Search results for: cultural diffusion theory

Authors: Mohamad Shamsuri Juhari

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Fathers who positively involve themselves in their children’s lives will have had a constructive influence on the latter’s social, behavioural, and psychological development. This paper will share the preliminary findings of an ongoing research project which investigates Singaporean fathers from the nation’s minority Malay-Muslim community who commit the reverse, that is, it intends to study the reasons behind these fathers’ non-involvement during the period of their children’s developing years be it through absence, disinterest or ignorance. For instance, children from homes with absentee fathers are more likely to develop deficiencies in attitude and conduct. A father’s negative show of parental skills can also cause setbacks in the child’s education, economic instability in the latter’s future family life, as well as the likelihood of an ensuing intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour. In the context of the minority Singaporean Malay-Muslim community, the need to investigate the challenges faced by fathers from the ethnic group in carrying out their parental roles arose due to the perceptible rise in statistics reflecting delinquency among its youths. This has resulted in other associated issues such as teenage pregnancies (and the subsequent cyclical patterns of divorce and single motherhood), over-representation in the data for drug offences, and under-representation in statistics reflecting academic achievement. While other factors are known to be involved, these negative outcomes have also been attributed to the lack of fatherly guidance in the affected Malay families. This still-ongoing research project is being carried out in two phases: The first by means of secondary research as well as exploratory data collection via roundtable and focus group discussions with fathers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. This sets the way for the second phase in which a survey will be undertaken, followed by a series of in-depth face-to-face interviews. The research findings will then be translated into intervention initiatives to overcome the identified challenges. Based on the results collated from Phase 1 of the research, this paper will share a ‘first look’ on the challenges to effective parenting faced by Malay-Muslim fathers in Singapore specifically those relating to the socio-cultural domains of attitude, knowledge, and practice.

Keywords: Malay fathers, socio-cultural domains, attitude, knowledge, practice

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Authors: Dorota Miroslaw-Swiatek, Mateusz Grygoruk, Sylwia Szporak

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We applied a two-dimensional surface water flow model with irregular wet boundaries. In this model, flow equations are in the form of a 2-D, non-linear diffusion equations which allows to account spatial variations in flow resistance and topography. Calculation domain to simulate the flow pattern in the floodplain is congruent with a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) grid. The rate and direction of sheet flow in wetlands is affected by vegetation type and density, therefore the developed model take into account spatial distribution vegetation resistance to the water flow. The model was tested in a part of the Biebrza Valley, of an outstanding heterogeneity in the elevation and flow resistance distributions due to various ecohydrological conditions and management measures. In our approach we used the highest-possible quality of the DEM in order to obtain hydraulic slopes and vegetation distribution parameters for the modelling. The DEM was created from the cloud of points measured in the LiDAR technology. The LiDAR reflects both the land surface as well as all objects on top of it such as vegetation. Depending on the density of vegetation cover the ability of laser penetration is variable. Therefore to obtain accurate land surface model the “vegetation effect” was corrected using data collected in the field (mostly the vegetation height) and satellite imagery such as Ikonos (to distinguish different vegetation types of the floodplain and represent them spatially). Model simulation was performed for the spring thaw flood in 2009.

Keywords: floodplain flow, Biebrza valley, model simulation, 2D surface flow model

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Authors: Tsuiping Chen

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It has always been an international consensus that food forms a big part of any culture since the old times. However, this idea has not been globally concretized until the announcement of including food or cuisine as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010. This announcement strengthens the value of food culture, which is getting more and more notice by every country. Although Taiwan is not one of the members of the United Nations, we cannot detach ourselves from this important global trend, especially when we have a lot of culinary students expected to join the world culinary job market. These students should have been well educated with the knowledge of world food culture to make them have the sensibility and perspectives for the occurring global food issues before joining the culinary jobs. Under the premise of the above concern, the researcher and also the instructor took on action research with one class of students in the 'Food Culture' course watching, discussing, and analyzing 12 culinary documentary films selected from one decade’s (2007-2016) of Berlin Culinary Cinema in one semester of class hours. In addition, after class, the students separated themselves into six groups and joined 12 times of one-hour-long focus group discussion on the 12 films conducted by the researcher. Furthermore, during the semester, the students submitted their reflection reports on each film to the university e-portfolio system. All the focus discussions and reflection reports were recorded and collected for further analysis by the researcher and one invited film researcher. Glaser and Strauss’ Grounded Theory (1967) constant comparison method was employed to analyze the collected data. Finally, the findings' results were audited by all participants of the research. All the participants and the researchers created 200 items of food culture products, 74 items of food culture practices, and 50 items of food culture perspectives from the action research journey through watching culinary documentaries. The journey did broaden students’ points of view on world food culture and enhance their capability on perspective construction for food culture. Four aspects of significant findings were demonstrated. First, learning food culture through watching Berlin culinary films helps students link themselves to the happening global food issues such as food security, food poverty, and food sovereignty, which direct them to rethink how people should grow, share and consume food. Second, watching different categories of documentary food films enhances students’ strong sense of responsibility for ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all people in every corner of the world. Third, watching these documentary films encourages students to think if the culinary education they have accepted in this island is inclusive and the importance of quality education, which can promote lifelong learning. Last but not least, the journey of the culinary documentary film watching in the 'Food Culture' course inspires students to take pride in their profession. It is hoped the model of teaching food culture with culinary documentary films will inspire more food culture educators, researchers, and the culinary curriculum designers.

Keywords: food culture, action research, culinary documentary films, food culture products, practices, perspectives

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Authors: Elena V. Lysenko

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Motivating as the leading function of a modern Human Resources Management involves issues of increasing the effectiveness of the organization in a broader context. During the formation of motivational systems, the top-management of organization should pay equal attention to both external motivation (incentive system) and internal (self-motivation). The balance of internal and external motivation harmonizes the relations between employers and employees, increases the level of job satisfaction by the organization staff, which in turn leads the organization to success and ensures the organization`s profitability and competitiveness in the market environment. The article is devoted to the study of personnel motivation system in the small metal trade company, which is located in Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation. The study took place during November-December, 2016 ordered by the Company Director to analyze the motivational potential of work (managerial aspect of motivation) and motivation of personnel (personnel aspect of motivation) with the purpose to construct a system of employees’ motivation. The research tools included 6 specially selected tests of motivation, which are: “Motivation profile of your job”, “Constructive motivational attitudes”, Tests about Motivation of achievements (1st variant: Test by А.Mehrabian by the theory of D.С.McClelland and 2nd variant: Test about leading needs according with the theory of D.С.MacClelland), Tests by T.Elers (1st variant: “Determination of the motivation towards success or to avoid failure” and 2nd variant: “Trends to achieve results or to avoid failure”). The results of the study showed only one, but fundamental problem of the whole organization: high level of both motivational potential in work and self-motivation, especially in terms of achievement motivation, but serious lack of productivity. According the results which study showed this problem is derived from insufficient staff competence. The research suggests basic guidelines in order to build the new personnel motivation system for this Company, which is planned to be developed in the nearest future.

Keywords: incentive system, motivation of achievements, motivation system, self-motivation

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Authors: Lucas Viani, Benedetta Mennucci, Soo Young Park, Johannes Gierschner

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Organic semiconductors have attracted the attention of the scientific community in the past decades due to their unique physicochemical properties, allowing new designs and alternative device fabrication methods. Until today, organic electronic devices are largely based on conjugated polymers mainly due to their easy processability. In the recent years, due to moderate ET and CT efficiencies and the ill-defined nature of polymeric systems the focus has been shifting to small conjugated molecules with well-defined chemical structure, easier control of intermolecular packing, and enhanced CT and ET properties. It has led to the synthesis of new small molecules, followed by the growth of their crystalline structure and ultimately by the device preparation. This workflow is commonly followed without a clear knowledge of the ET and CT properties related mainly to the macroscopic systems, which may lead to financial and time losses, since not all materials will deliver the properties and efficiencies demanded by the current standards. In this work, we present a theoretical workflow designed to predict the key properties of ET of these new materials prior synthesis, thus speeding up the discovery of new promising materials. It is based on quantum mechanical, hybrid, and classical methodologies, starting from a single molecule structure, finishing with the prediction of its packing structure, and prediction of properties of interest such as static and averaged excitonic couplings, and exciton diffusion length.

Keywords: organic semiconductor, organic crystals, energy transport, excitonic couplings

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Authors: Lishuang Ma

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Charge transfer (CT) complex, also known as Electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex, has received attentions increasingly in the field of synthetic chemistry community, due to the CT complex can absorb the visible light through the intermolecular charge transfer excited states, various of catalyst-free photochemical transformations under mild visible-light conditions. However, a number of fundamental questions are still ambiguous, such as the origin of visible light absorption, the photochemical and photophysical properties of the CT complex, as well as the detailed mechanism of the radical coupling pathways mediated by CT complex. Since these are critical factors for target-specific design and synthesis of more new-type CT complexes. To this end, theoretical investigations were performed in our group to answer these questions based on multiconfigurational perturbation theory. The photo-induced fluoroalkylation reactions are mediated by CT complexes, which are formed by the association of an acceptor of perfluoroalkyl halides RF−X (X = Br, I) and a suitable donor molecule such as β-naphtholate anion, were chosen as a paradigm example in this work. First, spectrum simulations were carried out by both CASPT2//CASSCF/PCM and TD-DFT/PCM methods. The computational results showed that the broadening spectra in visible light range (360-550nm) of the CT complexes originate from the 1(σπ*) excitation, accompanied by an intermolecular electron transfer, which was also found closely related to the aggregate states of the donor and acceptor. Moreover, from charge translocation analysis, the CT complex that showed larger charge transfer in the round state would exhibit smaller charge transfer in excited stated of 1(σπ*), causing blue shift relatively. Then, the excited-state potential energy surface (PES) was calculated at CASPT2//CASSCF(12,10)/ PCM level of theory to explore the photophysical properties of the CT complexes. The photo-induced C-X (X=I, Br) bond cleavage was found to occur in the triplet state, which is accessible through a fast intersystem crossing (ISC) process that is controlled by the strong spin-orbit coupling resulting from the heavy iodine and bromine atoms. Importantly, this rapid fragmentation process can compete and suppress the backward electron transfer (BET) event, facilitating the subsequent effective photochemical transformations. Finally, the reaction pathways of the radical coupling were also inspected, which showed that the radical chain propagation pathway could easy to accomplish with a small energy barrier no more than 3.0 kcal/mol, which is the key factor that promote the efficiency of the photochemical reactions induced by CT complexes. In conclusion, theoretical investigations were performed to explore the photophysical and photochemical properties of the CT complexes, as well as the mechanism of radical coupling reactions mediated by CT complex. The computational results and findings in this work can provide some critical insights into mechanism-based design for more new-type EDA complexes

Keywords: charge transfer complex, electron transfer, multiconfigurational perturbation theory, radical coupling

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Authors: Riham Hazzaa , Mohamed Hussien Abd El Megid

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Dyes are toxic and cause severe problems to aquatic environment. The use of agricultural solid wastes is considered as low-cost and eco-friendly adsorbents for removing dyes from waste water. Date palm fibre, an abundant agricultural by-product in Egypt was used to prepare activated carbon by physical activation method. This study investigates the use of date palm fiber (DPF) and activated carbon (DPFAC) for the removal of a basic dye, methylene blue (MB) from simulated waste water. The effects of temperature, pH of solution, initial dye (concentration, adsorbent dosage and contact time were studied. The experimental equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, Dubinin, Radushkevich and Harkins–Jura isotherms. Adsorption kinetics data were modeled using the pseudo-first and pseudo-second order and Elvoich equations. The mechanism of the adsorption process was determined from the intraparticle diffusion model. The results revealed that as the initial dye concentration , amount of adsorbent and temperature increased, the percentage of dye removal increased. The optimum pH required for maximum removal was found to be 6. The adsorption of methylene blue dye was better described by the pseudo-second-order equation. Results indicated that DPFAC and DPF could be an alternative for more costly adsorbents used for dye removal.

Keywords: adsorption, basic dye, palm fiber, activated carbon

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Authors: Fengjuan Wang, Azilawati Jamaludin

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Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) is defined as a particular learning difficulty with continuous challenges in learning requisite math skills that cannot be explained by intellectual disability or educational deprivation. Recent studies have increasingly recognized that DD is a heterogeneous, instead of monolithic, learning disorder with not only cognitive and behavioral deficits but so too neural dysfunction. In recent years, neuroimaging studies employed group comparison to explore the neural underpinnings of DD, which contradicted the heterogenous nature of DD and may obfuscate critical individual differences. This research aimed to investigate the neural heterogeneity of DD using case studies with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). A total of 54 aged 6-7 years old of children participated in this study, comprising two comprehensive cognitive assessments, an 8-minute resting state, and an 8-minute one-digit addition task. Nine children met the criteria of DD and scored at or below 85 (i.e., the 16th percentile) on the Mathematics or Math Fluency subtest of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) (both subtest scores were 90 and below). The remaining 45 children formed the typically developing (TD) group. Resting-state data and brain activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) were collected for comparison between each case and the TD group. Graph theory was used to analyze the brain network under the resting state. This theory represents the brain network as a set of nodes--brain regions—and edges—pairwise interactions across areas to reveal the architectural organizations of the nervous network. Next, a single-case methodology developed by Crawford et al. in 2010 was used to compare each case’s brain network indicators and brain activation against 45 TD children’s average data. Results showed that three out of the nine DD children displayed significant deviation from TD children’s brain indicators. Case 1 had inefficient nodal network properties. Case 2 showed inefficient brain network properties and weaker activation in the IFG and IPS areas. Case 3 displayed inefficient brain network properties with no differences in activation patterns. As a rise above, the present study was able to distill differences in architectural organizations and brain activation of DD vis-à-vis TD children using fNIRS and single-case methodology. Although DD is regarded as a heterogeneous learning difficulty, it is noted that all three cases showed lower nodal efficiency in the brain network, which may be one of the neural sources of DD. Importantly, although the current “brain norm” established for the 45 children is tentative, the results from this study provide insights not only for future work in “developmental brain norm” with reliable brain indicators but so too the viability of single-case methodology, which could be used to detect differential brain indicators of DD children for early detection and interventions.

Keywords: brain activation, brain network, case study, developmental dyscalculia, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, graph theory, neural heterogeneity

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Authors: Xin Chen, Xinyong Li, Qidong Zhao, Dong Wang

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A new coupling system was constructed by combining photo-electrochemical cell with electro-fenton cell (PEC-EF). The electrode material in this system was derived from MnyFe₁₋yCo Prussian-Blue-Analog (PBA). Mn₀.₄Fe₀.₆Co₀.₆₇-N@C spin-coated on carbon paper behaved as the gas diffusion cathode and Mn₀.₄Fe₀.₆Co₀.₆₇O₂.₂ spin-coated on fluorine-tin oxide glass (FTO) as anode. The two separated cells could degrade Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) simultaneously and some coupling mechanisms by PEC and EF enhancing the degradation efficiency were investigated. The continuous on-site generation of H₂O₂ at cathode through an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was realized over rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE). The electron transfer number (n) of the ORR with Mn₀.₄Fe₀.₆Co₀.₆₇-N@C was 2.5 in the selected potential and pH range. The photo-electrochemical properties of Mn₀.₄Fe₀.₆Co₀.₆₇O₂.₂ were systematically studied, which displayed good response towards visible light. The photoinduced electrons at anode can transfer to cathode for further use. Efficient photo-electro-catalytic performance was observed in degrading SMX. Almost 100% SMX removal was achieved in 120 min. This work not only provided a highly effective technique for antibiotic treatment but also revealed the synergic effect between PEC and EF.

Keywords: electro-fenton, photo-electrochemical, synergic effect, sulfamethoxazole

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Authors: Maryam Khosronejad

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In social media, differences between individuals become salient as they become a member of different groups with particular social and cultural practices and get engaged in various conversations. The influence of the presence of social media on the promotion of self-expression and polyphonic dialogue is an understudied area and is, therefore, the focus of this paper. This exploration aims to understand the formation of online identities as an ongoing process of orchestrating polyphonic dialogue and responding to available positions. In addition, applying the thematic analysis, it gives examples of how discursive transactions facilitate this process. The implications for the use of social media in education will be discussed based on the findings.

Keywords: online identity, polyphonic dialogue, self expression, social media

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Authors: Zeynep Pirselimoglu Batman, Elvan Ender Altay, Murat Zencirkiran

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Water and water resources are characteristic areas with their special ecosystems Their natural, cultural and economic value and recreation opportunities are high. Recreational activities differ according to the natural, cultural, socio-economic resource values of the areas. In this sense, water and water edge areas, which are important for their resource values, are also important landscape values for recreational activities. From these landscapes values, creeks and the surrounding areas have become a major source of daily life in the past, as well as a major attraction for people's leisure time. However, their qualities and quantities must be sufficient to enable these areas to be used effectively in a recreational sense and to be able to fulfill their recreational functions. The purpose of the study is to identify the recreational use of the water-based activities and identify effective service areas in dense urbanization zones along the creek and green spaces around them. For this purpose, the study was carried out in the vicinity of Nilufer Creek in Bursa. The study area and its immediate surroundings are in the boundaries of Osmangazi and Nilufer districts. The study was carried out in the green spaces along the creek with an individual interaction of 17.930m. These areas are Hudavendigar Urban Park, Atatürk Urban Forest, Bursa Zoo, Soganlı Botanical Park, Mihrapli Park, Nilufer Valley Park. In the first phase of the study, the efficiency zones of these locations were calculated according to international standards. 3200m of this locations are serving the city population and 800m are serving the district and neighborhood population. These calculations are processed on the digitized map by the AUTOCAD program using the satellite image. The efficiency zone of these green spaces in the city were calculated as 71.04 km². In the second phase of the study, water-based current activities were determined by evaluating the recreational potential of these green spaces, which are located along the Nilufer Creek, where efficiency zones have been identified. It has been determined that water-based activities are used intensively in Hudavendigar Urban Park and interacted with Nilufer Creek. Within the scope of effective zones for the study area, appropriate recreational planning proposals have been developed and water-based activities have been suggested.

Keywords: Bursa, efficiency zone, Nilufer Creek, recreation, water-based activities

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Authors: Li Yang

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Tourism is employed by many countries to facilitate socioeconomic development and to assist in the heritage preservation. An “ethnic culture boom” is currently driving the tourism industry in China. Ethnic minorities, commonly portrayed as primitive, colorful and exotic, have become a big tourist draw. Many cultural attractions have been built throughout China to meet the demands of domestic tourists. Sacred cultural heritage sites have been rehabilitated as a major component of ethnic tourism. The purpose of this study is to examine the interconnected consequences of tourism development and tourism-related leisure property development and, and to discuss, in a broader context, issues and considerations that are pertinent to the management and development of ethnic attractions. The role of real estate in tourism development and its sociocultural consequences are explored. An empirical research was conducted in Yiren Ancient Town (literally, "Ancient Town of Yi People") in Chuxiong City, Yunnan Province, China. Multiple research methods, including in-depth interviews, informal discussions, on-site observations, and secondary data review were employed to measure residents and tourism decision-makers’ perceptions of ethnic tourism and to explore the impacts of tourism on local community. Key informants from government officials, tourism developers and local communities were interviewed individually to gather what they think about benefits and costs of tourism, and what their concerns about and hopes for tourism development are. Yiren Ancient Town was constructed in classical Yi architecture style featuring tranquil garden scenery. Commercial streets, entertainment complexes, and accommodation facilities occupied the center of the town, creating culturally distinctive and visually stimulating places for tourists. A variety of activities are presented to visitors, including walking tours of the town, staged dance shows, musical performances, ethnic festivals and ceremonies, tasting minority food and wedding shows. This study reveals that tourism real estate has transformed the town from a traditional neighborhood into diverse real estate landscapes. Ethnic architecture, costumes, festivals and folk culture have been represented, altered and reinvented through the tourist gaze and mechanisms of cultural production. Tourism is now a new economic driver of the community providing opportunities for the creation of small businesses. There was a general appreciation in the community that tourism has created many employment opportunities, especially for self-employment. However, profit-seeking is a primary motivation for the government, developers, businesses, and other actors involved in the tourism development process. As the town has attracted an increasing number of visitors, commercialization and business competition are intense in the town. Many residents complained about elevated land prices, making the town and the surroundings comparatively high-value locales. Local community is also concerned about the decline of traditional ethnic culture and an erosion of the sense of identity and place. A balance is difficult to maintain between protection and development. The preservation of ethnic culture and heritage should be enhanced if long-term sustainable development of tourism is to occur and the loss of ethnic identities is to be avoided.

Keywords: ancient town, ethnic tourism, local community, real estate, China

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Authors: Bahieddine. Bouabdellah, Benameur. Amiri, Abdelkader.nouri

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Europium-doped gallium nitride (EuGaN) is a promising material for optoelectronic and thermoelectric devices. This study investigates its optical properties using density functional theory (DFT) with the FP-LAPW method and MBJ+U correction. The simulation substitutes a gallium atom with europium in a hexagonal GaN lattice (6% doping). Distinct absorption peaks are observed in the optical analysis. These results highlight EuGaN's potential for various applications and pave the way for further research on rare earth-doped materials.

Keywords: eugan, fp-lapw, dft, wien2k, mbj hubbard

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Authors: Vladimíra Čavojová, Eva Ballová Mikušková

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In this study we tried to replicate the unconscious thought advantage (UTA), which states that complex decisions are better handled by unconscious thinking. We designed an experiment in e-prime using similar material as the original study (choosing between four different apartments, each described by 12 attributes). A total of 73 participants (52 women (71.2%); 18 to 62 age: M=24.63; SD=8.7) took part in the experiment. We did not replicate the results suggested by UTT. However, from the present study we cannot conclude whether this was the case of flaws in the theory or flaws in our experiment and we discuss several ways in which the issue of UTA could be examined further.

Keywords: decision making, unconscious thoughts, UTT, complex decisions

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Authors: Georgios Pardalis, Krushna Mahapatra, Brijesh Mainali

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Compared to other sectors, the residential and service sector in Sweden is responsible for almost 40% of the national final energy use and faces great challenges towards achieving reduction of energy intensity. The one- and two-family (henceforth 'detached') houses, constituting 60% of the residential floor area and using 32 TWh for space heating and hot water purposes, offers significant opportunities for improved energy efficiency. More than 80% of those houses are more than 35 years of old and a large share of them need major renovations. However, the rate of energy renovations for such houses is significantly low. The renovation market is dominated by small and medium-sized local companies (SMEs), who mostly offer individual solutions. A one-stop-shop business framework, where a single actor collaborates with other actors and coordinates them to offer a full package for holistic renovations, may speed up the rate of renovation. Such models are emerging in some European countries. This paper aims to understand the willingness of the SMEs to adopt a one-stop-shop business framework. Interviews were conducted with 13 SMEs in Kronoberg county in Sweden, a geographic region known for its initiatives towards sustainability and energy efficiency. The examined firms seem reluctant to adopt one-stop-shop for nonce due to the perceived risks they see in such a business move and due to their characteristics, although they agree that such a move will advance their position in the market and their business volume. By using threat-rigidity and prospect theory, we illustrate how this type of companies can move from being reluctant to adopt one-stop-shop framework to its adoption. Additionally, with the use of behavioral theory, we gain deeper knowledge on those exact reasons preventing those firms from adopting the one-stop-shop framework.

Keywords: construction SMEs, innovation adoption, one-stop-shop, perceived risks

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Authors: Amizawati Mohd Amir, Ruhanita Maelah, Zaidi Mohd Noor

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As part of the Malaysia Higher Institutions' Strategic Plan in promoting high-quality research and education, the Ministry of Higher Education has introduced various instrument to assess the universities performance. The aims are that university will produce more commercially-oriented research and continue to contribute in producing professional workforce for domestic and foreign needs. Yet the spirit of the success lies in the commitment of university particularly the academic staff to translate the vision into reality. For that reason, the element of fairness and justice in assessing individual academic staff performance is crucial to promote directly linked between university and individual work goals. Focusing on public research universities (RUs) in Malaysia, this study observes at the issue through the practice of university contemporary performance measurement system. Accordingly management control theory has conceptualized that contemporary performance measurement consisting of three dimension namely strategic, comprehensive and dynamic building upon equity theory, the relationships between contemporary performance measurement system and organizational justice and in turn the effect on academic staff work performance are tested based on online survey data administered on 365 academic staff from public RUs, which were analyzed using statistics analysis SPSS and Equation Structure Modeling. The findings validated the presence of strategic, comprehensive and dynamic in the contemporary performance measurement system. The empirical evidence also indicated that contemporary performance measure and procedural justice are significantly associated with work performance but not for distributive justice. Furthermore, procedural justice does mediate the relationship between contemporary performance measurement and academic staff work performance. Evidently, this study provides evidence on the importance of perceptions of justice towards influencing academic staff work performance. This finding may be a fruitful input in the setting up academic staff performance assessment policy.

Keywords: comprehensive, dynamic, distributive justice, contemporary performance measurement system, strategic, procedure justice, work performance

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Authors: V. Baweja, K. K. Gupta, V. Dubey, C. Keshavam

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Antimicrobial activity of six indigenous plants such as Tulsi Ocimum sanctum, Neem Azadirachta indica, Aloe vera, Turmeric Curcuma longa, Lantana Lantana camara, and Clove Syzygium aromaticum was assessed against the gut microbiota of the dengue fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, keeping in view that the presence of midgut bacteria may affect the ability of the vector to transmit pathogens. Eleven different types of bacterial clones were isolated from the midgut of lab-reared fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti and were grown on LB agar medium at an optimum temperature of 25 ºC. Identification of these bacteria was done on the basis of their colony characteristic such as colony size, shape, opacity, elevation, consistency, and growth. Light microscopic studies of the gut microbiota revealed dominance of Gram-negative cocci over gram positive cocci and bacilli and Gram-negative bacilli. Identification of species was done by chemical characterization of the colonies. Crude extracts of all test plants were screened for their antimicrobial activities against gut microbiota by disc diffusion assay. The zone of exclusion seen after 24 hr of incubation in different assays revealed the most potent antibacterial activities in neem followed by clove and turmeric. Lantana and Aloe vera were least effective.

Keywords: plant extract, aedes, dengue, antimicrobial activity

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Authors: Ahmad Moussavi

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In this paper, we are concerned with the Jacobson semisimple skew inverse Laurent series rings R((x−1; α, δ)) and the skew Laurent power series rings R[[x, x−1; α]], where R is an associative ring equipped with an automorphism α and an α-derivation δ. Examples to illustrate and delimit the theory are provided.

Keywords: skew polynomial rings, Laurent series, skew inverse Laurent series rings

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Authors: Bianca Koroschetz, Emma Mäenpää

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The purpose of this paper is to study consumer practices and meanings of different antifouling methods in order to identify the main barriers for sustainable consumption of antifouling products in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is considered to be an important tourism area. More than 3.5 million leisure boaters use the sea for recreational boating. Most leisure boat owners use toxic antifouling paint to keep barnacles from attaching to the hull. Attached barnacles limit maneuverability and add drag which in turn increases fuel costs. Antifouling paint used to combat barnacles causes particular problems, as the use of these products continuously adds to the distribution of biocides in the coastal ecosystem and leads to the death of marine organisms. To keep the Baltic Sea as an attractive tourism area measures need to be undertaken to stop the pollution coming from toxic antifouling paints. The antifouling market contains a wide range of environment-friendly alternative products such as a brush wash for boats, hand scrubbing devices, hull covers and boat lifts. Unfortunately, not a lot of boat owners use these environment-friendly alternatives and instead prefer the use of the traditional toxic copper paints. We ask “Why is the unsustainable consumption of toxic paints still predominant when there is a big range of environment-friendly alternatives available? What are the barriers for sustainable consumption?” Environmental psychology has concentrated on developing models of human behavior, including the main factors that influence pro-environmental behavior. The main focus of these models was directed to the individual’s attitudes, principals, and beliefs. However, social practice theory emphasizes the importance to study practices, as they have a stronger explanatory power than attitude-behavior to explain unsustainable consumer behavior. Thus, the study focuses on describing the material, meaning and competence of antifouling practice in order to understand the social and cultural embeddedness of the practice. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with boat owners using antifouling products such as paints and alternative methods. This data collection was supplemented with participant observations in marinas. Preliminary results indicate that different factors such as costs, traditions, advertising, frequency of use, marinas and application of method impact on the consumption of antifouling products. The findings have shown that marinas have a big influence on the consumption of antifouling goods. Some marinas are very active in supporting the sustainable consumption of antifouling products as for example in Stockholm area several marinas subsidize costs for using environmental friendly alternatives or even forbid toxic paints. Furthermore the study has revealed that environmental friendly methods are very effective and do not have to be more expensive than painting with toxic paints. This study contributes to a broader understanding why the unsustainable consumption of toxic paints is still predominant when a big range of environment-friendly alternatives exist. Answers to this phenomenon will be gained by studying practices instead of attitudes offering a new perspective on environmental issues.

Keywords: antifouling paint, Baltic Sea, boat tourism, sustainable consumption

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Authors: L. Khalfa, M. Bagane, M. L. Cervera, S. Najjar

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The aim of this work is to present a low cost adsorbent for removing toxic heavy metals from aqueous solutions. Therefore, we are interested to investigate the efficiency of natural clay minerals collected from south Tunisia and their modified form using sulfuric acid in the removal of toxic metal ions: Zn(II) and Pb(II) from synthetic waste water solutions. The obtained results indicate that metal uptake is pH-dependent and maximum removal was detected to occur at pH 6. Adsorption equilibrium is very rapid and it was achieved after 90 min for both metal ions studied. The kinetics results show that the pseudo-second-order model describes the adsorption and the intraparticle diffusion models are the limiting step. The treatment of natural clay with sulfuric acid creates more active sites and increases the surface area, so it showed an increase of the adsorbed quantities of lead and zinc in single and binary systems. The competitive adsorption study showed that the uptake of lead was inhibited in the presence of 10 mg/L of zinc. An antagonistic binary adsorption mechanism was observed. These results revealed that clay is an effective natural material for removing lead and zinc in single and binary systems from aqueous solution.

Keywords: heavy metal, activated clay, kinetic study, competitive adsorption, modeling

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Authors: Tazvin Ijaz, Rabia Khan

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The current study was conducted to identify the predictors of burnout among university students. The sample for the study was collected through simple random sampling. The tools to measure burnout and personality characteristics included Indigenous burnout scale and Eysenck personality inventory respectively. Results indicated that neurotic personality traits significantly predicts burnout among university students while extraversion does not lead to burnout. Results also indicated female students experience more burnout than male students. It was also found that family size and birth order did not affected the level of burnout. Results of the study are discussed to explain association between etiological factors and burnout with in Pakistani cultural context.

Keywords: burnout, students, neuroticism, extraversion

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Authors: Hosna Pourhashemi

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Chahar Bagh, the symbol of the world, displayed around the pool of life in the centre, attempts to emulate Eden. It represents a duality concept based on the division of the universe into two perceptional insights, a celestial and an earthly one. Chahar Bagh garden pattern refers to the Garden of Eden, that was watered and framed by main four rivers. This microcosm is combined with a mystical love of flowers, sweet-scented trees, the variety of colors, and the sense of eternal life. This symbol of the integration of spontaneous expressivity of the natural elements and reasoning awareness of man strives for the ideal of divine perfection. Through collecting and analyzing the data, the prevalence and continuous influence of Chahar Bagh concept on selected historical gardens was elaborated and evaluated. After the conquest of Persia by the Arabs in the 7th century, Chahar Bagh was adopted and spread throughout the Islamic expansion, from the Middle East, westward across northern Africa to Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula, and eastward through Iran to Central Asia and India. Furthermore, its continuity to the mid of 16th century Renaissance period is shown. By adapting the semiotic theory of Peirce and Saussure on the Persian garden, Chahar Bagh was defined as the basic pattern language for the garden culture. The hypothesis of the continuous influence of Chahar Bagh pattern language on today’s landscape architecture was examined on selected works of Dieter Kienast, as the important and relevant protagonist of his time (end of twentieth ct.) and up to our time. Chahar Bagh pattern language offers collective cultural sensitive healing wisdom transmitted down through the millennia. Through my reflections in Dieter Kienast’s works, I transformed my personal experience into a transpersonal understanding regarding the Sufi philosophy and the Jung psychology, which brings me to define new design theories and methods to form a spiritual, as I call it” Quaternary Perception Model” for landscape architecture. Based on a cognition process through self-journeying in this holistic model, human consciousness can be developed to access to “higher” levels of being and embrace the unity. The self-purification and mindfulness through transpersonal confrontation in the ”Quaternary Perception Model” generates a form of heart-based treatment. I adapted the seven spiritual levels of Sufi self-development on the perception of landscape, representing the stages of the self, ranging from absolutely self-centered to pure spiritual humanity. I redefine and reread the elements and features of Chahar Bagh pattern language for today’s landscape architecture. The “lost paradise” lies in our heart and can be perceived by all humans in landscapes and cities designed in the spirit of” Quaternary Model”.

Keywords: persian garden, pattern language of Chahar Bagh, wholistic Perception, dieter kienast, “quaternary model”

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Authors: Ujunma Nnenna Egbuawa

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Rape or sexual assault is a hideous crime of violence done predominantly to women and occasionally to men. In institutions of higher learning, it’s mostly experienced within or outside the campus environment due to students who are from different backgrounds socially. These students also have been imbibed with conflicting ethical standards, thus act both morally and amoral with respect to their sexual urges. The most affected among these are the female students who live outside the campus environment that is suitable for any immoral activity. These female students that are victims of rape hardly would want to be identified and this has left them as habitual prey to the unsuspecting predators. The socio-cultural setting has also been a contributory factor to the psychological and physical damage these victims face throughout their time of study as female rape victims. This is an empirical study designed to elicit information from students of Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri Imo State Nigeria on whether they have been sexually assaulted or raped and how they handled it thereafter. This institution was used as a case study because the provost of this tertiary institution is a woman whose name is Dr( Mrs ) C.U Njoku who has made consented efforts to ensure these rape victims rise above the social stigma associated with it. This rector has also put in some measures to bring about a decline in cases of rape within and outside the campus environment. She also granted the researcher an oral interview on how she has been able to achieve these and the challenges she hitherto faced in the process. Three research questions and a hypothesis guided the study. Samples of 119 students were used and stratification was done for sex, age and the academic level of the students. 14 item questionnaires were used and data generated from the survey were analyzed using percentages. This workshop would engage the participants by investigating some courses that may help in declining the rate of rape cases within a campus. Also, necessary measures that would be taken to help in sensitizing the tertiary institutions in areas that can aid the healing procedures of these victims. The need also for guidance and counseling unit is also a necessity for the psychological survival of these rape victims. As a result, the participants would gain an increased awareness of the influence of rape and sexual assault on campus. There ought to be a paradigm shift in institutions of higher learning in policies, administrative decisions and introduction of courses that will uplift ethical standards in order to bring about a change both locally and globally.

Keywords: institutions, psychological, sexual assault, socio-cultural

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Authors: Prami Sengupta, Randall A. Cantrell, Tracy Johns

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A typical US household consumes more energy than households in other countries and is directly responsible for a considerable proportion of the atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gases. This makes U.S. household a vital target group for energy conservation studies. Positive household behavior is central to residential energy conservation. However, for individuals to conserve energy they must not only know how to conserve energy but be also willing to do so. That is, a positive attitude towards residential conservation and an intention to conserve energy are two of the most important psychological determinants for energy conservation behavior. Most social science studies, to date, have studied the relationships between attitude, intention, and behavior by building upon socio-psychological theories of behavior. However, these frameworks, including the widely used Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Cognitive Theory, lack a spatial component. That is, these studies fail to capture the impact of the geographical locations of homeowners’ residences on their residential energy consumption and conservation practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore geospatial relationships between homeowners’ residential energy conservation-attitudes, conservation-intentions, and consumption behavior. The study analyzes residential conservation-attitudes and conservation-intentions of homeowners across 63 counties in Florida and compares it with quantifiable measures of residential energy consumption. Empirical findings revealed that the spatial distribution of high and/or low values of homeowners’ mean-score values of conservation-attitudes and conservation-intentions are more spatially clustered than would be expected if the underlying spatial processes were random. On the contrary, the spatial distribution of high and/or low values of households’ carbon footprints was found to be more spatially dispersed than assumed if the underlying spatial process were random. The study also examined the influence of potential spatial variables, such as urban or rural setting and presence of educational institutions and/or extension program, on the conservation-attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of homeowners.

Keywords: conservation-attitude, conservation-intention, geospatial analysis, residential energy consumption, spatial autocorrelation

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Authors: Liang Zhang

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Chinese traditional gardens are the historical and cultural treasures of the whole mankind, among which the excellent parts still have important guiding significance for modern urban design. Based on the background of eco-garden city and reality, through the analysis of various design elements of classical gardens, combined with the needs of today's urban development, starting from the three needs of landscape, energy saving and environmental protection. To explore how Chinese traditional gardens can be revitalized in modern urban planning.

Keywords: Chinese traditional gardens, eco-garden city, modern urban planning, urban development

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Authors: Harleen Kaur, Deepika Jindal Singla

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Buying decision making is a complicated process, in which consumer’s decision is under the impact of others. The buying decision making is directed in a way that they have to act as customers in the society. Media and family are key socialising agents for adolescents’. Moreover, changes in the socio-cultural environment in India necessitate that adolescents’ influence in family’s buying decision-making should be investigated. In comparison to Western society, Indian is quite different, when compared in terms of family composition and structure, behaviour, values and norms which effect adolescents’ buying decision-making.

Keywords: adolescents, buying behavior, Indian urban families, consumer socialization

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Authors: Chuan Yang, Jing Bie, Yueh-Lung Lin, Zhong Wang

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Transportation planning is an academic integration discipline combining research and practice with the aim of mobility and accessibility improvements at both strategic-level policy-making and operational dimensions of practical planning. Transportation planning could build the linkage between traffic and social development goals, for instance, economic benefits and environmental sustainability. The transportation planning analysis and evaluation tend to apply empirical quantitative approaches with the guidance of the fundamental principles, such as efficiency, equity, safety, and sustainability. Space syntax theory has been applied in the spatial distribution of pedestrian movement or vehicle flow analysis, however rare has been written about its application in transportation planning. The correlated relationship between the variables of space syntax analysis and authentic observations have declared that the urban configurations have a significant effect on urban dynamics, for instance, land value, building density, traffic, crime. This research aims to explore the potentials of applying Space Syntax methodology to evaluate urban transportation planning through studying the effects of urban configuration on cities transportation performance. By literature review, this paper aims to discuss the effects that urban configuration with different degrees of integration and accessibility have on three elementary components of transportation planning - transportation efficiency, transportation safety, and economic agglomeration development - via intensifying and stabilising the nature movements generated by the street network. And then the potential and limits of Space Syntax theory to study the performance of urban transportation and transportation planning would be discussed in the paper. In practical terms, this research will help future research explore the effects of urban design on transportation performance, and identify which patterns of urban street networks would allow for most efficient and safe transportation performance with higher economic benefits.

Keywords: transportation planning, space syntax, economic agglomeration, transportation efficiency, transportation safety

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Authors: Jeannette Anniés, Panagiotis Michalis, Chrysoula Papathanasiou, Selby Knudsen

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RiskPACC project aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and first responders from nine European countries following a co-creation approach aiming to develop customised solutions to meet the needs of end-users. The co-creation workshops target to enhance the communication pathways between local civil protection authorities (CPAs) and citizens, in an effort to close the risk perception-action gap (RPAG). The participants in the workshops include a variety of stakeholders, as well as citizens, fostering the dialogue between the groups and supporting citizen participation in disaster risk management (DRM). The co-creation methodology in place implements co-design elements due to the integration of four ICT tools. Such ICT tools include web-based and mobile application technical solutions in different development stages, ranging from formulation and validation of concepts to pilot demonstrations. In total, seven different case studies are foreseen in RiskPACC. The workflow of the workshops is designed to be adaptive to every of the seven case study countries and their cultures’ particular needs. This work aims to provide an overview of the the preparation and the conduction of the workshops in which researchers and practitioners focused on mapping these different needs from the end users. The latter included first responders but also volunteers and citizens who actively participated in the co-creation workshops. The strategies to improve communication between CPAs and citizens themselves differ in the countries, and the modules of the co-creation methodology are adapted in response to such differences. Moreover, the project partners experienced how the structure of such workshops is perceived differently in the seven case studies. Therefore, the co-creation methodology itself is a design method underlying several iterations, which are eventually shaped by cross-cultural collaboration. For example, some case studies applied other modules according to the participatory group recruited. The participants were technical experts, teachers, citizens, first responders, or volunteers, among others. This work aspires to present the divergent approaches of the seven case studies implementing the co-creation methodology proposed, in response to different perceptions of the modules. An analysis of the adaptations and implications will also be provided to assess where the case studies’ objective of improving disaster resilience has been obtained.

Keywords: citizen participation, co-creation, disaster resilience, risk perception, ICT tools

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Authors: Anas Ali

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The British administration at Malabar, the southern coastal commercial outpost in the Indian Subcontinent, faced with a series of perpetual revolts from the Mappila Muslim peasants during the last decades of the 19th and early decades of the 20th century. The control of Malabar region was a concern for the British administrators as the region was a prime centre of spice trade and plantation products. The Madras government set up a special police battalion called the Malabar Special Police in 1884 and summoned different army battalions to Malabar to crush the revolts. The setting up of army camps in the rural Malabar led to the diffusion of modern sports as the army men played different games in the garrisons and with the local people. For the imperial army men deployed in Malabar, sports acted as a viable medium to strengthen solidarity with other European settlers. They actively participated in the ‘Canterbury Week’, an annual sporting event organized by the European planters and organized tournaments among themselves. This paper would argue that, sports enabled the imperial army men, European planters and British administrators to build camaraderie that enabled them to manifest their imperial solidarity during the time of these constant revolts. Based on newspaper reports and colonial memoirs, this paper would look at how modern sports enabled the imperial army men to be ‘good in health’ and create a feeling of ‘being at home’ during this period.

Keywords: imperial army, Malabar, modern sports, mutiny

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Authors: M. Polic, N. Cesarec Salopek

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When it comes to crisis, no company, notwithstanding its financial success, power or reputation is immune to the new environment and circumstances emerging from it. The main challenge company faces with during a crisis is to protect its most valuable intangible asset reputation. Crisis has the serious potential to disrupt company’s everyday operations and damage its reputation extremely fast, especially if the company did not anticipate threats that may cause a crisis. Therefore, when a crisis happens, company must directly respond to it, whilst an effective crisis communication can limit consequences arising from the crisis, protect and repair the reputational damage caused to the company. Since every crisis is unique, each one of it requires different crisis response strategy. In July 2018, airline labor unions threatened Croatia Airlines, the state owned flag carrier of Croatia, to hold a strike that would be called into question regular flights and affect more than 7.600 passengers per day. This study explores the differences between crisis response strategies that Croatia Airlines, the state owned flag carrier of Croatia and airline labor unions used during the crisis period within the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) by analyzing the content of formal communication tools used by Croatia Airlines and airline labor unions. Moreover, this study shows how Croatia Airlines successfully managed to communicate to the general public the threat that airline labor unions imposed on it and how was it received by the Croatian media. By using the qualitative and quantitative content analysis, the study will reveal the frames that dominated in the media articles during the crisis period. The greatest significance of this study is that it will provide the deeper insight into how transparent and consistent communication, the one that Croatia Airlines used before and during the crisis period, contributed to the decision of the competent court (Zagreb County Court) which prohibited labor unions strike in August 2018.

Keywords: crisis communication, crisis response strategy, Croatia Airlines, labor union, reputation management, situational crisis communication theory, strike

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