Search results for: university administrative personnel

Authors: Jocelyn Solomons, Sheree Bekker, Ryan Groom, Wilbur Kraak

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Sports coaching is marked by inherent elements of complexity. Coaches constantly encounter ambiguity, as they are unable to have complete certainty regarding the perspectives and expectations of stakeholders. Moreover, the coaching environment is characterised by its dynamic nature and intricate micro-political dynamics which further add to the complexity that coaches must navigate. This research study offers a unique perspective on the practical manifestation of coaching effectiveness in the South African (SA) context, where the sport is in its early stages of development. With a predominant presence of male coaches training female players and players originating from diverse sporting backgrounds, including a majority of those who commence their rugby careers at the university level, this exploration, along with practical recommendations, becomes essential. It allows for a nuanced understanding of coaching practices within a rugby system that concurrently focuses on development and high performance. By integrating the views of both players and coaches, insights are gained that extend traditional assessments, enabling a comprehensive understanding of coaching effectiveness and its implications in this evolving Women’s Rugby landscape. Through semi-structured interviews, the research delves into their assessments of coaching strategies, methodologies, and outcomes, aiming to understand coaching efficacy and its impact on player development. The findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of coaching effectiveness, paving the way for evidence-based recommendations to enhance coaching development and positively impact the sport's growth and success in SA.

Keywords: women’s rugby, coaching effectiveness, coaching, rugby, coaching education

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Authors: Patrick Ho

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Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA) forensic evidence can be complex, requiring effective courtroom presentation to ensure clear and comprehensive understanding of the analyst’s findings. BPA witness statements can often involve reference to spatial information (such as location of rooms, objects, walls) which, when coupled with classified blood patterns, may illustrate the reconstructed movements of suspects and injured parties. However, it may be difficult to communicate this information through photography alone, despite this remaining the UK’s established method for presenting BPA evidence. Through an academic-police partnership between the University of Warwick and West Midlands Police (WMP), an integrated 3D scanning and HDR photography workflow for BPA was developed. Homicide scenes were laser scanned and, after processing, the 3D models were utilised in the BPA peer-review process. The same 3D models were made available for court but were not always utilised. This workflow has improved the ease of presentation for analysts and provided 3D scene models that assist with the investigation. However, the effects of incorporating 3D scene models in judicial processes may need to be studied before they are adopted more widely. 3D models from a simulated crime scene and West Midlands Police cases approved for conference disclosure are presented. We describe how the workflow was developed and integrated into established practices at WMP, including peer-review processes and witness statement delivery in court, and explain the impact the work has had on the Criminal Justice System in the West Midlands.

Keywords: bloodstain pattern analysis, forensic science, criminal justice, 3D scanning

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Authors: A. Abbas Khalaf, L. Issazadeh, Z. Arif Abdullah, J. Hassanpour

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In order to evaluate the growth and yield properties of two Sorghum-Sudangrass hybrids under different irrigation levels, an investigation was done in the experiment site of Collage of Agriculture, University of Duhok, Kurdistan region of Iraq (36°5´38^⸗ N, 42°52´02^⸗ E) in the years 2015-16. The experiment was conducted under Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, which main factor was irrigation treatments (I₁₀₀, I₇₅ and I₅₀) according to evaporation pan class A and type of Sorghum-Sudangrass hybrids (KH12SU9001, G₁) and (KH12SU9002, G₂) were factors of subplots. The parameters studied were: plant height (cm), number of green leaves per plant; leaf area (m²/m²), stem thickness (mm), percent of protein, fresh and dry biomass (ton.ha^-1) and also crop water productivity. The results of variance analysis showed that KH12SU9001 variety had more amount of leaf area, percent of protein, fresh and dry biomass yield in comparison to KH12SU9002 variety. By comparing effects of irrigation levels on vegetative growth and yield properties, results showed that amount of plant height, fresh and dry biomass weight was decreased by decreasing irrigation level from full irrigation regime to 5 _o% of irrigation level. Also, results of crop water productivity (CWP) indicated that improvement in quantity of irrigation would impact fresh and dry biomass yield significantly. Full irrigation regime was recorded the highest level of CWP (1.28-1.29 kg.m^-3).

Keywords: deficit irrigation, growth, sorghum-sudangrass hybrid, yield

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Authors: Y. Baba, A. Archibong-Eso, H. Yeung

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Experimental study of high viscosity oil-gas flows in horizontal pipelines published in literature has indicated that hydrodynamic slug flow is the dominant flow pattern observed. Investigations have shown that hydrodynamic slugging brings about high instabilities in pressure that can damage production facilities thereby making it inherent to study high viscous slug flow regime so as to improve the understanding of its flow dynamics. Most slug flow models used in the petroleum industry for the design of pipelines together with their closure relationships were formulated based on observations of low viscosity liquid-gas flows. New experimental investigations and data are therefore required to validate these models. In cases where these models underperform, improving upon or building new predictive models and correlations will also depend on the new experimental dataset and further understanding of the flow dynamics in high viscous oil-gas flows. In this study conducted at the Flow laboratory, Oil and Gas Engineering Centre of Cranfield University, slug flow variables such as pressure gradient, mean liquid holdup, frequency and slug length for oil viscosity ranging from 1..0 – 5.5 Pa.s are experimentally investigated and analysed. The study was carried out in a 0.076m ID pipe, two fast sampling gamma densitometer and pressure transducers (differential and point) were used to obtain experimental measurements. Comparison of the measured slug flow parameters to the existing slug flow prediction models available in the literature showed disagreement with high viscosity experimental data thus highlighting the importance of building new predictive models and correlations.

Keywords: gamma densitometer, mean liquid holdup, pressure gradient, slug frequency and slug length

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Authors: Wissem Abdaoui, Nizar M. Mhaidat, Ilhem Mokhtari, Adel Gouri

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common tumors all over the world. Obesity, considered a risk factor of CRC, is characterized by a high level of secreted cytokines from adipose tissue. Among these inflammatory molecules, leptin is considered the key mediator for CRC cancer development and progression by activation of mitogenic and anti apoptotic signaling pathways. Gene expression can be significantly modulated by alterations in DNA methylation patterns. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of leptin gene methylation on CRC prognosis and sensitivity to chemotherapy. The study involved 70 CRC tissue samples collected from King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) from which only 53 was analyzed because of bisulfate fragmentation and low yield of DNA extracted from FFPE tissues. A total of 22 blood samples were collected from healthy volunteers and enrolled as a control group. Leptin promoter methylation was analyzed by methylation specific PCR after bisulfate conversion. Results revealed that the incidence of leptin gene methylation was significantly higher in CRC patients in comparison to that of controls (P < 0.05). The correlation between patient’s demographics and leptin gene methylation was not significant (P < 0.05). However, a significant correlation between leptin gene methylation status and early cancer stages (I, II and III) was found in male but not in female (p < 0.05). Moreover, a significant correlation was found between leptin promoter methylation and early tumor localization T1-2 (p < 0.05). The correlation between epigenetic regulation of leptin and chemosensitivity was not significant. Taken together, these results suggest the possibility to use leptin gene methylation as a biomarker for the evaluation of CRC prognosis and metastasis.

Keywords: colorectal cancer, obesity, leptin, DNA methylation, disease prognosis, bisulfate conversion, chemoresistance

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Authors: Cissy Li

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Mentorship is a commonly used strategy for career development that has obvious benefits for students in undergraduate pre-service teacher training programs. In contrast to teaching practicum, which generally involves pedagogical supervision and performance evaluation by teachers, mentorship is more focused on sharing experiences, supporting challenges, and nurturing skills in order to promote personal and professional growth. To empower pre-service teachers and prepare them for potential challenges in the context of local English language teaching (ELT), an alumni mentoring program was established in the framework of communities of practice (CoP), with the mentors being in-service graduates working in local schools and mentees being students on the teacher-training programme in a Hong Kong university. By triangulating audio transcripts of mentoring sessions delivered by three top mentors with data from questionnaire responses and mentor logs, this paper examines the mentoring styles of the three best mentors from the metadiscursive perspective. It was found that, in a community of practice, mentors who may seem to enjoy a relative more dominant position, in fact, had to strategically and pragmatically employ metadiscursive resources to manage relationships with the mentees and organize talks in the mentoring process. Other attributing factors for a successful mentoring session include mentor personality and prior mentorship experiences, nature of the activities in the session, and group dynamics. This paper concludes that it is the combination of all the factors that constitute a particular mentoring style. The findings have implications for mentoring programs in teacher preparation.

Keywords: mentoring, teacher education, mentoring style, metadiscourse

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Authors: Josiah O. Carter, Charlotte Hayden, Elizabeth Arthurs

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Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital management policies have changed frequently and rapidly. This has created novel challenges in keeping the workforce abreast of these changes to enable them to deliver safe and effective care. Traditional communication methods, e.g. email, do not keep pace with the rapidly changing environment in the hospital, resulting in inaccurate, irrelevant, or outdated information being communicated, resulting in inefficiencies in patient care. Methods: The creation of a WhatsApp messaging group within the medical division at the Bristol Royal Infirmary has enabled senior clinicians and the hospital management team to update the medical workforce in real-time. It has two primary functions: (1) To enable dissemination of a concise, important operational summary. This comprises information on bed status and infection control procedural changes. It is fed directly from a daily critical incident briefing (2) To facilitate a monthly scheduled question and answer (Q&A) session for junior doctors to clarify issues with clinical directors, rota, and management staff. Additional ad-hoc updates are sent out for time-critical information; otherwise, it mainly functions as a broadcast-only group to prevent important information from being lost amongst other communication. All junior doctors within the medical division were invited to join the group. At present, the group comprises 131 participants, of which 10 are administrative staff (rota coordinators, management staff & clinical directors); the remaining 121 are junior clinicians working within the medical division. An electronic survey via Microsoft forms was sent out to junior doctors via the WhatsApp group and via email to assess its utilisation and effectiveness with the aim of quality improvements. Results: Of the 121 group participants, 19 completed the questionnaire (response rate 15.7%). Of these, 16/19 (84.2%) used it regularly, and 12/19 (63.2%) rated it as the most useful source for reliable updates relating to the hospital response to the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas only 2/19 (10.5%) found the trust intranet and the trust COVID-19 operational email update most useful. Respondents rated the WhatsApp group more useful as an information source (mean score 7.7/10) than as a means of providing feedback to management staff (mean score 6.3/10). Qualitative feedback suggested information around ward closures and changes to COVID cohorting, along with updates on staffing issues, were most useful. Respondents also noted the Q&A sessions were an efficient way of relaying feedback about management decisions but that it would be preferable if these sessions could be delivered more frequently. Discussion: During the current global COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased need for rapid dissemination of critical information within NHS trusts; this includes communication between junior doctors, managers, and senior clinicians. The versatility of WhatsApp permits a variety of functions allowing for regular updates, the dissemination of time-critical information, and enables conversing and feedback. The project has demonstrated that reserved and well-managed use of a WhatsApp group is a welcome, efficient and practical means of communication between the senior management team and the junior medical workforce.

Keywords: communication, COVID-19, hospital management, WhatsApp

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Authors: Engi E. I. Sarhan, Usama M. Rashad, Ibrahim M. I. Hamoda, Mohammed K. Mohamed

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Background: This study aimed to know the effect of nitrogen-based cryotherapy on the spasticity of calf muscle in stroke patients. Patients were selected from the outpatient clinic of Neurology, Al-Mansoura general hospital, Al-Mansoura University. Subjects and methods: Thirty Stroke Patients of both sexes ranged from 45 to 60 years old were divided randomly into two equal groups, a study group (A) received a nitrogen-based cryotherapy, a selective physical therapy program and ankle foot orthosis (AFO), while as patients in control group (B) received the same program and AFO only. The treatment duration was three times per week for four weeks for both groups. We assessed spasticity of calf muscle before and after treatment subjectively using modified Ashworth scale (MAS) and objectively via measuring H / M ratio on electromyography machine. We also assessed ankle dorsiflexion ROM objectively using two dimensions motion analysis (2D). Results: After treatment, there was a highly significant improvement in the study group compared to the control group regarding the score of MAS, no significant difference in the study group compared to the control group regarding the readings of H / M ratio, highly significant improvement in the study group compared to the control group regarding the 2D motion analysis findings. Conclusion: This modality considers effective in reducing spasticity in the calf muscle and improving ankle dorsiflexion of the affected limb.

Keywords: ankle foot orthosis, nitrogen-based cryotherapy, stroke, spasticity

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Authors: Gülden Küçükakça, Şefika Dilek Güven, Rahşan Kolutek, Seçil Taylan

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Objective: Nursing students face with stress factors affecting academic performance and quality of life as from first moments of their educational life. Stress causes health problems in students such as physical, psycho-social, and behavioral disorders and might damage formation of professional identity by decreasing efficiency of education. In addition to determination of stress experienced by nursing students during their education, it was aimed to help review theoretical and clinical education settings for bringing stress of nursing students into positive level and to raise awareness of educators concerning their own professional behaviors. Methods: The study was conducted with 315 students studying at nursing department of Semra and Vefa Küçük Health High School, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University in the academic year of 2015-2016 and agreed to participate in the study. “Personal Information Form” prepared by the researchers upon the literature review and “Nursing Education Stress Scale (NESS)” were used in this study. Data were assessed with analysis of variance and correlation analysis. Results: Mean NESS Scale score of the nursing students was estimated to be 66.46±16.08 points. Conclusions: As a result of this study, stress level experienced by nursing undergraduate students during their education was determined to be high. In accordance with this result, it can be recommended to determine sources of stress experienced by nursing undergraduate students during their education and to develop approaches to eliminate these stress sources.

Keywords: stress, nursing education, nursing student, nursing education stress

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Authors: Sawitree Wongkittirungrueang

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The objectives of this research were: 1) to study the effect of social stories on social interaction of students with autism. The sample was Pratomsuksa level 5 student with autism, Khon Kaen University Demonstration School, who was diagnosed by the Physician as High Functioning Autism since he was able to read, write, calculate and was studying in inclusive classroom. However, he still had disability in social interaction to participate in social activity group and communication. He could not learn how to develop friendship or create relationship. He had inappropriate behavior in social context. He did not understand complex social situations. In addition, he did seemed not know time and place. He was not able to understand feeling of oneself as well as the others. Consequently, he could not express his emotion appropriately. He did not understand or express his non-verbal language for communicating with friends. He lacked of common interest or emotion with nearby persons. He greeted inappropriately or was not interested in greeting. In addition, he did not have eye contact. He used inadequate language etc. He was elected by Purposive Sampling. His parents were willing to allow them to participate in this study. The research instruments were the lesson plan of social stories, and the picture book of social stories. The instruments used for data collection, were the social interaction evaluation of autistic students. This research was Quasi Experimental Research as One Group Pre-test, Post-test Design. For the Pre-test, the experiment was conducted by social stories. Then, the Post-test was implemented. The statistic used for data analysis, included the Mean, and Standard Deviation. The research findings were shown by Graph. The findings revealed hat the autistic students taught by social stories indicated better social interaction after being taught by social stories.

Keywords: social story, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autism, social interaction

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Authors: Walid Abouzeid, Mohamed Shadad, Mostafa Farid, Magdy El Hawary

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The most frequent treatable vascular abnormality of the spinal canal is spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae (SDAVFs), which cause progressive para- or quadriplegia mostly affecting elderly males. SDAVFs are present in the thoracolumbar region. The main goal of treatment must be to obliterate the shunting zone via superselective embolization with the usage of a liquid embolic agent. This study aims to evaluate endovascular technique as a safe and efficient approach for the treatment SDAVFs, especially with long-term follow-up clinical outcomes. Study Design: A retrospective clinical case study. From May 2010 to May 2017, 15 patients who had symptoms attributed to SDAVFs underwent the operation in the Departments of Neurosurgery in Suhag, Tanta, and Al-Azhar Universities and Interventional Radiology, Ain Shams University. All the patients had varying degrees of progressive spastic paraparesis with and without sphincteric disturbances. Endovascular embolization was used in all cases. Fourteen were males, with ages ranging from 45 to 74 years old. After the treatment, good outcome was found in five patients (33.3%), a moderate outcome was delineated in six patients (40 %), and four patients revealed a poor outcome (26.7%). Spinal AVF could be treated safely and effectively by the endovascular approach. Generally, there is no correlation between the disappearance of MRI abnormalities and significant clinical improvement. The preclinical state of the patient is directly proportional to the clinical outcome. Due to unexpected responses, embolization should be attempted even the patient is in a bad clinical condition.

Keywords: spine, arteriovenous, fistula, endovascular, embolization

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Authors: Rian de Villiers

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Human mobility is one of the most significant development, foreign policy and domestic issues in the world today. Teacher loss due to migration is a global phenomenon that is impacting both developed and developing nations the world over. The purpose of this study was to find out how many newly qualified South African teachers were planning to teach in a foreign country; what were the prospective migrant teachers’ motives for migration; what destination countries were the most popular and why; and what were the prospective migrant teachers’ information needs before leaving South Africa. A group of final-year Bachelor of Education student teachers from a single university responded to a questionnaire on intra-and intercontinental migration. The responses were analysed quantitatively and/or qualitatively. The findings showed that 79% of the students indicated that they would be teaching in South Africa, 9% were planning to teach in another country, while 8% were undecided. More than a third of the students (38%) said that they would like to teach in another country in five years time. Just more than a quarter of the students (27%) preferred Australia as a destination, followed by the United Kingdom (16%), Korea (16%) and the USA (14%). The student teachers’ most important motive to teach in a foreign country was the opportunity to travel (27%), followed by earning a higher salary (26%) and professional development (23%). The student teachers indicated that their most important migration needs before leaving South Africa were information about health care, accommodation and banking assistance. Huge loss of teachers to host countries has a serious, negative impact upon the education system of most developing and/or source countries, including South Africa. Several steps and strategies to resolve teacher loss in South Africa are discussed.

Keywords: migration, academic mobility, teachers, teacher students, South Africa

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Authors: Ni̇sa Yeni̇kalayci, Türkan Aybi̇ke Akarca

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The ability of correlation the number and space relations, one of the basic scientific process skills, is being used in the transformation of a two-dimensional object into a three-dimensional image or in the expression of symmetry axes of the object. With this research, it is aimed to determine the ability of science students to establish number and space relations. The research was carried out with a total of 90 students studying in the first semester of the Science Education program of a state university located in the Turkey’s Black Sea Region in the fall semester of 2017-2018 academic year. An ‘Integrative Perception Test (IPT)’ was designed by the researchers to collect the data. Within the scope of IPT, the courses and workbooks specific to the field of science were scanned and the ones without symmetrical structure from the visual items belonging to the ‘Physics - Chemistry – Biology’ sub-fields were selected and listed. During the application, it was expected that students would imagine and draw images of the missing half of the visual items that were given incomplete in the first place. The data obtained from the test in which there are 30 images or pictures in total (f Physics = 10, f Chemistry = 10, f Biology = 10) were analyzed descriptively based on the drawings created by the students as ‘complete (2 points), incomplete/wrong (1 point), empty (0 point)’. For the teaching of new concepts in small aged groups, images or pictures showing symmetrical structures and similar applications can also be used.

Keywords: integrative perception, number and space relations, science education, scientific process skills

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Authors: Ayesha Akbar

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Public service delivery has witnessed a significant improvement with the integration of information communication technology (ICT). It not only improves management structure with advanced technology for surveillance of service delivery but also provides evidence for informed decisions and policy. Pakistan’s public sector organizations have not been able to produce some good results to ensure service delivery. Notwithstanding, some of the public sector organizations in Pakistan has diffused modern technology and proved their credence by providing better service delivery standards. These good indicators provide sound basis to integrate technology in public sector organizations and shift of policy towards evidence based policy making. Rescue-1122 is a public sector organization which provides emergency services and proved to be a successful model for the provision of service delivery to save human lives and to ensure human development in Pakistan. The information about the organization has been received by employing qualitative research methodology. The information is broadly based on primary and secondary sources which includes Rescue-1122 website, official reports of organizations; UNDP (United Nation Development Program), WHO (World Health Organization) and by conducting 10 in-depth interviews with the high administrative staff of organizations who work in the Lahore offices. The information received has been incorporated with the study for the better understanding of the organization and their management procedures. Rescue-1122 represents a successful model in delivering the services in an efficient way to deal with the disaster management. The management of Rescue has strategized the policies and procedures in such a way to develop a comprehensive model with the integration of technology. This model provides efficient service delivery as well as maintains the standards of the organization. The service delivery model of rescue-1122 works on two fronts; front-office interface and the back-office interface. Back-office defines the procedures of operations and assures the compliance of the staff whereas, front-office equipped with the latest technology and good infrastructure handles the emergency calls. Both ends are integrated with satellite based vehicle tracking, wireless system, fleet monitoring system and IP camera which monitors every move of the staff to provide better services and to pinpoint the distortions in the services. The standard time of reaching to the emergency spot is 7 minutes, and during entertaining the case; driver‘s behavior, traffic volume and the technical assistance being provided to the emergency case is being monitored by front-office. Then the whole information get uploaded to the main dashboard of Lahore headquarter from the provincial offices. The latest technology is being materialized by Rescue-1122 for delivering the efficient services, investigating the flaws; if found, and to develop data to make informed decision making. The other public sector organizations of Pakistan can also develop such models to integrate technology for improving service delivery and to develop evidence for informed decisions and policy making.

Keywords: data, e-governance, evidence, policy

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Authors: Adedoyin Opeyemi Osokoya

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The study assesses the influence of social media on perceived learning outcome of agricultural science students in tertiary institutions in Oyo state, Nigeria. The four-stage sampling procedure was used to select participants. All students in the seven tertiary institutions that offer agriculture science as a course of study in Oyo State was the population. A university, a college of agriculture and a college of education were sampled, and a department from each was randomly selected. Twenty percent of the students’ population in the respective selected department gave a sample size of 165. Questionnaire was used to collect information on respondents’ personal characteristics and information related to access to social media. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square, correlation, and multiple regression at the 0.05 confidence level. Age and household size were 21.13 ± 2.64 years and 6 ± 2.1 persons respectively. All respondents had access to social media, majority (86.1%) owned Android phone, 57.6% and 52.7% use social media for course work and entertainment respectively, while the commonly visited sites were WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, Opera mini. Over half (53.9%) had an unfavourable attitude towards the use of social media for learning; benefits of the use of social media for learning was high (56.4%). Removal of information barrier created by distance (x̄=1.58) was the most derived benefit, while inadequate power supply (x̄=2.36), was the most severe constraints. Age (β=0.23), sex (β=0.37), ownership of Android phone (β=-1.29), attitude (β=0.37), constraints (β =-0.26) and use of social media (β=0.23) were significant predictors of influence on perceived learning outcomes.

Keywords: use of social media, agricultural science students, undergraduates of tertiary institutions, Oyo State of Nigeria

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Authors: Lubica Muckova, Petr Jost, Jaroslav Pejchal, Daniel Jun

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The development of acetylcholinesterase reactivators, i.e. antidotes against organophosphorus poisoning, is an important goal of defence research. The aim of this study was to compare cytotoxicity and chemical structure of 5 currently available (pralidoxime, trimedoxime, obidoxime, methoxime, and asoxime) and 4 newly developed compounds (K027, K074, K075, and K203). In oximes, there could be at least four important structural factors affecting their toxicity, including the number of oxime groups in the molecule, the position of oxime group(s) on pyridinium ring, the length of carbon linker, and the substitution by oxygen or insertion of the double bond into the connection chain. The cytotoxicity of tested substances was measured using colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay (MTT assay) in SH-SY5Y cell line. Toxicity was expressed as toxicological index IC₅₀. The tested compounds showed different cytotoxicity ranging from 1.5 to 27 mM. K027 was the least, and methoxime was the most toxic reactivator. The lowest toxicity was found in a monopyridinium reactivator and bispyridinium reactivators with simple 3C carbon linker. Shortening of connection chain length to 1C, incorporation of oxygen moiety into 3C compounds, elongation of carbon linker to 4C and insertion of a double bond into 4C substances increase AChE reactivators' cytotoxicity. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by a long-term organization development plan Medical Aspects of Weapons of Mass Destruction of the Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence.

Keywords: acetylcholinesterase, cytotoxicity, organophosphorus poisoning, reactivators of acetylcholinesterase

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Authors: Anjum Afrooze

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The curriculum at General Sciences department in Prince Sultan University includes ‘Physical science’ for Computer Science, Information Technology and Business courses. Students are apathetic towards Physical Science and question, as to, ‘How this course is related to their majors?’ English is not a native language for the students and also for many instructors. More than sixty percent of the students come from institutions where English is not the medium of instruction, which makes student learning and academic achievement challenging. After observing the less enthusiastic student cohort for two consecutive semesters, the instructor was keen to find effective strategies to enhance learning and further encourage deep learning by engaging students in different tasks to empower them with necessary skills and motivate them. This study is participatory action research, in which instructor designs effective tasks to engage students in their learning. The study is conducted through two semesters with a total of 200 students. The effectiveness of this approach is studied using questionnaire at the end of each semester and teacher observation. Major outcomes of this study were overall improvement in students attitude towards science learning, enhancement of multiple skills like note taking, problem solving, language proficiency and also fortifying confidence. This process transformed instructor into engaging and reflecting practitioner. Also, these strategies were implemented by other instructors teaching the course and proved effective in opening a path to changes in related areas of the course curriculum. However, refinement in the strategies could be done based on student evaluation and instructors observation.

Keywords: group activity, language proficiency, reasoning skills, science learning

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Authors: Peng Hao Wang, Garam Kim, Ronald Sterkenburg

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In composite manufacturing, the fabrication of tooling and tooling maintenance contributes to a large portion of the total cost. However, as the applications of composite materials continue to increase, there is also a growing demand for more tooling. The demand for more tooling places heavy emphasis on the industry’s ability to fabricate high quality tools while maintaining the tool’s cost effectiveness. One of the popular techniques of tool fabrication currently being developed utilizes additive manufacturing technology known as 3D printing. The popularity of 3D printing is due to 3D printing’s ability to maintain low material waste, low cost, and quick fabrication time. In this study, a team of Purdue University School of Aviation and Transportation Technology (SATT) faculty and students investigated the effectiveness of a 3D printed composite mold. A steel valve cover from an aircraft reciprocating engine was modeled utilizing 3D scanning and computer-aided design (CAD) to create a 3D printed composite mold. The mold was used to fabricate carbon fiber versions of the aircraft reciprocating engine valve cover. The carbon fiber valve covers were evaluated for dimensional accuracy and quality while the 3D printed composite mold was evaluated for durability and dimensional stability. The data collected from this study provided valuable information in the understanding of 3D printed composite molds, potential improvements for the molds, and considerations for future tooling design.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, carbon fiber, composite tooling, molds

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Authors: Shital Bangar, G. B. Khandagale

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The experimentation was carried out to study the influence of sulphur and boron on growth parameters and productivity of soybean in kharif season of 2009-2010 at Experimental Farm, Department of Agricultural Botany, Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani (M.S.). The object was to evaluate the impact of sulphur and boron on growth, development, grain yield and physiological aspects of soybean variety MAUS-81. Nine treatments consisted of three levels of sulphur i.e. 20, 30 and 40 Kg/ha as well as three levels boron i.e.10, 15 and 20 kg boron/ha and the combinations of these two mineral elements i.e. Sulphur @30 kg/ha + Borax @15 kg/ha and Sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha with one control treatment in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The effect of sulphur and boron on various growth parameters of soybean like relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) were remained statistically on par with each other. However, the application of higher dose of Sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha enhanced significantly all the growth parameters. Application of the nutrients increased the dry matter accumulation of the crop plant and hence, other growth indices like RGR and NAR also increased significantly. RGR and NAR values were recorded highest at the initial crop growth stages and decline thereafter. The application of sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha recorded significantly higher content of chlorophyll ‘a’ than rest of the treatments and chlorophyll ‘b’ observed higher in boron @15 kg/ha as well as boron@20 kg/ha, whereas total chlorophyll content was maximum in sulphur @40 kg/ha. Oil content was not influenced significantly due to above fertilization. The highest seed yield and total biological yield were obtained with combination of Sulphur @40 kg/ha + Borax @ 20 kg/ha, single sulphur and boron application also showed a significant effect on seed and biological yield.

Keywords: boron, growth, productivity, quality, soybean and sulphur

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Authors: Sarah Al-Lumai, Fatima Al-Attar, Nour Jamal, Badria Al-Dabbous, Manal Abdulla

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Today, many commonly used Industrial Engineering tools and techniques are being used in hospitals around the world for the goal of producing a more efficient and effective healthcare system. A common quality improvement methodology known as Lean Six-Sigma has been successful in manufacturing industries and recently in healthcare. The objective of our project is to use the Lean Six-Sigma methodology to reduce waiting time in the Emergency Department (ED), in a local private hospital. Furthermore, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to evaluate the success of Lean Six-Sigma in the ED. According to the study conducted by Ibn Sina Hospital, in Morocco, the most common problem that patients complain about is waiting time. To ensure patient satisfaction many hospitals such as North Shore University Hospital were able to reduce waiting time up to 37% by using Lean Six-Sigma. Other hospitals, such as John Hopkins’s medical center used Lean Six-Sigma successfully to enhance the overall patient flow that ultimately decreased waiting time. Furthermore, it was found that capacity constraints, such as staff shortages and lack of beds were one of the main reasons behind long waiting time. With the use of Lean Six-Sigma and bed management, hospitals like Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital were able to reduce patient delays. Moreover, in order to successfully implement Lean Six-Sigma in our project, two common methodologies were considered, DMAIC and DMADV. After the assessment of both methodologies, it was found that DMAIC was a more suitable approach to our project because it is more concerned with improving an already existing process. With many of its successes, Lean Six-Sigma has its limitation especially in healthcare; but limitations can be minimized if properly approached.

Keywords: lean six sigma, DMAIC, hospital, methodology

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Vaia N. Koukou, Niki D. Martini, George P. Fountos, Christos M. Michail, Athanasios Bakas, Ioannis S. Kandarakis, George C. Nikiforidis

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Various substitute materials of calcifications are used in phantom measurements and simulation studies in mammography. These include calcium carbonate, calcium oxalate, hydroxyapatite and aluminum. The aim of this study is to compare the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) values of the different calcification types using the dual energy method. The constructed calcification phantom consisted of three different calcification types and thicknesses: hydroxyapatite, calcite and calcium oxalate of 100, 200, 300 thicknesses. The breast tissue equivalent materials were polyethylene and polymethyl methacrylate slabs simulating adipose tissue and glandular tissue, respectively. The total thickness was 4.2 cm with 50% fixed glandularity. The low- (LE) and high-energy (HE) images were obtained from a tungsten anode using 40 kV filtered with 0.1 mm cadmium and 70 kV filtered with 1 mm copper, respectively. A high resolution complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) X-ray detector was used. The total mean glandular dose (MGD) and entrance surface dose (ESD) from the LE and HE images were constrained to typical levels (MGD=1.62 mGy and ESD=1.92 mGy). On average, the CNR of hydroxyapatite calcifications was 1.4 times that of calcite calcifications and 2.5 times that of calcium oxalate calcifications. The higher CNR values of hydroxyapatite are attributed to its attenuation properties compared to the other calcification materials, leading to higher contrast in the dual energy image. This work was supported by Grant Ε.040 from the Research Committee of the University of Patras (Programme K. Karatheodori).

Keywords: calcification materials, CNR, dual energy, X-rays

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Khaled Hamdan, Abid Amorri, Fatima Hamdan

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Involving students in English language learning process and achieving an adequate English language proficiency in the target language can be a great challenge for both teachers and students. This can prove even a far greater challenge to engage students with special needs (Dyslexia) if they have physical impairment and inadequate mastery of basic communicative language competence/proficiency in the target language. From this perspective, technology like robots can probably be used to enhance learning process for the special needs students who have extensive communication needs, who face continuous struggle to interact with their peers and teachers and meet academic requirements. Robots, precisely NAO, can probably provide them with the perfect opportunity to practice social and communication skills, and meet their English academic requirements. This research paper aims to identify to what extent robots can be used to improve students’ social interaction and communication skills and to understand the potential for robotics-based education in motivating and engaging UAEU dyslexic students to meet university requirements. To reach this end, the paper will explore several factors that come into play – Motion Level-involving cognitive activities, Interaction Level-involving language processing, Behavior Level -establishing a close relationship with the robot and Appraisal Level- focusing on dyslexia students’ achievement in the target language.

Keywords: dyslexia, robot technology, motion, interaction, behavior and appraisal levels, social and communication skills

Procedia PDF Downloads 372

Authors: Rkia Lbouhmadi, Mir Youssef

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Fatty acids such as DocosaHexaenoic Acid (DHA) and EicosaPentaenoic Acid (EPA) are of growing interest for their positive impact on human health. Oils rich in omega-3 are in high demand, particularly for incorporation into infant milk. Generally omega-3 fatty acids are extracted from oily fish, putting additional pressure on global fish stocks that is experiencing an over exploitation. Therefore, this present work aimed to study the capacity of tree different strains of microalgae for producing lipids rich on Omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA that can be used to enrich infantile milk. Three different strains were selected for this study; Parachlorella kessleri (GEPEA UMR-CNRS6144, University of Nantes) and Cyclotella spp and Scenedesmus spp (collected from different water bodies that are located in the region of Agadir, Morocco). it examined the impact of various culture conditions on EPA and DHA accumulation in three strains. Lipid composition was analyzed using GC-MS and FTIR. Following a comparative analysis between regular and microalgal oil-supplemented formula milk was carried out by incorporating large droplets of fat containing microalgal fatty acids coated with added phospholipids into the formula milk. Results indicated that culture conditions such as light intensity affected fatty acides production. With 40% increase in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) compared to Saturated Fatty Acids (SFA). In conclusion, it exploratory study indicates that incorporating large milk phospholipid-coated lipid droplets enriched with microalgae lipids into infant formula may offer improved nutritional benefits for newborns, resembling human milk.

Keywords: microalgae oil, INFANT MILK, EPA, DHA

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Ruchira Das

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The major Metropolises of India are resultant of Colonial manifestation of Production, Consumption and Sustenance. These cities grew, survived, and sustained on the basic whims of Colonial Power and Administrative Agendas. They were symbols of power, authority and administration. Within them some Colonial Towns remained as small towns within the close vicinity of the major metropolises and functioned as self–sufficient units until peripheral development due to tremendous pressure occurred in the metropolises. After independence huge expansion in Judiciary and Administration system resulted City Oriented Employment. A large number of people started residing within the city or within commutable distance of the city and it accelerated expansion of the cities. Since then Budgetary and Planning expenditure brought a new pace in Economic Activities. Investment in Industry and Agriculture sector generated opportunity of employment which further led towards urbanization. After two decades of Budgetary and Planning economic activities in India, a new era started in metropolitan expansion. Four major metropolises started further expansion rapidly towards its suburbs. A concept of large Metropolitan Area developed. Cities became nucleus of suburbs and rural areas. In most of the cases such expansion was not favorable to the relationship between City and its hinterland due to absence of visualization of Compact Sustainable Development. The search for solutions needs to weigh the choices between Rural and Urban based development initiatives. Policymakers need to focus on areas which will give the greatest impact. The impact of development initiatives will spread the significant benefit to all. There is an assumption that development integrates Economic, Social and Environmental considerations with equal weighing. The traditional narrower and almost exclusive focus on economic criteria as the determinant of the level of development is thus re–described and expanded. The Social and Environmental aspects are equally important as Economic aspect to achieve Sustainable Development. The arrangement of opportunities for Public, Semi – Public facilities for its citizen is very much relevant to development. It is responsibility of the administration to provide opportunities for the basic requirement of its inhabitants. Development should be in terms of both Industrial and Agricultural to maintain a balance between city and its hinterland. Thus, policy is to formulate shifting the emphasis away from Economic growth towards Sustainable Human Development. The goal of Policymaker should aim at creating environments in which people’s capabilities can be enhanced by the effective dynamic and adaptable policy. The poverty could not be eradicated simply by increasing income. The improvement of the condition of the people would have to lead to an expansion of basic human capabilities. In this scenario the suburbs/rural areas are considered as environmental burden to the metropolises. A new living has to be encouraged in the suburban or rural. We tend to segregate agriculture from the city and city life, this leads to over consumption, but this urbanism model attempts both these to co–exists and hence create an interesting overlapping of production and consumption network towards sustainable Rurbanism.

Keywords: socio–economic progress, sustainability, social equity, urbanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: A. Alhusban, M. Alqawasmeh, F. Alfawares

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Introduction: Despite improvements in stroke management, it remains the leading cause of disability worldwide. It has been suggested that enhancing brain angiogenesis after stroke will improve stroke outcome. Promoting post stroke angiogenesis requires the upregulation of angiogenic factors with a simultaneous reduction of anti-angiogenic factors. Thrombospondin-1 is the main anti-angiogenic protein in the living cells. Counterintuitively, it has been shown that animals with Thrombospondin-1 knockdown will have better stroke outcome. Data about the clinical significance of Thrombspondin-1 levels at the time of admission is still lacking. The objective of this work is to assess the association between serum Thrombospondin-1 levels measured at the time of admission and baseline neurologic severity after stroke. Patients and Methods: Blood samples were collected from patients admitted to the King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) with ischemic stroke at the time of admission and serum Thrombopsondin-1 levels were measured using ELISA. Patients neurologic severity was evaluated using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Results: Samples from 50 patients admitted between January 2016 and December 2016 were collected. The median age of participants was 68 years and the median NIHSS was 3. Multinomial regression identified serum Thrombospondin-1 as an independent predictor of stroke outcome (p=0.003). Baseline serum Thrombsopondin-1 was negatively associated with NIHSS at the time of admission (spearman rho correlation coefficient=0.272, p=0.032). Conclusion: Serum Thrombospondin-1 at the time of admission may be a useful marker of stroke severity that predicts more severe neurologic severity.

Keywords: thrombospondin, stroke, neuroprotection, biomarkers

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Adnan A. E. Darwish

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The predatory potential and preference of both larvae and adult of seven-spot ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus and the eleven-spot ladybird, Coccinella undecimpunctata Linnaeus to the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, the bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (Linnaeus) and onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman were investigated under laboratory conditions at varying prey densities at faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour university, Egypt. There were significant differences between the consumed numbers of the four different species by the two different lady beetle species. The most consumed prey by C. septempunctata was the A. gossypii followed by R. padi then M. persicae and finally T. tabaci and these results were repeated in case of C. undecimpunctata. As the grubs of C. septempunctata and C. undecimpunctata developed from 1st to 4th larval instars, the consumption rate from aphid species and thrips increased. The consumption rate of M. persicae, A. gossypii, R. padi and T. tabaci significantly increased with the advancement in the larval stage of the predator. The forth larval instar of C. septempunctata and C. undecimpunctata exhibited the highest predatory potential comparing to the first, second and third larval instars. The number of prey eaten by adult stage or different instars of larvae of the two predators increased significantly with prey density, reaching the maximum value when 150 preys were provided compared with 50 and 100 preys.

Keywords: predatory potential, Coccinella septempunctata, Coccinella undecimpunctata, Thrips tabaci, Myzus persicae, Aphis gossypii, Rhopalosiphum padi

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Authors: Fourar Ali, Fourar Fatima Zohra

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Knowledge of sediment characteristics is fundamental to understanding their sedimentary functioning: sedimentation, settlement, and erosion processes of cohesive sediments are controlled by complex interactions between physical, chemical, and biological factors. Sediment transport is of primary importance in river hydraulics and river engineering. Indeed, the displacement of sediments can lead to lasting modifications of the bed in terms of its elevation, slope and roughness. The protection of a bank, for example, is likely to initiate a local incision of the river bed, which, in turn, can lead to the subsidence of the bank. The flows in the natural environment occur in general with heterogeneous boundary conditions because of the distribution of the roughnesses of the fixed or mobile bottoms and of the important deformations of the free surface, especially for the flows with a weak draft considering the irregularity of the bottom. Bedforms significantly influence flow resistance. The arrangement of particles lining the bottom of the stream bed or experimental channel generates waveforms of different sizes that lead to changes in roughness and consequently spatial variability in the turbulent characteristics of the flow. The study which is focused on the laws of friction in alluvial beds, aims to analyze the characteristics of flows and materials constituting the natural channels. Experimental results were obtained by simulating these flows on a rough bottom in an experimental channel at the Hydraulics Laboratory of the University of Batna 2. The system of equations governing the problem is solved using the program named: CLIPPER.5 and ACP.

Keywords: free surface flow, heterogeneous sand, moving bottom bed, friction coefficient, bottom roughness

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Steven Kelly

Abstract:

A fundament role of the researcher is research engagement, that is, the interaction between researchers and research end-users outside of academia for the mutually beneficial transfer of knowledge, technologies, methods, or resources. While research impact is the contribution that research makes to the economy, society, environment, or culture beyond the contribution to academic research. Ironically, traditional impact metrics in the academy are designed to focus on the outputs; it dismisses the important role engagement plays in fostering a collaborative process that leads to meaningful, ethical, and useful impacts. Dr. Kelly, aNanda (First Nations) man himself, has worked closely with the Nanda community over the past decade, ensuring cultural protocols are upheld and implemented while doing research engagement. The focus was on the process, which was essential to foster a positive research impact culture. The contributions that flowed from this process were the naming of a new species of squat lobster in the Nanda language, a poster design in collaboration with The University of Melbourne, Museums Victoria and Bundiyarra - IrraWanga language centre, media coverage, and the formation of the “Nanda language, Nanda country project”. The Nanda language, Nanda country project is a language revitalization project that focused on reconnecting Nanda people with the language & culture on Nanda Country. Such outcomes are imperative on the eve of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages. In this paperDr, Kellywill discuss howNanda cultural practicesinformed research engagement to foster a collaborative processthat, in turn, ledto meaningful, ethical, and useful impacts within and outside of the academy.

Keywords: community collaboration, indigenous, nanda, research engagement, research impacts

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Ilham Ihoume, Rachid Tadili, Nora Arbaoui

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The use of solar energy is a crucial tactic in the agricultural industry's plan ‎‎to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. This clean source of energy can ‎greatly lower the sector's carbon footprint and make a significant impact in ‎the ‎fight against climate change. In this regard, this study examines the ‎effects ‎of a solar-based heating system, in a north-south oriented agricultural ‎green‎house on the development of strawberry plants during winter. This ‎system ‎relies on the circulation of water as a heat transfer fluid in a closed ‎circuit ‎installed on the greenhouse roof to store heat during the day and ‎release it ‎inside at night. A comparative experimental study was conducted ‎in two ‎greenhouses, one experimental with the solar heating system and the ‎other ‎for control without any heating system. Both greenhouses are located ‎on the ‎terrace of the Solar Energy and Environment Laboratory of the ‎Mohammed ‎V University in Rabat, Morocco. The developed heating system ‎consists of a ‎copper coil inserted in double glazing and placed on the roof of ‎the greenhouse, a water pump circulator, a battery, and a photovoltaic solar ‎panel to ‎power the electrical components. This inexpensive and ‎environmentally ‎friendly system allows the greenhouse to be heated during ‎the winter and ‎improves its microclimate system. This improvement resulted ‎in an increase ‎in the air temperature inside the experimental greenhouse by 6 ‎‎°C and 8 °C, ‎and a reduction in its relative humidity by 23% and 35% ‎compared to the ‎control greenhouse and the ambient air, respectively, ‎throughout the winter. ‎For the agronomic performance, it was observed that ‎the production was 17 ‎days earlier than in the control greenhouse‎.‎

Keywords: sustainability, thermal energy storage, solar energy, agriculture greenhouse

Procedia PDF Downloads 88

Authors: Charlotte Brenner, Fisayo Latilo, McKenna Causey

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This study explores the transformation of teacher candidates' beliefs regarding inclusion and inclusive teaching practices during their instructional and practicum experiences in the Canadian context. With the increasing diversity of schools, the study investigates how teacher candidates' beliefs impact their implementation of inclusive teaching practices, which are essential for meeting diverse student needs. The research examines the influence of teacher education programs, transformative learning experiences, and inclusive practicum placements on teacher candidates' beliefs about inclusion. Using a multiple case study approach, the study assesses teacher candidates' initial beliefs, documents changes in these beliefs after coursework on inclusion, and explores the supports and constraints affecting belief development in both university and practicum settings. Preliminary findings suggest that teacher candidates generally hold positive beliefs about inclusion at the outset of their teacher education programs. However, coursework and practicum experiences significantly shape their understanding of diversity, strategies for inclusion, and awareness of broader social issues related to inclusive classrooms. The research underscores the critical role of teacher education programs in shaping teacher candidates' beliefs about inclusion and highlights the value of transformative learning experiences and inclusive practicum placements in enhancing their understanding of equity and inclusion. Continued research is necessary to identify specific elements within courses and practicum experiences that promote positive beliefs about inclusive teaching practices, ultimately contributing to the creation of more equitable classrooms and improved student outcomes.

Keywords: inclusion, beliefs, teacher candidates, inclusive teaching practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 71