Search results for: service area analysis

Authors: Arun Dhakal, Rajesh Kumar Rai

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Agroforestry is long practiced in Nepal as a means of subsistence livelihoods. Given its potential to climate change mitigation, this practice is being recommended as a climate-smart farming practice in the recent years. However, the financial attractiveness of this practice is not well-documented in a labor scarce economy such as Nepal. This study attempts to examine the financial suitability of an agroforestry-based farming practice in the present socio-economic context of Nepal where labor is in short supply. A total of 200 households were randomly selected for household surveys in Dhanusha district during April to July 2015. Two farming practices were found to be dominant in the study area: 1) conventional farming (field crops only) in which at least two field crops are annually grown, and 2) agroforestry-based farming (agroforest, home garden and field crops combined) practice (ABFP). The ABFP was found to be less labor intensive than the conventional farming (137 Man days/yr/ha vs 218 Man days/yr/ha). The ex-ante financial analysis indicated that both the farming practices generated positive NPVs (Net Present Values) and B/C (Benefit-Cost) ratios greater than one, indicating both are financially attractive farming enterprises under the base discount rate of 12%. However, the ABFP generated higher NPV and greater B/C ratio than the conventional farming, indicating the former was financially more attractive than the later. The sensitivity analysis showed that the conventional farming was more sensitive to change in labor wage rate than that of the ABFP. Up to the 24% discount rate, the ABFP generated higher NPV and in case of B/C ratio, the ratio was found greater for ABFP even in 50% discount rate.

Keywords: agroforestry, benefit-cost analysis, conventional farming, net present value

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Authors: Alexandra Aslanidou

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The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), concerning the protection of natural persons within the European Union with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, became applicable in the European Union (EU) on 25 May 2018 and transformed the way personal data were being treated under the Data Protection Directive (DPD) regime, generating sweeping organizational changes to both public sector and business. A social practice that is considerably influenced in the way of its day-to-day operations is Human Resource (HR) management, for which the importance of GDPR cannot be underestimated. That is because HR processes personal data coming in all shapes and sizes from many different systems and sources. The significance of the proper functioning of an HR department, specifically in human-centered, service-oriented environments such as the education field, is decisive due to the fact that HR operations in schools, conducted effectively, determine the quality of the provided services and consequently have a considerable impact on the success of the educational system. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the decisive role that GDPR plays in HR departments that operate in schools and in order to practically evaluate the aftermath of the Regulation during the first months of its applicability; a comparative use cases analysis in five highly dynamic schools, across three EU Member States, was attempted.

Keywords: general data protection regulation, human resource management, educational system

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Authors: Shuai Liu

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In corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, companies are expected to present both the positive and negative parts of the social and environmental impacts of their performance. This study investigates how the companies that listed in fortune 500 respond to this challenge by analyzing the representations of negative part especially the safety performance. It has found that in the level of genre analysis, it presented 3 major moves and 11 steps in terms of the interdiscursivity analysis. It was made up of three dominant discourse.. The study calls for greater focus on the internal and external analysis of the negative aspect of aspects of companies’ self-disclosure.

Keywords: CSR reports, negative parts, critical genre analysis, interdiscursivity

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Authors: Mai Sirhan, Arieh Sidess

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Asphaltic mixture is a heterogeneous material composed of three main components: aggregates; bitumen and air voids. The professional experience and scientific literature categorize asphaltic mixture as a viscoelastic material, whose behavior is determined by temperature and loading rate. Properties characterization of the asphaltic mixture used under the service conditions is done by compacting and testing cylindric asphalt samples in the laboratory. These samples must resemble in a high degree internal structure of the mixture achieved in service, and the mechanical characteristics of the compacted asphalt layer in the pavement. The laboratory samples are usually compacted in temperatures between 140 and 160 degrees Celsius. In this temperature range, the asphalt has a low degree of strength. The laboratory samples are compacted using the dynamic or vibrational compaction methods. In the compaction process, the aggregates tend to align themselves in certain directions that lead to anisotropic behavior of the asphaltic mixture. This issue has been studied in the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) research, that recommended using the gyratory compactor based on the assumption that this method is the best in mimicking the compaction in the service. In Israel, the Netivei Israel company is considering adopting the Gyratory Method as a replacement for the Marshall method used today. Therefore, the compatibility of the Gyratory Method for the use with Israeli asphaltic mixtures should be investigated. In this research, we aimed to examine the impact of the compaction method used on the mechanical characteristics of the asphaltic mixtures and to evaluate the degree of anisotropy in relation to the compaction method. In order to carry out this research, samples have been compacted in the vibratory and gyratory compactors. These samples were cylindrically cored both vertically (compaction wise) and horizontally (perpendicular to compaction direction). These models were tested under dynamic modulus and permanent deformation tests. The comparable results of the tests proved that: (1) specimens compacted by the vibratory compactor had higher dynamic modulus values than the specimens compacted by the gyratory compactor (2) both vibratory and gyratory compacted specimens had anisotropic behavior, especially in high temperatures. Also, the degree of anisotropy is higher in specimens compacted by the gyratory method. (3) Specimens compacted by the vibratory method that were cored vertically had the highest resistance to rutting. On the other hand, specimens compacted by the vibratory method that were cored horizontally had the lowest resistance to rutting. Additionally (4) these differences between the different types of specimens rise mainly due to the different internal arrangement of aggregates resulting from the compaction method. (5) Based on the initial prediction of the performance of the flexible pavement containing an asphalt layer having characteristics based on the results achieved in this research. It can be concluded that there is a significant impact of the compaction method and the degree of anisotropy on the strains that develop in the pavement, and the resistance of the pavement to fatigue and rutting defects.

Keywords: anisotropy, asphalt compaction, dynamic modulus, gyratory compactor, mechanical properties, permanent deformation, vibratory compactor

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Authors: Cristina Hotoleanu

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Introduction: The recent Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the development of e-health, including telemedicine, smartphone applications, and medical wearable devices. Providing remote teleconsultations supposes challenges which may require further face-to-face medical interactions. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between the types of teleconsultations and the need of onsite medical services (investigations and medical visits) for the diagnosis and treatment. Methods: a retrospective study including all the teleconsultations using the platform offered by a telehealth provider in Romania (Telios Care SA) between May 1, 2021- April 30, 2022, was performed. Binary data were analysed using the chi-square test with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results: out of 7163 consultations, 3961 were phone calls, 1981 were online messages, and 1221 were video calls. Onsite medical services were indicated in 3327 (46.44%) cases; the onsite investigations or the onsite visits were recommended for 2908 patients as follows: 2326 in case of phone calls, 582 in case of online messages, none in case of video calls. Both onsite investigations and visits were indicated for 419 patients. The need for onsite additional medical services was significantly higher in the case of phone calls than in the other 2 types of teleconsultations (Chi square= 1207.06, p= 0.00001). The indication for onsite services was done mainly after teleconsultations covering medical specialties (87.34%), significantly higher than the other specialties (Chi square=914.59, p=0.00001). Teleconsultations in surgical specialties and other fields (pharmacy, dentistry, psychology, wellbeing- nutrition, fitness) resulted in 12.13%, respective less than 1%, indication for onsite investigations or visits, explained by using of video calls in most of the cases. Conclusion: a further onsite medical service was necessary in less than a half of the teleconsultations. This indication was done mainly after phone calls and teleconsultations in medical specialties. Video calls were used mostly in psychology, nutrition, and fitness teleconsultations and did not require a further onsite medical service. Other studies are necessary to assess better the types of teleconsultations and the specialties bringing the biggest benefit for the patients.

Keywords: onsite medical services, phone calls, teleconsultations, telemedicine

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Authors: Zahra Shakoori, Farid Salmanpour

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Pollination services are a vital service for the ecosystem to maintain environmental stability. The decline of pollinators can disrupt the ecological balance by affecting components of biodiversity. Bumble bees are crucial pollinators, playing a vital role in maintaining plant diversity. This study investigated the temporal patterns of their visitation to flowers in Kiasar National Park, Iran. Observations were conducted in Jun 2024, totaling 442 person-minutes of observation. Five species of bumble bees were identified. The study revealed that they consistently visited an average of 12-15 flowers per minute, regardless of species. The findings highlight the importance of protecting natural habitats, where their populations are thriving in the absence of human-induced stressors. This study was conducted in Kiasar National Park, located in the southeast of Mazandaran, northern Iran. The surveyed area, at an altitude of 1800-2200 meters, includes both forest and pasture. Bumble bee surveys were carried out on sunny days from June 2024, starting at dawn and ending at sunset. To avoid double-counting, we systematically searched for foraging habitats on low-sloping ridges with high mud density, frequently moving between patches. We recorded bumble bee visits to flowers and plant species per minute using direct observation, a stopwatch, and a pre-prepared form. We used statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a confidence level of 95% to examine potential differences in foraging rates across different bumble bee species, flowers, plant bases, and plant species visited. Bumble bee identification relied on morphological indicators. A total of 442 person-minutes of bumble bee observations were recorded. Five species of bumble bees (Bombus fragrans, Bombus haematurus, Bombus lucorum, Bombus melanurus, Bombus terrestris) were identified during the study. The results of this study showed that the visits of bumble bees to flower sources were not different from each other. In general, bumble bees visit an average of 12-15 flowers every 60 seconds. In addition, at the same time they visit between 3-5 plant bases. Finally, they visit an average of 1 to 3 plant species per minute. While many taxa contribute to pollination, insects—especially bees—are crucial for maintaining plant diversity and ecosystem functions. As plant diversity increases, the stopping rate of pollinating insects rises, which reduces their foraging activity. Bumble bees, therefore, stop more frequently in natural areas than in agricultural fields due to higher plant diversity. Our findings emphasize the need to protect natural habitats like Kiasar National Park, where bumble bees thrive without human-induced stressors like pesticides, livestock grazing, and pollution. With bumble bee populations declining globally, further research is essential to understand their behavior in different environments and develop effective conservation strategies to protect them.

Keywords: bumble bees, pollination, pollinator, plant diversity, Iran

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Authors: Hao Zhang, Hongyang Yu

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Scale uncertainty is a well-known challenging problem in visual SLAM. Because RGB-D sensor provides depth information, RGB-D SLAM improves this scale uncertainty problem. However, due to the limitation of physical hardware, the depth map output by RGB-D sensor usually contains a large area of missing depth values. These missing depth information affect the accuracy and robustness of RGB-D SLAM. In order to reduce these effects, this paper completes the missing area of the depth map output by RGB-D sensor and then fuses the completed dense depth map into ORB SLAM2. By adding the process of obtaining pixel-level dense depth maps, a better RGB-D visual SLAM algorithm is finally obtained. In the process of obtaining dense depth maps, a deep learning model of indoor scenes is adopted. Experiments are conducted on public datasets and real-world environments of indoor scenes. Experimental results show that the proposed SLAM algorithm has better robustness than ORB SLAM2.

Keywords: RGB-D, SLAM, dense depth, depth map

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Authors: Quan Gu, Daniel Dimitrov

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BingleSeq was developed as a shiny-based, intuitive, and comprehensive application that enables the analysis of single-Cell RNA-Sequencing count data. This was achieved via incorporating three state-of-the-art software packages for each type of RNA sequencing analysis, alongside functional annotation analysis and a way to assess the overlap of differential expression method results. At its current state, the functionality implemented within BingleSeq is comparable to that of other applications, also developed with the purpose of lowering the entry requirements to RNA Sequencing analyses. BingleSeq is available on GitHub and will be submitted to R/Bioconductor.

Keywords: bioinformatics, functional annotation analysis, single-cell RNA-sequencing, transcriptomics

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Authors: Najmeh Ayoqi, Emanuele Marchetti

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OpenSWPC was used to model 2D and 3D seismic waveforms produced by various earthquakes in the Firenze metropolitan area. OpenSWPC is an Opens source code for simulation of seismic wave by using the finite difference method (FDM) in Message Passing Interface (MPI) environment. it considered both earthquake sources, with variable magnitude and location, as well as a pulse source in the modeling domain, which is optimal to simulate local seismic amplification effects. Multiple tests were performed to evaluate the dependence of the frequency content of output modeled waveforms on the model grid size and time steps . Moreover the effect of the velocity structure and absorbing boundary condition on waveform features (amplitude, duration and frequency content) where analysed. Eventually model results are compared with real waveform and Horizontal-to-Vertical spectral Ratio (HVSR) , showing that seismic wave modeling can provide important information on seismic assessment in the city.

Keywords: openSWPC, earthquake, firenze, HVSR, seismic wave

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Authors: Neha Kanodia, M. Kamil

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Properties of mono layers of Pluronic F127 at air/water interface have been investigated by using Langmuir trough method. Pluronic F127 is a triblock copolymer of poly (ethyleneoxide) (PEO groups)– poly (propylene oxide) (PO groups)–poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO groups). Surface pressure versus mean molecular area isotherms is studied. The isotherm of the mono layer showed the characteristics of a pancake-to-brush transition upon compression of the mono layer. The effect of adding surfactant (SDS) to polymer and the effect of increasing loading on polymer was also studied. The effect of repeated compression and expansion cycle (or hysteresis curve) is investigated to know about stability of the film formed. Static elasticity of mono layer gives information about molecular arrangement, phase structure and phase transition.

Keywords: surface-pressure, mean molecular area isotherms, hysteresis, static elasticity

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Authors: Lazhar Belkhiri, Ammar Tiri, Lotfi Mouni

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In this research, we analyzed the groundwater quality index in the El Milia plain, Kebir Rhumel Basin, Algeria. Thirty-three groundwater samples were collected from wells in the El Milia plain during April 2015. In this study, pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were conducted at each sampling well. Eight hydrochemical parameters such as calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chlorid (Cl), sulfate (SO4), bicarbonate (HCO3), and Nnitrate (NO3) were analysed. The entropy water quality index (EWQI) method was employed to evaluate the groundwater quality in the study area. Moran’s I and the ordinary kriging (OK) interpolation technique were used to examine the spatial distribution pattern of the hydrochemical parameters in the groundwater. It was found that the hydrochemical parameters Ca, Cl, and HCO3 showed strong spatial autocorrelation in the El Milia plain, indicating a spatial dependence and clustering of these parameters in the groundwater. The groundwater quality was evaluated using the entropy water quality index (EWQI). The results showed that approximately 86% of the total groundwater samples in the study area fall within the moderate groundwater quality category. The spatial map of the EWQI values indicated an increasing trend from the south-west to the northeast, following the direction of groundwater flow. The highest EWQI values were observed near El Milia city in the center of the plain. This spatial pattern suggests variations in groundwater quality across the study area, with potentially higher risks near the city center. Therefore, the results obtained in this research provide very useful information to decision-makers.

Keywords: entropy water quality index (EWQI), moran’s i, ordinary kriging interpolation, el milia plain

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Authors: Juliza Hidayati, Sawarni Hasibuan

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PT. XYZ is a manufacturing company that produces Crude Palm Oil (CPO). The fierce competition in the global markets not only between companies but also a competition between supply chains. This research aims to analyze the supply chain and value chain of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) in the company. Data analysis method used is qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis. The qualitative analysis describes supply chain and value chain, while the quantitative analysis is used to find out value added and the establishment of the value chain. Based on the analysis, the value chain of crude palm oil (CPO) in the company consists of four main actors that are suppliers of raw materials, processing, distributor, and customer. The value chain analysis consists of two actors; those are palm oil plantation and palm oil processing plant. The palm oil plantation activities include nurseries, planting, plant maintenance, harvesting, and shipping. The palm oil processing plant activities include reception, sterilizing, thressing, pressing, and oil classification. The value added of palm oil plantations was 72.42% and the palm oil processing plant was 10.13%.

Keywords: palm oil, value chain, value added, supply chain

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Authors: Elitsa N. Kolentsova, Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, Petya Cv. Petrova, Georgi V. Avdeev, Diana D. Nihtianova, Krasimir I. Ivanov, Tatyana T. Tabakova

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Recently, copper and manganese-containing systems are recognized as active and selective catalysts in many oxidation reactions. The main idea of this study is to obtain more information about γ-Al₂O₃ supported Cu-La catalysts and to evaluate their activity to simultaneous oxidation of CO, CH₃OH and dimethyl ether (DME). The catalysts were synthesized by impregnation of support with a mixed aqueous solution of nitrates of copper, manganese and lanthanum under different conditions. XRD, HRTEM/EDS, TPR and thermal analysis were performed to investigate catalysts’ bulk and surface properties. The texture characteristics were determined by Quantachrome Instruments NOVA 1200e specific surface area and pore analyzer. The catalytic measurements of single compounds oxidation were carried out on continuous flow equipment with a four-channel isothermal stainless steel reactor in a wide temperature range. On the basis of XRD analysis and HRTEM/EDS, it was concluded that the active component of the mixed Cu-Mn-La/γ–alumina catalysts strongly depends on the Cu/Mn molar ratio and consisted of at least four compounds – CuO, La₂O₃, MnO₂ and Cu_1.5Mn_1.5O₄. A homogeneous distribution of the active component on the carrier surface was found. The chemical composition strongly influenced catalytic properties. This influence was quite variable with regards to the different processes.

Keywords: Cu-Mn-La oxide catalysts, carbon oxide, VOCs, deep oxidation

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Authors: Alexiou Dimitra, Fragkaki Maria

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The objective of the paper is the study of geographic, economic and educational variables and their contribution to determine the position of each member-state among the EU-28 countries based on the values of seven variables as given by Eurostat. The Data Analysis methods of Multiple Factorial Correspondence Analysis (MFCA) Principal Component Analysis and Factor Analysis have been used. The cross tabulation tables of data consist of the values of seven variables for the 28 countries for 2014. The data are manipulated using the CHIC Analysis V 1.1 software package. The results of this program using MFCA and Ascending Hierarchical Classification are given in arithmetic and graphical form. For comparison reasons with the same data the Factor procedure of Statistical package IBM SPSS 20 has been used. The numerical and graphical results presented with tables and graphs, demonstrate the agreement between the two methods. The most important result is the study of the relation between the 28 countries and the position of each country in groups or clouds, which are formed according to the values of the corresponding variables.

Keywords: Multiple Factorial Correspondence Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, Factor Analysis, E.U.-28 countries, Statistical package IBM SPSS 20, CHIC Analysis V 1.1 Software, Eurostat.eu Statistics

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Authors: Justyna P. Majewska, Szymon M. Truskolaski

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The growing importance of digitalized services in the so-called new economy, including the e-sports industry, can be observed recently. Various demographic or technological changes lead consumers to modify their needs, not regarding the services themselves but the method of their application (attracting customers, forms of payment, new content, etc.). In the case of leisure-related to competitive spectating activities, there is a growing need to participate in events whose content is not sports competitions but computer games challenge – e-sport. The literature in this area so far focuses on determining the number of e-sport fans with elements of a simple statistical description (mainly concerning demographic characteristics such as age, gender, place of residence). Meanwhile, the development of the industry is influenced by a combination of many different, intertwined demographic, personality and psychosocial characteristics of customers, as well as the characteristics of their environment. Therefore, there is a need for a deeper recognition of the determinants of the behavioral patterns upon selecting digitalized services by customers, which, in the absence of available large data sets, can be achieved by using econometric simulations – multi-agent modeling. The cognitive aim of the study is to reveal internal and external determinants of behavioral patterns of customers taking into account various variants of economic development (the pace of digitization and technological development, socio-demographic changes, etc.). In the paper, an agent-based model with heterogeneous agents (characteristics of customers themselves and their environment) was developed, which allowed identifying a three-stage development scenario: i) initial interest, ii) standardization, and iii) full professionalization. The probabilities regarding the transition process were estimated using the Method of Simulated Moments. The estimation of the agent-based model parameters and sensitivity analysis reveals crucial factors that have driven a rising trend in e-sport spectating and, in a wider perspective, the development of digitalized services. Among the psychosocial characteristics of customers, they are the level of familiarization with the rules of games as well as sports disciplines, active and passive participation history and individual perception of challenging activities. Environmental factors include general reception of games, number and level of recognition of community builders and the level of technological development of streaming as well as community building platforms. However, the crucial factor underlying the good predictive power of the model is the level of professionalization. While in the initial interest phase, the entry barriers for new customers are high. They decrease during the phase of standardization and increase again in the phase of full professionalization when new customers perceive participation history inaccessible. In this case, they are prone to switch to new methods of service application – in the case of e-sport vs. sports to new content and more modern methods of its delivery. In a wider context, the findings in the paper support the idea of a life cycle of services regarding methods of their application from “traditional” to digitalized.

Keywords: agent-based modeling, digitalized services, e-sport, spectators motives

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Authors: Sabreen Al Shamli, Abdul Rahman Al azure

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Microscopic examination by histopathology is the gold standard for diagnosing many oral and maxillofacial pathologies. Current clinical guidelines and medicolegal regulations recommend the utilization of histopathology services for confirming pathologies being treated. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of oral and maxillofacial biopsies that had been histopathologically diagnosed at Anahdha Hospital (ANH). A total of 512 biopsies randomly selected from a ground total of 3310 biopsies, which were submitted for oral and maxillofacial histopathological specimens, were analyzed at Nahdha Hospital in Oman between January 2010 and December 2022. Data collected retrospectively selected from all case notes of patients who had oral histopathology examinations performed as part of their treatment. Data collected from the Shifa system was transferred to Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSS. Research ethics approval was obtained from the research committee of the hospital. This study provides background information on oral histopathology prevalence that could be helpful in future research in Oman. The findings of the present study are in agreement with the reported data from other investigations, even when it is taken into account how difficult it is to compare prevalence rates from different studies.

Keywords: oral biopsy, maxillofacial histopathology, oral disease, maxillofacial specimens

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Authors: T. Marinaci, C. Venuleo

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Different conceptualizations of disease affect patient care. This study aims to address this gap. It explores how health professionals conceptualize gambling problem, addiction and the goals of recovery process. In-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with Italian psychologists, psychiatrists, general practitioners, and support staff (N= 114), working within health centres for the treatment of addiction (public health services or therapeutic communities) or medical offices. A Lexical Correspondence Analysis (LCA) was applied to the verbatim transcripts. LCA allowed to identify two main factorial dimensions, which organize similarity and dissimilarity in the discourses of the interviewed. The first dimension labelled 'Models of relationship with the problem', concerns two different models of relationship with the health problem: one related to the request for help and the process of taking charge and the other related to the identification of the psychopathology underlying the disorder. The second dimension, labelled 'Organisers of the intervention' reflects the dialectic between two ways to address the problem. On the one hand, they are the gambling dynamics and its immediate life-consequences to organize the intervention (whatever the request of the user is); on the other hand, they are the procedures and the tools which characterize the health service to organize the way the professionals deal with the user’ s problem (whatever it is and despite the specify of the user’s request). The results highlight how, despite the differences, the respondents share a central assumption: understanding gambling problem implies the reference to the gambler’s identity, more than, for instance, to the relational, social, cultural or political context where the gambler lives. A passive stance is attributed to the user, who does not play any role in the definition of the goal of the intervention. The results will be discussed to highlight the relationship between professional models and users’ ways to understand and deal with the problems related to gambling.

Keywords: cultural models, health professionals, intervention models, problem gambling

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Authors: Laura Piedra-Muñoz, Ángeles Godoy-Durán, Emilio Galdeano-Gómez, Juan C. Pérez-Mesa

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The current agricultural system in some arid and semi-arid areas is not sustainable in the long term. In southeast Spain, groundwater is the main water source and is overexploited, while alternatives like desalination are still limited. The Water Plan for the Mediterranean Basins 2015-2020 indicates a global deficit of 73.42 hm3 and an overexploitation of the aquifers of 205.58hm3. In order to solve this serious problem, two major actions can be taken: increasing available water, and/or improving the efficiency of its use. This study focuses on the latter. The main aim of this study is to present the major factors related to water usage efficiency in farming. It focuses on Almería province, southeast Spain, one of the most arid areas of the country, and in particular on family farms as the main direct managers of water use in this zone. Many of these farms are among the most water efficient in Spanish agriculture, but this efficiency is not generalized throughout the sector. This work conducts a comprehensive assessment of water performance in this area, using on-farm water-use, structural, socio-economic and environmental information. Two statistical techniques are used: descriptive analysis and cluster analysis. Thus, two groups are identified: the least and the most efficient farms regarding water usage. By analyzing both the common characteristics within each group and the differences between the groups with a one-way ANOVA analysis, several conclusions can be reached. The main differences between the two clusters center on the extent to which innovation and new technologies are used in irrigation. The most water efficient farms are characterized by more educated farmers, a greater degree of innovation, new irrigation technology, specialized production and awareness of water issues and environmental sustainability. The research shows that better practices and policies can have a substantial impact on achieving a more sustainable and efficient use of water. The findings of this study can be extended to farms in similar arid and semi-arid areas and contribute to foster appropriate policies to improve the efficiency of water usage in the agricultural sector.

Keywords: cluster analysis, family farms, Spain, water-use efficiency

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Authors: Adinarayana Badveeti, Mohammad Shafi Mir

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In Srinagar City, in India, traffic congestion is a condition on transport networks that occurs as use increases and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queuing. Traffic congestion is conventionally measured using indicators such as roadway level-of-service, the Travel Time Index and their variants. Several measures have been taken in order to counteract congestion like road pricing, car pooling, improved traffic management, etc. While new road construction can temporarily relieve congestion in the longer term, it simply encourages further growth in car traffic through increased travel and a switch away from public transport. The full paper report, on which this abstract is based, aims to provide policymakers and technical staff with the real-time data, conceptual framework and guidance on some of the engineering tools necessary to manage congestion in such a way as to reduce its overall impact on individuals, families, communities, and societies dynamic, affordable, liveable and attractive urban regions will never be free of congestion. Road transport policies, however, should seek to manage congestion on a cost-effective basis with the aim of reducing the burden that excessive congestion imposes upon travellers and urban dwellers throughout the urban road network.

Keywords: traffic congestion, modeling, traffic management, travel time index

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Authors: Vilma Zydziunaite, Simona Kersiene

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The concept of focused leadership means that the leader gathers the entire community in various ways to communicate and cooperate with each other, to share their knowledge and responsibility, to get involved in problem-solving, to create a safe and trusting environment and to satisfy the needs and interests of each community member. The study's aim is to analyze the teamwork of teachers working in kindergartens and schools and its CEOs by implementing confused leadership. A mixed research design was used for the research study. Quantitative research used the teamwork test "Team-Puls" (2003). Data is processed by the IBM SPSS version 29.0 software package. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection, and qualitative content analysis was applied for data analysis. The results of quantitative research show that there is no statistically significant difference between the evaluation averages of kindergarten and school teachers. Likewise, the effectiveness and evaluation of teacher teamwork in educational institutions depend on different characteristics and processes, such as the number of participating teachers, the involvement of the institution's administration or the stages of team formation. In the qualitative research, the components of the focused leadership categories applied by the kindergarten and school CEOs emerged. The categories reflect the components of shared leadership. In the study, the sharing of responsibilities and cooperation among teachers and the sharing of knowledge among themselves is distinguished. This shows that the action takes place between the teachers when they participate in the processes voluntarily, according to their wishes or for certain reasons. Distributed leadership components occurs when leadership responsibility is extended beyond the school CEO. The components of servant leadership are expressed when the CEO achieves organizational goals in the service of others. Servant leadership is helping and striving for others, creating a safe environment. The level of the educational institution does not affect working teachers in the evaluation of working in a team. Giving freedom to teachers, the role of the CEO is dividing responsibilities and creating cooperation between teachers as well as ensuring teachers' interests, needs, emotional well-being and professional development.

Keywords: teamwork, school, teacher, school CEO, school environment, mixed research, Team-Puls test, semi-structured interview, questioning survey, qualitative content analysis, focused leadership, teacher leadership

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Authors: Leonie Jooste

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The main purpose of this article is to explore the ethical values of accounting students at Universities and Business Managers. Financial fraud (earnings management) is continuing to exist and published in literature and social media. However, irrespective of extensive publication, and academic research, financial fraud is still happening or still being committed. The student of today may be the manager in the future. In a study by Bruns and Merchant, the authors found that the morality of short-term earnings management was of little concern to researchers and accounting practitioners. However, in the light of increased financial frauds and failures, new and increased emphasis has been placed on the importance of the concepts of earnings quality, earnings management practices, and the inclusion of business ethics in accounting syllabi. This study uses a quantitative analysis related to the Bruns and Merchant survey of accounting students. 59 accounting students in the MENA area were surveyed in 2022 to measure their ethical values regarding earning management practices in organisations. The results of this survey were compared the surveys in 2013 to determine if courses in business ethics offered at the university influenced the perceptions of students on unethical behaviour in business practices. For the data analysis, the mean values and significant differences were calculated and compared. Overall, the results showed that there was hardly any significant difference between the two surveys.

Keywords: ethics, earnings management, corporate social responsibility, business courses.

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Authors: Harish Bisht, Bahadur Singh Kotlia, Kireet Kumar

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In order to reconstruct past retreating rates, total area loss, volume change and shift in snout position were measured through multi-temporal satellite data from 1989 to 2016 and kinematic GPS survey from 2015 to 2016. The results obtained from satellite data indicate that in the last 27 years, Chaturangi glacier snout has retreated 1172.57 ± 38.3 m (average 45.07 ± 4.31 m/year) with a total area and volume loss of 0.626 ± 0.001 sq. Km and 0.139 Km³, respectively. The field measurements through differential global positioning system survey revealed that the annual retreating rate was 22.84 ± 0.05 m/year. The large variations in results derived from both the methods are probably because of higher difference in their accuracy. Snout monitoring of the Gangotri glacier during the ablation season (May to September) in the years 2005 and 2015 reveals that the retreating rate has been comparatively more declined than that shown by the earlier studies. The GPS dataset shows that the average recession rate is 10.26 ± 0.05 m/year. In order to determine the possible causes of decreased retreating rate, a relationship between debris thickness and melt rate was also established by using ablation stakes. The present study concludes that remote sensing method is suitable for large area and long term study, while kinematic GPS is more appropriate for the annual monitoring of retreating rate of glacier snout. The present study also emphasizes on mapping of all the tributary glaciers in order to assess the overall changes in the main glacier system and its health.

Keywords: Chaturangi glacier, Gangotri glacier, glacier snout, kinematic global positioning system, retreat rate

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Authors: Ali Abojassim, Nabeel Kadhim, Adil Jaber, Ali Hussein

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Water quality index (WQI) is valuable and unique rating to depict the total water quality status in a single term that is helpful for the selection of appropriate treatment technique to meet the concerned issues. Fifteen surface water samples were collected from the Euphrates river within AlHaydria is sub district of AL-Najaf (Iraq). The quality of surface water were evaluated by testing various physicochemical parameters such as pH, Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), , Calcium, Chloride, Sulphate and Electrical conductivity. The WQI for all samples were found in the range of 25.92 to 47.22. The highest value of WQI was observed in the Ali Hajj Hassan(SW4,SW8), El Haj Abdel Sayed (SW 10 to SW 12)and Hasan alsab(SW 14) sampling locations. Most of the water samples within study area were found good to moderate categories. most of the water samples for study area were found good as well as moderate categories

Keywords: water quality index, GIS, physicochemical parameters, Iraq Standards for irrigation purpose 2012

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Authors: Sophia Ming Lee Wen, Chao-Ching Kuo, Yu-Line Hu, Yu-Lung Ho, Chih-Cheng Huang, Yi-Hwa Lee

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Teaching and learning should involve social issues by which effectiveness and humanity is due consideration as a guideline for sharing and co-creating knowledge. A qualitative method was used after a pioneer study to confirm pre-service teachers’ awareness of open knowledge. There are 17 in-service teacher candidates sampling from 181 schools in Taiwan. Two questions are to resolve: a) How did teachers change their educational ideas, in particular, their attitudes to meet the needs of knowledge sharing and co-creativity; and b) How did they acknowledge the necessity of working out an appropriate way between the educational efficiency and the nature of education for high performance management. This interview investigated teachers’ attitude of sharing and co-creating knowledge. The results show two facts in Taiwan: A) Individuals who must be able to express themselves will be capable of taking part in an open learning environment; and B) Teachers must lead the direction to inspire high performance and improve students’ capacity via knowledge sharing and co-creating knowledge, according to the student-centered philosophy. Collected data from interviewing showed that the teachers were well aware of changing their teaching methods and make some improvements to balance the educational efficiency and the nature of education. Almost all teachers acknowledge that ICT is helpful to motivate learning enthusiasm. Further, teaching integrated with ICT saves teachers’ time and energy on teaching preparation and promoting effectiveness. Teachers are willing to co-create knowledge with students, though using information is not easy due to the lack of operating skills of the website and ICT. Some teachers are against to co-create knowledge in the informational background since they hold that is not feasible for there being a knowledge gap between teachers and students. Technology would easily mislead teachers and students to the goal of instrumental rationality, which makes pedagogy dysfunctional and inhumane; however, any high quality of teaching should take a dialectical balance between effectiveness and humanity.

Keywords: critical thinking, dialectic between effectiveness and humanity, open knowledge, pedagogy

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: J. R. Wang, W. Y. Cheng, J. S. Yeh, S. W. Chen, Y. M. Ferng, J. H. Yang, W. S. Hsu, C. Shih

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To understand the risk for dry storage concrete casks in the cask loading, transfer, and storage phase, the purpose of this research is to establish the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) analysis methodology for dry storage concrete casks by using SAPHIRE 8 code. This analysis methodology is used to perform the study of Taiwan nuclear power plants (NPPs) dry storage system. The process of research has three steps. First, the data of the concrete casks and Taiwan NPPs are collected. Second, the PRA analysis methodology is developed by using SAPHIRE 8. Third, the PRA analysis is performed by using this methodology. According to the analysis results, the maximum risk is the multipurpose canister (MPC) drop case.

Keywords: PRA, dry storage, concrete cask, SAPHIRE

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Authors: L.Jowkar. M.Samiee

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Models or systems based on rainfall and runoff are numerous and have been formulated and applied depending on the precipitation regime, temperature, and climate. In this study, the ArcCN-Runoff rain-runoff modeling tool was used to estimate the spatial variability of the rainfall-runoff relationship in Sartang Ramon in Jiroft watershed. In this study, the runoff was estimated from 6-hour rainfall. The results showed that based on hydrological soil group map, soils with hydrological groups A, B, C, and D covered 1, 2, 55, and 41% of the basin, respectively. Given that the majority of the area has a slope above 60 percent and results of soil hydrologic groups, one can conclude that Sartang Ramon Basin has a relatively high potential for producing runoff. The average runoff height for a 6-hour rainfall with a 2-year return period is 26.6 mm. The volume of runoff from the 2-year return period was calculated as the runoff height of each polygon multiplied by the area of the polygon, which is 137913486 m³ for the whole basin.

Keywords: Arc CN-Run off, rain-runoff, return period, watershed

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Authors: Surupa Shaw, Debjyoti Banerjee

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Enhancing heat transfer in compact volumes is a challenge when constrained by cost issues, especially those associated with requirements for minimizing pumping power consumption. This is particularly acute for electronic chip cooling applications. Technological advancements in microelectronics have led to development of chip architectures that involve increased power consumption. As a consequence packaging, technologies are saddled with needs for higher rates of power dissipation in smaller form factors. The increasing circuit density, higher heat flux values for dissipation and the significant decrease in the size of the electronic devices are posing thermal management challenges that need to be addressed with a better design of the cooling system. Maximizing surface area for heat exchanging surfaces (e.g., extended surfaces or “fins”) can enable dissipation of higher levels of heat flux. Fractal structures have been shown to maximize surface area in compact volumes. Self-replicating structures at multiple length scales are called “Fractals” (i.e., objects with fractional dimensions; unlike regular geometric objects, such as spheres or cubes whose volumes and surface area values scale as integer values of the length scale dimensions). Fractal structures are expected to provide an appropriate technology solution to meet these challenges for enhanced heat transfer in the microelectronic devices by maximizing surface area available for heat exchanging fluids within compact volumes. In this study, the effect of different fractal micro-channel architectures and flow structures on the enhancement of transport phenomena in heat exchangers is explored by parametric variation of fractal dimension. This study proposes a model that would enable cost-effective solutions for thermal-fluid transport for energy applications. The objective of this study is to ascertain the sensitivity of various parameters (such as heat flux and pressure gradient as well as pumping power) to variation in fractal dimension. The role of the fractal parameters will be instrumental in establishing the most effective design for the optimum cooling of microelectronic devices. This can help establish the requirement of minimal pumping power for enhancement of heat transfer during cooling. Results obtained in this study show that the proposed models for fractal architectures of microchannels significantly enhanced heat transfer due to augmentation of surface area in the branching networks of varying length-scales.

Keywords: fractals, microelectronics, constructal theory, heat transfer enhancement, pumping power enhancement

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Authors: Swapna Guntupalli, Leela Madhuri Chalasani, Kshatri Jyothi, C. V. Rao, Bondili J. S.

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The study hypothesizes that enhanced biodegradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) is achievable with an assemblage of microorganisms that are capable of producing biofilm and biosurfactants. Accordingly, PAHs degrading microorganism’s (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and yeast) were screened and grouped into different consortia based on their capabilities to produce biofilm and biosurfactants. Among these, Consortium BTSN09 consisting of bacterial fungal cocultures showed highest degradation due to the synergistic action between them. Degradation effiencies were evaluated using HPLC and GC-MS. Within 7days, BTSN09 showed 51% and 50.7% degradation of Phenanthrene (PHE) and Pyrene (PYR) with 200mg/L and 100 mg/L concentrations respectively in a liquid medium. In addition, several degradative enzymes like laccases, 1hydroxy-2-naphthoicacid dioxygenase, 2-carboxybenzaldehyde dehydrogenase, catechol1,2 dioxygenase and catechol2,3 dioxygenase activity was observed during degradation. Degradation metabolites were identified using GC-MS analysis and from the results it was confirmed that the metabolism of degradation proceeds via pthalic acid pathway for both PAHs. Besides, Microbial consortia also demonstrated good biosurfactant production capacity, achieving maximum oil displacement area and emulsification activity of 19.62 cm2, 65.5% in presence of PAHs as sole carbon source. Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis revealed exopolysaccharides (EPS) production, micro and macrocolonies formation with different stages of biofim development in presence of PAHs during degradation.

Keywords: PAHs, biosurfactant, biofilm, biodegradation

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Authors: Abdirahim Mohamed, Sarita Rana Chhetri, Michael Sleath, Nadia Saleem

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Rationale: Internet usage has been very much integrated into our daily lives. Internet usage within a neurodevelopmental disorder population is also on the increase. Nevertheless, there is very little empirical research on how this population virtually protect themselves; along with how their parents can keep them safe online. This topic was an ever-growing concern to the parents within our services and in many cases would add to the stresses and mental health of parents. This ignited an idea within our team to conduct research to explore the perceived online risks within this population and how they keep themselves safe. In conjunction, we also explored how parents and caregivers monitor and safeguard their young people to the potential threats online. Our hypothesis was that the perceived risks will heavily outnumber the safeguarding measures implemented by this population. Method: Within the Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Partnership Trust Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), we distributed qualitative questionnaires to all the clinical bases (N=80). Questions explored topics such as daily internet usage, safeguarding measures, and perceived threats. The researchers requested for all CAMHS clinicians to identify participants. Participants in this study were accessing CAMHS for neurodevelopmental specific interventions. Results: The data were analysed using both Excel and SPSS. Within SPSS, a MANOVA was conducted and found a significant difference between safeguarding measures and perceived online risks within responses (p ≤ 0.5). This supports our hypothesis that participants in this population are well versed in the safeguarding issues of the internet; however, struggle to implement appropriate preventative measures. Data were also screened using Excel and found that all parents and carers stated they 'monitored their child’s internet use'. Conclusion: Data suggest that parents/carers may require more specific intervention to equip them with preventative measures due to the clear discrepancy between perceived risks and safeguarding measures. More research may also need to be conducted around this area to determine appropriate methodology to explore this topic further.

Keywords: Internet, health , how safe are we , internet health check

Procedia PDF Downloads 268

Authors: A. K. Srivastava, Sandeep K. Singh, A. K. Kulshetra

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Agriculture is the backbone of developing countries of Asian sub-continent like India. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous and fifth largest State of India. Total population of the state is 19.95 crore, which is 16.49% of the country that is more than that of many other countries of the world. Uttar Pradesh occupies only 7.36% of the total area of India. It is a well-established fact that agriculture has virtually been the lifeline of the State’s economy in the past for long and its predominance is likely to continue for a fairly long time in future. The total geographical area of the state is 242.01 lakh hectares, out of which 120.44 lakh hectares is facing various land degradation problems. This needs to be put under various conservation and reclamation measures at much faster pace in order to enhance agriculture productivity in the State. Keeping in view the above scenario Department of Agriculture, Government of Uttar Pradesh has formulated a multi-purpose project namely Bhoomi Sena for the entire state. The main objective of the project is to improve the land degradation using low cost technology available at village level. The total outlay of the project is Rs. 39643.75 Lakhs for an area of about 226000 ha included in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17). It is expected that the total man days would be 310.60 lakh. An attempt has been made to use the space technology like remote sensing, geographical information system, at cadastral level for the overall management of agriculture engineering work which is required for the treatment of degradation of the land. After integration of thematic maps a proposed action plan map has been prepared for the future work.

Keywords: GPS, GIS, remote sensing, topographic survey, cadestral mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 309