Search results for: multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis

Authors: Satam Alotibi, Haya A. Al-Sunaidi, Almaymunah M. AlRoibah, Zahraa H. Al-Omaran, Mohammed Alyami, Fatehia S. Alhakami, Abdellah Kaiba, Mazen Alshaaer, Talal F. Qahtan

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This research study presents a novel approach to harnessing the potential of natural geopolymer in conjunction with TiO₂ nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) for the development of highly efficient photocatalytic materials for water decontamination. The study begins with the formulation of a geopolymer paste derived from natural sources, which is subsequently applied as a coating on glass substrates and allowed to air-dry at room temperature. The result is a series of geopolymer-coated glass films, serving as the foundation for further experimentation. To enhance the photocatalytic capabilities of these films, a critical step involves immersing them in a suspension of TiO₂ nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) in water for varying durations. This immersion process yields geopolymer-loaded TiO₂ NPs films with varying concentrations, setting the stage for comprehensive characterization and analysis. A range of advanced analytical techniques, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), were meticulously employed to assess the structural, morphological, and chemical properties of the geopolymer-based TiO₂ films. These analyses provided invaluable insights into the materials' composition and surface characteristics. The culmination of this research effort sees the geopolymer-based TiO₂ films being repurposed as immobilized photocatalytic reactors for water decontamination under natural sunlight irradiation. Remarkably, the results revealed exceptional photocatalytic performance that exceeded the capabilities of conventional TiO₂-based photocatalysts. This breakthrough underscores the significant potential of natural geopolymer as a versatile and highly effective matrix for enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO₂ nanoparticles in water treatment applications. In summary, this study represents a significant advancement in the quest for sustainable and efficient photocatalytic materials for environmental remediation. By harnessing the synergistic effects of natural geopolymer and TiO₂ nanoparticles, these geopolymer-based films exhibit outstanding promise in addressing water decontamination challenges and contribute to the development of eco-friendly solutions for a cleaner and healthier environment.

Keywords: geopolymer, TiO2 nanoparticles, photocatalytic materials, water decontamination, sustainable remediation

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Authors: Diego Abbo

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On February 15, 2012 off the Indian coast of Kerala, in position 091702N-0760180E by the oil tanker Enrica Lexie, flying the Italian flag, bursts of 5.56 x45 caliber shots were fired from assault rifles AR/70 Italian-made Beretta towards the Indian fisher boat St. Anthony. The shots that hit the St. Anthony fishing boat were six, of which two killed the Indian fishermen Ajesh Pink and Valentine Jelestine. From the analysis concerning the kinematic engagement of the two ships and from the autopsy and ballistic results of the Indian judicial authorities it is possible to reconstruct the trajectories of the six aforementioned shots. This essay reconstructs the trajectories of the six shots that cannot be of direct shooting but have undergone a rebound on the water. The investigation carried out scientifically demonstrates the rebound of the blows on the water, the gyrostatic deviation due to the rebound and the tumbling effect always due to the rebound as regards intermediate ballistics. In consideration of the four shots that directly impacted the fishing vessel, the current examination proves, with scientific value, that the trajectories could not be downwards but upwards. Also, the trajectory of two shots that hit to death the two fishermen could not be downwards but only upwards. In fact, this paper demonstrates, with scientific value: The loss of speed of the projectiles due to the rebound on the water; The tumbling effect in the ballistic medium within the two victims; The permanent cavities subject to the injury ballistics and the related ballistic trauma that prevented homeostasis causing bleeding in one case; The thermo-hardening deformation of the bullet found in Valentine Jelestine's skull; The upward and non-downward trajectories. The paper constitutes a tool in forensic ballistics in that it manages to reconstruct, from the final spot of the projectiles fired, all phases of ballistics like the internal one of the weapons that fired, the intermediate one, the terminal one and the penetrative structural one. In general terms the ballistics reconstruction is based on measurable parameters whose entity is contained with certainty within a lower and upper limit. Therefore, quantities that refer to angles, speed, impact energy and firing position of the shooter can be identified within the aforementioned limits. Finally, the investigation into the internal bullet track, obtained from any autopsy examination, offers a significant “lesson learned” but overall a starting point to contain or mitigate bleeding as a rescue from future gunshot wounds.

Keywords: impact physics, intermediate ballistics, terminal ballistics, tumbling effect

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Authors: Charles Ruffner, Michael Manton, Gintautas Kibirkstis, Gediminas Brazaitas, Vitas Marozas, Ekaterine Makrickiene, Rutile Pukiene, Per Angelstam

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In dynamic boreal forests, fire is an important natural disturbance, which drives regeneration and mortality of living and dead trees, and thus successional trajectories. However, current forest management practices focusing on wood production only have effectively eliminated fire as a stand-level disturbance. While this is generally well studied across much of Europe, in Lithuania, little is known about the historic fire regime and the role fire plays as a management tool towards the sustainable management of future landscapes. Focusing on Scots pine forests, we explore; i) the relevance of fire disturbance regimes on forestlands of Lithuania; ii) fire occurrence in the Dzukija landscape for dry upland and peatland forest sites, and iii) correlate tree-ring data with climate variables to ascertain climatic influences on growth and fire occurrence. We sampled and cross-dated 132 Scots pine samples with fire scars from 4 dry pine forest stands and 4 peatland forest stands, respectively. The fire history of each sample was analyzed using standard dendrochronological methods and presented in FHAES format. Analyses of soil moisture and nutrient conditions revealed a strong probability of finding forests that have a high fire frequency in Scots pine forests (59%), which cover 34.5% of Lithuania’s current forestland. The fire history analysis revealed 455 fire scars and 213 fire events during the period 1742-2019. Within the Dzukija landscape, the mean fire interval was 4.3 years for the dry Scots pine forest and 8.7 years for the peatland Scots pine forest. However, our comparison of fire frequency before and after 1950 shows a marked decrease in mean fire interval. Our data suggest that hemi-boreal forest landscapes of Lithuania provide strong evidence that fire, both human and lightning-ignited fires, has been and should be a natural phenomenon and that the examination of biological archives can be used to guide sustainable forest management into the future. Currently, fire use is prohibited by law as a tool for forest management in Lithuania. We recommend introducing trials that use low-intensity prescribed burning of Scots pine stands as a regeneration tool towards mimicking natural forest disturbance regimes.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation, cultural burning, dendrochronology, forest dynamics, forest management, succession

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Authors: Somnath Mukhuti, Prem Kumar Ghosh

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Background and significance of the study Indian stock market has undergone sudden changes after the current China crisis in terms of turnover, market capitalization, share prices, etc. The average returns on equity investment in both markets have more than three and half times after global financial crisis owing to the development of industrial activity, corporate sectors development, enhancement in global consumption, change of global financial association and fewer imports from developed countries. But the economic policies of both the economies are far different, that is to say, where Indian economy maintaining a conservative policy, Chinese economy maintaining an aggressive policy. Besides this, Chinese economy recently lowering its currency for increasing mysterious growth but Indian does not. But on August 24, 2015 Indian stock market and world stock markets were fall down due to the reason of Chinese stock market. Keeping in view of the above, this study seeks to examine the influence of Chinese stock on Indian stock market. Methodology This research work is based on daily time series data obtained from yahoo finance database between 2009 (April 1) to 2015 (September 28). This study is based on two important stock markets, that is, Indian stock market (Bombay Stock Exchange) and Chinese stock market (Shanghai Stock Exchange). In the course of analysis, the daily raw data were converted into natural logarithm for minimizing the problem of heteroskedasticity. While tackling the issue, correlation statistics, ADF and PP unit root test, bivariate cointegration test and causality test were used. Major findings Correlation statistics show that both stock markets are associated positively. Both ADF and PP unit root test results demonstrate that the time series data were not normal and were not stationary at level however stationary at 1st difference. The bivariate cointegration test results indicate that the Indian stock market was associated with Chinese stock market in the long-run. The Granger causality test illustrates there was a unidirectional causality between Indian stock market and Chinese stock market. Concluding statement The empirical results recommend that India’s stock market was not very much dependent on Chinese stock market because of Indian economic conservative policies. Nevertheless, Indian stock market might be sturdy if Indian economic policies are changed slightly and if increases the portfolio investment with Chinese economy. Indian economy might be a third largest economy in 2030 if India increases its portfolio investment and trade relations with both Chinese economy and US economy.

Keywords: Indian stock market, China stock market, bivariate cointegration, causality test

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Authors: K. X. Cheng, A. L. Goh, K. T. Ooi

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The effectiveness of microchannels in enhancing heat transfer has been demonstrated in the semiconductor industry. In order to tap the microscale heat transfer effects into macro geometries, overcoming the cost and technological constraints, microscale passages were created in macro geometries machined using conventional fabrication methods. A cylindrical insert was placed within a pipe, and geometrical profiles were created on the outer surface of the insert to enhance heat transfer under steady-state single-phase liquid flow conditions. However, while heat transfer coefficient values of above 10 kW/m2·K were achieved, the heat transfer enhancement was accompanied by undesirable pressure drop increment. Therefore, this study aims to address the high pressure drop issue using Constructal theory, a universal design law for both animate and inanimate systems. Two designs based on Constructal theory were developed to study the effectiveness of Constructal features in reducing the pressure drop increment as compared to parallel channels, which are commonly found in microchannel fabrication. The hydrodynamic and heat transfer performance for the Tree insert and Constructal fin (Cfin) insert were studied using experimental methods, and the underlying mechanisms were substantiated by numerical results. In technical terms, the objective is to achieve at least comparable increment in both heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop, if not higher increment in the former parameter. Results show that the Tree insert improved the heat transfer performance by more than 16 percent at low flow rates, as compared to the Tree-parallel insert. However, the heat transfer enhancement reduced to less than 5 percent at high Reynolds numbers. On the other hand, the pressure drop increment stayed almost constant at 20 percent. This suggests that the Tree insert has better heat transfer performance in the low Reynolds number region. More importantly, the Cfin insert displayed improved heat transfer performance along with favourable hydrodynamic performance, as compared to Cfinparallel insert, at all flow rates in this study. At 2 L/min, the enhancement of heat transfer was more than 30 percent, with 20 percent pressure drop increment, as compared to Cfin-parallel insert. Furthermore, comparable increment in both heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop was observed at 8 L/min. In other words, the Cfin insert successfully achieved the objective of this study. Analysis of the results suggests that bifurcation of flows is effective in reducing the increment in pressure drop relative to heat transfer enhancement. Optimising the geometries of the Constructal fins is therefore the potential future study in achieving a bigger stride in energy efficiency at much lower costs.

Keywords: constructal theory, enhanced heat transfer, microchannel, pressure drop

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Authors: Blessings Masuku

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This study positions itself within the nascent of street food vending that plays a crucial role in addressing urban household food security across the urban landscape of South Africa. The study aimed to understand how various forms of infrastructure systems (i.e., energy, water and sanitation, housing, and transport, among others) intersect with food and urban informality and how vendors and households’ choices and decisions made around food are influenced by infrastructure assemblages. This study noted that most of the literature studies on food security have mainly focused on the rural agricultural sector, with limited attention to urban food security, notably the role of informality practices in addressing urban food insecurity at the household level. This study pays close attention to how informal informality practices such as street food vending can be used as a catalyst to address urban poverty and household food security and steer local economies for sustainable livelihoods of the urban poor who live in the periphery of the city in Johannesburg. This study deconstructs the infrastructure needs of street food vendors, and the aim was to understand how such infrastructure needs intersect with food and policy that governs urban informality practices. The study argues that the decisions and choices of informality actors in the city of Johannesburg are chiefly determined by the assemblages of infrastructure, including regulatory frameworks that govern the informal sector in the city of Johannesburg. A qualitative approach that includes surveys (open-ended questions), archival research (i., e policy and other key document reviews), and key interviews mainly with city officials and informality actors. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected. This study contributes to greater debates on urban studies and burgeoning literature on urban food security in many ways that include Firstly, the pivotal role that the informal food sector, notably street food vending, plays within the urban economy to address urban poverty and household food security, therefore questioning the conservative perspectives that view the informal sector as a hindrance to a ‘modern city’ and an annoyance to ‘modern’ urban spaces. Secondly, this study contributes to the livelihood and coping strategies of the urban poor who, despite harsh and restrictive regulatory frameworks, devise various agentive ways to generate incomes and address urban poverty and food insecurities.

Keywords: urban food security, street food vending, informal food sector, infrastructure systems, livelihood strategies, policy framework and governance

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Authors: Ibrahim Elshaer, Samar Kamel

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Organizational politics (OP) has received a great deal of attention in the management literature due to its popularity, mystery, and potential advantages for those how can use it. It involves the use of power and social networks within an organization to promote interests and gain potential benefits. Its implication for human resource (HR) management decisions is heretofore one of its least studied aspects, and awaits further investigation. Therefore, it is our intention to investigate certain relations between organizational politics and the validity of HR decisions in addition to the expected dysfunctional consequences. The study is undertaken on two HR management practices- Performance appraisal (measured by the distributive justice scale) and downsizing- depending on data gathered from the hotel industry in Egypt; a developing Non-Western country, in which Political practices of HR management are common in public and private organizations. Data was obtained from a survey of 600 employees in the Egyptian hotel industry. A total of 500 responses were attained. 100 uncompleted questionnaires were excluded leaving 400 usable with response rate of around 80%. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the causal relationship between the research variables. The analysis of the current study data reveals that organizational politics is negatively linked to the perception of distributive justice of performance appraisal, additionally, the perception of distributive justice in performance appraisal is positively linked to the perception of validity in the downsizing decisions and finally the perception of OP is negatively linked to the perception of downsizing decisions validity. This study makes three important contributions. First although there have been several studies on OP, the majority of these studies have focused on examining its effect on employees’ attitudes in workplace. This empirical study helps in identifying the influence of OP on the effectiveness and success of HR decisions and accordingly the organizational system. Second, it draws attention to OP as an important phenomenon that influence HR management in hospitality industry, since empirical evidences concerning OP in the hospitality management literature are meager. Third, this study contributes to the existing downsizing literature by examining OP and low distributive justice as challenges of the effectiveness of the downsizing process. Finally, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no empirical study in the tourism and hospitality management literature has examined the effect of OP and distributive justice on the workplace using data gathered from the hotel industry in Egypt; a developing non-Western setting.

Keywords: organizational politics, performance appraisal, downsizing, structural equation modeling, hotel industry

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Authors: H. Shahid

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Due to Ozone layer depletion on earth, the incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation is recorded at its high index levels such as 25 in South Peru (13.5° S, 3360 m a.s.l.) Also, the planning of human inhabitation on Mars is under discussion where UV radiations are quite high. The exposure to UV is health hazardous and is avoided by UV filters. On the other hand, artificial UV sources are in use for water thermolysis to generate Hydrogen and Oxygen, which are later used as fuels. This paper presents the utility of employing UVA (315-400nm) and UVB (280-315nm) electromagnetic radiation from the solar spectrum to design and implement an optically active, Hydrogen and Oxygen generation system via thermolysis of desalinated seawater. The proposed system finds its utility on earth and can be deployed in the future on Mars (UVB). In this system, by using Fresnel lens arrays as an optical filter and via active tracking, the ultraviolet light from the sun is concentrated and then allowed to fall on two sub-systems of the proposed system. The first sub-system generates electrical energy by using UV based tandem photovoltaic cells such as GaAs/GaInP/GaInAs/GaInAsP and the second elevates temperature of water to lower the electric potential required to electrolyze the water. An empirical analysis is performed at 30 atm and an electrical potential is observed to be the main controlling factor for the rate of production of Hydrogen and Oxygen and hence the operating point (Q-Point) of the proposed system. The hydrogen production rate in the case of the commercial system in static mode (650ᵒC, 0.6V) is taken as a reference. The silicon oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) is used in the proposed (UV) system for the Hydrogen and Oxygen production. To achieve the same amount of Hydrogen as in the case of the reference system, with minimum chamber operating temperature of 850ᵒC in static mode, the corresponding required electrical potential is calculated as 0.3V. However, practically, the Hydrogen production rate is observed to be low in comparison to the reference system at 850ᵒC at 0.3V. However, it has been shown empirically that the Hydrogen production can be enhanced and by raising the electrical potential to 0.45V. It increases the production rate to the same level as is of the reference system. Therefore, 850ᵒC and 0.45V are assigned as the Q-point of the proposed system which is actively stabilized via proportional integral derivative controllers which adjust the axial position of the lens arrays for both subsystems. The functionality of the controllers is based on maintaining the chamber fixed at 850ᵒC (minimum operating temperature) and 0.45V; Q-Point to realize the same Hydrogen production rate as-is for the reference system.

Keywords: hydrogen, oxygen, thermolysis, ultraviolet

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Authors: Bernard Tan

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The paper presents a conceptual framework which serves as an art model of Singapore artistic identity. Specifically, the study examines Singapore's artistic identity through the artworks of the country’s significant artists covering the period 1950s to the present. Literature review will discuss the challenges of favouring or choosing one artist over the other. Methodology provides an overview of the perspectives of local artists and surveys Singapore’s artistic histories through qualitative interviews and case studies. Analysis from qualitative data reveals that producing works of accrued visual significance for the country which captures it zeitgeist further strengthens artist’s artistic identity, and consequently, their works remembered by future generations. The paper presents a conceptual framework for Singapore’s artistic identity by categorising it into distinctive categories or Periods: Colonial Period (pre-1965); Nation Building Period (1965-1988); Globalisation Period (1989-2000); Paternal Production Period (2001-2015); and A New Era (2015-present). Godalisation, coined from God and Globalisation – by artist and art collector, Teng Jee Hum – is a direct reference to the godlike influence on Singapore by its founding Father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the country’s first Prime Minister who steered the city state “from Third World to First” for close to half a century, from 1965 to his passing in 2015. A detailed schema showing important factors in different art categories: key global geopolitics, key local social-politics, and significant events will be analysed in depth. Main artist groups or artist initiatives which evolved in Singapore during the different Periods from pre-1965 to the present will be categorized and discussed. Taken as a whole, all these periods collectively add up to the Godalisation Era; impacted by the social-political events and historical period of the nation, and captured through the visual representation of the country’s significant artists in their attempt at either visualizing or mythologizing the Singapore Story. The author posits a co-relation between a nation’s economic success and the value or price appreciation of the country’s artist of significance artworks. The paper posed a rhetorical question: “Which Singapore’s artist will historian of the future – and by extension, the people of the country from future generations – remember? Who will remain popular? Whilst which artists will be forgotten.” The searching question: “Who will survive, be remembered in the annals of history and, above all, how to ensure the survival of one’s nation artistic identity? The art that last will probably be determined by the future, in the future, where art historians pontificate from a later vantage point.

Keywords: artistic identity, art collection, godalisation, singapore

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Authors: P. Crosby, Shiva Krishna Pavuluri, S. Rajkumar

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Purpose: Occupied built-up space can be broadly classified as air-conditioned and naturally ventilated. Regardless of the building type, the objective of all occupied built-up space is to provide a thermally acceptable environment for human occupancy. Considering this aspect, air-conditioned spaces allow a greater degree of flexibility to control and modulate the comfort parameters during the operation phase. However, in the case of naturally ventilated space, a number of design features favoring indoor thermal comfort should be mandatorily conceptualized starting from the design phase. One such primary design feature that requires to be prioritized is, selection of building envelope material, as it decides the flow of energy from outside environment to occupied spaces. Research Methodology: In India and many countries across globe, the standardized material used for building envelope is re-enforced concrete (i.e. M-25 grade concrete). The comfort inside the RC built environment for warm & humid climate (i.e. mid-day temp of 30-35˚C, diurnal variation of 5-8˚C & RH of 70-90%) is unsatisfying to say the least. This study is mainly focused on reviewing the impact of mix design of conventional M25 grade concrete on inside thermal comfort. In this mix design, air entrainment in the range of 2000 to 2100 kg/m3 is introduced to reduce the density of M-25 grade concrete. Thermal performance parameters & indoor comfort indices are analyzed for the proposed mix and compared in relation to the conventional M-25 grade. There are diverse methodologies which govern indoor comfort calculation. In this study, three varied approaches specifically a) Indian Adaptive Thermal comfort model, b) Tropical Summer Index (TSI) c) Air temperature less than 33˚C & RH less than 70% to calculate comfort is adopted. The data required for the thermal comfort study is acquired by field measurement approach (i.e. for the new mix design) and simulation approach by using design builder (i.e. for the conventional concrete grade). Findings: The analysis points that the Tropical Summer Index has a higher degree of stringency in determining the occupant comfort band whereas also providing a leverage in thermally tolerable band over & above other methodologies in the context of the study. Another important finding is the new mix design ensures a 10% reduction in indoor air temperature (IAT) over the outdoor dry bulb temperature (ODBT) during the day. This translates to a significant temperature difference of 6 ˚C IAT and ODBT.

Keywords: Indian adaptive thermal comfort, indoor air temperature, thermal comfort, tropical summer index

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Authors: Selvaprakash Ramalingam, Rabi N. Sahoo, Dharmendra Saraswat, A. Kumar, Rajeev Ranjan, Joydeep Mukerjee, Viswanathan Chinnasamy, K. K. Chaturvedi, Sanjeev Kumar

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Rice is one of the most important staple food crops in the world. Among the various diseases that affect rice crops, rice blast is particularly significant, causing crop yield and economic losses. While the plant has defense mechanisms in place, such as chemical indicators (proteins, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, and azelaic acid) and resistance genes in certain varieties that can protect against diseases, susceptible varieties remain vulnerable to these fungal diseases. Early prediction of rice blast (RB) disease is crucial, but conventional techniques for early prediction are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Hyperspectral remote sensing techniques hold the potential to predict RB disease at its asymptomatic stage. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the prediction of RB disease at the asymptomatic stage using non-imaging hyperspectral ASD spectroradiometer under controlled laboratory conditions. We applied statistical spectral discrimination theory to identify unknown spectra of M. Oryzae, the fungus responsible for rice blast disease. The infrared (IR) region was found to be significantly affected by RB disease. These changes may result in alterations in the absorption, reflection, or emission of infrared radiation by the affected plant tissues. Our research revealed that the protein spectrum in the IR region is impacted by RB disease. In our study, we identified strong correlations in the region (Amide group - I) around X 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm with the Lambda / Lambda derived spectra methods for protein detection. During the stages when the disease is developing, typically from day 3 to day 5, the plant's defense mechanisms are not as effective. This is especially true for the PB-1 variety of rice, which is highly susceptible to rice blast disease. Consequently, the proteins in the plant are adversely affected during this critical time. The spectral contour plot reveals the highly correlated spectral regions 1064 nm and Y 1300 nm associated with RB disease infection. Based on these spectral sensitivities, we developed new spectral disease indices for predicting different stages of disease emergence. The goal of this research is to lay the foundation for future UAV and satellite-based studies aimed at long-term monitoring of RB disease.

Keywords: rice blast, asymptomatic stage, spectral sensitivity, IR

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Authors: Carol Howells, Edwin Parks

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This paper explores the existing and evolving constitutional arrangements within the United Kingdom and within the wider international context of the EU. It considers the nature of an ‘English’ constitution and internal colonialism that underpins it. The debates over the UK’s exit from the EU have been many however the constitutional position of the devolved nations (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) is little understood or explored. Their constitutional position has been touched upon in academic debate (but not widely) and is only now beginning to receive attention. The paper considers the constitutional role of the legislatures within the UK; the UK Parliament Bill for exiting the European Union and provides a commentary on the Brexit process in relation to constitutional arrangements within the UK and EU. Questions arise over the constitutional framework and, whether, having delegated competencies, the UK Parliament can now legislate in relation to delegated competencies without the consent. The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are a permanent and a fixed feature of the UK’s constitution, but their position is set within the traditional concept of the ‘English’ constitution. The current situation is opaque and complex and raises significant constitutional questions. In relation to exit from the EU two of the nations did not vote in favour of Brexit and the third is in receipt of an inequitable funding settlement. Questions arise as to whether the work of modernising the UK’s constitution over the past twenty years in recognising the Nations and governments within those nations is now being unpicked and whether the piecemeal and unequal process of devolution and new constitutional arrangements hold weight. Questions of democratic legitimacy arise throughout. An advisory referendum (where no definition of the EU was provided) in which two of the four nations voted to leave the EU and two voted to remain has led the UK Government negotiating a wholesale exit from the EU based on ‘English’ constitutional law principles. Previous constitutional referendums in relation to devolution within the UK have been treated differently. Within the EU questions are being raised in relation to the focus on member states. The goals of the EU mention member countries and its purpose is seen as being to promote greater social, political and economic harmony among the nations of Europe. The emphasis on member states is proving challenging and has led flawed processes. Scrutiny of legislative proposals, historical developments, and social commentary reveal distinct national identities within the UK. Analysis of the debate, legislation and case law surrounding the exiting process from the EU reveal a muddled picture of a constitution in crisis and significant challenges to principles underpinning the rule of law. Suggestions are made for future reforms and a move towards new constitutional arrangements beyond the current ‘English’ constitution.

Keywords: English, constitution, parliament, devolved

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Authors: Eugene Y. J. Aw, J. W. Koh, S. H. Chew, K. E. Chua, P. L. Goh, Grace H. B. Foo, M. L. Leong

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This paper presents the evaluation of various soil testing methods such as the four-probe soil electrical resistivity method and cone penetration test (CPT) that can complement a newly developed novel rapid soil classification scheme using computer vision, to improve the accuracy and productivity of on-site classification of excavated soil. In Singapore, excavated soils from the local construction industry are transported to Staging Grounds (SGs) to be reused as fill material for land reclamation. Excavated soils are mainly categorized into two groups (“Good Earth” and “Soft Clay”) based on particle size distribution (PSD) and water content (w) from soil investigation reports and on-site visual survey, such that proper treatment and usage can be exercised. However, this process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Thus, a rapid classification method is needed at the SGs. Four-probe soil electrical resistivity and CPT were evaluated for their feasibility as suitable additions to the computer vision system to further develop this innovative non-destructive and instantaneous classification method. The computer vision technique comprises soil image acquisition using an industrial-grade camera; image processing and analysis via calculation of Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) textural parameters; and decision-making using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). It was found from the previous study that the ANN model coupled with ρ can classify soils into “Good Earth” and “Soft Clay” in less than a minute, with an accuracy of 85% based on selected representative soil images. To further improve the technique, the following three items were targeted to be added onto the computer vision scheme: the apparent electrical resistivity of soil (ρ) measured using a set of four probes arranged in Wenner’s array, the soil strength measured using a modified mini cone penetrometer, and w measured using a set of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probes. Laboratory proof-of-concept was conducted through a series of seven tests with three types of soils – “Good Earth”, “Soft Clay,” and a mix of the two. Validation was performed against the PSD and w of each soil type obtained from conventional laboratory tests. The results show that ρ, w and CPT measurements can be collectively analyzed to classify soils into “Good Earth” or “Soft Clay” and are feasible as complementing methods to the computer vision system.

Keywords: computer vision technique, cone penetration test, electrical resistivity, rapid and non-destructive, soil classification

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Authors: Arul Ayyaswami, Vidhya Ramalingam

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have emerged as a significant environmental concern due to their ubiquity and persistence in the environment. Their chemical characteristics and adverse effects on human health demands more effective and sustainable solutions in remediation of the PFAS. The work presented here encompasses an overview of treatment technologies with two case studies that utilize effective approaches in addressing PFAS contaminated media. Currently the options for treatment of PFAS compounds include Activated carbon adsorption, Ion Exchange, Membrane Filtration, Advanced oxidation processes, Electrochemical treatment, and Precipitation and Coagulation. In the first case study, a pilot study application of colloidal activated carbon (CAC) was completed to address PFAS from aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) used to extinguish a large fire. The pilot study was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of a CAC in situ permeable reactive barrier (PRB) in effectively stopping the migration of PFOS and PFOA, moving from the source area at high concentrations. Before the CAC PRB installation, an injection test using - fluorescein dye was conducted to determine the primary fracture-induced groundwater flow pathways. A straddle packer injection delivery system was used to isolate discrete intervals and gain resolution over the 70 feet saturated zone targeted for treatment. Flow rates were adjusted, and aquifer responses were recorded for each interval. The results from the injection test were used to design the pilot test injection plan using CAC PRB. Following the CAC PRB application, the combined initial concentration 91,400 ng/L of PFOS and PFOA were reduced to approximately 70 ng/L (99.9% reduction), after only one month following the injection event. The results demonstrate the remedy's effectiveness to quickly and safely contain high concentrations of PFAS in fractured bedrock, reducing the risk to downgradient receptors. The second study involves developing a reductive defluorination treatment process using UV and electron acceptor. This experiment indicates a significant potential in treatment of PFAS contaminated waste media such as landfill leachates. The technology also shows a promising way of tacking these contaminants without the need for secondary waste disposal or any additional pre-treatments.

Keywords: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), colloidal activated carbon (CAC), destructive PFAS treatment technology, aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF)

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Authors: Ahmed F. Ghanem, Marwa I. Wahba, Asmaa N. El-Dein, Mohamed A. EL-Raey, Ghada E. A. Awad

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Numerous attempts are being performed in order to formulate suitable packaging materials for the meat products. However, to the best of our knowledge, the incorporation of the free hibiscus extract or its microcapsules in the pure polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix as packaging materials for the meats is seldom reported. Therefore, this study aims at the protection of the aqueous crude extract of the hibiscus flowers utilizing the spry drying encapsulation technique. Results of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), the scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the particle size analyzer confirmed the successful formation of the assembled capsules via strong interactions, the spherical rough microparticles, and the particle size of ~ 235 nm, respectively. Also, the obtained microcapsules enjoy higher thermal stability than the free extract. Then, the obtained spray-dried particles were incorporated into the casting solution of the pure PVA film with a concentration of 10 wt. %. The segregated free-standing composite films were investigated, compared to the neat matrix, with several characterization techniques such as FTIR, SEM, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical tester, contact angle, water vapor permeability, and oxygen transmission. The results demonstrated variations in the physicochemical properties of the PVA film after the inclusion of the free and the extract microcapsules. Moreover, biological studies emphasized the biocidal potential of the hybrid films against the microorganisms contaminating the meat. Specifically, the microcapsules imparted not only antimicrobial but also antioxidant activities to the PVA matrix. Application of the prepared films on the real meat samples displayed a low bacterial growth with a slight increase in the pH over the storage time which continued up to 10 days at 4 oC, as further evidence to the meat safety. Moreover, the colors of the films did not significantly changed except after 21 days indicating the spoilage of the meat samples. No doubt, the dual-functional of the prepared composite films pave the way towards combined active and smart food packaging applications. This would play a vital role in the food hygiene, including also the quality control and the assurance.

Keywords: PVA, hibiscus, extraction, encapsulation, active packaging, smart and intelligent packaging, meat spoilage

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Toumi Khamari

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This abstract presents an ecolinguistic investigation of the role of language in cultivating environmental consciousness within the Algerian context. Grounded in the field of applied linguistics, this study aims to explore how language shapes perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to the environment in Algeria. By examining linguistic practices and discourse patterns, this research sheds light on the potential for language to inspire ecological sustainability and foster environmental awareness. Employing a qualitative research design, the study incorporates discourse analysis and ethnographic methods to analyze language use and its environmental implications. Drawing from Algerian linguistic and cultural contexts, we investigate the unique ways in which language reflects and influences environmental consciousness among Algerian individuals and communities. This research explores the impact of linguistic features, metaphors, and narratives on environmental perceptions, addressing the complex interplay between language, culture, and the natural world. Previous studies have emphasized the significance of language in shaping environmental ideologies and worldviews. In the Algerian context, linguistic representations of nature, such as traditional proverbs and indigenous knowledge, hold immense potential in cultivating a harmonious relationship between humans and the environment. This research delves into the multifaceted connections between language, cultural heritage, and ecological sustainability, aiming to identify linguistic practices that promote environmental stewardship and conservation in Algeria. Furthermore, the study investigates the effectiveness of ecolinguistic interventions tailored to the Algerian context. By examining the impact of eco-education programs, eco-literature, and language-based environmental campaigns, we aim to uncover the potential of language as a catalyst for transformative environmental change. These interventions seek to engage Algerian individuals and communities in dialogue, empowering them to take active roles in environmental advocacy and decision-making processes. Through this research, we contribute to the field of ecolinguistics by shedding light on the Algerian perspective and its implications for environmental consciousness. By understanding the linguistic dynamics at play and leveraging Algeria's rich linguistic heritage, we can foster environmental awareness, encourage sustainable practices, and nurture a deeper appreciation for Algeria's unique ecological landscapes. Ultimately, this research seeks to inspire a collective commitment to environmental stewardship and contribute to the global discourse on language, culture, and the environment.

Keywords: eco-linguistics, environmental consciousness, language and culture, Algeria and North Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Homeira Asadi Kavan, Seyed Nasrollah Sajjadi, Mehrzade Hamidi, Hossein Rajabi, Mahdi Bigdely

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Positioning strategies of a sports brand can create a unique impression in the minds of the fans, sponsors, and other stakeholders. In order to influence potential customer's perception in an effective and positive way, a brands positioning strategy must be unique, credible, and relevant. Many sports clubs in Iran have been struggling to implement and achieve brand positioning accomplishments, due to different reasons such as lack of experience, scarcity of experts in the sports branding, and lack of related researches in this field. This study will provide a comprehensive theoretical framework and action plan for sport managers and marketers to design and implement effective brand positioning and to enable them to be distinguishable from competing brands and sports clubs. The study instrument is interviews with sports marketing and brand experts who have been working in this industry for a minimum of 20 years. Qualitative data analysis was performed using Atlast.ti text mining software version 7 and Open, axial and selective coding were employed to uncover and systematically analyze important and complex phenomena and elements. The findings show 199 effective elements in positioning strategies in Iran Professional Soccer League. These elements are categorized into 23 concepts and sub-categories as follows: Structural prerequisites, Strategic management prerequisites, Commercial prerequisites, Major external prerequisites, Brand personality, Club symbols, Emotional aspects, Event aspects, Fans’ strategies, Marketing information strategies, Marketing management strategies, Empowerment strategies, Executive management strategies, League context, Fans’ background, Market context, Club’s organizational context, Support context, Major contexts, Political-Legal elements, Economic factors, Social factors, and Technological factors. Eventually, the study model was developed by 6 main dimensions of Causal prerequisites, Axial Phenomenon (brand position), Strategies, Context Factors, Interfering Factors, and Consequences. Based on the findings, practical recommendations and strategies are suggested that can help club managers and marketers in developing and improving their respective sport clubs, brand positioning, and activities.

Keywords: brand positioning, soccer club, sport marketing, Iran professional soccer league, brand strategy

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Chua Si Wen Alicia, Marcus Goh Tian Xi, Eunice Gan Ghee Wu, Helen Bound, Lee Liang Ying, Albert Lee

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In a world full of rapid changes, people often need a set of skills to help them navigate an ever-changing workscape. These skills, often known as “future-oriented skills,” include learning to learn, critical thinking, understanding multiple perspectives, and knowledge creation. Future-oriented skills are typically assumed to be domain-general, applicable to multiple domains, and can be cultivated through a learning approach called Dialogical Inquiry. Dialogical Inquiry is known for its benefits of making sense of multiple perspectives, encouraging critical thinking, and developing learner’s capability to learn. However, it currently exists as a quantitative tool, which makes it hard to track and compare learning processes over time. With these concerns, the present research aimed to develop and validate a quantitative tool for the Map of Dialogical Inquiry, focusing Imagining aspect of learning. The Imagining aspect four dimensions: 1) speculative/ look for alternatives, 2) risk taking/ break rules, 3) create/ design, and 4) vision/ imagine. To do so, an exploratory literature review was conducted to better understand the dimensions of Imagining. This included deep-diving into the history of the creation of the Map of Dialogical Inquiry and a review on how “Imagining” has been conceptually defined in the field of social psychology, education, and beyond. Then, we synthesised and validated scales. These scales measured the dimension of Imagination and related concepts like creativity, divergent thinking regulatory focus, and instrumental risk. Thereafter, items were adapted from the aforementioned procured scales to form items that would contribute to the preliminary version of the Imagining Scale. For scale validation, 250 participants were recruited. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) sought to establish dimensionality of the Imagining Scale with an iterative procedure in item removal. Reliability and validity of the scale’s dimensions were sought through measurements of Cronbach’s alpha, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. While CFA found that the distinction of Imagining’s four dimensions could not be validated, the scale was able to establish high reliability with a Cronbach alpha of .96. In addition, the convergent validity of the Imagining scale was established. A lack of strong discriminant validity may point to overlaps with other components of the Dialogical Map as a measure of learning. Thus, a holistic approach to forming the tool – encompassing all eight different components may be preferable.

Keywords: learning, education, imagining, pedagogy, dialogical teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Fernando Antonio Bacchim Neto, Allan Felipe Fattori Alves, Maria Eugênia Dela Rosa, Regina Moura, Diana Rodrigues De Pina

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Interventional Radiology is the radiology modality that provides the highest dose values to medical staff. Recent researches show that personal dosimeters may underestimate dose values in interventional physicians, especially in extremities (hands and feet) and eye lens. The aim of this work was to study radiation exposure levels of medical staff in different interventional radiology procedures and estimate the annual maximum numbers of procedures (AMN) that each physician could perform without exceed the annual limits of dose established by normative. For this purpose LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-100) dosimeters were positioned in different body regions of the interventional physician (eye lens, thyroid, chest, gonads, hand and foot) above the radiological protection vests as lead apron and thyroid shield. Attenuation values for lead protection vests were based on international guidelines. Based on these data were chosen as 90% attenuation of the lead vests and 60% attenuation of the protective glasses. 25 procedures were evaluated: 10 diagnostics, 10 angioplasty, and 5-aneurysm treatment. The AMN of diagnostic procedures was 641 for the primary interventional radiologist and 930 for the assisting interventional radiologist. For the angioplasty procedures, the AMN for primary interventional radiologist was 445 and for assisting interventional radiologist was 1202. As for the procedures of aneurism treatment, the AMN for the primary interventional radiologist was 113 and for the assisting interventional radiologist were 215. All AMN were limited by the eye lens doses already considering the use of protective glasses. In all categories evaluated, the higher dose values are found in gonads and in the lower regions of professionals, both for the primary interventionist and for the assisting, but the eyes lens dose limits are smaller than these regions. Additional protections as mobile barriers, which can be positioned between the interventionist and the patient, can decrease the exposures in the eye lens, providing a greater protection for the medical staff. The alternation of professionals to perform each type of procedure can reduce the dose values received by them over a period. The analysis of dose profiles proposed in this work showed that personal dosimeters positioned in chest might underestimate dose values in other body parts of the interventional physician, especially in extremities and eye lens. As each body region of the interventionist is subject to different levels of exposure, dose distribution in each region provides a better approach to what actions are necessary to ensure the radiological protection of medical staff.

Keywords: interventional radiology, radiation protection, occupationally exposed individual, hemodynamic

Procedia PDF Downloads 396

Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh, Bhabani Prasad Mukhopadhyay

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The increasing demand for environmentally friendly energy solutions highlights the need to optimize solar energy systems. This study compares two types of solar energy systems: ground-mounted solar panels for drought-prone locations and rooftop solar PV installations measuring 300 sq. ft. (approx. 28 sq. m.). The electricity output of 4730 kWh/year saves ₹ 14191/year. As a clean and sustainable energy source, solar power is pivotal in reducing greenhouse gas CO2 emissions reduction by 85 tonnes in 25 years and combating climate change. This effort, "PM Suryadaya Ghar-Muft Bijli Yojana," seeks to empower Indian homes by giving free access to solar energy. The initiative is part of the Indian government's larger attempt to encourage clean and renewable energy sources while reducing reliance on traditional fossil fuels. This report reviews various installations and government reports to analyse the performance and impact of both ground-mounted and rooftop solar systems. Besides, effectiveness of government subsidy programs for residential on-grid solar systems, including the ₹78,000 incentive for systems above 3 kW. The study also looks into the subsidy schemes available for domestic agricultural grid use. Systems up to 3 kW receive ₹43,764, while systems over 10 kW receive a fixed subsidy of ₹94,822. Households can save a substantial amount of energy and minimize their reliance on grid electricity by installing the proper solar plant capacity. In terms of monthly consumption at home, the acceptable Rooftop Solar Plant capacity for households is 0-150 units (1-2 kW), 150-300 units (2-3 kW), and >300 units (above 3 kW). Ground-mounted panels, particularly in arid regions, offer benefits such as scalability and optimal orientation but face challenges like land use conflicts and environmental impact, particularly in drought-prone regions. By evaluating the distinct advantages and challenges of each system, this study aims to provide insights into their optimal applications, guiding stakeholders in making informed decisions to enhance solar energy efficiency and sustainability within regulatory constraints. This research also explores the implications of regulations, such as Italy's ban on ground-mounted solar panels on productive agricultural land, on solar energy strategies.

Keywords: sustainability, solar energy, subsidy, rooftop solar energy, renewable energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Emre Kara, Metehan Demir, Şura Karakuzu, Kadir Koç, Ahmet F. Geylan, Halil Aykul

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While the polymeric foam cored sandwiches have been realized for many years, recently there is a growing and outstanding interest on the use of sandwiches consisting of aluminum foam core because of their some of the distinct mechanical properties such as high bending stiffness, high load carrying and energy absorption capacities. These properties make them very useful in the transportation industry (automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding industry), where the "lightweight design" philosophy and the safety of vehicles are very important aspects. Therefore, in this study, the sandwich panels with aluminum alloy foam core and various types and thicknesses of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) skins produced via Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) technique were obtained by using a commercial toughened epoxy based adhesive with two components. The aim of this contribution was the analysis of the bending response of sandwiches with various glass fiber reinforced polymer skins. The three point bending tests were performed on sandwich panels at different values of support span distance using a universal static testing machine in order to clarify the effects of the type and thickness of the GFRP skins in terms of peak load, energy efficiency and absorbed energy values. The GFRP skins were easily bonded to the aluminum alloy foam core under press machine with a very low pressure. The main results of the bending tests are: force-displacement curves, peak force values, absorbed energy, collapse mechanisms and the influence of the support span length and GFRP skins. The obtained results of the experimental investigation presented that the sandwich with the skin made of thicker S-Glass fabric failed at the highest load and absorbed the highest amount of energy compared to the other sandwich specimens. The increment of the support span distance made the decrease of the peak force and absorbed energy values for each type of panels. The common collapse mechanism of the panels was obtained as core shear failure which was not affected by the skin materials and the support span distance.

Keywords: aluminum foam, collapse mechanisms, light-weight structures, transport application

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: N. Gelovani, D. Ismailov, S. Bochorishvili

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Religious minorities of Georgia include Muslims. Their composition is sufficiently miscellaneous, enclosing both ethnical viewpoint and belonging to the inner Islamic denomination. A majority of Muslims represent Azerbaijanis, who chiefly live in Kvemo Kartli (Bolnisi, Gardabani, Dmanisi, Tetri Tskaro, Marneuli and Tsalka). The catalyst for researchers of Islamic History is the geopolitical interests of Georgia, centuries-old contacts with the Islamic world, the not entirely trivial portion of Islam confessor population, the increasing influence of the Islamic factor in current religious-political processes in the world, the elevating procedure of Muslim religious self-consciousness in the Post-Soviet states, significant challenges of international terrorism, and perspectives of rapid globalization. The rise in the level of religious identity of Muslim citizens of Georgia (first of all of those who are not ethnic Georgians) is noticeable. New mosques have been constructed and, sometimes, even young people are being sent to the religious educational institutions of Muslim countries to gain a higher Islamic education. At a time when gender studies are substantive, the goal of which is to eliminate gender-based discrimination and violence in societies, it is essential in Georgia to conduct researches around the concrete problem – Islamic tradition, woman and education in Georgia. A woman’s right to education is an important indicator of women’s general status in a society. The appropriate resources, innovative analysis of Georgian ethnological materials, and surveying of the population (quantitative and qualitative research reports, working papers), condition the success of these researches. In the presented work, interrelation matters of Islam, gender and education in contemporary Georgia by the example of the Azerbaijani population in Kvemo Kartli during period 1992-2016 are studied. We researched the history of Muslim religious education centers in Tbilisi and Kvemo Kartli (Bolnisi, Gardabani, Dmanisi, Tetri Tskaro, Marneuli and Tsalka) in 1992-2016, on the one hand, and the results of sociological interrogation, on the other. As a result of our investigation, we found that Azeri women in the Kvemo Kartli (Georgia) region mostly receive their education in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Educational and Cultural Institutions are inaccessible for most Azeri women. The main reasons are the absence of educational and religious institutions at their places of residence and state policies towards Georgia’s Muslims. 

Keywords: Islam, gender, Georgia, education

Procedia PDF Downloads 230

Authors: Inyoung Park, Youngjoo Woo, Euiseong Seo

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With the advent of WebGL, Web apps are now able to provide high quality graphics by utilizing the underlying graphic processing units (GPUs). Despite that the Web apps are becoming common and popular, the current power management schemes, which were devised for the conventional native applications, are suboptimal for Web apps because of the additional layer, the Web browser, between OS and application. The Web browser running on a CPU issues GL commands, which are for rendering images to be displayed by the Web app currently running, to the GPU and the GPU processes them. The size and number of issued GL commands determine the processing load of the GPU. While the GPU is processing the GL commands, CPU simultaneously executes the other compute intensive threads. The actual user experience will be determined by either CPU processing or GPU processing depending on which of the two is the more demanded resource. For example, when the GPU work queue is saturated by the outstanding commands, lowering the performance level of the CPU does not affect the user experience because it is already deteriorated by the retarded execution of GPU commands. Consequently, it would be desirable to lower CPU or GPU performance level to save energy when the other resource is saturated and becomes a bottleneck in the execution flow. Based on this observation, we propose a power management scheme that is specialized for the Web app runtime environment. This approach incurs two technical challenges; identification of the bottleneck resource and determination of the appropriate performance level for unsaturated resource. The proposed power management scheme uses the CPU utilization level of the Window Manager to tell which one is the bottleneck if exists. The Window Manager draws the final screen using the processed results delivered from the GPU. Thus, the Window Manager is on the critical path that determines the quality of user experience and purely executed by the CPU. The proposed scheme uses the weighted average of the Window Manager utilization to prevent excessive sensitivity and fluctuation. We classified Web apps into three categories using the analysis results that measure frame-per-second (FPS) changes under diverse CPU/GPU clock combinations. The results showed that the capability of the CPU decides user experience when the Window Manager utilization is above 90% and consequently, the proposed scheme decreases the performance level of CPU by one step. On the contrary, when its utilization is less than 60%, the bottleneck usually lies in the GPU and it is desirable to decrease the performance of GPU. Even the processing unit that is not on critical path, excessive performance drop can occur and that may adversely affect the user experience. Therefore, our scheme lowers the frequency gradually, until it finds an appropriate level by periodically checking the CPU utilization. The proposed scheme reduced the energy consumption by 10.34% on average in comparison to the conventional Linux kernel, and it worsened their FPS by 1.07% only on average.

Keywords: interactive applications, power management, QoS, Web apps, WebGL

Procedia PDF Downloads 193

Authors: Pedro Cardoso Alves, Ana Lucia Galinkin, José Carlos Ribeiro

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Political participation, can be a somewhat tricky subject to define, not in small part due to the constant changes in the concept fruit of the effort to include new forms of participatory behavior that go beyond traditional institutional channels. With the advent of the internet and mobile technologies, defining political participation has become an even more complicated endeavor, given de amplitude of politicized behaviors that are expressed throughout these mediums, be it in the very organization of social movements, in the propagation of politicized texts, videos and images, or in the micropolitical behaviors that are expressed in daily interaction. In fact, the very frontiers that delimit physical and digital spaces have become ever more diluted due to technological advancements, leading to a hybrid existence that is simultaneously physical and digital, not limited, as it once was, to the temporal limitations of classic communications. Moving away from those institutionalized actions of traditional political behavior, an idea of constant and fluid participation, which occurs in our daily lives through conversations, posts, tweets and other digital forms of expression, is discussed. This discussion focuses on the factors that precede more direct forms of political participation, interpreting the relation between informational habits, ideology, and political efficacy. Though some of the informational habits can be considered political participation, by some authors, a distinction is made to establish a logical flow of behaviors leading to participation, that is, one must gather and process information before acting on it. To reach this objective, a quantitative survey is currently being applied in Brazilian social media, evaluating feelings of political efficacy, social and economic issue-based ideological stances and informational habits pertaining to collection, fact-checking, and diversity of sources and ideological positions present in the participant’s political information network. The measure being used for informational habits relies strongly on a mix of information literacy and political sophistication concepts, bringing a more up-to-date understanding of information and knowledge production and processing in contemporary hybrid (physical-digital) environments. Though data is still being collected, preliminary analysis point towards a strong correlation between information habits and political efficacy, while ideology shows a weaker influence over efficacy. Moreover, social ideology and economic ideology seem to have a strong correlation in the sample, such intermingling between social and economic ideals is generally considered a red flag for political polarization.

Keywords: political efficacy, ideology, information literacy, cyberpolitics

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: Tadesse Kebede, Orkun Baris Kovanci

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Tomatoes leaf minor (Tutaabasoluta) is one of the most economically important insect pest in tomatoes production. The use of biological control such as entomopathogen fungi isolates would be a long-term and cost-effective solution to control insects pest. Therefore, identifying the most virulent and pathogenic entomopathogen fungi is one of the basic requirements for effective management options to combat Tomatoes leaf minor (Tutaabasoluta). Furthermore, the pathogenicity and virulence difference among entomopathogenfungus strains is not widely well investıgated. The current study was therefore initiated to test the pathogenicity of some entomopathogenic fungus isolates against Tutaabsoluta. The experiment was conducted at Bursa Uludag University, Agiculutre faculty, horticulture department glasshouse in 2020/2021. Tutabasoluta adult were collected, and masslarvae were reared in a growth chamber. Then, ten third instar larvae were inoculated with four entomopathogen fungi isolates (Beuaveriabassania Ak-10, Beuaveriabassania Ak-14, Metarhziumanisoplai Ak-11, and Metarhziumanisoplai Ak-12) with different inoculum suspension (0, 1x10⁶, 1x10⁷,,4 × 10⁸, 4× 10⁹ and 1×10¹⁰ conidia /ml) in a factorial experiment arranged in randomized complete block design with three replication. Mortality data assessment was done on the 3rd, 5thand 7th days after treatment and analyzed. The analysis of variance for mortality rate revealed significant variations (p<0.05) among entomoptahogen fungi isolates and conidia concentrations. The results revealed thatMetarhziumanisoplai Ak-12was found to show the lowest mortality percentage80.77%, highest LC50 2.3x108, and the longest incubation period, LT50, 4.9 and LT90, 9.9daysand considered to be less pathogenic fungi. On the other hand, Beuaveriabassania Ak-10 isolate showed the highest mortality percentage, 91%, and the lowest LT50, 4, and LT90, 7.6 values at 1×10¹⁰ conidia /ml, followed by Beuaveriabassania Ak-14 and being considered as the most aggressive bio-agent. Metarhziumanisoplai Ak-11 was determined as moderately virulent, having a mortality rate 27-81%. Results also revealed that among conidia concentrations, 1x10⁹ and 1x10¹⁰ suspensions is the most effective, while 1x10⁶ conidia/ml concentration is the least effective. Hence, results indicated that EPF tested were effective against T. absoluta larvae. As the current work revealed the potential variation among entomopathogen fungi isolates and concentration against third instar larvae.

Keywords: tuta absoluta, tomato, metarhizium anisopliae, beauveria bassiana, biological control

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Drazen Simlesa, Jelena Pudjak, Anita Tonkovic Busljeta

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Regarding social economy (SE), Croatia is, on general level, considered as ex-communist country with good tradition, bad performance in second part of 20th Century because of political control in the business sector, which has in transition period (1990-1999) became a problem of ignorance in public administration (policy level). Today, social economy in Croatia is trying to catch up with other EU states on all important levels of SE sector: legislative and institutional framework, financial infrastructure, education and capacity building, and visibility. All four are integral parts of Strategy for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia for the period of 2015 – 2020. Within iPRESENT project, funded by Croatian Science Foundation, we have mapped social economy actors and after many years there is a clear and up to date social economy base. At the ICSE 2016 we will present main outcomes and results of this process. In the second year of the project we conducted a field research across Croatia carried out 19 focus groups with most influential, innovative and inspirational social economy actors. We divided interview questions in four themes: laws on social economy and public policies, definition/ideology of social economy and cooperation on SE scene, the level of democracy and working conditions, motivation and existence of intrinsic values. The data that are gathered through focus group interviews has been analysed via qualitative data analysis software (Atlas ti.). Major finding that will be presented in ICSA 2016 are: Social economy actors are mostly unsatisfied with legislative and institutional framework in Croatia and consider it as unsupportive and confusing. Social economy actors consider SE to be in the line with WISE model and as a tool for community development. The SE actors that are more active express satisfaction with cooperation amongst SE actors and other partners and stakeholders, but the ones that are in more isolated conditions (spatially) express need for more cooperation and networking. Social economy actors expressed their praise for democratic atmosphere in their organisations and fair working conditions. And finally, they expressed high motivation to continue to work in the social economy and are dedicated to the concept, including even those that were at the beginning interested just in getting a quick job. It means that we can detect intrinsic values for employees in social economy organisations. This research enabled us to describe for the first time in Croatia the view from the inside, attitudes and opinion of employees of social economy organisations.

Keywords: employees, focus groups, mapping, social economy

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Shusmita Khan, Shams El Arifeen, Kanta Jamil

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Background: Nutrition transition in Bangladesh has progressed across various relevant socio-demographic contextual issues. For a developing country like Bangladesh, its is believed that, overnutrition is less prevalent than undernutrition. However, recent evidence suggests that a rapid shift is taking place where overweight is subduing underweight. With this rapid increase, for Bangladesh, it will be challenging to achieve the global agenda on halting overweight and obesity. Methods: A secondary analysis was performed from six successive national demographic and health surveys to get the trend on undernutrition and overnutrition for women from reproductive age. In addition, national relevant policy papers were reviewed to determine the countries readiness for whole of the systems approach to tackle this epidemic. Results: Over the last decade, the proportion of women with low body mass index (BMI<18.5), an indicator of undernutrition, has decreased markedly from 34% to 19%. However, the proportion of overweight women (BMI ≥25) increased alarmingly from 9% to 24% over the same period. If the WHO cutoff for public health action (BMI ≥23) is used, the proportion of overweight women has increased from 17% in 2004 to 39% in 2014. The increasing rate of obesity among women is a major challenge to obstetric practice for both women and fetuses. In the long term, overweight women are also at risk of future obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and heart disease. These diseases have serious impact on health care systems. Costs associated with overweight and obesity involves direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services related to obesity. Indirect costs relate to morbidity and mortality costs including productivity. Looking at the Bangladesh Health Facility Survey, it is found that the country is bot prepared for providing nutrition-related health services, regarding prevention, screening, management and treatment. Therefore, if this nutrition transition is not addressed properly, Bangladesh will not be able to achieve the target of the NCD global monitoring framework of the WHO. Conclusion: Addressing this nutrition transition requires contending ‘malnutrition in all its forms’ and addressing it with integrated approaches. Whole of the systems action is required at all levels—starting from improving multi-sectoral coordination to scaling up nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive mainstreamed interventions keeping health system in mind.

Keywords: nutrition transition, Bangladesh, health system, undernutrition, overnutrition, obesity

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: Suhair Mereish

Abstract:

This research is aimed at examining the climate for innovation in organisations with the aim of validating the psychometric properties of the Team Climate Inventory (TCI -14) for Jordan’s collectivist society. The innovativeness of teams may be improved or obstructed by the climate within the team. Further, personal factors are considered an important element that influences the climate for innovation. Accordingly, measuring the employees' personality traits using the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) could provide insights that aid in understanding how to improve innovation. Thus, studying the climate for innovation and its associations with personality traits is valuable, considering the insights it could offer on employee performance, job satisfaction, and well-being. Essentially, the Team Climate Inventory instrument has never been tested in Jordan’s collectivist society. Accordingly, in order to address the existing gap in the literature as a whole and, more specifically, in Jordan, it is essential to investigate its factorial structure and reliability in this particular context. It is also important to explore whether the factorial structure of the Team Climate Inventory in Jordan’s collectivist society demonstrates a similar or different structure to what has been found in individualistic ones. Lastly, examining if there are associations between the Team Climate Inventory and personality traits of Jordanian employees is pivotal. The quantitative study was carried out among Jordanian employees employed in two of the top 20 companies in Jordan, a shipping and logistics company (N=473) and a telecommunications company (N=219). To generalise the findings, this was followed by collecting data from the general population of this country (N=399). The participants completed the Team Climate Inventory. Confirmatory factor analyses and reliability tests were conducted to confirm the factorial structure, validity, and reliability of the inventory. Findings presented that the four-factor structure of the Team Climate Inventory in Jordan revealed a similar structure to the ones in Western culture. The four-factor structure has been confirmed with good fit indices and reliability values. Moreover, for climate for innovation, regression analysis identified agreeableness (positive) and neuroticism (negative) from the Big Five Inventory as significant predictors. This study will contribute to knowledge in several ways. First, by examining the reliability and factorial structure in a Jordanian collectivist context rather than a Western individualistic one. Second, by comparing the Team Climate Inventory structure in Jordan with findings for the Team Climate Inventory from Western individualistic societies. Third, by studying its relationships with personality traits in that country. Furthermore, findings from this study will assist practitioners in the field of organisational psychology and development to improve the climate for innovation for employees working in organisations in Jordan. It is also expected that the results of this research will provide recommendations to professionals in the business psychology sector regarding the characteristics of employees who hold positive and negative perceptions of the workplace climate.

Keywords: big five inventory, climate for innovation, collectivism, individualism, Jordan, team climate inventory

Procedia PDF Downloads 62

Authors: Catharina Lindberg, Cecilia Fagerstrom, Ania Willman

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Patients in high-tech care environments are usually dependent on both formal/informal caregivers and technology, highlighting their vulnerability and challenging their autonomy. Autonomy presumes that a person has education, experience, self-discipline and decision-making capacity. Reference to autonomy in relation to patients in high-tech care environments could, therefore, be considered paradoxical, as in most cases these persons have impaired physical and/or metacognitive capacity. Therefore, to understand the prerequisites for patients to experience autonomy in high-tech care environments and to support them, there is a need to enhance knowledge and understanding of the concept of patient autonomy in this care context. The development of concepts and theories in a practice discipline such as nursing helps to improve both nursing care and nursing education. Theoretical development is important when clarifying a discipline, hence, a theoretical framework could be of use to nurses in high-tech care environments to support and defend the patient’s autonomy. A meta-synthesis was performed with the intention to be interpretative and not aggregative in nature. An amalgamation was made of the results from three previous studies, carried out by members of the same research group, focusing on the phenomenon of patient autonomy from a patient perspective within a caring context. Three basic approaches to theory development: derivation, synthesis, and analysis provided an operational structure that permitted the researchers to move back and forth between these approaches during their work in developing a theoretical framework. The results from the synthesis delineated that patient autonomy in a high-tech care context is: To be in control though trust, co-determination, and transition in everyday life. The theoretical framework contains several components creating the prerequisites for patient autonomy. Assumptions and propositional statements that guide theory development was also outlined, as were guiding principles for use in day-to-day nursing care. Four strategies used by patients to remain or obtain patient autonomy in high-tech care environments were revealed: the strategy of control, the strategy of partnership, the strategy of trust, and the strategy of transition. This study suggests an extended knowledge base founded on theoretical reasoning about patient autonomy, providing an understanding of the strategies used by patients to achieve autonomy in the role of patient, in high-tech care environments. When possessing knowledge about the patient perspective of autonomy, the nurse/carer can avoid adopting a paternalistic or maternalistic approach. Instead, the patient can be considered to be a partner in care, allowing care to be provided that supports him/her in remaining/becoming an autonomous person in the role of patient.

Keywords: autonomy, caring, concept development, high-tech care, theory development

Procedia PDF Downloads 208

Authors: Sittampalam Manoharan, Gary Chai, Sanaul Chowdhury, Andrew Golding

Abstract:

The primary objective of this paper is to present a simplified approach to develop the structural deterioration model using traffic speed deflectometer data for flexible pavements. Maintaining assets to meet functional performance is not economical or sustainable in the long terms, and it would end up needing much more investments for road agencies and extra costs for road users. Performance models have to be included for structural and functional predicting capabilities, in order to assess the needs, and the time frame of those needs. As such structural modelling plays a vital role in the prediction of pavement performance. A structural condition is important for the prediction of remaining life and overall health of a road network and also major influence on the valuation of road pavement. Therefore, the structural deterioration model is a critical input into pavement management system for predicting pavement rehabilitation needs accurately. The Traffic Speed Deflectometer (TSD) is a vehicle-mounted Doppler laser system that is capable of continuously measuring the structural bearing capacity of a pavement whilst moving at traffic speeds. The device’s high accuracy, high speed, and continuous deflection profiles are useful for network-level applications such as predicting road rehabilitations needs and remaining structural service life. The methodology adopted in this model by utilizing time series TSD maximum deflection (D0) data in conjunction with rutting, rutting progression, pavement age, subgrade strength and equivalent standard axle (ESA) data. Then, regression analyses were undertaken to establish a correlation equation of structural deterioration as a function of rutting, pavement age, seal age and equivalent standard axle (ESA). This study developed a simple structural deterioration model which will enable to incorporate available TSD structural data in pavement management system for developing network-level pavement investment strategies. Therefore, the available funding can be used effectively to minimize the whole –of- life cost of the road asset and also improve pavement performance. This study will contribute to narrowing the knowledge gap in structural data usage in network level investment analysis and provide a simple methodology to use structural data effectively in investment decision-making process for road agencies to manage aging road assets.

Keywords: adjusted structural number (SNP), maximum deflection (D0), equant standard axle (ESA), traffic speed deflectometer (TSD)

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