Search results for: adapted sludge community

Authors: Adil Loya, Ali Haider, Arslan A. Ghaffor, Abubaker Siddique

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Simulation and modelling of Unmanned Aero Vehicle (UAV) has gained wide popularity in front of aerospace community. The demand of designing and modelling optimized control system for UAV has increased ten folds since last decade. The reason is next generation warfare is dependent on unmanned technologies. Therefore, this research focuses on the simulation of nonlinear UAV dynamics on Simulink and its integration with Flightgear. There has been lots of research on implementation of optimizing control using Simulink, however, there are fewer known techniques to simulate these dynamics over Flightgear and a tedious technique of acquiring data has been tackled in this research horizon. Sending data to Flightgear is easy but receiving it from Simulink is not that straight forward, i.e. we can only receive control data on the output. However, in this research we have managed to get the data out from the Flightgear by implementation of level 2 s-function block within Simulink. Moreover, the results captured from Flightgear over a Universal Datagram Protocol (UDP) communication are then compared with the attitude signal that were sent previously. This provide useful information regarding the difference in outputs attained from Simulink to Flightgear. It was found that values received on Simulink were in high agreement with that of the Flightgear output. And complete study has been conducted in a discrete way.

Keywords: aerospace, flight control, flightgear, communication, Simulink

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Authors: Kate Parkinson

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A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a family-led decision-making process through which a family/kinship group, rather than the professionals involved, is asked to develop a plan for the care or the protection of children in the family. In England and Wales, FGCs are used in 76% of local authorities and in recent years, have tended to be used in cases where the local authority are considering the court process to remove children from their immediate family, to explore kinship alternatives to local authority care. Some local authorities offer the service much earlier, when families first come to the attention of children's social care, in line with research that suggests the earlier an FGC is held, the more likely they are to be successful. Family plans that result from FGCs are different from professional plans in that they are unique to a family and, as a result, reflect the diversity of families. Despite the fact that FGCs are arguable the most researched area of social work globally, there is a dearth of research that examines the nature of family plans and their substance. This paper presents the findings of a documentary analysis of 42 Early Help FGC plans from local authorities in England, with the aim of exploring the level and type of support that family members offer at a FGC. A thematic analysis identified 5 broad areas of support: Practical Support, Building Relationships, Child-care Support, Emotional Support and Social Support. In the majority of cases, family members did not want or ask for any formal support from the local authority or other agencies. Rather, the families came together to agree a plan of support, which was within the parameters of the resources that they as a family could provide. Perhaps then the role of the Early Help professional should be one of a facilitating and enabling role, to support families to develop plans that address their own specific difficulties, rather than the current default option, which is to either close the case because the family do not meet service thresholds or refer to formal support if they do, which may offer very specific support, have rigid referral criteria, long waiting lists and may not reflect the diverse and unique nature of families. FGCs are argued to be culturally appropriate social work practices in that they are appropriate for families from a range of cultural backgrounds and can be adapted to meet particular cultural needs. Furthermore, research on the efficacy of FGCs at an Early Help Level has demonstrated that Early Help FGCs have the potential to address difficulties in family life and prevent the need for formal support services, which are potentially stigmatising and do not reflect the uniqueness and diversity of families. The paper concludes with a recommendation for the use of FGCs across Early Help Services in England and Wales.

Keywords: family group conferences, family led decision making, early help, prevention

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Authors: Akila Murali, Prithika Manivel

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Disasters are defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society, which involves widespread human, material, economic or environmental impacts. The number of people suffering food crisis as a result of natural disasters has tripled in the last thirty years. The economic losses due to natural disasters have shown an increase with a factor of eight over the past four decades, caused by the increased vulnerability of the global society, and also due to an increase in the number of weather-related disasters. Efficient disaster detection and alerting systems could reduce the loss of life and properties. In the event of a disaster, another important issue is a good search and rescue system with high levels of precision, timeliness and safety for both the victims and the rescuers. Wireless Sensor Networks technology has the capability of quick capturing, processing, and transmission of critical data in real-time with high resolution. This paper studies the capacity of sensors and a Wireless Sensor Network to collect, collate and analyze valuable and worthwhile data, in an ordered manner to help with disaster management.

Keywords: alerting systems, disaster detection, Ad Hoc network, WSN technology

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Authors: Anne E. Goodenough

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Students often learn best ‘on the job’ through holistic real-world projects. They need real-world experiences to make classroom learning applicable and to increase their employability. Academics typically value working on projects where new knowledge is created and have a genuine desire to help students engage with learning and develop new skills. They might also have institutional pressure to enhance student engagement, retention, and satisfaction. External organizations - especially non-governmental bodies, charities, and small enterprises - often have fundamental and pressing questions, but lack the manpower and academic expertise to answer them effectively. They might also be on the lookout for talented potential employees. This study examines ways in which these diverse requirements can be met simultaneously by creating three-way projects that provide excellent academic and real-world outcomes for all involved. It studied a range of innovative projects across natural sciences (biology, ecology, physical geography and social sciences (human geography, sociology, criminology, and community engagement) to establish how to best harness the potential of this powerful approach. Focal collaborations included: (1) development of practitioner-linked modules; (2) frameworks where students collected/analyzed data for link organizations in research methods modules; (3) placement-based internships and dissertations; and (4) immersive fieldwork projects in novel locations to allow students engage first-hand with contemporary issues as diverse as rhino poaching in South Africa, segregation in Ireland, and gun crime in Florida. Although there was no ‘magic formula’ for success, the approach was found to work best when small projects were developed that were achievable in a short time-frame, both to tie into modular curricula and meet the immediacy expectations of many link organizations. Bigger projects were found to work well in some cases, especially when they were essentially a series of linked smaller projects, either running concurrently or successively with each building on previous work. Opportunities were maximized when there were tangible benefits to the link organization as this generally increased organization investment in the project and motivated students too. The importance of finding the right approach for a given project was found to be key: it was vital to ensure that something that could work effectively as an independent research project for one student, for example, was not shoehorned into being a project for multiple students within a taught module. In general, students were very positive about collaboration projects. They identified benefits to confidence, time-keeping and communication, as well as conveying their enthusiasm when their work was of benefit to the wider community. Several students have gone on to do further work with the link organization in a voluntary capacity or as paid staff, or used the experiences to help them break into the ever-more competitive job market in other ways. Although this approach involves a substantial time investment, especially from academics, the benefits can be profound. The approach has strong potential to engage students, help retention, improve student satisfaction, and teach new skills; keep the knowledge of academics fresh and current; and provide valuable tangible benefits for link organizations: a real triple win.

Keywords: authentic learning, curriculum development, effective education, employability, higher education, innovative pedagogy, link organizations, student experience

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Authors: Chinedu Ifedi Okeke

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The behavioural orientations of fathers, which resonate in the way they relate to members of their families and other community members, appear to have a variety of implications for the early development of children. In this paper, a conceptual map of fathers’ lifestyles is adopted to provide an interconnected network of father lifestyles. Empirical evidence from a qualitative case study of 25 Black fathers, who had been purposively selected from a suburb in one rural Eastern Cape municipality in South Africa, is reported in this paper. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to obtain data, which was analysed thematically. Findings identify and provide evidence of father lifestyles that are incongruent with the kind of parental behaviour needed to support the healthy early development of children. Findings suggest that these negative lifestyles appear to incapacitate fathers who fail to make a positive contribution to their children’s early development. To ensure that fathers make the expected contributions to their children’s early development, policies aimed at rehabilitating fathers who are involved in the negative lifestyles reported in this paper should be put in place.

Keywords: childhood development, fathering, fathers, intervention strategies, lifestyles, South Africa

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Authors: M. Sakthivel, A. Devaki, D. Balasubramanyam, P. Kumarasamy, A. Raja, R. Anilkumar, H. Gopi

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The New Zealand White breed of rabbit is one of the most commonly used, well adapted exotic breeds in India. Earlier studies were limited only to analyze the environmental factors affecting the growth and reproductive performance. In the present study, the population of the New Zealand White rabbits in a closed herd was evaluated for its genetic structure. Data on pedigree information (n=2508) for 18 years (1995-2012) were utilized for the study. Pedigree analysis and the estimates of population genetic parameters based on gene origin probabilities were performed using the software program ENDOG (version 4.8). The analysis revealed that the mean values of generation interval, coefficients of inbreeding and equivalent inbreeding were 1.489 years, 13.233 percent and 17.585 percent, respectively. The proportion of population inbred was 100 percent. The estimated mean values of average relatedness and the individual increase in inbreeding were 22.727 and 3.004 percent, respectively. The percent increase in inbreeding over generations was 1.94, 3.06 and 3.98 estimated through maximum generations, equivalent generations, and complete generations, respectively. The number of ancestors contributing the most of 50% genes (fₐ₅₀) to the gene pool of reference population was 4 which might have led to the reduction in genetic variability and increased amount of inbreeding. The extent of genetic bottleneck assessed by calculating the effective number of founders (fₑ) and the effective number of ancestors (fₐ), as expressed by the fₑ/fₐ ratio was 1.1 which is indicative of the absence of stringent bottlenecks. Up to 5th generation, 71.29 percent pedigree was complete reflecting the well-maintained pedigree records. The maximum known generations were 15 with an average of 7.9 and the average equivalent generations traced were 5.6 indicating of a fairly good depth in pedigree. The realized effective population size was 14.93 which is very critical, and with the increasing trend of inbreeding, the situation has been assessed to be worse in future. The proportion of animals with the genetic conservation index (GCI) greater than 9 was 39.10 percent which can be used as a scale to use such animals with higher GCI to maintain balanced contribution from the founders. From the study, it was evident that the herd was completely inbred with very high inbreeding coefficient and the effective population size was critical. Recommendations were made to reduce the probability of deleterious effects of inbreeding and to improve the genetic variability in the herd. The present study can help in carrying out similar studies to meet the demand for animal protein in developing countries.

Keywords: effective population size, genetic structure, pedigree analysis, rabbit genetics

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Authors: Weicheng Luo, Wenzhi Zhao

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Plants growth in desert often suffered from stresses like water deficit, wind erosion and sand burial. Thus, plants in desert always have unique strategies to adapt these stresses. However, data regarding how clonal shrubs withstand wind erosion and sand burial in natural habitats remain relatively scarce. Therefore, we selected a common clonal shrub Calligonum arborescens to study the adaptive strategies of clonal plants to sand dune environment in a transitional zone of desert and Hexi Oasis of China. Our results show that sand burial is one of the essential prerequisites for the survival of C. arborescens rhizome fragments. Both the time and degrees of sand burial and wind erosion had significantly effects on clonal reproduction and growth of C. arborescens. With increasing burial depth, the number of ramets and biomass production significantly decreased. There is same change trend in severe erosion treatments. However, the number of ramets and biomass production significantly increased in moderate erosion treatments. Rhizome severed greatly decreased ramet number and biomass production under both sand burial and severe erosion treatments. That indicated that both sand burial and severe erosion had negative effects on the clonal growth of C. arborescens, but moderate wind erosion had positive effects. And rhizome connections alleviated the negative effects of sand burial and of severe erosion on the growth and performance of C. arborescens. Most fragments of C. arborescens grew in the directions of northeastern and southwestern. Ramet number and biomass, rhizome length and biomass in these two directions were significantly higher than those found in other directions. Interestingly, these directions were perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. Distribution of C. arborescens differed in different habitats. The total number of individuals was significantly higher in inter-dune areas and on windward slopes than on the top and leeward slopes of dunes; more clonal ramets were produced on the top of dunes than elsewhere, and a few were found on leeward slopes. The mainly reason is that ramets on windward and top of dunes can easily suffered with moderated wind erosion which promoted clonal growth and reproduction of C. arborescens. These results indicated that C. arborescens adapted sand dune environment through directional growth and patchy distribution, and sand-burial and wind erosion were the key factors which led to the directional growth and patchiness of C. arborescens.

Keywords: adaptive strategy, Calligonum arborescens Litv, clonal fragment, desert-oasis transitional zone, sand burial and wind erosion

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Authors: Joao Ferreira Do Rosario, Nuno Gustavo, Ana Machado, Lurdes Calisto, Luisa Carvalho, Georgette Andraz

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Currently, tourism small and medium enterprises (TSMEs) face serious economic and financial problems, making recovery efforts difficult. How the pandemic will affect tourists' behavior is still to be known. Will tourists be even more cautious regarding their choices or, on the contrary, will they be more adventurers with an enormous desire to travel in search of the lost freedom? Tourists may become even more demanding when traveling, more austere, or less concerned and eager to socialize. Adjusting to this "new tourist" is an added challenge for tourism service providers. Generation Z made up of individuals born in 1995 and following years, currently tends to assume a particular role and meaning in the present and future economic and social context, considering that we are facing the youngest workforce as well as tomorrow's consumers. This generation is distinguished from others as it is the first generation to combine a high level of education and technological knowledge and to fully experience the digital world. These young people are framed by a new value system that can explain new behaviours and consumption, namely, in the context of tourism. All these considerations point to the importance of investigating this target group as it is essential to understand how these individuals perceive, understand, act, and can be involved in a new environment built around a society regulated by new priorities and challenges of a sustainable nature. This leads not only to a focus on short-term market choices but mainly to predict future choices from a longer-term perspective. Together with the social background of a person, values are considered a stable antecedent of behavior and might therefore predict not just immediate, but also future choices. Furthermore, the meaning attributed to travel has a general connotation and goes beyond a specific travel choice or experience. In other words, values and travel's meaning form a chain of influences on the present and future travel behavior. This study explores the social background and values of Generation Z travelers vs the meaning these tourists give to travel. The aim is to discover in their present behavior cues to predict travel choices so that the future of tourism can be secured. This study also provides data for predicting the tourism choices of youngsters in the more immediate future. Methodologically, a quantitative approach was adopted based on the collection of data through a survey. Since academic research on Generation Z of tourists is still scarce, it is expected to contribute to deepening scientific knowledge in this area. Furthermore, it is expected that this research will support tourism professionals in defining differentiated marketing strategies and adapted to the requirements of this target, in a new time.

Keywords: Generation Z, travel behavior, travel meaning, Generation Z Values

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Authors: M. C. Steyn

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Violence and entertainment are not mutually exclusive subjects in the Ancient Roman world, in reality they are closely knit together. Their world is permeated by repeated and continuous episodes of violence in its many manifestations, both sanctioned and spontaneous, most of which is considered as some form of entertainment, from plays and writings through the spectrum to the gladiatorial arena. In the 21st century this socio-psychological dynamic is manifested through the stage provided by the screen and what we watch in terms of TV, movies and games. This glorification of violence in a modern world is not out of place as seen in contemporary post apocalyptical/ dystopian literature, film and computer games where the act of violence, frowned upon by social norms and values, becomes sanctioned by the (un)real nature of the game: ‘I am not a violent person, violence is bad, this is just a game’. This paper will examine how violence is framed in the Ancient World and subsequently how it is received by popular culture to represent a world in which the maintenance of stability can only be achieved through officially sanctioned violence, whether sanctioned by the State or the gaming community. This argument will examine both ancient and modern critics of violence such as Senecca, Coleman and Foucault and framed by Baudrillard’s commentary on the post-modern conceptualization of reality.

Keywords: entertainment, violence, gladiatorial games, gaming

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Authors: Mina Dousti

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Like many women worldwide, and especially those living in the Middle East, Iranian women are struggling to have equal rights as men. The Islamic Republic regime, established in 1979, made this path even more difficult for Iranian women. Media and the Islamic Republic's powerful propaganda are the main factors and advertisers in omitting women's social rights and civic activities. Also, the hijab (veil), which became obligatory immediately after the revolution based on the Qur'an and religious Hadiths, was another way of suppressing women. Since the Islamic Republic Revolution and the following Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988), the Iranian female community has been experiencing different social and legal challenges. Aside from the Islamic regime's role in ignoring women, their families have also contributed to this limitation via unreasonable zeals and religious prejudices. Subsequently, all these factors led to pushing Iranian women to the corner and public dormancy. During the eight-year war, many Iranian women directly participated in the war front line. Although they became martyred, the regime intentionally ignored their public presence employing Islamic justifications and Sharia as an excuse. The government did these actions to justify censorship and unfairness toward women.

Keywords: Iranian women, Islamic Republic Regime, hijab, revolution, Iran-Iraq war, Martyr

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Authors: Wafa Nouari

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The paper investigates the advantages and drawbacks of online creative writing courses for Algerian university students, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper employs a mixed-methods approach, using both quantitative and qualitative data from surveys, interviews, and online course evaluations. The paper examines three online creative writing courses offered by Oxford University, Stanford University, and Coursera. The paper shows that online creative writing courses can improve the student's writing abilities, enthusiasm, and self-confidence, as well as introduce them to various literary forms and cultures. However, the paper also highlights some challenges and obstacles that the students encounter, such as technical problems, language difficulties, cultural gaps, and lack of feedback and interaction. The paper argues that online creative writing courses can be a useful alternative or addition to conventional classroom instruction, especially during the pandemic. The paper also offers some suggestions for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of online creative writing courses, such as giving more direction, support, and feedback to the students, as well as creating a sense of community and cooperation among them.

Keywords: online creative writing courses, Algerian university students, mixed methods approach, benefits and chanllenges

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Authors: Celine Jaspers

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The Belgian legal system is slowly evolving to mandatory mediation to promote ADR. One of the reasons for this evolution is the lack of use of alternative methods in relation to their possible benefits. Especially in divorce cases, ADR can play a beneficial role in resolving disputes, since the emotional component is very much present. When children are involved, a solution provided by the parent may be more adapted to the child’s best interest than a court order. In the first part, the lack of use of voluntary ADR and the evolution toward mandatory ADR in Belgium will be indicated by sources of legislation, jurisprudence and social-scientific sources, with special attention to divorce cases. One of the reasons is lack of knowledge on ADR, despite the continuing efforts of the Belgian legislator to promote ADR. One of the last acts of ADR-promotion, was the implementation of an Act in 2018 which gives the judge the possibility to refer parties to mediation if at least one party wants to during the judicial procedure. This referral is subject to some conditions. The parties will be sent to a private mediator, recognized by the Federal Mediation Commission, to try to resolve their conflict. This means that at least one party can be mandated to try mediation (indicated as “semi-mandatory mediation”). The main goal is to establish the factors and elements that Belgium has to take into account in their further development of mandatory ADR, with consideration of the human rights perspective and the EU perspective. Furthermore it is also essential to detect some dangerous pitfalls other systems have encountered with their process design. Therefore, the second part, the comparative component, will discuss the existing framework in California, USA to establish the necessary elements, possible pitfalls and considerations the Belgian legislator can take into account when further developing the framework of mandatory ADR. The contrasting and functional method will be used to create key elements and possible pitfalls, to help Belgium improve its existing framework. The existing mandatory system in California has been in place since 1981 and is still up and running, and can thus provide valuable lessons and considerations for the Belgian system. Thirdly, the key elements from a human rights perspective and from a European Union perspective (e.g. the right to access to a judge, the right to privacy) will be discussed too, since the basic human rights and European legislation and jurisprudence play a significant part in Belgian legislation as well. The main sources for this part will be the international and European treaties, legislation, jurisprudence and soft law. In the last and concluding part, the paper will list the most important elements of a mandatory ADR-system design with special attention to the dangers of these elements (e.g. to include or exclude domestic violence cases in the mandatory ADR-framework and the consequences thereof), and with special attention for the necessary the international and European rights, prohibitions and guidelines.

Keywords: Belgium, divorce, framework, mandatory ADR

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Authors: K. C. Mujeebu Rahman

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Over the years, discussions in India regarding personal law in India have focused on its deficiencies, increasing involvement of the judiciary, and the pursuit of uniformity. However, little attention has been given to understanding how the law functions in a multicultural nation committed to political secularism. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the mahallu system in Malabar, shedding light on the decision-making process within Muslim personal law. It reveals that this process is deeply rooted in everyday micro-politics, sectarian dynamics, social pressure, and emotions. Through an in-depth examination of a triple talaq case, the paper demonstrates how love (or the lack of it), family expectations, and community authority intersect in resolving marital disputes. Instead of a straightforward legal interpretation, this process leads to a complex maze of micro-politics involving local religious factions and authorities. The paper underscores that the non-state quasi-legal institutions within the mahallu system represent a distinct form of legal pluralism characterized by intricate power dynamics at multiple levels. Moreover, it highlights the interplay between what is considered legally valid and what is deemed socially legitimate.

Keywords: islamic law, sharia, fatwa, muslim personal law

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Authors: Eric Sanchis

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Although there does not exist a definitive consensus on a precise definition of a complex system, it is generally considered that a system is complex by nature. The presented work illustrates a different point of view: a system becomes complex only with regard to the question posed to it, i.e., with regard to the problem which has to be solved. A complex system is a couple (question, object). Because the number of questions posed to a given object can be potentially substantial, complexity does not present a uniform face. Two types of complex systems are clearly identified: first-order complex systems and second-order complex systems. First-order complex systems physically exist. They are well-known because they have been studied by the scientific community for a long time. In second-order complex systems, complexity results from the system composition and its articulation that are partially unknown. For some of these systems, there is no evidence of their existence. Vagueness is the keyword characterizing this kind of systems. Autonomy and free will, two mental productions of the human cognitive system, can be identified as second-order complex systems. A classification based on the properties structure makes it possible to discriminate complex properties from the others and to model this kind of second order complex systems. The final outcome is an implementable synthetic property that distinguishes the solid aspects of the actual property from those that are uncertain.

Keywords: autonomy, free will, synthetic property, vaporous complex systems

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Authors: Carolin Schulze

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Characterized by a positive interdependence of learners, cooperative learning (CL) is one possibility of successfully dealing with the increasing heterogeneity of students. Various positive effects of CL on the mental, physical and social health of students have already been documented. However, this structure is still rarely used in physical education (PE). Moreover, there is a lack of information about factors that determine the successful implementation of CL in PE. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to find out factors that determine the successful implementation of CL in PE using a digital questionnaire that was conducted from November to December 2022. In addition to socio-demographic data (age, gender, teaching experience, and education level), frequency of using CL, implementation strategies (theory-led, student-centred), and positive and negative effects of CL were measured. Furthermore, teachers were asked to rate the success of implementation on a 6-point rating scale (1-very successful to 6-not successful at all). For statistical analysis, multiple linear regression was performed, setting the success of implementation as the dependent variable. A total of 224 teachers (mean age=44.81±10.60 years; 58% male) took part in the current study. Overall, 39% of participants stated that they never use CL in their PE classes. Main reasons against the implementations of CL in PE were no time for preparation (74%) or for implementation (61%) and high heterogeneity of students (55%). When using CL, most of the reported difficulties are related to uncertainties about the correct procedure (54%) and the heterogeneous performance of students (54%). The most frequently mentioned positive effect was increased motivation of students (42%) followed by an improvement of psychological abilities (e.g. self-esteem, self-concept; 36%) and improved class cohesion (31%). Reported negative effects were unpredictability (29%), restlessness (24%), confusion (24%), and conflicts between students (17%). The successful use of CL is related to a theory-based preparation (e.g., heterogeneous formation of groups, use of rules and rituals) and a flexible implementation tailored to the needs and conditions of students (e.g., the possibility of individual work, omission of CL phases). Compared to teachers who solely implemented CL theory-led or student-adapted, teachers who switched from theory-led preparation to student-centred implementation of CL reported more successful implementation (t=5.312; p<.001). Neither frequency of using CL in PE nor the gender, age, the teaching experience, or the education level of the teacher showed a significant connection with the successful use of CL. Corresponding to the results of the current study, it is advisable that teachers gather enough knowledge about CL during their education and to point out the need to adapt the learning structure according to the diversity of their students. In order to analyse implementation strategies of teachers more deeply, qualitative methods and guided interviews with teachers are needed.

Keywords: diversity, educational technology, physical education, teaching styles

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Authors: Syaza Bt. Saifuddin, Rashidi Bin Othman, Muhammad Hafizuddin Akmal Bin Md Hashim, Ismail Bin Jasmani, Noor Hanita Bt. Abdul Majid

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This paper illustrates the background of various concepts, approaches, terminologies used to describe the basic framework of an Islamic Hotel Room design. This paper reviews the theoretical views in establishing a suitable and optimum environment for Muslim as well as non-Muslim guests in hotel rooms while according to shariah. It involves a few research methodologies that requires the researcher to study on a few characteristics needed to create more efficient rooms in terms of social interaction, economic growth and other tolerable elements. This paper intends on revealing the elements that are vital and may contribute for hotels in achieving a more conclusive research on space planning for hotel rooms focusing on the shariah and Muslim guests. Malaysia is an Islamic country and has billion of tourists coming over for business and recreational purposes. Therefore, having a righteous environment that best suit this target user is important in terms of generating the economy as well as providing a better understanding to the community on the benefits of applying these qualities in a conventional resort design.

Keywords: design, Islam, room, shariah compliant hotel

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Authors: Surendar Vaddepalli

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Management education plays a crucial role to enable industry to cope with emerging challenges. It has spread in the last fifteen-twenty years in India and gained popularity as it was aimed at imbibing versatility and multi-tasking abilities in student community. Several management institutions started looking at upgrading their competencies in terms of faculty, research and industry interaction. The competitive business environment has been one of the drivers that paved the way for growing demand for management graduates in the employment market. Industry expects their executives to be engaged in a constant learning process. The ever-increasing demand for managers has led to establish more management institutions; however, the growth was not in line with the expectations from the industry. While top Business Schools are continuously changing the contents and delivery methodologies, academic standards of most of the other Business Schools are not up to the mark and quality of service provided by these institutes has opened various issues for discussion. On this back ground it is important to address the concerns of Indian management education experiencing with time and we have to rethink about the management education and efforts should be made to create a dynamic environment. This paper ties to study the current trends and tries to find out need for value based management education in India to rejuvenate it.

Keywords: management education, management, value based management education, business school, India

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Authors: Mafunda Esther

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The paper seeks to find out and document the impact of culture and religion on disability, specifically language impairment and health care seeking practices of the Shona people. Its main objectives are to explore the cultural and religious beliefs that affect the utilization of rehabilitation services in a rural community in Zimbabwe. The other objective of the paper is to describe how language impairment is presented and understood by people living in a Zimbabwean rural area. The research is qualitative interpretive phenomenological research, and it utilizes the case study approach using semi structured interviews and focus group discussions. Results from the research established that religious and cultural beliefs determine how the Shona people view disability, and this guides their health care seeking practices. The research is important since communication disorders occur in populations worldwide though they are not always recognized as such. The lack of recognition of and the attitudes toward speech and languages disorders, as well as the beliefs about the causes of such disorders, affect people's attitudes toward the treatment of the disorders.

Keywords: culture, religion, disability, language impairment

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Authors: Edgard Barki, Tânia Modesto Veludo-de-Oliveira, Felipe Zambaldi

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The social enterprise sector can be characterized as organizations that aim to solve social problems with financial sustainability and using market mechanisms. This sector has shown an increasing interest worldwide. Despite the growth and relevance of the sector, there is still a gap regarding the assessment of the social impact resulting from the initiatives of the organizations in this field. A number of metrics have been designed worldwide to evaluate the impact of social enterprises (e.g., IRIS, GIIRS, BACO), as well as some ad hoc studies that have been carried out, mainly in the microcredit sector, but there is still a gap to be filled in the development of research in social impact evaluation. Therefore, this research seeks to evaluate the social impact of two social enterprises (Terra Nova and Vivenda) in the area of housing in Brazil. To evaluate these impacts and their dimensions, we conducted an exploratory research, through three focus groups, thirty in-depth interviews and a survey with beneficiaries of both organizations. The results allowed us to evaluate how the two organizations were able to create a deep social impact in the populations served. Terra Nova has a more collective perspective, with a clear benefit of social inclusion and improvement of the community’s infrastructure, while Vivenda has a more individualized perspective, improving self-esteem, sociability and family coexistence.

Keywords: Brazil, housing, social enterprise, social impact evaluation

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Authors: Beilei Xu, Wencheng Wu, Lei Lin, Rachel Melnyk, Ahmed Ghazi

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In operating rooms, excessive cognitive stress can impede the performance of a surgeon, while low engagement can lead to unavoidable mistakes due to complacency. As a consequence, there is a strong desire in the surgical community to be able to monitor and quantify the cognitive stress of a surgeon while performing surgical procedures. Quantitative cognitiveload-based feedback can also provide valuable insights during surgical training to optimize training efficiency and effectiveness. Various physiological measures have been evaluated for quantifying cognitive stress for different mental challenges. In this paper, we present a study using the cognitive stress measured by the task evoked pupillary response extracted from the time series eye-tracking measurements to predict task difficulties in a virtual reality based robotic surgery training environment. In particular, we proposed a differential-task-difficulty scale, utilized a comprehensive feature extraction approach, and implemented a multitask learning framework and compared the regression accuracy between the conventional single-task-based and three multitask approaches across subjects.

Keywords: surgical metric, task evoked pupillary response, multitask learning, TSFresh

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Authors: Kauser Jahan, Jason Halvorsen, Kara Banks, Kara Natoli, Elizabeth McWeeney, Brittany LeMasney, Nicole Caramanna, Justin Hillman, Christopher Hauske, Meghan Sparks

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The Virtual Engineers on Wheels (ViEW) is a revised version of our established mobile K-12 outreach program Engineers on Wheels in order to address the pandemic. The Virtual Engineers on Wheels' (VIEW) goal has stayed the same as in prior years: to provide K-12 students and educators with the necessary resources to peak interest in the expanding fields of engineering. With these trying times, the Virtual Engineers on Wheels outreach has adapted its medium of instruction to be more seamless with the online approach to teaching and outreach. In the midst of COVID-19, providing a safe transfer of information has become a constraint for research. The focus has become how to uphold a level of quality instruction without diminishing the safety of those involved by promoting proper health practices and giving hope to students as well as their families. Furthermore, ViEW has created resources on effective strategies that minimize risk factors of COVID-19 and inform families that there is still a promising future ahead. To obtain these goals while still maintaining true to the hands-on learning that is so crucial to young minds, the approach is online video lectures followed by experiments within different engineering disciplines. ViEW has created a comprehensive website that students can leverage to explore the different fields of study. One of the experiments entails teaching about drone usage and how it might play a factor in the future of unmanned deliveries. Some of the other experiments focus on the differences in mask materials and their effectiveness, as well as their environmental outlook. Having students perform from home enables them a safe environment to learn at their own pace while still providing quality instruction that would normally be achieved in the classroom. Contact information is readily available on the website to provide interested parties with a means to ask their inquiries. As it currently stands, the interest in engineering/STEM-related fields is underrepresented from women and certain minority groups. So alongside the desire to grow interest, helping balance the scales is one of the main priorities of VIEW. In previous years, VIEW surveyed students before and after instruction to see if their perception of engineering has changed. In general, it is the understanding that being exposed to engineering/STEM at a young age increases the chances that it will be pursued later in life.

Keywords: STEM, engineering outreach, teaching pedagogy, pandemic

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Authors: Shewangizaw Tesfaye Wolde

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The current engineering community has developed a method called performance based seismic design in which we design structures based on predefined performance levels set by the parties. Since we design our structures economically for the maximum actions expected in the life of structures they go beyond their elastic limit, in need of nonlinear analysis. In this paper conventional pushover analysis (nonlinear static analysis) is used for the performance assessment of the case study Reinforced Concrete (RC) Frame building located in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia where proposed peak ground acceleration value by RADIUS 1999 project and others is more than twice as of EBCS-8:1995 (RADIUS 1999 project) by taking critical planar frame. Fiber beam-column model is used to control material nonlinearity with tension stiffening effect. The reliability of the fiber model and validation of software outputs are checked under verification chapter. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to propose a way for structural performance assessment of existing reinforced concrete frame buildings as well as design check.

Keywords: seismic, performance, fiber model, tension stiffening, reinforced concrete

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Authors: Ayat-Allah Bouramdane

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Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) do not burn fossil fuels and, therefore, could meet the world's needs for low-carbon power generation as they do not release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as they generate electricity. The power output of the solar PV module and CSP collector is proportional to the temperature and the amount of solar radiation received by their surface. Hence, the determination of the most convenient locations of PV and CSP systems is crucial to maximizing their output power. This study aims to provide a hands-on and plausible approach to the multi-criteria evaluation of site suitability of PV and CSP plants using a combination of Geographic Referenced Information (GRI) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Applying the GRI-based AHP approach is meant to specify the criteria and sub-criteria, to identify the unsuitable areas, the low-, moderate-, high- and very high suitable areas for each layer of GRI, to perform the pairwise comparison matrix at each level of the hierarchy structure based on experts' knowledge, and calculate the weights using AHP to create the final map of solar PV and CSP plants suitability in Morocco with a particular focus on the Dakhla city. The results recognize that solar irradiation is the main decision factor for the integration of these technologies on energy policy goals of Morocco but explicitly account for other factors that cannot only limit the potential of certain locations but can even exclude the Dakhla city classified as unsuitable area. We discuss the sensitivity of the PV and CSP site suitability to different aspects, such as the methodology, the climate conditions, and the technology used in each source, and provide the final recommendations to the Moroccan energy strategy by analyzing if actual Morocco's PV and CSP installations are located within areas deemed suitable and by discussing several cases to provide mutual benefits across the Food-Energy-Water nexus. The adapted methodology and conducted suitability map could be used by researchers or engineers to provide helpful information for decision-makers in terms of sites selection, design, and planning of future solar plants, especially in areas suffering from energy shortages, such as the Dakhla city, which is now one of Africa's most promising investment hubs and it is especially attractive to investors looking to root their operations in Africa and import to European markets.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, concentrated solar power, dakhla, geographic referenced information, Morocco, multi-criteria decision-making, photovoltaic, site suitability

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Authors: Hatane Semuel, Hartmann H. Ngono, Sautma R. Basana

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The effect of capital structure on profitability is often debated by many financial investigators. The application of the trade-off theory and pecking order theory to analyze this relationship may generate different views. Each company has its own strategies to achieve its objectives and the external environment, such as state policy has a broad impact on the relationship with the capital structure of the company's profitability. Malaysia is the country closest to Indonesia that had a similar growth rate of GDP and industrial production with Indonesia, but Malaysia has lower inflation rate than Indonesia. This study was conducted to compare the performance of manufacturing sector between two countries when entering the era of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The samples for this study were 69 companies in Indonesia and 242 companies in Malaysia that engaged in manufacturing sector. The study uses panel data analysis. The study found that the capital structure have positive effect on profitability of manufacturing company in Indonesia, and it turns to negative effect on manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The results also showed that there are significant differences in short-term debt towards profitability of manufacturing companies in the two countries Indonesia and Malaysia.

Keywords: capital structure, Indonesia, Malaysia, manufacturing, profitability

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Authors: Khalil Ahmad Khosa

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Pakistan is such a diverse region, it is the center of various religions and settlements long before the creation of the nation that exists today. The country's attraction range from the ruin of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in winter sports. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000 m, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2.[4] The north part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architecture and the Hunza and Chitral valley, home to small pre-Islamic Animist Kalash people community. The romance of the historic Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is timeless and legendary, Punjab province has the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Tourism is a growing industry in Pakistan. However, till this date, the government has not be able to take the tourism market seriously within Pakistan. Pakistan is home to a diverse number of tourist attractions which have not been funded or protected due to the government giving the tourism market a low priority.

Keywords: architecture, Pakistan, tourism, turist

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Authors: Christiana Darkoah

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This study investigated impolite behaviour in online chatroom conversations, looking at its expressions, origins, online chatroom participant responses, impacts, and possible interventions. Online impoliteness has become a major worry as technology improvements move public conversation online, causing communication breakdowns and escalating conflict. The study used a qualitative methodology, including observation and thematic analysis to examine interactions from Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The findings showed that in online chatrooms, face-threatening behaviours and disputes can be sparked by political remarks, conversational humour, picture interpretations, and personal disclosures. Depending on the situation, the interpreter's job, and the accepted standards, the same statement could be interpreted as disrespectful or courteous. Impolite behaviour in online chatrooms and the possibility of misinterpretation are evident in the furious reactions that can arise from seemingly harmless posts. According to the study's findings, impoliteness is common in online chat rooms, where disputes over politics and personal grievances frequently turn into written attacks. Creating unambiguous community norms in partnership with social media businesses and putting digital literacy campaigns into action are among the recommendations.

Keywords: impoliteness, online chatroom, discourses, conflicts

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Authors: Hassan Badkoobehi, Pradip Peter Dey, Mohammad Amin, Milan Jose Carlos, Basmal Hana, Fadi Zaco

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The economy of coastline areas depends on the natural splendor of estuaries. When estuaries are improperly managed or polluted, long or short term damage to local economy or harm to local life forms can be caused. Estuaries are shelters for thousands of species such as birds, mammals, fish, crustaceans, insects, reptiles, and amphibians. The delicate balance of these life forms in estuaries requires careful planning for the benefit of all. The commercial value of estuaries is very important; recreational activities that people enjoy like boating, kayaking, windsurfing, swimming, bird-watching and fishing are marketable. Estuaries are national treasures with vital community and ecological resources. Years of estuarine environmental studies have produced extensive results that merit consideration. This study reviews research results from various sources and suggests best strategies for maintaining healthy estuaries in the current socioeconomic conditions. The main hypothesis is that many estuaries can be restored to their original healthy status in a cost effective manner with restoration or prevention plans suggested in published studies.

Keywords: environment, pollution, sustainable, wildlife

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Authors: Jatuphum Ketchatturat

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The objective of this research was to study the learning and innovation skills of undergraduate students after Research-Based Learning had been applied. Eighty research participants were selected from undergraduate students enrolled in Educational Research Program using the Purposive Sampling Method. Research Methodology was Descriptive Research, the research took one semester to complete. The research instruments consisted of (1) Research Skill Assessment Form, (2) Research Quality Assessment Form, (3) Scale of learning and innovation skills 25 items. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics including, frequency, percentage, average and standard deviation. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The research results were (1) The students were able to conduct research that focused on educational research, which has a fair to the excellent level of standards of a research learning outcome, research skills, and research quality. The student’s learning and innovation skills have relating to research skills and research quality. (2) The findings found that the students have been developed to be learning and innovation skills such as systematic thinking, analytical thinking, critical thinking, creative problem solving, collaborative, research-creation, communication, and knowledge and experience sharing to friends, community and society.

Keywords: learning and innovation skills, research based learning, research skills, undergraduate students

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Authors: Jerry Fiave, Dacosta Aboagye, Stephen Ayisi-Addo, Mabel Kissiwah Asafo, Felix Osei-Sarpong, Ebenezer Kye-Mensah, Renee Opare-Otoo

Abstract:

Background: Acceptability and preference of social and behaviour change (SBC) materials by target audiences is an important determinant of effective health communication outcomes. In Ghana, however, pre-test and post-test studies on acceptability and preference of specific SBC materials for specific audiences are rare. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the acceptability and preference of printed posters on COVID-19 related stigma as suitable SBC materials for health workers to influence behaviours that promote uptake of HIV-focused services. Methods: A total of 218 health workers who provide HIV-focused services were purposively sampled in 16 polyclinics where the posters were distributed in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Data was collected in March 2021 using an adapted self-administered questionnaire in Google forms deployed via WhatsApp to participants. The data were imported into SPSS version 27 where chi-square test and regression analyses were performed to establish association as well as strength of association between variables respectively. Results: A total of 142 participants (physicians, nurses, midwives, lab scientists, health promoters, diseases control officers) made up of 85(60%) females and 57(40%) males responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 65.14%. Only 88 (61.97%) of the respondents were exposed to the posters. The majority of those exposed said the posters were informative [82(93.18%)], relevant [85(96.59%)] and attractive [83(94.32%)]. They [82(93.20%)] also rated the material as acceptable with no statistically significant association between category of health worker and acceptability of the posters (X =1.631, df=5, p=0.898). However, participants’ most preferred forms of material on COVID-19 related stigma were social media [38(26.76%)], television [33(23.24%)], SMS [19(13.38%)], and radio [18(12.70%)]. Clinical health workers were 4.88 times more likely to prefer online or electronic versions of SBC materials than nonclinical health workers [AOR= 4.88 (95% CI= 0.31-0.98), p=0.034]. Conclusions: Printed posters on COVID-19 related stigma are acceptable SBC materials in communicating behaviour change messages that target health workers in promoting uptake of HIV-focused services. Posters are however, not among the most preferred materials for health workers. It is therefore recommended that material assessment studies are conducted to inform the development of acceptable and preferred materials for target audiences.

Keywords: acceptability, AIDS, HIV, posters, preference, SBC, stigma, social and behaviour change communication

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Authors: Antonis Elia, Theo Loizou, Gladys Onambele-Pearson, Matthew Barlow, Georgina Stebbings

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Hypoxic conditions have been reported to enhance red blood cell production in both acclimatised low-landers and altitude adapted populations. This process is mediated by the erythropoietin hormone, which is released predominantly by the hypoxic kidney. A higher haemoglobin concentration was previously reported in elite breath-hold divers when compared to elite-skiers and untrained individuals. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether apnoea induced hypoxia could induce a significant increase in serum erythropoietin concentration in recreational breath-hold divers which would provide an explanation to the higher haemoglobin levels observed in elite breath-hold divers. Identifying whether apnoea induced hypoxia induces a significant increase in serum erythropoietin might suggest that apnoea can be used as an alternative acclimatisation method to high altitude exposure. Seven healthy, recreational male breath-hold divers performed two sets of five 180 second breath-holds with a ten-minute supine rest between each set and a two-minute seated rest between each apnoea. During each breath-hold, participant’s heart rate and peripheral oxygen saturation levels were recorded every subsequent 10 seconds until the end of the 180 second breath-hold. After each 180 second breath-hold a capillary blood sample was collected from the finger to identify circulating haemoglobin levels. Following completion of the apnoeic protocol, three blood samples were collected at 30, 90 and 180 minutes to measure circulating erythropoietin levels. A significant interaction between erythropoietin and time was observed (F(3,18)= 4.72, p < 0.001), with significant increases in erythropoietin evident at 30 (t(6)= -5.035, p < 0.0590 (t(6)= -6.162, p < 0.05) and 180 (t(6)= - 7.232, p < 0.001) minutes post the last apnoea when compared to baseline. Corresponding average increases when compared to baseline were 16% at 30, 23% at 90 and 40% at 180 minutes post the last apnoea. A significant interaction between haemoglobin and time was observed (F(78,84)= 20.814, p < 0.001), with significant increases in haemoglobin evident at the fifth (t(29)= -1.124, p < 0.001), ninth (t(29)= -1.357, p < 0.001) and tenth (t(29)= -1.211, p < 0.05) apnoeas when compared to baseline. A significant interaction between peripheral oxygen saturation and time was observed (F(10,60)= 408.23, p < 0.001). The present study demonstrates that a series of ten 180 second breath-holds is sufficient to induce a significant increase in the circulating erythropoietin concentration of recreational breath hold divers. These observations may suggest that apnoea induced hypoxia may be used as an alternative acclimatisation method to high altitude exposure.

Keywords: apnoea, breath-holding, diving reflex, erythropoietin, haemoglobin

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