Search results for: reduced private care use

Authors: Lisa Rudolfsson

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Socio-cognitive factors, such as social support and attribution of blame, influence the victim’s psychological adjustment after the abuse. Furthermore, the response from the person that the victim first confides to effect adjustment following the abuse. In Sweden, although police are investigating most of the reported cases of rape, very few rape-cases leads to trial and sentence. For many women who have been raped, contact with the police officer when reporting the crime will, therefore, be the most notable experience of how representatives for the Swedish society regard and handle what has happened. Hence, it seems urgent to gather information about these initial meetings. This study is part of a three-year research project, titled 'Female rape victims: Quality of initial police and medical care contact', funded by the Swedish Crime Victim and Support Authority. The focus of this study was on police officers in Sweden: their thoughts and experiences of meeting with raped women. Forthcoming are interviews with raped women about their experiences of meeting with police. Sixteen police officers participated in three focus groups and one interview. The participants consisted of five men and eleven women. Focus groups and interview were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The material was analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants described how violence against women was not a priority in Swedish society or within the Police Authority. They talked about rape cases as a Sisyphean work-task that put high demands on them, while they also lacked training and support. They expressed a wish to offer the woman some kind of restoration, and they talked about their work as potentially making a difference for the woman – even if she did not get juridical justice. However, participants also described that they did not feel validated in their hard work. They talked about working rape cases as causing them a great deal of frustration - directed towards the Police Authority, the juridical system, colleagues, and sometimes towards the woman. Participants also described how meeting with raped women was a work that affected them in a personal manner. Listening to stories about sexual violence made the participants sad, and they described it as a struggle to understand. They described wondering how the woman’s life turned out and how they sometimes questioned if they had done enough. Some of the conclusions concern the lack of prerequisites needed for police officers to be able to offer a good-enough treatment of raped women, as well as the lack of tools needed for police officers to care for themselves. In lack of training, validation, and support, the knowledge of how to offer a good- enough treatment of raped women becomes a task learned by doing. Attempts to offer, if not legal justice, then at least some kind of restoration becomes a personal task, dependent on individual police officers. It seems urgent that we address the risk of police officers’ frustration building up to be detrimental for both the crime victim and the officer her/himself.

Keywords: focus groups, police, raped women, restoration

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Authors: H. Ahmed, A. Persson, L. Sundqvist, B. Biorkman

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Numerous amounts of metallurgical dusts and sludge containing iron as well as some other valuable elements such as Zn, Pb and C are annually produced in the steelmaking industry. These alternative iron ore resources (fines) with unsatisfying physical and metallurgical properties are difficult to recycle. However, agglomerating these fines to be further used as a feed stock for existing iron and steel making processes is practiced successfully at several plants but for limited extent. In the present study, briquettes of integrated steelmaking industry waste materials (namely, BF-dust and sludge, BOF-dust and sludge) were used as feed stock to produce direct reduced iron (DRI). Physical and metallurgical properties of produced briquettes were investigated by means of TGA/DTA/QMS in combination with XRD. Swelling, softening and melting behavior were also studied using heating microscope.

Keywords: iron and steel wastes, recycling, self-reducing briquettes, thermogravimetry

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Authors: Vanessa Vasconcelos, Mariza A. S. Bigonha

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In order to facilitate both processes, this paper presents HaskellFL, a tool that uses fault localization techniques to locate a logical error in Haskell code. The Haskell subset used in this work is sufficiently expressive for those studying functional programming to get immediate help debugging their code and to answer questions about key concepts associated with the functional paradigm. HaskellFL was tested against functional programming assignments submitted by students enrolled at the functional programming class at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and against exercises from the Exercism Haskell track that are publicly available on GitHub. Furthermore, the EXAM score was chosen to evaluate the tool’s effectiveness, and results showed that HaskellFL reduced the effort needed to locate an error for all tested scenarios. Results also showed that the Ochiai method was more effective than Tarantula.

Keywords: debug, fault localization, functional programming, Haskell

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Authors: Pardeep Gupta

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The purpose of this paper is to present a case study on TPM implementation methodology and to highlight the benefits achieved after TPM in an engineering industry XYZ Ltd. (name changed) situated in Mohali, Punjab. The improvements in key performance indicators (PQCDSM) after implementing the TPM proved that its implementation helped the company significantly to achieve higher productivity, customer satisfaction, morale, and profits. The manufacturing cost reduced by 30%, overall equipment efficiency increased from 63% in 2010 to 84% after three years and productivity improved by 67%. The Company has won the TPM Excellence Award, Category-A in 2013 and after that continued implementing second phase of TPM. The findings of the study govern that the strategic TPM implementation can significantly contribute for the realization of operational excellence in almost all types of industry.

Keywords: total productive maintenance, overall equipment efficiency, continuous improvement, manufacturing excellence, availability, TPM initiatives, productivity

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Authors: Tuğçe Yücel

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A Wireless Sensor Network(WSN) is a collection of sensor nodes which are deployed randomly in an area for surveillance. Efficient utilization of limited battery energy of sensors for increased network lifetime as well as data security are major design objectives for WSN. Moreover secure transmission of data sensed to a base station for further processing. Producing multiple copies of data packets and sending them on different paths is one of the strategies for this purpose, which leads to redundant energy consumption and hence reduced network lifetime. In this work we develop a restricted multi-copy multipath strategy where data move through ‘frequently’ or ‘heavily’ used sensors is copied by the sensor incident to such central nodes and sent on node-disjoint paths. We develop a mixed integer programing(MIP) model and heuristic approach present some preleminary test results.

Keywords: MIP, sensor, telecommunications, WSN

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Authors: Ivana Loncarevic, Biljana Pajin, Jovana Petrovic, Danica Zaric, Vesna Tumbas Saponjac, Aleksandar Fistes

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Chocolate is a food that activates pleasure centers in the human brain. In comparison to black and milk chocolate, white chocolate does not contain fat-free cocoa solids and thus lacks bioactive components. The aim of this study was to examine the sensory characteristics of enriched white chocolate with the addition of 10% of raspberry juice encapsulated in maltodextrins (denoted as encapsulate). Chocolate is primarily intended for enjoyment, and therefore, the sensory expectation is a critical factor for consumers when selecting a new type of chocolate. Consumer acceptance of chocolate depends primarily on the appearance and taste, but also very much on the mouthfeel, which mainly depends on the particle size of chocolate. Chocolate samples were evaluated by a panel of 8 trained panelists, food technologists, trained according to ISO 8586 (2012). Panelists developed the list of attributes to be used in this study: intensity of red color (light to dark); glow on the surface (mat to shiny); texture on snap (appearance of cavities or holes on the snap surface that are seen - even to gritty); hardness (hardness felt during the first bite of chocolate sample in half by incisors - soft to hard); melting (the time needed to convert solid chocolate into a liquid state – slowly to quickly); smoothness (perception of evenness of chocolate during melting - very even to very granular); fruitiness (impression of fruity taste - light fruity notes to distinct fruity notes); sweetness (organoleptic characteristic of pure substance or mixture giving sweet taste - lightly sweet to very sweet). The chocolate evaluation was carried out 24 h after sample preparation in the sensory laboratory, in partitioned booths, which were illuminated with fluorescent lights (ISO 8589, 2007). Samples were served in white plastic plates labeled with three-digit codes from a random number table. Panelist scored the perceived intensity of each attribute using a 7-point scale (1 = the least intensity and 7 = the most intensity) (ISO 4121, 2002). The addition of 10% of encapsulate had a big influence on chocolate color, where enriched chocolate got a nice reddish color. At the same time, the enriched chocolate sample had less intensity of gloss on the surface. The panelists noticed that addition of encapsulate reduced the time needed to convert solid chocolate into a liquid state, increasing its hardness. The addition of encapsulate had a significant impact on chocolate flavor. It reduced the sweetness of white chocolate and contributed to the fruity raspberry flavor.

Keywords: white chocolate, encapsulated raspberry juice, color, sensory characteristics

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Authors: E. Tugba Topcu

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The emergency services are usually the first places to encounter forensic cases. Hence, it is important to consider forensics from the perspective of the emergency services staff and the physiological and psychological consequences that may arise as a result of behaviour by itself or another person. Accurate and detailed documentation of the situation in which the patient first arrives at the emergency service and preservation of the forensic findings is pivotal for the subsequent forensic investigation. The first step in determining whether or not a forensic case exists is to perform a medical examination of the patient. For each individual suspected to be part of a forensic case, police officers should be informed at the same time as the medical examination is being conducted. Violent events are increasing every year and with an increase in the number of forensic cases, emergency service workers have increasing responsibility and consequently play a key role in protecting, collecting and arranging the forensic evidence. In addition, because the emergency service workers involved in forensic events typically have information about the accused and/or victim, as well as evidence related to the events and the cause of injuries, police officers often require their testimony. However, both nurses and other health care personnel do not typically have adequate expertise in forensic medicine. Emergency nurses should take an active role for determining that whether any patient admitted to the emergency services is a clinical forensic patient the emergency service with injury and requiring possible punishment and knowing of their roles and responsibilities in this area provides legal protection as well as the protection of the judicial affair. Particularly, in emergency services, where rapid patient turnover and high workload exists, patient registration and case reporting may not exist. In such instances, the witnesses, typically the nurses, are often consulted for information. Knowledge of forensic medical matters plays a vital role in achieving justice. According to the Criminal Procedure Law, Article 75, Paragraph 3, ‘an internal body examination or the taking of blood or other biological samples from the body can be performed only by a doctor or other health professional member’. In favour of this item, the clinic nurse and doctor are mainly responsible for evaluating forensic cases in emergency departments, performing the examination, collecting evidence, and storing and reporting data. The courts place considerable importance on determining whether a suspect is the victim or accused and, thus, in terms of illuminating events, it is crucial that any evidence is gathered carefully and appropriately. All the evidence related to the forensic case including the forensic report should be handed over to the police officers. In instances where forensic evidence cannot be collected and the only way to obtain the evidence is the hospital environment, health care personnel in emergency services need to have knowledge about the diagnosis of forensic evidence, the collection of evidence, hiding evidence and provision of the evidence delivery chain.

Keywords: emergency department, emergency nursing, forensic cases, forensic nursing

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Authors: A. A. AlRasheed, A. Atkins, R. Campion

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This paper focuses on using knowledge management and visualisation concepts to improve the patients and hospitals employee’s workflow. Hospitals workflow is a complex and complicated process and poor patient flow can put both patients and a hospital’s reputation at risk, and can threaten the facility’s financial sustainability. Healthcare leaders are under increased pressure to reduce costs while maintaining or increasing patient care standards. In this paper, a framework is proposed to help improving patient experience, staff satisfaction, and operational efficiency across hospitals by using knowledge management based visualisation concepts. This framework is using real-time visibility to track and monitor location and status of patients, staff, rooms, and medical equipment.

Keywords: knowledge management, improvements, visualisation, workflow

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Authors: Prashant Sharma, Jyotsna Dutta Majumdar

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The present study concerns development of a composite thermal barrier coating consisting of a mixture of La2O3 and YSZ (with 8 wt.%, 32 wt.% and 50 wt.% 50% La2O3) by plasma spray deposition technique on a CoNiCrAlY based bond coat deposited on Inconel 718 substrate by high velocity oxy-fuel deposition (HVOF) technique. The addition of La2O3 in YSZ causes the formation of pyrochlore (La2Zr2O7) phase in the inter splats boundary along with the presence of LaYO3 phase. The coefficient of thermal expansion is significantly reduced from due to the evolution of different phases and structural defects in the sprayed coating. The activation energy for TGO growth under isothermal and cyclic oxidation was increased in the composite coating as compared to YSZ coating.

Keywords: plasma spraying, oxidation resistance, thermal barrier coating, microstructure, X-ray method

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Authors: Shunsuke Fujiwara, Takashi Kaburagi, Kazuyuki Kobayashi, Kajiro Watanabe, Yosuke Kurihara

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This paper describes a novel sensor device, a pressure pulse wave meter, which uses a bidirectional condenser microphone. The microphone work as a microphone as well as a sensor with high gain over a wide frequency range; they are also highly reliable and economical. Currently aging is becoming a serious social issue in Japan causing increased medical expenses in the country. Hence, it is important for elderly citizens to check health condition at home, and to care the health conditions through daily monitoring. Given this circumstances, we developed a novel pressure pulse wave meter based on a bidirectional condenser microphone. This novel pressure pulse wave meter device is used as a measuring instrument of health conditions.

Keywords: bidirectional microphone, pressure pulse wave meter, health condition, novel sensor device

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Authors: Abdullah S. Alghamdi, Khaled Alghamdi, Richard O. Jenkins, Parvez I. Haris

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Background: Unhealthy diet is one of the modifiable risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Improvement in diet can be beneficial for countering diabetes. For example, HbA1c, an important biomarker for diabetes, can be reduced by 1.1% through only alteration in diet. Ramadan fasting has been reported to provide positive health benefits. However, optimal benefits are not achieved, often due to poor dietary habits and lifestyle. There is a need to better understand the dietary habits of people fasting during Ramadan, so that necessary improvements can be made to develop this form of fasting as a non-pharmacological strategy for management and prevention of T2DM. Aim: This study aimed to assess the dietary patterns of Saudi adult patients with T2DM over three different periods (before, during, and after Ramadan) and relate this to HbA1c levels. Methods: This study recruited 82 Saudi with T2DM, who chose to fast during Ramadan, from the Endocrine and Diabetic Centre of Al Iman General Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ethical approvals for the study were obtained from De Montfort University and Saudi Ministry of Health. Dietary patterns were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire in each period. This assessment included the diet type and frequency. Blood samples were collected in each period for determination of HbA1c. Results: The number of meals per day for the participants significantly decreased during Ramadan (P < 0.001). The consumption of fruit and vegetables significantly increased during Ramadan (P = 0.017). However, the consumption of sugary drinks significantly increased during and after Ramadan (P = 0.005). Approximately 60% of the patients indicated that they ate sugary foods at least once per week. The consumption of bread and rice was reported to be at least two times per week. The consumption of rice significantly reduced during Ramadan (P = 0.002). The mean HbA1c significantly varied between periods (P = 0.001), with lowest level during Ramadan compared to before and after Ramadan. The increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables had a medium effect size on the reduction in HbA1c during Ramadan. There was a variance of 7.7% in the mean difference in HbA1c levels between groups (who changed their fruit and vegetable consumption) which can be accounted for by the increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Likewise, 9.3% of the variance in the mean HbA1c difference between the groups was accounted for by a decrease in the consumption of rice. Conclusion: The increase in the frequency of fruit and vegetables intake, and especially the reduction in the frequency of rice consumption, during Ramadan produce beneficial effects in reducing HbA1c level. Therefore, further improving the dietary habits of patients with T2DM, such as reducing their sugary drinks intake, may help them to obtain greater benefits from Ramadan fasting in the management of their diabetes. It is recommended that dietary guidance is provided to the public to maximise health benefits through Ramadan fasting.

Keywords: Diabetes, Diet, Fasting, HbA1c, Ramadan

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Authors: Rabia Khalil

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The aim of the study is to find out the perception of early childhood education teacher‘s about the role and implementation of information communication technology in early childhood education. The main purpose of the study is to investigate the role of information and communication technology in early childhood education as perceived by early childhood education teachers. The objectives of the study were to identify the roles of ICT in today’s early years and the impacts of Information communication technology in early childhood education. This study is to find out the role of ICT at ECE level & how it will be useful for teachers to implement this technique for the development of student skills. This is a quantitative research in which a survey study was conducted. The Population of the study was the primary teachers of the public and private primary schools of Lahore. By using random sampling technique the sample consists of 300 teachers but only 260 respond from 52 primary schools of Lahore. In this research, questionnaire was developed for primary school teachers. The questionnaires were based on liker type scale which comprises of section of strongly agree to strongly disagree. Data were analyzed by using descriptive analysis. The data was arranged and then entered in computer, having the software package for social sciences (SPSS) version 15. The importance of this study is to find out the role of ICT at ECE level & how it will be useful for teachers to implement this technique for the development of student skills.

Keywords: ECE, ICT, PC, C AI

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Authors: Mika Kaufman

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Behavioral health in school-age children is a great concern. Negative behaviors can affect mental and physical health and, if ignored, can lead to further problems later in life. Rural communities often lack resources for counselors, social workers, and mental health care in the hopes of intervening with children who exhibit negative behaviors. Because of this, schools in rural communities are more likely to have children with behavioral issues. Prevention programs to recognize and address these behavioral concerns can educate teachers about mental health, different negative behaviors that students might exhibit, and how to manage those behaviors and engage with students in a positive way.

Keywords: prevention programs, behavioral health, resources for teachers, rural schools

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Authors: Ahmed Ouadah Bouakkaz, Mohamed Elmeguenni, Bel Abbes Bachir Bouiadjra, Mohamed Belhouari, Abdulmohsen Albedah

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In this study, the effect of the chemical environment on the mechanical properties of the polypropylene-talc composite was analyzed. The talc proportion was varied in order to highlight the combined effects of time of immersion in the chemical environment 'benzene' and talc concentration on the mechanical properties of the composite. Tensile test was carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of PP-talc composite and to analyze the effect of the immersion time on the variation of these properties. The obtained results show that increasing the time of immersion has a very negative effect on the mechanical strength of the PP-talc composite, but this effect can be significantly reduced by the augmentation of the talc proportion.

Keywords: polypropylene (PP), talc, nanocomposite, degradation

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Authors: Soo-Yong Cho, Chong-Hyun Cho, Chae-Whan Rim, Sang-Kyu Choi, Jin-Gyun Kim, Ju-Seok Nam

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Recently, vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have been widely used to produce electricity even in urban. They have several merits such as low sound noise, easy installation of the generator and simple structure without yaw-control mechanism and so on. However, their blades are operated under the influence of the trailing vortices generated by the preceding blades. This phenomenon deteriorates its output power and makes difficulty predicting correctly its performance. In order to improve the performance of VAWT, wind power towers can be applied. Usually, the wind power tower can be constructed as a multi-story building to increase the frontal area of the wind stream. Hence, multiple sets of the VAWT can be installed within the wind power tower, and they can be operated at high elevation. Many different types of wind power tower can be used in the field. In this study, a wind power tower with circular column shape was applied, and the VAWT was installed at the center of the wind power tower. Seven guide walls were used as a strut between the floors of the wind power tower. These guide walls were utilized not only to increase the wind velocity within the wind power tower but also to adjust the wind direction for making a better working condition on the VAWT. Hence, some important design variables, such as the distance between the wind turbine and the guide wall, the outer diameter of the wind power tower, the direction of the guide wall against the wind direction, should be considered to enhance the output power on the VAWT. A numerical analysis was conducted to find the optimum dimension on design variables by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) among many prediction methods. The CFD could be an accurate prediction method compared with the stream-tube methods. In order to obtain the accurate results in the CFD, it needs the transient analysis and the full three-dimensional (3-D) computation. However, this full 3-D CFD could be hard to be a practical tool because it requires huge computation time. Therefore, the reduced computational domain is applied as a practical method. In this study, the computations were conducted in the reduced computational domain and they were compared with the experimental results in the literature. It was examined the mechanism of the difference between the experimental results and the computational results. The computed results showed this computational method could be an effective method in the design methodology using the optimization algorithm. After validation of the numerical method, the CFD on the wind power tower was conducted with the important design variables affecting the performance of VAWT. The results showed that the output power of the VAWT obtained using the wind power tower was increased compared to them obtained without the wind power tower. In addition, they showed that the increased output power on the wind turbine depended greatly on the dimension of the guide wall.

Keywords: CFD, performance, VAWT, wind power tower

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Authors: Mohammad Abdulaziz Algrnas, Emma Mulliner

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Housing projects have been established in Saudi Arabia, by both government and private construction companies, to meet the increasing demand from Saudi inhabitants across the country. However, the real estate market supply does not meet consumer preference requirements. Preferences normally differ depending on the consumer’s situation, such as the household’s sociological characteristics (age, household size and composition), resources (income, wealth, information and experience), tastes and priorities. Collecting information about consumer attitudes, preferences and perceptions is important for the real estate market in order to better understand housing demand and to ensure that this is met by appropriate supply. The aim of this paper is to identify consumer preferences for housing in Saudi Arabia. A quantitative closed-ended questionnaire was conducted with housing consumers in Saudi Arabia in order to gain insight into consumer needs, current household situation, preferences for a number of investigated housing attributes and consumers’ perceptions around the current housing problem. 752 survey responses were obtained and analysed in order to describe preferences for housing attributes and make comparisons between groups. Factor analysis was also conducted to identify and reduce the attributes. The results indicate a difference in preference according to the gender of the respondents and depending on their region of residence.

Keywords: housing attributes, Saudi Arabia, consumer preferences, housing preferences

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Authors: Daniel Y. Abebe, Jaehyouk Choi

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The design philosophy of building structure has been changing over time. The reason behind this is an increase in human interest regarding the improvements in building materials and technology that will affect how we live, the aim to speed up construction period, and the environmental effect which includes earthquakes and other natural disasters. One technique which takes into account the above case is using a prefabricable structural system, in which each and every structural element is designed and prefabricated and assembled on a site so that the construction speed is increased and the environmental impact is also enhanced. This system has immense advantages such as reduced construction cost, reusability, recyclability, faster construction period and less enviromental effect. In this study, some of the developed and evaluated structural elements of building structures are presented.

Keywords: eccentrically braced frame, natural disaster, prefabricable structural system, removable link, SGSS

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Authors: Klaus Froehlich-Gildhoff, Ullrich Boettinger, Katharina Rauh, Angela Schickler

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The Prevention Network Ortenaukreis, PNO, funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, aims to promote physical and mental health as well as the social inclusion of 3 to 10 years old children and their families in the Ortenau district. Within a period of four years starting 11/2014 a community network will be established. One regional and five local prevention representatives are building networks with stakeholders of the prevention and health promotion field bridging the health care, educational and youth welfare system in a multidisciplinary approach. The regional prevention representative implements regularly convening prevention and health conferences. On a local level, the 5 local prevention representatives implement round tables in each area as a platform for networking. In the setting approach, educational institutions are playing a vital role when gaining access to children and their families. Thus the project will offer 18 month long organizational development processes with specially trained coaches to 25 kindergarten and 25 primary schools. The process is based on a curriculum of prevention and health promotion which is adapted to the specific needs of the institutions. Also to ensure that the entire region is reached demand oriented advanced education courses are implemented at participating day care centers, kindergartens and schools. Evaluation method: The project is accompanied by an extensive research design to evaluate the outcomes of different project components such as interview data from community prevention agents, interviews and network analysis with families at risk on their support structures, data on community network development and monitoring, as well as data from kindergarten and primary schools. The latter features a waiting-list control group evaluation in kindergarten and primary schools with a mixed methods design using questionnaires and interviews with pedagogues, teachers, parents, and children. Results: By the time of the conference pre and post test data from the kindergarten samples (treatment and control group) will be presented, as well as data from the first project phase, such as qualitative interviews with the prevention coordinators as well as mixed methods data from the community needs assessment. In supporting this project, the Federal Ministry aims to gain insight into efficient components of community prevention and health promotion networks as it is implemented and evaluated. The district will serve as a model region, so that successful components can be transferred to other regions throughout Germany. Accordingly, the transferability to other regions is of high interest in this project.

Keywords: childhood research, health promotion, physical health, prevention network, psychological well-being, social inclusion

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Authors: Muhammad Bilal Mustafa, Javed Hussain, Simeon Babatunde

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The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of countless organisations beyond their size, type, and location. However, some groups and sectors are disproportionally get impacted by the pandemic. In the context of the UK, ethnic Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) turn out to be the most precarious group among all private sectors. Many ethnic SMEs shut down their business operations during a pandemic. A large portion of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) owners have huge concerns regarding their business’ survival and resilience. The current UK-centric studies have focused on the large business population, and there is a gap in ethnic SMEs and how they get affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, there is a need to further knowledge and academic research to investigate the fundamental factors that could strengthen the resilience of ethnic SMEs as well as contribute to long-term sustainability. Therefore, this study aims to capture the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on ethnic SMEs in the UK and assess the survival measures taken by ethnic SMEs during Covid-19. Besides, this study adopts a dynamic capabilities perspective that how firms' specific capabilities enable ethnic SMEs to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, this research will help ethnic SMEs to develop vigorous resilience to address future external shocks and market uncertainties.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, ethnic minority SMEs, entrepreneurial resilience, dynamic capabilities, sustainability

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Authors: Razieh Niazmand, Dina Sadat Mousavian, Parvin Sharayei

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This study investigated the effect of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), tragacanth, and saalab hydrocolloids in two concentrations (0.3%, 0.7%) and different frying media, refined canola oil (RCO), RCO + 1% bene kernel oil (BKO), and RCO + 1 mg/l unsaponifiable matter (USM) of BKO on acrylamide formation in fried potato slices. The hydrocolloid coatings significantly reduced acrylamide formation in potatoes fried in all oils. Increasing the hydrocolloid concentration from 0.3% to 0.7% produced no effective inhibition of acrylamide. The 0.7 % CMC solution was identified as the most promising inhibitor of acrylamide formation in RCO oil, with a 62.9% reduction in acrylamide content. The addition of BKO or USM to RCO led to a noticeable reduction in the acrylamide level in fried potato slices. The findings suggest that a 0.7% CMC solution and RCO+USM are promising inhibitors of acrylamide formation in fried potato products.

Keywords: CMC, frying, potato, saalab, tracaganth

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Authors: Kang Hyun Yi

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Wireless power transfer technologies are inductive coupling, magnetic resonance, and capacitive coupling methods, typically. Among them, the capacitive coupling wireless power transfer, also named Capacitive Coupling Wireless Power Transfer (CCWPT), has been researched to overcome the drawbacks of other approaches. The CCWPT has many advantages such as a simple structure, low standing power loss, reduced Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and the ability to transfer power through metal barriers. In this paper, the CCWPT system with 6.78MHz class D inverter is proposed and analyzed. The proposed system is consisted of the 6.78MHz class D inverter with the LC low pass filter, the capacitor between a transmitter and a receiver and impedance transformers. The system is verified with a prototype for charging mobile devices.

Keywords: wireless power transfer, capacitive coupling power transfer, class D inverter, 6.78MHz

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Authors: Francisca Margarita Ocran

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Underwear, and more particularly bras and panties, are defined as intimate clothing. Strictly speaking, they enhance the place of women in the public or private satchel. Therefore, women's lingerie is a complex garment with a high involvement profile, motivating consumers to buy it not only by its functional utility but also by the multisensory experience it provides them. Customer behavior models are generally based on customer data mining, and each model is designed to answer questions at a specific time. Predicting the customer experience is uncertain and difficult. Thus, knowledge of consumers' tastes in lingerie deserves to be treated as an experiential product, where the dimensions of the experience motivating consumers to buy a lingerie product and to remain faithful to it must be analyzed in detail by the manufacturers and retailers to engage and retain consumers, which is why this research aims to identify the variables that push consumers to choose their lingerie product, based on an in-depth analysis of the types of fabrics used to make lingerie. The data used in this study comes from online purchases. Machine learning approach with the use of Python programming language and Pycaret gives us a precision of 86.34%, 85.98%, and 84.55% for the three algorithms to use concerning the preference of a buyer in front of a range of lingerie. Gradient Boosting, random forest, and K Neighbors were used in this study; they are very promising and rich in the classification of preference in the textile industry.

Keywords: consumer behavior, data mining, lingerie, machine learning, preference

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Authors: Nuran Nur Aypar, Merlinda Alus Tokat

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The aim of the study is to determine the knowledge level of pregnant women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) about the disease and affecting factors. The data of this descriptive study were collected from 184 pregnant women who were followed up in Dokuz Eylul University Hospital (n=34), Izmir Ege Maternity Hospital, Gynecology Training and Research Hospital (n=133), and Egepol Private Hospital (n=17). Data collection forms were prepared by the researcher according to the literature. ANOVA test, Kruskal Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, Student’s t-test, and Pearson correlation test were used for statistical analyses. Average GDM knowledge score of pregnant women was 40.10±19.56. The GDM knowledge scores were affected by factors such as age, educational level, working status, income status, educational level of the spouse, and the GDM background. It has been shown in our study that the GDM knowledge scores were negatively affected by factors such as young age, low educational level, low-income level, unemployment, having a spouse with low educational level, the absence of the GDM story. It has been identified that 86.4% of the pregnant women were trained about GDM. The education provided in the antenatal period significantly increased GDM knowledge scores of pregnant women (p=0.000, U=515.0). It has been determined that GDM knowledge of the pregnant women with GDM is affected by various factors. These factors must be considered in order to determine new strategies.

Keywords: affecting factors, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), knowledge level, nursing, pregnancy

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Authors: Aime Philombe Zapji Ymele

Abstract:

Servicing public debt is a significant budgetary burden. In the sense that the payment of interest charges is a liability on the balance sheet of the public budget and affects fiscal policy. Interest charges can sometimes become a burden if they crowd out private activities. In order to analyse and understand the determinants of the debt burden and its impact on the sustainability of public finances, the present work focuses on OECD countries. It is noted from the literature that the factors that determine interest charges are macroeconomic (inflation, GDP growth, and interest rates) and public finances (primary balance and public debt). After analysing a panel of 33 OECD countries and using ordinary least squares (OLS), we find that public debt, inflation, and long-term interest rates are positively correlated with interest charges. An increase in any of these variables leads to an increase in debt charges. On the other hand, a growth in GDP is negatively associated with interest charges. Indeed, an increase in GDP generates enough revenue to meet the repayment of debt charges. According to the empirical analysis, we can say that, despite the large and growing debt-to-GDP ratio of major OECD countries, interest charges are not a threat to the sustainability of public finances. However, it is important for these countries to reduce the ratio of public debt to GDP because, in the face of the many challenges (health, aging population, etc.) that are looming on the horizon, an increase in interest rates could bring with it considerable burdens that would threaten the budgetary balance of these states.

Keywords: interest charges, sustainability, public debt, interest rates

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Authors: Susan Catapano, Meredith Jones, Carol McNulty

Abstract:

Analysis of one state’s collaborative effort to support teachers, in both public and private schools, as they moved from face-to-face teaching to remote teaching during the Covid pandemic to identify lessons learned and materials put into place to support teachers and families. Surveys were created, distributed, and analyzed throughout the three months of remote teaching, documents and lesson plans were developed, and training materials were created. All data collected and materials developed were analyzed to identify supports teachers used and needed for successful remote teaching. Researchers found most teachers easily moved to online teaching; however, many families did not have access to technology, so teachers needed to develop non-technology-based access and support for remote teaching. Teachers also reported the need to prepare to teach remotely as part of their teaching training, so they were prepared in the future. Finally, data indicated teachers were able to establish stronger relationships with families than usual as a result of remote teaching. The lessons learned and support developed are part of the state’s ongoing policy for online teaching in the event of disasters and pandemics in the future.

Keywords: remote learning, teacher education, pandemic, families

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Authors: Afsheen Masood, Sumaira Rashid, Nadia Ijaz, Shama Mazahir

Abstract:

The current study examined the relationship between moral disengagement, psychological contract, organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior. It is hypothesized that there is likely to be a significant relationship between moral disengagement, psychological contract, organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior. It is hypothesized that moral disengagement is likely to significantly predict counterproductive work behavior. It is hypothesized that psychological contract is likely to moderate the relationship between moral disengagement, and counterproductive work behavior. Cross-sectional survey research design was used for the study. The sample consisted of 500 middle managers, age ranging between 30-45 years working in private and public sector. The measures used were Moral Disengagement Scale, Psychological Contract Scale, and Counterproductive Work Behavior. Series of Correlation analyses, Regression analysis, moderation analysis and t-test was run in order to execute descriptive and inferential analyses. The findings revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between moral disengagement and counterproductive work behaviors. Psychological contract significantly mediated the relationship between moral disengagement and counterproductive work behaviors. There were significant gender differences reported in psychological contract and counterproductive work behaviors. The insightful findings carry significant implication for organizational psychologists and organizational stakeholders.

Keywords: psychological contract, moral disengagement, counterproductive work behaviors, mediation analysis

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Authors: Lukáš Mazánek, Zdeňka Konečná

Abstract:

The article is devoted to the area of personnel marketing. A comprehensive review of scientific literature and articles published predominantly in personnel-oriented journals was carried out, followed by a qualitative exploratory research with the aim to explore and explain the perception of personnel marketing. Due to the lack of research in this field in Czech Republic, we have focused on Czech HR managers, more specifically, on how they understand the tasks of personnel marketing, which tools they use and whether the companies they work for try to be a preferred employer. The answers from our respondents were used to help us determine what is important within this field. All of the respondents strive to be a preferred employer and try to achieve it by using an extensive range of marketing tools. The most frequently used tools are advertising, job fairs presentations, employee care and employer brand promotion.

Keywords: Czech Republic, personnel marketing, preferred employer, qualitative research study

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Authors: Rungrot Trongsakul

Abstract:

This paper was aimed to study the model of education cooperation during Thailand and neighbor countries, especially the countries which the territory-cohesion border with Thailand used “Soft Power” to enhance the good relationship. This research employed qualitative method, analyzed and synthesized the content of cooperation projects, policies, laws, relevant theories, relevant research papers and documents and used SWOT analysis. The research findings revealed that Thailand’s education cooperation projects with neighbor countries had two characteristics: 1) education cooperation projects/programs were a part in economic cooperation projects, and 2) there were directly education cooperation projects. The suggested education cooperation model was based on the concept of “Soft Power”, thus the determination of action plans or projects as key factors of public and private organizations should be based on sincere participation among people, communities and relevant organizations of the neighbor countries. Adoption of education-cultural exchange, learning and sharing process is a key to strengthen good relationship of the countries’ cooperation. The roles of education in this included sharing and acceptance of culture and local wisdom, human resource development, knowledge management, integration and networking building could enhance relationship between agents of related organizations of Thailand and neighbors countries.

Keywords: education, soft-power, relationship, cooperation, Thailand neighboring countries

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Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Fayza Al Hammadi, Nassr Almaflehi, Ayman Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari

Abstract:

Background: The language of EFL learners is of special interests to linguists. Little research has been tackled on issues concerning English Discourse Markers (EDMs) among Saudi EFL learners. Aims: Employing a corpus-based descriptive analysis, the current study attempts at detecting EDMs in the talk of Saudi EFL learners, their frequency, use, usage, etc., in comparison to other EFL learners as well as native speakers. Methods: Two hundreds Saudi EFL learners were randomly selected from 20 public and private schools (ten students from each school) across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Subjects were individually recorded while they were studying English in class. Recordings were then linguistically and statistically analyzed by the researchers. Conclusion: Results illustrate that EDMs “and”, “but” and “also” are the most frequent EDMs in the talk of Saudi EFL learners. These devices are randomly used by Saudi EFL learners who mix their use (appropriateness) with usage (correctedness) due to the influence of their L1 (Arabic). In compare to other EFL learners (native and non-native), Saudi EFL learners use less EDMs. These results confirmed the claims that EFL learners use EDMs less than native speakers. This paper, although preliminary in nature, can help arrive a better understanding of using EDMs by Saudi EFL learners. Further, it can also assist in getting appropriate insights into the way how these EDMs are used in Arab Gulf countries. The researchers decided to conduct an in-depth study into the use of EDMs in the oral work of Saudi EFL learners.

Keywords: English discourse markers, Saudi EFL learners, use, usage, frequency, native speakers

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Authors: Basman Elhadidi, Islam Elqatary, Osama Saaid, Hesham Othman

Abstract:

An active slat is developed to increase the lift and delay the separation for a DU96-W180 airfoil. The active slat is a fixed slat that can be closed, fully opened or intermittently opened by a rotating vane depending on the need. Experimental results show that the active slat has reduced the mean pressure and increased the mean velocity on the suction side of the airfoil for all positive angles of attack, indicating an increase of lift. The experimental data and numerical simulations also show that the direction of actuator vane rotation can influence the mixing of the flow streams on the suction side and hence influence the aerodynamic performance.

Keywords: active slat, flow control, experimental investigation, aerodynamic performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 437