Search results for: Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP)

Authors: Talha Ali Khan

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This paper presents an adaptive neuro-fuzzy interference system (ANFIS), which is applied to a hybrid stepper motor (HSM) to regulate its speed. The dynamic response of the HSM with the ANFIS controller is studied during the starting process and under different load disturbance. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is compared with that of the conventional PI controller. The proposed method solves the problem of nonlinearities and load changes of the HSM drives. The proposed controller ensures fast and precise dynamic response with an excellent steady state performance. Matlab/Simulink program is used for this dynamic simulation study.

Keywords: stepper motor, hybrid, ANFIS, speed control

Procedia PDF Downloads 532

Authors: Sabo Elizabeth

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Cowpea production is presently mainly done with inorganic insecticides, but the growing environmental problems linked with their use and the rising costs of the chemicals are stimulating all categories of stakeholders towards the adoption of less impacting practices. 611 respondents were interviewed between 2008 and 2009. Respondents are young adults and are fairly educated. Awareness is high about insecticide use, but is low for bio-pesticides and resistant varieties. Adoption of inorganic insecticides is related to age, educational level, and contacts with dealers. Low adoption rate for resistant varieties is associated with inadequate information and poor extension service. To adopt IPM techniques with limited health hazards and compatible with the environment, a properly designed extension program is consequently needed.

Keywords: Vigna unguiculata, IPM, bio-pesticides, resistant varieties, extension

Procedia PDF Downloads 311

Authors: Cinthia G. P. Calou, Franz J. Antezana, Ana I. O. Nicolau, Eveliny S. Martins, Paula R. A. L. Soares, Glauberto S. Quirino, Dayanne R. Oliveira, Priscila S. Aquino, Régia C. M. B. Castro, Ana K. B. Pinheiro

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Introduction: As an integral part of the health-disease process, gestation is a period in which the social insertion of women can influence, in a positive or negative way, the course of the pregnancy-puerperal cycle. Thus, evaluating the quality of life of this population can redirect the implementation of innovative practices in the quest to make them more effective and real for the promotion of a more humanized care. This study explores the associations between the obstetric factors with affected areas of health-related quality of life of pregnant women with habitual risk. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, quantitative study conducted in three public facilities and a private service that provides prenatal care in the city of Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. The sample consisted of 261 pregnant women who underwent low-risk prenatal care and were interviewed from September to November 2014. The collection instruments were a questionnaire containing socio-demographic and obstetric variables, in addition to the Brazilian version of the Mother scale Generated Index (MGI) characterized by being a specific and objective instrument, consisting of a single sheet and subdivided into three stages. It allows identifying the areas of life of the pregnant woman that are most affected, which could go unnoticed by the pre-formulated measurement instruments. The obstetric data, as well as the data concerning the application of the MGI scale, were compiled and analyzed through the statistical program Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0. After the compilation, a descriptive analysis was carried out. Then, associations were made between some variables. The tests applied were the Pearson Chi-Square and the Fisher's exact test. The odds ratio was also calculated. These associations were considered statistically significant when the p (probability) value was less than or equal to a level of 5% (α = 0.05) in the tests performed. Results: The variables that negatively reflected the quality of life of the pregnant women and presented a significant association with the polaciuria were: gestational age (p = 0.022) and parity (p = 0.048). Episodes of nausea and vomiting also showed significant with gestational age correlation (p = 0.0001). Evaluating the crossing of stress, we observed a significant association with parity (p = 0.0001). In turn, emotional lability revealed dependence on the variable type of delivery (p = 0.009). Conclusion: The health professionals involved in the assistance to the pregnant woman can understand how the process of gestation is experienced, considering all its peculiar transformations; to meet their individual needs, stimulating their autonomy and their power of choice, envisaging the achievement of a better quality of life related to health in the perspective of health promotion.

Keywords: health-related quality of life, obstetric nursing, pregnant women, prenatal care

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: Nattapol Pourprasert

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This study has an objective to analyze foreign policy of member states in globalization current, aiming to answer that the foreign policy of member states have been changed or remained the same and there are any factors affecting changing of foreign policy of the member states. From the study results, it is found that the foreign policy of Thailand is a friendly foreign policy with all states. The policy of Indonesia is more opened because of a change in leader, allowing more democratic development in the country; the government has proceeded with friendly foreign policy with the states in order to bring funds into the state. The foreign policy of Malaysia is not much changed as there is no changing in the leader; the policy of Malaysia has reconciled relations with main city of Indian and Chinese residing in the country in order to bring investments into the country and to relieve tensions in the country. The foreign policy of the Philippines has proceeded with policy under the ASEAN framework and emphasized on international Islam communities. The foreign policy of Singapore has the least changed as the Singapore's policy focuses on internal trade since the state was found. As for the foreign policy of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei has a little role in the international stage; the state having closest relationship as from the view of history is Singapore as the Singaporean has invested in retailing business in Brunei. The foreign policy of Vietnam has emphasized on an omnidirectional foreign policy in order to compete with several states in global stage. The foreign policy of Myanmar has proceeded with a friendly foreign policy with all ASEAN member states, the East-west Corridor transportation line from Myanmar through Thailand and Lao to Vietnam has been developed. As for the foreign policy of Lao, In 2001, the Thai government and Lao government held a discussion which Thailand reaffirmed the position not to support the anti-Lao group. The foreign policy of Cambodia has proceeded with more openness, having good relation with China, Russia and USA as these states has invested in the state, especially the US company.

Keywords: globalization, public policy analysis, foreign policy, ASEAN member states

Procedia PDF Downloads 508

Authors: Ali Dinarveis

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This paper compares the energy and exergy efficiency of a vapour compression refrigeration system using refrigerants of different groups. In this study, five different refrigerants including R507A, R134a, R114, R22 and R717 have been studied. EES Program is used to solve the thermodynamic equations. The results of this analysis are shown graphically. Based on the results, energy and exergy efficiencies for R717 are higher than the other refrigerants. Also, the energy and exergy efficiencies will be decreased with increasing the condensing temperature and decreasing the evaporating temperature.

Keywords: Energy, Exergy, Refrigeration, thermodynamic, vapour

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Denise Levy, Gian M. A. A. Sordi

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This web based project focuses on continuing corporate education and improving workers' skills in Brazilian radioactive facilities throughout the country. The potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) shall contribute to improve the global communication in this very large country, where it is a strong challenge to ensure high quality professional information to as many people as possible. The main objective of this system is to provide Brazilian radioactive facilities a complete web-based repository - in Portuguese - for research, consultation and information, offering conditions for learning and improving professional and personal skills. UNIPRORAD is a web based system to offer unified programs and inter-related information about radiological protection programs. The content includes the best practices for radioactive facilities in order to meet both national standards and international recommendations published by different organizations over the past decades: International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). The website counts on concepts, definitions and theory about optimization and ionizing radiation monitoring procedures. Moreover, the content presents further discussions related to some national and international recommendations, such as potential exposure, which is currently one of the most important research fields in radiological protection. Only two publications of ICRP develop expressively the issue and there is still a lack of knowledge of fail probabilities, for there are still uncertainties to find effective paths to quantify probabilistically the occurrence of potential exposures and the probabilities to reach a certain level of dose. To respond to this challenge, this project discusses and introduces potential exposures in a more quantitative way than national and international recommendations. Articulating ICRP and AIEA valid recommendations and official reports, in addition to scientific papers published in major international congresses, the website discusses and suggests a number of effective actions towards safety which can be incorporated into labor practice. The WEB platform was created according to corporate public needs, taking into account the development of a robust but flexible system, which can be easily adapted to future demands. ICTs provide a vast array of new communication capabilities and allow to spread information to as many people as possible at low costs and high quality communication. This initiative shall provide opportunities for employees to increase professional skills, stimulating development in this large country where it is an enormous challenge to ensure effective and updated information to geographically distant facilities, minimizing costs and optimizing results.

Keywords: distance learning, information and communication technology, nuclear science, radioactive facilities

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Moses Ikechukwu Benjamin

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The continued increase in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcuspseudintermedius (MRSP) among dogs and the zoonotic transmission event of MRSP from dogs to humans threaten veterinary medicine and public health. The cardinal objective of this study was to determine the antibiogram and frequency of toxingenes in MRSP obtained from shelter dogs with skin infections and dog owners in Abakaliki, Eastern Nigeria. Skinswabs from 61 shelter dogs with skin infections and 33 nasal swabs from dog owners were processed and analyzed using standard microbiological techniques. Susceptibility to antibiotics was determined by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique. The screening for Seccanine, lukD, siet, and exitoxin genes was carried out by PCR. A total of 23 (37.7 %) and 1 (3 %) MRSP strains were obtained from shelter dogs and dog owners, respectively. Generally, isolates exhibited high resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftazidime, and cefepime (100 % - 66.7 %) but were very susceptible (100 % - 70.7 %) to chloramphenicol and doripenem. The only isolate from dog owners harbouredseccanine, lukD, and siet toxin genes while solatesfrom shelter dogs harbouredseccanine16 (69.6 %), lukD 17 (73.9 %), siet 20 (87 %), and exi1 (4.4 %) toxin genes. Isolates were generally observed to be more resistant than other reports from the literature. Interesting, there was a similarity in the resistance antibiotypes and frequency of toxin genes harboured by MRSP isolates between shelter dogs with skin infections and their owner in a sampled household, thus suggesting a likely zoonotic transmission event. This report of the occurrence of MRSP and high frequency of toxin genes (Seccanine,lukD, and siet) in shelter dogs and dog owners represent a major challenge, especially in terms of antibiotic therapy, and is a serious concern for both animal and public health.

Keywords: methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius, zoonotic transmission, antibiotic resistance, companion dogs, toxin genes

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: D. Touil, L. Ouadah

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An industrial model of cement grinding circuit is proposed on the basis of sampling surveys undertaken in the Meftah cement plant in Algiers, Algeria. The ball mill is described by a series of equal fully mixed stages that incorporates the effect of air sweeping. The kinetic parameters of this material in the energy normalized form obtained using the data of batch dry ball milling are taken into account in developing the present scale-up procedure. The dynamic separator is represented by the air classifier selectivity equation corrected by empirical factors. The model is incorporated in computer program that predict full size distributions and mass flow rates for all streams in a circuit under a particular set of operating conditions.

Keywords: grinding circuit, clinker, cement, modeling, population balance, energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 512

Authors: Stefanie Santorsola, Natasha Frank

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Improving healthcare safety necessitates examining current trends and beliefs about safety and devising strategies to improve. Errors in healthcare continue to increase and be experienced by patients, which is preventable and directly correlated to a breakdown in healthcare communication. TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based process designed to improve the quality and safety of healthcare by improving communication and team processes. Communication is at the core of effective team collaboration and is vital for patient safety. TeamSTEPPS offers insights and strategies for improving communication and teamwork and reducing preventable errors to create a safer healthcare environment for patients. The academic, clinical, and educational environment for nursing students is vital in preparing them for professional practice by providing them with foundational knowledge and abilities. This environment provides them with a prime opportunity to learn about errors and the importance of effective communication to enhance patient safety, as nursing students are often unprepared to deal with errors. Proactively introducing and discussing errors through a supportive culture during the nursing student’s academic beginnings has the potential to carry key concepts into practice to improve and enhance patient safety. TeamSTEPPS has been used globally and has collectively positively impacted improvements in patient safety and teamwork. A workshop study was introduced in winter 2023 of registered practical nurses (RPN) students bridging to the baccalaureate nursing program; the majority of the RPNs in the bridging program were actively employed in a variety of healthcare facilities during the semester. The workshop study did receive academic institution ethics board approval, and participants signed a consent form prior to participating in the study. The premise of the workshop was to introduce TeamSTEPPS and a variety of strategies to these students and have students keep a reflective journal to incorporate the presented communication strategies in their practicum setting and keep a reflective journal on the effect and outcomes of the strategies in the healthcare setting. Findings from the workshop study supported the objective of the project, resulting in students verbalizing notable improvements in team functioning in the healthcare environment resulting from the incorporation of enhanced communication strategies from TeamSTEPPS that they were introduced to in the workshop study. Implication for educational institutions is the potential of further advancing the safety literacy and abilities of nursing students in preparing them for entering the workforce and improving safety for patients.

Keywords: teamstepps, education, patient safety, communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 44

Authors: Lisa Robins, Jill Newby, Kay Wilhelm, Therese Fletcher, Jessica Smith, Trevor Ma, Adam Finch, Lesley Campbell, Jerry Greenfield, Gavin Andrews

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Background:Depression treatment for people living with depression comorbid with diabetes is of critical importance for improving quality of life and diabetes self-management, however depression remains under-recognised and under-treated in this population. Cost—effective and accessible forms of depression treatment that can enhance the delivery of mental health services in routine diabetes care are needed. Provision of internet-delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (iCBT) provides a promising way to deliver effective depression treatment to people with diabetes. Aims:To explore the outcomes of the clinician assisted iCBT program for people with comorbid Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and diabetes compared to those who remain under usual care. The main hypotheses are that: (1) Participants in the treatment group would show a significant improvement on disorder specific measures (Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9) relative to those in the control group; (2) Participants in the treatment group will show a decrease in diabetes-related distress relative to those in the control group. This study will also examine: (1) the effect of iCBT for MDD on disability (as measured by the SF-12 and SDS), general distress (as measured by the K10), (2) the feasibility of these treatments in terms of acceptability to diabetes patients and practicality for clinicians (as measured by the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire; CEQ). We hypothesise that associated disability, and general distress will reduce, and that patients with comorbid MDD and diabetes will rate the program as acceptable. Method:Recruit 100 people with MDD comorbid with diabetes (either Type 1 or Type 2), and randomly allocate to: iCBT (over 10 weeks) or treatment as usual (TAU) for 10 weeks, then iCBT. Measure pre- and post-intervention MDD severity, anxiety, diabetes-related distress, distress, disability, HbA1c, lifestyle, adherence, satisfaction with clinicians input and the treatment. Results:Preliminary results comparing MDD symptom levels, anxiety, diabetes-specific distress, distress, disability, HbA1c levels, and lifestyle factors from baseline to conclusion of treatment will be presented, as well as data on adherence to the lessons, homework downloads, satisfaction with the clinician's input and satisfaction with the mode of treatment generally.

Keywords: cognitive behaviour therapy, depression, diabetes, internet

Procedia PDF Downloads 479

Authors: Mansouri Nabila, Ben Jemaa Yousra, Motamed Cina, Watelain Eric

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Research and development efforts in intelligent Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) seek to save lives and reduce the number of on-road fatalities. For traffic and emergency monitoring, the essential but challenging task is vehicle detection and tracking in reasonably short time. This purpose needs first of all a powerful dynamic car detector model. In fact, this paper presents an optimized HOG process based on shape and motion parameters fusion. Our proposed approach mains to compute HOG by bloc feature from foreground blobs using configurable research window and pathway in order to overcome the shortcoming in term of computing time of HOG descriptor and improve their dynamic application performance. Indeed we prove in this paper that HOG by bloc descriptor combined with motion parameters is a very suitable car detector which reaches in record time a satisfactory recognition rate in dynamic outside area and bypasses several popular works without using sophisticated and expensive architectures such as GPU and FPGA.

Keywords: car-detector, HOG, motion, computing time

Procedia PDF Downloads 310

Authors: Nazeef, Suleiman, Umar, Danladi Muhammad, Ja'afar Ali, Zaliha Adamu Umar

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The population dynamics of Auchenoglanis occidentalis from the Dadin-Kowa reservoir were studied. Population dynamic parameters such as growth, mortality and recruitment patterns were analyzed using length frequency data over a 12-month period employing FiSAT II software. Findings revealed that LWR (b - constant) = 2.88, K = 0.72 -yr., L∞ = 40.91 cm and Tmax = 3.57 years and Ɵ’ = 3.14. Mortality indices revealed that natural mortality (M = 1.39), fishing mortality (F = 0.22) and exploitation ratio (E = 0.14), Lc/L∞ = 0.48, Emax = 0.64, while Lopt = 26.4 cm. Uni-modal recruitment peak observed with Lm = 27.3 cm. A restocking program is suitable to ensure its continuous existence as it seems to have a low population.

Keywords: fish population dynamics, auchenoglanis occidentalis, FISAT II, natural mortality

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Authors: Paulo Roberto Vasconcellos-Silva

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The "Janeiro Roxo" (Purple January) campaign in Brazil aims to promote awareness of leprosy and its early symptoms. The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected institutional campaigns, mostly considering leprosy a neglected disease by the media. Google Trends (GT) is a tool that tracks user searches on Google, providing insights into the popularity of specific search terms. Our prior research has categorized online searches into two types: "Reactive searches," driven by transient campaign-related stimuli, and "Proactive searches," driven by personal interest in early symptoms and self-diagnosis. Using GT we studied: (i) the impact of "Janeiro Roxo" on public interest in leprosy (assessed through reactive searches) and its early symptoms (evaluated through proactive searches) over the past five years; (ii) changes in public interest during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; (iii) patterns in the dynamics of reactive and proactive searches Methods: We used GT's "Relative Search Volume" (RSV) to gauge public interest on a scale from 0 to 100. "HANSENÍASE" (HAN) was a proxy for reactive searches, and "HANSENÍASE SINTOMAS" (leprosy symptoms) (H.SIN) for proactive searches (interest in leprosy or in self-diagnosis). We analyzed 261 weeks of data from 2018 to 2023, using polynomial trend lines to model trends over this period. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare weekly RSV, monthly (MM) and annual means (AM). Results: Over a span of 261 weeks, there was consistently higher Relative Search Volume (RSV) for HAN compared to H.SIN. Both search terms exhibited their highest (MM) in January months during all periods. COVID-19 pandemic: a decline was observed during the pandemic years (2020-2021). There was a 24% decrease in RSV for HAN and a 32.5% decrease for H.SIN. Both HAN and H.SIN regained their pre-pandemic search levels in January 2022-2023. Breakpoints indicated abrupt changes - in the 26th week (February 2019), 55th and 213th weeks (September 2019 and 2022) related to September regional campaigns (interrupted in 2020-2021). Trend lines for HAN exhibited an upward curve between 33rd-45th week (April to June 2019), a pandemic-related downward trend between 120th-136th week (December 2020 to March 2021), and an upward trend between 220th-240th week (November 2022 to March 2023). Conclusion: The "Janeiro Roxo" campaign, along with other media-driven activities, exerts a notable influence on both reactive and proactive searches related to leprosy topics. Reactive searches, driven by campaign stimuli, significantly outnumber proactive searches. Despite the interruption of the campaign due to the pandemic, there was a subsequent resurgence in both types of searches. The recovery observed in reactive and proactive searches post-campaign interruption underscores the effectiveness of such initiatives, particularly at the national level. This suggests that regional campaigns aimed at leprosy awareness can be considered highly successful in stimulating proactive public engagement. The evaluation of internet-based campaign programs proves valuable not only for assessing their impact but also for identifying the needs of vulnerable regions. These programs can play a crucial role in integrating regions and highlighting their needs for assistance services in the context of leprosy awareness.

Keywords: health communication, leprosy, health campaigns, information seeking behavior, Google Trends, reactive searches, proactive searches, leprosy early identification

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Authors: Mohamed Laamim, Abdelilah Rochd, Aboubakr Benazzouz, Abderrahim El Fadili

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Smart grids have recently sparked a lot of interest in the energy sector as they allow for the modernization and digitization of the existing power infrastructure. Smart grids have several advantages in terms of reducing the environmental impact of generating power from fossil fuels due to their capacity to integrate large amounts of distributed energy resources. On the other hand, smart grid technologies necessitate many field investigations and requirements. This paper focuses on the major difficulties that governments face around the world and compares them to the situation in Morocco. Also presented in this study are the current works and projects being developed to improve the penetration of smart grid technologies into the electrical system. Furthermore, the findings of this study will be useful to promote the smart grid revolution in Morocco, as well as to construct a strong foundation and develop future needs for better penetration of technologies that aid in the integration of smart grid features.

Keywords: smart grids, microgrids, virtual power plants, digital twin, distributed energy resources, vehicle-to-grid, advanced metering infrastructure.

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Oluwaseun Ijiwade, Chris Davison, Kelvin Gregory

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In Australia, like other parts of the world, the debate on how to enhance teachers using assessment data to inform teaching and learning of English as an Additional Language (EAL, Australia) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL, United States) have occupied the centre of academic scholarship. Traditionally, this approach was conceptualised as ‘Formative Assessment’ and, in recent times, ‘Assessment for Learning (AfL)’. The central problem is that teacher-made tests are limited in providing data that can inform teaching and learning due to variability of classroom assessments, which are hindered by teachers’ characteristics and assessment literacy. To address this concern, scholars in language education and testing have proposed a uniformed large-scale computer-based assessment program to meet the needs of teachers and promote AfL in language education. In Australia, for instance, the Victoria state government commissioned a large-scale project called 'Tools to Enhance Assessment Literacy (TEAL) for Teachers of English as an additional language'. As part of the TEAL project, a tool called ‘Reading and Vocabulary assessment for English as an Additional Language (RVEAL)’, as a diagnostic language assessment (DLA), was developed by language experts at the University of New South Wales for teachers in Victorian schools to guide EAL pedagogy in the classroom. Therefore, this study aims to provide qualitative evidence for understanding beliefs about the diagnostic language assessment (DLA) among EAL teachers in primary and secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. To realize this goal, this study raises the following questions: (a) How do teachers use large-scale assessment data for diagnostic purposes? (b) What skills do language teachers think are necessary for using assessment data for instruction in the classroom? and (c) What factors, if any, contribute to teachers’ beliefs about diagnostic assessment in a large-scale assessment? Semi-structured interview method was used to collect data from at least 15 professional teachers who were selected through a purposeful sampling. The findings from the resulting data analysis (thematic analysis) provide an understanding of teachers’ beliefs about DLA in a classroom context and identify how these beliefs are crystallised in language teachers. The discussion shows how the findings can be used to inform professional development processes for language teachers as well as informing important factor of teacher cognition in the pedagogic processes of language assessment. This, hopefully, will help test developers and testing organisations to align the outcome of this study with their test development processes to design assessment that can enhance AfL in language education.

Keywords: beliefs, diagnostic language assessment, English as an additional language, teacher cognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Georgi Kalandadze

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For studying the development of world civilizations, textual sources that have undergone textological and worldview changes are of great importance. The conference will discuss the collection of the XVIII century "The Golden Spring", compiled by Gabriel Mtsire, which includes texts of John Chrysostom. John Chrysostom lived in the 4th century and his writings correspond to the culture of readers of that time. In the 10th-11th centuries, the works of John Chrysostom were translated into Georgian by Euthymius of Athos. These texts correspond to the requirements of the Georgian society of the 10th-11th centuries. In the 18th century, Gabriel Mtsire collected and edited these texts to make them more understandable to his modern readers. In the 20th century, these texts were again adapted. Thus, the present study provides an opportunity to evaluate and outline the linguistic and content transformation process of the same work over 16 centuries.

Keywords: gabriel mtsire, john chrysostom, euthymius the athonite, the golden spring

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Authors: Charita Jashi

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The aim of the paper is to explore the role of social marketing in changing the behavior of consumers on road safety, identify critical aspects and priority needs which impede the implementation of road safety program in Georgia. Given the goals of the study, a quantitative method was used to carry out interviews for primary data collection. This research identified the awareness level of road safety, legislation base, and marketing interventions to change behavior of drivers and pedestrians. During several years the non-governmental sector together with the local authorities and media have been very intensively working on the road safety issue in Georgia, but only seat-belts campaign should be considered rather successful. Despite achievements in this field, efficiency of road safety programs far from fulfillment and needs strong empowering.

Keywords: road safety, social marketing interventions, behavior change, well-being

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Harche Rima, Laoufi Nadia Aicha

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This work focuses on the study and modeling of the fouling phenomenon in a vertical pipe. In the first step, milk is one of the fluids obeying the phenomenon of fouling because of the denaturation of these proteins, especially lactoglobulin, which is the active element of milk, and to facilitate its use, we chose to study milk as a fouling fluid. In another step, we consider the test section of our installation as a tubular-type heat exchanger that works against the current and in a closed circuit. A simple mathematical model of Kern & Seaton, based on the kinetics of the fouling resistance, was used to evaluate the influence of the operating parameters (fluid flow velocity and exchange wall temperature) on the fouling resistance. The influence of the variation of the fouling resistance with the operating conditions on the efficiency of the heat exchanger and the importance of the dirty state exchange coefficient as an exchange quality control parameter were discussed and examined. On the other hand, an electronic scanning microscope analysis was performed on the milk deposit in order to obtain its actual image and composition, which allowed us to calculate the thickness of this deposit.

Keywords: fouling, milk, tubular heat exchanger, fouling resistance

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Authors: Piyanut Suchit

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The purposes of this study was to investigate students’ satisfaction learning with the web based instruction on the puppet show. The population of this study includes 53 students in the Program of Library and Information Sciences who registered in the subject of Puppet for Assisting Learning Development in semester 2/2011, Suansunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand. The research instruments consist of web based instruction on the puppet show, and questionnaires for students’ satisfaction. The research statistics includes arithmetic mean, and standard deviation. The results revealed that the students reported very high satisfaction with mean = 4.63, SD = 0.52, on the web based instruction.

Keywords: puppet show, web based instruction, satisfaction, Suansunandha Rajabhat University

Procedia PDF Downloads 377

Authors: O. Boussoufi, K. Lamrini Uahabi, M. Atounti

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The main purpose of this paper is to calculate the fractal dimension of some Julia Sets and Mandelbrot Set in the Misiurewicz Points. Using Matlab to generate the Julia Sets images that match the Misiurewicz points and using a Fractal software, we were able to find different measures that characterize those fractals in textures and other features. We are actually focusing on fractal dimension and the error calculated by the software. When executing the given equation of regression or the log-log slope of image a Box Counting method is applied to the entire image, and chosen settings are available in a FracLAc Program. Finally, a comparison is done for each image corresponding to the area (boundary) where Misiurewicz Point is located.

Keywords: box counting, FracLac, fractal dimension, Julia Sets, Mandelbrot Set, Misiurewicz Points

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Authors: Farida Naceur

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Algerian cities experienced after the independence of the country a rapid urbanisation process fostered by population growth. In order to deal with the severe housing shortage resulted, large social public housing programs totally financed by the government were launched across the country during the eighty. Unfortunately, the standardized multistory buildings produced underwent intense deterioration and turned very quickly after their occupancy into sources of nuisance and distress. The government adopted a new housing policy in 2000, which aims to diversify housing types according to household incomes and encourage access to housing property. The model of participatory social housing emerged; it was designed for the intermediate groups, allowing them to benefit from direct financial aid and to borrow credit from banks in order to purchase their dwellings. Twenty years afterward, no assessment to date has been established to evaluate the real impact of such a strategy. The aim of this paper is to examine whether this type of housing helped to stimulate a participative dynamism among its occupants to strengthen their commitment, their involvement in the maintenance and keeping of their surroundings. For the purpose of the study, we focus our attention on various participatory social housing settlements in Batna and Biskra, two medium-sized cities in eastern Algeria. The investigation is structured in various types of analysis: a spatial analysis, observations, interviews with public authorities representatives, chief planners, and experts. In addition to this, informal interviews with occupants of various participatory social housing settlements were arranged to collect qualitative data. Occupants were asked open questions focusing on their daily life and practices in order to examine their degree of involvement in their neighbourhood’s life.

Keywords: participatory social housing, rental social housing, involvement, maintenance, social interactions, community life

Procedia PDF Downloads 23

Authors: Kimberly Tasha Jiayi Tang, Changqing Lin, Zhe Wang, Tze-Wai Wong, Md. Shakhaoat Hossain, Jian Yu, Alexis Lau

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Hong Kong has practiced a risk-based Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) system that sums hospitalization risks associated with short-term exposure to air pollu-tants. As an air pollution risk communication tool, it informs the public about the current air quality, anchoring around the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2005 Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs). Given the WHO's recent update in 2021, assessing how Hong Kong’s air quality risk communication can be en-hanced using these updated guidelines is essential. Hong Kong’s AQHI is lim-ited by solely focusing on short-term health risks, which could lead the public to underestimate cumulative health impacts. Therefore, we propose the intro-duction of a composite AQHI that reports both long-term and short-term health risks. Additionally, the WHO interim targets will be considered as anchor points for various health risk categories. Furthermore, with the increasing ozone levels in Hong Kong and Southern China due to improved NOx mitigation measures, it has been a challenging task in balancing health protection against climate mitigation. However, our findings present a promising outlook. Despite the rise in ozone levels, the combined health risks in Hong Kong and Guang-dong have seen a decline, largely due to reductions in NO2 and PM concentra-tions, both having significant health implications. By shifting from a concentra-tion-based approach to a health risk-based system like the AQHI, our study highlights the prospective of harmonizing health protection and climate mitiga-tion goals. This health-focused framework suggests that rigorous NOx controls can effective-ly serve both objectives in parallel.

Keywords: air quality management, air quality health index, health risk management, air pollution

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Authors: Saeeda Batool, Ather Maqsood Ahmed

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This study investigates the impact of public healthcare facilities and socio-economic circumstances on the status of child health in Pakistan. The complete analysis is carried out in correspondence with fourth and sixth millennium development goals. Further, the health variables chosen are also inherited from targeted indicators of the mentioned goals (MDGs). Trends in the Human Opportunity Index (HOI) for both health inequalities and coverage are analyzed using the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PLSM) data set for 2001-02 to 2012-13 at the national and provincial level. To reveal the relative importance of each circumstance in achieving the targeted values for child health, Shorrocks decomposition is applied on HOI. The annual point average growth rate of HOI is used to simulate the time period for the achievement of target set by MDGs and universal access also. The results indicate an improvement in HOI for a reduction in child mortality rates from 52.1% in 2001-02 to 67.3% in 2012-13, which confirms the availability of healthcare opportunities to a larger segment of society. Similarly, immunization against measles and other diseases such as Diphtheria, Polio, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), and Hepatitis has also registered an improvement from 51.6% to 69.9% during the period of study at the national level. On a positive note, no gender disparity has been found for child health indicators and that health outcome is mostly affected by the parental and geographical features and availability of health infrastructure. However, the study finds that this achievement has been uneven across provinces. Pakistan is not only lagging behind in achieving its health goals, disappointingly with the current rate of health care provision, but it will take many additional years to achieve its targets.

Keywords: socio-economic circumstances, unmet MDGs, public healthcare services, child and infant mortality

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Authors: El Miloudi Djelloul

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Technology nowadays enables the remote access to laboratory equipment and instruments via Internet. This is especially useful in engineering education, where students can conduct laboratory experiment remotely. Such remote laboratory access can enable student to use expensive laboratory equipment, which is not usually available to students. In this paper, we present a method of creating a Web-based Remote Laboratory Experimentation in the master degree course “Wireless Communications Systems” which is part of “ICS (Information and Communication Systems)” and “Investment Management in Telecommunications” curriculums. This is done within the RIPLECS Project and the NI2011 FF005 Research Project “Implementation of Project-Based Learning in an Interdisciplinary Master Program”.

Keywords: remote access, remote laboratory, wireless telecommunications, external antenna-switching controller board (EASCB)

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Authors: Malavika Sundararajan

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This study introduces the use of mindfulness techniques in the classroom to make individuals aware of how the creative thinking process works, resulting in more constructive learning and application. Case observation method was utilized within a classroom setting in a graduate class in the Business School. It entailed, briefing the student participants about the use of a template called the dots and depths map, and having them complete it for themselves, compare it to their team members and reflect on the outputs. Finally, they were debriefed about the use of the template and its value to their learning and creative application process. The major finding is the increase in awareness levels of the participants following the use of the template, leading to a subsequent pursuit of diverse knowledge and acquisition of relevant information and not jumping to solutions directly, which increased their overall creative outputs for the given assignment. The significant value of this study is that it can be applied to any classroom on any subject as a powerful mindfulness tool which increases creative problem solving through constructive knowledge building.

Keywords: connecting dots, mindful awareness, constructive knowledge building, learning creatively

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Authors: P. H. G. J. Pushpakumara, A. M. P. Adikari, S. U. B. Tennakoon, Ranil Abeysinghe, Andrew Dawson

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Introduction: Deliberate Self-harm (DSH) is a global public health problem. Since 1950, suicide rates in Sri Lanka are among the highest national rates in the world. It has become an increasingly common response to emotional distress in young adults. However, it remains unclear the reason for this occurrence. Objectives: The descriptive component of this study was conducted to identify of epidemiological pattern of DSH and suicide in Kurunegala District (KD). Assessment of association between DSH socio-cultural, economical and psychological factors were the objectives of the case control component. Methods: Prospective data collection of DSH and suicide was conducted at all (46) hospitals and all (28) police stations in the KD for thirty six months, from 1st January 2011, as the descriptive component. Case control component was conducted at T.H. Kurunegala (THK) for eighteen months duration, from 1st July 2011. Cases (n=439) were randomly selected from a block of 7 consecutively admitted consenting DSP patients using a computer program. Age, sex and residential divisional secretariat division one to one matched, individuals were randomly selected as controls from patients presented to Out Patient Department. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I and II Disorders was used to diagnose psychiatric disorders. Validated tools were used to measure other constructs. Results: Suicide incidences in KD were, 21.6, 20.7 and 24.3 per 100,000 population in 2011- 2013 (Male:female ratio 5.7, 4.4 and 6.4). 60% of suicides were due to poisoning. DSP incidences were 205.4, 248.3 and 202.5 per 100,000 population in 2011- 2013. Highest age standardized male DSP incidence reported in 20-24 years (769.6/100,000) and female in 15-19 years (1304.0/100,000). Bing married (age >25 years), monthly family income less than Rs.30,000, not achieving G.C.E (O/L) qualifications, a school drop-out, not in a permanent position in occupation, being a manual and an own account worker, were significantly associated with DSP. Perceiving the quality of relationship as bad or very bad with parents, spouse/ girlfriend/ boyfriend and sibling as associated with 8, 40 and 10.5 times higher risk respectively. Feeling and experiences of neglect, other emotional abuses, feeling of insecurity with the family, in child hood, and having a contact history carried an excess risk for DSP. Cases were less likely to seek help. Further, they had significantly lower scores for life skills and life skills application ability. 25.6% DSH patients had DSM TR axis-I and/or TR axis-II disorder. The presence of psychiatric disorder carried 7.7 (95% CI 4.3 – 13.8) times higher risk for DSP. Conclusion: In general, pattern of DSH and suicide is, unique, different from developed, upper and middle income and lower and middle income countries. It is a learned way of expressing emotions in difficult situations of vulnerable people.

Keywords: deliberate self-harm, help-seeking, life-skills, mental- health, psychological, social, suicide

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Authors: Zheng Lulin, Xiong Guoping

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In recent years, agriculture, rural development, and peasants are among the top concerns and priorities of the Chinese Government. Several related issues have been paid many attentions by academic communities, including the impacts of corresponding policies on the rural villages, the mechanisms of these impacts, and the future development of rural society. However, most of the researchers focus on single rural policy instead of integral rural policy system. Hence, this dissertation focused on the mechanisms of policies’ influence on rural changes through a case study from Changfu Village in central Guangxi Province, China, to propose the optimized suggestions for rural development. Forty-three relevant pivotal policies of significant influence on rural development are summarized from literature and documents, covering five aspects of agricultural production, rural living security, open rural markets, rural household registration systems, and farmland transferring. Besides, having been live in this area for more than 20 years, researchers obtain the basic information about changing the social connection between citizens and villagers, the habitat of villagers by years of informal interviews. Furthermore, more than 200 questionnaires are given to villagers to analyze the changing of their personal and family information. The summary of rural policies revealed that the development trend of public rural policies followed the U-shape curve and these policies are characterized by economic intentions and operative economy. Report of questionnaires and interviews show that the development of rural economy was promoted greatly by public policies. Firstly, Social communication and rural culture were affected to a certain extent. Secondly, the educational level of rural individuals was significantly enhanced, whereas the quality of population had limited progress. Finally, the freedom of occupational choice for rural individuals into cities was greater than before, but still restricted by the class solidification of social background, resulting in more obstacles for rural individuals to settle down in cities. From what we discuss about, we may reach the conclusion on several perspectives: Firstly, the impact of the rural policies has a significant role in promoting the economy development of the rural area. However, separations between rural and urban area are still a major problem since rural policy contributed little to improve the rural population quality. Therefore, in the future, providing high quality educational facilities including teachers, libraries, and opportunities of broadening their knowledge base are key issues of future rural policy. Secondly, the development of rural economy would be a lack of driving force for further improvement owning to the fact that working hard couldn’t get more improvement. In the future, public policies should support the rural development of culture, technology, and personal qualities to create favorable social environment for the free increase of rural population.

Keywords: changing of rural area, rural development of China, rural policy, social environment

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Authors: R. Sadeghzadegan, S. A. Naeini, A. Mirzaii

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In this article, the results of a series of carefully conducted laboratory test program were represented to determine the small strain shear modulus of sand mixed with a range of kaolinite including zero to 30%. This was experimentally achieved using a triaxial cell equipped with bender element. Results indicate that small shear modulus tends to increase, while clay content decreases and effective confining pressure increases. The exponent of stress in the power model regression analysis was not sensitive to the amount of clay content for all sand clay mixtures, while coefficient A was directly affected by change in clay content.

Keywords: small shear modulus, bender element test, plastic fines, sand

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Authors: Deginet Aklilu, Tianqi Wang, Endwoke Amsalu, Wei Feng, Zhiwei Li, Xia Li, Lixin Tao, Yanxia Luo, Moning Guo, Xiangtong Liu, Xiuhua Guo

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Extreme temperature-related cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become a growing public health concern. However, the impact of temperature on the cause of specific CVDs has not been well studied in the study area. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of temperature on cause-specific cardiovascular hospital admissions in Beijing, China. We obtained data from 172 large general hospitals from the Beijing Public Health Information Center Cardiovascular Case Database and China. Meteorological Administration covering 16 districts in Beijing from 2013 to 2017. We used a time-stratified case crossover design with a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) to derive the impact of temperature on CVD in hospitals back to 27 days on CVD admissions. The temperature data were stratified as cold (extreme and moderate ) and hot (moderate and extreme ). Within five years (January 2013-December 2017), a total of 460,938 (male 54.9% and female 45.1%) CVD admission cases were reported. The exposure-response relationship for hospitalization was described by a "J" shape for the total and cause-specific. An increase in the six-day moving average temperature from moderate hot (30.2 °C) to extreme hot (36.9 °C) resulted in a significant increase in CVD admissions of 16.1%(95% CI = 12.8%-28.9%). However, the effect of cold temperature exposure on CVD admissions over a lag time of 0-27 days was found to be non significant, with a relative risk of 0.45 (95% CI = 0.378-0.55) for extreme cold (-8.5 °C)and 0.53 (95% CI = 0.47-0.60) for moderate cold (-5.6 °C). The results of this study indicate that exposure to extremely high temperatures is highly associated with an increase in cause-specific CVD admissions. These finding may guide to create and raise awareness of the general population, government and private sectors regarding on the effects of current weather conditions on CVD.

Keywords: admission, Beijing, cardiovascular diseases, distributed lag non linear model, temperature

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Authors: Euripides Antoniades

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In 1821, the Greek Revolution movement, under the political influence that arose from the French revolution, and the corresponding movements in Italy, Germany and America, demanded the liberation of the nation and the establishment of an independent national state. Published topics in the British press regarding the Greek Revolution, focused on: a)the right of the Greeks to claim their freedom from Turkish domination in order to establish an independent state based on the principle of national autonomy, b)criticism regarding Turkish rule as illegal and the power of the Ottoman Sultan as arbitrary, c)the recognition of the Greek identity and its distinction from the Turkish one and d)the endorsement Greeks as the descendants of ancient Greeks. The London Times is a print publication that presents, in chronological or thematic order, the news, opinions or announcements about the most important events that have occurred in a place during a specified period of time. A combination of qualitative and quantitative content analysis was applied. An attempt was made to record Greek Revolution references along with the usage of specific words and expressions that contribute to the representation of the historical events and their exposure to the reading public. Key finds of this research reveal that a)there was a frequency of passionate daily articles concerning the events in Greece, their length, and context in The Times of London, b)he British public opinion was influenced by this particular newspaper and c) he newspaper published various news about the revolution by adopting the role of animator of the Greek struggle. In fact, this type of news was the main substance of the The London Times’ structure, establishing a positive image about the Greek Revolution contributing to the European diplomatic development. These factors offered a change in the attitude of the British and Russians respectively assuming a positive approach towards Greece.

Keywords: Greece, revolution, press, the london times, great britain, mass media

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