Search results for: Japanese working adults

Authors: Khalid Abdelghany

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Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the manufacturing technology that is used to fabricate fast products direct from CAD models in very short time and with minimum operation steps. Jointly with the advancement in medical computer modeling, AM proved to be a very efficient tool to help physicians, orthopedic surgeons and dentists design and fabricate patient-tailored surgical guides, templates and customized implants from the patient’s CT / MRI images. AM jointly with computer-assisted designing/computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology have enabled medical practitioners to tailor physical models in a patient-and purpose-specific fashion and helped to design and manufacture of templates, appliances and devices with a high range of accuracy using biocompatible materials. In developing countries, there are some technical and financial limitations of implementing such advanced tools as an essential portion of medical applications. CMRDI institute in Egypt has been working in the field of Medical Additive Manufacturing since 2003 and has assisted in the recovery of hundreds of poor patients using these advanced tools. This paper focuses on the surgical and dental use of 3D printing technology in Egypt as a developing country. The presented case studies have been designed and processed using the software tools and additive manufacturing machines in CMRDI through cooperative engineering and medical works. Results showed that the implementation of the additive manufacturing tools in developed countries is successful and could be economical comparing to long treatment plans.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, dental and orthopeadic stents, patient specific surgical tools, titanium implants

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Authors: Catalina Sau Man Ng

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Workplace bullying is generally defined as a form of direct and indirect maltreatment at work including harassing, offending, socially isolating someone or negatively affecting someone’s work tasks. Workplace bullying is unfortunately commonplace around the world, which makes it a social phenomenon worth researching. However, the measurements and estimation methods of workplace bullying seem to be diverse in different studies, leading to dubious results. Hence, this paper attempts to examine the prevalence of workplace bullying in Hong Kong using the latent class analysis approach. It is often argued that the traditional classification of workplace bullying into the dichotomous 'victims' and 'non-victims' may not be able to fully represent the complex phenomenon of bullying. By treating workplace bullying as one latent variable and examining the potential categorical distribution within the latent variable, a more thorough understanding of workplace bullying in real-life situations may hence be provided. As a result, this study adopts a latent class analysis method, which was tested to demonstrate higher construct and higher predictive validity previously. In the present study, a representative sample of 2814 employees (Male: 54.7%, Female: 45.3%) in Hong Kong was recruited. The participants were asked to fill in a self-reported questionnaire which included measurements such as Chinese Workplace Bullying Scale (CWBS) and Chinese Version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). It is estimated that four latent classes will emerge: 'non-victims', 'seldom bullied', 'sometimes bullied', and 'victims'. The results of each latent class and implications of the study will also be discussed in this working paper.

Keywords: latent class analysis, prevalence, survey, workplace bullying

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Authors: Alireza Ghadiri, Soheila Memarzadeh, Arash Ghadiri

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Heat pipes are efficient heat transfer devices for solar hot water heating systems. However, the effective downward transfer of solar energy in an integrated heat pipe system provides increased design and implementation options. There is a lack of literature about flat plate wicked assisted heat pipe solar collector, especially with the presence of finned water-cooled condenser wicked heat pipes for solar energy applications. In this paper, the consequence of incorporating fins arrays into the condenser region of screen mesh heat pipe solar collector is investigated. An experimental model and a transient theoretical model are conducted to compare the performances of the solar heating system at a different period of the year. A good agreement is shown between the model and the experiment. Two working fluids are investigated (water and methanol) and results reveal that water slightly outperforms methanol with a collector instantaneous efficiency of nearly 60%. That modest improvement is achieved by adding fins to the condenser region of the heat pipes. Results show that the collector efficiency increase as the number of fins increases (upon certain number) and reveal that the mesh number is an important factor which affect the overall collector efficiency. An optimal heat pipe mesh number of 100 meshes/in. With two layers appears to be favorable in such collectors for their design and operating conditions.

Keywords: heat pipe, solar collector, capillary limit, mesh number

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Authors: A. M. Sultana, Norhirdawati Binti Mhd Zahir, Norzalan Hadi Yaacob

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Recently in Malaysia, women's participation in teaching profession has increased. The increasing trend of women’s participation in the teaching profession poses challenges in families, especially in the developing countries like Malaysia. One of these challenges, concerns in balancing their role between family and job responsibility that faced by many women teachers. The purpose of this study is to discover how women teachers' impact on family happiness and the challenges faced by them in balancing their role between family and job responsibility. The findings presented in this study are based on survey research in a secondary school Dato’ Bijaya Setia in the district of Gugusan Manjoi which is located in Kedah, Malaysia. The study found that employment of women in economic activity has several beneficial impacts of improving the economic condition of the family. The results also revealed that in low income earning families, both husbands and wives’ employment contribute to the family income that less likely to experience of family poverty. The study also showed despite women's teachers’ significant role towards the overall development of the family, the majority of women teachers encountered a number of difficulties in balancing their role between family and job responsibility especially when they need to work more than the normal working time. Therefore, it is common for the majority of women suffering from psychological stress when they are unable to complete the task at a fixed time. The present study also suggests implication of family friendly policy and its appropriate practice to support the women teachers who are significantly contributing to family, community and the country.

Keywords: emotional exhaustion, family friendly policy, work family conflict, women teacher

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Authors: Elham Dehghan, A. Shirzadi Javid, Mohsen Tadayon

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Labor productivity is very important and gained special concerns among professionals in the construction industry, worldwide. Productivity improvements on labors achieve higher cost savings with minimal investment. Due to the fact that profit margins are small on construction projects, cost savings associated with productivity are crucial to become a successful contractor. This research program studies and highlights the factors affecting labor productivity in Iranian construction industry. A questionnaire was used to gather the relevant data from respondents who involve in managing various types of projects in wide areas in Iran. It involved ranking 57 predefined factors divided into 5 categories: Human/Labor; Financial; Management; Equipments/Materials and Environmental. Total 62 feedbacks were analyzed through the Relative Importance Index (RII) technique. The top ten factors affecting construction labor productivity in Iran are: 1) Professional capability of contractor project manager, 2) skills of contractor’s project management team, 3) professional capability of owner project manager, 4) professional capability of Consulting Project manager, 5) discipline working, 6) delay payments by the owner, 7) material shortages, 8) delays in delivery of materials, 9) turnover power of the owner, 10) poor site management. Recommendations have been made in the study to address these factors. The research has direct benefits to key stakeholders in Iranian construction industry.

Keywords: Iranian construction projects, labor, productivity, relative importance index

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Authors: Mohamad Shariff Nurasikin, Paul Crawford, Nicola Wright

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People with any mental disorder can get benefit from the spiritual aspects of life for recovery, particularly in searching for the meaning of life and engaging in meaningful activities. However, little is known about such effects in the population of bipolar disorder. The concepts of spirituality are highly contestable, as they are too broad and removed from the original religious understanding. The concepts are more notable as encompassing multi-dimensional aspects of people’s lives such as social, emotional, and psychological. Viewing that Western or secular worldview dominates most of the literature in spirituality, it is time to explore the concept of spirituality from the Eastern and religious worldview, such as the Malaysian view. Thus, the aim of this study is to provide a conceptual understanding of people with bipolar disorder with a religious affiliation in Malaysia. This study employs a Grounded Theory and explores the narratives from the interviews of 25 participants. The narratives strongly suggest the salient resources or can be referred to as various forms of capital, as in the capital theory, namely, religious, social, psychological, and medicinal. More important is how these capitals are the enablers for recovery in mental health and well-being, where the participants in the sample engage in a more meaningful life and positive adaptations. This study also extends the Bourdieusian spiritual capital, in which the salient resources are termed as the capital bundle. More significant is how the capital bundles are working contiguously in building and accumulating the spiritual capital. This process is conducive to recovery within the social life of people with bipolar disorder or perhaps other mental disorders.

Keywords: bipolar, Bourdeau, recovery, spiritual

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Authors: Behzad Ahdiharab, Senol Baskaya, Tamer Calisir

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Heat exchangers are one of the most widely used systems in factories, refineries etc. In this study, natural convection heat transfer using nano-fluids in between two cylinders is numerically investigated. The inner and outer cylinders are kept at constant temperatures. One of the most important assumptions in the project is that the working fluid is non-Newtonian. In recent years, the use of nano-fluids in industrial applications has increased profoundly. In this study, nano-Newtonian fluids containing metal particles with high heat transfer coefficients have been used. All fluid properties such as homogeneity has been calculated. In the present study, solutions have been obtained under unsteady conditions, base fluid was water, and effects of various parameters on heat transfer have been investigated. These parameters are Rayleigh number (103 < Ra < 106), power-law index (0.6 < n < 1.4), aspect ratio (0 < AR < 0.8), nano-particle composition, horizontal and vertical displacement of the inner cylinder, rotation of the inner cylinder, and volume fraction of nanoparticles. Results such as the internal cylinder average and local Nusselt number variations, contours of temperature, flow lines are presented. The results are also discussed in detail. From the validation study performed it was found that a very good agreement exists between the present results and those from the open literature. It was found out that the heat transfer is always affected by the investigated parameters. However, the degree to which the heat transfer is affected does change in a wide range.

Keywords: heat transfer, circular space, non-Newtonian, nano fluid, computational fluid dynamics.

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Authors: Rukminingsih Rukmi

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This paper addresses the issue of L2 teaching speaking to ESL students by fostering their active learning through project-based learning. Project-based learning was employed in classrooms where teachers support students by giving sufficient guidance and feedback. The students drive the inquiry, engage in research and discovery, and collaborate effectively with teammates to deliver the final work product. The teacher provides the initial direction and acts as a facilitator along the way. This learning approach is considered helpful for fostering students’ active learning. that the steps in implementing of project-based learning that fosters students’ critical thinking in TEFL class are in the following: (1) Discussing the materials about Speaking Class, (2) Working with the group to construct scenario of ways on speaking practice, (3) Practicing the scenario, (4) Recording the speaking practice into video, and (5) Evaluating the video product. This research is aimed to develop a strategy of teaching speaking by implementing project-based learning to improve speaking skill in the second Semester of English Department of STKIP PGRI Jombang. To achieve the purpose, the researcher conducted action research. The data of the study were gathered through the following instruments: test, observation checklists, and questionnaires. The result was indicated by the increase of students’ average speaking scores from 65 in the preliminary study, 73 in the first cycle, and 82 in the second cycle. Besides, the results of the study showed that project-based learning considered to be appropriate strategy to give students the same amount of chance in practicing their speaking skill and to pay attention in creating a learning situation.

Keywords: active learning, project-based learning, speaking ability, L2 teaching speaking

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Authors: Sadegh Sadeghi, Negar Shabani

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From a thermal point of view, zeotropic mixtures are likely to be more efficient than azeotropic fluids in low-temperature thermodynamic cycles due to their suitable boiling characteristics. In this study, performance of a low-temperature Kalina cycle with R717/water working fluid used in different existing power plants is mathematically investigated. To analyze the behavior of the cycle, mass conservation, energy conservation, and exergy balance equations are presented. With regard to the similarity in molar mass of R717 (17.03 gr/mol) and water (18.01 gr/mol), there is no need to alter the size of Kalina system components such as turbine and pump. To optimize the cycle energy and exergy efficiencies simultaneously, a constrained multi-objective optimization is carried out applying an Artificial Bee Colony algorithm. The main motivation behind using this algorithm lies on its robustness, reliability, remarkable precision and high–speed convergence rate in dealing with complicated constrained multi-objective problems. Convergence rates of the algorithm for calculating the optimal energy and exergy efficiencies are presented. Subsequently, due to the importance of exergy concept in Kalina cycles, exergy destructions occurring in the components are computed. Finally, the impacts of pressure, temperature, mass fraction and mass flow rate on the energy and exergy efficiencies are elaborately studied.

Keywords: artificial bee colony algorithm, binary zeotropic mixture, constrained multi-objective optimization, energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, Kalina cycle

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Authors: Reza Beheshti

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This paper examines remedies for defective manufactured goods in commercial circular economic transactions. The linear ‘take-make-dispose’ model fits well with the conventional remedial framework in which damages are considered the primary remedy. Damages under English Sales Law encourages buyers to look for a substitute seller with broadly similar goods to the ones agreed on in the original contract, enter into contract with this new seller and hence terminate the original contract. By doing so, the buyer ends the contractual relationship. This seems contrary to the core principles of the circular economy: keeping products, components, and materials in longer use, which can partly be achieved by product refurbishment. This process involves returning a product to good working condition by replacing or repairing major components that are faulty or close to failure and making ‘cosmetic’ changes to update the appearance of a product. This remedy has not been widely accepted or applied in commercial cases, which in turn flags up the secondary nature of performance-related remedies. This paper critically analyses the laws concerning the seller’s duty to cure in English law and the extent to which they correspond with core principles of the circular economy. In addition, this paper takes into account the potential of circular economic transactions being characterised as something other than sales. In such situations, the likely outcome will be a license to use products, which may limit the choice of remedy further. Consequently, this paper suggests an outline remedial framework specifically for commercial circular economic transactions in manufactured goods.

Keywords: circular economy, contract law, remedies, English Sales Law

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Authors: Evangelia-Chrysanthi Kouklari, Stella Tsermentseli, Claire P. Monks

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Executive function (EF) refers to a set of future-oriented and goal-directed cognitive skills that are crucial for problem solving and social behaviour, as well as the ability to organise oneself. It has been suggested that EF could be conceptualised as two distinct but interrelated constructs, one emotional (hot) and one cognitive (cool), as it facilitates both affective and cognitive regulation. Cool EF has been found to be strongly related to Theory of Mind (ToM) that is the ability to infer mental states, but research has not taken into account the association between hot EF and ToM in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to date. The present study investigates the associations between both hot and cool EF and ToM in school-aged children with ASD. This cross-sectional study assesses 79 school-aged children with ASD (7-15 years) and 91 controls matched for age and IQ, on tasks tapping cool EF (working memory, inhibition, planning), hot EF (effective decision making, delay discounting), and ToM (emotional understanding and false/no false belief). Significant group differences in each EF measure support a global executive dysfunction in ASD. Strong associations between hot EF and ToM in ASD are reported for the first time (i.e. ToM emotional understanding and delay discounting). These findings highlight that hot EF also makes a unique contribution to the developmental profile of ASD. Considering the role of both hot and cool EF in association with ToM in individuals with ASD may aid in gaining a greater understanding not just of how these complex multifaceted cognitive abilities relate to one another, but their joint role in the distinct developmental pathway followed in ASD.

Keywords: ASD, executive function, school age, theory of mind

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Authors: Craig A. Kaplan

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If AGI proves to be a “winner-take-all” scenario where the first company or country to develop AGI dominates, then the first AGI must also be the safest. The safest, and fastest, path to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) may be to harness the collective intelligence of multiple AI and human agents in an AGI network. This approach has roots in seminal ideas from four of the scientists who founded the field of Artificial Intelligence: Allen Newell, Marvin Minsky, Claude Shannon, and Herbert Simon. Extrapolating key insights from these founders of AI, and combining them with the work of modern researchers, results in a fast and safe path to AGI. The seminal ideas discussed are: 1) Society of Mind (Minsky), 2) Information Theory (Shannon), 3) Problem Solving Theory (Newell & Simon), and 4) Bounded Rationality (Simon). Society of Mind describes a collective intelligence approach that can be used with AI and human agents to create an AGI network. Information theory helps address the critical issue of how an AGI system will increase its intelligence over time. Problem Solving Theory provides a universal framework that AI and human agents can use to communicate efficiently, effectively, and safely. Bounded Rationality helps us better understand not only the capabilities of SuperIntelligent AGI but also how humans can remain relevant in a world where the intelligence of AGI vastly exceeds that of its human creators. Each key idea can be combined with recent work in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Large Language Models to accelerate the development of a working, safe, AGI system.

Keywords: AI Agents, Collective Intelligence, Minsky, Newell, Shannon, Simon, AGI, AGI Safety

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Authors: Othoman Elsayah, Naren Gupta, Binsheng Zhang

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The construction sector constitutes one of the most important sectors in the economy of any country. Contractor selection is a critical decision that is undertaken by client organizations and is central to the success of any construction project. Contractor selection (CS) is a process which involves investigating, screening and determining whether candidate contractors have the technical and financial capability to be accepted to formally tender for construction work. The process should be conducted prior to the award of contract, characterized by many factors such as: contactor’s skills, experience on similar projects, track- record in the industry, and financial stability. However, this paper evaluates the current state of knowledge in relation to contractor selection process and demonstrates the findings from the analysis of the data collected from the Delphi questionnaire survey. The survey was conducted with a group of 12 experts working in the Libyan construction industry (LCI). The paper starts by briefly explaining the general outline of the questionnaire including the survey participation rate, the different fields the experts came from, and the business titles of the participants. Then, the paper describes the tests used to determine when the experts had reached consensus. The paper is based on research which aims to develop rank contractor selection criteria with specific application to make construction projects in the Libyan context. The findings of this study will be utilized to establish the scope of work that will be used as part of a PhD research.

Keywords: contractor selection, Libyan construction industry, decision experts, Delphi technique

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Authors: Paraskevi Liosatou

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Climate change is considered to be of global concern being amplified by the fact that by its nature, cannot be spatially limited. This fact makes necessary the intergovernmental decision-making procedures. In the intergovernmental level, the institutions such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change develop efforts, methods, and practices in order to plan and suggest climate mitigation and adaptation measures. These measures are based on specific scientific findings and methods making clear the strong connection between science and policy. In particular, these scientific recommendations offer a series of practices, methods, and choices mitigating the problem by aiming at the indirect mitigation of the causes and the factors amplifying climate change. Moreover, modern production and economic context do not take into consideration the social, political, environmental and spatial dimensions of the problem. This work studies the decision-making process working in international and European level. In this context, this work considers the policy tools that have been implemented by various intergovernmental organizations. The methodology followed is based mainly on the critical study of standards and process concerning the connections and cooperation between science and policy as well as considering the skeptic debates developed. The finding of this work focuses on the links between science and policy developed by the institutional and scientific mechanisms concerning climate change mitigation. It also analyses the dimensions and the factors of the science-policy framework; in this way, it points out the causes that maintain skepticism in current scientific circles.

Keywords: climate change, climate change mitigation, climate change skepticism, IPCC, skepticism

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Authors: Xuechen Chen

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The EU-ASEAN relations which can be dated back to 1972 represents one of the oldest group-to-group relationship in international politics. Despite a longstanding dialogue partnership, the EU and ASEAN have long been reluctant to forge deeper and substantial cooperation in political and security domains. However, the year of 2012 witnessed a salient shift in EU-ASEAN relations, with the EU significantly elevating ASEAN's profile in its external relations. Given the limited scholarly attention that has been devoted to this change in ASEAN-EU relations, this article explores why there has been a greater level of engagement and approximation between the EU and ASEAN. In particular, it asks why the EU, which had long been reluctant to recognize ASEAN as a strategic partner, has changed its policy towards ASEAN. Drawing on social constructivism, this article argues that the EU’s and ASEAN’s evolving identity-formation processes have played a significant role in reshaping their mutual perceptions, which subsequently leads to the modification of the interregional policies of both actors. The methodology of this study is based on content analysis of a wide range of official documents and policy papers from the EU and ASEAN, as well as more than 20 in-depth elite interviews with diplomats and experts working on the EU-ASEAN relationship from both organisations. Departing from the existing works which mainly adopt a Eurocentric perspective when analysing the EU-ASEAN interregionalism, this study suggests that the approximation of the EU-ASEAN relationship between 2012 and 2017 is driven by both actors’ adjustment of international identities, together with the internal dynamics and systematic changes within both regions.

Keywords: Association of Southeast Asia Nations, European Union, EU foreign policy, interregionalism

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Authors: Adriano Mortada

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Human history is rife with conflict, and the question of refugee status determination and their rehabilitation has been up for debate since. Refugee Status Determination is the administrative or legal process by which UNHCR or governments determine whether a person seeking international protection or asylum can be identified as a refugee under international, regional, or national law. Refugee Status Determination is considered to be a vital process in aiding refugees’ realization of their rights under international law. One of the major reasons why the refugee status determination is considered an “issue”, and is one that is much debated upon annually, is the fact that the national bureaucratic systems are rigid and unbending. This is particularly concerning in the 21st century despite human advancement in policy and diplomacy, working in tandem with the United Nations and their charters and resolutions on human rights and dignity. The paper seeks to criticize the European member states' response to the refugee crisis and their inflexible and prejudiced bureaucratic systems when it comes to refugee status determination. The paper looks at multiple case studies as primary evidence and the alternate case studies where the system helped refugees, like those in Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey, and Lebanon. The main concern of the paper is to highlight the bias in the selected European systems, which do not stem from the Human Rights Charter but rather on the basis of geographical backgrounds, cultural and religious affiliations of those seeking refugee status or asylum in their respective countries. The paper hopes to not only create awareness about this issue but also provide a research background to advocacy programs to bring a change in the systems.

Keywords: refugee status determination, human rights, bureaucracy, United Nations, European Union

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Authors: L. Freeborn

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Recent years have seen an increasing number of neuroimaging studies related to language learning as imaging techniques such as fMRI and EEG have become more widely accessible to researchers. By using a variety of structural and functional neuroimaging techniques, these studies have already made considerable progress in terms of our understanding of neural networks and processing related to first and second language acquisition. However, the methodological designs employed in neuroimaging studies to test language learning have been questioned by applied linguists working within the field of second language acquisition (SLA). One of the major criticisms is that tasks designed to measure language learning gains rarely have a communicative function, and seldom assess learners’ ability to use the language in authentic situations. This brings the validity of many neuroimaging tasks into question. The fundamental reason why people learn a language is to communicate, and it is well-known that both first and second language proficiency are developed through meaningful social interaction. With this in mind, the SLA field is in agreement that second language acquisition and proficiency should be measured through learners’ ability to communicate in authentic real-life situations. Whilst authenticity is not always possible to achieve in a classroom environment, the importance of task authenticity should be reflected in the design of language assessments, teaching materials, and curricula. Tasks that bear little relation to how language is used in real-life situations can be considered to lack construct validity. This paper first describes the typical tasks used in neuroimaging studies to measure language gains and proficiency, then analyses to what extent these tasks can validly assess these constructs.

Keywords: neuroimaging studies, research design, second language acquisition, task validity

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Authors: Ana M. Lara, Manuela Llano, Felipe Gaitán, Rosa H. Bustos, Ana Maria Perdomo-Arciniegas, Ximena Bonilla

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Umbilical cord blood is used as a source of progenitor and stem cells for the regeneration of the hematopoietic and immune system to treat patients with different hematological or non-hematological diseases. This stem cell source represents an advantage over the use of bone marrow or mobilized peripheral blood because it has a lower incidence rate of graft-versus-host disease, probably due to fewer immunological compatibility restrictions. However, its low cellular dose limits its use in pediatric patients. This work proposes the standardization of a cell expansion technique to compensate for the dose of infused cells through the ex-vivo manipulation of hematopoietic progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood before transplantation. The expansion model is carried out through co-cultures with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from bone marrow (BM) and less explored fetal tissues such as Wharton's jelly (WJ) and umbilical cord blood (UCB). Initially, a master cell bank of primary mesenchymal stem cells isolated from different sources was established and characterized following International Society of Cell Therapies (ISCT) indications. Additionally, we assessed the effect of a short 25 Gy cycle of gamma irradiation on cell cycle arrest of mesenchymal cells over the support capacity for the expansion of hematopoietic stem cells from umbilical cord blood was evaluated. The results show that co-cultures with MSC from WJ and UCB allow the cellular dose of HSPC to be maximized between 5 and 16 times having a similar support capacity as BM. In addition, was evaluated the hematopoietic stem progenitor cell's HSPC functionality through the evaluation of migration capacity, their differentiation capacity during culture time by flow cytometry to evaluate the expression of membrane markers associated with lineage-committed progenitors, their clonogenic potential, and the evaluation of secretome profile in the expansion process was evaluated. So far, the treatment with gamma irradiation maintains the hematopoietic support capacity of mesenchymal stem cells from the three sources studied compared to treatments without irradiation, favoring the use of fetal tissues that are generally waste to obtain mesenchymal cell lines for ex-vivo expansion systems. With the results obtained, a standardized protocol that will contribute to the development of ex-vivo expansion with MSC on a larger scale will be achieved, enabling its clinical use and expanding its application in adults.

Keywords: ex-vivo expansion, hematopoietic stem cells, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord blood

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Authors: Deepak Khare, Radha Krishan, Bhaskar Nikam

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The present study deals with the results of the Ortho-rectified Cartosat-1 PAN (2.5 m resolution) satellite data analysis for the extraction of canal networks under the Eastern Ganga Canal (EGC) command. Based on the information derived through the remote sensing data, in terms of the number of canals, their physical status and hydraulic connectivity from the source, irrigation potential (IP) created in the command was assessed by comparing with planned/design canal-wise irrigation potentials. All the geospatial information generated in the study is organized in a geodatabase. The EGC project irrigates the command through one main canal, five branch canals, 36 distributaries and 186 minors. The study was conducted with the main objectives of inventory and mapping of irrigation infrastructure using geographic information system (GIS), remote sensing and field data. Likewise, the assessment of irrigation potential created using the mapped infrastructure was performed as on March 2017. Results revealed that the canals were not only pending but were also having gap/s, and hydraulically disconnected in each branch canal and also in minors of EGC. A total of 16622.3 ha of commands were left untouched with canal water just due to the presence of gaps in the EGC project. The sum of all the gaps present in minor canals was 11.92 km, while in distributary, it was 2.63 km. This is a very good scenario that balances IP can be achieved by working on the gaps present in minor canals. Filling the gaps in minor canals can bring most of the area under irrigation, especially the tail reaches command.

Keywords: canal command, GIS, hydraulic connectivity, irrigation potential

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Authors: M. Shahadat Hossain

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People experiencing economic disadvantages have limited access to justice system. Employment status is a key indicator of economic disadvantage. There is a link between employment status and vulnerability to legal problems. This paper addresses the obstacles unemployed people experience to secure justice in Australia. This paper further explores exiting services for economically disadvantaged people to secure justice where these unemployment people can get access. It reveals that unemployed people are vulnerable to multifaced crime and violence. Due to high cost of legal services, these unemployed people are unable to afford legal services to access justice. They are often found higher levels of nonactions in terms of access to justice also due to lack of their initiatives. This paper further reveals that legal aid commissions are state and territory statutory agencies in Australia which provide free legal information, advice, duty lawyers, and legal representation services. Community legal centres are independent, non-profit government organizations with a focus of early advice, problem solving, and working with other agencies to address connected, financial, and health problems. Moreover, the private profession helps people who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer in several ways. But there are problems of shortage of funding for these legal services and making available to economically disadvantaged people. However, this paper argues that people experiencing long-term unemployment face barriers to secure justice due to their economic disadvantages. It further argues that services available for them to access to justice is inadequate.

Keywords: economic disadvantages, unemployment, access to justice, Australia

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Authors: Mike Dee

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Urban public spaces are sutured with a range of surveillance and sensor technologies that claim to enable new forms of ‘data based citizen participation’, but also increase the tendency for ‘function-creep’, whereby vast amounts of data are gathered, stored and analysed in a broad application of urban surveillance. This kind of monitoring and capacity for surveillance connects with attempts by civic authorities to regulate, restrict, rebrand and reframe urban public spaces. A direct consequence of the increasingly security driven, policed, privatised and surveilled nature of public space is the exclusion or ‘unfavourable inclusion’ of those considered flawed and unwelcome in the ‘spectacular’ consumption spaces of many major urban centres. In the name of urban regeneration, programs of securitisation, ‘gentrification’ and ‘creative’ and ‘smart’ city initiatives refashion public space as sites of selective inclusion and exclusion. In this context of monitoring and control procedures, in particular, children and young people’s use of space in parks, neighbourhoods, shopping malls and streets is often viewed as a threat to the social order, requiring various forms of remedial action. This paper suggests that cities, places and spaces and those who seek to use them, can be resilient in working to maintain and extend democratic freedoms and processes enshrined in Marshall’s concept of citizenship, calling sensor and surveillance systems to account. Such accountability could better inform the implementation of public policy around the design, build and governance of public space and also understandings of urban citizenship in the sensor saturated urban environment.

Keywords: citizenship, public space, surveillance, young people

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Authors: Safia Asif, Saadia Bano

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In a world with rapidly depleting resources, using artificial lighting during daytime is an act of human ignorance. Imitated light is the major source of energy consumption in public buildings. Despite, the fact that substantial working hours of these buildings usually persist in natural daylight time; there is a trend of isolated, un-fenestrated and a-contextual interiors majorly dependent on active energy sources. On the contrary, if direct and un-controlled sunlight is allowed inside the building, it will create visual and thermal discomfort. Controlled daylighting with appropriate design mechanisms is one of the important aspects of achieving thermal and visual comfort. The natural sunlight can be utilized intelligently with the help of architectural thermal controlling mechanisms to achieve a healthy and productive environment. This paper is an attempt to investigate and analyze the importance of daylighting with reference to energy efficiency and thermal comfort. For this purpose, three public buildings including two educational institutions and one general post office are selected, as case-studies in the context of Karachi, Pakistan. Various parameters of visual and thermal comfort are analyzed which includes orientation, ceiling heights, overall building profile along with daylight controlling mechanisms in terms of penetration, distribution, protection, and control. In the later part of the research, a questionnaire survey is also conducted to evaluate the user experience in terms of adequate daylighting and thermal comfort.

Keywords: daylight, public buildings, sustainable architecture, visual and thermal comfort

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Authors: Mohd Afif Md Nasir, Faizal Amin Nur Yunus, Jamaluddin Hashim, Abd Samad Hassan Basari, A. Halim Sahelan

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The aim of this study is to identify the suitability of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in welding simulator application towards Computer-Based Training (CBT) in developing skills upon new students at the Advanced Technology Training Center (ADTEC), Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia and GIATMARA, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. The purpose of the study is to create a computer-based skills development approach in welding technology among new students in ADTEC and GIATMARA, as well as cultivating the elements of general skills among them. This study is also important in elevating the number of individual knowledge workers (K-workers) working in manufacturing industry in order to achieve a national vision which is to be an industrial nation in the year of 2020. The design of the study is a survey type of research which uses questionnaires as the instruments and 136 students from ADTEC and GIATMARA were interviewed. Descriptive analysis is used to identify the frequency and mean values. The findings of the study shows that the welding technology skills have developed in the students as a result of the application of VLE simulator at a high level and the respondents agreed that the skills could be embedded through the application of the VLE simulator. In summary, the VLE simulator is suitable in welding skills development training in terms of exposing new students with the relevant characteristics of welding skills and at the same time spurring the students’ interest towards learning more about the skills.

Keywords: computer-based training (CBT), knowledge workers (K-workers), virtual learning environment, welding simulator, welding technology

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Authors: Wipada Chaiwchan

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This research aims to study behaviors in using social networks of Corporate personnel of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The sample used in the study were two groups: 1) Academic Officer 70 persons and 2) Operation Officer 143 persons were used in this study. The tools in this research consisted of questionnaire which the data were analyzed by using percentage, average (X) and Standard deviation (S.D.) and Independent Sample T-Test to test the difference between the mean values obtained from two independent samples, and One-way anova to analysis of variance, and Multiple comparisons to test that the average pair of different methods by Fisher’s Least Significant Different (LSD). The study result found that the most of corporate personnel have purpose in using social network to information awareness aspect was knowledge and online conference with social media. By using the average more than 3 hours per day in everyday. Using time in working in one day and there are computers connected to the Internet at home, by using the communication in the operational processes. Behaviors using social networks in relation to gender, age, job title, department, and type of personnel. Hypothesis testing, and analysis of variance for the effects of this analysis is divided into three aspects: The use of online social networks, the attitude of the users and the security analysis has found that Corporate Personnel of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. Overall and specifically at the high level, and considering each item found all at a high level. By sorting of the social network (X=3.22), The attitude of the users (X= 3.06) and the security (X= 3.11). The overall behaviors using of each side (X=3.11).

Keywords: social network, behaviors, social media, computer information systems

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Authors: Fatin Fadhilah Hasib, Dewi Nuraini, Nisful Laila, Muhammad Madyan

Abstract:

A big political event such as Cabinet reshuffle mostly can affect the stock price positively or negatively, depend on the perception of each investor and potential investor. This study aims to analyze the movement of the market and trading activities which respect to an event using event study method. This method is used to measure the movement of the stock exchange in which abnormal return can be obtained by investor related to the event. This study examines the differences of reaction on abnormal return and trading volume activity from the companies listed in the Jakarta Islamic Index (JII), before and after the announcement of the Cabinet Work Volume II on 27 July 2016. The study was conducted in observation of 21 days in total which consists of 10 days before the event and 10 days after the event. The method used in this study is event study with market adjusted model method that observes market reaction to the information of an announcement or publicity events. The Results from the study showed that there is no significant negative nor positive reaction at the abnormal return and abnormal trading before and after the announcement of the cabinet reshuffle. It is indicated by the results of statistical tests whose value not exceeds the level of significance. Stock exchange of the JII just reflects from the previous stock prices without reflecting the information regarding to the Cabinet reshuffle event. It can be concluded that the capital market is efficient with a weak form.

Keywords: abnormal return, abnormal trading volume activity, event study, political event

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Authors: Torsten Mielitz, Dietmar Schulz, York C. Roth

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Market forecasts show a significant increase in the demand for aircraft within the next two decades and production rates will be adapted accordingly. Improvements and optimizations in the industrial system are becoming more important to cope with future challenges in manufacturing and assembly. Highest quality standards have to be met for aerospace parts, whereas cost effective production in industrial systems and methodologies are also a key driver. A look at other industries like e.g., automotive shows well established processes to streamline existing manufacturing systems. In this paper, the implementation of 'PULL' principles in an existing manufacturing process chain for a large scale composite part is presented. A nonlinear extrapolation based on 'Little's Law' showed a risk of a significant increase of parts needed in the process chain to meet future demand. A project has been set up to mitigate the risk whereas the methodology has been changed from a traditional milestone approach in the beginning towards an agile way of working in the end in order to facilitate immediate benefits in the shop-floor. Finally, delivery rates could be increased avoiding more semi-finished parts in the process chain (work in progress & inventory) by the successful implementation of the 'PULL' philosophy in the shop-floor between the work stations. Lessons learned during the running project as well as implementation and operations phases are discussed in order to share best practices.

Keywords: aerospace composite part manufacturing, PULL principles, shop-floor implementation, lessons learned

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Authors: Prakash Singh

Abstract:

Research studies affirm the view that gifted pupils are endowed with unique personality traits, enabling them to study at higher levels of thinking, at a faster pace, and with a greater degree of autonomy than their average counterparts. The focus of this study was whether high school gifted pupils are capable of studying an advanced level curriculum on their own by employing self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. To be self-regulated, pupils are required to be metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviourally active participants in their own learning processes so that they are able to initiate and direct their personal curriculum efforts to acquire cognitive skills and knowledge, instead of being solely reliant on their teachers. Researchers working with gifted populations concede that limited studies have been conducted thus far to examine gifted pupils’ expertise in using SRL strategies to assume ownership of their learning. In order to conduct this investigation, an enriched module in Accounting for specifically gifted grade eleven pupils was developed, incorporating advanced level content, and use was made of the Post-test-Only Control Group Design to accomplish this research objective. The results emanating from this empirical study strongly suggest that SRL strategies can be employed to overcome a narrow, rigid approach that limits the education of gifted pupils in the regular classroom of the high school. SRL can meaningfully offer an alternative way to implement an advanced level curriculum for the gifted in the mainstream of education. This can be achieved despite the limitations of differentiation in the regular classroom.

Keywords: advanced level curriculum, high school gifted pupils, self-regulated learning, teachers’ professional competencies

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Authors: M. N. Khajavi, S. Nasiri, E. Farokhi, M. R. Bavir

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Alcohol fuels are renewable, have low pollution and have high octane number; therefore, they are important as fuel in internal combustion engines. Percentage detection of these alcoholic fuels with gasoline is a complicated, time consuming, and expensive process. Nowadays, these processes are done in equipped laboratories, based on international standards. The aim of this research is to determine percentage detection of different fuels based on vibration analysis of engine block signals. By doing, so considerable saving in time and cost can be achieved. Five different fuels consisted of pure gasoline (G) as base fuel and combination of this fuel with different percent of ethanol and methanol are prepared. For example, volumetric combination of pure gasoline with 10 percent ethanol is called E10. By this convention, we made M10 (10% methanol plus 90% pure gasoline), E30 (30% ethanol plus 70% pure gasoline), and M30 (30% Methanol plus 70% pure gasoline) were prepared. To simulate real working condition for this experiment, the vehicle was mounted on a chassis dynamometer and run under 1900 rpm and 30 KW load. To measure the engine block vibration, a three axis accelerometer was mounted between cylinder 2 and 3. After acquisition of vibration signal, eight time feature of these signals were used as inputs to an Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). The designed ANFIS was trained for classifying these five different fuels. The results show suitable classification ability of the designed ANFIS network with 96.3 percent of correct classification.

Keywords: internal combustion engine, vibration signal, fuel composition, classification, ANFIS

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Authors: Kamel A. Elshorbagy, Mohamed A. Hussein, Rola S. Afify

Abstract:

Natural gas pressure reduction is typically achieved using pressure reducing valves, where isenthalpic expansion takes place with considerable amount of wasted energy in an irreversible throttling process of the gas. Replacing gas-throttling process by an expansion process in a turbo expander (TE) converts the pressure of natural gas into mechanical energy transmitted to a loading device (i.e. an electric generator). This paper investigates the performance of a turboexpander system for power recovery at natural gas pressure reduction stations. There is a considerable temperature drop associated with the turboexpander process. Essential preheating is required, using gas fired boilers, to avoid undesirable effects of a low outlet temperature. Various system configurations were simulated by the general flow sheet simulator HYSYS and factors affecting the overall performance of the systems were investigated. Power outputs and fuel requirements were found using typical gas flow variation data. The simulation was performed for two case studies in which real input data are used. These case studies involve a domestic (commercial) and an industrial natural gas pressure reduction stations in Egypt. Economic studies of using the turboexpander system in both of the two natural gas pressure reduction stations are conducted using precise data obtained through communication with several companies working in this field. The results of economic analysis, for the two case studies, prove that using turboexpander systems in Egyptian natural gas reduction stations can be a successful project for energy conservation.

Keywords: natural gas, power recovery, reduction stations, turboexpander systems

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Authors: Hung-Chun Lin, Tzu-Yuan Chao

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As the population aging has become an inevitable trend globally, issues of improving the well-being of elderly people in urban areas have been a challenging task for urban planners. Recent studies of ageing trend have also expended to explore the relationship between the built environment and mental condition of elderly people. These studies have proved that even though the built environment may not necessarily play the decisive role in affecting mental health, it can have positive impacts on individual mental health by promoting social linkages and social networks among older adults. There has been a great amount of relevant research examined the impact of the built environment attributes on depression in the elderly; however, most were conducted in the Western countries. Little attention has been paid in Asian cities with contrarily high density and mix-use urban contexts such as Taiwan regarding how the built environment attributes related to depression in elderly people. Hence, more empirical cross-principle studies are needed to explore the possible impacts of Asia urban characteristics on older residents’ mental condition. This paper intends to focus on Tainan city, the fourth biggest metropolis in Taiwan. We first analyze with data from National Health Insurance Research Database to pinpoint the empirical study area where residing most elderly patients, aged over 65, with depressive disorders. Secondly, we explore the relationship between specific attributes of the built environment collected from previous studies and elderly individuals who suffer from depression, under different socio-cultural and networking circumstances. To achieve the results, the research methods adopted in this study include questionnaire and database analysis, and the results will be proceeded by correlation analysis. In addition, through literature review, by generalizing the built environment factors that have been used in Western research to evaluate the relationship between built environment and older individuals with depressive disorders, a set of local evaluative indicators of the built environment for future studies will be proposed as well. In order to move closer to develop age-friendly cities and improve the well-being for the elderly in Taiwan, the findings of this paper can provide empirical results to grab planners’ attention for how built environment makes the elderly feel and to reconsider the relationship between them. Furthermore, with an interdisciplinary topic, the research results are expected to make suggestions for amending the procedures of drawing up an urban plan or a city plan from a different point of view.

Keywords: built environment, depression, elderly, Tainan

Procedia PDF Downloads 127