Search results for: learning of circular economy

Authors: Giorgia Carratta

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Since the beginning of mass production, plastic items have been crucial in our daily lives. Thanks to their physical and chemical properties, plastic materials have proven almost irreplaceable in a number of economic sectors such as packaging, automotive, building and construction, textile, and many others. At the same time, the disruptive consequences of plastic pollution have been progressively brought to light in all environmental compartments. The overaccumulation of plastics in the environment, and its adverse effects on habitats, wildlife, and (most likely) human health, represents a call for action to decision-makers around the globe. From a regulatory perspective, plastic production is an unprecedented challenge at all levels of governance. At the international level, the design of new legal instruments, the amendment of existing ones, and the coordination among the several relevant policy areas requires considerable effort. Under the pressure of both increasing scientific evidence and a concerned public opinion, countries seem to slowly move towards the discussion of a new international ‘plastic treaty.’ However, whether, how, and with which scopes such instrument would be adopted is still to be seen. Additionally, governments are establishing regional-basedstrategies, prone to consider the specificities of the plastic issue in a certain geographical area. Thanks to the new Circular Economy Action Plan, approved in March 2020 by the European Commission, EU countries are slowly but steadily shifting to a carbon neutral, circular economy in the attempt to reduce the pressure on natural resources and, parallelly, facilitate sustainable economic growth. In this context, the EU Plastic Strategy is promising to change the way plastic is designed, produced, used, and treated after consumption. In fact, only in the EU27 Member States, almost 26 million tons of plastic waste are generated herein every year, whose 24,9% is still destined to landfill. Positive effects of the Strategy also include a more effective protection of our environment, especially the marine one, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, a reduced need for imported fossil energy sources, more sustainable production and consumption patterns. As promising as it may sound, the road ahead is still long. The need to implement these measures in domestic legislations makes their outcome difficult to predict at the moment. An analysis of the current international and European Union legal framework on plastic pollution, binding, and voluntary instruments included, could serve to detect ‘blind spots’ in the current governance as well as to facilitate the development of policy interventions along the plastic value chain, where it appears more needed.

Keywords: environmental law, European union, governance, plastic pollution, sustainability

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Authors: Fujio Takata

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When governments levy taxes on labor income on the basis of a balanced budget rule, two steady states in an economy exist, of which one can cause two movement patterns, namely, indeterminacy paths and a saddle path. However, in this paper, we assume an economy with divisible labor, in which labor adjustment is made by an intensive margin. We demonstrate that there indeed exist the two paths in the economy and that there exists a critical condition dividing them. This is proved by establishing the relationship between a finite elasticity of labor with regard to real wages and the share of capital in output. Consequently, we deduce the existence of an upper limit in the share of capital in output for indeterminacy to occur. The largest possible value of that share is less than 0.5698.

Keywords: balanced budget rule, divisible labor, labor income taxation, two movement patterns

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Authors: Albin Wallace

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This paper examines the use of social learning platforms in conjunction with the emergent pedagogy of the ‘flipped classroom’. In particular the attributes of the social learning platform “Edmodo” is considered alongside the changes in the way in which online learning environments are being implemented, especially within British education. Some observations are made regarding the use and usefulness of these platforms along with a consideration of the increasingly decentralized nature of education in the United Kingdom.

Keywords: education, Edmodo, Internet, learning platforms

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Authors: Mehwish Raza

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Mobile learning (m-learning) offers unique affordances to learners, setting them free of limitations posed by time and geographic space; thus becoming an affordable device for convenient distant learning. There is a plethora of research available on mobile learning projects planned, implemented and evaluated across disciplines in the context of developed countries, however, the potential of m-learning at different educational levels remain unexplored with little evidence of research carried out in developing countries. Despite the favorable technical infrastructure offered by cellular networks and boom in mobile subscriptions in the developing world, there is limited focus on utilizing m-learning for education and development purposes. The objective of this review is to unify findings from m-learning projects that have been implemented in developing countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, and Tanzania for teachers’ in-service training. The purpose is to draw upon key characteristics of mobile learning that would be useful for future researchers to inform conceptualizations of mobile learning for developing countries.

Keywords: design model, developing countries, key characteristics, mobile learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 425

Authors: Razzaghifard P., Arya F., Chen S. Chien-I, Abdi B., Razzaghifard V., Arya A. H., Nazary A., Hosseinpour H., Ghabelnezam K.

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E-learning, also known as online learning, has indicated increased growth in recent years. One of the critical factors in the successful application of e-learning in higher education is students’ perceptions towards it. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of engineering students about e-learning in the UK. For the purpose of the present study, 145 second-year engineering students were randomly selected from the total population of 1280 participants. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire containing 16 items. The data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of participants have negative perceptions of e-learning. Most of the students had trouble interacting effectively during online classes. Furthermore, the majority of participants had negative experiences with the learning platform they used during e-learning. Suggestions were made on what could be done to improve the students’ perceptions of e-learning.

Keywords: e-learning, higher, education, engineering education, online learning

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Authors: Adeniran Adetunji, Babalola M. Florence, Akande Ademola

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In this paper, we made an overview on the concept of adaptive e-Learning system, enumerates the elements of adaptive learning concepts e.g. A pedagogical framework, multiple learning strategies and pathways, continuous monitoring and feedback on student performance, statistical inference to reach final learning strategy that works for an individual learner by “mass-customization”. Briefly highlights the motivation of this new system proposed for effective learning teaching. E-Review literature on the concept of adaptive e-learning system and emphasises on the Item Response Calibration, which is an important approach to developing an adaptive e-Learning system. This paper write-up is concluded on the justification of item response calibration/estimation towards designing a successful and effective adaptive e-Learning system.

Keywords: adaptive e-learning system, pedagogical framework, item response, computer applications

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Authors: Manal Bouasria, Mohammed-Hichem Benzaama, Valérie Pralong, Yassine El Mendili

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Reducing the quantity of cement in cementitious composites can help to reduce the environmental effect of construction materials. By-products such as ferronickel slags (FNS), fly ash (FA), and Crepidula fornicata (CR) are promising options for cement replacement. In this work, we investigated the relevance of substituting cement with FNS-CR and FA-CR on the mechanical properties of mortar and on the thermal properties of concrete. Foraging intervals ranging from 2 to 28 days, the mechanical properties are obtained by 3-point bending and compression tests. The chosen mix is used to construct a prototype in order to study the material’s hygrothermal performance. The data collected by the sensors placed on the prototype was utilized to build an artificial neural network.

Keywords: artificial neural network, cement, circular economy, concrete, by products

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Authors: Massra M. Sabeima, Myriam lamolle, Mohamedade Farouk Nanne

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Adapting the learning resources of an e-learning system to the characteristics of the learners is an important aspect to consider when designing an adaptive e-learning system. However, this adaptation is not a simple process; it requires the extraction, analysis, and modeling of user information. This implies a good representation of the user's profile, which is the backbone of the adaptation process. Moreover, during the e-learning process, collaboration with similar users (same geographic province or knowledge context) is important. Productive collaboration motivates users to continue or not abandon the course and increases the assimilation of learning objects. The contribution of this work is the following: we propose an adaptive e-learning semantic platform to recommend learning resources to learners, using ontology to model the user profile and the course content, furthermore an implementation of a multi-agent system able to progressively generate the learning graph (taking into account the user's progress, and the changes that occur) for each user during the learning process, and to synchronize the users who collaborate on a learning object.

Keywords: adaptative learning, collaboration, multi-agent, ontology

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Authors: Paduri Veerabhadram, Antoinette Lombard

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In this paper a framework for hypothesizing about mobile learning to complement theories of formal and informal learning is presented. As such, activity theory will form the main theoretical lens through which the elements involved in formal and informal learning for mobile learning will be explored, specifically related to context-aware mobile learning application. The author believes that the complexity of the relationships involved can best be analysed using activity theory. Activity theory, as a social, cultural and activity theory can be used as a mobile learning framework in an academic environment, but to develop an optimal artifact, through investigation of inherent system's contradictions. As such, it serves as a powerful modelling tool to explore and understand the design of a mobile learning environment in the study’s environment. The Academic Tool Kit Framework (ATKF) as also employed for designing of a constructivism learning environment, effective in assisting universities to facilitate lecturers to effectively implement learning through utilizing mobile devices. Results indicate a positive perspective of students in the use of mobile devices for formal and informal learning, based on the context-aware learning environment developed through the use of activity theory and ATKF.

Keywords: collaborative learning, cooperative learning, context-aware learning environment, mobile learning, pedagogy

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Authors: Yasir Naseem

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In this fast-growing and evolving world, usage and adoption of technology have displayed an essential component of the learning process, both in and out of the class, which converges and incorporates every domain of the learning aspects. It aids in learning distinct entities irrespective of their levels of challenge. It also incorporates both viewpoints of learning, i.e., competence as well as the performances of the learner. In today's learning scenario, nearly every language class ordinarily uses some form of technology. It integrates with various teaching methodologies and transforms in a way that now it grew as an integral part of the language learning courses. It has been employed to facilitate, promote, and enhances language learning. It facilitates educators in numerous ways and enhances their methodologies by equipping them to modify classroom activities, which covers every aspect of language learning.

Keywords: communication, methodology, technology, skills

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Authors: Wang Yanli, Cheng Yun, Yang Jiarui

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Due to the separation of teachers and students, online teaching during the COVID-19 epidemic was faced with many problems, such as low enthusiasm of students, distraction, low learning atmosphere, and insufficient interaction between teachers and students. The essay designed the elaborate online learning activities of the course 'Research Methods of Educational Science' based on the APT model from three aspects of multiple assessment methods, a variety of teaching methods, and online learning environment and technology. Student's online learning experience was examined from the perception of online course, the perception of the online learning environment, and satisfaction after the course’s implementation. The research results showed that students have a positive overall evaluation of online courses, a high degree of engagement in learning, positive acceptance of online learning, and high satisfaction with it, but students hold a relatively neutral attitude toward online learning. And some dimensions in online learning experience were found to have positive influence on students' satisfaction with online learning. We suggest making the good design of online courses, selecting proper learning platforms, and conducting blended learning to improve students’ learning experience. This study has both theoretical and practical significance for the design, implementation, effect feedback, and sustainable development of online teaching in the post-epidemic era.

Keywords: APT model, online learning, online learning activities, learning experience

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Authors: Narimen Rdhaounia Mohamed Kouni

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Our aim in this paper is to identify the origins of inflation in Tunisia on the period from 1988 to 2018. In order to estimate the model, an ARDL methodology is used. We studied also the effect of informal economy on inflation. Indeed, we estimated the size of the informal economy in Tunisia based on Gutmann method. The results showed that there are three main origins of inflation. In fact, the first origin is the fiscal policy adopted by Tunisia, particularly after revolution. The second origin is the increase of monetary variables. Finally, informal economy played an important role in inflation.

Keywords: inflation, consumer price index, informal, gutmann method, ARDL model

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Authors: Chinlun Lai, Yu-Mei Chang

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In this paper, an augmented reality learning support system is proposed to replace the traditional teaching tool thus to help students improve their learning motivation, effectiveness, and efficiency. The system can not only reduce the exhaust of educational hardware and realistic material, but also provide an eco-friendly and self-learning practical environment in any time and anywhere with immediate practical experiences feedback. To achieve this, an interactive self-training methodology which containing step by step operation directions is designed using virtual 3D scenario and wearable device platforms. The course of nasogastric tube care of nursing skills is selected as the test example for self-learning and online test. From the experimental results, it is observed that the support system can not only increase the student’s learning interest but also improve the learning performance than the traditional teaching methods. Thus, it fulfills the strategy of learning by practice while reducing the related cost and effort significantly and is practical in various fields.

Keywords: augmented reality technology, learning support system, self-learning, simulation learning method

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Authors: Thanh Phuong Doan, Narueporn Sutanthavibul

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The influence of freezing cycle on influenza haemagglutinin (HA) conformational stability was investigated in terms of freezing rates and formulation compositions. The results showed that appropriate HA conformation could be evaluated using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy with HA concentration of greater than 0.09 mg/ml. The intermediate freezing rate of approximately 1.0oC/min preserved the original HA conformation better than at slow freezing rate (0.5oC/min) and rapid freezing rate (2.6oC/min). The changes in CD spectra of the secondary HA structure were more pronounced than those of the tertiary HA structure during the evaluation. Additionally, the formulations, which resulted in the highest conformational stability were found to have sucrose present in the composition. As opposed to when only glycine was used, the stability of HA conformation was poor.

Keywords: freezing, haemagglutinin, influenza, circular dichroism

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Authors: M. L. McLain, R. Sreelakshmi, Abhishek, Rajeshwaran, Bhavani Rao, Kamal Bijlani, R. Jayakrishnan

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Technology enhanced learning has brought drastic changes in the field of education in the modern world. In this study we explore a novel way to improve how high school students learn by building a serious game that uses a pedagogical model developed by Robert Gagne. By integrating serious game with principles of Gagne’s learning model can provide engaging and meaningful instructions to students. The game developed in this study is a waste sorting game that can easily and succinctly demonstrate the principles of this learning model. All the tasks in the game that the player has to accomplish correspond to Gagne’s “Nine Events of Learning”. A quiz is incorporated in order to get data on the progress made by the player in understanding the concept and as well as to assess them. Additionally, an experimental study was conducted which demonstrates that game based learning using Gagne’s event is more effective than a traditional classroom setup.

Keywords: game based learning, sorting and recycling of waste, Gagne’s learning model, e-Learning, technology enhanced learning

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Authors: Tri Wijayanti Septiarini, Agus Maman Abadi, Muhammad Rifki Taufik

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The exchange rate of IDR/USD can be the indicator to analysis Indonesian economy. The exchange rate as a important factor because it has big effect in Indonesian economy overall. So, it needs the analysis data of exchange rate. There is decomposition data of exchange rate of IDR/USD to be frequency and time. It can help the government to monitor the Indonesian economy. This method is very effective to identify the case, have high accurate result and have simple structure. In this paper, data of exchange rate that used is weekly data from December 17, 2010 until November 11, 2014.

Keywords: the exchange rate, fuzzy mamdani, discrete wavelet transforms, fuzzy wavelet

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Authors: Nikolaos Katsoulas, Sofia Faliagka, George Kountrias, Eleni Dimitriou, Eleftheria Pechlivani

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The challenges to feed the world in 2050 are becoming more and more apparent. This calls for producing more with fewer inputs (most of them under scarcity), higher resource efficiency, minimum or zero effect on the environment, and higher sustainability. Therefore, increasing the circularity of production systems is highly significant for their sustainability. Protected horticulture offers opportunities for maximum resource efficiency across various levels within and between farms and at the regional level), high-quality production, and contributes significantly to the nutrition security as part of the world food production. In greenhouses, closed soilless cultivation systems give the opportunity to increase the water and nutrient use efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of the cultivation system by the reuse of the drained water and nutrients. However, due to the low quality of the water used in the Mediterranean countries, a completely closed system is not feasible. Partial discharge of the drainage nutrient solution when the levels of electrical conductivity (EC) or of the toxic ions in the system are reached is still a necessity. Thus, in the frame of the circular economy concept, this work presents the utilisation of the drainage solution of soilless cultivation systems for microalgae and biofertilisers production. The system includes a greenhouse equipped with a soilless cultivation system, a drainage solution collection tank, a closed bioreactor for microalgae production, and a biocatalysis tank. The bioreactor tested in the frame of this work includes two closed tube loops of a capacity of 1000 L each where, after the initial inoculation, the microalgae is developed using as a growth medium the drainage solution collected from the greenhouse crops. The bioreactor includes light and temperature control while pH is still manually regulated. As soon as the microalgae culture reaches a certain density level, 20% of the culture is harvested, and the culture system is refiled by a drainage nutrient solution. The microalgae produced goes through a biocatalysis process, which leads to the production of a rich aminoacids (and nitrogen) biofertiliser. The produced biofertiliser is then used for the fertilisation of greenhouse crops. The complete production cycle along with the effects of the biofertiliser produced on crop growth and yield are presented and discussed in this manuscript. Acknowledgment: This work was carried out under the PestNu project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Green Deal grant agreement No. 101037128 — PestNu.

Keywords: soilless, water use efficiency, nutrients use efficiency, biostimulant

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Authors: Eyup Yurt, Ahmet Kurnaz, Ismail Sahin

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The purpose of the study is to investigate the education faculty students’ attitudes towards e-learning according to different variables. In current study, the data were collected from 393 students of an education faculty in Turkey. In this study, theattitude towards e‐learning scale and the demographic information form were used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. It was found that there is a significant difference in students’ tendency towards e-learning and avoidance from e-learning based on gender. Male students have more positive attitudes towards e-learning than female students. Also, the students who used the internet lesshave higher levels of avoidance from e-learning. Additionally, it is found that there is a positive and significant relationship between the number of personal mobile learning devices and tendency towards e-learning. On the other hand, there is a negative and significant relationship between the number of personal mobile learning devices and avoidance from e-learning. Also, suggestions were presented according to findings.

Keywords: education faculty students, attitude towards e-learning, gender, daily internet usage time, m-learning

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Authors: Andrés Lara Guillén, José M. Soriano Disla, Gemma Castejón Martínez, David Fernández-Gutiérrez

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The worldwide population is exponentially increasing, which causes a rising demand for food, energy and non-renewable resources. These demands must be attended to from a circular economy point of view. Under this approach, the obtention of strategic products from biowaste is crucial for the society to keep the current lifestyle reducing the environmental and social issues linked to the lineal economy. This is the main objective of the VALUEWASTE project. VALUEWASTE is about valorizing urban biowaste into proteins for food and feed and biofertilizers, closing the loop of this waste stream. In order to achieve this objective, the project validates three value chains, which begin with the anaerobic digestion of the biowaste. From the anaerobic digestion, three by-products are obtained: i) methane that is used by microorganisms, which will be transformed into microbial proteins; ii) digestate that is used by black soldier fly, producing insect proteins; and iii) a nutrient-rich effluent, which will be transformed into biofertilizers. VALUEWASTE is an innovative solution, which combines different technologies to valorize entirely the biowaste. However, it is also required to demonstrate that the solution is greener than other traditional technologies (baseline systems). On one hand, the proteins from microorganisms and insects will be compared with other reference protein production systems (gluten, whey and soybean). On the other hand, the biofertilizers will be compared to the production of mineral fertilizers (ammonium sulphate and synthetic struvite). Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide that biowaste valorization can reduce the environmental impacts linked to both traditional proteins manufacturing processes and mineral fertilizers, not only at a pilot-scale but also at an industrial one. In the present study, both baseline system and VALUEWASTE solution are evaluated through the Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (E-LCA). The E-LCA is based on the standards ISO 14040 and 14044. The Environmental Footprint methodology was the one used in this study to evaluate the environmental impacts. The results for the baseline cases show that the food proteins coming from whey have the highest environmental impact on ecosystems compared to the other proteins sources: 7.5 and 15.9 folds higher than soybean and gluten, respectively. Comparing feed soybean and gluten, soybean has an environmental impact on human health 195.1 folds higher. In the case of biofertilizers, synthetic struvite has higher impacts than ammonium sulfate: 15.3 (ecosystems) and 11.8 (human health) fold, respectively. The results shown in the present study will be used as a reference to demonstrate the better environmental performance of the bio-based products obtained through the VALUEWASTE solution. Other originalities that the E-LCA performed in the VALUEWASTE project provides are the diverse direct implications on investment and policies. On one hand, better environmental performance will serve to remove the barriers linked to these kinds of technologies, boosting the investment that is backed by the E-LCA. On the other hand, it will be a germ to design new policies fostering these types of solutions to achieve two of the key targets of the European Community: being self-sustainable and carbon neutral.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biofertilizers, circular economy, nutrients recovery

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Authors: Lee Bih Ni, Emily Doreen Lee, Wee Hui Yean

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This paper was prepared to see the perceptions of online lectures regarding collaborative learning, in terms of how lecturers view online collaborative learning in the higher learning institution. The purpose of this study was conducted to determine the perceptions of online lectures about collaborative learning, especially how lecturers see online collaborative learning in the university. Adult learning education enhance collaborative learning culture with the target of involving learners in the learning process to make teaching and learning more effective and open at the university. This will finally make students learning that will assist each other. It is also to cut down the pressure of loneliness and isolation might felt among adult learners. Their ways in collaborative online was also determined. In this paper, researchers collect data using questionnaires instruments. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted. By analyzing the data, researchers report the results according the proof taken from the respondents. Results from the study, it is not only dependent on the lecturer but also a student to shape a good collaborative learning practice. Rational concepts and pattern to achieve these targets be clear right from the beginning and may be good seen by a number of proposals submitted and include how the higher learning institution has trained with ongoing lectures online. Advantages of online collaborative learning show that lecturers should be trained effectively. Studies have seen that the lecturer aware of online collaborative learning. This positive attitude will encourage the higher learning institution to continue to give the knowledge and skills required.

Keywords: collaborative online learning, lecturers’ training, learning, online

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Authors: Mohammed Alhawiti

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Assessment of Learning Management Systems has been of less importance than its due share. This paper investigates the evaluation of learning management systems (LMS) within educational setting as both an online learning system as well as a helpful tool for multidisciplinary learning environment. This study suggests a theoretical e-learning evaluation model, studying a multi-dimensional methods for evaluation through LMS system, service and content quality, learner`s perspective and attitudes of the instructor. A survey was conducted among 105 e-learners. The sample consisted of students at both undergraduate and master’s levels. Content validity, reliability were tested through the instrument, Findings suggested the suitability of the proposed model in evaluation for the satisfaction of learners through LMS. The results of this study would be valuable for both instructors and users of e-learning systems.

Keywords: e-learning, LMS, higher education, management systems

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Authors: Katarina Pogacnik, Ursa Zakrajsek, Nejc Sirk, Ziga Lampret

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Due to an increase in living standards along with global population growth and a trend of urbanization, municipalities and regions are faced with an ever rising energy demand. A challenge has arisen for cities around the world to modify the energy supply chain in order to reduce its consumption and CO₂ emissions. The aim of our work is the development of a computational-analytical platform for dynamic support in decision-making and the determination of economic and technical indicators of energy efficiency in a smart city, named Energy Atlas. Similar products in this field focuse on a narrower approach, whereas in order to achieve its aim, this platform encompasses a wider spectrum of beneficial and important information for energy planning on a local or regional scale. GIS based interactive maps provide an extensive database on the potential, use and supply of energy and renewable energy sources along with climate, transport and spatial data of the selected municipality. Beneficiaries of Energy atlas are local communities, companies, investors, contractors as well as residents. The Energy Atlas platform consists of three modules named E-Planning, E-Indicators and E-Cooperation. The E-Planning module is a comprehensive data service, which represents a support towards optimal decision-making and offers a sum of solutions and feasibility of measures and their effects in the area of efficient use of energy and renewable energy sources. The E-Indicators module identifies, collects and develops optimal data and key performance indicators and develops an analytical application service for dynamic support in managing a smart city in regards to energy use and sustainable environment. In order to support cooperation and direct involvement of citizens of the smart city, the E-cooperation is developed with the purpose of integrating the interdisciplinary and sociological aspects of energy end-users. Interaction of all the above-described modules contributes to regional development because it enables for a precise assessment of the current situation, strategic planning, detection of potential future difficulties and also the possibility of public involvement in decision-making. From the implementation of the technology in Slovenian municipalities of Ljubljana, Piran, and Novo mesto, there is evidence to suggest that the set goals are to be achieved to a great extent. Such thorough urban energy planning tool is viewed as an important piece of the puzzle towards achieving a low-carbon society, circular economy and therefore, sustainable society.

Keywords: circular economy, energy atlas, energy management, energy planning, low-carbon society

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Authors: Rana AlHajri, Salah Al-Sharhan, Ahmed Al-Hunaiyyan

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Mobile learning is a new learning landscape that offers opportunity for collaborative, personal, informal, and students’ centered learning environment. In implementing any learning system such as a mobile learning environment, learners’ expectations should be taken into consideration. However, there is a lack of studies on this aspect, particularly in the context of Kuwait higher education (HE) institutions. This study focused on how students perceive the use of mobile devices in learning. Although m-learning is considered as an effective educational tool in developed countries, it is not yet fully utilized in Kuwait. The study reports on the results of a survey conducted on 623 HE students in Kuwait to a better understand students' perceptions and opinions about the effectiveness of using mobile learning systems. An analysis of quantitative survey data is presented. The findings indicated that Kuwait HE students are very familiar with mobile devices and its applications. The results also reveal that students have positive perceptions of m-learning, and believe that video-based social media applications enhance the teaching and learning process.

Keywords: higher education, mobile learning, social media, students’ perceptions

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Authors: R. Ziaie Moayed, B. Mohammadi-Haji

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Stone columns have been widely employing to improve the load-settlement characteristics of soft soils. The results of two small scale displacement control loading tests on stone columns were used in order to validate numerical finite element simulations. Additionally, a series of numerical calculations of static loading have been performed on strengthened raft footing to investigate the effects of using stone columns on bearing capacity of footings. The bearing capacity of single and group of stone columns under static loading compares with unimproved ground.

Keywords: circular raft footing, numerical analysis, validation, vertically encased stone column

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Authors: Chalise Kiran

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The learning difficulties of children with disabilities are always a matter of concern when we talk about educational needs and quality education of children with disabilities. This paper is the outcome of the review of the literatures based on the literatures on the educational needs and learning difficulties of children with disabilities. For the paper, different studies written on children with disabilities and their education were collected through search engines. The literature put together was analyzed from the angle of learning difficulties faced by children with disabilities and the same were used as a precursor to arrive at the findings on the learning of the children. The analysis showed that children with disabilities face learning difficulties. The reasons for these difficulties could be attributed to factors in terms of authority, structure, school environment, and behaviors of teachers and parents, and the society as a whole.

Keywords: children with disabilities, learning difficulties, education, disabled children

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Authors: Suwaree Yordchim

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The objective is to study the satisfaction on English with an online learning. Online learning system mainly consists of English lessons, exercises, tests, web boards, and supplementary lessons for language practice. The sample groups are 80 Thai students studying English for Business Communication, majoring in Hotel and Lodging Management. The data are analyzed by mean, standard deviation (S.D.) value from the questionnaires. The results were found that the most average of satisfaction on academic aspects are technological searching tool through E-learning system that support the students’ learning (4.51), knowledge evaluation on prepost learning and teaching (4.45), and change for project selections according to their interest, subject contents including practice in the real situations (4.45), respectively.

Keywords: English language learning, online system, online learning, supplementary lessons

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Authors: Zixi You

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With the demand of multilingual speakers increasing in the job market, multi-language learning programs have become more and more popular among undergraduate students. A study on multi-language learning strategies is therefore highly demanded on both practical and theoretical levels. Based on previous classification of learning strategies in SLA, and an investigation of BA Modern Language program students (with post-A level L2 and ab initio L3 learning experience from year one), this study explores and compares different types of learning strategies used by multi-language speakers and learners, transferable learning strategies between L2 and L3, and factors affecting the transfer. The results indicate that all the 23 types of learning strategies of L2 are employed when learning L3 from ab initio level, yet with different tendencies. Learning strategy transfer from L2 to L3 (i.e., the learners attribute the applying of these L3 learning strategies to be a direct result of their L2 learning experience) are observed in all 23 types of learning strategies. Comparatively, six types of “cognitive strategies” have higher transfer tendency than others. With regard to the failure of the transfer of some particular L2 strategies and the development of independent L3 strategies of individual learners, factors such as language proficiency, language typology and learning environment have played important roles among others. The presentation of this study will provide audiences with detailed data, insightful analysis and discussion on both theoretical and practical aspects of multi-language learning that will benefit both students and educators.

Keywords: learning strategy, multi-language acquisition, second language acquisition, strategy transfer

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Authors: Matthew Montebello

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Student engagement within a virtual learning environment generates masses of data points that can significantly contribute to the learning analytics that lead to decision support. Ideally, similar data is collected during student interaction with a physical learning space, and as a consequence, data is present at a large scale, even in relatively small classes. In this paper, we report of such an occurrence during classes held in a HiFlex modality as we investigate the advantages of adopting such a methodology. We plan to take full advantage of the learner-generated data in an attempt to further enhance the effectiveness of the adopted learning environment. This could shed crucial light on operating modalities that higher education institutions around the world will switch to in a post-COVID era.

Keywords: HiFlex, big data in higher education, learning analytics, virtual learning environment

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Authors: Juan Manuel Real-Espinosa

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This paper addresses the first step to evaluate language learning apps: what theoretical framework to adopt when designing the app evaluation framework. The answer is not just one since there are several options that could be proposed. However, the question to be clarified is to what extent the learning design of apps is based on a specific learning approach, or on the contrary, on a fusion of elements from several theoretical proposals and paradigms, such as m-learning, mobile assisted language learning, and a number of theories about language acquisition. The present study suggests that the reality is closer to the second assumption. This implies that the theoretical framework against which the learning design of the apps should be evaluated must also be a hybrid theoretical framework, which integrates evaluation criteria from the different theories involved in language learning through mobile applications.

Keywords: mobile-assisted language learning, action-oriented approach, apps evaluation, post-method pedagogy, second language acquisition

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Authors: Sanjeeva Reddy, D. Vakula

Abstract:

A single layer, multi-band triangular patch antenna is proposed for WLAN/WiMAX applications with different polarization requirements. This probe feed patch is integrated with arc shaped slit to achieve circular polarized (CP) and linearly polarized (LP) radiation characteristics. The main contribution of antenna is to resonate the frequencies of 2.4 GHz with CP and 3.5 GHz, 5.28 GHz with LP. The design procedure of antenna is described and the performance is validated using measurements. Size of antenna is also reduced and provides stable gain at all resonant frequencies. Proposed structure also provides better enhancement in terms of 10-dB impedance bandwidth, achieved gain of 5.1, 5.6, and 2.9 dBi at respective bands.

Keywords: circular polarization, arc shaped slit, multi band antenna, triangular patch antenna, axial ratio

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