Search results for: revised COSO framework

Authors: Syed Toqueer Akhter, Muhammad Awais

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Pakistan is a country which is gifted by naturally abundant resources these resources are a pioneer towards a prospect and developed country. Pakistan is the fourth largest exporter of the textile in the world and with the passage of time the competitiveness of these exports is subject to a decline. With a lot of International players in the textile world like China, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka, Pakistan needs to put up a lot of effort to compete with these countries. This research paper would determine the impact of Foreign Direct Investment upon technological diffusion and that how significantly it may be affecting on export performance of the country. It would also demonstrate that with the increase in Foreign Direct Investment, technological diffusion, strong property rights, and using different policy tools, export competitiveness of the country could be improved. The research has been carried out using time series data from 1995 to 2013 and the results have been estimated by using competing Econometrics modes such as Robust regression and Generalized least squares so that to consolidate the impact of the Foreign Investments and Technological diffusion upon export competitiveness comprehensively. Distributed Lag model has also been used to encompass the lagged effect of policy tools variables used by the government. Model estimates entail that 'FDI' and 'Technological Diffusion' do have a significant impact on the competitiveness of the exports of Pakistan. It may also be inferred that competitiveness of Textile Sector requires integrated policy framework, primarily including the reduction in interest rates, providing subsides, and manufacturing of value added products.

Keywords: high technology export, robust regression, patents, technological diffusion, export competitiveness

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Authors: Eleni Stefania Kalapoda

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The current fossil-fuel based urbanization pattern and the estimated human population growth are increasing the environmental footprint on our planet’s precious resources. To mitigate the estimated skyrocketing in greenhouse gas emissions associated with the construction of new cities and infrastructure over the next 50 years, we need a radical rethink in our approach to construction to deliver a net zero built environment. This paper assesses the carbon footprint of a mass-timber, a steel, and a concrete structural alternative for peri-urban densification in the Hudson Valley's urban fringe, along with examining the updated policy and the building code adjustments that support synergies between timber construction in city making and sustainable management of timber forests. By quantifying the carbon footprint of a structural prototype for four different material assemblies—a concrete (post-tensioned), a mass timber, a steel (composite), and a hybrid (timber/steel/concrete) assembly applicable to the three updated building typologies of the IBC 2021 (Type IV-A, Type IV-B, Type IV-C) that range between a nine to eighteen-story structure alternative—and scaling-up that structural prototype to the size of a neighborhood district, the paper presents a quantitative and a qualitative approach for a forest-based construction economy as well as a resilient and a more just supply chain framework that ensures the wellbeing of both the forest and its inhabitants.

Keywords: mass-timber innovation, concrete structure, carbon footprint, densification

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Authors: Nikola Radovanovic, Petros Gkotsis, Mathieu Doussineau

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Aeronautics is regarded as a strategically important sector for European competitiveness. It was at the heart of European entrepreneurial development since the industry was born. Currently, the EU is the world leader in the production of civil aircraft, including helicopters, aircraft engines, parts, and components. It is recording a surplus in trade relating to aerospace products, which are exported all over the globe. Also, this industry shows above-average investments in research and development, as demonstrated in the patent activity in this area. The post-pandemic recovery of the industry will partly depend on the possibilities to streamline collaboration in further research and innovation activities. Aeronautics features as one of the often selected priority domains in smart specialisation, which represents the main regional and national approach in developing and implementing innovation policies in Europe. The basis for the selection of priority domains for smart specialisation lies in the mapping of innovative potential, with research and patent activities being among the key elements of this analysis. This research is aimed at identifying characteristics of the trends in research and patent activities in the regions and countries that base their competitiveness on the aeronautics sector. It is also aimed at determining the scope and patterns of collaborations in aeronautics between innovators from the European regions, focusing on revealing new technology areas that emerge from these collaborations. For this purpose, we developed a methodology based on desk research and the analysis of the PATSTAT patent database as well as the databases of R&I framework programmes.

Keywords: aeronautics, smart specialisation, innovation, research, regional policy

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Authors: Randolf Von N. Salindo

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The study was conducted to measure the logistics integration capabilities of selected companies in the Bahrain construction industry using the Supply Chain 2000 framework; and, determine the extent and direction of influence of these logistics capabilities and integration competencies on the supply chain performance of the firm. A total of 50 executive respondents (from supervisor to managing director level) from 22 construction and construction supplier firms participated in the study from September to November 2014. The results reveal that respondent Bahraini construction firms have significantly lower levels of logistics capabilities, but higher levels of logistics integration competencies compared to international benchmarks. Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, eight logistics capabilities of Bahraini constructions firms were identified to be positively associated with firm performance; with comprehensive metrics as the most positively dominant influential logistics capability. Activity based and total cost methodology is found to be the most negatively dominant influential logistics capability. In terms of logistics integration competencies, the study revealed that that customer integration, internal integration, and, measurement integration are negatively associated with firm performance. There was no logistics integration competency found to be positively associated with the supply chain performance among the companies who participated in the study. The research reveals that there are areas for improvement in supply chain capabilities and logistics integration competencies of the construction firms in the Kingdom of Bahrain to improve their supply chain performance to a global level.

Keywords: comprehensive metrics, customer integration, logistics integration capabilities, logistics integration competencies

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Authors: M. Adamczak-Retecka, O. Hołub-Śniadach

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Dangerous of climate change is now global problem and as such has a strategic priority also for the European Union. Europe and European citizens try to do their best to cut greenhouse gas emissions, moreover they substantially encourage other nations and regions to follow the same way. The European Commission and a number of Member States have developed adaptation strategies in order to help strengthen EU's resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change. The EU has long been a driving force in international negotiations on climate change and was instrumental in the development of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. As the world's leading donor of development aid, the EU also provides substantial funding to help developing countries tackle climate change problem. Global warming influences human health, biodiversity, ecosystems but also many social and economic sectors. The aim of this paper is to focus on impact of claimant change on for food security. Food security challenges are directly related to globalization, climate change. It means that current and future food policy is exposed to all cross-cutting and that must be linked with environmental and climate targets, which supposed to be achieved. In the 7th EAP —The new general Union Environment Action Program to 2020, called “Living well, within the limits of our planet” EU has agreed to step up its efforts to protect natural capital, stimulate resource efficient, low carbon growth and innovation, and safeguard people’s health and wellbeing– while respecting the Earth’s natural limits.

Keywords: climate change, food security, sustainable food consumption, climate governance

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Authors: Rabeab Khunpukdee, Aranya Sukchoui, Nonluk Somgit, Chitima Bunnaul

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Endotracheal displacement is a major risk of life threatening among critically ill patients. Standard nursing protocol is needed to minimize this risk and to improve clinical outcomes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the endothacheal care nursing guideline. The incidence rates of endochacheal displacement, oxygen deficiency after extubation, re-intubation, and nurse’s satisfaction on the utilization of the endotracheal care nursing guideline. An evidence-based nursing practice framework was used to develop the endotracheal care nursing guideline. The guideline valid content was review by a 3 panel of experts. The index of item objective (IOC) of the guideline was 0.93. The guideline was implemented in 130 patients (guideline group) and 19 registered nurses at a medicine ward, Had Yai hospital, Thailand. Patient’s outcomes were evaluated by comparison with those 155 patients who received the routine nursing care (routine care group). Descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and Mann Whitney U-test was analyzed using the computer program. All significantly and better outcomes were found in the guideline group compared to the routine care group. The guideline group has less incidence rates of endotracheal displacement (1.54 % vs 9.03 %, p < 0.05), and none of the guideline group had oxygen deficiency after extubation (0 % vs 83.33%) compared to the routine care group. All of the 2 patients in the guideline group, compared to 6 of 14 patients in the routine care group were re-intubation. The overall rate of re-intubation in the total group (n = 130 vs 155) was seen less in the guideline group than the routine care group (1.54 % vs 3.87). Overall, nurses satisfaction was at high-level (89.50%) on the utilization of the guideline.

Keywords: endotracheal care, nursing guideline, re-intubation, satisfaction

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Authors: Prakash Singh, Piet Maphodisa Kgohlo

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Knowledge-worker productivity is one of the biggest leadership challenges facing all organizations in the twenty-first century. It cannot be denied that knowledge-worker productivity affects all organizations. The work and the workforce are both undergoing greater changes currently than at any time, since the beginning of the industrial revolution two centuries ago. Employees welcome collegial teaming (CT) as an innovative way to develop their work-integrated learning competencies. Human resource development policies must evoke the symbiotic relationship between CT and work-integrated learning, seeing that employees need to be endowed with the competence to move from one skill to another, as each one becomes obsolete, and to simultaneously develop their cognitive and emotional intelligence. The outcome of this relationship must culminate in the development of highly productive knowledge-workers. While this study focuses on teachers, the conceptual framework and the findings of this research can be beneficial for any organization, public or private sector, business or non-business. Therefore, in this quantitative study, the benefits of CT are considered in developing human resources to sustain knowledge-worker productivity. The ANOVA p-values reveal that the majority of teachers agree that CT can empower them to overcome the challenges of managing curriculum change. CT can equip them with continuous and sustained learning, growth and improvement, necessary for knowledge-worker productivity. This study, therefore, confirms that CT benefits all workers, immaterial of their age, gender or experience. Hence, this exploratory research provides a new perspective of CT in addressing knowledge-worker productivity when organizational change alters the vision of the organization.

Keywords: collegial teaming, human resource development, knowledge-worker productivity, work-integrated learning

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Authors: Huanhuan Qiang, Sijia Jin

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Population aging has become a global trend, and China has entered an aging society, implementing an active aging system focused on home and community-based care. However, most urban communities where elderly people live face issues such as monotonous planning, unappealing landscapes, and inadequate aging infrastructure, which do not meet the requirements for active aging. Intergenerational friendliness and mutual assistance are key components in China's active aging policy framework. Therefore, residential development should prioritize enhancing intergenerational friendliness. Residential and public spaces are central to community life and well-being, offering new and challenging venues to improve relationships among residents of different ages. They are crucial for developing intergenerational communities with diverse generations and non-blood relationships. This paper takes the Maigaoqiao community in Nanjing, China, as a case study, examining intergenerational interactions in public spaces. Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs and using time geography analysis, it identifies the spatiotemporal behavior characteristics of intergenerational groups in outdoor activities. Then construct an intergenerational-friendly evaluation system and an IPA quadrant model for public spaces in residential areas. Lastly, it explores optimization strategies for public spaces to promote intergenerational friendly interactions, focusing on five aspects: accessibility, safety, functionality, a sense of belonging, and interactivity.

Keywords: intergenerational friendliness, demand theory, spatiotemporal behavior, IPA analysis, existing residential public space

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Authors: Mira Tripathi, Ken Hughey, Hamish G. Rennie

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Management of water resources is a major challenge throughout the world and in many long-established societies people still use traditional water harvesting and management techniques. Despite often being seen as efficient and cost effective, traditional methods are in decline or have been abandoned in many countries. Nevertheless, traditional approaches continue to be useful in some countries such as Nepal. The extent to which such traditional measures, in this case via stone spouts, may survive modernization, while fulfilling socio-cultural, tourism, and other needs is the focus of the research. The research develops an understanding of the socio-cultural, tourism and other values of stone spouts for the people of urban and peri-urban heritage and non-heritage areas of the Kathmandu Valley to help ongoing sustainable management of remaining spouts. Three research questions are addressed: the impacts of changes in social and cultural norms and values; development activities; and, the incremental and ongoing loss of traditional stone spout infrastructure. A meta-theory framework has been developed which synthesizes Institutional, Attachment, Central Place and Common Property theories, which form analytical lenses for the mixed-method research approach. From the exploration of the meta-theory approach, it was found that no spouts are in pristine condition but those in non-heritage areas are in better condition than those in heritage areas. “Utility value” is the main driver that still motivates people to conserve spouts.

Keywords: stone spouts, social and cultural norms and values, meta-theory, Kathmandu Valley

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Authors: AlHanoof A. Alharbi, Fatima M. Alamoudi, Razan A. Albrahim, Sarah F. Alharbi, Abdullah M Almuhaideb, Norah A. Almubairik, Abdulrahman Alharby, Naya M. Nagy

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Recently, drones received a rapid interest in different industries worldwide due to its powerful impact. However, limitations still exist in this emerging technology, especially privacy violation. These aircrafts consistently threaten the security of entities by entering restricted areas accidentally or deliberately. Therefore, this research project aims to develop drone detection and prevention mechanism to protect the restricted area. Until now, none of the solutions have met the optimal requirements of detection which are cost-effectiveness, high accuracy, long range, convenience, unaffected by noise and generalization. In terms of prevention, the existing methods are focusing on impractical solutions such as catching a drone by a larger drone, training an eagle or a gun. In addition, the practical solutions have limitations, such as the No-Fly Zone and PITBULL jammers. According to our study and analysis of previous related works, none of the solutions includes detection and prevention at the same time. The proposed solution is a combination of detection and prevention methods. To implement the detection system, a passive radar will be used to properly identify the drone against any possible flying objects. As for the prevention, jamming signals and forceful safe landing of the drone integrated together to stop the drone’s operation. We believe that applying this mechanism will limit the drone’s invasion of privacy incidents against highly restricted properties. Consequently, it effectively accelerates drones‘ usages at personal and governmental levels.

Keywords: detection, drone, jamming, prevention, privacy, RF, radar, UAV

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Authors: Celine Delacroix

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Analyses of global emission scenarios demonstrate that slowing population growth could lead to substantial emissions reductions and play an important role to avoid dangerous climate change. For this reason, the advancement of individual reproductive rights might represent a valid climate change mitigation and adaptation option. With this focus, we reflected on population ethics and the ethical dilemmas associated with environmental degradation and climate change. We conducted a mixed-methods qualitative data study consisting of an online survey followed by in-depth interviews with stakeholders of the reproductive health and rights and environmental sustainability movements to capture the ways in which the linkages between family planning, population growth, and environmental sustainability are perceived by these actors. We found that the multi-layered marginalization of this issue resulted in two processes, the polarization of opinions and its eschewal from the public fora through population reductionism. Our results indicate that stakeholders of the reproductive rights and environmental sustainability movements find that population size and family planning influence environmental sustainability and overwhelmingly find that the reproductive health and rights ideological framework should be integrated in a wider sustainability frame reflecting environmental considerations. This position, whilst majoritarily shared by all participants, was more likely to be adopted by stakeholders of the environmental sustainability sector than those from the reproductive health and rights sector. We conclude that these processes, taken in the context of a context of a climate emergency, threaten to weaken the reproductive health and rights movement.

Keywords: environmental sustainability, family planning, population growth, population ethics, reproductive rights

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Authors: Pedro M. Abreu, Bruno R. Mendes

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The management of pharmacotherapy and the process of dispensing medicines is becoming critical in clinical pharmacy due to the increase of incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases, the complexity and customization of therapeutic regimens, the introduction of innovative and more expensive medicines, the unbalanced relation between expenditure and revenue as well as due to the lack of rationalization associated with medication use. For these reasons, co-payments emerged in Europe in the 70s and have been applied over the past few years in healthcare. Co-payments lead to a rationing and rationalization of user’s access under healthcare services and products, and simultaneously, to a qualification and improvement of the services and products for the end-user. This analysis, under hospital practices particularly and co-payment strategies in general, was carried out on all the European regions and identified four reference countries, that apply repeatedly this tool and with different approaches. The structure, content and adaptation of European co-payments were analyzed through 7 qualitative attributes and 19 performance indicators, and the results expressed in a scorecard, allowing to conclude that the German models (total score of 68,2% and 63,6% in both elected co-payments) can collect more compliance and effectiveness, the English models (total score of 50%) can be more accessible, and the French models (total score of 50%) can be more adequate to the socio-economic and legal framework. Other European models did not show the same quality and/or performance, so were not taken as a standard in the future design of co-payments strategies. In this sense, we can see in the co-payments a strategy not only to moderate the consumption of healthcare products and services, but especially to improve them, as well as a strategy to increment the value that the end-user assigns to these services and products, such as medicines.

Keywords: clinical pharmacy, co-payments, healthcare, medicines

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Authors: Oxana Vasilyeva

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This paper draws on research in progress focusing on independent art in the Russian Federation. I am using the concept of independent art to mean art free from state control and established restrictive narratives. The Russian state pursues its interests by supporting or forbidding certain forms of art, and art that promotes values in opposition to the official political course is often forbidden. Arguments presented below draw from fieldwork carried out in Russian cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg in June – August 2019, which included in-depth interviews with artists. This research explores socially engaged artistic works and their effect on socio-political state of affairs. It argues that artistic works entering public places have a potential to challenge autocratic system and inspire civil society to be critically engaged and to be capable to resist state propaganda. I am focusing on those artists who have a critical stance towards the current Russian political regime and analyzing their works in terms of transgression. By using the framework of transgression I aim to demonstrate how artists step across existing norms with their art influencing political and social order. To show the connection between the factors mentioned above, I will turn to two examples of transgressive aesthetics; one is individual and another is collective. The first example is Konstantin Benkovich, an artist who makes his works out of steel rebar, which is considered to be a symbol of the lack of freedom, as it is usually encountered in prison settings. The second example is a collective art practice called Monstration. It combines techniques of a demonstration and a carnival atmosphere. In 2019 Monstration was held in 30 Russian cities, despite the dissatisfaction of the authorities.

Keywords: art, culture, resistance, Russia

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Authors: Marie Taylor, Catriona Murphy

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The aim of this paper is to identify the factors of success in community based heritage tourism initiatives. Heritage and community are central to many tourism initiatives with heritage tourism having the potential to act as a catalyst for community development. This paper presents the findings of research that examined the relationship between heritage tourism and community development. The findings recognised that heritage tourism had economic, social and cultural benefits for a community as well as a role in strengthening concepts such as sense of identity, place, and authenticity. In addition, this paper proposes an assessment framework for sustainable community based heritage tourism to identify factors and contextual influences involved in their success or failure. In evaluating the sustainability of such initiatives, a number of issues are investigated including the continued role of stakeholders, the role of funding, the influence of collaboration and the changing role of rural development and its impact on community engagement. The research is descriptive, evaluative and explanatory research, exploring and analysing issues such as the development of community structures in community based heritage tourism. Thus, it will contribute to the development of potential tourism and community development policies and strategies at a local, national and international level. An interpretative and inductive approach is utilised, and a mixed method approach followed as it encapsulates the best of quantitative and qualitative research methods. The case studies focus on social enterprises in relation to tourism and community based tourism cooperatives as there are limited study and knowledge of these. Consequently, this research will contribute to the discourse on community based heritage tourism as an aspect of community development.

Keywords: collaboration, community-based heritage tourism, stakeholders, sustainable tourism

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Authors: Ekin Nurbaş

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One of the essential challenges in array signal processing, which has drawn enormous research interest over the past several decades, is estimating the direction of arrival (DOA) of plane waves impinging on an array of sensors. In recent years, the Compressive Sensing based DoA estimation methods have been proposed by researchers, and it has been discovered that the Compressive Sensing (CS)-based algorithms achieved significant performances for DoA estimation even in scenarios where there are multiple coherent sources. On the other hand, the Genetic Algorithm, which is a method that provides a solution strategy inspired by natural selection, has been used in sparse representation problems in recent years and provides significant improvements in performance. With all of those in consideration, in this paper, a method that combines the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approaches for Direction of Arrival (DoA) estimation in the Compressive Sensing (CS) framework is proposed. In this method, we generate a multi-objective optimization problem by splitting the norm minimization and reconstruction loss minimization parts of the Compressive Sensing algorithm. With the help of the Genetic Algorithm, multiple non-dominated solutions are achieved for the defined multi-objective optimization problem. Among the pareto-frontier solutions, the final solution is obtained with the multiple MCDM methods. Moreover, the performance of the proposed method is compared with the CS-based methods in the literature.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, direction of arrival esitmation, multi criteria decision making, compressive sensing

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Authors: Virender Singh, Mathew Rees, Simon Hampton, Sivaram Annadurai

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Plant identification is a challenging task that aims to identify the family, genus, and species according to plant morphological features. Automated deep learning-based computer vision algorithms are widely used for identifying plants and can help users narrow down the possibilities. However, numerous morphological similarities between and within species render correct classification difficult. In this paper, we tested custom convolution neural network (CNN) and vision transformer (ViT) based models using the PyTorch framework to classify plants. We used a large dataset of 88,000 provided by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and a smaller dataset of 16,000 images from the PlantClef 2015 dataset for classifying plants at genus and species levels, respectively. Our results show that for classifying plants at the genus level, ViT models perform better compared to CNN-based models ResNet50 and ResNet-RS-420 and other state-of-the-art CNN-based models suggested in previous studies on a similar dataset. ViT model achieved top accuracy of 83.3% for classifying plants at the genus level. For classifying plants at the species level, ViT models perform better compared to CNN-based models ResNet50 and ResNet-RS-420, with a top accuracy of 92.5%. We show that the correct set of augmentation techniques plays an important role in classification success. In conclusion, these results could help end users, professionals and the general public alike in identifying plants quicker and with improved accuracy.

Keywords: plant identification, CNN, image processing, vision transformer, classification

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Authors: Bernardo Cortez, Florian Peter, Thomas Lausenhammer, Paulo Oliveira

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Designing missiles’ autopilot controllers have been a complex task, given the extensive flight envelope and the nonlinear flight dynamics. A solution that can excel both in nominal performance and in robustness to uncertainties is still to be found. While Control Theory often debouches into parameters’ scheduling procedures, Reinforcement Learning has presented interesting results in ever more complex tasks, going from videogames to robotic tasks with continuous action domains. However, it still lacks clearer insights on how to find adequate reward functions and exploration strategies. To the best of our knowledge, this work is a pioneer in proposing Reinforcement Learning as a framework for flight control. In fact, it aims at training a model-free agent that can control the longitudinal non-linear flight dynamics of a missile, achieving the target performance and robustness to uncertainties. To that end, under TRPO’s methodology, the collected experience is augmented according to HER, stored in a replay buffer and sampled according to its significance. Not only does this work enhance the concept of prioritized experience replay into BPER, but it also reformulates HER, activating them both only when the training progress converges to suboptimal policies, in what is proposed as the SER methodology. The results show that it is possible both to achieve the target performance and to improve the agent’s robustness to uncertainties (with low damage on nominal performance) by further training it in non-nominal environments, therefore validating the proposed approach and encouraging future research in this field.

Keywords: Reinforcement Learning, flight control, HER, missile autopilot, TRPO

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Authors: Özgür Öztürk, Cumhur Sipahi, Hande Yeşil

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Implant retained restorations commonly consist of a metal-framework veneered with ceramic or composite facings. The increasing and expanding use of indirect resin composites in dentistry is a result of innovations in materials and processing techniques. Of special interest to the implant restorative field is the possibility that composites present significantly lower peak vertical and transverse forces transmitted at the peri-implant level compared to metal-ceramic supra structures in implant-supported restorations. A 43-year-old male patient referred to the department of prosthodontics for an implant retained fixed prosthesis. The clinical and radiographic examination of the patient demonstrated the presence of an implant in the right mandibular first molar tooth region. A considerable amount of marginal bone loss around the implant was detected in radiographic examinations combined with a remarkable peri-implant soft tissue deficiency. To minimize the chewing loads transmitted to the implant-bone interface it was decided to fabricate an indirect composite resin veneered single metal crown over a screw-retained abutment. At the end of the treatment, the functional and aesthetic deficiencies were fully compensated. After a 6 months clinical and radiographic follow-up period the not any additional pathologic invasion was detected in the implant-bone interface and implant retained restoration did not reveal any vehement complication.

Keywords: dental implant, fixed partial dentures, indirect composite resin, peri-implant defects

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Authors: Sonia Arradaza-Pajaron

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College students are expected to engage in an on-the-job training or internship for completion of a course requirement prior to graduation. In this scenario, they are exposed to the real world of work outside their training institution. To find out their readiness both emotionally and academically, this study has been conducted. A descriptive-correlational research design was employed and random sampling technique method was utilized among 265 randomly selected third year college students of PIT, SY 2014-15. A questionnaire on Emotional Intelligence (bearing the four components namely; emotional literacy, emotional quotient competence, values and beliefs and emotional quotient outcomes) was fielded to the respondents and GWA was extracted from the school automate. Data collected were statistically treated using percentage, weighted mean and Pearson-r for correlation. Results revealed that respondents’ emotional intelligence level is moderately high while their academic performance is good. A high significant relationship was found between the EI component; Emotional Literacy and their academic performance while only significant relationship was found between Emotional Quotient Outcomes and their academic performance. Therefore, if EI influences academic performance significantly when correlated, a possibility that their OJT performance can also be affected either positively or negatively. Thus, EI can be considered predictor of their academic and academic-related performance. Based on the result, it is then recommended that the institution would try to look deeply into the consideration of embedding emotional intelligence as part of the (especially on Emotional Literacy and Emotional Quotient Outcomes of the students) college curriculum. It can be done if the school shall have an effective Emotional Intelligence framework or program manned by qualified and competent teachers, guidance counselors in different colleges in its implementation.

Keywords: academic performance, emotional intelligence, college students, academic success

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Authors: Gaurav Kumar Sinha

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The oil and gas industry is a critical component of the global economy, relying heavily on industrial control systems (ICS) to manage and monitor operations. However, these systems are increasingly becoming targets for cyber-attacks, posing significant risks to operational continuity, safety, and environmental integrity. This paper explores comprehensive cybersecurity strategies for protecting oil and gas industrial control systems. It delves into the unique vulnerabilities of ICS in this sector, including outdated legacy systems, integration with IT networks, and the increased connectivity brought by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). We propose a multi-layered defense approach that includes the implementation of robust network security protocols, regular system updates and patch management, advanced threat detection and response mechanisms, and stringent access control measures. We illustrate the effectiveness of these strategies in mitigating cyber risks and ensuring the resilient and secure operation of oil and gas industrial control systems. The findings underscore the necessity for a proactive and adaptive cybersecurity framework to safeguard critical infrastructure in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Keywords: cybersecurity, industrial control systems, oil and gas, cyber-attacks, network security, IoT, threat detection, system updates, patch management, access control, cybersecurity awareness, critical infrastructure, resilience, cyber threats, legacy systems, IT integration, multi-layered defense, operational continuity, safety, environmental integrity

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Authors: Sarah Marie

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In today's dynamic financial landscape, cryptocurrencies represent a paradigm shift characterized by innovation and intense debate. This study probes into their transformative potential and the challenges they present, offering a balanced perspective that recognizes both their promise and pitfalls. Emulating the engaging style of a TED Talk, this research goes beyond academic analysis, serving as a critical bridge to reconcile the perspectives of cryptocurrency skeptics and enthusiasts, fostering a well-informed dialogue. The study employs a mixed-method approach, analyzing current trends, regulatory landscapes, and public perceptions in the cryptocurrency domain. It distinguishes genuine innovators in this field from ostentatious opportunists, echoing the sentiment that real innovation should be separated from mere showmanship. If one is unfamiliar with who is being referenced, they can likely spot them leaning against their Lamborghinis outside "Crypto" conventions, looking greasy. Major findings reveal a complex scenario dominated by regulatory uncertainties, market volatility, and security issues, emphasizing the need for a coherent regulatory framework that balances innovation with risk management and sustainable practices. The study underscores the importance of transparency and consumer protection in fostering responsible growth within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. In conclusion, the research advocates for education, innovation, and ethical governance in the realm of cryptocurrencies. It calls for collaborative efforts to navigate the intricacies of this evolving landscape and to realize its full potential in a responsible, inclusive, and forward-thinking manner.

Keywords: financial landscape, innovation, public perception, transparency

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Authors: Boon Yih Mah

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Web-based Cognitive Writing Instruction (WeCWI)’s contribution towards language development can be divided into linguistic and non-linguistic perspectives. In linguistic perspective, WeCWI focuses on the literacy and language discoveries, while the cognitive and psychological discoveries are the hubs in non-linguistic perspective. In linguistic perspective, WeCWI draws attention to free reading and enterprises, which are supported by the language acquisition theories. Besides, the adoption of process genre approach as a hybrid guided writing approach fosters literacy development. Literacy and language developments are interconnected in the communication process; hence, WeCWI encourages meaningful discussion based on the interactionist theory that involves input, negotiation, output, and interactional feedback. Rooted in the e-learning interaction-based model, WeCWI promotes online discussion via synchronous and asynchronous communications, which allows interactions happened among the learners, instructor, and digital content. In non-linguistic perspective, WeCWI highlights on the contribution of reading, discussion, and writing towards cognitive development. Based on the inquiry models, learners’ critical thinking is fostered during information exploration process through interaction and questioning. Lastly, to lower writing anxiety, WeCWI develops the instructional tool with supportive features to facilitate the writing process. To bring a positive user experience to the learner, WeCWI aims to create the instructional tool with different interface designs based on two different types of perceptual learning style.

Keywords: WeCWI, literacy discovery, language discovery, cognitive discovery, psychological discovery

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Authors: Ruby A. L. Espineli

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The study assessed the Philippine National Police strategies in the implementation of ‘Peace and Order Agenda for Transformation and Upholding of the Rule-of-Law’ P.A.T.R.O.L Plan 2030. Its operational roadmap presents four perspectives which include resource management, learning and growth, process excellence; and community. Focused group discussion, observation, and distribution of survey questionnaire to selected PNP officers and community members were done to identify and describe the implementation, problems encountered and measures to address the problems of the PNP P.A.T.R.O.L Plan 2030. In resource management, PNP allocates most sufficient funds in providing service firearms, patrol vehicle, and internet connections. In terms of learning and growth, the attitude of PNP officers is relatively higher than their knowledge and skills. Moreover, in terms of process excellence, the PNP use several crime preventions and crime solution strategies to deliver an immediate response to calls of the community. As regards, community perspective, PNP takes effort in establishing partnership with community. It is also interesting to note that PNP officers and community were both undecided on the existence of problems encountered in the implementation of P.A.T.R.O.L Plan 2030. But, they had proactive behavior as they agreed on all the specified measures to address the problems encountered in implementation of PNP P.A.T.R.O.L. Plan 2030. A strategic framework, based on the findings was formulated in this study that could improve and entrench the harmonious working relationship between the PNP and stakeholders in the enhancement of the implementation of PNP P.A.T.R.O.L. Plan 2030.

Keywords: community perspectives, learning and growth, process excellence, resource management

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Authors: Kawsar Ahmed, Hong Wang

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The study's goal was to estimate the causal mediation impact of tobacco tax before and after price hikes among low-income male smokers, with a particular emphasis on the effect estimating pathways framework for continuous and dichotomous variables. From July to December 2021, a cross-sectional investigation of observational data (n=739) was collected from Bangladeshi low-wage smokers. The Quasi-Bayesian technique, binomial probit model, and sensitivity analysis using a simulation of the computational tools R mediation package had been used to estimate the effect. After a price rise for tobacco products, the average number of cigarettes or bidis sticks taken decreased from 6.7 to 4.56. Tobacco product rising prices have a direct effect on low-income people's decisions to quit or lessen their daily smoking habits of Average Causal Mediation Effect (ACME) [effect=2.31, 95 % confidence interval (C.I.) = (4.71-0.00), p<0.01], Average Direct Effect (ADE) [effect=8.6, 95 percent (C.I.) = (6.8-0.11), p<0.001], and overall significant effects (p<0.001). Tobacco smoking choice is described by the mediated proportion of income effect, which is 26.1% less of following price rise. The curve of ACME and ADE is based on observational figures of the coefficients of determination that asses the model of hypothesis as the substantial consequence after price rises in the sensitivity analysis. To reduce smoking product behaviors, price increases through taxation have a positive causal mediation with income that affects the decision to limit tobacco use and promote low-income men's healthcare policy.

Keywords: causal mediation analysis, directed acyclic graphs, tobacco price policy, sensitivity analysis, pathway estimation

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Authors: J. Janani, S. Gomathi

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Despite the new economy is embodied with the ample size of talent pool, the corporate world is facing the hardship in the mismatch of talent demand supply. Therefore to combat with this fallout crisis, here depicts the relevance of Employer Branding. Employer branding is gaining its popularity in Large sized companies especially IT companies but less employer branding awareness among IT SMEs (Small and Medium size Enterprises). There are N range of analysis has been dole out on employer branding from different perspectives and in different industries. The hidden factor behind the employer branding namely the post employment dissonance was not given a lot of importance into the research picture. The present study examines the employer branding as the employer image and the organizational identity. It focuses on the two fold dimensional branding initiatives namely job offer attributes and organizational attractiveness. The study will depict the dissonance level and their variations among the foresaid initiatives from the former employees and the post-employment dissonance from the present employees in IT SMEs and it will also examine the employer perception from the prospective employees towards the stated branding initiatives. The demographic factors such as generational factors (gen X and gen Y) and the career stages are majorly focused in the study. The study will promote the IT SMEs to strengthen their employer branding effectively and efficiently through implementing varied strategies and this will help them to enhance the talent pool at their best. This will eventually result in talent attraction and talent retention.

Keywords: employer image, organizational identity, post-employment dissonance, job offer attributes, organizational attractiveness, talent pool, career stages, generational factors, information technology, SMEs

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Abdelkader Ababneh

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Heritage management planning is increasingly important throughout the international context, particularly in the developing countries. Jordan has important and unique heritage resources due to its natural topography and climate, but also to its history and old sites. A high number of these archaeological sites are in very good state of preservation. Most natural sites and resources are privately managed while archaeological heritage sites are publicly managed within national legal texts and with some referencing to international legal documents. This study examines the development of cultural heritage management in Jarash, and questions if this heritage has been managed in an appropriate manner. The purpose of this paper is to define and review the stakeholders in charge of the management of the archaeological site of Jarash, the legal texts, laws and documents adopted to apply the site management. Relations and coordination between stakeholders and the challenge of the planning process is also the focus of this paper. A review of pertinent academic, technical studies, reports and projects literature pertaining to the heritage management planning in general and related to the site of Jarash in particular coupled with field study of the site served as the background of the information base for the study. Current context of actors, legislative framework, planning policies and initiatives for the site of Jarash reveal important and continuous challenge for managing the site. Recommendations suggest reviewing and restructuring the entity responsible of the sites management. It is also recommended to review their applied policies and a redevelopment of the legislative frame work.

Keywords: heritage management, stakeholders, legal protection, Jarash

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Reza Nematirad, Anil Pahwa, Balasubramaniam Natarajan

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Time series data consist of successive data points collected over a period of time. Accurate prediction of future values is essential for informed decision-making in several real-world applications, including electricity load demand forecasting, lifetime estimation of industrial machinery, traffic planning, weather prediction, and the stock market. Due to their critical relevance and wide application, there has been considerable interest in time series forecasting in recent years. However, the proliferation of sensors and IoT devices, real-time monitoring systems, and high-frequency trading data introduce significant intricate temporal variations, rapid changes, noise, and non-linearities, making time series forecasting more challenging. Classical methods such as Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and Exponential Smoothing aim to extract pre-defined temporal variations, such as trends and seasonality. While these methods are effective for capturing well-defined seasonal patterns and trends, they often struggle with more complex, non-linear patterns present in real-world time series data. In recent years, deep learning has made significant contributions to time series forecasting. Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and their variants, such as Long short-term memory (LSTMs) and Gated Recurrent Units (GRUs), have been widely adopted for modeling sequential data. However, they often suffer from the locality, making it difficult to capture local trends and rapid fluctuations. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), particularly Temporal Convolutional Networks (TCNs), leverage convolutional layers to capture temporal dependencies by applying convolutional filters along the temporal dimension. Despite their advantages, TCNs struggle with capturing relationships between distant time points due to the locality of one-dimensional convolution kernels. Transformers have revolutionized time series forecasting with their powerful attention mechanisms, effectively capturing long-term dependencies and relationships between distant time points. However, the attention mechanism may struggle to discern dependencies directly from scattered time points due to intricate temporal patterns. Lastly, Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs) have also been employed, with models like N-BEATS and LightTS demonstrating success. Despite this, MLPs often face high volatility and computational complexity challenges in long-horizon forecasting. To address intricate temporal variations in time series data, this study introduces Times2D, a novel framework that parallelly integrates 2D spectrogram and derivative heatmap techniques. The spectrogram focuses on the frequency domain, capturing periodicity, while the derivative patterns emphasize the time domain, highlighting sharp fluctuations and turning points. This 2D transformation enables the utilization of powerful computer vision techniques to capture various intricate temporal variations. To evaluate the performance of Times2D, extensive experiments were conducted on standard time series datasets and compared with various state-of-the-art algorithms, including DLinear (2023), TimesNet (2023), Non-stationary Transformer (2022), PatchTST (2023), N-HiTS (2023), Crossformer (2023), MICN (2023), LightTS (2022), FEDformer (2022), FiLM (2022), SCINet (2022a), Autoformer (2021), and Informer (2021) under the same modeling conditions. The initial results demonstrated that Times2D achieves consistent state-of-the-art performance in both short-term and long-term forecasting tasks. Furthermore, the generality of the Times2D framework allows it to be applied to various tasks such as time series imputation, clustering, classification, and anomaly detection, offering potential benefits in any domain that involves sequential data analysis.

Keywords: derivative patterns, spectrogram, time series forecasting, times2D, 2D representation

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Authors: Leila Habibi, Hadi Hakimi, Hadi Sadeghian, Maryam Jafari Mehrabadi

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Nowadays, the importance of information technology and web-based information in tourism is very obvious. Increasing of sales and promotion of brands, the rise of information about tourist attractions and tourist areas, entrepreneurship and making money, introducing of hotels and side information to tourists via web are some examples of website effects on tourism. The hotels using web-based information can succeed in attracting tourists and improve the quality of services to the tourists. So, the study of hotel websites has become one of the most important issues in tourism. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the status of hotel websites in Yazd County as one of the most tourist visited counties in Iran. The quality of hotel website in a county can be very vital for tourism. Hence, this research compares the status of hotel websites in Yazd County with standard indexes and items that extracted from literature and theoretical framework. Content analysis is used for analyzing hotel websites with indexes and items in methodology. In the other words, all of the items are compared with the content of hotel-websites in Yazd one by one. Finally, every hotel archived final score which represents the position of the hotel among the others. All of scores and status of hotels are displayed in their own figures. The result of this research shows that many hotels do not offer standard web-based services and information. So, the existing situation is not very suitable for the attraction of web users or improving the tourism. The result of this research may help the managers and authorities of tourism to offer and improve the web-based services and information.

Keywords: e-tourism, hotel websites, tourism, web-tourism

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Authors: Desta Brhanu Gebrehiwot

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The purpose of this review was to analyze the overall or combined effect of scholarly studies conducted on the impacts of Food for work (FFW) and Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) on farm households’ livelihood (agricultural investment on the adoption of fertilizer, food security, livestock holding, nutrition and its’ disincentive effect) in Ethiopia. In addition, to make a critical assessment of the internal and external validity of the existing studies, the review also indicates the possibility to redesign the program. The method of selecting eligible studies for review was PICOS (Participants, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Settings) framework. The method of analysis was the fixed effects model under Meta-Analysis. The findings of this systematic review confirm the overall or combined positive significant impact of PSNP on fertilizer adoption (combined point estimate=0.015, standard error=0.005, variance=0.000, lower limit 0.004 up to the upper limit=0.026, z-value=2.726, and p-value=0.006). And the program had a significant positive impact on the child nutrition of rural households and had no significant disincentive effect. However, the program had no significant impact on livestock holdings. Thus, PSNP is important for households whose livelihood depends on rain-fed agriculture and are exposed to rainfall shocks. Thus, better to integrate the program into the national agricultural policy. In addition, most of the studies suggested that PSNP needs more attention to the design and targeting issued in order to be effective and efficient in social protection.

Keywords: meta-analysis, fixed effect model, PSNP, rural-livelihood, Ethiopia

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Authors: Sujata Upgupta, Prasoon Kumar Singh

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The expansion of large scale coal mining into forest areas is a potential hazard for the local biodiversity and wildlife. The objective of this study is to provide a picture of the threat that coal mining poses to the forests of the East Bokaro landscape. The vulnerable forest areas at risk have been assessed and the priority areas for conservation have been presented. The forested areas at risk in the current scenario have been assessed and compared with the past conditions using classification and buffer based overlay approach. Forest vulnerability has been assessed using an analytical framework based on systematic indicators and composite vulnerability index values. The results indicate that more than 4 km² of forests have been lost from 1973 to 2016. Large patches of forests have been diverted for coal mining projects. Forests in the northern part of the coal field within 1-3 km radius around the coal mines are at immediate risk. The original contiguous forests have been converted into fragmented and degraded forest patches. Most of the collieries are located within or very close to the forests thus threatening the biodiversity and hydrology of the surrounding regions. Based on the vulnerability values estimated, it was concluded that more than 90% of the forested grids in East Bokaro are highly vulnerable to mining. The forests in the sub-districts of Bermo and Chandrapura have been identified as the most vulnerable to coal mining activities. This case study would add to the capacity of the forest managers and mine managers to address the risk and vulnerability of forests at a small landscape level in order to achieve sustainable development.

Keywords: forest, coal mining, indicators, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 390