Search results for: industry/university cooperation

Authors: Tambe Daniel Atem

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Background: Clinical Research is an organized research on human beings intended to provide adequate information on the drug use as a therapeutic agent on its safety and efficacy. The significance of the study is to educate the global health and life science graduates in Clinical Research in depth to perform better as it involves testing drugs on human beings. Objectives: to provide an overall understanding of the scientific approach to the evaluation of new and existing medical interventions and to apply ethical and regulatory principles appropriate to any individual research. Methodology: It is based on – Primary data analysis and Secondary data analysis. Primary data analysis: means the collection of data from journals, the internet, and other online sources. Secondary data analysis: a survey was conducted with a questionnaire to interview the Clinical Research Professionals to understand the need of training to perform clinical trials globally. The questionnaire consisted details of the professionals working with the expertise. It also included the areas of clinical research which needed intense training before entering into hardcore clinical research domain. Results: The Clinical Trials market worldwide worth over USD 26 billion and the industry has employed an estimated 2,10,000 people in the US and over 70,000 in the U.K, and they form one-third of the total research and development staff. There are more than 2,50,000 vacant positions globally with salary variations in the regions for a Clinical Research Coordinator. R&D cost on new drug development is estimated at US$ 70-85 billion. The cost of doing clinical trials for a new drug is US$ 200-250 million. Due to an increase trained Clinical Research Professionals India has emerged as a global hub for clinical research. The Global Clinical Trial outsourcing opportunity in India in the pharmaceutical industry increased to more than $2 billion in 2014 due to increased outsourcing from U.S and Europe to India. Conclusion: Assessment of training need is recommended for newer Clinical Research Professionals and trial sites, especially prior the conduct of larger confirmatory clinical trials.

Keywords: clinical research, clinical trials, clinical research professionals

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Authors: Marian Lissett Olaya

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This article examined the factors associated with incorporating peer assessment into English language classes in a public university in Colombia. This is done in the context of writing English class for 4th-semester students. The research instruments consisted of peer assessment questionnaires, student diaries, and interviews. Findings showed that among the factors, motivation, frustration, anxiety, and lack of confidence appeared. Data revealed that peer assessment enables students to write competencies through training, teachers' guidance, and the provision of a collaborative environment.

Keywords: writing skills, peer assessment, formative assessment, language acquisition

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Authors: Pil Kyoo Jo, Youngmee Lee, Jee Young Kim, Yu Jin Oh, Sohyun Park, Young Ha Joo, Hye Suk Kim, Semi Kang

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A growing number of people are living alone and eating alone. People might have different dietary behaviors between eating alone and eating with others, it can influence their weight and health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dietary behavior of eating alone in middle-aged populations in South Korea. We used the nationally representative data from the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2010-2012 and a cross-sectional survey on the eating behaviors among adults (N=1318, 530 men, 788 women) aged from 20 to 54 years. Results showed that ‘underweight’ group ate more amount of food when eating with others compared to eating alone and ‘overweight’ and ‘obesity’ groups had opposite respondent (p<0.05). When having a meal alone, ‘underweight’ group ate food until didn’t feel hungry and ‘overweight’ and ‘obesity’ groups ate leftover food even they felt full (p<0.01). The ‘overweight’ and ‘obesity’ groups usually ate alone than ‘underweight’ group did (p<0.05). All groups had faster meal time when eating alone than eating with others and usually ate processed foods for convenience when eating alone. Younger people, aged 10-30, ate more processed food than older people did. South Koreans spend nearly 45% of their total food consumption from processed foods. This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea for 2011 Korea-Japan Basic Scientific Cooperation Program (NRF-2011B00003). This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2015S1A5B6037369).

Keywords: BMI, dietary behavior, eating alone, middle-aged populations

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Authors: C. W. Kan

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Cotton is the most commonly used material for apparel purpose because of its durability, good perspiration absorption characteristics, comfort during wear and dyeability. However, proneness to creasing and wrinkling give cotton garments a poor rating during actual wear. Resin finishing is a process to bring out crease or wrinkle free/resistant effect to cotton fabric. Thus, the aim of this study is to illustrate the proper application of resin finishing to cotton fabric, and the results could provide guidance note to the students in learning this topic. Acknowledgment: Authors would like to thank the financial support from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University for this work.

Keywords: learning materials, resin, textiles, wrinkle

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Authors: Tuğba Özdal, Neşe Şahin Yeşilçubuk

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Bisphenol-A (BPA) is one of the highest volume chemicals produced worldwide in the plastic industry. This compound is mostly used in producing polycarbonate plastics that are often used for food and beverage storage, and BPA is also a component of epoxy resins that are used to line food and beverage containers. Studies performed in this area indicated that BPA could be extracted from such products while they are in contact with food. Therefore, BPA exposure is presumed. In this paper, the chemical structure of BPA, factors affecting BPA migration to food and beverages, effects on health, and recent regulations will be reviewed.

Keywords: BPA, health, regulations, toxicity

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Authors: Siyanbola Mojisola Funmilayo, Amao Emmanuel Ayodele

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The poultry industry in Nigeria has been played by a variety of problems, which include the search for feed ingredients that are not competed for by man. This has resulted in a reduced interest of farmers in the industry leading to a reduction in animal protein availability for human consumption as a consequence of a high cost of production. The incorporation of wild sunflower meal (Tithonia diversfolia, Hemsl A. Gray) (WSF Meal) and some others in poultry diets have been reported to result in compounded feed with nutrient profiles that compare favourable with feeds of conventional feedstuff and reduce feed cost as they reduce competition with humans. A 98-day feeding trial was used to evaluate the effect of Wild sunflower leaf (WSL) at varying levels on the hematology and biochemistry of cockerels. A total of one hundred and twenty(120) cockerel birds were randomly allotted into four experimental diets with three replicates per experimental diet (ten birds per replicate). Wild sunflower leaf was included in four graded levels ; 0, 5, 10, and 15%. Packed cell volume, Red blood cell count, White blood cell count, Hemoglobin count, Lymphocyte count, Neutrophil count, Platelets, Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Glucose, Urea, Chloride, Sodium, and Potassium ion values were significantly different (p<0.05) among the treatments. Mean values obtained for Creatinine, Total Protein, Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Albumin, and Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) were not significantly different (p>0.05) in all the treatment. WSL could be included up to 15% in the diet of cockerel without any deleterious effect on the birds. Based on the results, up to 15% Wild sunflower meal (WSL) can be included in the diet of cockerel without any adverse effect on the hematology and biochemical indices of birds.

Keywords: biochemical changes, cockerels, hematology, wild sunflower leaf

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Authors: Khosro Mohammadi

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In order to study the effect of different resources of farmyard manure, compost and biofertilizers on grain yield and quality of canola (Talaieh cultivar), an experiment was conducted at Kurdistan region. Experimental units were arranged in split-split plots design based on randomized complete blocks with three replications. Main plots consisted of two locations with difference in soil texture (L1): Agricultural Research Center of Sanandaj and (L2): Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj, as location levels. Also, five strategies for obtaining the base fertilizer requirement including (N1): farmyard manure; (N2): compost; (N3): chemical fertilizers; (N4): farm yard manure + compost and (N5): farm yard manure + compost + chemical fertilizers were considered in split plots. Four levels of biofertilizers were (B1): Bacillus lentus and Pseudomonas putida; (B2): Trichoderma harzianum; (B3): Bacillus lentus and Pseudomonas putida & Trichoderma harzianum; and (B4): control. Results showed that location, different resources of fertilizer and interactions of them have a significant effect on grain yield. The highest grain yield (4660 kg/ha) was obtained from treatment, that farmyard manure, compost and biofertilizers were co application in clay loam soil (Gerizeh station). Different methods of fertilization have a significant effect on leaf chlorophyll. Highest amount of chlorophyll (38 Spad) was obtained from co application of farmyard manure, chemical fertilizers and compost (N5 treatment). Location, basal fertilizers and biofertilizers have a significant effect on N, S and N/S of canola seed. Oil content was decreased in Gerizeh station, but oil yield had a significant increasing than Azad University station. Co application of compost and farmyard manure produced highest percent of oleic acid (61.5 %) and linoleic acid (22.9 %). Co application of compost and farmyard manure has a significant increase in oleic acid and linoleic acid. Finally, L1N5B3 treatment, that compost, farmyard manure and biofertilizers were co application in Gerizeh station in compare to other treatments, selected as a best treatment of experiment.

Keywords: soil texture, organic fertilizer, chemical fertilizer, oil, Canola

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Authors: Suresh Vanguri, Suresh Palla, Prasad G., Ramaswamy V., Kalyani K. V., Chaturvedi S. K., Mohapatra B. N., Sunder Rao TBVN

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The utilization of industrial waste materials and by-products in the cement industry helps in the conservation of natural resources besides avoiding the problems arising due to waste dumping. The use of non-carbonated materials as raw mix components in clinker manufacturing is identified as one of the key areas to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Chrome sludge is a waste material generated from the manufacturing process of sodium dichromate. This paper aims to present studies on the use of chrome sludge in clinker manufacturing, its impact on the development of clinker mineral phases and on the cement properties. Chrome sludge was found to contain substantial amounts of CaO, Fe2O3 and Al2O3 and therefore was used to replace some conventional sources of alumina and iron in the raw mix. Different mixes were prepared by varying the chrome sludge content from 0 to 5 % and the mixes were evaluated for burnability. Laboratory prepared clinker samples were evaluated for qualitative and quantitative mineralogy using X-ray Diffraction Studies (XRD). Optical microscopy was employed to study the distribution of clinker phases, their granulometry and mineralogy. Since chrome sludge also contains considerable amounts of chromium, studies were conducted on the leachability of heavy elements in the chrome sludge as well as in the resultant cement samples. Estimation of heavy elements, including chromium was carried out using ICP-OES. Further, the state of chromium valence, Cr (III) & Cr (VI), was studied using conventional chemical analysis methods coupled with UV-VIS spectroscopy. Assimilation of chromium in the clinker phases was investigated using SEM-EDXA studies. Bulk cement was prepared from the clinker to study the effect of chromium sludge on the cement properties such as setting time, soundness, strength development against the control cement. Studies indicated that chrome sludge can be successfully utilized and its content needs to be optimized based on raw material characteristics.

Keywords: chrome sludge, leaching, mineralogy, non-carbonate materials

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Authors: Najia Zulfiqar

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Imparting moral education is the need of time, considering the obvious moral decline in society. Recent research shows the downfall of moral competence among university students. The main objective of the present study was to develop moral development intervention strategies for undergraduate students of Sports and Physical Education. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, insight into field-specific moral issues was gained through interviews with 7 subject experts and a focus-group discussion session with 8 students. Two research assistants who were trained in qualitative interviewing collected, transcribed and analyzed data into the MAXQDA software using content and discourse analyses. The identified moral issues in Sports and Physical Education were sports gambling and betting, pay-for-play, doping, coach misconduct, tampering, cultural bias, gender equity/nepotism, bullying/discrimination, and harassment. Next, intervention modules were developed for each moral issue based on hypothetical situations, and followed by guided reflection and dilemma discussion questions. The third moral development strategy was community services that included posture screening, diet plan for different age groups, open fitness ground training, exercise camps for physical fitness, balanced diet awareness camp, gymnastic camp, shoe assessment as per health standards, and volunteering for public awareness at the playground, gymnasium, stadium, park, etc. The intervention modules were given to four subject specialists for expert validation who were from different backgrounds within Sport Sciences. Upon refinement and finalization, four students were presented with these intervention modules and questioned about accuracy, relevance, comprehension, and content organization. Iterative changes were made in the content of the intervention modules to tailor them to the moral development needs of undergraduate students. This intervention will strengthen positive moral values and foster mature decision-making about right and wrong acts. As this intervention is easy to apply as a remedial tool, academicians and policymakers can use this to promote students’ moral development.

Keywords: community service, dilemma discussion, morality, physical education, university students.

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Authors: HebatAllah Mohamed

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The present study aims at identifying compliment response strategies used by Egyptian students when responding to a problematic and cultural-specific type of compliments: those allegedly provoking the evil eye. Discourse Completion Tasks (DCTs) and interviews were used to collect the data. both The participants were 21 female and 16 male Egyptian graduate and undergraduate students at the American university in Cairo. The results revealed a number of both common and different main and sub-categories of responses utilized by participants of both genders. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

Keywords: Arabic pragmatics, compliment responses, evil eye pragmatics, pragmatics in Egypt

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Authors: Leo Latasch, Mario Di Gennaro

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Introduction: The goal of this project was to increase the resilience of the population as well as rescue organizations to make both quality and time-related improvements in handling crises. A helper network was created for this purpose. Methods: Social questions regarding the structure and purpose of helper networks were considered - specifically with regard to helper motivation, the level of commitment and collaboration between populations and agencies. The exchange of information, the coordinated use of volunteers, and the distribution of available resources will be ensured through defined communication and cooperation routines. Helper smartphones will also be used provide a picture of the situation on the ground. Results: The helper network was established and deployed based on the RESIBES information technology system. It consists of a service platform, a web portal and a smartphone app. The service platform is the central element for collaboration between the various rescue organizations, as well as for persons, associations, and companies from the population offering voluntary aid. The platform was used for: Registering helpers and resources and then requesting and assigning it in case of a disaster. These services allow the population's resources to be organized. The service platform also allows for a secure data exchange between services and external systems. Conclusions: The social and technical work priorities have allowed us to cover a full cycle of advance structural work, gaining an overview, damage management, evaluation, and feedback on experiences. This cycle allows experiences gained while handling the crisis to feed back into the cycle and improve preparations and management strategies.

Keywords: coordination, disaster, resilience, volunteers

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Authors: Luís Rocha, Adam Gąska, Enrico Savio, Michael Marxer, Christoph Battaglia

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The changes observed in the last years in the field of manufacturing and production engineering, popularly known as "Fourth Industry Revolution", utilizes the achievements in the different areas of computer sciences, introducing new solutions at almost every stage of the production process, just to mention such concepts as mass customization, cloud computing, knowledge-based engineering, virtual reality, rapid prototyping, or virtual models of measuring systems. To effectively speed up the production process and make it more flexible, it is necessary to tighten the bonds connecting individual stages of the production process and to raise the awareness and knowledge of employees of individual sectors about the nature and specificity of work in other stages. It is important to discover and develop a suitable education method adapted to the specificities of each stage of the production process, becoming an extremely crucial issue to exploit the potential of the fourth industrial revolution properly. Because of it, the project “Train4Dim” (T4D) intends to develop complex training material for digital manufacturing, including content for design, manufacturing, and quality control, with a focus on coordinate metrology and portable measuring systems. In this paper, the authors present an approach to using an active learning methodology for digital manufacturing. T4D main objective is to develop a multi-degree (apprenticeship up to master’s degree studies) and educational approach that can be adapted to different teaching levels. It’s also described the process of creating the underneath methodology. The paper will share the steps to achieve the aims of the project (training model for digital manufacturing): 1) surveying the stakeholders, 2) Defining the learning aims, 3) producing all contents and curriculum, 4) training for tutors, and 5) Pilot courses test and improvements.

Keywords: learning, Industry 4.0, active learning, digital manufacturing

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Authors: Priscila A. M. Rodrigues

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In Brazil, higher education is usually offered in three parts of the day: in the morning, afternoon and evening. Students have to decide what part of the day they are going to study in the application process. Most of the admitted students who choose to study in the evening also work during the day, because of their financial conditions. Brazilian higher education courses in the evening were initially created to meet the demand for teacher training. These teacher-training courses are socially discredited and considered easily accessible in the country, mostly due to the fact that students who enroll for those courses come from very poor basic education. The research has analyzed the differences between the social profiles and studying conditions of students of teacher education, especially the training intended for would-be elementary education teachers. An investigation has been conducted with these undergraduate students, who were divided into a group of those who study both in the morning and in the afternoon (group 1) and a group of those who study in the evening (group 2). The hypothesis predicted that students in group 1 would perform better than students in group 2. The analysis of training and studying conditions departed from the point of view of students and their teachers. The hypothesis predicted that students in group 1 would perform better than students in group 2. The analysis of training and studying conditions departed from the point of view of students and their teachers. Data was collected from survey, qualitative interviews, field observation and reports from students. Sociological concepts of habitus, cultural capital, trajectories and strategies are essential for this study as well as the literature on quality of higher education. The research revealed that there are differences of studying conditions between group 1 and group 2, precisely when it comes to the university atmosphere, that is to say, academic support resources and enrichment activities which promote educational, cultural and social opportunities, for example conferences, events, scholarships of different types, etc. In order to counteract the effects of their poor educational performance, students who generally come from popular strata require conditions of greater dedication and investment in higher education, which most of them do not have. Despite the considerable difficulties that students in group 2 encounter in their academic experience, the university experience per se brings a gain for the lives of these students, which translates into the expansion of their capital structure – i.e. symbolic, cultural and educational capital – with repercussions on their social trajectory, especially in professional conditions.

Keywords: higher education, higher education students’ performance, quality of higher education, teacher’s education

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Authors: Victor Birikorang Danquah

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Ghana's primary energy supply is heavily reliant on petroleum, biomass, and hydropower. Currently, Ghana gets its energy from hydropower (Akosombo and Bui), thermal power plants powered by crude oil, natural gas, and diesel, solar power, and imports from La Cote d'Ivoire. Until the early 2000s, large hydroelectric dams dominated Ghana's electricity generation. Due to unreliable weather patterns, Ghana increased its reliance on thermal power. However, thermal power contributes the highest percentage in terms of electricity generation in Ghana and is predominantly supplied by Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Ghana's electricity industry operates the corporate utility model as its business model. This model is typically' vertically integrated,' with a single corporation selling the majority of power generated by its generation assets to its retail business, which then sells the electricity to retail market consumers. The corporate utility model has a straightforward value proposition that is based on increasing the number of energy units sold. The unit volume business model drives the entire energy value chain to increase throughput, locking system users into unsustainable practices. This report uses the qualitative research approach to explore the electricity industry in Ghana. There is a need for increasing renewable energy, such as wind and solar, in electricity generation. The research recommends two critical business models for the penetration of renewable energy in Ghana's power sector. The first model is the peer-to-peer electricity trading model, which relies on a software platform to connect consumers and generators in order for them to trade energy directly with one another. The second model is about encouraging local energy generation, incentivizing optimal time-of-use behaviour, and allowing any financial gains to be shared among the community members.

Keywords: business model innovation, electricity generation, renewable energy, solar energy, sustainability, wind energy

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Authors: Ado Ismail Sabo

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Statement of the Problem: The global trend in tertiary education institutions today is changing and moving towards engagement, promotion and marketing. The reason is to upscale reputation and impact positioning. More prominently, existing rivalry today seeks to draw-in the best and brightest students. A university or college is no longer just an institution of higher learning, but one adapting additional business nomenclature. Therefore, huge financial resources are invested by educational institutions to polish their image and improve their global and national ranking. In Nigeria, which boasts of a vast population of over 180 million people, some of whose patronage can bolster its education sector; standard of education continues to decline. Today, some Nigerian tertiary education institutions are shadows of their pasts, in terms of academic excellence. Quality has been relinquished because of the unquenchable quest by government officials, some civil servants, school heads and educators to amass wealth. It is very difficult to gain student satisfaction and their loyalty. Some of the student’s loyalties factor towards public higher educational institutions might be confusing. It is difficult to understand the extent to which students are satisfy on many needs. Some students might feel satisfy with the academic lecturers only, whereas others may want everything, and others will never satisfy. Due to these problems, this research aims to uncover the crucial factors influencing student loyalty and to examine if students’ satisfaction might impact mediate the relationship between service quality, organisational image and students’ loyalty towards public higher education institutions in Kano State, Nigeria. The significance of the current study is underscored by the paucity of similar research in the subject area and public tertiary education in a developing country like Nigeria as shown in existing literature. Methodology: The current study was undertaken by quantitative research methodology. Sample of 600 valid responses were obtained within the study population comprising six selected public higher education institutions in Kano State, Nigeria. These include: North West University Kano, Bayero University Kano, School of Management Studies Kano, School of Technology Kano, Sa’adatu Rimi College Kano and Federal College of Education (FCE) Kano. Four main hypotheses were formulated and tested using structural equation modeling techniques with Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS Version 22.0). Results: Analysis of the data provided support for the main issue of this study, and the following findings are established: “Student Satisfaction mediates the relationship between Service Quality and Student Loyalty”, “Student Satisfaction mediates the relationship between Organizational Image and Student Loyalty” respectively. The findings of this study contributed to the theoretical implication which proposed a structural model that examined the relationships among overall Organizational image, service quality, student satisfaction and student loyalty. Conclusion: In addition, the findings offered a better insight to the managerial (higher institution of learning service providers) by focusing on portraying the image of service quality with student satisfaction in improving the quality of student loyalty.

Keywords: student loyalty, service quality, student satisfaction, organizational image

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Authors: Sylvester S. Horvey, Jones Mensah

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The growing complexities and dynamics in the business environment have led to a new approach to risk management, known as enterprise risk management (ERM). ERM is a system and an approach to managing the risks of an organization in an integrated manner to achieve the corporate goals and strategic objectives. Regardless of the diversities in the business environment, ERM has become an essential factor in managing individual and business risks because ERM is believed to enhance shareholder value and firm growth. Despite the growing number of literature on ERM, the question about what factors drives ERM remains limited. This study provides a comprehensive literature review of the main factors that contribute to ERM implementation. Google Scholar was the leading search engine used to identify empirical literature, and the review spanned between 2000 and 2020. Articles published in Scimago journal ranking and Scopus were examined. Thirteen firm characteristics and sixteen articles were considered for the empirical review. Most empirical studies agreed that firm size, institutional ownership, industry type, auditor type, industrial diversification, earnings volatility, stock price volatility, and internal auditor had a positive relationship with ERM adoption, whereas firm size, institutional ownership, auditor type, and type of industry were mostly seen be statistically significant. Other factors such as financial leverage, profitability, asset opacity, international diversification, and firm complexity revealed an inconclusive result. The growing literature on ERM is not without limitations; hence, this study suggests that further research should examine ERM determinants within a new geographical context while considering a new and robust way of measuring ERM rather than relying on a simple proxy (dummy) for ERM measurement. Other firm characteristics such as organizational culture and context, corporate scandals and losses, and governance could be considered determinants of ERM adoption.

Keywords: enterprise risk management, determinants, ERM adoption, literature review

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Authors: Yu-Sheng Lin, Sheng-Teng Huang

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In recent years, the issue of corporate social responsibility has become an enthusiastic discussion and hottest issue around the world. To make the enterprises be sustainable management and sustainable development, more and more enterprises realize that fulfill its corporate social responsibility is the good choice. It is an essential, important issue that the leader needs know how to lead the staff in balance benefit, also emphasize on economic, social and environmental aspects to impact the company, then enhance the consensus. The leader needs to improve cohesion of personnel, and implement the corporate social responsibility in staff behavior, in order to show a performance in the effort of corporate social responsibility of enterprises. The previous literature mostly is committed to comparison of corporate social responsibility in the industry and service industry, regarding to literature of shipping companies were relatively rare. This paper aims to take the domestic and foreign shipping companies of corporate social responsibility reports as the data analysis, and refer to the international convention (GRI) such as association and organization of CSR standard values. Overall comparison with shipping companies of CSR reports, annual reports and other public information, and taking Taiwan shipping companies as the target, respectively, with the international conventions and the world's top ten leading shipping companies to do the comparison and analysis. Shipping companies in Taiwan are bound to the standard that set by the international convention for the first goal diligently and following step is contend with the world's top ten leading shipping companies. There are 3 ~ 5 experts to be involved in interview after the result is completed. They will indicate the superiority and inferiority then provide the opinion, recommendation in the needed action. Through this study, we can explore the importance of corporate social responsibility report for shipping companies, and also provide the clear orientation to external providers to improve corporate social responsibility. In addition, it can provide the academic research and business experts as a reference; finally, serving shipping companies to complete another contribution.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility (CSR), CSR reports, statistical methods, expert interview method

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Authors: Münevver Başman, Deniz Gülleroğlu

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The purpose of this study is to develop a scale to determine the attitudes towards social networking sites. 45 tryout items, prepared for this aim, were applied to 342 students studying at Marmara University, Faculty of Education. The reliability and the validity of the scale were conducted with the help of these students. As a result of exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation, 41 items grouped according to the structure with three factors (interest, reality and negative effects) is obtained. While alpha reliability of the scale is obtained as .899; the reliability of factors is obtained as .899, .799, .775, respectively.

Keywords: Attitude, reliability, social networking sites, validity.

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Authors: Tshepo Mabotja

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse the factors influencing ERP implementation in South African SMEs in the textile & apparel retail sector, with the goal of providing insights that improve decision-making, enhance operational efficiency, and meet customer expectations. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative research methodology was employed, utilising a probability (random) sampling technique to ensure equal opportunity for sample selection. The researcher conducted an extensive review of current literature to identify knowledge gaps and applied data analysis methods, including descriptive statistics, reliability tests, exploratory factor analysis, and normality testing. Findings/Results: The study revealed that South African SMEs in the textile & apparel retail industry must evaluate critical factors before implementing an ERP model. These factors include assessing client requirements, examining the experiences of existing ERP system users, understanding system maintenance needs, and forecasting expected performance outcomes. Practical Implications: The findings provide actionable recommendations for textile and apparel retail SMEs aiming to adopt ERP systems. By focusing on the identified critical factors, businesses can enhance their ERP adoption processes, reduce operational inefficiencies, and better align with customer and sustainability demands. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the limited body of knowledge on ERP implementation challenges in South African textile and apparel retail SMEs. It provides a unique perspective on how strategic ERP adoption can drive operational improvements and support sustainable development practices within the industry.

Keywords: retail SMEs, enterprise resource planning, operational efficiency, customer centricity

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Authors: Yu-Mei Hsueh, Cheng-Shiuan Tsai, Chao-Yuan Huang

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Prostate Cancer (PC) is a malignant tumor originated in prostate and is a second common male’s cancer in the world. Incidence of PC in Asia countries, have still been rising over the past few decades. As an antioxidant, selenium can slow down prostate cancer tumor progression, but the association between plasma selenium levels and risk of aggressive prostate cancer may be modified by different genotype of selenoprotein. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between plasma selenium, polymorphism of selenoprotein, urinaty total arsenic, and prostate cancer. Two hundred ninety five pathologically-confirmed cases of PC and 295 cancer-free controls were individually matched to case subjects by age (± 5 years) were recruited from Department of Urology of National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Municipal Wan Fang Hospital and Taipei Medical University Hospital. Personal interview and biospeciment of urine and blood collection from participants were conducted by well-trained interviewers after participants’ informed consent was obtained. Plasma selenium was measured by an inductively coupled plasma mass. Urinary arsenic concentration was detected using high-performance liquid chromatography-linked hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry. The polymorphism of SEPP1rs3797310 and SEP15 rs5859 were determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The higher plasma selenium was the lower OR of PC with a dose-response relationship. Prostate cancer patients with high plasma selenium had low tumor stage and grade. Participants carried SEPP1rs3797310 CT+TT genotype compared to those with CC genotype had a lower OR of PC in crude model; then this relationship was disappeared after confounder was adjusted. Prostate cancer patients with high urinary total arsenic concentration had high tumor stage and grade. Urinary total arsenic concentration was significantly positively related with plasma selenium and prostate specific antigen concentration. Participants with lower plasma selenium concentration and higher urinary total arsenic concentration compared to those with higher plasma selenium concentration and lower urinary total arsenic concentration had a higher OR of PC with a dose-response relationship.

Keywords: prostate cancer, plasma selenium concentration, urinary arsenic concentration, prostate specific antigen

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Authors: Yuanyuan Wang, Chun Hui

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Drawing on social capital theory, this article discusses how individuals may utilize network ties to come up with creativity. Social capital theory elaborates how network ties enhances individual creativity from three dimensions: structural access, and relational and cognitive mechanisms. We categorize network ties into strong and weak in terms of tie strength. With less structural constraints, weak ties allow diverse and heterogeneous knowledge to prosper, further facilitating individuals to build up connections among diverse even distant ideas. On the other hand, strong ties with the relational mechanism of cooperation and trust may benefit the accumulation of psychological capital, ultimately to motivate and sustain creativity. We suggest that differential ties play different roles for individual creativity: Weak ties deliver informational benefit directly rifling individual creativity from informational resource aspect; strong ties offer solidarity benefits to reinforce psychological capital, which further inspires individual creativity engagement from a psychological viewpoint. Social capital embedded in network ties influence individuals’ informational acquisition, motivation, as well as cognitive ability to be creative. Besides, we also consider the moderating effects constraining the relatedness between network ties and creativity, such as knowledge articulability. We hypothesize that when the extent of knowledge articulability is low, that is, with low knowledge codifiability, and high dependency and ambiguity, weak ties previous serving as knowledge reservoir will not become ineffective on individual creativity. Two-wave survey will be employed in Mainland China to empirically test mentioned propositions.

Keywords: network ties, social capital, psychological capital, knowledge articulability, individual creativity

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Authors: Shilpa Balan

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Radio Frequency Identification, also popularly known as RFID is used to automatically identify and track tags attached to items. This study focuses on the application of RFID in healthcare. The adoption of RFID in healthcare is a crucial technology to patient safety and inventory management. Data from RFID tags are used to identify the locations of patients and inventory in real time. Medical errors are thought to be a prominent cause of loss of life and injury. The major advantage of RFID application in healthcare industry is the reduction of medical errors. The healthcare industry has generated huge amounts of data. By discovering patterns and trends within the data, big data analytics can help improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. The number of increasing research publications leading to innovations in RFID applications shows the importance of this technology. This study explores the current state of research of RFID in healthcare using a text mining approach. No study has been performed yet on examining the current state of RFID research in healthcare using a data mining approach. In this study, related articles were collected on RFID from healthcare journal and news articles. Articles collected were from the year 2000 to 2015. Significant keywords on the topic of focus are identified and analyzed using open source data analytics software such as Rapid Miner. These analytical tools help extract pertinent information from massive volumes of data. It is seen that the main benefits of adopting RFID technology in healthcare include tracking medicines and equipment, upholding patient safety, and security improvement. The real-time tracking features of RFID allows for enhanced supply chain management. By productively using big data, healthcare organizations can gain significant benefits. Big data analytics in healthcare enables improved decisions by extracting insights from large volumes of data.

Keywords: RFID, data mining, data analysis, healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 238

Authors: Lorena Coelho, David Ramada, Catarina Nobre, Joaquim Gaião, Juliana Duarte

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The development of processes that allows the valorization of waste and by-products generated by industries is crucial to promote symbiotic relationships between different sectors and is mandatory to “close the loop” in the circular economy paradigm. In recent years, by-products and waste from agro-food and forestry sector have attracted attention due to their potential application and technical characteristics. The extraction of bio-based active compounds to be reused is in line with the circular bioeconomy concept trends, combining the use of renewable resources with the process’s circularity, aiming the waste reduction and encouraging reuse and recycling. Among different types of bio-based materials, which are being explored and can be extracted, proteins fractions are becoming an attractive new raw material. Within this context, BioTrace4Leather project, a collaboration between two Technological Centres – CeNTI and CTIC, and a company of Tanning and Finishing of Leather – Curtumes Aveneda, aims to develop innovative and biologically sustainable solutions for leather industry and accomplish the market circularity trends. Specifically, it aims to the valorisation of waste and by-products from the tannery industry through proteins extraction and the development of an innovative and biologically sustainable materials. The achieved results show that keratin, gelatine, and collagen fractions can be successfully extracted from hair and leather bovine waste. These products could be reintegrated into the industrial manufacturing process to attain innovative and functional textile and leather substrates. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work has been developed under BioTrace4Leather scope, a project co-funded by Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE) of PORTUGAL2020, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under grant agreement Nº POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039867.

Keywords: leather by-products, circular economy, sustainability, protein fractions

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Milica Karadžić, Lidija Jevrić, Sanja Podunavac-Kuzmanović, Strahinja Kovačević, Anamarija Mandić, Aleksandar Oklješa, Andrea Nikolić, Marija Sakač, Katarina Penov Gaši

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Using chemometric approach, the relationships between the chromatographic lipophilicity and in silico molecular descriptors for twenty-nine selected steroid derivatives were studied. The chromatographic lipophilicity was predicted using artificial neural networks (ANNs) method. The most important in silico molecular descriptors were selected applying stepwise selection (SS) paired with partial least squares (PLS) method. Molecular descriptors with satisfactory variable importance in projection (VIP) values were selected for ANN modeling. The usefulness of generated models was confirmed by detailed statistical validation. High agreement between experimental and predicted values indicated that obtained models have good quality and high predictive ability. Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) confirmed the importance of each molecular descriptor used as an input variable. High-quality networks indicate a strong non-linear relationship between chromatographic lipophilicity and used in silico molecular descriptors. Applying selected molecular descriptors and generated ANNs the good prediction of chromatographic lipophilicity of the studied steroid derivatives can be obtained. This article is based upon work from COST Actions (CM1306 and CA15222), supported by COST (European Cooperation and Science and Technology).

Keywords: artificial neural networks, chemometrics, global sensitivity analysis, liquid chromatography, steroids

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: Huda Alyami

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The present study aims to measure the effectiveness of an "Interactive eBook" in order to develop skills of designing and employing webquests for female intern teachers. The study uses descriptive analytical methodology as well as quasi-experimental methodology. The sample of the study consists of (30) female intern teachers from the Department of Special Education (in the tracks of Gifted Education and Learning Difficulties), during the first semester of the academic year 2015, at King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah city. The sample is divided into (15) female intern teachers for the experimental group, and (15) female intern teachers for the control group. A set of qualitative and quantitative tools have been prepared and verified for the study, embodied in: a list of the designing webquests' skills, a list of the employing webquests' skills, a webquests' knowledge achievement test, a product rating card, an observation card, and an interactive ebook. The study concludes the following results: 1. After pre-control, there are statistically significant differences, at the significance level of (α ≤ 0.05), between the mean scores of the experimental and the control groups in the post measurement of the webquests' knowledge achievement test, in favor of the experimental group. 2. There are statistically significant differences, at the significance level of (α ≤ 0.05), between the mean scores of experimental and control groups in the post measurement of the product rating card in favor of the experimental group. 3. There are statistically significant differences, at the significance level of (α ≤ 0.05), between the mean scores of experimental and control groups in the post measurement of the observation card for the experimental group. In the light of the previous findings, the study recommends the following: taking advantage of interactive ebooks when teaching all educational courses for various disciplines at the university level, creating educational participative platforms to share educational interactive ebooks for various disciplines at the local and regional levels. The study suggests conducting further qualitative studies on the effectiveness of interactive ebooks, in addition to conducting studies on the use of (Web 2.0) in webquests.

Keywords: interactive eBook, webquest, design, employing, develop skills

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Kesi Widjajanti

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To develop the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it is important to unlock potential resources that can improve their performance. Business Partnerships (BP) are currently an interesting topic of strategy to use to expand markets and maximize financial and marketing performance. However, many business partnerships have not quite a role among small and medium companies in the creative industry in the Batik Craft sector in Indonesia. This study is rooted in the Resource Advantage Theory of Competition ( RAToC), which emphasizes that the advantage of company resources can be sourced from organizational and relational resources. With the basis of this theory, SMEs can optimize the allocation of relational resources and organizational goals, improve operational efficiency, and gain a strategic advantage in the market. Companies that are able to actualize organizational and relational resources better than other market players can be used for the process of increasing their superior performance. This study explores key elements from the RAToC perspective and shows how Business Partnerships have the potential to drive SMEs' growth. By aligning visions, and organizational resources, sharing knowledge and leveraging complementary relational resources, SMEs can increase their competitiveness, enter new markets, and achieve superior performance. The theoretical contribution of RAToC in small companies is due to the role of Pro-Grow Business Partnership strength as an important antecedent for improving SMEs' performance. The benefits (scenarios) of a Business Partnership to grow together are directed at optimizing resources that can create additional value for customers so that they can outperform competitors. Furthermore, managerial implications for SMEs who wish to unlock their resource potential can encourage the role of Pro-Grow Business Partnerships, which have specific characteristics, can absorb experience/knowledge capacity and utilize this knowledge for the development of "together" business ventures.

Keywords: pro grow business partnership, performance, SMEs, resources advantage theory of competition, industry kreatif batik handycraft indonesia

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Husam Mohammed Saleh Alziyadi

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The drilling fluid has a significant impact on drilling efficiency. Drilling fluids have several functions which make them most important within the drilling process, such as lubricating and cooling the drill bit, removing cuttings from down of hole, preventing formation damage, suspending drill bit cuttings, , and also removing permeable formation as a result, the flow of fluid into the formation process is delayed. In the oil and gas sector, unconventional shale reserves have been a central player in meeting world energy demands. Oil-based drilling fluids (OBM) are generally favored for drilling shale plays due to negligible chemical interactions. Nevertheless, the industry has been inspired by strict environmental regulations to design water-based drilling fluids (WBM) capable of regulating shale-water interactions to boost their efficiency. However, traditional additives are too large to plug the micro-fractures and nanopores of the shale. Recently, nanotechnology in the oil and gas industries has shown a lot of promise, especially with drilling fluids based on nanoparticles. Nanotechnology has already made a huge contribution to technical developments in the energy sector. In the drilling industry, nanotechnology can make revolutionary changes. Nanotechnology creates nanomaterials with many attractive properties that can play an important role in improving the consistency of mud cake, reducing friction, preventing differential pipe sticking, preserving the stability of the borehole, protecting reservoirs, and improving the recovery of oil and gas. The selection of suitable nanomaterials should be based on the shale formation characteristics intended for drilling. The size, concentration, and stability of the NPs are three more important considerations. The effects of the environment are highly sensitive to these materials, such as changes in ionic strength, temperature, or pH, all of which occur under downhole conditions. This review paper focused on the previous research and recent development of environmentally friendly drilling fluids according to the regulatory environment and cost challenges.

Keywords: nanotechnology, WBM, Drilling Fluid, nanofluids

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Sastry Y. Kandukuri, Isak Andersen

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Despite recent advances in the manufacturing sector, quality issues remain a frequent occurrence, and can result in fatal accidents, equipment downtime, and loss of life. Adequate quality is of high importance in high-risk industries such as sea-going vessels and offshore installations in which third party quality assurance and product control play an important essential role in ensuring manufacturing quality of critical components. Classification societies play a vital role in mitigating risk in these industries by making sure that all the stakeholders i.e. manufacturers, builders, and end users are provided with adequate rules and standards that effectively ensures components produced at a high level of quality based on the area of application and risk of its failure. Quality issues have also been linked to the lack of competence or negligence of stakeholders in supply value chain. However, continued actions and regulatory reforms through modernization of rules and requirements has provided additional tools for purchasers and manufacturers to confront these issues. Included among these tools are updated ‘approval of manufacturer class programs’ aimed at developing and implementing a set of standardized manufacturing quality metrics for use by the manufacturer and verified by the classification society. The establishment and collection of manufacturing and testing requirements described in these programs could provide various stakeholders – from industry to vessel owners – with greater insight into the state of quality at a given manufacturing facility, and allow stakeholders to anticipate better and address quality issues while simultaneously reducing unnecessary failures that are costly to the industry. The publication introduces, explains and discusses critical manufacturing and testing requirements set in a leading class society’s approval of manufacturer regime and its rationale and some case studies.

Keywords: classification society, manufacturing, materials processing, materials testing, quality control

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Sophy Ann Xavier, Lakshmi A

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Gentrification is the process of altering a neighborhood's character through the influx of wealthier people and establishments. This idea has subsequently been expanded to encompass brand-new, high-status construction projects that involve regenerating brownfield sites or demolishing and rebuilding residential neighborhoods. Inequality is made worse by Gentrification in ways that go beyond socioeconomic position. The elderly, members of racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and mental health all suffer disproportionately when they are displaced. Cities must cultivate openness, diversity, and inclusion in their collaborations, as well as cooperation on objectives and results. The papers compiled in this issue concentrate on the new gentrification discussions, the rising residential allure of central cities, and the indices to measure this process according to its various varieties. The study makes an effort to fill the research gap in the area of gentrification studies, which is the absence of a set of indices for measuring Gentrification in a specific area. Studies on Gentrification that contain maps of historical change highlight trends that will aid in the production of displacement risk maps, which will guide future interventions by allowing residents and policymakers to extrapolate into the future. Additionally, these maps give locals a glimpse into the future of their communities and serve as a political call to action in areas where residents are expected to be displaced. This study intends to pinpoint metrics and approaches for measuring Gentrification that can then be applied to create a spatiotemporal map of a region and tactics for its inclusive planning. An understanding of various approaches will enable planners and policymakers to select the best approach and create the appropriate plans.

Keywords: gentrification, indices, methods, quantification

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Farhad Shafiepour Motlagh, Narges Salehi

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Purpose: The aim of the present study was a paradigm model of educational policy review strategies for the development of Professional schools in Iran. Research Methodology: The research method was based on Grounded theory. The statistical population included all articles of the ten years 2022-2010 and the method of sampling in a purposeful manner to the extent of theoretical saturation to 31 articles. For data analysis, open coding, axial coding and selective coding were used. Results: The results showed that causal conditions include social requirements (social expectations, educational justice, social justice); technology requirements (use of information and communication technology, use of new learning methods), educational requirements (development of educational territory, Development of educational tools and development of learning methods), contextual conditions including dual dimensions (motivational-psychological context, context of participation and cooperation), strategic conditions including (decentralization, delegation, organizational restructuring), intervention conditions (poor knowledge) Human resources, centralized system governance) and outcomes (school productivity, school professionalism, graduate entry into the labor market) were obtained. Conclusion: A review of educational policy is necessary to develop Iran's Professional schools, and this depends on decentralization, delegation, and, of course, empowerment of school principals.

Keywords: school productivity, professional schools, educational policy, paradigm

Procedia PDF Downloads 212