Search results for: bibliometrics study
46011 Exposure to Ionizing Radiation Resulting from the Chernobyl Fallout and Childhood Cardiac Arrhythmia: A Population Based Study
Authors: Geraldine Landon, Enora Clero, Jean-Rene Jourdain
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In 2005, the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN, France) launched a research program named EPICE (acronym for 'Evaluation of Pathologies potentially Induced by CaEsium') to collect scientific information on non-cancer effects possibly induced by chronic exposures to low doses of ionizing radiation with the view of addressing a question raised by several French NGOs related to health consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in children. The implementation of the program was preceded by a pilot phase to ensure that the project would be feasible and determine the conditions for implementing an epidemiological study on a population of several thousand children. The EPICE program focused on childhood cardiac arrhythmias started in May 2009 for 4 years, in partnership with the Russian Bryansk Diagnostic Center. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias in the Bryansk oblast (depending on the contamination of the territory and the caesium-137 whole-body burden) and to assess whether caesium-137 was or not a factor associated with the onset of cardiac arrhythmias. To address these questions, a study bringing together 18 152 children aged 2 to 18 years was initiated; each child received three medical examinations (ECG, echocardiography, and caesium-137 whole-body activity measurement) and some of them were given with a 24-hour Holter monitoring and blood tests. The findings of the study, currently submitted to an international journal justifying that no results can be given at this step, allow us to answer clearly to the issue of radiation-induced childhood arrhythmia, a subject that has been debated for many years. Our results will be certainly helpful for health professionals responsible for the monitoring of population exposed to the releases from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant and also useful for future comparative study in children exposed to ionizing radiation in other contexts, such as cancer radiation therapies.Keywords: Caesium-137, cardiac arrhythmia, Chernobyl, children
Procedia PDF Downloads 24046010 Participation Motivation and Financing Approach of Small and Medium Enterprises in Mergers and Acquisitions in Vietnam from the Viewpoint of Intermediaries
Authors: Nguyen Thi Hoang Hieu
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Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activities have increasingly become popular in both developed and developing countries. It is also an attractive topic for researchers to exploit in various sectors such as business, economies or finance. However, activities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in M&A activities for a long time have not been sufficiently studied to provide the complete picture of what has been really, particularly in the developing market like Vietnam. The study employs semi-structured in-depth interviews with experts who have worked for years in the M&A sector to explore the participation motivation of both buy side and sell side of M&A activities. In addition, through the interviews, the study attempts to explain how firms finance their M&A deals. The collected data then will be content-analyzed to reflect the study's expectations based on the theories and practices reviews. In addition, limitations and recommendations are given in the hope that the M&A performance in Vietnam can be improved in the future.Keywords: mergers and acquisitions, Vietnam, small and medium enterprises, content-analysis, semi-structure in-depth interview
Procedia PDF Downloads 25746009 The Impact of Animal Assisted Interventions in Primary Schools: A Mixed Method Intervention Study Examining the Influence of Reading to Dogs on Children's Reading Outcomes and Emotional Wellbeing
Authors: Jill Steel
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The interlinked issues of emotional wellbeing and attainment continue to dominate international educational discourse. Reading skills are particularly important to attainment in all areas of the curriculum, and illiteracy is associated with reduced wellbeing and life prospects, with serious ramifications for the wider economy and society. Research shows that reading attainment is influenced by reading motivation and frequency. Reading to Dogs (RTD) is increasingly applied to promote reading motivation and frequency in schools despite a paucity of empirical evidence, specifically examining the influence of RTD on emotional wellbeing and engagement with reading. This research aims to examine whether RTD is effective in promoting these positive outcomes among children aged eight to nine years. This study also aims to inform much needed regulation of the field and standards of practice, including both child and dog welfare. Therefore, ethical matters such as children’s inclusion and safety, as well as the rights and wellbeing of dogs infuse the study throughout. The methodological design is a mixed method longitudinal study. A UK wide questionnaire will be distributed to teachers between January and June 2020 to understand their perceptions of RTD. Following this, a randomised controlled trial (N = 100) will begin in August 2020 in two schools of a comparable demographic, with N= 50 in the intervention school, and N= 50 in a waiting list control school. Reading and wellbeing assessments will be conducted prior to and immediately post RTD, and four weeks after RTD to measure sustained changes. The reading assessments include New Group Reading Test, Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell et al., 1995), as well as reading frequency and reading anxiety assessments specifically designed for the study. Wellbeing assessments include Goodman’s SDQ, (1997) and pupil self-reporting questionnaires specifically designed for the study. Child, class teacher, and parent questionnaires and interviews prior to, during and post RTD will be conducted to measure perceptions of the impact of RTD on mood and motivation towards reading. This study will make a substantial contribution to our understanding of the effectiveness of RTD and thus have consequences for the fields of education and anthrozoology.Keywords: animal assisted intervention, reading to dogs, welfare, wellbeing
Procedia PDF Downloads 16746008 Effects of Certain Natural Food Additives (Pectin, Gelatin and Whey Proteins) on the Qualities of Fermented Milk
Authors: Abderrahim Cheriguene, Fatiha Arioui
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The experimental study focuses on the extraction of pectin, whey protein and gelatin, and the study of their functional properties. Microbiological, physicochemical and sensory approach integrated has been implanted to study the effect of the incorporation of these natural food additives in the matrix of a fermented milk type set yogurt, to study the stability of the product during the periods of fermentation and post-acidification over a period of 21 days at 4°C. Pectin was extracted in hot HCl solution. Thermo-precipitation was carried out to obtain the whey proteins while the gelatin was extracted by hydrolysis of the collagen from bovine ossein. The fermented milk was prepared by varying the concentration of the incorporated additives. The measures and controls carried performed periodically on fermented milk experimental tests were carried out: pH, acidity, viscosity, the enumeration of Streptococcus thermophilus, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, taste, aftertaste, whey exudation, and odor. It appears that the acidity, viscosity, and number of Streptococcus thermophilus increased with increasing concentration of additive added in the experimental tests. Indeed, it seems clear that the quality of fermented milk and storability is more improved than the incorporation rate is high. The products showed a better test and a firmer texture limiting the whey exudation.Keywords: fermented milk, pectin, gelatin, whey proteins, functional properties, quality, conservation, valorization
Procedia PDF Downloads 13246007 Detection of the Effectiveness of Training Courses and Their Limitations Using CIPP Model (Case Study: Isfahan Oil Refinery)
Authors: Neda Zamani
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The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of training courses and their limitations using the CIPP model. The investigations were done on Isfahan Refinery as a case study. From a purpose point of view, the present paper is included among applied research and from a data gathering point of view, it is included among descriptive research of the field type survey. The population of the study included participants in training courses, their supervisors and experts of the training department. Probability-proportional-to-size (PPS) was used as the sampling method. The sample size for participants in training courses included 195 individuals, 30 supervisors and 11 individuals from the training experts’ group. To collect data, a questionnaire designed by the researcher and a semi-structured interview was used. The content validity of the data was confirmed by training management experts and the reliability was calculated through 0.92 Cronbach’s alpha. To analyze the data in descriptive statistics aspect (tables, frequency, frequency percentage and mean) were applied, and inferential statistics (Mann Whitney and Wilcoxon tests, Kruskal-Wallis test to determine the significance of the opinion of the groups) have been applied. Results of the study indicated that all groups, i.e., participants, supervisors and training experts, absolutely believe in the importance of training courses; however, participants in training courses regard content, teacher, atmosphere and facilities, training process, managing process and product as to be in a relatively appropriate level. The supervisors also regard output to be at a relatively appropriate level, but training experts regard content, teacher and managing processes as to be in an appropriate and higher than average level.Keywords: training courses, limitations of training effectiveness, CIPP model, Isfahan oil refinery company
Procedia PDF Downloads 6046006 Emerging Policy Landscape of Rare Disease Registries in India: An Analysis in Evolutionary Policy Perspective
Authors: Yadav Shyamjeet Maniram
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Despite reports of more than seventy million population of India affected by rare diseases, it rarely figured on the agenda of the Indian scientist and policymakers. Hitherto ignored, a fresh initiative is being attempted to establish the first national registry for rare diseases. Though there are registries for rare diseases, established by the clinicians and patient advocacy groups, they are isolated, scattered and lacks information sharing mechanism. It is the first time that there is an effort from the government of India to make an initiative on the rare disease registries, which would be more formal and systemic in nature. Since there is lack of epidemiological evidence for the rare disease in India, it is interesting to note how rare disease policy is being attempted in the vacuum of evidence required for the policy process. The objective of this study is to analyse rare disease registry creation and implementation from the parameters of evolutionary policy perspective in the absence of evidence for the policy process. This study will be exploratory and qualitative in nature, primarily based on the interviews of stakeholders involved in the rare disease registry creation and implementation. Some secondary data will include various documents related to rare disease registry. The expected outcome of this study would be on the role of stakeholders in the generation of evidence for the rare disease registry creation and implementation. This study will also try to capture negotiations and deliberations on the ethical issues in terms of data collection, preservation, and protection.Keywords: evolutionary policy perspective, evidence for policy, rare disease policy, rare disease in India
Procedia PDF Downloads 20246005 Development and Validation of Research Process for Enhancing Humanities Competence of Medical Students
Authors: S. J. Yune, K. H. Park
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The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the research process for enhancing the humanities competence of the medical students. The research process was developed to be operated as a core subject course of 3 semesters. Among them, the research process for enhancing humanities capacity consisted of humanities and societies (6 teams) and education-psychology (2teams). The subjects of this study were 88-second grade students and 22 professors who participated in the research process. Among them, 13 professors participated in the study of humanities and 37 students. In the validity test, the professors were more likely to have more validity in the research process than the students in all areas of logic (p = .001), influence (p = .037), process (p = .001). The validity of the professor was higher than that of the students. The professors highly evaluated the students' learning outcomes and showed the most frequency to the prize group. As a result of analyzing the agreement between the students and the professors through the Kappa coefficient, the agreement degree of communication and cooperation competence was moderate to .430. Problem-solving ability was .340, which showed a fair degree of agreement. However, other factors showed only a slight degree of agreement of less than .20.Keywords: research process, medical school, humanities competence, validity verification
Procedia PDF Downloads 18446004 Monitoring Peri-Urban Growth and Land Use Dynamics with GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques: A Case Study of Burdwan City, India
Authors: Mohammad Arif, Soumen Chatterjee, Krishnendu Gupta
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The peri-urban interface is an area of transition where the urban and rural areas meet and interact. So the peri-urban areas, which is characterized by strong urban influence, easy access to markets, services and other inputs, are ready supplies of labour but distant from the land paucity and pollution related to urban growth. Hence, the present study is primarily aimed at quantifying the spatio-temporal pattern of land use/land cover change during the last three decades (i.e., 1987 to 2016) in the peri-urban area of Burdwan city. In the recent past, the morphology of the study region has rapid change due to high growth of population and establishment of industries. The change has predominantly taken place along the State and National Highway 2 (NH-2) and around the Burdwan Municipality for meeting both residential and commercial purposes. To ascertain the degree of change in land use and land cover, over the specified time, satellite imageries and topographical sheets are employed. The data is processed through appropriate software packages to arrive at a deduction that most of the land use changes have occurred by obliterating agricultural land & water bodies and substituting them by built area and industrial spaces. Geospatial analysis of study area showed that this area has experienced a steep increase (30%) of built-up areas and excessive decrease (15%) in croplands between 1987 and 2016. Increase in built-up areas is attributed to the increase of out-migration during this period from the core city. This study also examined social, economic and institutional factors that lead to this rapid land use change in peri-urban areas of the Burdwan city by carrying out a field survey of 250 households in peri-urban areas. The research concludes with an urgency for regulating land subdivisions in peri-urban areas to prevent haphazard land use development. It is expected that the findings of the study would go a long way in facilitating better policy making.Keywords: growth, land use land cover, morphology, peri-urban, policy making
Procedia PDF Downloads 16746003 A Case Study of Decision Making and Adjustment Behaviour of Visually Challenged Adolescents
Authors: Bincy Mathew, B. William Dharma Raja
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Successful decision making in a social setting depends on the ability to understand the intentions, emotions and beliefs of others. Children live and grow in the social world. Individuals think to satisfy their curiosity and mush of their social thought is practical, to attain their goal. Children’s thought about their social world influences how they behave towards it. The main purpose of this paper is to review the influence of decision making on adjustment behaviour of visually challenged adolescents. The sample was purposively selected to study the cases of two of the visually challenged adolescents from a Special School, in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. The authors appraised the observed behaviour of adjustment in these children. It may be concluded that the social cognitive ability of decision making is at least, to certain extent, influences adjustment behaviour of visually challenged adolescents. Adjustment behaviour attempts to maintain a child’s level of physiological and psychological equilibrium and it is directed towards tension reduction. It involves a state of harmonious relationship existing between the individual and one’s environment so that adjustment is a matter of interaction between the capacities of the individual and the demands of the environment. The study also found that music induces a receptive mood that generally enhances cognitive processing and every decision that the child makes has its brunt on the behaviour. It is solely based on the case study carried out by the authors.Keywords: social cognition, decision making, adjustment behaviour, adolescents
Procedia PDF Downloads 25146002 Maximizing the Efficiency of Knowledge Management Systems
Authors: Tori Reddy Dodla, Laura Ann Jones
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The objective of this study was to propose strategies to improve the efficiency of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). This study highlights best practices from various industries to create an overall summary of Knowledge Management (KM) and efficiency in organizational performance. Results indicated eleven best practices for maximizing the efficiency of organizational KMS that can be divided into four categories: Designing the KMS, Identifying Case Studies, Implementing the KMS, and Promoting adoption and usage. Our findings can be used as a foundation for scholars to conduct further research on KMS efficiency.Keywords: artificial intelligence, knowledge management efficiency, knowledge management systems, organizational performance
Procedia PDF Downloads 10646001 Towards Designing of a Potential New HIV-1 Protease Inhibitor Using Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Study in Combination with Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Authors: Mouna Baassi, Mohamed Moussaoui, Hatim Soufi, Sanchaita RajkhowaI, Ashwani Sharma, Subrata Sinha, Said Belaaouad
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Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 protease (HIV-1 PR) is one of the most challenging targets of antiretroviral therapy used in the treatment of AIDS-infected people. The performance of protease inhibitors (PIs) is limited by the development of protease mutations that can promote resistance to the treatment. The current study was carried out using statistics and bioinformatics tools. A series of thirty-three compounds with known enzymatic inhibitory activities against HIV-1 protease was used in this paper to build a mathematical model relating the structure to the biological activity. These compounds were designed by software; their descriptors were computed using various tools, such as Gaussian, Chem3D, ChemSketch and MarvinSketch. Computational methods generated the best model based on its statistical parameters. The model’s applicability domain (AD) was elaborated. Furthermore, one compound has been proposed as efficient against HIV-1 protease with comparable biological activity to the existing ones; this drug candidate was evaluated using ADMET properties and Lipinski’s rule. Molecular Docking performed on Wild Type and Mutant Type HIV-1 proteases allowed the investigation of the interaction types displayed between the proteases and the ligands, Darunavir (DRV) and the new drug (ND). Molecular dynamics simulation was also used in order to investigate the complexes’ stability, allowing a comparative study of the performance of both ligands (DRV & ND). Our study suggested that the new molecule showed comparable results to that of Darunavir and may be used for further experimental studies. Our study may also be used as a pipeline to search and design new potential inhibitors of HIV-1 proteases.Keywords: QSAR, ADMET properties, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation.
Procedia PDF Downloads 2746000 Prevalence of Disability among Children Two to Fourteen Years at Selected Districts in Greater Accra Region of Ghana
Authors: Yvonne Nanaama Brew, Bismark Jampim Abrokwah
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Children with disabilities in Ghana are not routinely registered, and this can imply that they may be neglected in national policy planning since global estimates may not be near the exact numbers. Although there are some studies with reports on the prevalence of disability among children in Ghana, reliable information on the prevalence, types of disability in children, and children who die with disabilities in the Greater Accra region are lacking. The current study seeks to investigate the incidence of disability among children two to fourteen years at selected districts in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. A cross-sectional design is adapted with a quantitative method for this study. Parents with disabled children who access child welfare clinics at the Greater Accra regional hospital, Maamobi hospital, Ga west, and Ga south district hospitals will be selected through purposive sampling for the study. An adapted UNICEF structured Ten Questions will be used to collect relevant data about participants. The responses to the questions will be either 'Yes' or 'No'. Parents with children who answer 'Yes' to a disability and purposively sampled parents with children who answer 'No' to disability will be invited to Child Health Clinic at the Greater Accra regional hospital for a free clinical assessment. Data will be entered into Microsoft Office Excel 2013 and imported into STATA version 15 for analysis. The study is expected to provide reliable disaggregated data on less than fourteen years of children with disabilities in the Greater Accra region. The findings and recommendations of the study will demonstrate the importance of early detection of disability and facilitate more quality and holistic planning of appropriate programmes that best safeguard the rights of children with disabilities in Ghana. It will help in policy and decision-making on children less than fourteen years with disabilities in Ghana. Also, findings will be useful for health facilities in Ghana to plan services for disabled children. Finally, the study is expected to add to the guides for the National Council of Persons with Disabilities to fulfill its legal mandate for disabled persons in Ghana.Keywords: prevalence, disability, children, Ghana
Procedia PDF Downloads 12445999 Relationship between Finger Print Pattern and Gender among Adolescents of Igala Ethnic Group, Kogi State, Nigeria
Authors: Paul Idoko Ukanu, Sunday Abba, Balogun Sadiya
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The study of the finger prints patterns among the Igala ethnic groups was done in order to see their association gender. A cross sectional study was conducted and a total of 602 subjects participated in this study, 322 females and 280 males, which were mainly secondary school students between the age ranges of 13-19 years. The subjects fingerprint pattern was obtained by allowing them place the tip of each finger on the stamp pad, which is then imprinted on the questionnaire, this was done for both the left and right hand. Female had higher arch, whorl and loop finger print pattern in most of the right fingers than the males, the differences were statistically significant for the right index, right ring finger and right little finger, but were statistically insignificant for right thumb and right middle finger as p = 0.207 and 0.726, respectively. The result also revealed that males had higher arch finger print pattern in the right index and right little finger than the females, which was statistically significant (p = 0.001), and also a high whorl finger print pattern than the females in the right middle and ring finger.Keywords: arch, loop, whorl, fingers
Procedia PDF Downloads 13945998 Effect of the Ratio, Weight, Treatment of Loofah Fiber on the Mechanical Properties of the Composite: Loofah Fiber Resin
Authors: F. Siahmed, A. Lounis, L. Faghi
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The aim of this work is to study mechanical properties of composites based on fiber natural. This material has attracted attention of the scientific community for its mechanical properties, its moderate cost and its specification as regards the protection of environment. In this study the loofah part of the family of the natural fiber has been used for these significant mechanical properties. The fiber has porous structure, which facilitates the impregnation of the resin through these pores. The matrix used in this study is the type of unsaturated polyester. This resin was chosen for its resistance to long term.The work involves: -The chemical treatment of the fibers of loofah by NaOH solution (5%) -The realization of the composite resin / fiber loofah; The preparation of samples for testing -The tensile tests and bending -The observation of facies rupture by scanning electron microscopy The results obtained allow us to observe that the values of Young's modulus and tensile strength in tension is high and open up real prospects. The improvement in mechanical properties has been obtained for the two-layer composite fiber with 7.5% (by weight).Keywords: loofah fiber, mechanical properties, composite, loofah fiber resin
Procedia PDF Downloads 44145997 Gender Disparity in Film Industries: A Conceptual Study
Authors: Daniel Edem Adzovie, Jakub Kudlac
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The subtle institutionalization of male dominance in the film industry in the 1930s and its rippling effect of gender imbalance especially, regarding female active participation in film industries across the globe in terms of number and influence, is a worrying trend. The main purpose of the study is to explore the role of gender themes, especially patriarchal themes in films, in influencing the disparity experienced in film industries. Partially, we examine the motivations vis-à-vis the demotivating factors that attract and or refract females from enrolling in film schools against their male contemporaries. Employing a qualitative inquiry with a specific focus on document analysis as well as experts’ opinions in order to ascertain the antecedents and consequences of patriarchal themes in films on female participation in film industries, we drew extant literature from reputable databases such as EBSCO, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIH Plus, Google Scholar as well as notable books on gender and film. Secondly, we conceptualized a research model for a future qualitative research design that could take into consideration a study from at least three different film industries and analyze using thematic analysis. This could help validate the proposed conceptual model of the study. The literature review revealed that culture, to a large extent, influences the patriarchal themes conveyed in films, which inhibits active female participation in film industries. Research implications have been discussed.Keywords: film industry, female, gender, male dominance, patriarchal themes
Procedia PDF Downloads 13445996 Air Quality Forecast Based on Principal Component Analysis-Genetic Algorithm and Back Propagation Model
Authors: Bin Mu, Site Li, Shijin Yuan
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Under the circumstance of environment deterioration, people are increasingly concerned about the quality of the environment, especially air quality. As a result, it is of great value to give accurate and timely forecast of AQI (air quality index). In order to simplify influencing factors of air quality in a city, and forecast the city’s AQI tomorrow, this study used MATLAB software and adopted the method of constructing a mathematic model of PCA-GABP to provide a solution. To be specific, this study firstly made principal component analysis (PCA) of influencing factors of AQI tomorrow including aspects of weather, industry waste gas and IAQI data today. Then, we used the back propagation neural network model (BP), which is optimized by genetic algorithm (GA), to give forecast of AQI tomorrow. In order to verify validity and accuracy of PCA-GABP model’s forecast capability. The study uses two statistical indices to evaluate AQI forecast results (normalized mean square error and fractional bias). Eventually, this study reduces mean square error by optimizing individual gene structure in genetic algorithm and adjusting the parameters of back propagation model. To conclude, the performance of the model to forecast AQI is comparatively convincing and the model is expected to take positive effect in AQI forecast in the future.Keywords: AQI forecast, principal component analysis, genetic algorithm, back propagation neural network model
Procedia PDF Downloads 21845995 Investigating Factors Influencing Online Formal and Informal Learning Satisfaction of College Students
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Formal learning and informal learning represent two distinct learning styles: one is systematic and organized, another is causal and unstructured. Although there are many factors influencing online learning satisfaction, including self-regulation, self-efficacy, and interaction, factors influencing online formal learning and informal learning satisfaction may differ from each other. This paper investigated and compared influential factors of online formal and informal learning. Two questionnaires were created based on previous studies to explore factors influencing online formal learning and online informal learning satisfaction, respectively. A sample of 105 college students from different departments in a university located in the eastern part of China was selected to participate in this study. They all had an online learning experience and agreed to fill out questionnaires. Correlation analysis, variance analysis, and regression analysis were employed in this study. In addition, five participants were chosen for interviews. The study found that student-content, interaction, self-regulation, and self-efficacy related positively to both online formal learning and informal learning satisfaction. In addition, compared to online formal learning, student-content interaction in informal learning was the most influential factor for online learning satisfaction, perhaps that online informal learning was more goal-oriented and learners paid attention to the quality of content. In addition, results also revealed that interactions among students or teachers had little impact on online informal learning satisfaction. This study compared influential factors in online formal and informal learning satisfaction helped to add discussions to online learning satisfaction and contributed to further practices of online learning.Keywords: learning satisfaction, formal learning, informal learning, online learning
Procedia PDF Downloads 15745994 Social Media Advertising and Acceptability of Fast Moving Consumer Goods in Nigeria’s Manufacturing Industry
Authors: John Akinwumi Makinde
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Nigerian manufacturing industry, particularly the fast moving consumer producing firms play vital roles in Nigerian economy. This sector’s product acceptability is given very little attention along with social media advertising that communicate product information to audience across the globe need to be documented. Procter and Gamble Plc operate in Nigeria with appreciable number of fast moving consumer goods that service Nigerian economy. Social media advertising disposition of the company and product acceptability of the company deserve some elucidations. This study therefore examined the impact of social media advertising on product acceptability of FMCG in Nigerian manufacturing industry, using Procter and Gamble Plc as case study. The study employed the case study type of descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of 235 customers of G&P Plc, which were selected through random sampling method. A total of 235 copies of questionnaires titled 'Social Media Advertising and Product Acceptability (SMA-PA) Questionnaire' was administered and retrieved. Data generated were analysed using frequency distribution and regression analysis at 0.05 level. It was found that social media advertising positively and significantly motivated customers to buy product of P&G Plc (r =.147**, N= 235, p(.000) < .01). Findings also showed that social media advertising has significant impact on product acceptability of FCMG in P&G Plc (F(2,61)=22.250; R2=.629; P(.000) < .05). The study concluded that social media advertising is a determinant factor of consumer decision to accept fast moving consumer goods in Nigerian manufacturing industry. It is recommended that with the growing market of FMCG, there is need to educate the market with the product unique features, standard and quality on social media. Finally, Fast Moving Consumer Goods firms should deploy excellent marketing mix on social media.Keywords: advertising, fast moving consumer goods, manufacturing industry, product acceptability, social media
Procedia PDF Downloads 30745993 Immersing Socio-Affective Instruction within the Constructs of the Academic Curriculum: A Study of Gifted and Talented Programs
Authors: R. Granger-Ellis, R. B. Speaker, Jr., P. J. Austin
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This research study examined more than 340 gifted and talented students enrolled in various gifted and talented programs in a large southeastern United States metropolitan area (creative arts, urban charters, suburban public schools) for socio-affective psychological development and whether a particular curriculum encouraged developmental growth. This study focused on students receiving distinctive gifted and talented curricula (creative arts, arts-integrated, and academic acceleration) and analyzed for (1) socio-affective development levels and (2) whether a particular curriculum encouraged developmental growth. Research questions guiding the study: (1) How do academically and artistically gifted 10th and 11th grade students perform on psychological scales of social and emotional intelligence? (2) Do adolescents receiving distinctive gifted and talented curriculum differ in their socio-affective developmental profiles? Students’ performances on psychometric scales were compared over time and by curriculum type. Over the first semester of the academic year, participants took pre- and post-tests assessing socio-affective intelligence (BarOn EQ-I: YV). Differences in growth on these psychological scales (individuals and programs) were examined. Program artifacts provided insight for curriculum correlation.Keywords: gifted and talented curriculum, social and emotional development, moral development, socio-affective curriculum
Procedia PDF Downloads 36445992 A Change in Psychological Child Development Case Study on Animation Film Tom and Jerry
Authors: Shani Ruri Efendi, Lucky Tio Monika, Prita Esita
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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to know the negative impact of the animated film show Tom & Jerry, how it might affect the changes of psychological child development, if this affects the development growth of children's behaviour and advice from the case of psychology as a solution to such problems Design/methodology/approach: The paper’s findings are based on an experimental method in conducting the test. The experiment lasted for 6 days at elementary school children aged from 6-7 years. Findings: The results of the analysis can be found that pictorial questionnaire which is one of the test tools in the study had no significant effect and also using IQ test is one test tool in the study of positive and significant influence of television has changed the way of thinking in children. Originality/value: This research tries to dig more into the negative influence of animated film Tom and Jerry as a negative influence on the development of children who may have the implementation of the child's behaviour in life.Keywords: child development, animated film, Tom and Jerry, elementary school children
Procedia PDF Downloads 75245991 Photocatalytic Degradation of Lead from Aqueous Solution Using TiO2 as Adsorbent
Authors: Navven Desai, Veena Soraganvi
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Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury do not have biological significance hence they are known to be extremely toxic heavy metals. Water contains various heavy metals like Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), and Zinc (Zn) etc., when it gets polluted with industrial waste water. These heavy metals cause various health effects even at low concentration when consumed by humans. Most of the heavy metals are poisonous to living organisms. Heavy metals are non-degradable and are preserved in the environment through bioaccumulation. Therefore removal of heavy metals from water is necessary. In recent years, a great deal of attentions has been focused on to the application of nanosized metal oxides to treat heavy metals, especially titanium oxides, ferric oxides, manganese oxides, aluminium oxides and magnesium oxides as adsorbent and photocatalyst. TiO2 based photocatalysts have attracted continuously increasing attention because of the excellent properties such as high light -conversion efficiency, chemical stability, nontoxic nature, low cost. The catalyst displays high photocatalytic activity because of its large surface area. In this study, the photocatalytic degradation of Lead (Pb) from aqueous solution was investigated in natural sunlight by using TiO2 as Nanomaterial. This study was performed at laboratory scale. All the experiments were carried out in the batch process. The concentration of lead was constant (25mg/lit) in the experiment and effect of titanium dioxide dose and pH were varied to study the removal efficiency of the lead by adsorption. Further study was performed on the dependence of photocatalytic reaction on the reaction temperature. The aqueous solution was prepared by Lead metal powder. TiO2 photo catalyst nanopowder used was Sisco-74629 grade. The heavy metal is analyzed with VARIAN AA 240 atomic adsorption spectrophotometer. The study shows, with increasing TiO2 dose and pH the lead removal increases. According to study, it can be concluded that the utilization of titanium dioxide accounted for higher efficiency in the removal of lead from aqueous solution.Keywords: adsorption, heavy metals, nanomaterial, photocatalysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 29245990 An Exploration of the Dimensions of Place-Making: A South African Case Study
Authors: W. J. Strydom, K. Puren
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Place-making is viewed here as an empowering process in which people represent, improve and maintain their spatial (natural or built) environment. With the above-mentioned in mind, place-making is multi-dimensional and include a spatial dimension (including visual properties or the end product/plan), a procedural dimension during which (negotiation/discussion of ideas with all relevant stakeholders in terms of end product/plan) and a psychological dimension (inclusion of intrinsic values and meanings related to a place in the end product/plan). These three represent dimensions of place-making. The purpose of this paper is to explore these dimensions of place-making in a case study of a local community in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, North-West Province, South Africa. This case study represents an inclusive process that strives to empower a local community (forcefully relocated due to Apartheid legislation in South Africa). This case study focussed on the inclusion of participants in the decision-making process regarding their daily environment. By means of focus group discussions and a collaborative design workshop, data is generated and ultimately creates a linkage with the theoretical dimensions of place-making. This paper contributes to the field of spatial planning due to the exploration of the dimensions of place-making and the relevancy of this process on spatial planning (especially in a South African setting).Keywords: community engagement, place-making, planning theory, spatial planning
Procedia PDF Downloads 38745989 Assessment of Pastoralist-Crop Farmers Conflict and Food Security of Farming Households in Kwara State, Nigeria
Authors: S. A. Salau, I. F. Ayanda, I. Afe, M. O. Adesina, N. B. Nofiu
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Food insecurity is still a critical challenge among rural and urban households in Nigeria. The country’s food insecurity situation became more pronounced due to frequent conflict between pastoralist and crop farmers. Thus, this study assesses pastoralist-crop farmers’ conflict and food security of farming households in Kwara state, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to measure the food security status of the respondents, quantify pastoralist- crop farmers’ conflict, determine the effect of pastoralist- crop farmers conflict on food security and describe the effective coping strategies adopted by the respondents to reduce the effect of food insecurity. A combination of purposive and simple random sampling techniques will be used to select 250 farming households for the study. The analytical tools include descriptive statistics, Likert-scale, logistic regression, and food security index. Using the food security index approach, the percentage of households that were food secure and insecure will be known. Pastoralist- crop farmers’ conflict will be measured empirically by quantifying loses due to the conflict. The logistic regression will indicate if pastoralist- crop farmers’ conflict is a critical determinant of food security among farming households in the study area. The coping strategies employed by the respondents in cushioning the effects of food insecurity will also be revealed. Empirical studies on the effect of pastoralist- crop farmers’ conflict on food security are rare in the literature. This study will quantify conflict and reveal the direction as well as the extent of the relationship between conflict and food security. It could contribute to the identification and formulation of strategies for the minimization of conflict among pastoralist and crop farmers in an attempt to reduce food insecurity. Moreover, this study could serve as valuable reference material for future researches and open up new areas for further researches.Keywords: agriculture, conflict, coping strategies, food security, logistic regression
Procedia PDF Downloads 17745988 Predicting Financial Distress in South Africa
Authors: Nikki Berrange, Gizelle Willows
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Business rescue has become increasingly popular since its inclusion in the Companies Act of South Africa in May 2011. The Alternate Exchange (AltX) of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange has experienced a marked increase in the number of companies entering business rescue. This study sampled twenty companies listed on the AltX to determine whether Altman’s Z-score model for emerging markets (ZEM) or Taffler’s Z-score model is a more accurate model in predicting financial distress for small to medium size companies in South Africa. The study was performed over three different time horizons; one, two and three years prior to the event of financial distress, in order to determine how many companies each model predicted would be unlikely to succeed as well as the predictive ability and accuracy of the respective models. The study found that Taffler’s Z-score model had a greater ability at predicting financial distress from all three-time horizons.Keywords: Altman’s ZEM-score, Altman’s Z-score, AltX, business rescue, Taffler’s Z-score
Procedia PDF Downloads 35745987 Assessing the Citizens' Adoption of E-Government Platforms in the North West Province Local Governments, South Africa
Authors: Matsobane Mosetja, Nehemiah Mavetera, Ernest Mnkandla
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Local governments in South Africa are responsible for the provision of basic services. There are countless benefits that come with e-Government platforms if they are properly implemented to help local governments deliver these basic services to citizens. This study investigates factors influencing the adoption and use of e-Government platforms by citizens in the North West Province, South. The study is set against a background of significant change in South Africa where government services are electronically delivered. The outcome of the study revealed that: 1) decisions on the development of e-Government platforms are made based on a series of consultative forums; 2) the municipalities are open to constructive criticism on their online platform; 3) the municipalities have room for dialogue on how best to improve service delivery; 4) the municipalities are accessible to the citizens all the time; 5) the municipalities are making means and ways to empower them to be part of the collective and lastly e-Government provides room for online discussion.Keywords: e-government, e-government platforms, user acceptance, local government
Procedia PDF Downloads 38445986 Rethinking Sustainability: Towards an Open System Approach
Authors: Fatemeh Yazdandoust
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Sustainability is a growing concern in architecture and urban planning due to the environmental impact of the built environment. Ecological challenges persist despite the proliferation of sustainable design strategies, prompting a critical reevaluation of existing approaches. This study examines sustainable design practices, focusing on the origins and processes of production, environmental impact, and socioeconomic dimensions. It also discusses ‘cleantech’ initiatives, which often prioritize profitability over ecological stewardship. The study advocates for a paradigm shift in urban design towards greater adaptability, complexity, and inclusivity, embracing porosity, incompleteness, and seed planning. This holistic approach emphasizes citizen participation and bottom-up interventions, reimagining urban spaces as evolving ecosystems. The study calls for a reimagining of sustainability that transcends conventional green design concepts, promoting a more resilient and inclusive built environment through an open system approach grounded in adaptability, diversity, and equity principles.Keywords: sustainability, clean-tech, open system design, sustainable design
Procedia PDF Downloads 4845985 The Effectiveness of Using MS SharePoint for the Curriculum Repository System
Authors: Misook Ahn
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This study examines the Institutional Curriculum Repository (ICR) developed with MS SharePoint. The purpose of using MS SharePoint is to organize, share, and manage the curriculum data. The ICR aims to build a centralized curriculum infrastructure, preserve all curriculum materials, and provide academic service to users (faculty, students, or other agencies). The ICR collection includes core language curriculum materials developed by each language school—foreign language textbooks, language survival kits, and audio files currently in or not in use at the schools. All core curriculum materials with audio and video files have been coded, collected, and preserved at the ICR. All metadata for the collected curriculum materials have been input by language, code, year, book type, level, user, version, and current status (in use/not in use). The qualitative content analysis, including the survey data, is used to evaluate the effectiveness of using MS SharePoint for the repository system. This study explains how to manage and preserve curriculum materials with MS SharePoint, along with challenges and suggestions for further research. This study will be beneficial to other universities or organizations considering archiving or preserving educational materials.Keywords: digital preservation, ms sharepoint, repository, curriculum materials
Procedia PDF Downloads 9945984 A Study on the Readers' Motivation and Satisfaction on Sports Newspaper in Vietnam
Authors: Trang Huyen Nguyen, Thien Tri Huynh
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The objectives of this paper were to determine demographics of readers at Hochiminh city (HCMC), study reading motivation which affected citizens to read sports newspapers and measure readers’ satisfaction on issues related sports newspapers. Subjects of this survey were HCMC’s citizens. After collecting data, there were 568 useful feedbacks (the rate of response was 94.7%). The data analysis in the study included descriptive statistics and inferred statistics by SPSS 16.0 program for the research questions. The majority of respondents were male, from 24 to 32 years old, got the first degree and earned monthly from $US 150 to 300. Moreover, they were government officials and read newspaper from 11 to 20 times per month, bought newspapers by themselves. Finding information to predict results of sports matches was the highest motive affected readers; and the diversity information was the most pleasure that readers felt about sports newspapers. According to research findings, the board of editors could use the worthy information to make a strategic plan for newspaper on contents as well as design to meet the increasing demands of readers.Keywords: motivation, satisfaction, readers, sports newspapers
Procedia PDF Downloads 29845983 Production Process of Coconut-Shell Product in Amphawa District
Authors: Wannee Sutthachaidee
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The study of the production process of coconut-shell product in Amphawa, Samutsongkram Province is objected to study the pattern of the process of coconut-shell product by focusing in the 3 main processes which are inbound logistics process, production process and outbound process. The result of the research: There were 4 main results from the study. Firstly, most of the manufacturer of coconut-shell product is usually owned by a single owner and the quantity of the finished product is quite low and the main labor group is local people. Secondly, the production process can be divided into 4 stages which are pre-production process, production process, packaging process and distribution process. Thirdly, each 3 of the logistics process of coconut shell will find process which may cause the problem to the business but the process which finds the most problem is the production process because the production process needs the skilled labor and the quantity of the labor does not match with the demand from the customers. Lastly, the factors which affect the production process of the coconut shell can be founded in almost every process of the process such as production design, packaging design, sourcing supply and distribution management.Keywords: production process, coconut-shell product, Amphawa District, inbound logistics process
Procedia PDF Downloads 51545982 Determination Power and Sample Size Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial Dependent Death Rate of Age Model (ZINBD): Regression Analysis Mortality Acquired Immune Deficiency Deciency Syndrome (AIDS)
Authors: Mohd Asrul Affendi Bin Abdullah
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Sample size calculation is especially important for zero inflated models because a large sample size is required to detect a significant effect with this model. This paper verify how to present percentage of power approximation for categorical and then extended to zero inflated models. Wald test was chosen to determine power sample size of AIDS death rate because it is frequently used due to its approachability and its natural for several major recent contribution in sample size calculation for this test. Power calculation can be conducted when covariates are used in the modeling ‘excessing zero’ data and assist categorical covariate. Analysis of AIDS death rate study is used for this paper. Aims of this study to determine the power of sample size (N = 945) categorical death rate based on parameter estimate in the simulation of the study.Keywords: power sample size, Wald test, standardize rate, ZINBDR
Procedia PDF Downloads 431