Search results for: individual physiological indicators

Authors: Sandra Mendes

Abstract:

Social Work has encountered over time with multivariate requests in the field of its action, provisioning frameworks of knowledge and praxis. Over the years, we have observed a transformation of society and, consequently, of the public who deals with the social work practitioners. Both, training and profession have had need to adapt and readapt the ways of doing, bailing up theories to action, while action unfolds emancipation of new theories. The theoretical questioning of this subject lies on classical authors from social sciences, and contemporary authors of Social Work. In fact, both enhance, in the design of social work, an integration and social cohesion function, creating a culture of action and theory, attributing to its method a relevant function, which shall be promoter of social changes in various dimensions of both individual and collective life, as well as scientific knowledge. On the other hand, it is assumed that Social Work, through its professionalism and through the academy, is now closer to distinguish itself from other Social Sciences as an autonomous scientific field, being, however, in the center of power struggles. This paper seeks to fill the gap in social work literature about the study of the scientific field of this area of knowledge.

Keywords: field theory, knowledge, science, social work

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: Marc Evenst Jn Jacques, Sophie Bernard

Abstract:

Electrical and electronic applications, as well as rechargeable batteries, are common in any economy. They also contain a number of important and valuable metals. It is critical to investigate the impact of these new materials or volume sources on the metal market dynamics. This paper investigates the impact of responsible recycling within the European region on metal price volatility. As far as we know, no empirical studies have been conducted to assess the role of metal recycling in metal market price volatility. The goal of this paper is to test the claim that metal recycling helps to cushion price volatility. A set of circular economy indicators/variables, namely, 1) annual total trade values of recycled metals, 2) annual volume of scrap traded and 3) circular material use rate, and 4) information about recycling, are used to estimate the volatility of monthly spot prices of regular metals. A combination of the GARCH-MIDAS model for mixed frequency data sampling and a simple GARCH (1,1) model for the same frequency variables was adopted to examine the potential links between each variable and price volatility. We discovered that from 2010 to 2019, except for Nickel, scrap consumption (Millions of tons), Scrap Trade Values, and Recycled Material use rate had no significant impact on the price volatility of standard metals (Aluminum, Lead) and precious metals (Gold and Platinum). Worldwide interest in recycling has no impact on returns or volatility. Specific interest in metal recycling did have a link to the mean return equation for Aluminum, Gold and to the volatility equation for lead and Nickel.

Keywords: recycling, circular economy, price volatility, GARCH, mixed data sampling

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Sarah Reker, Christiane H. Kellner

Abstract:

From the perspective of people with disabilities, inequalities can also emerge from spatial segregation, the lack of social contacts or limited economic resources. In order to reduce or even eliminate these disadvantages and increase general well-being, community-based participation as well as decentralisation efforts within exclusively residential homes is essential. Therefore, the new research project “Index for participation development and quality of life for persons with disabilities”(TeLe-Index, 2014-2016), which is anchored at the Technische Universität München in Munich and at a large residential complex and service provider for persons with disabilities in the outskirts of Munich aims to assist the development of community-based living environments. People with disabilities should be able to participate in social life beyond the confines of the institution. Since a diverse society is a society in which different individual needs and wishes can emerge and be catered to, the ultimate goal of the project is to create an environment for all citizens–regardless of disability, age or ethnic background–that accommodates their daily activities and requirements. The UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Germany also ratified, postulates the necessity of user-centered design, especially when it comes to evaluating the individual needs and wishes of all citizens. Therefore, a multidimensional approach is required. Based on this insight, the structure of the town-like center will be remodeled to open up the community to all people. This strategy should lead to more equal opportunities and open the way for a much more diverse community. Therefore, macro-level research questions were inspired by quality of life theory and were formulated as follows for different dimensions: •The user dimension: what needs and necessities can we identify? Are needs person-related? Are there any options to choose from? What type of quality of life can we identify? The economic dimension: what resources (both material and staff-related) are available in the region? (How) are they used? What costs (can) arise and what effects do they entail? •The environment dimension: what “environmental factors” such as access (mobility and absence of barriers) prove beneficial or impedimental? In this context, we have provided academic supervision and support for three projects (the construction of a new school, inclusive housing for children and teenagers with disabilities and the professionalization of employees with person-centered thinking). Since we cannot present all the issues of the umbrella-project within the conference framework, we will be focusing on one project more in-depth, namely “Outpatient Housing Options for Children and Teenagers with Disabilities”. The insights we have obtained until now will enable us to present the intermediary results of our evaluation. The most central questions pertaining to this part of the research were the following: •How have the existing network relations been designed? •What meaning (or significance) does the existing service offers and structures have for the everyday life of an external residential group? These issues underpinned the environmental analyses as well as the qualitative guided interviews and qualitative network analyses we carried out.

Keywords: decentralisation, environmental analyses, outpatient housing options for children and teenagers with disabilities, qualitative network analyses

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Yaru Meng

Abstract:

The study contributes to the small but growing literature around computerized approaches to dynamic assessment (C-DA), wherein individual items are accompanied by mediating prompts. Mediation in the current computerized dynamic listening assessment (CDLA) was informed by an attribute-based mediation model (AMM) that identified the underlying L2 listening cognitive abilities and associated descriptors. The AMM served to focus mediation during C-DA on particular cognitive abilities with a goal of specifying areas of learner difficulty. 86 low-intermediate L2 English learners from a university in China completed three listening assessments, with an experimental group receiving the CLDA system and a control group a non-dynamic assessment. As an assessment, the use of the AMM in C-DA generated detailed diagnoses for each learner. In addition, both within- and between-group repeated ANOVA found greater gains at the level of specific attributes among C-DA learners over the course of a 5-week study. Directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: computerized dynamic assessment, effectiveness, English as foreign language listening, attribute-based mediation model

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Adam Y. Sulaiman, Donal F. Cotter, Ming J. Huang, Neil J. Hewitt

Abstract:

Suitable low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants that conform to F-gas regulations are required to extend the operational envelope of high-temperature heat pumps (HTHPs) used for industrial waste heat recovery processes. The thermophysical properties and characteristics of these working fluids need to be assessed to provide a comprehensive understanding of operational effectiveness in HTHP applications. This paper presents the results of a theoretical simulation to investigate a range of low-GWP refrigerants and their suitability to supersede refrigerants HFC-245fa and HFC-365mfc. A steady-state thermodynamic model of a single-stage HTHP with an internal heat exchanger (IHX) was developed to assess system cycle characteristics at temperature ranges between 50 to 80 °C heat source and 90 to 150 °C heat sink. A practical approach to maximize the operational efficiency was examined to determine the effects of regulating minimum superheat within the process and subsequent influence on energetic and exergetic efficiencies. A comprehensive map of minimum superheat across the HTHP operating variables were used to assess specific tipping points in performance at 30 and 70 K temperature lifts. Based on initial results, the refrigerants HCFO-1233zd(E) and HFO-1336mzz(Z) were found to be closely aligned matches for refrigerants HFC-245fa and HFC-365mfc. The overall results show effective performance for HCFO-1233zd(E) occurs between 5-7 K minimum superheat, and HFO-1336mzz(Z) between 18-21 K dependant on temperature lift. This work provides a method to optimize refrigerant selection based on operational indicators to maximize overall HTHPs system performance.

Keywords: high-temperature heat pump, minimum superheat, energy & exergy efficiency, low GWP refrigerants

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Paula M. Lantz

Abstract:

In the United States, significant socioeconomic and racial inequalities exist in many population-based indicators of health and social welfare. Although a number of effective prevention programs and interventions are available, local and state governments often do not pursue prevention in the face of budgetary constraints and more acute problems. There is growing interest in and excitement about Pay for Success” (PFS) strategies, also referred to as social impact bonds, as an approach to financing and implementing promising prevention programs and services that help the public sector either save money or achieve greater value for an investment. The PFS finance model implements evidence-based interventions using capital from investors who only receive a return on their investment from the government if agreed-upon, measurable outcomes are achieved. This paper discusses the current landscape regarding social impact bonds in the U.S., and their potential and challenges in addressing serious health and social problems. The paper presents an analysis of a number of social science issues that are fundamental to the potential for social impact bonds to successfully address social inequalities in health and social welfare. This includes: a) the economics of the intervention and a potential public payout; b) organizational and management issues in intervention implementation; c) evaluation research design and methods; d) legal/regulatory issues in public payouts to investors; e) ethical issues in the design of social impact bond deals and their evaluation; and f) political issues. Despite significant challenges in the U.S. context, there is great potential for social impact bonds as a type of social impact investing to encourage private investments in evidence-based interventions that address important public health and social problems in underserved populations and provide a return on investment.

Keywords: pay for success, public/private partnerships, social impact bonds, social impact investing

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Mrinal Kanti Bhowmik, Shawli Bardhan Jr., Debotosh Bhattacharjee

Abstract:

Human skin containing temperature value more than absolute zero, discharges infrared radiation related to the frequency of the body temperature. The difference in infrared radiation from the skin surface reflects the abnormality present in human body. Considering the difference, detection and forecasting the temperature variation of the skin surface is the main objective of using Medical Infrared Thermography(MIT) as a diagnostic tool for pain detection. Medical Infrared Thermography(MIT) is a non-invasive imaging technique that records and monitors the temperature flow in the body by receiving the infrared radiated from the skin and represent it through thermogram. The intensity of the thermogram measures the inflammation from the skin surface related to pain in human body. Analysis of thermograms provides automated anomaly detection associated with suspicious pain regions by following several image processing steps. The paper represents a rigorous study based survey related to the processing and analysis of thermograms based on the previous works published in the area of infrared thermal imaging for detecting inflammatory pain diseases like arthritis, spondylosis, shoulder impingement, etc. The study also explores the performance analysis of thermogram processing accompanied by thermogram acquisition protocols, thermography camera specification and the types of pain detected by thermography in summarized tabular format. The tabular format provides a clear structural vision of the past works. The major contribution of the paper introduces a new thermogram acquisition standard associated with inflammatory pain detection in human body to enhance the performance rate. The FLIR T650sc infrared camera with high sensitivity and resolution is adopted to increase the accuracy of thermogram acquisition and analysis. The survey of previous research work highlights that intensity distribution based comparison of comparable and symmetric region of interest and their statistical analysis assigns adequate result in case of identifying and detecting physiological disorder related to inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: acquisition protocol, inflammatory pain detection, medical infrared thermography (MIT), statistical analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: Malani Herath, Sohan Wijesekera, Jagath Munasingha

Abstract:

The impact of recent floods become significant, and the extraordinary flood events cause considerable damage to lives, properties, environment and negatively affect the whole development of Colombo urban region. Even though the Colombo urban region experiences recurrent flood impacts, several spatial planning interventions have been taken from time to time since early 20th century. All past plans have adopted a traditional approach to flood management, using infrastructural measures to reduce the chance of flooding together with rigid planning regulations. The existing flood risk management practices do not operate to be acceptable by the local community particular the urban poor. Researchers have constantly reported the differences in estimations of flood risk, priorities, concerns of experts and the local community. Risk-based decision making in flood management is not only a matter of technical facts; it has a significant bearing on how flood risk is viewed by local community and individuals. Moreover, sustainable flood management is an integrated approach, which highlights joint actions of experts and community. This indicates the necessity of further societal discussion on the acceptable level of flood risk indicators to prioritize and identify the appropriate flood management measures in Colombo. The understanding and evaluation of flood risk by local people are important to integrate in the decision-making process. This research questioned about the gap between the acceptable level of flood risk to spatial planners and to the local communities in Colombo. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to prepare a framework to analyze the public perception in Colombo. This research work identifies the factors that affect the variation of flood risk and acceptable levels to both local community and planning authorities.

Keywords: Colombo basin, public perception, urban flood risk, multi-criteria analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 314

Authors: Thinh Ngo, Paul Rad, Brian Kelley

Abstract:

Noise estimation is essential in today wireless systems for power control, adaptive modulation, interference suppression and quality of service. Deep learning (DL) has already been applied in the physical layer for modulation and signal classifications. Unacceptably low accuracy of less than 50% is found to undermine traditional application of DL classification for SNR prediction. In this paper, we use divide-and-conquer algorithm and classifier fusion method to simplify SNR classification and therefore enhances DL learning and prediction. Specifically, multiple CNNs are used for classification rather than a single CNN. Each CNN performs a binary classification of a single SNR with two labels: less than, greater than or equal. Together, multiple CNNs are combined to effectively classify over a range of SNR values from −20 ≤ SNR ≤ 32 dB.We use pre-trained CNNs to predict SNR over a wide range of joint channel parameters including multiple Doppler shifts (0, 60, 120 Hz), power-delay profiles, and signal-modulation types (QPSK,16QAM,64-QAM). The approach achieves individual SNR prediction accuracy of 92%, composite accuracy of 70% and prediction convergence one order of magnitude faster than that of traditional estimation.

Keywords: classification, CNN, deep learning, prediction, SNR

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Sultan Mahmud, Qamar Zaman, Travis Esau, Young Chang

Abstract:

Strawberry powdery mildew (PM) is a serious disease that has a significant impact on strawberry production. Field scouting is still a major way to find PM disease, which is not only labor intensive but also almost impossible to monitor disease severity. To reduce the loss caused by PM disease and achieve faster automatic detection of the disease, this paper proposes an approach for detection of the disease, based on image texture and classified with support vector machines (SVMs) and k-nearest neighbors (kNNs). The methodology of the proposed study is based on image processing which is composed of five main steps including image acquisition, pre-processing, segmentation, features extraction and classification. Two strawberry fields were used in this study. Images of healthy leaves and leaves infected with PM (Sphaerotheca macularis) disease under artificial cloud lighting condition. Colour thresholding was utilized to segment all images before textural analysis. Colour co-occurrence matrix (CCM) was introduced for extraction of textural features. Forty textural features, related to a physiological parameter of leaves were extracted from CCM of National television system committee (NTSC) luminance, hue, saturation and intensity (HSI) images. The normalized feature data were utilized for training and validation, respectively, using developed classifiers. The classifiers have experimented with internal, external and cross-validations. The best classifier was selected based on their performance and accuracy. Experimental results suggested that SVMs classifier showed 98.33%, 85.33%, 87.33%, 93.33% and 95.0% of accuracy on internal, external-I, external-II, 4-fold cross and 5-fold cross-validation, respectively. Whereas, kNNs results represented 90.0%, 72.00%, 74.66%, 89.33% and 90.3% of classification accuracy, respectively. The outcome of this study demonstrated that SVMs classified PM disease with a highest overall accuracy of 91.86% and 1.1211 seconds of processing time. Therefore, overall results concluded that the proposed study can significantly support an accurate and automatic identification and recognition of strawberry PM disease with SVMs classifier.

Keywords: powdery mildew, image processing, textural analysis, color co-occurrence matrix, support vector machines, k-nearest neighbors

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Jahanzaib

Abstract:

The rural economy can be uplifted through agricultural extension education for female as the majority is uneducated. The present study was carried out in five districts (Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Raheem Yar Khan, Bahawalnagr, and Vehari) of southern Punjab, Pakistan. The ten females were selected from each district, poor economic background for agricultural training. The training was provided free of cost, through Punjab skills development program. After six month training, the trainees were awarded with certificates and a tool kit. After completion of training data was recorded and analyzed, the results indicate that, female trainees were in a better economic position than the females of nearby districts without training. From this study, we can conclude that agricultural education for female can not only improve the economy of the individual family but also improve the agriculture of Pakistan on the sustainable basis as the majority of workers are female in rural areas of Pakistan.

Keywords: agricultural extension education, sustainable rural development, agriculture, rural development in Pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Arbolino Roberta, Boffardi Raffaele

Abstract:

Achieving the highest effectiveness for the National Plans for Recovery and Resilience (NPRR) while strengthening the objectives of cohesion and reduction of intra-EU unbalances is only possible by means of strategic, coordinated, and coherent policy planning. Therefore, the present research aims at assessing and quantifying the potential impact of NPRRs across the twenty-seven European Member States in terms of economic convergence, considering disaggregated data on industrial, construction, and service sectors. The first step of the research involves a performance analysis of the main macroeconomic indicators describing the trends of twenty-seven EU economies before the pandemic outbreak. Subsequently, in order to define the potential effect of the resources allocated, we perform an impact analysis of previous similar EU investment policies, estimating national-level sectoral elasticity associated with the expenditure of the 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 Cohesion programmes funds. These coefficients are then exploited to construct adjustment scenarios. Finally, convergence analysis is performed on the data used for constructing scenarios in order to understand whether the expenditure of funds might be useful to foster economic convergence besides driving recovery. The results of our analysis show that the allocation of resources largely mirrors the aims of the policy framework underlying the NPRR, thus reporting the largest investments in both those sectors most affected by the economic shock (services) and those considered fundamental for the digital and green transition. Notwithstanding an overall positive effect, large differences exist among European countries, while no convergence process seems to be activated or fostered by these interventions.

Keywords: NPRR, policy evaluation, cohesion policy, scenario Nalsysi

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Esra Sengul, R. G. Aktas, M. E. Sitar, H. Isan

Abstract:

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a hepatocellular tumor commonly found on the surface of the chronic liver. HepG2 is the most commonly used cell type in HCC studies. The main proteins remaining in the blood serum after separation of plasma fibrinogen are albumin and globulin. The fact that the albumin showed hepatocellular damage and reflect the synthesis capacity of the liver was the main reason for our use. Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) is an albumin-like structural embryonic globulin found in the embryonic cortex, cord blood, and fetal liver. It has been used as a marker in the follow-up of tumor growth in various malign tumors and in the efficacy of surgical-medical treatments, so it is a good protein to look at with albumins. We have seen the morphological changes of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on HepG2 and decided to investigate its biochemical effects. We examined the effects of DMSO, which is used in cell cultures, on albumin, AFP and total protein at low doses. Material Method: Cell Culture: Medium was prepared in cell culture using Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Media (DMEM), Fetal Bovine Serum Dulbecco's (FBS), Phosphate Buffered Saline and trypsin maintained at -20 ° C. Fixation of Cells: HepG2 cells, which have been appropriately developed at the end of the first week, were fixed with acetone. We stored our cells in PBS at + 4 ° C until the fixation was completed. Area Calculation: The areas of the cells are calculated in the ImageJ (IJ). Microscope examination: The examination was performed with a Zeiss Inverted Microscope. Daytime photographs were taken at 40x, 100x 200x and 400x. Biochemical Tests: Protein (Total): Serum sample was analyzed by a spectrophotometric method in autoanalyzer. Albumin: Serum sample was analyzed by a spectrophotometric method in autoanalyzer. Alpha-fetoprotein: Serum sample was analyzed by ECLIA method. Results: When liver cancer cells were cultured in medium with 1% DMSO for 4 weeks, a significant difference was observed when compared with the control group. As a result, we have seen that DMSO can be used as an important agent in the treatment of liver cancer. Cell areas were reduced in the DMSO group compared to the control group and the confluency ratio increased. The ability to form spheroids was also significantly higher in the DMSO group. Alpha-fetoprotein was lower than the values of an ordinary liver cancer patient and the total protein amount increased to the reference range of the normal individual. Because the albumin sample was below the specimen value, the numerical results could not be obtained on biochemical examinations. We interpret all these results as making DMSO a caretaking aid. Since each one was not enough alone we used 3 parameters and the results were positive when we refer to the values of a normal healthy individual in parallel. We hope to extend the study further by adding new parameters and genetic analyzes, by increasing the number of samples, and by using DMSO as an adjunct agent in the treatment of liver cancer.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, HepG2, dimethyl sulfoxide, cell culture, ELISA

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Stephen M. Magu

Abstract:

The 9/11 and Christmas bombing attacks in the United States are mostly associated with the inability of intelligence agencies to connect dots based on intelligence that was already available. The 1998, 2002, 2013 and several 2014 terrorist attacks in Kenya, on the other hand, are probably driven by a completely different dynamic: the invisible hand of corruption. The World Bank and Transparency International annually compute the Worldwide Governance Indicators and the Corruption Perception Index respectively. What perhaps is not adequately captured in the corruption metrics is the impact of corruption on terrorism. The World Bank data includes variables such as the control of corruption, (estimates of) government effectiveness, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, regulatory quality, rule of law and voice and accountability. TI's CPI does not include measures related to terrorism, but it is plausible that there is an expectation of some terrorism impact arising from corruption. This paper, by examining the incidence, frequency and total number of terrorist attacks that have occurred especially since 1990, and further examining the specific cases of Kenya and Nigeria, argues that in addition to having major effects on governance, corruption has an even more frightening impact: that of facilitating and/or violating security mechanisms to the extent that foreign nationals can easily obtain identification that enables them to perpetuate major events, targeting powerful countries' interests in countries with weak corruption-fighting mechanisms. The paper aims to model interactions that demonstrate the cost/benefit analysis and agents' rational calculations as being non-rational calculations, given the ultimate impact. It argues that eradication of corruption is not just a matter of a better business environment, but that it is implicit in national security, and that for anti-corruption crusaders, this is an argument more potent than the economic cost / cost of doing business argument.

Keywords: corruption, global south, identification, passports, terrorism

Procedia PDF Downloads 423

Authors: Krista Mae F. Ramos, Lance Micaiah C. Dauz, Gylza Nicole D. Bautista, Rua R. Galang, Jeric Xyrus G. Karganilla

Abstract:

With the recent proclamation of the possible reinforcement of Compulsory Military Service in the Philippines, debates and societal talks rose and circulated as opinions and perceptions regarding the topic continue to clash. This study aims to determine the perception of the youth on its reimplementation and identify various advantages and disadvantages based on their perspective. The responses were gathered through a virtual call interview, underwent the process of thematization, and were categorized into different themes. Results reflect that the students perceive compulsory military service as a necessity for national defense but requires a long time that can hinder their education and needs a strong foundation to be implemented and sustained. The participants acknowledged that the practice would instill discipline, patriotism, and nationalism, develop an individual’s physical abilities, provide skills and knowledge and improve a person’s self-defense. However, there are also concerns regarding the prominent military shaping and abuse, their loss of freedom of choice, and the chances of health deterioration.

Keywords: compulsory, military, service, reinforcement, perception

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Kwang Sok Jong

Abstract:

Apatite is separated from carbonate minerals via direct flotation by using lignosulphonate as a depressant, but its dosage is high, and its inhibition ability is insufficient. Therefore a combination of depressant calcium lignosulphonate and depressant tannin was considered to improve flotation selectivity and decrease the dosage of depressant. In the present work, the effects of several reagents- pH regulators (sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide), combined depressant (calcium lignosulphonate and tannin) and collector (fatty acid amide soap) on the flotation performance of apatite ore were investigated using Design Expert software. Flotation results showed that the combined depressant had not only more excellent inhibition ability compared with the individual depressant respectively, but also lower dosage. In the raw ore containing 6.65% P₂O₅, a concentrate containing 32.93% P₂O₅ with 93.24% recovery was obtained using 3.5kg/t sodium carbonate, 0.75kg/t sodium hydroxide, 1kg/t calcium lignosulphonate, 50g/t tannin and 100g/t fatty acid amide soap in the rougher flotation.

Keywords: apatite flotation, combined depressant, calcium lignosulphonate, tannin

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Ziwei Xu

Abstract:

The increasing emphasis on mobility has driven the application of innovative communication technologies across various industries. In the retail sector, Near Field Communication (NFC) has emerged as a significant and transformative technology, particularly in the payment and retail supermarket sectors. NFC enables new payment methods, such as electronic wallets, and enhances information management in supermarkets, contributing to the growth of the trade. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of NFC technology, focusing on five key aspects. Firstly, it provides an overview of NFC, including its application methods and development history. Additionally, it incorporates Arthur's work on combinatorial evolution to elucidate the emergence and impact of NFC technology, while acknowledging the limitations of the model in analyzing NFC. The report then summarizes the positive influence of NFC on the retail industry along with its associated constraints. Furthermore, it explores the adoption of NFC from both organizational and individual perspectives, employing the Best Predictors of organizational IT adoption and UTAUT2 models, respectively. Finally, the report discusses the potential future replacement of NFC with biometrics technology, highlighting its advantages over NFC and leveraging Arthur's model to investigate its future development prospects.

Keywords: innovation, NFC, industry, biometrics

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Nadine Raidl, Benjamin Kaufmann, Michael Hofstätter, Peter Supancic

Abstract:

If polycrystalline ZnO is properly doped and sintered under very specific conditions, it shows unique electrical properties, which are indispensable for today’s electronic industries, where it is used as the number one overvoltage protection material. Under a critical voltage, the polycrystalline bulk exhibits high electrical resistance but becomes suddenly up to twelve magnitudes more conductive if this voltage limit is exceeded (i.e., varistor effect). It is known that these peerless properties have their origin in the grain boundaries of the material. Electric charge is accumulated in the boundaries, causing a depletion layer in their vicinity and forming potential barriers (so-called Double Schottky Barriers, or DSB) which are responsible for the highly non-linear conductivity. Since ZnO is a piezoelectric material, mechanical stresses induce polarisation charges that modify the DSB heights and as a result the global electrical characteristics (i.e., piezotronic effect). In this work, a finite element method was used to simulate emerging stresses on individual grains in the bulk. Besides, experimental efforts were made to testify a coherent model that could explain this influence. Electron back scattering diffraction was used to identify grain orientations. With the help of wet chemical etching, grain polarization was determined. Micro lock-in infrared thermography (MLIRT) was applied to detect current paths through the material, and a micro 4-point probes method system (M4PPS) was employed to investigate current-voltage characteristics between single grains. Bulk samples were tested under uniaxial pressure. It was found that the conductivity can increase by up to three orders of magnitude with increasing stress. Through in-situ MLIRT, it could be shown that this effect is caused by the activation of additional current paths in the material. Further, compressive tests were performed on miniaturized samples with grain paths containing solely one or two grain boundaries. The tests evinced both an increase of the conductivity, as observed for the bulk, as well as a decreased conductivity. This phenomenon has been predicted theoretically and can be explained by piezotronically induced surface charges that have an impact on the DSB at the grain boundaries. Depending on grain orientation and stress direction, DSB can be raised or lowered. Also, the experiments revealed that the conductivity within one single specimen can increase and decrease, depending on the current direction. This novel finding indicates the existence of asymmetric Double Schottky Barriers, which was furthermore proved by complementary methods. MLIRT studies showed that the intensity of heat generation within individual current paths is dependent on the direction of the stimulating current. M4PPS was used to study the relationship between the I-V characteristics of single grain boundaries and grain orientation and revealed asymmetric behavior for very specific orientation configurations. A new model for the Double Schottky Barrier, taking into account the natural asymmetry and explaining the experimental results, will be given.

Keywords: Asymmetric Double Schottky Barrier, piezotronic, varistor, zinc oxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: Lei Zhang, Tingting Xu, Jun He, Zhenyu Yan

Abstract:

Email marketing is one of the most important segments of online marketing. It has been proved to be the most effective way to acquire and retain customers. The email content is vital to customers. Different customers may have different familiarity with a product, so a successful marketing strategy must personalize email content based on individual customers’ product affinity. In this study, we build our personalized email marketing strategy with three types of emails: nurture, promotion, and conversion. Each type of email has a different influence on customers. We investigate this difference by analyzing customers’ open rates, click rates and opt-out rates. Feature importance from response models is also analyzed. The goal of the marketing strategy is to improve the click rate on conversion-type emails. To build the personalized strategy, we formulate the problem as a reinforcement learning problem and adopt a Q-learning algorithm with variations. The simulation results show that our model-based strategy outperforms the current marketer’s strategy.

Keywords: email marketing, email content, reinforcement learning, machine learning, Q-learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Mazwane S., Makhura M. N., Ginege A.

Abstract:

Digitalization in South Africa has received considerable attention from policymakers. The support for the development of the digital economy by the South African government has been demonstrated through the enactment of various national policies and strategies. This study sought to develop an index for agricultural digitalization by applying composite confirmatory analysis (CCA). Another aim was to determine the factors that affect the development of digitalization in PLAS farms. Data on the indicators of the three dimensions of digitalization were collected from 300 Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS) farms in South Africa using semi-structured questionnaires. Confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) was employed to reduce the items into three digitalization dimensions and ultimately to a digitalization index. Standardized digitalization index scores were extracted and fitted to a linear regression model to determine the factors affecting digitalization development. The results revealed that the model shows practical validity and can be used to measure digitalization development as measures of fit (geodesic distance, standardized root mean square residual, and squared Euclidean distance) were all below their respective 95%quantiles of bootstrap discrepancies (HI95 values). Therefore, digitalization is an emergent variable that can be measured using CCA. The average level of digitalization in PLAS farms was 0.2 and varied significantly across provinces. The factors that significantly influence digitalization development in PLAS land reform farms were age, gender, farm type, network type, and cellular data type. This should enable researchers and policymakers to understand the level of digitalization and patterns of development, as well as correctly attribute digitalization development to the contributing factors.

Keywords: agriculture, digitalization, confirmatory composite model, land reform, proactive land acquisition strategy, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Jessica Achebe, Susan Tighe

Abstract:

The reduction of material consumption and greenhouse gas emission when maintain and rehabilitating road networks can achieve added benefits including improved life cycle performance of pavements, reduced climate change impacts and human health effect due to less air pollution, improved productivity due to an optimal allocation of resources and reduced road user cost. This is the essence of incorporating environmental sustainability into pavement management. The functionality of performance measurement approach has made it one of the most valuable tool to Pavement Management Systems (PMSs) to account for different criteria in the decision-making process. However measuring the environmental performance of road network is still a far-fetched practice in road network management, more so an ostensive agency-wide environmental sustainability or sustainable maintenance specifications is missing. To address this challenge, this present research focuses on the environmental sustainability performance of network-level pavement management. The ultimate goal is to develop a framework to incorporate environmental sustainability in pavement management systems for network-level maintenance programming. In order to achieve this goal, this paper present the first step, the intention is to review the previous studies that employed environmental performance measures, as well as the suitability of environmental performance indicators for the evaluation of the sustainability of network-level pavement maintenance strategies. Through an industry practice survey, this paper provides a brief forward regarding the pavement manager motivations and barriers to making more sustainable decisions, and data needed to support the network-level environmental sustainability. The trends in network-level sustainable pavement management are also presented, existing gaps are highlighted, and ideas are proposed for network-level sustainable maintenance and rehabilitation programming.

Keywords: pavement management, environment sustainability, network-level evaluation, performance measures

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Meng-Na Dai, Bao-Fang Wen, Gao-Pei Zhu, Chen-Xi Zhang, Jing Sun, Chang-Hai Tang, Zhi-Qiang Feng, Wen-Qiang Yin

Abstract:

Based on the analysis of literature in the health emergency management in China with recent 10 years, this paper discusses the Chinese current research hotspots, development trends and shortcomings in this field, and provides references for scholars to conduct follow-up research. CNKI(China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Weipu, and Wanfang were the databases of this literature. The key words during the database search were health, emergency, and management with the time from 2009 to 2018. The duplicate, non-academic, and unrelated documents were excluded. 901 articles were included in the literature review database. The main indicators of abstraction were, the number of articles published every year, authors, institutions, periodicals, etc. There are some research findings through the analysis of the literature. Overall, the number of literature in the health emergency management in China has shown a fluctuating downward trend in recent 10 years. Specifically, there is a lack of close cooperation between authors, which has not constituted the core team among them yet. Meanwhile, in this field, the number of high-level periodicals and quality literature is scarce. In addition, there are a lot of research hotspots, such as emergency management system, mechanism research, capacity evaluation index system research, plans and capacity-building research, etc. In the future, we should increase the scientific research funding of the health emergency management, encourage collaborative innovation among authors in multi-disciplinary fields, and create high-quality and high-impact journals in this field. The states should encourage scholars in this field to carry out more academic cooperation and communication with the whole world and improve the research in breadth and depth. Generally speaking, the research in health emergency management in China is still insufficient and needs to be improved.

Keywords: health emergency management, research situation, bibliometrics, literature

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Satish Y. Deodhar

Abstract:

Science without history is like a man without memory. The colossal history of India stores many ideas on economic ethics and public policy, which have been forgotten in the course of time. This paper is an attempt to bring to the fore contributions from ancient Indian treatises. In this context, the paper briefly summarizes alternative economic ideas such as communism, capitalism, and the holistic approach of ancient Indian writings. Thereafter, the idea of a welfare brick for an individual consisting of three dimensions -Purusharthas, Ashramas, and Varnas is discussed. Given the contours of the welfare brick, the concept of the state, its economic policies, markets, prices, interest rates, and credit are covered next. This is followed by delving into the treatment of land, property rights, guilds, and labour relations. The penultimate section summarises the economic advice offered to the head of a household in the treatise Shukranitisara. Finally, in concluding comments, the relevance of ancient Indian writings for modern times is discussed -both for pedagogy and economic policies.

Keywords: ancient Indian treatises, history of economic thought, science of political economy, Sanskrit

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: N. Hoosain, S. Nene, B. Pearce, C. Jacobs, M. Du Plessis, M. Benjeddou

Abstract:

Organic Cation Transporters play a vital role in the absorption, tissue distribution and elimination of various substrates. Numerous studies have suggested that variations in non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of SLC22A2 could influence an individual’s response to various treatments, including clinically important drugs. This study is the first to determine the baseline frequency distribution for twenty SNPs of SLC22A2in the Zulu population. DNA was collected from 101 unrelated “healthy” Zulu participants. Genotypes of all samples were determined using a multiplex PCR and SNaPshot assay followed by the generation of the haplotype structure. This is the first time that the baseline frequency distribution of SNPs is reported for the Zulu population. Data from this study could be used in in vitro and in vivo pharmacogenetic and pharmacokinetic studies to evaluate the potential role the studied SNPs play in the therapeutic efficacy of clinically important drugs.

Keywords: SLC22A2 gene, SNaPshot assay, PCR, Zulu population

Procedia PDF Downloads 291

Authors: Frederic Jumelle, Kelvin So, Didan Deng

Abstract:

A method and system for neuropsychological performance test, comprising a mobile terminal, used to interact with a cloud server which stores user information and is logged into by the user through the terminal device; the user information is directly accessed through the terminal device and is processed by artificial neural network, and the user information comprises user facial emotions information, performance test answers information and user chronometrics. This assessment is used to evaluate the cognitive performance and emotional response of the subject to a series of dichotomous questions describing various situations of daily life and challenging the users' knowledge, values, ethics, and principles. In industrial applications, the timing of this assessment will depend on the users' need to obtain a service from a provider, such as opening a bank account, getting a mortgage or an insurance policy, authenticating clearance at work, or securing online payments.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, neurofinance, neuropsychology, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Shilpi Bora, Abhirup Chatterjee, Debkumar Chakrabarti

Abstract:

Organizations of all the sectors around the world are increasingly revisiting their workplace strategies with due concern for women working therein. Limited office space and rigid work arrangements contribute to lesser job satisfaction and greater work impoundments for any organization. Flexible workspace strategies are indispensable to accommodate the progressive rise of modular workstations and involvement of women. Today’s generation of employees deserves malleable office environments with employee-friendly job conditions and strategies. The workplace nowadays stands on rapid organizational changes in progressive and flexible work culture. Occupational well-being practices need to keep pace with the rapid changes in office-based work. Working at the office (workspace) with awkward postures or for long periods can cause pain, discomfort, and injury. The world is stirring towards the era of globalization and progress. The 4000 women police personnel constitute less than one per cent of the total police strength of India. Lots of innovative fields are growing fast, and it is important that we should accommodate women in those arenas. The timeworn trends should be set apart to set out for fresh opportunities and possibilities of development and success through more involvement of women in the workplace. The notion of women policing is gaining position throughout the world, and various countries are putting solemn efforts to mainstream women in policing. As the role of women policing in a society is budding, and thus it is also notable that the accessibility of women at general police stations should be considered. Accordingly, the impact of workspace at police station on the employee productivity has been widely deliberated as a crucial contributor to employee satisfaction leading to better functional motivation. Thus the present research aimed to look into the office workstation design of police station with reference to womanhood specific issues to uplift occupational wellbeing of the policewomen. Personal interview and individual responses collected through administering to a subjective assessment questionnaire on thirty women police as well as to have their views on these issues by purposive non-probability sampling of women police personnel of different ranks posted in Guwahati, Assam, India. Scrutiny of the collected data revealed that office design has a substantial impact on the policewomen job satisfaction in the police station. In this study, the workspace was designed in such a way that the set of factors would impact on the individual to ensure increased productivity. Office design such as furniture, noise, temperature, lighting and spatial arrangement were considered. The primary feature which affected the productivity of policewomen was the furniture used in the workspace, which was found to disturb the everyday and overall productivity of policewomen. Therefore, it was recommended to have proper and adequate ergonomics design intervention to improve the office design for better performance. This type of study is today’s need-of-the-hour to empower women and facilitate their inner talent to come up in service of the nation. The office workspace design also finds critical importance at several other occupations also – where office workstation needs further improvement.

Keywords: office workspace design, policewomen, womanhood concerns at workspace, occupational wellbeing

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: Mohammad A. R. S. Almutairi

Abstract:

This study will provide the introduction that constitutes the problem cornerstone of legal disputes of disclosure and transparency under Kuwaiti Capital market authority Law No. 7 of 2010. It also will discuss the reasons for the emergence of corporate governance and its purposes in the Capital Market Authority Law in Kuwait. In addition, it will show the legal disputes resulting from the unclear concept of disclosure and interest and will discuss the main reasons in support of the possible solution. In addition, this study will argue why the Capital Market Authority Law in Kuwait needs a clear concept and a straight structure of disclosure under section 100. This study will demonstrate why a clear disclosure is led to a better application of the law. This study will demonstrate the fairness in applying the law regarding the punishment against individual, companies and securities market. Furthermore, it will discuss added confidence between investors and the stock market with a clear concept under section 100. Finally, it will summarize arises problem and possible solution.

Keywords: corporate governors, disclosure, transparency, fairness

Procedia PDF Downloads 140

Authors: Zunaidah Ab Hasan, Azhana Othman, Abd Halim Mohd Noor, Nor Shahrina Mohd Rafien

Abstract:

This study highlights some of the factors of the poor in Malaysia by household and individual level. The discussion covers the demographic, economic and social aspects. The data is derived from the National Databank of Poverty Malaysia (eKasih) for the year of 2013. The explanatory analysis is used to analyse factor of poverty in Malaysia specifically in Malacca. The evidence confirms that male are prone to be poor. For the ethnic, majority of the poor are Malays. The number of dependency and unskilled head of household also contributes to the factors to be poor. Despite that health and physical condition condition does not affect the household head is likely to be poor. Outcome of this study hope to provide guideline that would beneficial to various stakeholders such as zakat institutions, policy makers, welfare department and other agencies related. This will lead to better standard of living as envisioned in the fourth National Key Result Areas (NKRAs).

Keywords: factors of poverty, eKasih, explanatory analysis, welfare department

Procedia PDF Downloads 371

Authors: G. Blugan, B. Jiang, J. Thornberry, P. Sturzenegger, U. Gonzenbach, M. Misson, D. Cartlidge, R. Stenerud, J. Kuebler

Abstract:

Low-cost ceramic spheres were developed and manufactured from the engineering ceramic aluminium oxide. Hollow spheres of 50 mm diameter with a wall thickness of 0.5-1.0 mm were produced via an adapted slip casting technique. It was possible to produce the spheres with good repeatability and with no defects or failures in the spheres due to the manufacturing process. The spheres were developed specifically for use in buoyancy devices for deep-sea exploration conditions at depths of 3000 m below sea level. The spheres with a 1.0 mm wall thickness exhibit a buoyancy of over 54% while the spheres with a 0.5 mm wall thickness exhibit a buoyancy of over 73%. The mechanical performance of the spheres was confirmed by performing a hydraulic burst pressure test on individual spheres. With a safety factor of 3, all spheres with 1.0 mm wall thickness survived a hydraulic pressure of greater than 150 MPa which is equivalent to a depth of more than 5000 m below sea level. The spheres were then incorporated into a buoyancy module. These hollow aluminium oxide ceramic spheres offer an excellent possibility of deep-sea exploration to depths greater than the currently used technology.

Keywords: buoyancy, ceramic spheres, deep-sea, oil exploration

Procedia PDF Downloads 415

Authors: Charu Kriti

Abstract:

The year 2020 will be remembered in history as the year when everything changed suddenly. As the world is engrossed in fighting a pandemic, individual life has taken a hit. The sudden imposition of lockdown, the perpetual fear of testing positive for the COVID virus, and rescheduling one’s entire life around this one global phenomenon have created unprecedented stress among all cadres. This paper aims to highlight the level of stress that students face during the shift of the classroom from the physical setup to the virtual one. The paper takes into account the day-to-day hassles that a student faces during online classes. The paper also attempts to analyse these from the other perspective of the students’ lives and the difficulties faced by them on all fronts. This is an empirical research paper that takes into account responses from a total of 4,241 students. The responses have been collected via the online survey, which is being assessed and inferred for the purposes of this paper. The final results show the extent of stress that online classes have induced upon the students.

Keywords: anxiety, COVID, stress, anxiety disorder

Procedia PDF Downloads 83