Search results for: personal income
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3741

Search results for: personal income

3411 Critical Thinking Index of College Students

Authors: Helen Frialde-Dupale

Abstract:

Critical thinking Index (CTI) of 150 third year college students from five State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) in Region I were determined. Only students with Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.0 from four general classification of degree courses, namely: Education, Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Agriculture were included. Specific problem No.1 dealt with the profile variables, namely: age, sex, degree course, monthly family income, number of siblings, high school graduated from, grade point average, personality type, highest educational attainment of parents, and occupation of parents. Problem No. 2 determined the critical thinking index among the respondents. Problem No. 3 investigated whether or not there are significant differences in the critical thinking index among the respondents across the profile variables. While problem No.4 determined whether or not there are significant relationship between the critical thinking index and selected profile variables, namely: age, monthly family income, number of siblings, and grade point average of the respondents. Finally, on problem No. 5, the critical thinking instrument which obtained the lowest rates, were used as basis for outlining an intervention program for enhancing critical thinking index (CTI) of students. The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance: there are no significant differences in the critical thinking index of the third college students across the profile variables; there are no significant relationships between the critical thinking index of the respondents and selected variables, namely: age, monthly family income, number of siblings, and grade point average.

Keywords: attitude as critical thinker, critical thinking applied, critical thinking index, self-perception as critical thinker

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3410 Factors Affecting Residential Satisfaction in Low-Income Housing: Case Study of War College Housing in Gwarinpa Estate-Abuja, Nigeria

Authors: Abdulmajeed Mustapha, Murat Sahin, Ebru Karahan

Abstract:

Low-income housing for poor people in urban areas is a global challenge, especially in developing countries. The quality of construction of mass housing is oftentimes compromised, thus resulting in a housing deficit, thereby affecting the residential satisfaction of users. This research analyses the various factors affecting residential satisfaction in War College Housing Estate, Abuja, Nigeria. These were investigated using parameters such as environmental characteristics and public amenities such as public benefits, safety/security, and sociodemographic characteristics. The study adopted a quantitative approach for the data gathering through literature reviews within the topic’s scope. The survey was conducted between April to May 2021 using a questionnaire form that was distributed to household members, onsite analysis within the selected housing project, and interviews with a few professionals within the field of this research. Data gathered from the survey and analysis on housing and sociodemographic characteristics, amongst others, were acquired through the means of interviews and site surveys of the selected Housing Estate. Findings from the various characteristics determining satisfaction revealed that residents had varying levels of satisfaction, ranging from a scale of satisfied to dissatisfied. It is recommended that the government come up with policies that will not only make the environment clean and safe but also make sure that the needs of the people who live there are taken into account. This will help the people who live there be more satisfied with their homes.

Keywords: residential satisfaction, neighborhood satisfaction, low-income housing, socio-demographic characteristics, Nigeria

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3409 The Concept of Equal Pay: Analyzing the Presence of Inequality in the Hospitality Sector with the Perspective of Employees in Gujarat, India

Authors: Vedi Goenka

Abstract:

Inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on any particular trait. It arises from differences in socially constructed roles. Women are usually characterized as inferior and weak, who are dependent on their male counterparts. Even though it is claimed that both the genders have been given equal rights, inequality has always been prevalent in the Indian society, from personal to the professional front. There are different types of inequality that persist in the corporate world such as age inequality, gender inequality, tenure inequality and so on. Consequently, wage inequality occurs when employees are equally qualified and perform the same task but, one group of employees is paid more than the other. The hospitality sector is one of the emerging sectors in Gujarat which also experiences a lot of organizational dynamics. The proposed paper focuses on the concept of equal pay which states that pay should be based on the kind and quality of work done and not according to any other aspects. An exploratory attempt to understand the existence of inequality in the Hospitality sector on the basis of income is made in this research. The myth that wage discrimination has always favored men over similarly qualified women is analyzed in this research paper. A structured survey of a sample, representative of the employees of the Hospitality sector is being carried out in this study. An attempt to keep the effects of the environmental factors to a minimum level is made.

Keywords: equal pay, human resources, hospitality sector, inequality, perspective, wage structure

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3408 The Effect of Gender and Resources on Entrepreneurial Activity

Authors: Frederick Nyakudya

Abstract:

In this paper, we examine the relationship between human capital, personal wealth and social capital to explain the differential start-up rates between female and male entrepreneurs. Since our dependent variable is dichotomous, we examine the determinants of these using a maximum likelihood logit estimator. We used the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor database covering the period 2006 to 2009 with 421 usable cases drawn from drawn from the Lower Layer Super Output Areas in the East Midlands in the United Kingdom. we found evidence that indicates that a female positively moderate the positive relationships between indicators of human capital, personal wealth and social capital with start-up activity. The findings have implications for programs, policies, and practices to encourage more females to engage in start-up activity.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, star-up, gender, GEM

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3407 Impact of the Electricity Market Prices during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Energy Storage Operation

Authors: Marin Mandić, Elis Sutlović, Tonći Modrić, Luka Stanić

Abstract:

With the restructuring and deregulation of the power system, storage owners, generation companies or private producers can offer their multiple services on various power markets and earn income in different types of markets, such as the day-ahead, real-time, ancillary services market, etc. During the COVID-19 pandemic, electricity prices, as well as ancillary services prices, increased significantly. The optimization of the energy storage operation was performed using a suitable model for simulating the operation of a pumped storage hydropower plant under market conditions. The objective function maximizes the income earned through energy arbitration, regulation-up, regulation-down and spinning reserve services. The optimization technique used for solving the objective function is mixed integer linear programming (MILP). In numerical examples, the pumped storage hydropower plant operation has been optimized considering the already achieved hourly electricity market prices from Nord Pool for the pre-pandemic (2019) and the pandemic (2020 and 2021) years. The impact of the electricity market prices during the COVID-19 pandemic on energy storage operation is shown through the analysis of income, operating hours, reserved capacity and consumed energy for each service. The results indicate the role of energy storage during a significant fluctuation in electricity and services prices.

Keywords: electrical market prices, electricity market, energy storage optimization, mixed integer linear programming (MILP) optimization

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3406 Number Variation of the Personal Pronoun we Used by Chinese English Learners

Authors: Qiong Hu, Ming Yue

Abstract:

Language variation signals the newest usage of language community, which might become the developmental trend of that language. However, language textbooks cannot keep up with these emergent usages. Most Chinese English learners nowadays are still exposed to traditional grammar prescribed in the textbook so that some variational usages cannot be acquired. The personal pronoun we is prescribed as a plural pronoun in the textbook grammar, but its number value is more flexible in actual use. Based on the Chinese Learner English Corpus (CLEC), and with the homemade Friends corpus as reference, the present research explores the number value of the first person pronoun we used by Chinese English learners. With consideration of the subjectivity of we, this paper annotated the number value of all the wes in “we+ PCU (Perception-cognation-utterance) verbs” collocations. Results show that though exposed to traditional textbooks which prescribe the plural reference of we, there still exists some unconventional usage (singular or vague in reference) in the writings of Chinese English learners, which is less frequent than that of the native speeches. Corpus data and results from manual semantic annotation show that this could be due to the impact of formulaic sequence on the learners and the positive transfer from their native language. An improved SLA model of native language, target language and interlanguage is put forward to recognize the existence of variation in second language acquisition, which should be given more attention during teaching.

Keywords: Chinese English learners, number, PCU verbs, Personal pronoun we

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3405 [Keynote Speech]: Guiding Teachers to Make Lessons Relevant, Appealing, and Personal (RAP) for Academically-Low-Achieving Students in STEM Subjects

Authors: Nazir Amir

Abstract:

Teaching approaches to present science and mathematics content amongst academically-low-achieving students may need to be different than approaches that are adopted for the more academically-inclined students, primarily due to the different learning needs and learning styles of these students. In crafting out lessons to motivate and engage these students, teachers need to consider the backgrounds of these students and have a good understanding of their interests so that lessons can be presented in ways that appeal to them, and made relevant not just to the world around them, but also to their personal experiences. This presentation highlights how the author worked with a Professional Learning Community (PLC) of teachers in crafting out fun and feasible classroom teaching approaches to present science and mathematics content in ways that are made Relevant, Appealing, and Personal (RAP) to groups of academically-low-achieving students in Singapore. Feedback from the students and observations from their work suggest that they were engaged through the RAP-modes of instruction, and were able to appreciate the role of science and mathematics through a variety of low-cost design-based STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) activities. Such results imply that teachers teaching academically-low-achieving students, and those in under-resourced communities, could consider infusing RAP-infused instructions into their lessons in getting students develop positive attitudes towards STEM subjects.

Keywords: STEM Education, STEAM Education, Curriculum Instruction, Academically At-Risk Students, Singapore

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3404 Patterns of Private Transfers in the Philippines: An Analysis of Who Gives and Receives More

Authors: Rutcher M. Lacaza, Stephen Jun V. Villejo

Abstract:

This paper investigated the patterns of private transfers in the Philippines using the Family Income Expenditure Survey (FIES) 2009, conducted by the Philippine government’s National Statistics Office (NSO) every three years. The paper performed bivariate analysis on net transfers, using the identified determinants for a household to be either a net receiver or a net giver. The household characteristics considered are the following: age, sex, marital status, employment status and educational attainment of the household head, and also size, location, pre-transfer income and the number of employed members of the household. The variables net receiver and net giver are determined by computing the net transfer, subtracting total gifts from total receipts. The receipts are defined as the sum of cash received from abroad, cash received from domestic sources, total gifts received and inheritance. While gifts are defined as the sum of contributions and donations to church and other religious institutions, contributions and donations to other institutions, gifts and contributions to others, and gifts and assistance to private individuals outside the family. Both in kind and in cash transfers are considered in the analysis. It also performed a multiple regression analysis on transfers received and income including other household characteristics to examine the motives for giving transfers – whether altruism or exchanged. It also used the binary logistic regression to estimate the probability of being a net receiver or net giver given the household characteristics. The study revealed that receiving tends to be universal – both the non-poor and the poor benefit although the poor receive substantially less than the non-poor. Regardless of whether households are net receivers or net givers, households in the upper deciles generally give and receive more than those in the lower deciles. It also appears that private transfers may just flow within economic groups. Big amounts of transfers are, therefore, directed to the non-poor and the small amounts go to the poor. This was also supported by the increasing function of gross transfers received and the income of households – the poor receiving less and the non-poor receiving more. This is contrary to the theory that private transfers can help equalize the distribution of income. This suggested that private transfers in the Philippines are not altruistically motivated but exchanged. However, bilateral data on transfers received or given is needed to test this theory directly. The results showed that transfers are much needed by the poor and it is important to understand the nature of private transfers, to ensure that government transfer programs are properly designed and targeted so as to prevent the duplication of private safety nets already present among the non-poor.

Keywords: private transfers, net receiver, net giver, altruism, exchanged.

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3403 Belief-Based Games: An Appropriate Tool for Uncertain Strategic Situation

Authors: Saied Farham-Nia, Alireza Ghaffari-Hadigheh

Abstract:

Game theory is a mathematical tool to study the behaviors of a rational and strategic decision-makers, that analyze existing equilibrium in interest conflict situation and provides an appropriate mechanisms for cooperation between two or more player. Game theory is applicable for any strategic and interest conflict situation in politics, management and economics, sociology and etc. Real worlds’ decisions are usually made in the state of indeterminacy and the players often are lack of the information about the other players’ payoffs or even his own, which leads to the games in uncertain environments. When historical data for decision parameters distribution estimation is unavailable, we may have no choice but to use expertise belief degree, which represents the strength with that we believe the event will happen. To deal with belief degrees, we have use uncertainty theory which is introduced and developed by Liu based on normality, duality, subadditivity and product axioms to modeling personal belief degree. As we know, the personal belief degree heavily depends on the personal knowledge concerning the event and when personal knowledge changes, cause changes in the belief degree too. Uncertainty theory not only theoretically is self-consistent but also is the best among other theories for modeling belief degree on practical problem. In this attempt, we primarily reintroduced Expected Utility Function in uncertainty environment according to uncertainty theory axioms to extract payoffs. Then, we employed Nash Equilibrium to investigate the solutions. For more practical issues, Stackelberg leader-follower Game and Bertrand Game, as a benchmark models are discussed. Compared to existing articles in the similar topics, the game models and solution concepts introduced in this article can be a framework for problems in an uncertain competitive situation based on experienced expert’s belief degree.

Keywords: game theory, uncertainty theory, belief degree, uncertain expected value, Nash equilibrium

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3402 The Construct of Personal Choice within Individual Language Shift: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study

Authors: Kira Gulko Morse

Abstract:

Choosing one’s primary language may not be as common as choosing an additional foreign language to study or use during travel. In some instances, however, it becomes a matter of internal personal struggle, as language is tied not only to specific circumstances but also to human background and identity. This phenomenological qualitative study focuses on the factors affecting the decision of a person to undergo a language shift. Specifically, it considers how these factors relate to identity negotiation and expression. The data for the study include the analysis of published autobiographical narratives and personal interviews conducted using the Responsive Interviewing model. While research participants come from a variety of geographical locations and have used different reasons for undergoing their individual language shift, the study identifies a number of common features shared by all the participants. Specifically, while all the participants have been able to maintain their first language to varying degrees of proficiency, they have all completed the shift to establish a primary language different from their first. Additionally, the process of self-identification is found to be directly connected to the phenomenon of language choice for each of the participants. The findings of the study further tie the phenomenon of individual language shift to a more comprehensive issue of individual life choices – ethnic revival, immigration, and inter-cultural marriage among others. The study discusses varying language roles and the data indicate that language shift may occur whether it is a symbolic driving force or a secondary means in fulfilling a set life goal. The concept of language addition is suggested as an alternative to the arbitrariness of language shift. Thus, instead of focusing on subtractive bilingualism or language loss, the emphasis becomes the integration of languages within the individual. The study emphasizes the importance of the construct of personal choice in its connection to individual language shift. It places the focus from society onto an individual and the ability of an individual to make decisions in matters of linguistic identification.

Keywords: choice theory, identity negotiation, language shift, psycholinguistics

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3401 Kinetic and Mechanistic Study on the Degradation of Typical Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in Water by Using Carbon Nanodots/C₃N₄ Composite and Ultrasonic Irradiation

Authors: Miao Yang

Abstract:

PPCPs (pharmaceutical and personal care products) in water, as an environmental pollutant, becomes an issue of increasing concern. Therefore, the techniques for degradation of PPCPs has been a hotspot in water pollution control field. Since there are several disadvantages for common degradation techniques of PPCPs, such as low degradation efficiency for certain PPCPs (ibuprofen and Carbamazepine) this proposal will adopt a combined technique by using CDs (carbon nanodots)/C₃N₄ composite and ultrasonic irradiation to mitigate or overcome these shortages. There is a significant scientific problem that the mechanism including PPCPs, major reactants, and interfacial active sites is not clear yet in the study of PPCPs degradation. This work aims to solve this problem by using both theoretical and experimental methodologies. Firstly, optimized parameters will be obtained by evaluating the kinetics and oxidation efficiency under different conditions. The competition between H₂O₂ and PPCPs with HO• will be elucidated, after which the degradation mechanism of PPCPs by the synergy of CDs/C₃N₄ composite and ultrasonic irradiation will be proposed. Finally, a sonolysis-adsorption-catalysis coupling mechanism will be established which is the theoretical basis and technical support for developing new efficient degradation techniques for PPCPs in the future.

Keywords: carbon nanodots/C₃N₄, pharmaceutical and personal care products, ultrasonic irradiation, hydroxyl radical, heterogeneous catalysis

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3400 Health Outcomes from Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors: Andrea Parisi, Samantha Vilkins, Luis Furuya-Kanamori, John A. Crump, Benjamin P. Howden, Darren Gray, Kathryn Glass, Martyn Kirk

Abstract:

Objectives: Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne enterocolitis worldwide. Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections that are Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) (non-susceptible to ≥1 agent in ≥3 antimicrobial categories) may result in more severe outcomes, although these effects have not been systematically examined. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine impacts of MDR NTS on health in high-income settings. Methods: We systematically reviewed the literature from scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus and grey literature sources, using PRISMA guidelines. We searched for data from case-control studies, cohorts, outbreaks, reports and theses, imposing no language restriction. We included only publications from January 1990 to September 2016 from high income countries as classified by World Bank. We extracted data from papers on duration of illness, hospitalisation rates, morbidity and mortality for MDR and non-MDR NTS strains. Results: After removing duplicates, the initial search revealed 4258 articles. After further screening, we identified 16 eligible studies for the systematic review, and 9 of these were included in meta-analysis. NTS serotypes differed among the reported studies but serotype Typhimurium, Enteritidis, Newport and Heidelberg were among the most often reported as MDR pathogens. Salmonella infections that were MDR were associated with excess bloodstream infections (OR 1.63; 95%CI 1.18-2.26), excess hospitalisations (OR 2.77; 95%CI 1.47-5.21) and higher mortality (OR 3.54; 95%CI 1.10-11.40). Conclusions: MDR NTS infections are a serious public health concern. With the emergence of MDR Salmonella strains in the high-income countries, it is crucial to restrict the use of antimicrobials both in animals and humans, and intervene to prevent foodborne infections.

Keywords: Antimicrobial Resistance, Bloodstream Infection, Health Outcomes, Hospitalisation, Invasive Disease, Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR), Mortality, Nontyphoidal Salmonella

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3399 Consent, Agency and Abuse: Intimate Partner Violence in the Indian Context: A Primary Study Based on Working Women from Lower Income Groups in Smart Cities across North India

Authors: Shirin Abbas, Sandeep Kumar Dubey

Abstract:

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common forms of gender-based violence (GBV) and is classified as discrimination on the basis of gender. Article 2 of the non-binding UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW). This was adopted in 1993 as the first international pronouncement regarding violence against women, including physical, sexual, and psychological violence in the family (i.e., domestic violence, marital rape, battery, statutory rape, rape by male members of the family, etc.) While crime against women continues unabated, the Indian government has strongly refuted the 2018 study by the Thomson Reuters Foundation categorizing India as a risky country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labour, according to a poll of global experts. This paper has explored consent, agency, and abuse through the lens of intimate partner violence among women from lower income groups in smart cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Using focused mapping, the paper has explored the situation on IPV internationally and studied the status of working women from lower income groups to ascertain if their lot was any different where IPV was concerned to study. The findings of the study also vindicate global reports which rate India as a country unsafe for women, even within marriage.

Keywords: consent and agency, domestic violence, gender based violence GBV, intimate partner violence IPV

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3398 An Investigation of Service Quality in Tourism: An Experience of International Tourists in Bangkok, Thailand

Authors: Sakul Jaariyachamsit, Kevin Wongleedee

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The objectives of this research were to study five perceptions of service quality from international tourists who visited Bangkok, Thailand. The independent variables included gender, age, levels of education, occupation, and income while the dependent variables included their opinion on the service provided by employees in Thai tourism. An accidental random sampling method was utilized to get 215 respondents. The respondents were both male and female in the same proportion and most were between 21-40 years old. Most were married and had a graduate degree. The average income of the respondents was between $20,000-40,000. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents came to Thailand for the first time and spent about 6-8 days in Thailand and preferred to travel in small groups with no children. The five service perceptions of employees in tourism by the international tourists in descending order according to mean were reliable employees, neat and clean employees, polite employees, timely employees, and competent employees.

Keywords: experience, international tourists, service quality, Thailand

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3397 Exploring the Impact of Location on Urban and Peri-Urban Farming: A Case Study from Lusaka, Zambia

Authors: Cecilia Elisabeth Fåhraeus

Abstract:

In 2016, this author conducted a study on agricultural livelihoods in urban and peri-urban low-income settings in Lusaka, Zambia. The overarching aim was to determine the impact of physical space on agricultural activities, with a particular emphasis on geographical distinctions between urban and peri-urban environments. Agricultural activities among the areas’ residents were mapped through questionnaires, interviews and observations, and included variables such as type of activity and product; degree of marketization; inputs; location of production, storage and vending; labour distribution; production constraints, and associated mobility patterns, among others. The study confirmed that spatial idiosyncrasies of urban and peri-urban environments both enabled and constrained agricultural activity, but not always as anticipated. There were also cross-cutting issues on which physical space appeared to have a limited impact.

Keywords: agricultural production systems, geography, low-income settlements, Lusaka, peri-urban, urban

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3396 Understanding Factor Influence in Mask-Wearing Intention Onboard Airplanes during COVID-19: Attitude as a Mediator

Authors: Jing Yu Pan, Dahai Liu

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Airlines in the US have taken protective measures to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, with a mask mandate being the most important one, especially in the aircraft cabin. As the industry is recovering from the pandemic, mask-wearing will eventually become a personal choice during flight. Nevertheless, COVID-19 will continue to create uncertainty for a long time into the future, making it necessary to understand the attitude and voluntary use of masks by air travelers on airplanes even after masks are no longer mandatory. This study aimed to understand the relationship between demographic characteristics and mask-wearing intention in the US. For age, gender, income, educational, and ethnicity groups, this study examined three factors – subjective norms, risk avoidance, and information seeking and their influence on the mask-wearing intention onboard airplanes during COVID-19 and whether or not attitude toward masks was an important mediator. The results show that all demographic factors except gender could help to explain the group variations in factor impact and the mediating effect in mask-wearing intentions. In particular, Asian travelers had mask-wearing intentions that were not affected by attitude either directly or indirectly. These findings provide useful implications to enhance the health and safety of air travelers, especially in the US, where opposing views toward mask-wearing still widely exist.

Keywords: COVID-19, passenger demographics, aircraft cabin, mask-wearing intention, attitude as mediator

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3395 Emotional and Personal Characteristics of Children in Relation to the Parental Attitudes

Authors: Svetlana S. Saveysheva, Victoria E. Vasilenko

Abstract:

The purpose of the research was to study the emotional and personal characteristics of preschool children in relation to the characteristics of child-parent interaction and deviant parental attitudes. The study involved 172 mothers and 172 children (85 boys and 87 girls) aged 4,5 to 7 years (mean age 6 years) living in St. Petersburg, Russia. Methods used were, demographic questionnaire, projective drawing method 'House-Tree-Man', Test of anxiety (Temml, Dorki, Amen), technique of studying self-esteem 'Ladder', expert evaluation of sociability and aggressiveness, questionnaire for children-parent emotional interaction (E.I. Zaharova) and questionnaire 'Analysis of family relationships' (E.G. Eidemiller, V.V. Yustitsky). Results. The greatest number of links with personal characteristics have received such parental deviant attitudes as overprotection and characteristics of authoritarian style (prohibitions, sanctions). If the mother has such peculiarities of the parental relationship, the child is characterized by lower self-esteem, increased anxiety, distrust of themselves and hostility. Children have more pronounced manifestations of aggression in a conniving and unstable style of parenting. The sensitivity of the mother is positively associated with children’s self-esteem. Unconditional acceptance of the child, the predominance of a positive emotional background, orientation to the state of the child during interaction promote the development of communication skills and reduce of aggressiveness. But the excessive closeness of the mother with the child can make it difficult to develop the communicative skills. Conclusions. The greatest influence on emotional and personal characteristics is provided by such features of the parental relation as overprotection, characteristics of authoritarian style, underdevelopment of the sphere of parental feelings, sensitivity of mother and behavioral manifestations of emotional interaction. Research is supported by RFBR №18-013-00990.

Keywords: characteristics of personality, child-parent interaction, children, deviant parental attitudes

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3394 Qualitative Profiling in Practice: The Italian Public Employment Services Experience

Authors: L. Agneni, F. Carta, C. Micheletta, V. Tersigni

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The development of a qualitative method to profile jobseekers is needed to improve the quality of the Public Employment Services (PES) in Italy. This is why the National Agency for Active Labour Market Policies (ANPAL) decided to introduce a Qualitative Profiling Service in the context of the activities carried out by local employment offices’ operators. The qualitative profiling service provides information and data regarding the jobseeker’s personal transition status, through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to PES clients during the guidance interview. The questionnaire responses allow PES staff to identify, for each client, proper activities and policy measures to support jobseekers in their reintegration into the labour market. Data and information gathered by the qualitative profiling tool are the following: frequency, modalities and motivations for clients to apply to local employment offices; clients’ expectations and skills; difficulties that they have faced during the previous working experiences; strategies, actions undertaken and activated channels for job search. These data are used to assess jobseekers’ personal and career characteristics and to measure their employability level (qualitative profiling index), in order to develop and deliver tailor-made action programmes for each client. This paper illustrates the use of the above-mentioned qualitative profiling service on the national territory and provides an overview of the main findings of the survey: concerning the difficulties that unemployed people face in finding a job and their perception of different aspects related to the transition in the labour market. The survey involved over 10.000 jobseekers registered with the PES. Most of them are beneficiaries of the “citizens' income”, a specific active labour policy and social inclusion measure. Furthermore, data analysis allows classifying jobseekers into a specific group of clients with similar features and behaviours, on the basis of socio-demographic variables, customers' expectations, needs and required skills for the profession for which they seek employment. Finally, the survey collects PES staff opinions and comments concerning clients’ difficulties in finding a new job and also their strengths. This is a starting point for PESs’ operators to define adequate strategies to facilitate jobseekers’ access or reintegration into the labour market.

Keywords: labour market transition, public employment services, qualitative profiling, vocational guidance

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3393 The Negative Relational Outcomes Bullying Has On Youth with Disabilities

Authors: Kaycee Bills

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Studies have demonstrated that middle and high school students with disabilities are more likely to experience bullying than other student groups. The high rates of bullying victimization observed among youth with disabilities can result in severe socio-emotional consequences. These socio-emotional consequences often manifest in detrimental impacts on the students’ personal relationships. Past studies have indicated that participating in extracurricular athletic activities can have several socio-emotional benefits for students with disabilities. Given the findings of past studies demonstrating the positive relationship between mental health and participation in sports among students with disabilities, it is possible that participating in athletics could have a moderating relationship on the severity of the impact that bullying has on a student’s relationships with family and friends. Using the National Crime Victimization Survey/School Crime Supplement (NCVS/SCS), this study employs an ordinal logistic regression to determine if participation in extracurricular athletic activities mitigates the damaging impact bullying has on the personal relationships with friends and family among students who have disabilities. This study identified statistically significant results suggesting that students with disabilities who participate in athletics reported reduced levels of negative personal relationships resulting from bullying compared to their peers who did not participate in athletics.

Keywords: disability, inclusion, bullying, relationships

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3392 Heat Waves and Hospital Admissions for Mental Disorders in Hanoi Vietnam

Authors: Phan Minh Trang, Joacim Rocklöv, Kim Bao Giang, Gunnar Kullgren, Maria Nilsson

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There are recent studies from high income countries reporting an association between heat waves and hospital admissions for mental health disorders. It is not previously studied if such relations exist in sub-tropical and tropical low- and middle-income countries. In this study from Vietnam, the assumption was that hospital admissions for mental disorders may be triggered, or exacerbated, by heat exposure and heat waves. A database from Hanoi Mental Hospital with mental disorders diagnosed by the International Classification of Diseases 10, spanning over five years, was used to estimate the heatwave-related impacts on admissions for mental disorders. The relationship was analysed by a Negative Binomial regression model accounting for year, month, and days of week. The focus of the study was heat-wave events with periods of three or seven consecutive days above the threshold of 35oC daily maximum temperature. The preliminary study results indicated that heat-waves increased the risks for hospital admission for mental disorders (F00-79) from heat-waves of three and seven days with relative risks (RRs) of 1.16 (1.01–1.33) and 1.42 (1.02–1.99) respectively, when compared with non-heat-wave periods. Heatwave-related admissions for mental disorders increased statistically significantly among men, among residents in rural communities and in elderly. Moreover, cases for organic mental disorders including symptomatic illnesses (F0-9) and mental retardation (F70-79) raised in high risks during heat waves. The findings are novel studying a sub-tropical middle-income city, facing rapid urbanisation and epidemiological and demographic transitions.

Keywords: mental disorders, admissions for F0-9 or F70-79, maximum temperature, heat waves

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3391 Face Shield Design with Additive Manufacturing Practice Combating COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors: May M. Youssef

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This article introduces a design, for additive manufacturing technology, face shield as Personal Protective Equipment from the respiratory viruses such as coronavirus 2. The face shields help to reduce ocular exposure and play a vital role in diverting away from the respiratory COVID-19 air droplets around the users' face. The proposed face shield comprises three assembled polymer parts. The frame with a transparency overhead projector sheet visor is suitable for frontline health care workers and ordinary citizens. The frame design allows tightening the shield around the user’s head and permits rubber elastic straps to be used if required. That ergonomically designed with a unique face mask support used in case of wearing extra protective mask was created using computer aided design (CAD) software package. The finite element analysis (FEA) structural verification of the proposed design is performed by an advanced simulation technique. Subsequently, the prototype model was fabricated by a 3D printing using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) as a globally developed face shield product. This study provides a different face shield designs for global production, which showed to be suitable and effective toward supply chain shortages and frequent needs of personal protective goods during coronavirus disease and similar viruses.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, Coronavirus-19, face shield, personal protective equipment, 3D printing

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3390 Entrepreneurial Creativity in Socio-Economic Context

Authors: Anna Czarczynska

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Creativity is taken as a requirement for a personal anti-fragile career path in the context of regional competitive advantage in the terms of socio-economics creative environment. At the personal level, the competence and value-based approach to creativity are proposed, is an elaboration of the resource-based view of the group of individuals selected from given country. Entrepreneurial creativity competence (measured by the Schein anchor questionnaire) is based on an independent way of thinking and empowerment presents one aspect of creative capability, however quickly verified by the market, that’s why we treat this as a basic exemplification of average creative attitude combine with the entrepreneurial attitude. This introductory instrument enables further scientific research based on the same group in the context of multi-cultural external creative or the non-creative environment.

Keywords: creativity, value-based approach, entrepreneurship, regional culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 174
3389 The Food and Nutritional Effects of Smallholders’ Participation in Milk Value Chain in Ethiopia

Authors: Geday Elias, Montaigne Etienne, Padilla Martine, Tollossa Degefa

Abstract:

Smallholder farmers’ participation in agricultural value chain identified as a pathway to get out of poverty trap in Ethiopia. The smallholder dairy activities have a huge potential in poverty reduction through enhancing income, achieving food and nutritional security in the country. However, much less is known about the effects of smallholder’s participation in milk value chain on household food security and nutrition. This paper therefore, aims at evaluating the effects of smallholders’ participation in milk value chain on household food security taking in to account the four pillars of food security measurements (availability, access, utilization and stability). Using a semi-structured interview, a cross sectional farm household data collected from a randomly selected sample of 333 households (170 in Amhara and 163 in Oromia regions).Binary logit and propensity score matching( PSM) models are employed to examine the mechanisms through which smallholder’s participation in the milk value chain affects household food security where crop production, per capita calorie intakes, diet diversity score, and food insecurity access scale are used to measure food availability, access, utilization and stability respectively. Our findings reveal from 333 households, only 34.5% of smallholder farmers are participated in the milk value chain. Limited access to inputs and services, limited access to inputs markets and high transaction costs are key constraints for smallholders’ limited access to the milk value chain. To estimate the true average participation effects of milk value chain for participated households, the outcome variables (food security) of farm households who participated in milk value chain are compared with the outcome variables if the farm households had not participated. The PSM analysis reveals smallholder’s participation in milk value chain has a significant positive effect on household income, food security and nutrition. Smallholder farmers who are participated in milk chain are better by 15 quintals crops production and 73 percent of per capita calorie intakes in food availability and access respectively than smallholder farmers who are not participated in the market. Similarly, the participated households are better in dietary quality by 112 percents than non-participated households. Finally, smallholders’ who are participated in milk value chain are better in reducing household vulnerability to food insecurity by an average of 130 percent than non participated households. The results also shows income earned from milk value chain participation contributed to reduce capital’s constraints of the participated households’ by higher farm income and total household income by 5164 ETB and 14265 ETB respectively. This study therefore, confirms the potential role of smallholders’ participation in food value chain to get out of poverty trap through improving rural household income, food security and nutrition. Therefore, identified the determinants of smallholder participation in milk value chain and the participation effects on food security in the study areas are worth considering as a positive knock for policymakers and development agents to tackle the poverty trap in the study area in particular and in the country in general.

Keywords: effects, food security and nutrition, milk, participation, smallholders, value chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 312
3388 A Model Suggestion on Competitiveness and Sustainability of SMEs in Developing Countries

Authors: Ahmet Diken, Tahsin Karabulut

Abstract:

The factor which developing countries are in need is capital. Such countries make an effort to increase their income in order to meet their expenses for employment, infrastructure, superstructure investments, education, health and defense. The sole income of the countries is taxes collected from businesses. The businesses should drive profit and return in order to be able to toll. In a world where competition exists, different strategies may be followed by business in developing countries and they must specify their target markets. İn order to minimize cost and maximize profit, SMEs have to concentrate on target markets and select cost oriented strategy. In this study, a theoretical model is suggested that SME firms have to act as cluster between each other, and also must be optimal provider for large scale firms. SMEs’ policy must be supported by public. This relationship can benefit large scale firms to have brand over the world, and this organization increases value added for developing countries.

Keywords: competitiveness, countries, SMEs developing, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 286
3387 Evaluation of Demand of Fire Insurance in Iran and Embrace Digitalization to Improve It

Authors: Mahsa Ghorbani Jazin

Abstract:

The insurance industry has a prominent place in the economy of every country in the world. Fire insurance policies are types of non-life insurance, which protect insureds against financial losses of fire and related risks. In this paper, factors that are affecting the demand for fire insurance in Iran have been examined. Due to this reason, information and data have been collected during the period 1989-2019. In this research, the final model was estimated. The obtained results represent that as the population and literacy rate increase, people are more willing to purchase fire insurance. On the other hand, the actual per capita income has a negative influence on the demand for this type of insurance. Also, the amount of compensation that is paid in losses can be assumed as an indirect advertisement for fire insurance and attracts people to buy this policy. Finally, the new technology in the insurance industry is examined as a new underestimated way for increasing demand, especially in Iran.

Keywords: fire insurance, demand, per capita income, literacy rate, population, compensation paid, Insurtech

Procedia PDF Downloads 167
3386 Using Athletics to Mitigate the Negative Relational Outcomes Bullying Has On Youth with Disabilities

Authors: Kaycee Bills

Abstract:

Studies have demonstrated that middle and high school students with disabilities are more likely to experience bullying than other student groups. The high rates of bullying victimization observed among youth with disabilities can result in severe socio-emotional consequences. These socio-emotional consequences often manifest in detrimental impacts on the students’ personal relationships. Past studies have indicated that participating in extracurricular athletic activities can have several socio-emotional benefits for students with disabilities. Given the findings of past studies demonstrating the positive relationship between mental health and participation in sports among students with disabilities, it is possible that participating in athletics could have a moderating relationship on the severity of the impact that bullying has on a student’s relationships with family and friends. Using the National Crime Victimization Survey/School Crime Supplement (NCVS/SCS), this study employs an ordinal logistic regression to determine if participation in extracurricular athletic activities mitigates the damaging impact bullying has on the personal relationships with friends and family among students who have disabilities. This study identified statistically significant results suggesting that students with disabilities who participate in athletics reported reduced levels of negative personal relationships resulting from bullying compared to their peers who did not participate in athletics.

Keywords: disability, inclusion, bullying, relationships

Procedia PDF Downloads 162
3385 Decision Support System for Tourism in Northern Part of Thailand

Authors: Katejarinporn Chaiya, Thawit Janbanklong

Abstract:

The purposes of this study were to design and find users’ satisfaction after using the decision support system for tourism in the Northern part of Thailand, which can provide tourists with touristic information and plan their personal voyage. Such information can be retrieved systematically based on personal budget and provinces. The samples of this study were five experts and users: 30 "white collars" in Bangkok. This decision support system was designed via ASP.NET. Its database was developed by using MySQL, for administrators to effectively manage the database. The application outcome revealed that the innovation works properly as sought in objectives. Specialists and white collars in Bangkok have evaluated the decision support system; the result was satisfactorily positive.

Keywords: decision Support System, ASP.NET, MySQL, white collars

Procedia PDF Downloads 331
3384 Postpartum Depression Screening and Referrals for Lower-Income Women in North Carolina, USA

Authors: Maren J. Coffman, Victoria C. Scott, J. Claire Schuch, Ashley N. Kelley, Jeri L. Ryan

Abstract:

Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a leading cause of postpartum morbidity. PPD affects 7.1% of postpartum women and 19.2% of postpartum women when including minor depression. Lower-income women and ethnic minorities are more at risk for developing PPD and face multiple attitudinal and institutional barriers to receiving care. This study aims to identify PPD among low-income women and connect them to appropriate services in order to reduce the illness burden and enhance access to care. Screenings were conducted in two Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, from April 2017 to April 2018. WIC is a supplemental nutrition program that provides healthcare and nutrition to low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children under the age of 5. Additionally, a qualitative study was conducted to better understand the PPD continuum of care in order to identify opportunities for improvement. Mothers with infants were screened for depression risk using the PHQ-2. Mothers who scored ≥ 2 completed two additional standardized screening tools (PHQ-7, to complete the PHQ-9, and the Edinburgh) to assess depressive symptomatology. If indicated they may be suffering from depression, women were referred for case management services. Open-ended questions were used to understand treatment barriers. Four weeks after the initial survey, a follow-up telephone call was made to see if women had received care. Seven focus groups with WIC staff and managers, referral agency staff, local behavioral health professionals, and students examining the screenings, are being conducted March - April, 2018 to gather information related to current screening practices, referrals, follow up and treatment. Mothers (n = 231 as of February, 2018) were screened in English (65%) or Spanish (35%). According to preliminary results, 29% of mothers screened were at risk for postpartum depression (PHQ-2 ≥ 2). There were significant differences in preliminary screening results based on survey language (

Keywords: health disparities, maternal health, mental health, postpartum depression

Procedia PDF Downloads 152
3383 Professional Reciprocal Altruism in Education: Aligning Core Values and the Community of Practice for Today’s Educational Practitioners

Authors: Jessica Bogunovich, Kimberly Greene

Abstract:

As a grounded theory, Professional Reciprocal Altruism in Education (PRAE) offers an empowering means of understanding how the predominant motivator of those entering the teaching profession, altruism, serves as a shared value to inspire the individual’s personal practice beyond a siloed experience and into one of authentic engagement within the Community of Practice (CoP) of professional educators. The process of aligning one’s personal values, attitudes, and preconceived cultural constructs with those of the CoP, affords the alignment of the authentic and professional self; thus, continuously fostering one’s intrinsic motivation to remain engaged in their individual continuous process of growth and development for their students, community, profession, and themselves.

Keywords: altruism, Community of Practice. cultural constructs, teacher attrition, reciprocal altruism, value congruence

Procedia PDF Downloads 173
3382 Teacher Professional Development with Collaborative Action Research: Teachers' Responses to Research

Authors: Sumaya Saqr

Abstract:

Although many teachers regard academic research as the inclusive domain of academic researchers, teachers should contribute to the body of research guiding their own practice. Drawing on the qualitative analysis of 20 teachers’ reflection journals and interviews, this case study sheds light on the personal and professional benefits of teachers’ applications of collaborative action research in English language teaching context. The findings reveal that several aspects of teacher identity and classroom practice were changed. The present paper aspires to reveal the way in which collaborative action research process, as a learner-centered approach to staff development, would help teachers to become more independent and professionally autonomous and hence effecting change that is far greater than its initial purpose.

Keywords: change, collaborative action research, personal and professional benefits, professional development

Procedia PDF Downloads 147