Search results for: confidence factors
Commenced in January 2007
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Edition: International
Paper Count: 11572

Search results for: confidence factors

11182 Factors Affecting English Language Acquisition and Learning for Primary Schools in Nigeria

Authors: Chibuzor Dalmeida

Abstract:

This paper shall discuss the factors affecting English Language Acquisition and Learning for Primary School in Nigeria. Learning English language is a difficult task mostly those at the primary school level. Pupils find it more difficult on vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure, idioms, pronunciation etc. Researchers have discovered the reasons behind these discrepancies and have formulated theories that could be of utmost assistance to English language teachers and students. This paper further looked at the following factors that include Learner Characteristics and Personal Traits, Situational and Environmental Factors, Prior Language Development and Competence and Age and Brain Development. It further recommended that pupils must learn new vocabulary, rules for grammar and sentence structure, idioms, pronunciation. Pupils whose families and communities set high standards for language acquisition learn more quickly than those who do not. Exposure to high-quality programs also essential. Pupils do best when they are allowed to speak their native language.

Keywords: acquisition, affecting, factors, learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 627
11181 A Study of Different Factors Influencing Youngsters’ Mobile Device Buying Behaviors in Malaysia

Authors: Z. S. Yip, T. K. Tan, C. C. Geh, T. T. Ting

Abstract:

The mobile phone is an indispensable device in today’s daily living. The arising new brands in the market with different specification are targeting at the different population. The most promising market would be the younger generation who are IT savvy. Therefore, it is beneficial to find out their factors of consideration in purchasing a mobile phone. A survey is carried out in Malaysia to discover the current youngster’s mobile phone buying behavior. This study has found that the most influencing factor of consideration is Price, followed by Feature, and Battery Lifespan. Gender and Income have no relationship with certain factors of consideration. It is important to discover the factors of consideration in order to provide industry insight into the current trend of smartphone in Malaysia.

Keywords: buying behavior, smart phone, mobile brand, mobile operating system, specification, battery lifespan

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11180 An Assessment of the Factors Affecting Green Building Technology (GBT) Adoption

Authors: Nuruddeen Usman, Usman Mohammed Gidado

Abstract:

A construction and post construction activity in buildings contributes to environmental degradation, because of the generation of solid waste during construction to the production of carbon dioxide by the occupants during utilization. These problems were caused as a result of lack of adopting green building technology during and after construction. However, this study aims at conceptualizing the factors that are affecting the adoption of green building technology with a view to suggest better ways for its successful adoption in the construction industry through developing a green building technology model. Thus, the research findings show that: Economic, social, cultural, and technological progresses are the factors affecting Green Building Technology Adoption. Therefore, identifying these factors and developing the model might help in the successful adoption of green building technology.

Keywords: green building technology, construction, post construction, degradation

Procedia PDF Downloads 660
11179 Evaluation of Relationship between Job Stress Dimensions with Occupational Accidents in Industrial Factories in Southwest of Iran

Authors: Ali Ahmadi, Maryam Abbasi, Mohammad Mehdi Parsaei

Abstract:

Background: Stress in the workplace today is one of the most important public health concerns and a serious threat to the health of the workforce worldwide. Occupational stress can cause occupational events and reduce quality of life. As a result, it has a very undesirable impact on the performance of organizations, companies, and their human resources. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between job stress dimensions and occupational accidents in industrial factories in Southwest Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 workers in the summer of 2023 in the Southwest of Iran. To select participants, we used a convenience sampling method. The research tools in this study were the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stress questionnaire with 35 questions and 7 dimensions and demographic information. A high score on this questionnaire indicates that there is low job stress and pressure. All workers completed the informed consent form. Univariate analysis was performed using chi-square and T-test. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association of stress-related factors with job accidents in participants. Stata 14.0 software was used for analysis. Results: The mean age of the participants was 39.81(6.36) years. The prevalence of job accidents was 28.0% (95%CI: 21.0, 34.0). Based on the results of the multiple logistic regression with the adjustment of the effect of the confounding variables, one increase in the score of the demand dimension had a protective impact on the risk of job accidents(aOR=0.91,95%CI:0.85-0.95). Additionally, an increase in one of the scores of the managerial support (aOR=0.89, 95% CI: 0.83-0.95) and peer support (aOR=0.76, 95%CI: 0.67-87) dimensions was associated with a lower number of job accidents. Among dimensions, an increase in the score of relationship (aOR=0.89, 95%CI: 0.80-0.98) and change (aOR=0.86, 95%CI: 0.74-0.96) reduced the odds of the accident's occurrence among the workers by 11% and 16%, respectively. However, there was no significant association between role and control dimensions and the job accident (p>0.05). Conclusions: The results show that the prevalence of job accidents was alarmingly high. Our results suggested that an increase in scores of dimensions HSE questioners is significantly associated with a decrease the accident occurrence in the workplace. Therefore, planning to address stressful factors in the workplace seems necessary to prevent occupational accidents.

Keywords: HSE, Iran, job stress occupational accident, safety, occupational health

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11178 Establishing a Cause-Effect Relationship among the Key Success Factors of Healthcare Waste Management in India

Authors: Ankur Chauhan, Amol Singh

Abstract:

The increasing human resource has led to the rapid increment in the generation of healthcare waste across the world. Since, this waste consists of the infectious and hazardous components emerged from the patient care activities in different healthcare facilities; therefore, its proper management becomes vital for mitigating its negative impact on society and environment. The present research work focuses on the identification of the key success factors for developing a successful healthcare waste management plan. In addition, the key success factors have been studied by developing a causal diagram with the help of a decision making trial and evaluation (DEMATEL) approach. The findings of the study would help in the filtration of dominant key success factors which would further help in making a comparative assessment of the waste management plan of different hospitals.

Keywords: healthcare waste disposal, environment and society, multi-criteria decision making, DEMATEL

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11177 Critical Success Factors for Successful Energy Management Implementation towards Sustainability in Malaysian Universities

Authors: A. Abdullah Saleh, A. H. Mohammed, M. N. Abdullah

Abstract:

Universities are increasingly consuming energy to support various activities. A large population of staff and students in Malaysian universities has led to excessive energy consumption which directly gives an impact to the environment. The key question then ascended "How well is an energy management (EM) been practiced in universities without taking the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) into consideration to ensure the management of university achieves the goals in reducing energy consumption". Review of past literature is carried out to establish CSFs for EM best practices. Thus, this paper highlighted the CSFs which have to be focused on by management of university to successfully measure the EM implementation and its performance. At the end of this paper, a theoretical framework is developed for EM success factors towards a sustainable university.

Keywords: critical success factors, energy management, sustainability, Malaysian universities

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11176 A Pilot Study on Integration of Simulation in the Nursing Educational Program: Hybrid Simulation

Authors: Vesile Unver, Tulay Basak, Hatice Ayhan, Ilknur Cinar, Emine Iyigun, Nuran Tosun

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of the hybrid simulation. In this simulation, types standardized patients and task trainers are employed simultaneously. For instance, in order to teach the IV activities standardized patients and IV arm models are used. The study was designed as a quasi-experimental research. Before the implementation an ethical permission was taken from the local ethical commission and administrative permission was granted from the nursing school. The universe of the study included second-grade nursing students (n=77). The participants were selected through simple random sample technique and total of 39 nursing students were included. The views of the participants were collected through a feedback form with 12 items. The form was developed by the authors and “Patient intervention self-confidence/competence scale”. Participants reported advantages of the hybrid simulation practice. Such advantages include the following: developing connections between the simulated scenario and real life situations in clinical conditions; recognition of the need for learning more about clinical practice. They all stated that the implementation was very useful for them. They also added three major gains; improvement of critical thinking skills (94.7%) and the skill of making decisions (97.3%); and feeling as if a nurse (92.1%). In regard to the mean scores of the participants in the patient intervention self-confidence/competence scale, it was found that the total mean score for the scale was 75.23±7.76. The findings obtained in the study suggest that the hybrid simulation has positive effects on the integration of theoretical and practical activities before clinical activities for the nursing students.

Keywords: hybrid simulation, clinical practice, nursing education, nursing students

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11175 Factors Influencing the Choice of Food Intake of Students of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria

Authors: Adekunle Ayodeji Folorunso, Aisha S. Habeeb

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The purpose of this study was to determine the factors influencing the student’s choice of food intake, a case study of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida. A review of the past work was done, and many key points were noted. A sample population of 1000 students was selected randomly (i.e. 200 students from each school) who were in the 2011/2012 academic session. The factor influencing the students' foods intake ranges from economic factors (food cost, income, availability of food), physical factors (easy to cook, shortest time), social factors (cultural, family and meal pattern) attitudes, belief and knowledge about food were discovered. The data collected were tabulated in frequency and percentages. It was revealed that ‘easy method of cooking and preparation’ influenced students’ choice of food intake more (34%) and the food frequency questionnaire shows that the students eat more of carbohydrates foods compared to other classes of food. The cooking skills of students were low (1%) which may be responsible for the limitations in the food choices. It is, therefore, recommended that students should be equipped with sound cooking skills to increase their range of food intake. Variety is needed in diet/meal because the required nutrients are scattered among many different foods.

Keywords: factors, food intake, influencing, choice, students

Procedia PDF Downloads 330
11174 More Precise: Patient-Reported Outcomes after Stroke

Authors: Amber Elyse Corrigan, Alexander Smith, Anna Pennington, Ben Carter, Jonathan Hewitt

Abstract:

Background and Purpose: Morbidity secondary to stroke is highly heterogeneous, but it is important to both patients and clinicians in post-stroke management and adjustment to life after stroke. The consideration of post-stroke morbidity clinically and from the patient perspective has been poorly measured. The patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) in morbidity assessment help improve this knowledge gap. The primary aim of this study was to consider the association between PRO outcomes and stroke predictors. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study assessed 549 stroke patients at 19 hospital sites across England and Wales during 2019. Following a stroke event, demographic, clinical, and PRO measures were collected. Prevalence of morbidity within PRO measures was calculated with associated 95% confidence intervals. Predictors of domain outcome were calculated using a multilevel generalized linear model. Associated P -values and 95% confidence intervals are reported. Results: Data were collected from 549 participants, 317 men (57.7%) and 232 women (42.3%) with ages ranging from 25 to 97 (mean 72.7). PRO morbidity was high post-stroke; 93.2% of the cohort report post-stroke PRO morbidity. Previous stroke, diabetes, and gender are associated with worse patient-reported outcomes across both the physical and cognitive domains. Conclusions: This large-scale multicenter cohort study illustrates the high proportion of morbidity in PRO measures. Further, we demonstrate key predictors of adverse outcomes (Diabetes, previous stroke, and gender) congruence with clinical predictors. The PRO has been demonstrated to be an informative and useful stroke when considering patient-reported outcomes and has wider implications for considerations of PROs in clinical management. Future longitudinal follow-up with PROs is needed to consider association of long-term morbidity.

Keywords: morbidity, patient-reported outcome, PRO, stroke

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11173 Forensic Necropsy-Importance in Wildlife Conservation

Authors: G. V. Sai Soumya, Kalpesh Solanki, Sumit K. Choudhary

Abstract:

Necropsy is another term used for an autopsy, which is known as death examination in the case of animals. It is a complete standardized procedure involving dissection, observation, interpretation, and documentation. Government Bodies like National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have given standard operating procedures for commencing the necropsies. Necropsies are rarely performed as compared to autopsies performed on human bodies. There are no databases which maintain the count of autopsies in wildlife, but the research in this area has shown a very small number of necropsies. Long back, wildlife forensics came into existence but is coming into light nowadays as there is an increase in wildlife crime cases, including the smuggling of trophies, pooching, and many more. Physical examination in cases of animals is not sufficient to yield fruitful information, and thus postmortem examination plays an important role. Postmortem examination helps in the determination of time since death, cause of death, manner of death, factors affecting the case under investigation, and thus decreases the amount of time required in solving cases. Increasing the rate of necropsies will help forensic veterinary pathologists to build standardized provision and confidence within them, which will ultimately yield a higher success rate in solving wildlife crime cases.

Keywords: necropsy, wildlife crime, postmortem examination, forensic application

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11172 Ductility Reduction Factors for Displacement Spectra Corresponding to Soft Soil Zone of the Valley of Mexico

Authors: Noé D. Lazos-Gallardo, Sonia E. Ruiz, Federico Valenzuela-Beltran

Abstract:

A simplified mathematical expression to estimate ductility reduction factors of the displacement spectra corresponding to the soft soil zone of Mexico City is proposed. The aim is to allow a better characterization of the displacement spectra and provide a simple expression to be used in displacement based design (DBD). Emphasis is on the Mexico City Building Code. The study is based on the analysis of single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems with elasto-plastic hysteretic behavior. Several seismic ground motions corresponding to subduction events with magnitudes equal to or greater than 6 and recorded in different stations of Mexico City are used. The proposed expression involves the ratio of elastic and inelastic pseudo-aceleration spectra, and depends on factors such the ductility demand and the vibration period of the structural system. The resulting ductility reduction factors obtained in this study are compared with others existing in the literature, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

Keywords: displacement based design, displacements spectrum, ductility reduction factors, soft soil

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11171 Harsh Discipline and Later Disruptive Behavior Disorder in Two Contexts

Authors: Olga Santesteban, Glorisa Canino, Hector R. Bird, Cristiane S. Duarte

Abstract:

Objective: To address whether harsh discipline is associated with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) in Puerto Rican children over time. Background: Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies report that rates of DBD vary by gender, age and other demographics, being more frequent among boys, later in life and among those who live in urban areas. Also, the literature supports the direct, positive association between harsh discipline and externalizing behaviors. Nevertheless, scholars have underscored the important role of race and ethnicity in understanding discipline effects on children. The impact of harsh discipline in a Puerto Rican population remains to be studied. Methods: Sample: This is a secondary analysis of the Boricua Youth Study which assessed yearly (3 times) Puerto Rican children aged 5-15 in two different sites: San Juan (Puerto Rico) and the South Bronx (NY), N=2951. Participants that did not have scores of harsh discipline in the 3 waves were excluded for this analysis (N=2091). Main Measures: a) Harsh Discipline (Parent report) was measured using 6 items from the “Parental Discipline Scale” that measures various forms of punishment, including physical and verbal abuse, and withholding affection; b) Disruptive Behavior Disorder (Parent report): Parent version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV (DISC-IV) was used to asses children’s conduct disorders; c) Demographic factors: Child gender, child age, family income, marital status; d) Parental factors: parental psychopathology, parental monitoring, familism, parent support; e) Children characteristics: Controlling for any diagnostic at wave 1 (internalizing or externalizing). Data Analysis: Logistic regression was carried out relating the likelihood of DBD to harsh discipline along waves controlling for potential confounders as demographics, child and parent characteristics. Results: There were no significant differences in harsh discipline by site in wave 1 and wave 2 but there was a significant difference in wave 3. Also, there were no significant differences in DBD by site in wave 1 and wave 2 but there was a significant difference in wave 3. There was a significant difference of discipline by gender and age in all the waves. We calculated unadjusted (OR) and adjusted (AOD) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) showing the relation between harsh discipline at wave 1 and the presence of child disruptive behavior disorder at wave 3 for both South Bronx and Puerto Rico. There was an association between harsh discipline and the likelihood of having DBD in The Bronx (AOR=1.76; 95%CI=1.13-2.74, p.013) and in Puerto Rico (AOR=2.17; 95%CI=1.28-3.67, p.004) having controlled for demographic, parental and individual factors. Conclusions: Context may be an important differential factor shaping the potential risk of harsh discipline toward DBD for Puerto Rican children.

Keywords: disruptive behavior disorders, harsh discipline, puerto rican, psychological education

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11170 Human Factors Issues and Measures in Advanced NPPs

Authors: Jun Su Ha

Abstract:

Various advanced technologies will be adopted in Advanced Control Rooms (ACRs) of advanced Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), which is thought to increase operators’ performance. However, potential human factors issues coupled with digital technologies might be troublesome. Human factors issues in ACRs are identified and strategies (or countermeasures) for evaluating and analyzing each of issues are addressed in this study.

Keywords: advanced control room, human factor issues, human performance, human error, nuclear power plant

Procedia PDF Downloads 468
11169 The Impact of Quality of Life on Satisfaction and Intent to Return for Distance Running

Authors: Chin-Huang Huang, Chun-Chu Yeh

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Physical activities have a positive impact on individuals’ health and well-being. They also play an important role in promoting quality of life (QoL). The distance running enhances participants’ life satisfaction and provides positive experiences in physical activity. This study aims to measure the perception of QoL and to find the effect on satisfaction and intent to return for distance runners. Exploratory factor analysis is carried out to extract four major factorial dimensions of QoL, including multiple functions, spiritual, physical and cognitive factors. The main factors of QoL will be introduced into the regression function on satisfaction and return intention. The results show that the QoL factors including multiple functions, spiritual, physical and cognitive factors have a positive and significant impact on satisfaction for participants. The multiple functions and physical factors are also significantly positively correlated to the intent of return for runners.

Keywords: quality of life, physical activity, distance running, satisfaction

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11168 Developing a Multi-Modal Choking Intervention

Authors: R. Maher, D. Marchant, F. Fazel

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The initial aim of the study was to capitalize on the depth of athletes’ and coaches’ knowledge pertaining to the phenomenon of choking in basketball, free-throw shooting in particular, from an ‘insiders’ perspective. The findings of this study have developed a deeper understanding of how basketball players and coaches deal with choking and potentially contribute new knowledge relevant to designing useful interventions for alleviating choking. A key element was thus, knowledge, transfer, and exchange (KTE). KTE is the process of acquiring, developing, sharing and applying knowledge. Semi-structured interviews were conducted employing a composed sample of eight elite basketball players and four elite coaches who have been experiencing the choking episode previously. All interviews have been digitally recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Then the interviews have been content analyzed. Participants of the present study have provided useful information regarding the underlying mechanisms and antecedents of choking and also suggested applicable antidotes to conquer the phenomenon of choking. According to the results of the present study, self-confidence, mental and physical preparation, and coping styles should be considered as influential factors in athletes’ performance under pressure. Moreover, using all noteworthy information and preventative strategies suggested by participants of the present study, an effective multi-modal intervention has been introduced that should be taken into account by sports psychologists, coaches and athletes.

Keywords: anxiety, basketball, choking, free-throw shooting, psychological intervention

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11167 Spatial Distribution of Socio-Economic Factors in Kogi State, Nigeria: Development Issues and Implication(s)

Authors: Yahya A. Sadiq, Grace F. Balogun, Olufemi J. Anjorin

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This study analyzed the spatial distribution of socio-economic factors in Kogi state with a view to examining its implications on the development of the state. Consequently, questionnaires were administered on both the selected individual respondents (784) in the state and on the administrative offices (local council offices, 21) to solicit relevant information on the spatial distribution of socio-economic factors in their areas. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using percentages. The study revealed commerce/trade, education, and health care, etc. as the major socio-economic factors in the state but with marked variation/imbalance in their spatial distribution across the study area. The rural-based local government areas have far less of such important facilities. Conclusively, it was recommended that there is need for socio-economic transformation of living conditions of people in the study area especially by positively redistributing local political power and the resources that are abound in the state will be felt by everybody including the commoners.

Keywords: development, local government areas (LGAs), spatial distribution, socio-economic factors

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11166 Determinants of Domestic Violence among Married Women Aged 15-49 Years in Sierra Leone by an Intimate Partner: A Cross-Sectional Study

Authors: Tesfaldet Mekonnen Estifanos, Chen Hui, Afewerki Weldezgi

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Background: Intimate partner violence (hereafter IPV) is a major global public health challenge that tortures and disables women in the place where they are ought to be most secure within their own families. The fact that the family unit is commonly viewed as a private circle, violent acts towards women remains undermined. There are limited research and knowledge about the influencing factors linked to IPV in Sierra Leone. This study, therefore, estimates the prevalence rate and the predicting factors associated with IPV. Methods: Data were taken from Sierra-Leone Demographic and Health Survey (SDHS, 2013): the first in its form to incorporate information on domestic violence. Multistage cluster sampling research design was used, and information was gathered by a standard questionnaire. A total of 5185 respondents selected were interviewed, out of whom 870 were never been in union, thus excluded. To analyze the two dependent variables: experience of IPV, ‘ever’ and 'last 12 months prior to the survey', a total of 4315 (currently or formerly married) and 4029 women (currently in union) were included respectively. These dependent variables were constructed from the three forms of violence namely physical, emotional and sexual. Data analysis was applied using SPSS version 23, comprising three-step process. First, descriptive statistics were used to show the frequency distribution of both the outcome and explanatory variables. Second, bivariate analysis adopting chi-square test was applied to assess the individual relationship between the outcome and explanatory variables. Third, multivariate logistic regression analysis was undertaken using hierarchical modeling strategy to identify the influence of the explanatory variables on the outcome variables. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were utilized to examine the association of the variables considering p-values less than 0.05 statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of lifetime IPV among ever married women was 48.4%, while 39.8% of those currently married experienced IPV in the previous year preceding the survey. Women having 1 to 4 and more than 5 number of ever born babies were almost certain to encounter lifetime IPV. However, women who own a property, and those who referenced 3-5 reasons for which wife-beating is acceptable were less probably to experience lifetime IPV. Attesting parental violence, partner’s dominant marital behavior, and women afraid of their partner were the variables related to both experience of IPV ‘ever’ and ‘the previous year prior to the survey’. Respondents who concur that wife-beating is sensible in certain situations and occupations under the professional category had diminished chances of revealing IPV in the year prior to the data collection. Conclusion: This study indicated that factors significantly correlated with IPV in Sierra-Leone are mostly linked with husband related factors specifically, marital controlling behaviors. Addressing IPV in Sierra-Leone requires joint efforts that target men raise awareness to address controlling behavior and empower security in affiliations.

Keywords: husband behavior, married women, partner violence, Sierra Leone

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11165 The Customer Attitude and Behavior of Boutique Hotels in Eastern Part of Thailand

Authors: Anocha Rojanapanich

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This research aimed to identify important factors that effect customer satisfaction in boutique hotels and the important factors effecting customer loyalty in returning to boutique hotels. Furthermore, this study also aimed to study demographics, which effect variable factors. Four hundred questionnaires were completed by customers of the boutique hotels. The descriptive statistics used in this paper were percentages, means, and standard deviation (S.D.), while hypothesis testing was done using T-test, Anova, Correlation and Regression to analyze the relationship among those factors. In terms of the purpose in staying, it was found that the largest respondent was for ‘leisure purposes’. While the frequency indicated that most of the customers who stayed ‘once’in the last two years in the hotels had less concern in the hotel’s image than other groups. For customer’s perceived value and income levels had an influence on customer perceived values in both functional value price and emotional value.

Keywords: boutique hotels, customer attitude, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty

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11164 Education For Social Justice: A Comparative Study of University Teachers' Conceptions and Practice

Authors: Digby Warren, Jiri Kropac

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This comparative study seeks to develop a deeper understanding of what is meant by “education for social justice” (ESJ) - an aspiration articulated by universities, though often without much definition. The research methodology involved thematic analysis of data from in-depth interviews with academics (voluntary participants) in different disciplines and institutions in the UK, Czech Republic and other EU countries. The interviews explored lecturers’ conceptions of ESJ, their practice of it, and associated challenges and enabling factors. Main findings are that ESJ is construed as provision of equitable and conscientising education opportunities that run across the whole higher education (HE) journey, from widening access to HE to stimulating critical learning and awareness that can empower graduates to transform their lives and societies. Teaching practice featured study of topics related to social justice; collaborative and creative learning activities, and assignments offering choice and connection to students’ realities. Student responses could be mixed, occasionally resistant, but mostly positive in terms of gaining increased confidence and awareness of equality and social responsibility. Influences at the macro, meso and mico level could support or limit scope for ESJ. Overall, the study highlights the strong, values-based commitment of HE teachers to facilitating student learning engagement, wellbeing and development towards building a better world.

Keywords: higher education, social justice, inclusivity, diversity

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11163 Proposed Model to Assess E-Government Readiness in Jordan

Authors: Hadeel Abdulatif, Maha Alkhaffaf

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E-government is the use of Information and Communication Technology to enrich the access to and delivery of government services to citizens, business partners and employees, Policy makers and regulatory bodies have to be cognizant of the degree of readiness of a populace in order to design and implement efficient e-government programs. This paper aims to provide a transparent situation analyses for the case of e-government official website in Jordan, it focuses on assessing e-government in Jordan; web site assessment by using international criteria for assessing e-government websites, However, the study analyses the environmental factor consisting of cultural and business environment factors. By reviewing the literature the researchers found that government's efforts towards e-government may vary according to the country's readiness and other key implementation factors which will lead to diverse e-government experience; thus, there is a need to study the impact of key factors to implement e-government in Jordan.

Keywords: e-government, environmental factors, website assessment, readiness

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11162 Vaccination Coverage and Its Associated Factors in India: An ML Approach to Understand the Hierarchy and Inter-Connections

Authors: Anandita Mitro, Archana Srivastava, Bidisha Banerjee

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The present paper attempts to analyze the hierarchy and interconnection of factors responsible for the uptake of BCG vaccination in India. The study uses National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data which was conducted during 2019-21. The univariate logistic regression method is used to understand the univariate effects while the interconnection effects have been studied using the Categorical Inference Tree (CIT) which is a non-parametric Machine Learning (ML) model. The hierarchy of the factors is further established using Conditional Inference Forest which is an extension of the CIT approach. The results suggest that BCG vaccination coverage was influenced more by system-level factors and awareness than education or socio-economic status. Factors such as place of delivery, antenatal care, and postnatal care were crucial, with variations based on delivery location. Region-specific differences were also observed which could be explained by the factors. Awareness of the disease was less impactful along with the factor of wealth and urban or rural residence, although awareness did appear to substitute for inadequate ANC. Thus, from the policy point of view, it is revealed that certain subpopulations have less prevalence of vaccination which implies that there is a need for population-specific policy action to achieve a hundred percent coverage.

Keywords: vaccination, NFHS, machine learning, public health

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11161 Utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process in Improving Performances of Blind Judo

Authors: Hyun Chul Cho, Hyunkyoung Oh, Hyun Yoon, Jooyeon Jin, Jae Won Lee

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Identifying, structuring, and racking the most important factors related to improving athletes’ performances could pave the way for improve training system. The purpose of this study was to identify the relative importance factors to improve performance of the of judo athletes with visual impairments, including blindness by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). After reviewing the literature, the relative importance of factors affecting performance of the blind judo was selected. A group of expert reviewed the first draft of the questionnaires, and then finally selected performance factors were classified into the major categories of techniques, physical fitness, and psychological categories. Later, a pre-selected experts group was asked to review the final version of questionnaire and confirm the priories of performance factors. The order of priority was determined by performing pairwise comparisons using Expert Choice 2000. Results indicated that “grappling” (.303) and “throwing” (.234) were the most important lower hierarchy factors for blind judo skills. In addition, the most important physical factors affecting performance were “muscular strength and endurance” (.238). Further, among other psychological factors “competitive anxiety” (.393) was important factor that affects performance. It is important to offer psychological skills training to reduce anxiety of judo athletes with visual impairments and blindness, so they can compete in their optimal states. These findings offer insights into what should be considered when determining factors to improve performance of judo athletes with visual impairments and blindness.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, blind athlete, judo, sport performance

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11160 Development and Validation of Employee Trust Scale: Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity

Authors: Chua Bee Seok, Getrude Cosmas, Jasmine Adela Mutang, Shazia Iqbal Hashmi

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The aims of this study were to determine the factor structure and psychometric properties (i.e., reliability and convergent validity) of the employees trust scale, a newly created instrument by the researchers. The employees trust scale initially contained 82 items to measure employee’s trust toward their supervisors. A sample of 818 (343 females, 449 males) employees were selected randomly from public and private organization sectors in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Their ages ranged from 19 to 67 years old with the mean of 34.55 years old. Their average tenure with their current employer was 11.2 years (s.d. = 7.5 years). The respondents were asked to complete the employees trust scale, as well as a managerial trust questionnaire from Mishra. The exploratory factor analysis on employee’s trust toward their supervisor’s extracted three factors, labeled 'trustworthiness' (32 items), 'position status' (11 items) and 'relationship' (6 items) which accounted for 62.49% of the total variance. Trustworthiness factors were re-categorized into three sub factors: competency (11 items), benevolence (8 items) and integrity (13 items). All factors and sub factors of the scales demonstrated clear reliability with internal consistency of Cronbach’s Alpha above 0.85. The convergent validity of the Scale was supported by an expected pattern of correlations (positive and significant correlation) between the score of all factors and sub factors of the scale and the score on the managerial trust questionnaire which measured the same construct. The convergent validity of employees trust scale was further supported by the significant and positive inter correlation between the factors and sub factors of the scale. The results suggest that the employees trust scale is a reliable and valid measure. However, further studies need to be carried out in other groups of sample as to further validate the Scale.

Keywords: employees trust scale, psychometric properties, trustworthiness, position status, relationship

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11159 Branding Good Corporate Governance: A Pathway to Strengthen Investors’ Perception and Brand Equity

Authors: Azaz Zaman, Imtiaz Uddin Chowdhury, Mohammad Shariful Islam

Abstract:

Corporate governance has become a crucial issue in both the business and academic world as a result of world-wide financial scandals and lack of trust in corporate practices. There is no doubt that in order to thrive and attain growth in the market, a company must earn the trust of its stakeholders by consistently delivering on its commitments. Directors of the companies thus comprehend the importance of upfront communication with relevant stakeholders to increase their confidence. The authors of this article argue that practicing good corporate governance is not enough in this highly competitive market place; corporate leaders need to market their good corporate governance practices in order to make the company more attractive to investors. This article also contends that the strength of corporate governance relies wholly upon the extent to which it is communicated simply, effectively and unceasingly to its stakeholders. The main objective of this study, therefore, is to explore the importance of branding good corporate governance in order to increase corporate brand equity, attract investors, and capture market share. A structured questionnaire comprising three sections and a total of 34 questions was prepared and surveyed by the authors among respondents residing in Bangladesh and who also have an academic and corporate background, to investigate the potential impact of branding good corporate governance in the market place. High mean values for individual questions and overall section depict that communicating and branding good corporate governance to the stakeholders will not only boost the investors’ confidence but also increase the corporate brand equity, yielding both profitable and sustainable business environment.

Keywords: brand equity, investors’ preference, good corporate governance, sustainable business environment

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11158 Financial Assets Return, Economic Factors and Investor's Behavioral Indicators Relationships Modeling: A Bayesian Networks Approach

Authors: Nada Souissi, Mourad Mroua

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The main purpose of this study is to examine the interaction between financial asset volatility, economic factors and investor's behavioral indicators related to both the company's and the markets stocks for the period from January 2000 to January2020. Using multiple linear regression and Bayesian Networks modeling, results show a positive and negative relationship between investor's psychology index, economic factors and predicted stock market return. We reveal that the application of the Bayesian Discrete Network contributes to identify the different cause and effect relationships between all economic, financial variables and psychology index.

Keywords: Financial asset return predictability, Economic factors, Investor's psychology index, Bayesian approach, Probabilistic networks, Parametric learning

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11157 Adoption of Risk and Insurance among Aquaculture Producers in Khuzestan Province, Iran

Authors: Kiyanoush Ghalavand

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Aquaculture production is inherently a risky business, and farmers face a variety of weather, pest, disease, inptut supply, and market related risks. There are many factors out farmers control and unpredictable. Insurance has an important role in aquaculture production and is a tool to support farmers against threats. Investigation of factors affecting aquaculture farmers' adoption of aquaculture insurance strategy was the objective of this study. The purpose of this study was determining the related factors to adoption of insurance by aquaculture farmers in Khuzestan province, Iran. The research design was a descriptive and correlation surveying method. Aquaculture farmers in Khuzestan province were the target population for this study. A random sample of aquaculture selected (N=1830, n =139). The main result of the study reveled that exist correlation between the level of education, knowledge about purpose of insurance, participation in extension course, visit with insurance organization, and contact with extension agents to the adoption of insurance by aquaculture farmers were significantly positive. By using Bartlett's test and KMO test, determine whether research variables are appropriate for factor analysis (Sig = 0.000, Bartlett test = 0.9724, KMO = 0.74). The number of factors was determined using a split plot, eigenvalue, and percent of variance. An examination of the items and their factors loadings was used to understand the nature of the nine factors. To reduce subjectivity, items with factor loading equal to or greater than 0.5 were considered most important when factors were labeled. The nine factors were labeled (1) Extension and education activities, (2) Economical characteristics, (3) Governmental support, (4) communicational channel, (5) local leaders, (6) Facilitate in given damage (7) Motivation establishing, (8) Given damage in appropriate methods and (9) Appropriate activities by insurance organization. The results obtained from the factors analysis reveal that the nine factors explain percentage75 of the variation of the adoption of insurance of the adoption of insurance by aquaculture farmers in Khuzestan province.

Keywords: aquaculture farmers, insurance, factorial analysis, Khuzestan province, risks

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11156 Integrating GIS and Analytical Hierarchy Process-Multicriteria Decision Analysis for Identification of Suitable Areas for Artificial Recharge with Reclaimed Water

Authors: Mahmoudi Marwa, Bahim Nadhem, Aydi Abdelwaheb, Issaoui Wissal, S. Najet

Abstract:

This work represents a coupling between the geographic information system (GIS) and the multicriteria analysis aiming at the selection of an artificial recharge site by the treated wastewater for the Ariana governorate. On regional characteristics, bibliography and available data on artificial recharge, 13 constraints and 5 factors were hierarchically structured for the adequacy of an artificial recharge. The factors are subdivided into two main groups: environmental factors and economic factors. The adopted methodology allows a preliminary assessment of a recharge site, the weighted linear combination (WLC) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in a GIS. The standardization of the criteria is carried out by the application of the different membership functions. The form and control points of the latter are defined by the consultation of the experts. The weighting of the selected criteria is allocated according to relative importance using the AHP methodology. The weighted linear combination (WLC) integrates the different criteria and factors to delineate the most suitable areas for artificial recharge site selection by treated wastewater. The results of this study showed three potential candidate sites that appear when environmental factors are more important than economic factors. These sites are ranked in descending order using the ELECTRE III method. Nevertheless, decision making for the selection of an artificial recharge site will depend on the decision makers in force.

Keywords: artificial recharge site, treated wastewater, analytical hierarchy process, ELECTRE III

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11155 Factors Affecting Students' Attitude to Adapt E-Learning: A Case from Iran How to Develop Virtual Universities in Iran: Using Technology Acceptance Model

Authors: Fatemeh Keivanifard

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E-learning is becoming increasingly prominent in higher education, with universities increasing provision and more students signing up. This paper examines factors that predict students' attitudes to adapt e-learning at the Khuzestan province Iran. Understanding the nature of these factors may assist these universities in promoting the use of information and communication technology in teaching and learning. The main focus of the paper is on the university students, whose decision supports effective implementation of e-learning. Data was collected through a survey of 300 post graduate students at the University of dezful, shooshtar and chamran in Khuzestan. The technology adoption model put forward by Davis is utilized in this study. Two more independent variables are added to the original model, namely, the pressure to act and resources availability. The results show that there are five factors that can be used in modeling students' attitudes to adapt e-learning. These factors are intention toward e-learning, perceived usefulness of e-learning, perceived ease of e-learning use, pressure to use e-learning, and the availability of resources needed to use e-learning.

Keywords: e-learning, intention, ease of use, pressure to use, usefulness

Procedia PDF Downloads 367
11154 The Effect of Phonetics Factors in Interpretation of Japanese Degree Adverbs

Authors: Yan Lyu

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Japanese degree adverbs can be explained in different ways, which is hard for Japanese learners to comprehend. For instance, when ‘tyotto’ is used as a degree word, it can be interpreted literally or not. In the sentence ‘Ano mise, tyotto oishi yo. zehi iku to ii yo.’, ‘tyotto’ can be interpreted as a high degree contextually. Despite pragmatic factors, phonetics factors can also affect the interpretation of such ‘tyotto’. Concentrating on the pattern of ‘tyotto +adjective’, the paper aims to investigate the correlation between the interpretation of ‘tyotto’ and the phonetic factors in some specific contexts based on a listening experiment via PRAAT. It is also investigated that how the phonetic factors affect the interpretation of high degree adverbs, including ‘soutou’ , ‘totemo’ , ‘kanari’ and ‘sugoku’. In the experiment, Japanese speakers listened to sentences which were composed of degree adverbs and adjectives in different intonations and judged which degree the sentences expressed. Two conclusions can be drawn from the experiment results. Firstly, for adverbs expressing a high degree, in the pattern of ‘degree adverb + adjective’, either degree adverb or adjective is pronounced in a higher pitch, or both are highly pronounced, a higher degree can be expressed. Besides, with the insertion of geminate consonant and the extension of the vowel, the longer the duration of the degree adverb becomes, the higher degree can be expressed. Secondly, for ‘tyotto’, which expresses a low degree, the interpretation will be influenced by both phonetic and contextual factors. Phonetically, there are three factors causing ‘tyotto’ to be interpreted as a common degree or a high degree. The three factors are the high pitch of the modified adjective, the extended silence period of the geminate consonant and the change in the intonations of ‘tyotto’. In some contexts just like the comparison sentences, no matter how ‘tyotto + adjective’ is pronounced, ‘tyotto’ tends to be interpreted as a low degree literally.

Keywords: contextual interpretation, Japanese degree adverbs, phonetic interpretation, PRAAT

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11153 Overview of the Various Factors Affecting the Properties of Microwave and Millimeterwave Dielectric Ceramics

Authors: Abdul Manan

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Dielectric Resonators (DRs) have revolutionized the microwave wireless communication industry globally. There are three directions for research in ceramics for application in telecommunication industry Three key properties of ceramic dielectrics that determine their functionality at microwave and millimetrewave frequencies include relative permittivity (εr), unloaded quality factor Qu- the inverse of the dielectric loss (tanδ) and temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τf). Each direction requires specific properties. These dielectric properties are affected by a number of factors. These includes tolerance factor, onset of structural phase transitions, dark core formation, processing conditions, raw materials and impurities, order/disorder behavior, compositional ordering, porosity, humidity, grain size, orientation of the crystallites, and grain boundaries. The data related to these factors is scattered. The main purpose of this review is to bring these together and present the effects of these factors on the microwave dielectric properties. Control of these factors is important for improvement in the microwave properties. This review would be very helpful to the novice researchers and technologists in the field.

Keywords: order disorder, sintering, defect, porosity, grain boundaries

Procedia PDF Downloads 393