used in future research and interventions in the teaching profession.

Keywords: resilience, protective factors, teachers, item response theory

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Authors: Polona Dobnik Dubrovski, Abhijit Majumdar

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The increasing awareness of negative effects of ultraviolet radiation and regular, effective protection are actual themes in many countries. Woven fabrics as clothing items can provide convenient personal protection however not all fabrics offer sufficient UV protection. Porous structure of the material has a great effect on UPF. The paper is focused on an overview of porosity in woven fabrics, including the determination of porosity parameters on the basis of an ideal geometrical model of porous structure. Our experiment was focused on 100% cotton woven fabrics in a grey state with the same yarn fineness (14 tex) and different thread densities (to achieve relative fabric density between 59 % and 87 %) and different type of weaves (plain, 4-end twill, 5-end satin). The results of the research dealing with the modelling of UPF and the influence of volume and open porosity of tested samples on UPF are exposed. The results show that open porosity should be lower than 12 % to achieve good UV protection according to AS/NZ standard of tested samples. The results also indicate that there is no direct correlation between volume porosity and UPF, moreover, volume porosity namely depends on the type of weave and affects UPF as well. Plain fabrics did not offer any UV protection, while twill and satin fabrics offered good UV protection when volume porosity was less than 64 % and 66 %, respectively.

Keywords: fabric engineering, UV radiation, porous materials, woven fabric construction, modelling

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Authors: Yaser Mohammed Altameemi

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This research looks at the representation of the social media for the Saudi Government decrees regarding the developmental projects of the Saudi 2030 vision. The paper analyses a television interview with the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman who talks about the progress of the Saudi vision of 2030, and how the government had acted as response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The interview was on 28/4/2021. The paper analyses the tweets on Twitter that cover the interview for the purpose of investigating the development of concepts and meanings regarding the Saudi peoples’ orientations towards the Saudi projects. The data include all related tweets from the day of the interview and the following seven days after the interview. The finding of the collocation analysis suggests that nationalism notion is explicitly expressed by users in Twitter. The main finding of this paper suggests the importance of further analyses for the concordance lines. However, the collocation network suggests that there is a clear highlight for nationalism.

Keywords: social media, twitter, political interview, prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi vision 2030

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Authors: Reagan Rodriguez

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With a growing divide between political echo chambers in the United States, exacerbated by race and income inequality, it might seem to be unfathomable to draw connections that tie working class in an industrial city and a U.S. territory. Yet, in regions where either the economy has been hit due to dwindling job infrastructure or natural disasters have left indelible marks on an island already once marked by colonial imperialism, a larger social shared identity is at play. Fracking has long been an intergenerational and stable work opportunity for many in the Pittsburg PA, yet the rising severity of global climate change may soon impact the policy and even presidential elections which could result in the reduction of jobs in the industry. Cock-fighting, considered a cultural mainstay within the island of Puerto Rico, has already had legislation banning activity and thus cutting out one of the most lucrative aspects of a severely injured economy. Insecurity, infringement, and isolation while being tied to a working-class bracket with no other opportunities in proximity have left both groups expressing similar frustration and while another larger shared identity politic is giving little other options to develop social mobility. This paper utilizes a thematic analysis and compares convergent and divergent themes on internet forums amongst unionized fracking workers in Pittsburg and cockfighters in Puerto Rico. This research examines how group identity in relation to job and cultural identity is most strong and at which points its most malleable; when intergenerational job identity becomes a part of one’s cultural identity, its override may be strongest when it is perceived as threatened. Final findings and limitations were comprehensively outlined.

Keywords: identity threat, social psychology, group identity, culture and social mobility

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Authors: Eva Šmelová, Alena Berčíková

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The issue of school maturity and readiness of a child for a successful start of compulsory education is one of the long-term monitored areas, especially in the context of education and psychology. In the context of the curricular reform in the Czech Republic, the issue has recently gained importance. Analyses of research in this area suggest a lack of a broader overview of indicators informing about the current level of children’s school maturity and school readiness. Instead, various studies address partial issues. Between 2009 and 2013 a research study was performed at the Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic) focusing on children’s maturity and readiness for compulsory education. In this study, social skills were of marginal interest; the main focus was on the mental area. This previous research is smoothly linked with the present study, the objective of which is to identify the level of school maturity and school readiness in selected characteristics of social skills as part of the adaptation process after enrolment in compulsory education. In this context, the following research question has been formulated: During the process of adaptation to the school environment, which social skills are weakened? The method applied was observation, for the purposes of which the authors developed a research tool – record sheet with 11 items – social skills that a child should have by the end of preschool education. The items were assessed by first-grade teachers at the beginning of the school year. The degree of achievement and intensity of the skills were assessed for each child using an assessment scale. In the research, the authors monitored a total of three independent variables (gender, postponement of school attendance, participation in inclusive education). The effect of these independent variables was monitored using 11 dependent variables. These variables are represented by the results achieved in selected social skills. Statistical data processing was assisted by the Computer Centre of Palacký University Olomouc. Statistical calculations were performed using SPSS v. 12.0 for Windows and STATISTICA: StatSoft STATISTICA CR, Cz (software system for data analysis). The research sample comprised 115 children. In their paper, the authors present the results of the research and at the same time point to possible areas of further investigation. They also highlight possible risks associated with weakened social skills.

Keywords: compulsory education, curricular reform, educational diagnostics, pupil, school curriculum, school maturity, school readiness, social skills

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Authors: Mohammad Sheikhalishahi, Vahid Ebrahimipour, Amir Hossein Radman-Kian

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This paper proposes an Ontology framework for knowledge modeling and representation of the equipment integrity process in a typical oil and gas production plant. Our aim is to construct a knowledge modeling that facilitates translation, interpretation, and conversion of human-readable integrity interpretation into computer-readable representation. The framework provides a function structure related to fault propagation using ISO 14224 and ISO 15926 OWL-Lite/ Resource Description Framework (RDF) to obtain a generic system-level model of asset integrity that can be utilized in the integrity engineering process during the equipment life cycle. It employs standard terminology developed by ISO 15926 and ISO 14224 to map textual descriptions of equipment failure and then convert it to a causality-driven logic by semantic interpretation and computer-based representation using Lite/RDF. The framework applied for an offshore gas riser. The result shows that the approach can cross-link the failure-related integrity words and domain-specific logic to obtain a representation structure of equipment integrity with causality inference based on semantic extraction of inspection report context.

Keywords: asset integrity modeling, interoperability, OWL, RDF/XML

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Authors: Elias Akoury

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Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an indispensable technique used in structure determination of small and macromolecules to study their physical properties, elucidation of characteristic interactions, dynamics and thermodynamic processes. Quantum mechanics defines the theoretical description of NMR spectroscopy and treatment of the dynamics of nuclear spin systems. The phenomenon of residual dipolar coupling (RDCs) has become a routine tool for accurate structure determination by providing global orientation information of magnetic dipole-dipole interaction vectors within a common reference frame. This offers accessibility of distance-independent angular information and insights to local relaxation. The measurement of RDCs requires an anisotropic orientation medium for the molecules to partially align along the magnetic field. This can be achieved by introduction of liquid crystals or attaching a paramagnetic center. Although anisotropic paramagnetic tags continue to mark achievements in the biomolecular NMR of large proteins, its application in small organic molecules remains unspread. Here, we propose a strategy for the synthesis of a lanthanide tag and the measurement of RDCs in organic molecules using paramagnetic lanthanide complexes.

Keywords: lanthanide tags, NMR spectroscopy, residual dipolar coupling, quantum mechanics of spin dynamics

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Authors: Eman Alzahrani

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Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were fabricated using the chemical co-precipitation method followed by coating the surface of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles with gum arabic (GA). The fabricated magnetic nanoparticles were characterised using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which showed that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles and GA-MNPs nanoparticles had a mean diameter of 33 nm, and 38 nm, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the MNPs modified with GA had homogeneous structure and agglomerated. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) spectrum showed strong peaks of Fe and O. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) indicated that the naked magnetic nanoparticles were pure Fe3O4 with a spinel structure and the covering of GA did not result in a phase change. The covering of GA on the magnetic nanoparticles was also studied by BET analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, the present study reports a fast and simple method for removal and recovery of methylene blue dye (MB) from aqueous solutions by using the synthesised magnetic nanoparticles modified with gum arabic as adsorbent. The experimental results show that the adsorption process attains equilibrium within five minutes. The data fit the Langmuir isotherm equation and the maximum adsorption capacities were 8.77 mg mg-1 and 14.3 mg mg-1 for MNPs and GA-MNPs, respectively. The results indicated that the homemade magnetic nanoparticles were quite efficient for removing MB and will be a promising adsorbent for the removal of harmful dyes from waste-water.

Keywords: Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, gum arabic, co-precipitation, adsorption dye, methylene blue, adsorption isotherm

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Authors: Imen Aribi Ben Amor

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The aim of the present study is to analyze the performance of requests in emails among a group of Tunisian postgraduate students. It also seeks to determine the influence of the social factors on the participants’ requests performance. For this purpose, the data were collected using a discourse completion test (DCT). Accordingly, 42 Tunisian postgraduate students were asked to respond in English to eight different situations in which they carried out the speech act of request in emails. The data were analyzed based on the degree of directness. A detailed analysis of the head acts found in the DCT revealed that Tunisian Postgraduate students use a varied repertoire of request strategies (direct, conventionally indirect and non-conventionally indirect) but at the same time rely heavily on direct request strategies. They tended to address their requestees directly except for distant superiors. DCT results suggest that the participants are to some extent aware of the influence of the ranking of imposition and social distance but fail to acknowledge the weight of social power when performing requests in emails. The preference of the participants to use direct strategies may be the result of the effect of Tunisian culture and the negative transfer of Tunisian communicative strategies. Accordingly, this study suggests some pedagogical implications and suggestions for Tunisian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) instructors. They are required to pay closer attention to the pragmalinguistic nuances of the ways in which requests in emails are realized. Teachers can also help students understand academic email etiquettes by explicitly explaining what they expect in the student email. Thus, EFL teachers and syllabus designers should devote more attention to developing EFL learners’ pragmatic competence through teaching L2 pragmatics.

Keywords: directness, ranking of imposition, request strategies, social distance, social power

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Authors: Milton Jusu

Abstract:

Efforts by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and its development partners to introduce “modern” aquaculture in Sierra Leone since the 1970s have not been successful. A number of reasons have been hypothesized, including the suggestion that the market infrastructure and demand for farmed fish were inadequate to stimulate large-scale and widespread aquaculture production in the country. We have assessed the size, structure, networks, and opportunities in fish markets using a combination of Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) and questionnaire surveys conducted in a sample of 29 markets (urban, weekly, wholesale, and retail) and two hundred traders. The study showed that the local fish markets were dynamic, with very high variations in demand and supply. The markets sampled supplied between 135.2 and 9947.6 tonnes/year. Mean prices for fresh fish varied between US$1.12 and US$3.89/kg depending on species, with smoked catfish and shrimps commanding prices as high as US$7.4/kg. It is unlikely that marine capture fisheries can increase their current production levels, and these may, in fact, already be over-exploited and declining. Marine fish supplies are particularly low between July and September. More careful attention to the timing of harvests (rainy season, not dry season) and to species (catfish, not tilapia) (could help in the successful adoption of aquaculture.

Keywords: fisheries, aquaculture, marine, fish ponds

Procedia PDF Downloads 55