Search results for: department of transportation (DFT)

Authors: Mahsa Oroojeni Mohammad Javad

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Globalization of economic activity and rapid growth of information technology has resulted in shorter product lifecycles, reduced transport capacity, dynamic and changing customer behaviors, and an increased focus on supply chain design in recent years. The design of the supply chain network is one of the most important supply chain management decisions. These decisions will have a long-term impact on the efficacy and efficiency of the supply chain. In this paper, a two-objective mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed for designing and optimizing a closed-loop green supply chain network that, to the greatest extent possible, includes all real-world assumptions such as multi-level supply chain, the multiplicity of production technologies, and multiple modes of transportation, with the goals of minimizing the total cost of the chain (first objective) and minimizing total emissions of emissions (second objective). The ε-constraint and CPLEX Solver have been used to solve the problem as a single-objective problem and validate the problem. Finally, the sensitivity analysis is applied to study the effect of the real-world parameters’ changes on the objective function. The optimal management suggestions and policies are presented.

Keywords: closed-loop supply chain, multi-level green supply chain, mixed-integer programming, transportation modes

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Authors: E. Bennion, A. Acharya, S. Barnes, D. Ferrell, S. Luckett-Cole, G. Mower, J. Nelson, Y. Nguyen

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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the validity of a firearm injury query in the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics syndromic surveillance system. Syndromic surveillance data are used at the Utah Department of Health for early detection of and rapid response to unusually high rates of violence and injury, among other health outcomes. The query of interest was defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and used chief complaint and discharge diagnosis codes to capture initial emergency department encounters for firearm injury of all intents. Design: Two epidemiologists manually reviewed electronic health records of emergency department visits captured by the query from April-May 2020, compared results, and sent conflicting determinations to two arbiters. Results: Of the 85 unique records captured, 67 were deemed probable, 19 were ruled out, and two were undetermined, resulting in a positive predictive value of 75.3%. Common reasons for false positives included non-initial encounters and misleading keywords. Conclusion: Improving the validity of syndromic surveillance data would better inform outbreak response decisions made by state and local health departments. The firearm injury definition could be refined to exclude non-initial encounters by negating words such as “last month,” “last week,” and “aftercare”; and to exclude non-firearm injury by negating words such as “pellet gun,” “air gun,” “nail gun,” “bullet bike,” and “exit wound” when a firearm is not mentioned.

Keywords: evaluation, health information system, firearm injury, syndromic surveillance

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Authors: Danny Mwangi, Collins Oduor Ondiek

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Mass mobility is one of the most important characteristics of every industrialized civilization. Man must travel about in order to fulfill his commitment to putting food on his table. As a result, movement is an important part of human life. Man must travel from one place to another. This is a natural trait of humans, according to elementary science. Variables in human mobility have arisen as a result of technological advancements over time. Public transit is one of these modes of transportation. When it comes to reducing safety-related risks in the public transport system, awareness is crucial. So much so even when it comes to public transportation in Kenya. Having a system that can be able to keep users updated with real-time traffic updates on the route, they are on and also have the ability to rate drivers after a trip could go a long way in improving safety on Kenyan roads. What this proposed system is intended to accomplish is to reduce occurrences of reckless driving and give matatu drivers the feeling that they are accountable to someone and more so have the incentive to be better drivers who are motivated to follow the law and have passenger safety as a priority. The research was conducted, and the findings show that 95.2% of respondents were not satisfied with the current safety measures in the Kenyan public transport sector. This means that the chances for this system to be accepted in the market are high because it addresses a key issue. 98.8% of the respondents were of the opinion that the implementation of the proposed system would significantly increase safety measures in the public transport sector. During the research, it was clear that the main challenge 77.1% of the respondents face when using public transport is that there is no way to monitor driver safety performance, and 68.7% of the respondent believed the widespread use of unroadworthy public transit vehicles contributed to the lack of safety when using public transport. However, 77.1% of the respondents expect the benefit of creating a sense of accountability for the drivers, and 74.7% of the respondents expect the benefit of increased passenger safety. 63.9% believe that with the implementation of the system, there will be the benefit of monitoring driver performance. This shows that with the implementation of the proposed system, it will be possible to make a lot of progress in terms of making Kenyan roads safer when using public transit. According to the findings, it is recommended that this proposed public transportation safety awareness system be implemented as it will be able to address matatu passengers' safety concerns while also encouraging matatu drivers to drive more carefully. As a result, it's a project with a chance of becoming viable, marketable, and feasible.

Keywords: public safety, public transportation, accountable driving, safe transportation

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Authors: Debasis Sarkar, Jatan Talati

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This paper is an attempt to develop an Integrated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) for a smart city project in Western India. Integrated transportation is one of the enablers of smart transportation for providing a seamless intercity as well as regional level transportation experience. The success of a smart city project at the city level for transportation is providing proper integration to different mass rapid transit modes by way of integrating information, physical, network of routes fares, etc. The methodology adopted for this study was primary data research through questionnaire survey. The respondents of the questionnaire survey have responded on the issues about their perceptions on the ways and means to improve public transport services in urban cities. The respondents were also required to identify the factors and attributes which might motivate more people to shift towards the public mode. Also, the respondents were questioned about the factors which they feel might restrain the integration of various modes of MRTS. Furthermore, this study also focuses on developing a utility equation for respondents with the help of multiple linear regression analysis and its probability to shift to public transport for certain factors listed in the questionnaire. It has been observed that for shifting to public transport, the most important factors that need to be considered were travel time saving and comfort rating. Also, an Integrated MRTS can be obtained by combining metro rail with BRTS, metro rail with monorail, monorail with BRTS and metro rail with Indian railways. Providing a common smart card to transport users for accessing all the different available modes would be a pragmatic solution towards integration of the available modes of MRTS.

Keywords: mass rapid transit systems, smart city, metro rail, bus rapid transit system, multiple linear regression, smart card, automated fare collection system

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Authors: Mohammad Bqoor, Mohammad Hamdan, Isam Janajreh, Sufian Abedrabbo

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This extensive theoretical study on a novel Ionized Gas Thermoelectric Generator (IG-TEG) system has shown the ability of continuous energy extracting from the thermal energy of ambient air around standard room temperature and even below. This system does not need a temperature gradient in order to work, unlike the other TEGs that use the Seebeck effect, and therefore this new system can be utilized in sustainable energy systems, as well as in green cooling solutions, by extracting energy instead of wasting energy in compressing the gas for cooling. This novel system was designed based on Static Ratchet Potential (SRP), which is known as a spatially asymmetric electric potential produced by an array of positive and negative electrodes. The ratchet potential produces an electrical current from the random Brownian Motion of charged particles that are driven by thermal energy. The key parameter of the system is particle transportation, and it was studied under the condition of flashing ratchet potentials utilizing several methods and examined experimentally, ensuring its functionality. In this study, a different approach is pursued to estimate particle transportation by evaluating the charged particle distribution and applying the other conditions of the SRP, and showing continued energy harvesting potency from the particles’ transportation. Ultimately, power levels of 10 Watt proved to be achievable from a 1 m long system tube of 10 cm radius.

Keywords: thermoelectric generator, ratchet potential, Brownian ratchet, energy harvesting, sustainable energy, green technology

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Authors: Panasbodee Thachaopas, Duangdorm Gamnerdsap, Waraporn Inthip, Arissara Pungpa

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LDD’s IM Farm or Land Development Department’s Integrated Management Farm is the agricultural simulation application developed by Land Development Department relies on actual data in simulation game to grow 12 cash crops which are rice, corn, cassava, sugarcane, soybean, rubber tree, oil palm, pineapple, longan, rambutan, durian, and mangosteen. Launching in simulation game, players could select preferable areas for cropping from base map or Orthophoto map scale 1:4,000. Farm management is simulated from field preparation to harvesting. The system uses soil group, and present land use database to facilitate player to know whether what kind of crop is suitable to grow in each soil groups and integrate LDD’s data with other agencies which are soil types, soil properties, soil problems, climate, cultivation cost, fertilizer use, fertilizer price, socio-economic data, plant diseases, weed, pest, interest rate for taking on loan from Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), labor cost, market prices. These mentioned data affect the cost and yield differently to each crop. After completing, the player will know the yield, income and expense, profit/loss. The player could change to other crops that are more suitable to soil groups for optimal yields and profits.

Keywords: agricultural simulation, smart farmer, web application, factors of agricultural production

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Authors: Firjeeth C. Paramba, Vamanjore A. Naushad, Nishan K. Purayil, Osama H. Mohammed, Prem Chandra

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Background: Fever is a common problem in adults visiting the emergency department. Extensive studies have been done in children comparing the efficacy of various antipyretics. However, studies on the efficacy of antipyretic drugs in adults are very scarce. To the best of our knowledge, no controlled trial has been carried out comparing the antipyretic efficacy of paracetamol (oral and intravenous) and intramuscular diclofenac in adults. Methods: In this parallel-group, open-label trial, participants aged 14–75 years presenting with fever who had a temperature of more than 38.5°C were enrolled and treated. Participants were randomly allocated to receive treatment with 1,000 mg oral paracetamol (n=145), 1,000 mg intravenous paracetamol (n=139), or 75 mg intramuscular diclofenac (n=150). The primary outcome was degree of reduction in mean oral temperature at 90 minutes. The efficacy of diclofenac versus oral and intravenous paracetamol was assessed by superiority comparison. Analysis was done using intention to treat principles. Results: After 90 minutes, all three groups showed a significant reduction in mean temperature, with intramuscular diclofenac showing the greatest reduction (−1.44 ± 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] −1.4 to −2.5) and oral paracetamol the least (−1.08 ± 0.51, 95% CI −0.99 to −2.2). After 120 minutes, there was a significant difference observed in the mean change from baseline temperature between the three treatment groups (P, 0.0001). Significant changes in temperature were observed in favor of intramuscular diclofenac over oral and intravenous paracetamol at each time point from 60 minutes through 120 minutes inclusive. Conclusion: Both intramuscular diclofenac and intravenous paracetamol showed superior antipyretic activity than oral paracetamol. However, in view of its ease of administration, intramuscular diclofenac can be used as a first-choice antipyretic in febrile adults in the emergency department.

Keywords: antipyretic, intramuscular, intravenous, paracetamol, diclofenac, emergency department

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Authors: Huang Xiaoling, Liu Lufeng

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In this paper, we seek to determine one reasonable local hub port and optimal routes for a containership fleet, performing pick-ups and deliveries, between the hub and spoke ports in a same region. The relationship between a hub port, and traffic in feeder lines is analyzed. A new network planning method is proposed, an integrated hub port location and route design, a capacitated vehicle routing problem with pick-ups, deliveries and time deadlines are formulated and solved using an improved genetic algorithm for positioning the hub port and establishing routes for a containership fleet. Results on the performance of the algorithm and the feasibility of the approach show that a relatively small fleet of containerships could provide efficient services within deadlines.

Keywords: route planning, hub port location, container feeder service, regional transportation network

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Authors: Henry Ataburo, Dominic Essuman, Emmanuel Kwabena Anin

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Recent trends of catastrophic events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Suez Canal blockage, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and the climate change crisis, continue to devastate supply chains and the broader society. Prior authors have advocated for a simultaneous pursuit of resilience and sustainability as crucial for navigating these challenges. Nevertheless, the relationship between resilience and sustainability is a rather complex one: resilience and sustainability are considered unrelated, substitutes, or complements. Scholars also suggest that different firms prioritize resilience and sustainability differently for varied strategic reasons. However, we know little about whether, how, and when these choices produce different typologies of firms to explain differences in financial and market performance outcomes. This research draws inferences from the systems configuration approach to organizational fit to contend that a taxonomy of firms may emerge based on how firms configure resilience and environmental sustainability. The study further examines the effects of these taxonomies on financial and market performance in differing transportation disruption conditions. Resilience is operationalized as a firm’s ability to adjust current operations, structure, knowledge, and resources in response to disruptions, whereas environmental sustainability is operationalized as the extent to which a firm deploys resources judiciously and keeps the ecological impact of its operations to the barest minimum. Using primary data from 199 firms in Ghana and cluster analysis as an analytical tool, the study identifies four clusters of firms based on how they prioritize resilience and sustainability: Cluster 1 - "strong, moderate resilience, high sustainability firms," Cluster 2 - "sigh resilience, high sustainability firms," Cluster 3 - "high resilience, strong, moderate sustainability firms," and Cluster 4 - "weak, moderate resilience, strong, moderate sustainability firms". In addition, ANOVA and regression analysis revealed the following findings: Only clusters 1 and 2 were significantly associated with both market and financial performance. Under high transportation disruption conditions, cluster 1 firms excel better in market performance, whereas cluster 2 firms excel better in financial performance. Conversely, under low transportation disruption conditions, cluster 1 firms excel better in financial performance, whereas cluster 2 firms excel better in market performance. The study provides theoretical and empirical evidence of how resilience and environmental sustainability can be configured to achieve specific performance objectives under different disruption conditions.

Keywords: resilience, environmental sustainability, developing economy, transportation disruption

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Authors: Roberto Pili, Alessandro Romagnoli, Hartmut Spliethoff, Christoph Wieland

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Internal combustion engines (ICE) are today the most common energy system to drive vehicles and transportation systems. Numerous studies state that 50-60% of the fuel energy content is lost to the ambient as sensible heat. ORC offers a valuable alternative to recover such waste heat from ICE, leading to fuel energy savings and reduced emissions. In contrast, the additional weight of the ORC affects the net energy balance of the overall system and the ORC occupies additional volume that competes with vehicle transportation capacity. Consequently, a lower income from delivered freight or passenger tickets can be achieved. The economic feasibility of integrating an ORC into an ICE and the resulting economic impact of weight and volume have not been analyzed in open literature yet. This work intends to define such a benchmark for ORC applications in the transportation sector and investigates the current situation on the market. The applied methodology refers to the freight market, but it can be extended to passenger transportation as well. The economic parameter X is defined as the ratio between the variation of the freight revenues and the variation of fuel costs when an ORC is installed as a bottoming cycle for an ICE with respect to a reference case without ORC. A good economic situation is obtained when the reduction in fuel costs is higher than the reduction of revenues for the delivered freight, i.e. X<1. Through this constraint, a maximum allowable change of transport capacity for a given relative reduction in fuel consumption is determined. The specific fuel consumption is influenced by the ORC in two ways. Firstly because the transportable freight is reduced and secondly because the total weight of the vehicle is increased. Note, that the generated electricity of the ORC influences the size of the ICE and the fuel consumption as well. Taking the above dependencies into account, the limiting condition X = 1 results in a second order equation for the relative change in transported cargo. The described procedure is carried out for a typical city bus, a truck of 24-40 t of payload capacity, a middle-size freight train (1000 t), an inland water vessel (Va RoRo, 2500 t) and handysize-like vessel (25000 t). The maximum allowable mass and volume of the ORC are calculated in dependence of its efficiency in order to satisfy X < 1. Subsequently, these values are compared with weight and volume of commercial ORC products. For ships of any size, the situation appears already highly favorable. A different result is obtained for road and rail vehicles. For trains, the mass and the volume of common ORC products have to be reduced at least by 50%. For trucks and buses, the situation looks even worse. The findings of the present study show a theoretical and practical approach for the economic application of ORC in the transportation sector. In future works, the potential for volume and mass reduction of the ORC will be addressed, together with the integration of an economic assessment for the ORC.

Keywords: ORC, transportation, volume, weight

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Authors: Kgabo H. Badimo, Sheryl Buckley

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Knowledge is increasingly recognised in this, the knowledge era, as a strategic resource, by public sector organisations, in view of the public sector reform initiatives. People and knowledge play a vital role in attaining improved organisational performance and high service quality. Many government departments in the public sector have started to realise the importance of knowledge management in streamlining their operations and processes. This study focused on knowledge management in the public healthcare service organisations, where the concept of service provider competitiveness pales to insignificance, considering the huge challenges emanating from the healthcare and public sector reforms. Many government departments are faced with challenges of improving organisational performance and service delivery, improving accountability, making informed decisions, capturing the knowledge of the aging workforce, and enhancing partnerships with stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to examine the knowledge management practices of the Gauteng Department of Health in South Africa, in order to understand how knowledge management practices influence improvement in organisational performance and healthcare service delivery. This issue is explored through a review of literature on dominant views on knowledge management and healthcare service delivery, as well as results of interviews with, and questionnaire responses from, the general staff of the Gauteng Department of Health. Web-based questionnaires, face-to-face interviews and organisational documents were used to collect data. The data were analysed using both the quantitative and qualitative methods. The central question investigated was: To what extent can the conditions required for successful knowledge management be observed, in order to improve organisational performance and healthcare service delivery in the Gauteng Department of Health. The findings showed that the elements of knowledge management capabilities investigated in this study, namely knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge application, have a positive, significant relationship with all measures of organisational performance and healthcare service delivery. These findings thus indicate that by employing knowledge management principles, the Gauteng Department of Health could improve its ability to achieve its operational goals and objectives, and solve organisational and healthcare challenges, thereby improving organisational.

Keywords: knowledge management, Healthcare Service Delivery, public healthcare, public sector

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Authors: Sourabh Jain, Sukhvir Singh Jain, Gaurav V. Jain

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Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) is the application of technology for developing a user–friendly transportation system for urban areas in developing countries. The goal of urban corridor management using ITS in road transport is to achieve improvements in mobility, safety, and the productivity of the transportation system within the available facilities through the integrated application of advanced monitoring, communications, computer, display, and control process technologies, both in the vehicle and on the road. This paper attempts to present the past studies regarding several ITS available that have been successfully deployed in urban corridors of India and abroad, and to know about the current scenario and the methodology considered for planning, design, and operation of Traffic Management Systems. This paper also presents the endeavor that was made to interpret and figure out the performance of the 27.4 Km long study corridor having eight intersections and four flyovers. The corridor consisting of 6 lanes as well as 8 lanes divided road network. Two categories of data were collected on February 2016 such as traffic data (traffic volume, spot speed, delay) and road characteristics data (no. of lanes, lane width, bus stops, mid-block sections, intersections, flyovers). The instruments used for collecting the data were video camera, radar gun, mobile GPS and stopwatch. From analysis, the performance interpretations incorporated were identification of peak hours and off peak hours, congestion and level of service (LOS) at mid blocks, delay followed by the plotting speed contours and recommending urban corridor management strategies. From the analysis, it is found that ITS based urban corridor management strategies will be useful to reduce congestion, fuel consumption and pollution so as to provide comfort and efficiency to the users. The paper presented urban corridor management strategies based on sensors incorporated in both vehicles and on the roads.

Keywords: congestion, ITS strategies, mobility, safety

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Authors: Joy Aworookoroh

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Writing is one of the active skills in language learning. Students of English as a foreign language are expected to write efficiently and proficiently in the language; however, there are usually challenges to optimal performance and competence in writing. Errors, on the other hand, in a foreign language learning situation are more positive than negative as they provide the basis for solving the limitations of the students. This paper investigates the situation in the Department of English, Taraba State University Jalingo. Students are administered a descriptive writing test across different levels of study. The target students are multilingual with an L1 of either Kuteb, Hausa or Junkun languages. The essays are accessed to identify the different kinds of errors in them alongside the classification of the order. Errors of correctness, clarity, engagement, and delivery were identified. However, the study identified that the degree of errors reduces alongside the experience and exposure of the students to an EFL classroom.

Keywords: errors, writings, descriptive essay, multilingual

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Authors: Chuhan Zhang

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As a typical mountainous city in the world, with the rise of shared transportation, cycling behavior in Chongqing is undergoing a role change from a traditional leisure activity to an important transportation mode. However, with the rapid increase in people's cycling demand, the built environment with mountainous features in Chongqing has become a key constraint hindering the further development of bicycle traffic. Based on the above background, the research summarizes the current development contradictions of bicycle traffic in Chongqing, analyses the global experience in the construction of bicycle-friendly cities with mountain characteristics, and combines the characteristics of bicycle traffic in Chongqing to further propose the planning method of the bicycle in mountain cities, to improve the bikability of Chongqing from the perspective of urban planning.

Keywords: bicycle traffic, mountainous city, bicycle-friendly, bikability, Chongqing

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Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad, Bua Srikos

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Research aimed to study the characteristics of a community in the social, economical and cultural context. This research used interviews and surveys members in Patthana Soi Ranongklang community, Dusit District, Bangkok. The results are as follows: In terms of overall conditions and characteristics, Patthana Soi Ranongklang community is located on the property of Treasury Department. 50 years ago the location of this community consisted of paddy fields with limited convenience in terms of transportation. Rama V Road was only a small narrow road with only three-wheelers and no buses. The majority of community members moved in from Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge. Thus, most community members were either workers or government officials as they were not the owners of the land. Therefore, there were no primary occupations within this 7 acres of the community. The development of the community started in 1981. At present, the community is continuously being developed and modernization is rapidly flowing in. One of the reasons was because main roads were amended, especially Rama V Road that allows more convenient transportation, leading to heightened citizens’ convenience. In terms of the economy and society, the research found out that the development and expansion of Rama V Road cause a change in the conditions of the area and buildings. Some building were improved and changed along the time, as well as the development of new facilities that cause the community members to continually become more materialistic. Jobs within the community started to appear, and areas were improved to allow for new building and housing businesses. The trend of jobs become more in variety, in terms of both jobs at home, such as workers, merchandizing, and small own businesses, and jobs outside the community, which became much more convenient as car drivers are used to the narrow roads inside the community. The location of the community next to Rama V Road also allows helo from government agencies to reach the community with ease. Moreover, the welfare of the community was well taken care of by the community committee. In terms of education, the research found that there are two schools: Wat Pracharabuedham School and Wat Noi Noppakun School, that are providing education within the community. The majority of the community received Bachelor degrees. In areas of culture, the research found that the culture, traditions, and beliefs of people in the community were mainly transferred from the old community, especially beliefs in Buddhism as the majority are Bhuddists. The main reason is because the old community was situated near Wat Makut Kasattriyaram. Therefore, the community members have always had Buddhist temples as the center of the community. In later years, more citizens moved in and bring along culture, traditions, and beliefs with them. The community members also took part in building a Dharma hall named Wat Duang Jai 72 Years Ranong Klang. Traditions that community members adhere to since the establishment of the community are the New Year merit making and Songkran Tradition.

Keywords: social capital, culture, Patthana Soi Ranongklang community, way of life

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Authors: Mohammed Jourdani, Hamid Mounir, Abdellatif El Marjani

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Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been developed as a promising power source for transportation and stationary applications, and power devices for computers and mobile telephones. This paper discusses and summarizes the latest developments of materials and remaining challenges of PEMFC. The different contributions to the material of all components and the efficiencies are analyzed. Many technical advances are introduced to increase the PEMFC fuel cell efficiency and life time for transportation, stationary and portable utilization. By the last years the total cost of this system is decreasing. However, the remaining challenges that need to be overcome mean that it will be several years before full commercialization can take place.

Keywords: PEMFC fuel cell, materials, recent development, efficiency, life time, commercialization possibility

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Authors: Vivianne Aggestam

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Purpose: Organic dairy products have steadily increased with consumer popularity in recent years in Sweden, permitting more transport activities. The main aim of this study was to compare the transport costs and the environmental emissions made by the organic and conventional dairy production in Sweden. The objective was to evaluate differences and environmental impacts of transport between the two different production systems, allowing a more transparent understanding of the real impact of transport within the supply chain. Methods: A partial attributional Life Cycle Assessment has been conducted based on a comprehensive survey of Swedish farmers, dairies and consumers regarding their transport needs and costs. Interviews addressed the farmers and dairies. Consumers were targeted through an online survey. Results: Higher transport inputs from conventional dairy transportation are mainly via feed and soil management on farm level. The regional organic milk brand illustrate less initial transport burdens on farm level, however, after leaving the farm, it had equal or higher transportation requirements. This was mainly due to the location of the dairy farm and shorter product expiry dates, which requires more frequent retail deliveries. Organic consumers tend to use public transport more than private vehicles. Consumers using private vehicles for shopping trips primarily bought conventional products for which price was the main deciding factor. Conclusions: Organic dairy products that emphasise its regional attributes do not ensure less transportation and may therefore not be a more “climate smart” option for the consumer. This suggests that the idea of localism needs to be analysed from a more systemic perspective. Fuel and regional feed efficiency can be further implemented, mainly via fuel type and the types of vehicles used for transport.

Keywords: supply chains, distribution, transportation, organic food productions, conventional food production, agricultural fossil fuel use

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Authors: Mark Edward S. Paulo

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This study was conducted to determine the extent of constructivist learning in science classes of the college department of Southville International School and Colleges. This explores the students’ assessment of their learning when professors would give lecture and various activities in the classroom and at the same time their perception on how their professors maintain a constructivist learning environment. In this study, a total of 185 students participated. These students were enrolled in Science courses offered in the first semester of AY 2014 to 2015. Descriptive correlational method was used in this study while simple random sampling technique was utilized in getting the number of target population. The results revealed that student often observed that their professors apply constructivist approach when teaching sciences. A positive correlation was found between students’ level of learning and extent of constructivism.

Keywords: college teaching, constructivism, pedagogy, student-centered approach

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Authors: Adam Abdullahi Mohammed

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Performance appraisal is an assessment made to ensure the level of a worker’s productivity in a given period of time. The appraisal system is divided into two categories that are traditional methods and modern methods, with emphasis based on the evaluation of work results. In the traditional approach of staff appraisal, which puts more emphasis on individual traits, supervisors are required to measure employees through interactions based on what they achieved with reference to job descriptions, as well as rating them based on questionnaires without staff interaction. These methods are not effective because staff may give biased information. The study will attempt to assess the effect of performance appraisal on employee productivity at Yobe State University, Damaturu. It is aimed at assessing the process, methods, and objectives of performance appraisal and its feedback to know how they affect the success of the appraisal, its results, and employee productivity. In this study, a quantitative research method is adopted in collecting and analyzing data, and a questionnaire will be used as data collecting instrument. As it is a case study, the target population is the staff of the department of Islamic Studies. The research will employ a census sampling technique where all the subjects in the target populations are given a chance to participate in the study. This sampling method was considered because the entire target population is considered researchable. The expected findings are that staff performance appraisal in the department of Islamic Studies has effects on employee productivity; this is to say if it is given due consideration and the needful being done will improve employee productivity.

Keywords: performance appraisal, employee productivity, Yobe state University, appraisal feedback

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Authors: Behcet Al, Mustafa Bogan, Mehmet Murat Oktay, Suat Zengin, Hasan Bayram

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Objective: In the last two decades there is a strong scientific interest regarding the role of aerosols for the Earth’s climate and associated changes. Aerosol particles are very important to the Earth-atmosphere climate system playing a crucial role in cloud and precipitation processes, air quality and climate. Here, we evaluated the association between saharran dust and emergency department admission, hospitalization, and mortality. Method: The records of admission to emergency department of Gaziantep University and the dust stroms of 31 months were studied. Patients admitted to ED at dust strom with chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD), asthma bronchiale (AB), serebrovascular events (SVE), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), stabile and unstabile angina pectoris (SAAP andUSAP); and the days with and without dust stroms were included. The study was realized from March 2010 to October 2012. The admission of three days before strom (group 1), during strom days (group 2) and three days after strom (group 3) were determined. The mean level of dust PM10 particulate was calculated, and the results were compared. Results: 5864 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease, asthma bronchiale, serebrovascular events, acute myocardial infarction, stabile and unstabile angyina pectoris admitted during the days with and without dust stroms. 28 dust stroms ocurred during 31 months. The totaliy of stroms continiued 78 days. Of admissions, 35.5% (n=2075) were in group1, 29.8% (n=1746) in group 2, and 34.8% (n=2043) were in group 3. The mean of PM10 for groups (group 1, 2 and 3) were 78.53 mg/m3 (range 19–276) particulate, 108.7 mg/m3 (range 34–631) particulate, and 60.9 mg/m3 (range 17–160) particulate respectively. The mean admission per a day for groups were 24.86, 22.55, and 24.50 respectively. The mortality was 12 in group 1, 12 in group 2, and 17 in grou 3. The hospitalization ratio for groups were 0.24, 0.27, and 0.27 respectively. Conclusion: However, the mean level of PM10 particulate for groups 2 (in dust strom days) is significantly higher (p=0.001) than the days before (group 1) and after (group 3) dust stroms, the mean admissions/day, hostilalization and mortality related to deseases (COLD, AB, SVE, AMI, SAAP andUSA) for group 2 is lower than the group 1 and group 3.

Keywords: Saharran dust, PM10 particulate, emergency department admission, mortality

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Authors: Collen Maseloane, Chris Cloete

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The study investigated the status of building condition assessments of state-owned immovable assets in South Africa. A stratified random sample of 200 (out of 372) personnel was drawn from the eight rele-vant business units of the Department of Public Works (DPW). A questionnaire comprising open-ended questions was distributed to the sampled participants and a total of 139 completed questionnaires were received. A significant number of state asset properties were found to be in poor condition owing to the asset managers’ inability to access automated information on the conditions of assets. It is recommended that the immovable asset register of the Department requires constant enhancement to update information on the condition of each state-owned immovable asset under its custodianship. Implementation of the proposals should contribute to the maintenance of the value of state assets in South Africa.

Keywords: building condition assessment, immovable asset register, life cycle asset management, public works, South Africa

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Authors: Emily Magoma-Nthite, Nonhlanhla Maseko, Mabatho Sedibe

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In this study, the focus is on the exploration and description of the teachers’ perceptions regarding retirement in Gauteng school in Tshwane North districts. From the individual and group interviews, the findings are leading to suggestions that a more comprehensive program for preparing teachers for retirement is highly necessary. All the participants were aware of their retirement age of 60 years as stipulated in the department of education internal memorandum No: 05 of 2021, which states that the compulsory retirement age in the public service is 60 years. It further states that the age restriction is in accordance with Chapter 4 of the Public Service Act, 1994 and Chapter 4 of the Employment of Educators Act, 1998, as amended. It was found out that there are some anxieties and fears as the majority seemed not ready and maybe not prepared enough for the retirement. Recommendations for a pre-retirement programme aimed at timeous preparation, which may include psychological, financial, and ability to keep functioning post retirement, will be proposed to the department of education in Gauteng and for the Tshwane North district as the pilot site on approval.

Keywords: teachers, pre-retirement, preparedness, gauteng schools

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Authors: R. Govender, T. C. Katsande, E. Madoroba, N. M. Thiebaut, D. Naidoo

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South African control over meat safety is managed by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF). Veterinary services department in each of the nine provinces in the country is tasked with overseeing the farm and abattoir segments of the meat supply chain. Abattoirs are privately owned. The number of abattoirs over the years has increased. This increase has placed constraints on government resources required to monitor these abattoirs. This paper presents empirical research results on the hygienic processing of meat in high and low throughout abattoirs. This paper presents a case for the adoption of risk-based regulation as a method of government control over hygiene and safe meat processing at abattoirs in South Africa. Recommendations are made to the DAFF regarding policy considerations on risk-based regulation as a model of control in South Africa.

Keywords: risk-based regulation, abattoir, food control, meat safety

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Authors: Nimrod Bantigue

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The Department of Education is continuously providing safe teaching-learning facilities and hazard-free environments to the learners. To achieve this goal, teachers’ awareness of DepEd’s DRRM programs and activities is extremely important; thus, this descriptive correlational quantitative study was conceptualized. This research answered four questions on the profile and level of awareness of the 153 teacher respondents of Oriental Mindoro National High School for the academic year 2018-2019. Stratified proportional sampling was employed, and both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to treat data. The findings revealed that the majority of the teachers at OMNHS are female and are in the age bracket of 20-40. Most are married and pursue graduate studies. They have moderate awareness of the Department of Education’s DRRM programs and activities in terms of assessment of risks activities, planning activities, implementation activities during disaster and evaluation and monitoring activities with 3.32, 3.12, 3.40 and 3.31 as computed means, respectively. Further, the result showed a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents such as age, civil status and educational attainment and the level of awareness. On the contrary, sex does not have a significant relationship with the level of awareness. The Support School DRRM program with Utilization Guide on School DRRM Manual was proposed to increase, improve and strengthen the weakest areas of awareness rated in each DRRM activity, such as assessment of risks, planning, and implementation during disasters and monitoring and evaluation.

Keywords: awareness, management, monitoring, risk reduction

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Authors: Hussein Abbas Jebur, Yasir Abd Ulrazzaq

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This study was carried out at the farm of El-Gemmaiza Agriculture Research Station, El-Garbia Governorate Egypt, to determine the performance characteristics of an agricultural transport. The performance of this transportation was compared between three surfaces (asphalt, dusty and field). The study was concentrated on the rate of drawbar pull, slip ratio, tractive efficiency and specific energy per unit area. The comparison was made under three different surfaces (asphalt, dusty and field), different traveling speeds from (3.38 to 6.55 km/h) and variable weights (0 and 300 kg). The results showed that the highest value of the tractive efficiency 60.20% was obtained at traveling speed 4.00 km/h with weight on the rear wheel on the asphalt surface. The highest value of specific energy 1.93 kW.h/ton during use of ballast on rear tractor wheels at traveling speed 3.38 km/h on the field surface.

Keywords: tractor, energy, transportation, weight, power

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Authors: Ndukwe, Chinedu O.

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Background: There are only a few epidemiological studies published on skin disorders in the elderly within the Nigerian context and none from the Southeast Region of the country. In addition, none of these studies has considered the pattern and frequency of histopathologically diagnosed geriatric skin lesions. Hence, we attempted to determine the frequency as well as the age and gender distributions of histologically diagnosed dermatological diseases in the geriatric population from skin biopsies submitted to the histopathology department of a tertiary care hospital in Southeast Nigeria. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional retrospective hospital-based study involving all skin biopsies of patients 60 years and above, received at the Department of Histopathology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria from January 2004 to December 2019. Results: During the study period, 751 skin biopsies were received in the histopathology department. Of these, 142 were from patients who were older than 60 years. Thus, the overall share of geriatric patients was 18.9%. The mean age at presentation was 71.1 ± 8.6 years. The M: F was 1:1 and most of the patients belonged to the age group of 60–69 years (69 cases, 48.6%). The mean age of the male patients was 72.1±9.5 years. In the female patients, it was 70.1±7.5 years. The commonest disease category was neoplasms (91, 64.1%). Most neoplasms were malignant. There were 67/142 (47.2%) malignant lesions. Commonest was Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (30 cases) which is 21.1% of all geriatric skin biopsies and 44.8% of malignant skin biopsies. This is closely followed by melanoma (29 cases). Conclusion: Malignant neoplasms, benign neoplasms and papulosquamous disorders are the three commonest histologically diagnosed skin lesions in our geriatric population. The commonest skin malignancies in this group of patients are squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma.

Keywords: geriatric, skin, Nigeria, histopathology

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Authors: Angelis P. Barlampas

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The aim of this work is to denote that during an emergency state, an examination study may not be accomplished by state-of-the-art of imaging and, therefore, cannot obviously reveal all the existing findings. But, such a situation may have disastrous consequences for the patient. When interpreting radiological images, one must try to be as meticulous as possible, especially if the patient has alerting clinical symptoms. A case may be missed because its findings are not so obvious in rapid uncompleted radiological imaging. A thirty-seven years old female patient visited the emergency department because of a headache and hemiparesis of her left leg. Firstly, a CT examination without contrast was done, and mild serpentinous hyperintensities were depicted at the right parietal lobe. In addition to that, there was a linear, mildly hyperattenuating structure resembling a vessel in the nearby middle line. At first, an AVM was suspected, so an MRI examination with i.v. Gd was prescribed. The patient returned a few days later, not having done the MRI and complaining of persisting symptomatology. A new CT examination without and with i.v.c administration was done that showed no hyperintensities but a type-enhancing vessel in the posterior interhemispheric fissure. The latest findings are consistent with a venous malformation with previous bleeding.

Keywords: bleeding, brain, CNS, hemorrhage, CT, venous malformation

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Authors: Fares Mahdi

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Background: Infection control is an important concern for all health care professionals, especially nurses. Nurses have a higher risk for both self-acquiring and transmitting infections to other patients. Aim of this study: to assess nurses' knowledge regarding infection control for wound care. Methodology: a descriptive research design was used in the study. The total number studied sample was 200 nurses, were conducting in Amran Public Hospitals in Amran City- Yemen. The study covered sample nurses in the hospital according to the study population; a standard closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: The results showed less than half (37.5 %) of nurses were from 22 May Hospital, also followed by (62.5%) of them were from Maternal and Child Hospital. Also according to the department name. Most (22.5%) of nurses worked in an intensive care unit, followed by (20%) of them were working in the pediatric world, also about (19%) of them were working in the surgical department. While in finally, only about (8.5%) of them worked from another department. According to course training, The results showed about (21%) of nurses had course training in wound care management. At the same time, others (79%) of them have not had course training in wound care management. According to the total nurse's knowledge of infection control for wound care, that find more than two-thirds (68%) of nurses had fair knowledge according to total all of nurse's knowledge of infection control wound care. Conclusion:The results showed that more than two-thirds (68%) of nurses had fair knowledge according to total all of the nurse's knowledge of infection control for wound care. Recommendations: There should be providing training program about infection control masseurs and it's important for new employees of nurses. Providing continuing refreshment training courses about infection control programs and about evidence-based practice in infection control for all health care teams.

Keywords: assessment, knowledge, infection control, wound care, nurses, amran hospitals

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Authors: Harley Bray, Helen Pymar, Michelle Liu, Chau Pham, Tomislav Jelic, Fran Mulhall

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Background: Our study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic (EPAC) referrals and the use of virtual consultation in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our clinic expanded to accept referrals from all Winnipeg Emergency Department (ED)/Urgent Care (UC) sites beginning November 2019 to April 2020. By May 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached Manitoba, and EPAC virtual care was expanded by performing hCG remotely and reviewing blood and ED/UC ultrasound results by phone. Methods: Emergency Department Information Systems (EDIS) and EPAC data reviewed ED/UC visits for pregnancy <20 weeks and vaginal bleeding 1-year pre-COVID (March 12, 2019, to March 11, 2020) and during COVID (March 12, 2020 (first case in Manitoba) to March 11, 2021). Results: There were fewer patient visits for vaginal bleeding or pregnancy of <20 weeks (4264 vs. 5180), diagnoses of threatened abortion (1895 vs. 2283), and ectopic pregnancy (78 vs. 97) during COVID compared with pre-COVID, respectively. International Classification of Disease 10 codes were missing in 849 (20%) and 1183 (23%) of patients during COVID and pre-COVID, respectively. Wait times for all patient visits improved during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID (5.1 ±4.4 hours vs. 5.5 ± 3.8 hours), more patients received obstetrical ultrasounds, 761 (18%) vs. 787 (15%), and fewer patients returned within 30 days (1360 (32%) vs. 1848 (36%); p<0.01). EPAC saw 708 patients (218; 31% new ED/UC) during COVID compared to 552 (37; 7% new ED/UC) pre-COVID. Fewer operative interventions for pregnancy loss (346 vs. 456) and retained products (236 vs. 272) were noted. Surgeries to treat ectopic pregnancy (106 vs. 113) remained stable during the study time interval. Conclusion: Accurate identification of pregnancy complications was difficult, with over 20% missing ICD-10 diagnostic codes. There were fewer ED/UC visits and surgical management for threatened abortion during COVID, but ectopic pregnancy operative management remained unchanged.

Keywords: obstetrics and gynecology, EPAC, early pregnancy assessment, first trimester, emergency department, abortion, pregnancy, COVID-19

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Authors: Giya Erina

Abstract:

Linguists have analyzed the rhetorical structure of various forensic genres, but only a few have investigated the complete structure of death row statements. Unlike other forensic text types, such as suicide or ransom notes, the focus of death row statement analysis is not the authenticity or falsity of the text, but its intended meaning and its communicative purpose. As it constitutes their last statement before their execution, there are probably many things that inmates would like to express. This study mainly examines the rhetorical moves of 200 death row statements from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website using rhetorical move analysis. The rhetorical moves identified in the statements will be classified based on their communicative purpose, and they will be grouped into moves and steps. A move structure will finally be suggested from the most common or characteristic moves and steps, as well as some sub-moves. However, because of some statements’ atypicality, some moves may appear in different parts of the texts or not at all.

Keywords: Death row statements, forensic linguistics, genre analysis, move analysis

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