Search results for: independent component analysis (ICA)

Authors: James D. Beauchemin

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Introduction: The incarceration of people with mental illness and substance use disorders is a major public health issue with social, clinical, and economic implications. Yoga participation has been associated with numerous psychological benefits; however, there is a paucity of research examining impacts of yoga with incarcerated populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of a six-week yoga intervention on several mental health-related variables, including emotion regulation, body awareness, and warnings of substance relapse among incarcerated females. Methods: This study utilized a pre-post, three-arm design, with participants assigned to intervention, therapeutic community, or general population groups. A between-group analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted across groups to assess intervention effectiveness using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Scale of Body Connection (SBC), and Warnings of Relapse (AWARE) Questionnaire. Results: ANCOVA results for warnings of relapse (AWARE) revealed significant between-group differences F(2, 80) = 7.15, p = .001; np2 = .152), with significant pairwise comparisons between the intervention group and both the therapeutic community (p = .001) and the general population (p = .005) groups. Similarly, significant differences were found for emotional regulation (DERS) F(2, 83) = 10.521, p = .000; np2 = .278). Pairwise comparisons indicated a significant difference between the intervention and general population (p = .01). Finally, significant differences between the intervention and control groups were found for body awareness (SBC) F(2, 84) = 3.69, p = .029; np2 = .081). Between-group differences were clarified via pairwise comparisons, indicating significant differences between the intervention group and both the therapeutic community (p = .028) and general population groups (p = .020). Implications: Study results suggest that yoga may be an effective addition to integrative mental health and substance use treatment for incarcerated women and contributes to increasing evidence that holistic interventions may be an important component for treatment with this population. Specifically, given the prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders, findings revealed that changes in body awareness and emotion regulation might be particularly beneficial for incarcerated populations with substance use challenges as a result of yoga participation. From a systemic perspective, this proactive approach may have long-term implications for both physical and psychological well-being for the incarcerated population as a whole, thereby decreasing the need for traditional treatment. By integrating a more holistic, salutogenic model that emphasizes prevention, interventions like yoga may work to improve the wellness of this population while providing an alternative or complementary treatment option for those with current symptoms.

Keywords: wellness, solution-focused coaching, college students, prevention

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Authors: Amir Sharahi, Reza Tehrani, Ali Mollajan

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The final step to complete the “Analytical Systems Engineering Process” is the “Allocated Architecture” in which all Functional Requirements (FRs) of an engineering system must be allocated into their corresponding Physical Components (PCs). At this step, any design for developing the system’s allocated architecture in which no clear pattern of assigning the exclusive “responsibility” of each PC for fulfilling the allocated FR(s) can be found is considered a poor design that may cause difficulties in determining the specific PC(s) which has (have) failed to satisfy a given FR successfully. The present study utilizes the Axiomatic Design method principles to mathematically address this problem and establishes an “Axiomatic Model” as a solution for reaching good alternatives for developing the allocated architecture. This study proposes a “loss Function”, as a quantitative criterion to monetarily compare non-ideal designs for developing the allocated architecture and choose the one which imposes relatively lower cost to the system’s stakeholders. For the case-study, we use the existing design of U. S. electricity marketing subsystem, based on data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The result for 2012 shows the symptoms of a poor design and ineffectiveness due to coupling among the FRs of this subsystem.

Keywords: allocated architecture, analytical systems engineering process, functional requirements (FRs), physical components (PCs), responsibility of a physical component, system’s stakeholders

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Authors: Yu Wang

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Nowadays, Internet enables its users to share the information online and to interact with others. Facing with numerous information, these Internet users are confused and begin to rely on the opinion leaders’ recommendations. The online opinion leaders are the individuals who have professional knowledge, who utilize the online channels to spread word-of-mouth information and who can affect the attitudes or even the behavior of their followers to some degree. Because utilizing the online opinion leaders is seen as an important approach to affect the potential consumers, how to identify them has become one of the hottest topics in the related field. Hence, in this article, the concepts and characteristics are introduced, and the researches related to identifying opinion leaders are collected and divided into three categories. Finally, the implications for future studies are provided.

Keywords: online opinion leaders, user attributes analysis, text mining analysis, network structure analysis

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Authors: S. Mezghani, E. Perrin, J. L. Bodnar, J. Marthe, B. Cauwe, V. Vrabie

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Non contact evaluation of the thickness of paint coatings can be attempted by different destructive and nondestructive methods such as cross-section microscopy, gravimetric mass measurement, magnetic gauges, Eddy current, ultrasound or terahertz. Infrared thermography is a nondestructive and non-invasive method that can be envisaged as a useful tool to measure the surface thickness variations by analyzing the temperature response. In this paper, the thermal quadrupole method for two layered samples heated up with a pulsed excitation is firstly used. By analyzing the thermal responses as a function of thermal properties and thicknesses of both layers, optimal parameters for the excitation source can be identified. Simulations show that a pulsed excitation with duration of ten milliseconds allows to obtain a substrate-independent thermal response. Based on this result, an experimental setup consisting of a near-infrared laser diode and an Infrared camera was next used to evaluate the variation of paint coating thickness between 60 µm and 130 µm on two samples. Results show that the parameters extracted for thermal images are correlated with the estimated thicknesses by the Eddy current methods. The laser pulsed thermography is thus an interesting alternative nondestructive method that can be moreover used for non conductive substrates.

Keywords: non destructive, paint coating, thickness, infrared thermography, laser, heterogeneity

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Authors: P. Thepnarintra

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Frozen shrimp industry plays an important role in the development of production industry of the country. There has been a continuing development to response the increasing demand; however, there have been some problems in running the enterprises. The purposes of this study are to: 1) investigate problems related to basic factors in operating frozen shrimp industry based on the entrepreneurs’ points of view. The enterprises involved in this study were small and medium industry receiving Thai Frozen Foods Association. 2) Compare the problems of the frozen shrimp industry according to their sizes of operation in 3 provinces of the central region Thailand. Population in this study consisted of 148 managers from 148 frozen shrimp enterprises Thai Frozen Foods Association, of which 77 were small size and 71 were medium size. The data were analyzed to find percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and independent sample T-test with the significant hypothesis at .05. The results revealed that the problems of the frozen shrimp industries of both size were in high level. The needs for government supporting were in high level. The comparison of the problems and the basic factors between the small and medium size enterprises showed no statistically significant level. The problems that they mentioned included raw materials, labors, production, marketing, and the need for academic supporting from the government sector.

Keywords: frozen shrimp industry, problems, related to the enterprise, operation

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Authors: Deniss Rozkov, Hendrik Idema

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This paper researches the gender-based differences among US-American institutional investors regarding their preferences for sustainable development goals (SDGs) when investing. After employing a structured questionnaire as well as applying a choice-based conjoint analysis, it is found that female investors place significantly more emphasis on SDGs, especially in the social and ecological domain, exhibiting significantly stronger “other-regarding” characteristics compared to their male counterparts. Further, the results of the survey show that females show significantly higher risk aversion than males by selecting moderately conservative and moderate risk approaches.

Keywords: sustainable development goals, investing, socially responsible investor, gender, conjoint analysis

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Authors: Raziyeh Mashhadi Moghadam

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Persian writings in the form of stories, scientific articles, historiographies, biographies, and philosophical, religious, and poetic arguments have established their presence in the past and present. Any piece of text is composed in a unique style depending on its content and subject. In this paper, a manuscript called Falnama of the Prophet is reviewed. Only a few scattered pages of this version are extant, and the author, using the name of twenty-four prophets, seeks to explore the presence and future of the reader. This version is analyzed based on Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach to unravel the underlying processes in this type of manuscript. The spelling of some words and sentences is different from that of the new written Persian version.

Keywords: application of Falnama texts, critical discourse analysis, Fairclough’s approach

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Authors: Gaddafi Sani Shehu, Tankut Yalcınoz, Abdullahi Bala Kunya

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Multilevel inverters such as flying capacitor, diode-clamped, and cascaded H-bridge inverters are very popular particularly in medium and high power applications. This paper focuses on a cascaded H-bridge module using a single direct current (DC) source in order to generate an 11-level output voltage. The noble approach reduces the number of switches and gate drivers, in comparison with a conventional method. The anticipated topology produces more accurate result with an isolation transformer at high switching frequency. Different modulation techniques can be used for the multilevel inverter, but this work features modulation techniques known as selective harmonic elimination (SHE).This modulation approach reduces the number of carriers with reduction in Switching Losses, Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), and thereby increasing Power Quality (PQ). Based on the simulation result obtained, it appears SHE has the ability to eliminate selected harmonics by chopping off the fundamental output component. The performance evaluation of the proposed cascaded multilevel inverter is performed using PSIM simulation package and THD of 0.94% is obtained.

Keywords: cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter, power quality, selective harmonic elimination

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Authors: Melissa C. Ingram

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The use of new literacies within science classrooms needs to be balanced by teachers to both teach different forms of communication while assessing content area proficiency. Using new literacies such as Twitter and Facebook needs to be incorporated into science content area literacy studies in addition to continuing to use generally-accepted forms of scientific content area presentation, which include scientific papers and textbooks. The research question this literature review seeks to answer is “What are some ways in which new forms of literacy are better suited to teach scientific content area literacy to 21st Century learners?” The research question is addressed through a literature review that highlights methods currently being used to educate the next wave of learners in the world of science content area literacy. Both temporal discourse analysis (TDA) and critical discourse analysis (CDA) were used to determine the need to use new literacies to teach science content area literacy. Increased use of digital technologies and a change in science content area pedagogy were explored.

Keywords: science content area literacy, new literacies, critical discourse analysis, temporal discourse analysis

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Authors: Waziralilah N. Fathiah, A. Aminudin, U. Alyaa Hashim, T. Vikneshvaran D. Shakirah Shukor

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This paper presents the experimental analysis conducted on a structure borne noise in a rectangular enclosure prototype made by joining of sheet aluminum metal and plywood. The study is significant as many did not realized the annoyance caused by structural borne-noise. In this study, modal analysis is carried out to seek the structure’s behaviour in order to identify the characteristics of enclosure in frequency domain ranging from 0 Hz to 200 Hz. Here, numbers of modes are identified and the characteristic of mode shape is categorized. Modal experiment is used to diagnose the structural behaviour while microphone is used to diagnose the sound. Spectral testing is performed on the enclosure. It is acoustically excited using shaker and as it vibrates, the vibrational and noise responses sensed by tri-axis accelerometer and microphone sensors are recorded respectively. Experimental works is performed on each node lies on the gridded surface of the enclosure. Both experimental measurement is carried out simultaneously. The modal experimental results of the modal modes are validated by simulation performed using MSC Nastran software. In pursuance of reducing the structure borne-noise, mitigation method is used whereby the stiffener plates are perpendicularly placed on the sheet aluminum metal. By using this method, reduction in structure borne-noise is successfully made at the end of the study.

Keywords: enclosure, modal analysis, sound analysis, structure borne-noise

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Authors: Orapan Paecharoenchai, Tanasait Ngawhirunpat, Theerasak Rojanarata, Auayporn Apirakaramwong, Praneet Opanasopit

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Cationic niosomes formulated with Span20, cholesterol and novel synthesized spermine-cationic lipids (2-hydrocarbon tail and 4- hydrocarbon tail) in a molar ratio of 2.5:2.5:1 can mediate high gene transfection in vitro. However, the uptake mechanisms of these systems are not well clarified. In the present study, effect of endocytic inhibitors on the transfection efficiency of niosomes/DNA complexes was determined on a human cervical carcinoma cell line (HeLa cells) using the inhibitors of macropinocytosis (wortmannin), clathrin- and caveolae-mediated endocytosis (methyl-β-cyclodextrin), clathrin-mediated endocytosis (chlorpromazine), caveolae-mediated endocytosis (genistein and filipin), cytosolic transfer (ammonium chloride) and microtubules polymerization (nocodazole). The transfection of niosomes with 2-hydrocarbon tail lipid was blocked by nocodazole, genistein, ammonium chloride and filipin, respectively, whereas, the transfection of niosomes with 4-hydrocarbon tail lipid was blocked by nocodazole, genistein, ammonium chloride, methyl-β-cyclodextrin and filipin, respectively. It can be concluded that these niosomes/DNA complexes were internalized predominantly by endocytosis via clathrin and caveolae-independent pathway.

Keywords: cellular internalization, cationic niosomes, gene carriers, spermine-cationic lipids

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Authors: Rabah Laouar, Yahia Boudra, Adel Satouh, Adrian Boyce

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The ultramafic rocks of the Collo region crop out as « stratified » masses that cross-cut older metamorphic formation of the basement. These rocks are mainly peridotites and serpentinites. The peridotites are composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel (chromite). The chemical composition of these lherzolites show a magnesian character with high MgO contents (34.4 to 37.5%), high Cr (0.14 to 0.27%), Ni (0.14 to 0.26%) and Co (34 to 133 ppm) and low CaO and Al₂O₃ (0.02 to 2.2 and 0.5 to 2.8 % respectively). They represent a residue (restite) of a mantle magmas partial melting. The chromite which represents about 2 to 3% of the rock is a ubiquitous mineral and shows two different generations: primary idiomorphic millimetric crystals and secondary very fine, xenomorphic and interstitial aggregates. The primary chromites are alumino-ferro-magnesian crystals. They show high Al₂O₃ (25.77% to 27.36%) and MgO (10.70% to 13.36%). Cr# (100*Cr/ (Al+Cr)) varies between 45 and 48, and Mg# (100*Mg/Mg+Fe₂+) varies between 49 and 59. On the other hand, the secondary interstitial grains are iron-rich chromites; they show low Al₂O₃ (4.67% to 9.54%) and MgO (4.60% to 4.65%). Cr# is relatively high (77 to 88) whereas Mg# show relatively low values, varying between 22 and 25. Oxygen isotopic composition of both types of chromites is consistent with their derivation from a mantle source (ð¹⁸O vary between +3.9 and +5.2‰), though a contribution of ¹⁶O-rich component to the secondary chromites is not ruled out.

Keywords: peridotites, serpentinites, chromite, partial melting, collo, Algeria

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Authors: Tessa E. Reid, Vanessa N. Kavamura, Maider Abadie, Adriana Torres-Ballesteros, Mark Pawlett, Ian M. Clark, Jim Harris, Tim Mauchline

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The deleterious effect of chemical fertilizer on rhizobacterial diversity has been well documented using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and predictive metagenomics. Biofertilization is a cost-effective and sustainable alternative; improving strategies depends on isolating beneficial soil microorganisms. Although culturing is widespread in biofertilization, it is unknown whether the composition of cultured isolates closely mirrors native beneficial rhizobacterial populations. This study aimed to determine the relative abundance of culturable plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) isolates within total soil DNA and how potential PGPR populations respond to chemical fertilization in a commercial wheat variety. It was hypothesized that PGPR will be reduced in fertilized relative to unfertilized wheat. Triticum aestivum cv. Cadenza seeds were sown in a nutrient depleted agricultural soil in pots treated with and without nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium (NPK) fertilizer. Rhizosphere and rhizoplane samples were collected at flowering stage (10 weeks) and analyzed by culture-independent (amplicon sequence variance (ASV) analysis of total rhizobacterial DNA) and -dependent (isolation using growth media) techniques. Rhizosphere- and rhizoplane-derived microbiota culture collections were tested for plant growth-promoting traits using functional bioassays. In general, fertilizer addition decreased the proportion of nutrient-solubilizing bacteria (nitrate, phosphate, potassium, iron and, zinc) isolated from rhizocompartments in wheat, whereas salt tolerant bacteria were not affected. A PGPR database was created from isolate 16S rRNA gene sequences and searched against total soil DNA, revealing that 1.52% of total community ASVs were identified as culturable PGPR isolates. Bioassays identified a higher proportion of PGPR in non-fertilized samples (rhizosphere (49%) and rhizoplane (91%)) compared to fertilized samples (rhizosphere (21%) and rhizoplane (19%)) which constituted approximately 1.95% and 1.25% in non-fertilized and fertilized total community DNA, respectively. The analyses of 16S rRNA genes and deduced functional profiles provide an in-depth understanding of the responses of bacterial communities to fertilizer; this study suggests that rhizobacteria, which potentially benefit plants by mobilizing insoluble nutrients in soil, are reduced by chemical fertilizer addition. This knowledge will benefit the development of more targeted biofertilization strategies.

Keywords: bacteria, fertilizer, microbiome, rhizoplane, rhizosphere

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Authors: Remember Samu, Kathy Kiema, Murat Fahrioglu

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This present study is aimed at minimizing the dependence on fossil fuels thus reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and also to curb for the rising energy demands in Kenya. In this analysis, 35 locations were each considered for their techno-economic potential of installation of a 10MW grid-connected PV plant. The sites are scattered across the country but are mostly concentrated in the eastern region and were selected based on their accessibility to the national grid and availability of their meteorological parameters from NASA Solar Energy Dataset. RETScreen software 4.0 version will be employed for the analysis in this present paper. The capacity factor, simple payback, equity payback, the net present value (NPV), annual life cycle savings, energy production cost, net annual greenhouse gas emission reduction and the equivalent barrels of crude oil not consumed are outlined. Energy accounting is performed and compared to the existing grid tariff for an effective feasibility argument of this 10MW grid-connected PV power system.

Keywords: photovoltaics, project viability analysis, PV module, renewable energy

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Authors: Zuhaina Zakaria, Noraliza Hamzah, Siti Halijjah Shariff, Noor Aizah Abdul Karim

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The residential sector in Malaysia has become the single largest energy sector accounting for 21% of the entire energy usage of the country. In the past 10 years, a number of energy efficiency initiatives in the residential sector had been undertaken by the government including. However, there is no clear evidence that the total residential energy consumption has been reduced substantially via these strategies. Household electrical appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, lighting and televisions are used depending on the consumers’ activities. The behavior of household occupants played an important role in energy consumption and influenced the operation of the physical devices. Therefore, in order to ensure success in energy efficiency program, it requires not only the technological aspect but also the consumers’ behaviors component. This paper focuses on the challenges and opportunities in modelling residential consumer behavior in Malaysia. A field survey to residential consumers was carried out and responses from the survey were analyzed to determine the consumers’ level of knowledge and awareness on energy efficiency. The analyses will be used in determining a right framework to explain household energy use intentions and behavior. These findings will be beneficial to power utility company and energy regulator in addressing energy efficiency related issues.

Keywords: consumer behavior theories, energy efficiency, household occupants, residential consumer

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Authors: M. Rashid Hussain, Shady S. Refaat

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The high voltage power transformer is the most essential part of the electrical power utilities. Reliability on the transformers is the utmost concern, and any failure of the transformers can lead to catastrophic losses in electric power utility. The causes of transformer failure include insulation failure by partial discharge, core and tank failure, cooling unit failure, current transformer failure, etc. For the study of power transformer defects, finite element analysis (FEA) can provide valuable information on the severity of defects. FEA provides a more accurate representation of complex geometries because they consider thermal, electrical, and environmental influences on the insulation models to obtain basic characteristics of the insulation system during normal and partial discharge conditions. The purpose of this paper is the time domain analysis of defects 3D model of high voltage power transformer using FEA to study the electric field distribution at different points on the defects.

Keywords: power transformer, finite element analysis, dielectric response, partial discharge, insulation

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Authors: Safa Moussoud

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Contrary to modern misconceptions, women in the Muslim Middle Ages enjoyed a generous degree of liberty both in the public and private sphere. Poetry was a significant component of public life throughout the Muslim Civilization as its vitality and multi-generic nature acted as a way for medieval Muslims to communicate with each other. As such, a continuity of poetic literary heritage was preserved through multiple centuries and dynasties. This paper will argue that Muslim women were active participants in medieval Muslim society’s social and public sphere and therefore, can be seen as vital contributors to the intellectual and literary creation of the Muslim Civilization. This paper will examine poetry written by Safiyya al-Baghddadiya and Salma bint al-Qaratisi from the Abbasid period, as well as Wallada bint al-Mustakfi from the Andalusian period and focus particularly at the poetesses’ modes of self-expression regarding beauty and sexuality to argue that Medieval Muslim women enjoyed creative and literary liberty thus allowing them to proclaim their subjectivity publicly through poetry. By emphasizing women’s involvement in the social aspects of Medieval Muslim societies, this paper will ultimately urge for a more thorough investigation of Muslim women’s role and function in the making of the Muslim Civilization.

Keywords: Arabo-Islamic society, medieval Muslims, Muslim poetesses, self-expression

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Authors: Chandrakala Varatharajoo, Adelina Binti Asmawi, Nabeel Abdallah Mohammad Abedalaziz

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This study investigated the impact of inflectional and derivational morphemic analysis awareness on ESL secondary school students’ vocabulary learning strategy. The quasi-experimental study was conducted with 106 low proficiency secondary school students in two experimental groups (inflectional and derivational) and one control group. The students’ vocabulary acquisition was assessed through two measures: Morphemic Analysis Test and Vocabulary- Morphemic Test in the pretest and posttest before and after an intervention programme. Results of ANCOVA revealed that both the experimental groups achieved a significant score in Morphemic Analysis Test and Vocabulary-Morphemic Test. However, the inflectional group obtained a fairly higher score than the derivational group. Thus, the results indicated that ESL low proficiency secondary school students performed better on inflectional morphemic awareness as compared to derivatives. The results also showed that the awareness of inflectional morphology contributed more on the vocabulary acquisition. Importantly, learning inflectional morphology can help ESL low proficiency secondary school students to develop both morphemic awareness and vocabulary gain. Theoretically, these findings show that not all morphemes are equally useful to students for their language development. Practically, these findings indicate that morphological instruction should at least be included in remediation and instructional efforts with struggling learners across all grade levels, allowing them to focus on meaning within the word before they attempt the text in large for better comprehension. Also, by methodologically, by conducting individualized intervention and assessment this study provided fresh empirical evidence to support the existing literature on morphemic analysis awareness and vocabulary learning strategy. Thus, a major pedagogical implication of the study is that morphemic analysis awareness strategy is a definite boon for ESL secondary school students in learning English vocabulary.

Keywords: ESL, instruction, morphemic analysis, vocabulary

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Authors: Norezzine Abdelaziz, Rebouh Nazih Yacer, Kezimana Parfait, Parpura D. I., Gadzhikurbanov A., Anastasios Dranidis

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The genetic variation of Shvicezebuvides cattle from three different farms in the Tajikistan Republic was studied using 10 microsatellite markers (SSR). The trials were laid out using a multi- locus analysis system for the analysis of cattle microsatellite locus. An estimated genetic variability of the examined livestock is given in the article. The results of our SSR analysis as well as the numbers and frequencies of common alleles in studied samples, we established a high genetic similarity of studied samples. These results can also be furthermore useful in the decision making for preservation and rational genetic resources usage of the Tajik Shvicezebuvides cattle.

Keywords: genetic characteristic, frequencies of the occurrence alleles, microsatellite markers, Swiss cattle

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Authors: Tri Wisudawati, Radita Dwi Putera

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The role of human resources is the basic capital in determining the purpose of a business place. Without the role of human resources, activities in the company will not run smoothly. Every business place always has a risk of accidents. The magnitude of the risk that occurs depends on the type of industry, technology, and risk control efforts made. Work-related accidents are accidents that occur due to work or while carrying out work. Welding MSMEs have a fairly high risk to health, safety and the environment both from the side of workers who can cause accidents and from the side of the work environment, which has the potential to become a hazard and risk. Participatory ergonomic intervention can be a feasible and effective approach to reducing exposure to work-related risk factors in developing country industries. Complaints about occupational health and safety experienced by workers in the welding workshop industry should be able to be overcome by implementing an ergonomic intervention approach. The analysis process includes HIRARC analysis, participatory ergonomics analysis, and SEM-PLS analysis. Hierarch analysis is carried out by assessing the level of severity and likelihood, as well as risk control. At the participatory ergonomics analysis stage, it is obtained from the organizational culture and organizational stakeholders. At the SEM-PLS stage, an analysis is carried out to see whether there is a strong relationship between the research variables in order to produce occupational health and safety (K3) and worker productivity in the welding shop better and in accordance with welding safety standards. So that the output of this study is how participatory ergonomics interventions affect working conditions to improve occupational health and safety and the productivity of welding workers.

Keywords: ergonomic partisipatory, health and safety, welding workers, welding safety

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Authors: Yunusa Aliyu Hadejia

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Cholera is a gastrointestinal disease caused by a bacterium called Vibrio Cholerae which spread as a result of eating food or drinking water contaminated with feaces from an infected person. In this work we proposed and analyzed the impact of isolating infected people and give them therapeutic treatment, the specific objectives of the research was to formulate a mathematical model of cholera transmission incorporating treatment class, to make analysis on stability of equilibrium points of the model, positivity and boundedness was shown to ensure that the model has a biological meaning, the basic reproduction number was derived by next generation matrix approach. The result of stability analysis show that the Disease free equilibrium was both locally and globally asymptotically stable when R_0< 1 while endemic equilibrium has locally asymptotically stable when R_0> 1. Sensitivity analysis was perform to determine the contribution of each parameter to the basic reproduction number. Numerical simulation was carried out to show the impact of the model parameters using MAT Lab Software.

Keywords: mathematical model, treatment, stability, sensitivity

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Authors: Muktar Haruna

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This research work examines the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) adoption and value relevance of earnings of listed consumer goods companies in the Nigerian. The population of the study comprises 22 listed consumer goods companies, out of which 15 were selected as sample size of the study. The scope of the study is a 12-year period covering from 2006 to 2018. Secondary data from the annual report of sampled companies were used, which consists of earnings per share (EPS), the book value of equity per share (BVE) as independent variables; firm size (FSZ) as a control variable, and market share price of sampled companies from Nigerian stock exchange as dependent variable. Multiple regressions were used to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that IFRS did not improve the value relevance of earnings after the adoption, which translates to a decrease in value relevance of accounting numbers in the post-adoption period. The major recommendation is that the Nigerian Reporting Council should ensure full compliance to all provisions of IFRS and provide uniformity in the presentation of non-current assets in the statement of financial position, where some present only net current assets leaving individual figures for current assets and liabilities invisible.

Keywords: IFRS, adoption, value relevance, earning per share, book value of equity per share

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Authors: Amit Das

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Background and significance of the study: Generally investors and market forecasters use financial statement for investigation while it awakens contribute to investing. The main vicinity of financial accounting and reporting practices recommends a few basic financial performance indicators, namely, return on capital employed, return on assets and earnings per share, which is associated considerably with share prices. It is principally true in case of Indian pharmaceutical companies also. Share investing is intriguing a financial risk in addition to investors look for those financial evaluations which have noteworthy shock on share price. A crucial intention of financial statement analysis and reporting is to offer information which is helpful predominantly to exterior clients in creating credit as well as investment choices. Sound financial performance attracts the investors automatically and it will increase the share price of the respective companies. Keeping in view of this, this research work investigates the impact of financial performance indicators on share price of pharmaceutical companies in India which is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange. Methodology: This research work is based on secondary data collected from moneycontrol database on September 28, 2015 of top 101 pharmaceutical companies in India. Since this study selects four financial performance indicators purposively and availability in the database, that is, earnings per share, return on capital employed, return on assets and net profits as independent variables and one dependent variable, share price of 101 pharmaceutical companies. While analysing the data, correlation statistics, multiple regression technique and appropriate test of significance have been used. Major findings: Correlation statistics show that four financial performance indicators of 101 pharmaceutical companies are associated positively and negatively with its share price and it is very much significant that more than 80 companies’ financial performances are related positively. Multiple correlation test results indicate that financial performance indicators are highly related with share prices of the selected pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, multiple regression test results illustrate that when financial performances are good, share prices have been increased steadily in the Bombay stock exchange and all results are statistically significant. It is more important to note that sensitivity indices were changed slightly through financial performance indicators of selected pharmaceutical companies in India. Concluding statements: The share prices of pharmaceutical companies depend on the sound financial performances. It is very clear that share prices are changed with the movement of two important financial performance indicators, that is, earnings per share and return on assets. Since 101 pharmaceutical companies are listed in the Bombay stock exchange and Sensex are changed with this, it is obvious that Government of India has to take important decisions regarding production and exports of pharmaceutical products so that financial performance of all the pharmaceutical companies are improved and its share price are increased positively.

Keywords: financial performance indicators, share prices, pharmaceutical companies, India

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Authors: Roberta Martino, Viviana Ventre

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From a theoretical point of view, the relationship between the risk associated with an investment and the expected value are directly proportional, in the sense that the market allows a greater result to those who are willing to take a greater risk. However, empirical evidence proves that this relationship is distorted in the minds of investors and is perceived exactly the opposite. To deepen and understand the discrepancy between the actual actions of the investor and the theoretical predictions, this paper analyzes the essential parameters used for the valuation of financial assets with greater attention to two elements: probability and the passage of time. Although these may seem at first glance to be two distinct elements, they are closely related. In particular, the error in the theoretical description of the relationship between risk and return lies in the failure to consider the impatience that is generated in the decision-maker when events that have not yet happened occur in the decision-making context. In this context, probability loses its objective meaning and in relation to the psychological aspects of the investor, it can only be understood as the degree of confidence that the investor has in the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event. Moreover, the concept of objective probability does not consider the inter-temporality that characterizes financial activities and does not consider the condition of limited cognitive capacity of the decision maker. Cognitive psychology has made it possible to understand that the mind acts with a compromise between quality and effort when faced with very complex choices. To evaluate an event that has not yet happened, it is necessary to imagine that it happens in your head. This projection into the future requires a cognitive effort and is what differentiates choices under conditions of risk and choices under conditions of uncertainty. In fact, since the receipt of the outcome in choices under risk conditions is imminent, the mechanism of self-projection into the future is not necessary to imagine the consequence of the choice and the decision makers dwell on the objective analysis of possibilities. Financial activities, on the other hand, develop over time and the objective probability is too static to consider the anticipatory emotions that the self-projection mechanism generates in the investor. Assuming that uncertainty is inherent in valuations of events that have not yet occurred, the focus must shift from risk management to uncertainty management. Only in this way the intertemporal dimension of the decision-making environment and the haste generated by the financial market can be cautioned and considered. The work considers an extension of the prospectus theory with the temporal component with the aim of providing a description of the attitude towards risk with respect to the passage of time.

Keywords: impatience, risk aversion, subjective probability, uncertainty

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Authors: J. R. Wang, Y. Chiang, W. S. Hsu, S. H. Chen, J. H. Yang, S. W. Chen, C. Shih, Y. F. Chang, Y. H. Huang, B. R. Shen

Abstract:

In this research, the RASCAL code was used to simulate and analyze the postulated UF₆ fire accident which may occur in the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER). There are four main steps in this research. In the first step, the UF₆ data of INER were collected. In the second step, the RASCAL analysis methodology and model was established by using these data. Third, this RASCAL model was used to perform the simulation and analysis of the postulated UF₆ fire accident. Three cases were simulated and analyzed in this step. Finally, the analysis results of RASCAL were compared with the hazardous levels of the chemicals. According to the compared results of three cases, Case 3 has the maximum danger in human health.

Keywords: RASCAL, UF₆, safety, hydrogen fluoride

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Authors: N. Marzban, J. K. Heydarzadeh M. Pourmohammadbagher, M. H. Hatami, A. Samia

Abstract:

A nano-alumina-zirconia composite catalyst was synthesized by a simple aqueous sol-gel method using AlCl₃.6H₂O and ZrCl₄ as precursors. Thermal decomposition of the precursor and subsequent formation of γ-Al₂O₃ and t-Zr were investigated by thermal analysis. XRD analysis showed that γ-Al₂O₃ and t-ZrO₂ phases were formed at 700 °C. FT-IR analysis also indicated that the phase transition to γ-Al₂O₃ occurred in corroboration with X-ray studies. TEM analysis of the calcined powder revealed that spherical particles were in the range of 8-12 nm. The nano-alumina-zirconia composite particles were mesoporous and uniformly distributed in their crystalline phase. In order to measure the catalytic activity, esterification reaction was carried out. Biodiesel, as a renewable fuel, was formed in a continuous packed column reactor. Free fatty acid (FFA) was esterified with ethanol in a heterogeneous catalytic reactor. It was found that the synthesized γ-Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ composite had the potential to be used as a heterogeneous base catalyst for biodiesel production processes.

Keywords: nano alumina-zirconia, composite catalyst, thin film, biodiesel

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Authors: Rhea Mathews

Abstract:

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of perceived social support and cultural self-efficacy on the acculturative stress of international postgraduate students in the United Kingdom. The study adopted Berry, Kim, Minde & Mok’s (1987) acculturative framework on acculturative stress and examined the relationship between the variables. The study hypothesized that perceived social support and cultural self-efficacy would predict lower levels of acculturative stress among students. Postgraduate students in the United Kingdom (N = 76) completed three surveys measuring the variables; Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Cultural Self-efficacy for Adolescents. To evaluate the role of the perceived social support and cultural self-efficacy in determining the acculturative stress level of international students, multiple linear regression was employed. Both independent variables exhibited a significant, negative relationship with acculturative stress (p < 0.001; p < 0.01). Results described that cultural self-efficacy and perceived social support significantly predicted acculturative stress (p < 0.01). Together, the variables accounted for 22% of the variance in acculturative stress scores (adjusted R² = 0.22), with cultural self-efficacy playing a larger role in predicting the dependent variable. Limitations and implications of the study are noted. The findings of the study are discussed in relation to enhancing international students’ acculturative experience when relocating to a new environment.

Keywords: acculturative stress, coping, cultural adjustment, cultural self-efficacy, international education, international students, migration, perceived social support

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Authors: Md. Abid Khan

Abstract:

Arc Flash safety assessment is a critical component for continuous improvement of any company’s safe electrical arc flash standard (SEAFS). The standard requires periodic internal or external audits to verify compliance and assess implementation. Assessments will identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, and serve as the basis for corrective actions. An arc flash safety assessment is comprised of a review of any existing safe electrical arc flash standard documentation (e.g., such as work procedures or other supporting documents), onsite interviews, and observations (e.g., facility inspections and work task observations). Substation-based arc flash assessment is very popular as it is more specific for each substation. The enhanced department-based arc flash safety assessment will shift focus to more effective hazard control measures and emphasis will be placed on highlighting inherently unsafe equipment to support resolution actions by facility management, rather than relying on lessor effective control methods in the hierarchy of controls currently deployed at a number of facilities.

Keywords: assessment, remote racking device (RRD), key performance indicator (KPI), personal protective equipment (PPE), operation & maintenance (O&M), safety management system (SMS), safe electrical arc flash standard (SEAFS)

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Authors: Nellija Titova

Abstract:

Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, as Baltic Countries, have gone throughout transformational changes since 90s leading to the high level of economic development. As countries departing Soviet Union with industrialization policy moved to service economies, the issues of intangibles, human capital, structural capital, and innovation capital have gained impetus. Following the growing demand of practitioners and later academia, intellectual capital as a discipline, which appeared in 90s, became fundamental nowadays. Aim of the paper is to analyze the Baltic companies entering stock markets at Nasdaq Baltic from the perspective of Intellectual Capital. Methodology of the research is based on a longitudinal analysis of the companies using composite ratios of Intellectual Capital and Business performance in the period 2012-2019. Data for 2020 as COVID year) were excluded from the analysis. Findings allow concluding there is a pattern of influence and companies clearly experience the systemic impact of IC on business performance, identifying also time effect investing in intangibles.

Keywords: intellectual capital, impact analysis, longitudinal effect, composite ratios

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Authors: Qing Cao

Abstract:

Generally speaking, China has a relatively high level of intellectual property (IP) infringement. Risk assessment is indispensable in the strategic planning process. To complement the current literature in international business, the paper sheds the light on how to assess IP risk for foreign companies in planning market entry to China. Evaluating internal and external IP environment, proposed in the paper, consists of external analysis, internal analysis and further internal analysis. Through position the company’s IP environment, the risk assessment approach enables the foreign companies to either build the corresponding IP strategies or abort the entry plan beforehand to minimize the IP risks.

Keywords: intellectual property, IP environment, risk assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 565