Search results for: earned capital approach

Authors: Mustapha Kamel Mihoubi, Essadik Kerkar, Abdelhamid Hebbouche

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According to the randomness of most of the factors affecting the stability of a gravity dam, probability theory is generally used to TESTING the risk of failure and there is a confusing logical transition from the state of stability failed state, so the stability failure process is considered as a probable event. The control of risk of product failures is of capital importance for the control from a cross analysis of the gravity of the consequences and effects of the probability of occurrence of identified major accidents and can incur a significant risk to the concrete dam structures. Probabilistic risk analysis models are used to provide a better understanding the reliability and structural failure of the works, including when calculating stability of large structures to a major risk in the event of an accident or breakdown. This work is interested in the study of the probability of failure of concrete dams through the application of the reliability analysis methods including the methods used in engineering. It is in our case of the use of level II methods via the study limit state. Hence, the probability of product failures is estimated by analytical methods of the type FORM (First Order Reliability Method), SORM (Second Order Reliability Method). By way of comparison, a second level III method was used which generates a full analysis of the problem and involving an integration of the probability density function of, random variables are extended to the field of security by using of the method of Mont-Carlo simulations. Taking into account the change in stress following load combinations: normal, exceptional and extreme the acting on the dam, calculation results obtained have provided acceptable failure probability values which largely corroborate the theory, in fact, the probability of failure tends to increase with increasing load intensities thus causing a significant decrease in strength, especially in the presence of combinations of unique and extreme loads. Shear forces then induce a shift threatens the reliability of the structure by intolerable values of the probability of product failures. Especially, in case THE increase of uplift in a hypothetical default of the drainage system.

Keywords: dam, failure, limit state, monte-carlo, reliability, probability, sliding, Taylor

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Authors: M. R. Kamandar, J. Massah

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The information of the impact cutting behavior of plants stalk plays an important role in the design and fabrication of plants cutting equipment. It is difficult to investigate a theoretical method for defining cutting properties of plants stalks because the cutting process is complex. Thus, it is necessary to set up an experimental approach to determine cutting parameters for a single stalk. To measure the shear force, shear energy and shear strength of plant stalk, a special impact cutting tester was fabricated. It was similar to an Izod impact cutting tester for metals but a cutting blade and data acquisition system were attached to the end of pendulum's arm. The apparatus was included four strain gages and a digital indicator to show the real-time cutting force of plant stalk. To measure the shear force and also testing the apparatus, two plants’ stalks, like buxus and privet, were selected. The samples (buxus and privet stalks) were cut under impact cutting process at four loading rates 1, 2, 3 and 4 m.s^-1 and three internodes fifth, tenth and fifteenth by the apparatus. At buxus cutting analysis: the minimum value of cutting energy was obtained at fifth internode and loading rate 4 m.s^-1 and the maximum value of shear energy was obtained at fifteenth internode and loading rate 1 m.s^-1. At privet cutting analysis: the minimum value of shear consumption energy was obtained at fifth internode and loading rate: 4 m.s^-1 and the maximum value of shear energy was obtained at fifteenth internode and loading rate: 1 m.s^-1. The statistical analysis at both plants showed that the increase of impact cutting speed would decrease the shear consumption energy and shear strength. In two scenarios, the results showed that with increase the cutting speed, shear force would decrease.

Keywords: Buxus, Privet, impact cutting, shear energy

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Authors: Lamees Nasser, Yago Diez, Robert Martí, Joan Martí, Ibrahim Sadek

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Automated 3D breast ultrasound (ABUS) screening is a novel modality in medical imaging because of its common characteristics shared with other ultrasound modalities in addition to the three orthogonal planes (i.e., axial, sagittal, and coronal) that are useful in analysis of tumors. In the literature, few automatic approaches exist for typical tasks such as segmentation or registration. In this work, we deal with two problems concerning ABUS images: nipple and rib detection. Nipple and ribs are the most visible and salient features in ABUS images. Determining the nipple position plays a key role in some applications for example evaluation of registration results or lesion follow-up. We present a nipple detection algorithm based on color and shape of the nipple, besides an automatic approach to detect the ribs. In point of fact, rib detection is considered as one of the main stages in chest wall segmentation. This approach consists of four steps. First, images are normalized in order to minimize the intensity variability for a given set of regions within the same image or a set of images. Second, the normalized images are smoothed by using anisotropic diffusion filter. Next, the ribs are detected in each slice by analyzing the eigenvalues of the 3D Hessian matrix. Finally, a breast mask and a probability map of regions detected as ribs are used to remove false positives (FP). Qualitative and quantitative evaluation obtained from a total of 22 cases is performed. For all cases, the average and standard deviation of the root mean square error (RMSE) between manually annotated points placed on the rib surface and detected points on rib borders are 15.1188 mm and 14.7184 mm respectively.

Keywords: Automated 3D Breast Ultrasound, Eigenvalues of Hessian matrix, Nipple detection, Rib detection

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Authors: Yaroslav Pavlov

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In the modern world, ensuring quality has become increasingly important in various fields of human activity. One universal approach to quality management, proven effective in the food industry, is the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) concept. Based on principles of preventing potential hazards to consumers at all stages of production, from raw materials to the final product, HACCP offers a systematic approach to identifying, assessing risks, and managing critical control points (CCPs). Initially used primarily for food production, it was later effectively adapted to the food service sector. Implementing HACCP provides organizations with a reliable foundation for improving food safety, covering all links in the food chain from producer to consumer, making it an integral part of modern quality management systems. The main principles of HACCP—hazard identification, CCP determination, effective monitoring procedures, corrective actions, regular checks, and documentation—are universal and can be adapted to other areas. The adaptation of the HACCP concept is relevant for continuing professional education (CPE) with certain reservations. Specifically, it is reasonable to abandon the term ‘hazards’ as deviations in CCPs do not pose dangers, unlike in food production. However, the approach through CCP analysis and the use of HACCP's main principles for educational services are promising. This is primarily because it allows for identifying key CCPs based on the value creation model of a specific educational organization and consequently focusing efforts on specific CCPs to manage the quality of educational services. This methodology can be called the Analysis of Critical Points in Educational Services (ACPES). ACPES offers a similar approach to managing the quality of educational services, focusing on preventing and eliminating potential risks that could negatively impact the educational process, learners' achievement of set educational goals, and ultimately lead to students rejecting the organization's educational services. ACPES adapts proven HACCP principles to educational services, enhancing quality management effectiveness and student satisfaction. ACPES includes identifying potential problems at all stages of the educational process, from initial interest to graduation and career development. In ACPES, the term "hazards" is replaced with "problematic areas," reflecting the specific nature of the educational environment. Special attention is paid to determining CCPs—stages where corrective measures can most effectively prevent or minimize the risk of failing educational goals. The ACPES principles align with HACCP's principles, adjusted for the specificities of CPE. The method of the learner's journey map (variation of Customer Journey Map, CJM) can be used to overcome the complexity of formalizing the production chain in educational services. CJM provides a comprehensive understanding of the learner's experience at each stage, facilitating targeted and effective quality management. Thus, integrating the learner's journey map into ACPES represents a significant extension of the methodology's capabilities, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the educational process and forming an effective quality management system focused on meeting learners' needs and expectations.

Keywords: quality management, continuing professional education, customer journey map, HACCP

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Authors: Chang Qin, Daham Mustafa, Abderrahmane Khiat, Pierre Bienert, Paulo Zanini

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Nowadays, companies are facing lots of challenges in the process of digital transformation, which can be a complex and costly undertaking. Digital transformation involves the collection and analysis of large amounts of data, which can create challenges around data management and governance. Furthermore, it is also challenged to integrate data from multiple systems and technologies. Although with these pains, companies are still pursuing digitalization because by embracing advanced technologies, companies can improve efficiency, quality, decision-making, and customer experience while also creating different business models and revenue streams. In this paper, the issue that data is stored in data silos with different schema and structures is focused. The conventional approaches to addressing this issue involve utilizing data warehousing, data integration tools, data standardization, and business intelligence tools. However, these approaches primarily focus on the grammar and structure of the data and neglect the importance of semantic modeling and semantic standardization, which are essential for achieving data interoperability. In this session, the challenge of data silos in Industry 4.0 is addressed by developing a semantic modeling approach compliant with Asset Administration Shell (AAS) models as an efficient standard for communication in Industry 4.0. The paper highlights how our approach can facilitate the data mapping process and semantic lifting according to existing industry standards such as ECLASS and other industrial dictionaries. It also incorporates the Asset Administration Shell technology to model and map the company’s data and utilize a knowledge graph for data storage and exploration.

Keywords: data interoperability in industry 4.0, digital integration, industrial dictionary, semantic modeling

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Authors: R. Unnikrishnan, K. Shankar

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In the case of high-speed fighter aircrafts, seat ejection is designed mainly for the safety of the pilot in case of an emergency. Strong windblast due to the high velocity of flight is one main difficulty in clearing the tail of the aircraft. Excessive G-forces generated, immobilizes the pilot from escape. In most of the cases, seats are ejected out of the aircrafts by explosives or by rocket motors attached to the bottom of the seat. Ejection forces are primarily in the vertical direction with the objective of attaining the maximum possible velocity in a specified period of time. The safe ejection parameters are studied to estimate the critical time of ejection for various geometries and velocities of flight. An equivalent analytical 2-dimensional biomechanical model of the human spine has been modelled consisting of vertebrae and intervertebral discs with a lumped mass approach. The 24 vertebrae, which consists of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions, in addition to the head mass and the pelvis has been designed as 26 rigid structures and the intervertebral discs are assumed as 25 flexible joint structures. The rigid structures are modelled as mass elements and the flexible joints as spring and damper elements. Here, the motions are restricted only in the mid-sagittal plane to form a 26 degree of freedom system. The equations of motions are derived for translational movement of the spinal column. An ejection force with a linearly increasing acceleration profile is applied as vertical base excitation on to the pelvis. The dynamic vibrational response of each vertebra in time-domain is estimated.

Keywords: biomechanical model, lumped mass, seat ejection, vibrational response

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Authors: Giulia Balestracci

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Pakistan is endowed with diversified natural capital spanning along the 1000-kilometer-long coastline, shared by the coastal provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. It includes some of the most diverse, extensive, and least disturbed reef areas in the Indian Ocean. Pakistani marine and coastal ecosystems are fundamental for the social and economic well-being of the region. They support economic activities such as fishing, shrimp farming, tourism, and shipping, which contribute to income, food security, and the livelihood of millions of people. The coastal regions of Sindh and Balochistan are rich in natural resources and diverse ecosystems, and host also rural coastal communities that have been the keepers of rich cultural legacies and pristine natural landscapes. However, significant barriers hinder tourism development, such as the daunting socio-economic challenges, including the post-COVID-19 scenario, forced migration, institutional gaps, and the ravages of climate change. Pakistan holds immense potential for the tourism sector development within the framework of a sustainable blue economy, thereby fostering greener economic growth and employment opportunities, securing financing for the protection and conservation of its coastal and marine natural assets. Based on the assessment of Pakistan’s natural and cultural coastal and maritime tourism resources, a deep study of the regulatory and institutional aspects of the tourism sector in the country accompanied by the SWOT analysis and accompanied by an in-depth interview with a member of the Pakistan National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB). A market analysis has been developed, and Lao PDR, Thailand, and Indonesia’s ecotourism development have been analyzed under a comparative analysis length to recommend some nature-based tourism activities for the sustainable development of the coastal areas in Pakistan. Nature-based tourism represents a win-win option as it uses economic incentives for the protection and cultural uses of natural resources. This article stresses the importance of nature-based activities for blue tourism, aligning conservation with developmental goals to safeguard natural resources and cultural heritage, all while fostering economic prosperity.

Keywords: blue tourism, coastal Pakistan, nature-based tourism, sustainable blue economy, sustainable development

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Authors: Jaber Shurrab, Matloub Hussain

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The rapid pace of changes in the construction industry, technological advancements, and rising costs present tremendous challenges for project managers. Project managers are under severe pressure to minimize the waste, improve the efficiency of the entire operations and the philosophy of ‘lean thinking’ so that ‘more could be achieved with less’ is becoming very popular. Though, lean management has strong roots in manufacturing industry and over the last decade lean philosophy has started gaining attention in the service industry as well. However, little has been known in the context of waste minimization and lean implementation in the construction industry and this paper deals with this important issue. The primary objective of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for the exploration of appropriate lean techniques applicable to medium and large construction companies and measure their impact on the competitiveness and economic performance of construction companies of United Arab Emirates (UAE). To this end, a comprehensive literature review and interviews with eight project managers of medium and large construction companies of UAE have been conducted. It has been found that competitive, reduce waste and costs are critical to the construction industry. This is an ongoing research in lean management, giving project managers a practical framework for improving the efficiency of their project through various lean techniques. Originality/value: Research significance emphasizes increasing the effectiveness of the construction industry, influences the development of lean construction framework which improves lean construction practices using the lean techniques. This contributes to the effort of applying lean techniques in the construction industry. Limited publications were done in the construction industry mainly in United Arab Emirates (UAE) compared to the lean manufacturing. This research will recommend a systematic approach for the implementing of the anticipated framework within a cyclical look-ahead period and emphasizes the practical implications of the proposed approach.

Keywords: construction, lean, lean manufacturing, waste

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Authors: Mohamed Abdalla Elamein Boshara, Peter Charles Woods, Nour Eldin Mohamed Elshaiekh

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Knowledge Management has become very important for Disaster Management response and planning. This paper proposes the implementation of a Knowledge Management System with a sustainable data collection mechanism for reliable and timely information management to support decision makers in making the right decisions in the timely manner.

Keywords: knowledge management, disaster management, incident tracking, web application

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Authors: Yolanda Havenga

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Being a competent nurse requires clinical, general, and moral competencies. Moral competence is a culmination of moral perceptions, moral judgment, moral behaviour, and moral identity. Moral identity is the values, images, and fundamental principles held in the collective minds and memories of nurses about what it means to be a ‘good nurse’. It is important to explore and describe South African nurses’ moral identities and excavate the post-colonial counter-narrative to nurses moral identities as a better understanding of these identities will enable means to positively address nurses’ moral behaviours. This study explored the moral identity of nurses within the South African context. A qualitative approach was followed triangulating with phenomenological and narrative designs with the same purposively sampled group of professional nurses. In-depth interviews were conducted until saturation of data occurred about the sampled nurses lived experiences of being a nurse in South Africa. They were probed about their core personal-, social-, and professional values. Data were analysed based on the steps used by Colaizzi. These nurses were then asked to write a narrative telling a personal story that portrayed a significant time in their professional career that defines their identity as a nurse. This data were analysed using a critical narrative approach and findings of the two sets of data were merged. Ethical approval was obtained and approval from all relevant gate keepers. In the findings, themes emerged related to personal, social and professional values, images and fundamental principles of being a nurse within the South African context. The findings of this study will inform a future national study including a representative sample of South African nurses.

Keywords: moral behaviour, moral identity, nurses, qualitative research

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Authors: Asma Batool

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Immigrant families raising a child with developmental disabilities in Canada encounter many challenges during the process of disability care. Starting from the early screening of their child for diagnosis followed by challenges associated with treatment, access and service utilization. A substantial amount of research focuses on identifying barriers. However, the functional aspects of barriers in terms of their potential influences on parents and children with disabilities are unexplored yet. This paper presents functional analysis of barriers in disability care research by adopting a method of integrated approach. Juxtaposition of two developmental approaches, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and parents ‘transformational process model is generating multiple hypotheses to be considered while empirically investigating causal relationships and mediating or moderating factors among various variables related with disability care research. This functional analysis suggests that barriers have negative impacts on the physical and emotional development of children with disabilities as well as on the overall quality of family life (QOFL). While, barriers have facilitating impacts on parents, alternatively, the process of transformation in parents expedite after experiencing barriers. Consequently, parents reconstruct their philosophy of life and experience irreversible but continuous developmental change in terms of transformations simultaneously with their developing child and may buffer the expected negative impacts of barriers on disabled child and QOFL. Overall, this paper is suggesting implications for future research and parents’ transformations are suggesting potential pathways to minimize the negative influences of barriers that parents experience during disability care, hence improving satisfaction in QOFL in general.

Keywords: barriers in disability care, developmental disabilities, parents’ transformations, quality of family life

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Authors: Basit Aftab, Feng Zhongke

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The land use/land cover change (LULCC) is a significant indicator sensitive to an area's environmental changes. As a rapidly developing capital city near the Himalayas Mountains, the city area of Islamabad, Pakistan, has expanded dramatically over the past 20 years. In order to precisely measure the impact of urbanization on the forest and agricultural lands, the Spatio-temporal analysis of LULCC was utilized, which helped us to know the impacts of urbanization, especially on ecosystem processes, biological cycles, and biodiversity. The Islamabad region's Multispectral Satellite Images (MSI) for 2000, 2010, and 2020 were employed as the remote sensing data source. Local documents of city planning, forest inventory and archives in the agriculture management departments were included to verify the image-derived result. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, the built-up area increased to 48.3% (505.02 Km2). Meanwhile, the forest, agricultural, and barre land decreased to 28.9% (305.64 Km2), 10.04% (104.87 Km2), and 11.61% (121.30 Km2). The overall percentage change in land area between 2000 – 2020 was recorded maximum for the built-up (227.04%). Results revealed that the increase in the built-up area decreased forestland, barren, and agricultural lands (-0.36, -1.00 & -0.34). The association of built-up with respective years was positively linear (R2 = 0.96), whereas forestland, agricultural, and barren lands association with years were recorded as negatively linear (R2 = -0.29, R2 = -0.02, and R2 = -0.96). Large-scale deforestation leads to multiple negative impacts on the local environment, e.g., water degradation and climate change. It would finally affect the environment of the greater Himalayan region in some way. We further analyzed the driving forces of urbanization. It was determined by economic expansion, climate change, and population growth. We hope our study could be utilized to develop efforts to mitigate the consequences of deforestation and agricultural land damage, reducing greenhouse gas emissions while preserving the area's biodiversity.

Keywords: urbanization, Himalaya mountains, landuse landcover change (LULCC), remote sensing., multi-spectral satellite imagery

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Authors: Bruno Gontijo Batista

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This paper analyzes how the Socially Aware Design (SAwD) and the Value-oriented and Culturally Informed Approach (VCIA) design model can be used to develop an edutainment game for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The SAwD approach seeks a design that considers new dimensions in human-computer interaction, such as culture, aesthetics, emotional and social aspects of the user's everyday experience. From this perspective, the game development was VCIA model-based, including the users in the design process through participatory methodologies, considering their behavioral patterns, culture, and values. This is because values, beliefs, and behavioral patterns influence how technology is understood and used and the way it impacts people's lives. This model can be applied at different stages of design, which goes from explaining the problem and organizing the requirements to the evaluation of the prototype and the final solution. Thus, this paper aims to understand how this model can be used in the development of an edutainment game for children with ADHD. In the area of education and learning, children with ADHD have difficulties both in behavior and in school performance, as they are easily distracted, which is reflected both in classes and on tests. Therefore, they must perform tasks that are exciting or interesting for them, once the pleasure center in the brain is activated, it reinforces the center of attention, leaving the child more relaxed and focused. In this context, serious games have been used as part of the treatment of ADHD in children aiming to improve focus and attention, stimulate concentration, as well as be a tool for improving learning in areas such as math and reading, combining education and entertainment (edutainment). Thereby, as a result of the research, it was developed, in a participatory way, applying the VCIA model, an edutainment game prototype, for a mobile platform, for children between 8 and 12 years old.

Keywords: ADHD, edutainment, SAwD, VCIA

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Authors: Edoardo Schinco

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Studying the Marxist intellectual tradition, it is possible to verify that there were numerous cases of philosophical regression, in which the important achievements of detailed studies have been replaced by naïve ideas and previous misunderstandings: one of most important example of this tendency is related to the question of ideology. According to a common Enlightenment approach, the ideology is essentially not a reality, i.e., a factor capable of having an effect on the reality itself; in other words, the ideology is a mere error without specific historical meaning, which is only due to ignorance or inability of subjects to understand the truth. From this point of view, the consequent and immediate practice against every form of ideology are the rational dialogue, the reasoning based on common sense, in order to dispel the obscurity of ignorance through the light of pure reason. The limits of this philosophical orientation are however both theoretical and practical: on the one hand, the Enlightenment criticism of ideology is not an historicistic thought, since it cannot grasp the inner connection that ties an historical context and its peculiar ideology together; moreover, on the other hand, when the Enlightenment approach fails to release people from their illusions (e.g., when the ideology persists, despite the explanation of its illusoriness), it usually becomes a racist or elitarian thought. Unlike this first conception of ideology, Gramsci attempts to recover Marx’s original thought and to valorize its dialectical methodology with respect to the reality of ideology. As Marx suggests, the ideology – in negative meaning – is surely an error, a misleading knowledge, which aims to defense the current state of things and to conceal social, political or moral contradictions; but, that is precisely why the ideological error is not casual: every ideology mediately roots in a particular material context, from which it takes its reason being. Gramsci avoids, however, any mechanistic interpretation of Marx and, for this reason; he underlines the dialectic relation that exists between material base and ideological superstructure; in this way, a specific ideology is not only a passive product of base but also an active factor that reacts on the base itself and modifies it. Therefore, there is a considerable revaluation of ideology’s role in maintenance of status quo and the consequent thematization of both ideology as objective force, active in history, and ideology as cultural hegemony of ruling class on subordinate groups. Among the Marxists, the French philosopher Louis Althusser also gives his contribution to this crucial question; as follower of Gramsci’s thought, he develops the idea of ideology as an objective force through the notions of Repressive State Apparatus (RSA) and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA). In addition to this, his philosophy is characterized by the presence of structuralist elements, which must be studied, since they deeply change the theoretical foundation of his Marxist thought.

Keywords: Althusser, enlightenment, Gramsci, ideology

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Authors: Sonia Boulos

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The prohibition on ‘inhuman treatment’ constitutes one of the central tenets of modern international human rights law. It is incorporated in principal international human rights instruments including Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, in the absence of any legislative definition of the term ‘inhuman’, its interpretation becomes challenging. The aim of this article is to critically analyze the interpretation of the term ‘inhuman’ in international human rights law and to suggest a new approach to construct its meaning. The article is composed of two central parts. The first part is a critical appraisal of the interpretation of the term ‘inhuman’ by supra-national human rights law institutions. It highlights the failure of supra-national institutions to provide an independent definition for the term ‘inhuman’. In fact, those institutions consistently fail to distinguish the term ‘inhuman’ from its other kin terms, i.e. ‘cruel’ and ‘degrading.’ Very often, they refer to these three prohibitions as ‘CIDT’, as if they were one collective. They were primarily preoccupied with distinguishing ‘CIDT’ from ‘torture.’ By blurring the conceptual differences between these three terms, supra-national institutions supplemented them with a long list of specific and purely descriptive subsidiary rules. In most cases, those subsidiary rules were announced in the absence of sufficient legal reasoning explaining how they were derived from abstract and evaluative standards embodied in the prohibitions collectively referred to as ‘CIDT.’ By opting for this option, supra-national institutions have created the risk for the development of an incoherent body of jurisprudence on those terms at the international level. They also have failed to provide guidance for domestic courts on how to enforce these prohibitions. While blurring the differences between the terms ‘cruel,’ ‘inhuman,’ and ‘degrading’ has consequences for the three, the term ‘inhuman’ remains the most impoverished one. It is easy to link the term ‘cruel’ to the clause on ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ originating from the English Bill of Rights of 1689. It is also easy to see that the term ‘degrading’ reflects a dignatarian ideal. However, when we turn to the term ‘inhuman’, we are left without any interpretative clue. The second part of the article suggests that the ordinary meaning of the word ‘inhuman’ should be our first clue. However, regaining the conceptual independence of the term ‘inhuman’ requires more than a mere reflection on the word-meaning of the term. Thus, the second part introduces philosophical concepts related to the understanding of what it means to be human. It focuses on ‘the capabilities approach’ and the notion of ‘human functioning’, introduced by Amartya Sen and further explored by Martha Nussbaum. Nussbaum’s work on the basic human capabilities is particularly helpful or even vital for understanding the moral and legal substance of the prohibition on ‘inhuman’ treatment.

Keywords: inhuman treatment, capabilities approach, human functioning, supra-national institutions

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Authors: Daral Maesincee, Jompol Thongpaen

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Thus far, most of the decisions made within the walls of Thai higher education (HE) institutions have primarily been supply-oriented. With the current supply-driven, itemized HE financing systems, the nation is struggling to systemically produce high-quality manpower that serves the market’s needs, often resulting in education mismatches and unemployment – particularly in science, technology, and innovation (STI)-related fields. With the COVID-19 pandemic challenges widening the education inequality (accessibility and quality) gap, HE becomes even more unobtainable for underprivileged students, permanently leaving some out of the system. Therefore, Thai HE needs a new financing system that produces the “right people” for the “right occupations” through the “right ways,” regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, and encourages the creation of non-degree courses to tackle these ongoing challenges. The “Demand-Side Financing for Thai Higher Education” policy aims to do so by offering a new paradigm of HE resource allocation via two main mechanisms: i) standardized formula-based unit-cost subsidizations that is specific to each study field and ii) student loan programs that respond to the “demand signals” from the labor market and the students, that are in line with the country’s priorities. Through in-dept reviews, extensive studies, and consultations with various experts, education committees, and related agencies, i) the method of demand signal analysis is identified, ii) the unit-cost of each student in the sample study fields is approximated, iii) the method of budget analysis is formulated, iv) the interagency workflows are established, and v) a supporting information database is created to suggest the number of graduates each HE institution can potentially produce, the study fields and skillsets that are needed by the labor market, the employers’ satisfaction with the graduates, and each study field’s employment rates. By responding to the needs of all stakeholders, this policy is expected to steer Thai HE toward producing more STI-related manpower in order to uplift Thai people’s quality of life and enhance the nation’s global competitiveness. This policy is currently in the process of being considered by the National Education Transformation Committee and the Higher Education Commission.

Keywords: demand-side financing, higher education resource, human capital, higher education

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Authors: C. F. Jones Couto, L. C. Motlhaolwa, K. Williams

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This article explores the re-imagining of physical education teacher education in South African higher education. Utilising student reflections from a physical education practical module, valuable insights into student experiences were obtained about the current physical education pedagogical approaches and potential areas for improvement. The traditional teaching model of physical education is based on the idea of teaching students a variety of sports and physical activities. However, this model has been shown to be ineffective in promoting lifelong physical activity. The modern world demands a more holistic approach to health and wellness. Data was collected using the arts-based collage method in combination with written group reflections from 139 second-year undergraduate physical education students. This study employed thematic analysis methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of the data and extract a broader perspective on the students' experiences. The study aimed to empower student teachers to learn, think, and act creatively within the many educational models that impact their experience, contributing to the ongoing efforts of re-imagining physical education teacher education in South African higher education. This research is significant as the students' valuable insights reflected that they can think and work across disciplines. Sustainable development goals and graduate attributes are important concepts that can contribute to student preparation. Using a multi-model educational approach based on the cultural-historical theory, higher education institutions can help develop graduate attributes that will prepare students for success in the workplace and life.

Keywords: holistic education, graduate attributes, physical education, teacher education, student experiences, sustainable development goals

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Authors: Adrian Ionita, Ana-Maria Ghimes

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The lack of features, design and the lack of promoting an integrated booking application are some of the reasons why most online travel platforms only offer automation of old booking processes, being limited to the integration of a smaller number of services without addressing the user experience. This paper represents a practical study on how to improve travel applications creating user-profiles through data-mining based on neural networks and genetic algorithms. Choices made by users and their ‘friends’ in the ‘social’ network context can be considered input data for a recommendation engine. The purpose of using these algorithms and this design is to improve user experience and to deliver more features to the users. The paper aims to highlight a broader range of improvements that could be applied to travel applications in terms of design and service integration, while the main scientific approach remains the technical implementation of the neural network solution. The motivation of the technologies used is also related to the initiative of some online booking providers that have made the fact that they use some ‘neural network’ related designs public. These companies use similar Big-Data technologies to provide recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and cinemas with a neural network based recommendation engine for building a user ‘DNA profile’. This implementation of the ‘profile’ a collection of neural networks trained from previous user choices, can improve the usability and design of any type of application.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, DNA profile, genetic algorithms, machine learning, neural networks, optimization, recommendation system, user profiling

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Authors: Mustafa Rezazada, Takuya Maruyama

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Cars have a strong integration with the human being since its introduction, and this interaction is more evident in the urban context. Therefore, shifting city residents from driving private vehicles to public transits has been a big challenge. Accordingly, carsharing as an innovative, environmentally friendly transport alternative had a significant contribution to this transition so far. It helped to reduce the numbers of household car ownership, declining demand for on-street parking, dropping the numbers of kilometers traveled by car, and affects the future of mobility by decreasing the Green House Gases (GHS) emissions’ and the numbers of new cars to be purchased otherwise. However, majorities of carsharing researches were conducted in highly developed cities, and less attention has been paid to the cities of developing countries. This study is conducted in the Capital of Afghanistan, Kabul to investigate the current transport pattern, user behavior, and to examine the possibility of introducing the carsharing system. This study established a new survey method called Onboard Carsharing Survey OCS. In this survey, the carpooling passengers aboard are interviewed following the Onboard Transit Survey OTS guideline with a few refinements. The survey focuses on respondents’ daily travel behavior and hypothetical stated choice of carsharing opportunities. Moreover, it followed by an aggregate analysis at the end. The survey results indicate the following: two-thirds of the respondents 62% have been carpooling every day since 5 years or more, more than half of the respondents are not satisfied with current modes, besides other attributes the Traffic Congestion, Environment and Insufficient Public Transport were ranked the most critical in daily transportation by survey participants. Moreover, 68.24% of the respondent chose Carsharing over carpooling under different choice game scenarios. Overall, the findings in this research show that Kabul City is a potential underground for the introduction of Carsharing in the future. Taken together, insufficient public transit, dissatisfaction with current modes, and their stated interest will affect the future of carsharing positively in Kabul City. The modal choice in this study is limited to carpooling and carsharing; more choice sets, including bus, cycling, and walking, will have to be added to evaluate further.

Keywords: carsharing, developing countries, Kabul Afghanistan, onboard carsharing survey, transportation, urban planning

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Authors: Kayode A. Olaniyi, Adeola A. Ogunleye, Tola M. Osifeko

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Electric Vehicles (EV) appear to be gaining increasing patronage as a feasible alternative to Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs) for having low emission and high operation efficiency. The EV energy storage systems are required to handle high energy and power density capacity constrained by limited space, operating temperature, weight and cost. The choice of strategies for energy storage evaluation, monitoring and control remains a challenging task. This paper presents review of various energy storage technologies and recent researches in battery evaluation techniques used in EV applications. It also underscores strategies for the hybrid energy storage management and control schemes for the improvement of EV stability and reliability. The study reveals that despite the advances recorded in battery technologies there is still no cell which possess both the optimum power and energy densities among other requirements, for EV application. However combination of two or more energy storages as hybrid and allowing the advantageous attributes from each device to be utilized is a promising solution. The review also reveals that State-of-Charge (SoC) is the most crucial method for battery estimation. The conventional method of SoC measurement is however questioned in the literature and adaptive algorithms that include all model of disturbances are being proposed. The review further suggests that heuristic-based approach is commonly adopted in the development of strategies for hybrid energy storage system management. The alternative approach which is optimization-based is found to be more accurate but is memory and computational intensive and as such not recommended in most real-time applications.

Keywords: battery state estimation, hybrid electric vehicle, hybrid energy storage, state of charge, state of health

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Authors: Sid Ahmed Ziane

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This paper argues for Johnson's financial responsiveness to the rise of Black Power and its advocate, 'Stokely Carmichael' in 1966. John H. Johnson was a Black businessman and the owner of Ebony magazine, one of the widely read Black magazines in the U.S. His magazine, however, was designed only to promoting Black fashion, aesthetic, marketing, and consumerism. In mid-1966, the mainstream of the Civil Rights movement was heading into two distinct camps when some of its advocates, led by Stokely Carmichael, began to question the slow pace of the Civil Rights and sought to pursue a more radical approach to bring about upheaval to the Black community. Their new approach, however, propelled the national media into paying close attention to their activities, their new methods, and their radical orientations. In fact, the major White-oriented media discredited Carmichael and distorted his public image via sensational stories and race-mongering reports. However, the Black owned outlets such as The Liberator advocated his agendas, whereas other magazines such as The Crisis rejected them. Based on such oral sources and Ebony’s online issues, this paper adds and argues that Johnson had also responded to the rise of Black Power and Carmichael. This reaction had, in fact, aimed at scooping and selling Carmichael and his new orientation as well as advertising him in his magazine to attract the readers who showed a strong tendency to hear and read about the heyday and even the ferment of Black Power. This paper is part of an ongoing project which aims at framing our understanding of how the Black print media and the modern Black liberation struggle were correlated and could shape each other by appraising their agendas, milestones, and their pivotal figures.

Keywords: Black power, Ebony magazine, John Johson, Stokely Carmichael

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Authors: Mei-Fang Wu, Shu-Li Wang, Feng-Tsung Cheng

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Highly developed technology and highly competitive global market highlight the important role of competitive advantages and operation performances in sustainable company operation. Activity-Based Costing (ABC) provides accurate operation cost and operation performance information. Rich literature provide relevant research with cases study on Activity-Based Costing application, and yet, there is no research studying on cause relationship between key success factors of applying Activity-Based Costing and its specific outcomes, such as profitability or share market. These relationships provide the ways to handle the key success factors to achieve the specific outcomes for ensuring to promote the competitive advantages and operation performances. The main purposes of this research are exploring the key success paths by Key Success Paths approach which will lead the ways to apply Activity-Base Costing. The Key Success Paths is the innovative method which is exploring the cause relationships and explaining what are the effects of key success factors to specific outcomes of Activity-Based Costing implementation. The cause relationships between key success factors and successful specific outcomes are Key Success Paths (KSPs). KSPs are the guidelines to lead the cost management strategies to achieve the goals of competitive advantages and operation performances. The research findings indicate that good management system design may impact the good outcomes of Activity-Based Costing application and achieve to outstanding competitive advantage, operating performance and profitability as well by KSPs exploration.

Keywords: activity-based costing, key success factors, key success paths approach, key success paths, key failure paths

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Authors: David Obafemi Adebayo

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An occupational challenge has been identified as one of the factors that could cripple set goals and life ambitions of an Internally Displaced Person (IDP). The main thrust of this study is therefore, explore the use of life support/adjustment strategy with a view to repositioning these internally displaced persons in Nigeria in revamping their goals and achieving their life-long ambitions. The study intends to investigate whether there exist, on the basis of gender, religion, years of working experience and educational qualification any significant difference in the occupational challenges and adjustment strategies of IDPs. The study being descriptive of survey type adopted a multi-stage sampling technique to select the minimum of 400 internally displaced persons from IDP camps in Yimitu Village, Waru District in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The research instrument used for the study was a researcher-designed questionnaire entitled “Questionnaire on Occupational Challenges and Adjustment Strategy of Internally Displaced Persons (QOCASIDPs)”. Eight null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha levels of significance. Frequency counts and percentages, means and rank order, t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) (where applicable) were employed to analyze the data. The Study determined whether occupational challenges of internally displaced persons included loss of employment, vocational discrimination, marginalization by employers of labour, isolation due to joblessness, lack of occupational freedom, which were found to be true. The results were discussed in line with the findings. The study established the place of notable adjustment strategies adopted by internally displaced person like engaging in petty trading, sourcing soft loans from NGOs, setting up small-scale businesses in groups, acquiring new skills, engaging in further education, among others. The study established that there was no significant difference in the occupational challenges of IDPs on the basis of years of working experience and highest educational qualifications, though there was significant difference on the basis of gender as well as religion. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made.

Keywords: internally displaced persons, occupational challenges, adjustment strategies, Abuja-Nigeria

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Authors: Jafar Akbari

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Quinolines are very important compounds partially because of their pharmacological properties which include wide applications in medicinal chemistry. notable among them are antimalarial drugs, anti-inflammatory agents, antiasthamatic, antibacterial, antihypertensive, and tyrosine kinase inhibiting agents. Despite quinoline usage in pharmaceutical and other industries, comparatively few methods for their preparation have been reported.The Friedlander annulation is one of the simplest and most straightforward methods for the synthesis of poly substituted quinolines. Although, modified methods employing lewis or br¢nsted acids have been reported for the synthesis of quinolines, the development of water stable acidic catalyst for quinoline synthesis is quite desirable. One of the most remarkable features of ionic liquids is that the yields can be optimized by changing the anions or the cations. Recently, sulfonic acid functionalized ionic liquids were used as solvent-catalyst for several organic reactions. We herein report the one pot domino approach for the synthesis of quinoline derivatives in Friedlander manner using TSIL as a catalyst. These ILs are miscible in water, and their homogeneous system is readily separated from the reaction product, combining advantages of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. In this reaction, the catalyst plays a dual role; it ensures an effective condensation and cyclization of 2-aminoaryl ketone with second carbonyl group and it also promotes the aromatization to the final product. Various types of quinolines from 2-aminoaryl ketones and β-ketoesters/ketones were prepared in 85-98% yields using the catalytic system of SO3-H functionalized ionic liquid/H2O. More importantly, the catalyst could be easily recycled for five times without loss of much activity.

Keywords: antimalarial drugs, green chemistry, ionic liquid, quinolines

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Authors: Gurukiran Veerapur, Nytik Birudavolu, Seetharam U. N., Chandravva Hebbi, R. Praneeth Reddy

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This work presents a robust approach for the recognition of characters in Telugu and Kannada, two South Indian scripts with structural similarities in characters. To recognize the characters exhaustive datasets are required, but there are only a few publicly available datasets. As a result, we decided to create a dataset for one language (source language),train the model with it, and then test it with the target language.Telugu is the target language in this work, whereas Kannada is the source language. The suggested method makes use of Canny edge features to increase character identification accuracy on pictures with noise and different lighting. A dataset of 45,150 images containing printed Kannada characters was created. The Nudi software was used to automatically generate printed Kannada characters with different writing styles and variations. Manual labelling was employed to ensure the accuracy of the character labels. The deep learning models like CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) and Visual Attention neural network (VAN) are used to experiment with the dataset. A Visual Attention neural network (VAN) architecture was adopted, incorporating additional channels for Canny edge features as the results obtained were good with this approach. The model's accuracy on the combined Telugu and Kannada test dataset was an outstanding 97.3%. Performance was better with Canny edge characteristics applied than with a model that solely used the original grayscale images. The accuracy of the model was found to be 80.11% for Telugu characters and 98.01% for Kannada words when it was tested with these languages. This model, which makes use of cutting-edge machine learning techniques, shows excellent accuracy when identifying and categorizing characters from these scripts.

Keywords: base characters, modifiers, guninthalu, aksharas, vattakshara, VAN

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Authors: Muhammad Izzam Bin Mohd Khazar, Nur Adibah Binti Zainudin

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Islamic banking as one of the financial institutions is highly required to maintain a prudent approach to ensure that any financing given is able to generate income to their respective shareholders. As the default payment of customers is probably occurred in the financing, having a prudent approach in the recovery process is a must to ensure that financing losses are within acceptable limits. The objective of this research is to provide the best practice of recovery which is anticipated to benefit both bank and customers. This study will address arising issue on the current practice of recovery process and followed by providing humanising recovery solutions in the light of the Maqasid Shariah. The study identified main issues pertaining to Islamic recovery process which can be categorized into knowledge crisis, process issues, specific treatment cases and system issues. Knowledge crisis is related to direct parties including judges, solicitors and salesperson, while the recovery process issues include the process of issuance of reminder, foreclosure and repossession of asset. Furthermore, special treatment for particular cases also should be observed since different contracts in Islamic banking products will need different treatment. Finally, issues in the system used in the recovery process are still unresolved since the existing technology is still young in this area to embraced Islamic finance requirements and nature of calculation. In order to humanize the financial services in Islamic banking recovery process, we have highlighted four main recommendation to be implemented by Islamic Financial Institutions namely; 1) early deterrent by improving the awareness, 2) improvement of the internal process, 3) reward mechanism, and 4) creative penalty to provide awareness to all stakeholders.

Keywords: humanizing financial services, Islamic Finance, Maqasid Syariah, recovery process

Procedia PDF Downloads 190

Authors: A. Zecchin, E. Vallicella, I. Alberi, A. Dalle Carbonare, A. Festi, F. Galeone, S. Garzon, R. Raffaelli, P. Pomini, M. Franchi

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Introduction: Severe endometriosis is a multiorgan disease, that involves bowel in 31% of cases. Disabling symptoms and deep infiltration can lead to bowel obstruction: surgical bowel treatment may be needed. In these cases, colorectal segment resection is usually performed by inferior mesenteric artery ligature, as radically as for oncological surgery. This study was made on surgery based on intestinal vascular axis’ preservation. It was assessed postoperative complications risks (mainly rate of dehiscence of intestinal anastomoses), and results were compared with the ones found in literature about classical colorectal resection. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective study based on 62 patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis of the bowel, which undergo segmental resection with intestinal vascular axis preservation, between 2013 and 2016. It was assessed complications related to the intervention both during hospitalization and 30-60 days after resection. Particular attention was paid to the presence of anastomotic dehiscence. 52 patients were finally telephonically interviewed in order to investigate the presence or absence of intestinal constipation. Results and Conclusion: Segmental intestinal resection performed in this study ensured a more conservative vascular approach, with lower rate of anastomotic dehiscence (1.6%) compared to classical literature data (10.0% to 11.4% ). No complications were observed regarding spontaneous recovery of intestinal motility and bladder emptying. Constipation in some patients, even after years of intervention, is not assessable in the absence of a preoperative constipation state assessment.

Keywords: anastomotic dehiscence, deep infiltrating endometriosis, colorectal resection, vascular axis preservation

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Hicham Amar, Mustapha El Ghorfi, Yassine Taha, Abdellatif Elghali, Rachid Hakkou, Mostafa Benzaazoua

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Phosphate mine waste rock (PMWR) generated during ore extraction is continuously increasing, resulting in a significant environmental footprint. The main objectives of this study consist of i) elaboration of the sampling strategy of PMWR piles, ii) a mineralogical and chemical characterization of PMWR piles, and iii) 3D block model creation to evaluate the potential valorization of the existing PMWR. Destructive drilling using reverse circulation from 13 drills was used to collect samples for chemical (X-ray fluorescence analysis) and mineralogical assays. The 3D block model was created based on the data set, including chemical data of the realized drills using Datamine RM software. The optical microscopy observations showed that the sandy phosphate from drills in the PMWR piles is characterized by the abundance of carbonate fluorapatite with the presence of calcite, dolomite, and quartz. The mean grade of composite samples was around 19.5±2.7% for P₂O₅. The mean grade of P₂O₅ exhibited an increasing tendency by depth profile from bottom to top of PMWR piles. 3D block model generated with chemical data confirmed the tendency of the mean grades’ variation and may allow a potential selective extraction according to %P₂O₅. The 3D block model of P₂O₅ grade is an efficient sampling approach that confirmed the variation of P₂O₅ grade. This integrated approach for PMWR management will be a helpful tool for decision-making to recover the residual phosphate, adopting the circular economy and sustainability in the phosphate mining industry.

Keywords: 3D modelling, reverse circulation drilling, circular economy, phosphate mine waste rock, sampling

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Authors: Muhammad Akmal Putera, Noriyuki Yasufuku, Adel Alowaisy, Ahmad Rifai

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Indonesia’s government has planned a project for a high-speed railway connecting the capital cities, Jakarta and Surabaya, about 700 km. Based on that location, it has been planning construction above the lowland soil region. The lowland soil region comprises cohesive soil with high water content and high compressibility index, which in fact, led to a settlement problem. Among the variety of railway track structures, the adoption of the ballastless track was used effectively to reduce the settlement; it provided a lightweight structure and minimized workspace. Contradictorily, deploying this thin layer structure above the lowland area was compensated with several problems, such as lack of bearing capacity and deflection behavior during traffic loading. It is necessary to combine with ground improvement to assure a settlement behavior on the clayey soil. Reflecting on the assurance of strength increment and working period, those were convinced by adopting methods such as cement-treated soil as the substructure of railway track. Particularly, evaluating mechanical properties in the field has been well known by using the plate load test and cone penetration test. However, observing an increment of mechanical properties has uncertainty, especially for evaluating cement-treated soil on the substructure. The current quality control of cement-treated soils was established by laboratory tests. Moreover, using small strain devices measurement in the laboratory can predict more reliable results that are identical to field measurement tests. Aims of this research are to show an intercorrelation of confining pressure with the initial condition of the Young modulus (E_o), Poisson ratio (υ_o) and Shear modulus (G_o) within small strain ranges. Furthermore, discrepancies between those parameters were also investigated. Based on the experimental result confirmed the intercorrelation between cement content and confining pressure with a power function. In addition, higher cement ratios have discrepancies, conversely with low mixing ratios.

Keywords: amount of cement, elastic zone, high-speed railway, lightweight structure

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Authors: Shrutika Lakshmi

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Gender inequality has been quite evident particularly in the third world economies in different domains like health, education, marriages and personal freedom. Women’s exercise to personal freedom is driven by their financial standing in third world social milieu. However, even after decades of attempt to achieve a socio-economic standing equal to men, their attempts have failed in registering success.This research has been conducted in the national capital of India New Delhi aiming to reflect upon the gendered relations in society on the category of employed women. This particular category of women have been chosen for the study in order to study the gender relations, subordination of such women in household despite having an economic standing of their own, etc. The methodology used for this study is semi-structured interview along with qualitative analysis. Moreover, with the help of direct interaction with these women, we get insight into the kind of gendered relations prevailing inside the household structure which have their roots in age old customs and stereotype of the social milieu. Most importantly, the highlight of the study remains on the point where the hierarchy remains in the subconscious of these women and they never forget their social standing. It has been interesting to note that how even after contributing to the family income successively, their position remains subjugated in front of their male counterparts and thus, they are not ‘free’ in the real sense of the term. Even after attaining an economically stable position, these women did not enjoy the same comfort and freedom of choice as their male counterparts do, this could be gauged from the fact that when asked about ‘time for one’s own self’ they had no sense of it. This is astonishing in today’s world where every individual works and strives for a better livelihood and quality existence. Such findings reflect upon the reality of our society where women are still subjugated and duty bound towards the household even after having the same economic stand as their male counterparts. The burden of household chores and responsibilities fall solely on the shoulders of a women despite being an employed women even in the present times. Cooperation comes primarily from female members of the household and not from males. And thus, we as a society are far away from gender equity. We still suffer from prejudices and stereotypes which prevent us from giving same respect to women which we keep reserved for the man. Given this scenario, it seems, gender equity is a distant goal which we will have to keep striving for even harder even after decades of feminist struggles all over the world.

Keywords: employed women, subjugation in household, gender hierarchy, financial independence,

Procedia PDF Downloads 145