Search results for: social patterns

Authors: Khalid Al Mutairi, Mashhor Mansor, Magdy El-Bana, Saud L. Al-Rowaily, Asyraf Mansor

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The present study was carried out in 20 islands of Farasan Archipelago in Saudi Arabia to describe the biogeography patterns of plants. A total of 191 species belonging to 129 genera and 53 families were identified. Following island biogeography theory, total plant species richness and their ecological groups were positively influenced by island size, number of habitats,elevation and were not affected by isolation. The high level of nestedness, the strong effect of area on total plant species richness and ecological groups, and the similarity of vegetation composition on the islands has several implications for conservation. In conclusion the large and richest islands in Farasan Archipelago such as Farasan Alkbir would conserve higher diversity than several smaller islands. This island also includes rare habitats like coral rocks and rare species. The invasion of the unique habitats such as wadi channels and water catchments in this island by the exotic tree Prosopis juliflora should be managed to conserve the native biodiversity. The protection of such critical habitats is very important on the other large island (e.g. Zufaf), due to their limited distribution in the country.

Keywords: island biogeography, conservation, farasan archipelago, saudi arabia, plant diversity

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Authors: Pantelis Sklias, Panagiota Chatzimichailidou

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This study intents to clarify the nexus of adult education and economic development within the methodological framework of political economy within EU. The main logic behind this study is that economies with a higher level of adult education have higher levels of economic development. Despite the assumption that policy making in adult education will clearly be facilitated by any ‘proofs’ of efficiency, mainly monetary, this study acknowledges the limitations following the use of the narrow economic approaches embedded in the neoclassical framework and proposes that the methodological framework of political economy is the most relevant to explore the correlation between adult education and economic development. Focusing only on neoclassical economics to explore the financial impact of adult education, it will marginalize the consideration of its history, producing a short of historical amnesia, besides the social harm, namely the devaluation of its socio-cultural influences. On the other side the political economy perspective offers a wider perception of adult education’s profits from a quantitative and a qualitative perspective too. The understanding of adult education engages questions of political economy because it is identified mainly as means of transformation, either personal or societal, serving humanistic values, besides its accepted monetary attributes. The political economy elevates questions regarding how the three institutional arrangements -the state, the market, and the civil society, are engaged in promoting adult education and therefore how adult education could reinforce economic development. Here the economic substance is still considered but it is placed into a wider social spectrum, where politics, economy, and history interact with one another. This study restricts itself in EU and explores the role of the three institutional arrangements both in the formulation of policy planning, and in the mental transformational process of the individual learners, which opens the path to a deeper understanding of the interaction between the individual and the social action, and therefore between adult education and economic development. This study also elevates the idea that economic development can have a positive impact on the unification of Europe, which encompasses economic, political, and cultural components.

Keywords: adult education, economic development, EU, political economy, unification of Europe

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Authors: Dinesh Kumar Srivastava

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After liberalization of the economy, technical education has seen rapid growth in India. A large number of institutions are offering various engineering and management programmes. Every year, a number of students complete B. Tech/M. Tech and MBA programmes of different institutes, universities in India and search for jobs in the industry. A large number of companies visit educational institutes for campus placements. These companies are interested in hiring competent managers. Most students show preference for jobs from reputed companies and jobs having high compensation. In this context, this study was conducted to understand career preference of postgraduate students and junior executives. Personality characteristics influence work life as well as personal life. In the last two decades, five factor model of personality has been found to be a valid predictor of job performance and job satisfaction. This approach has received support from studies conducted in different countries. It includes neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Similarly three social needs, namely, achievement, affiliation and power influence motivation and performance in certain job functions. Both approaches have been considered in the study. The objective of the study was first, to analyse the relationship between personality characteristics and career preference of students and executives. Secondly, the study analysed the relationship between personality characteristics and skills of students. Three managerial skills namely, conceptual, human and technical have been considered in the study. The sample size of the study was 266 including postgraduate students and junior executives. Respondents have completed BE/B. Tech/MBA programme. Three dimensions of career preference namely, identity, variety and security and three managerial skills were considered as dependent variables. The results indicated that neuroticism was not related to any dimension of career preference. Extraversion was not related to identity, variety and security. It was positively related to three skills. Openness to experience was positively related to skills. Conscientiousness was positively related to variety. It was positively related to three skills. Similarly, the relationship between social needs and career preference was examined using correlation. The results indicated that need for achievement was positively related to variety, identity and security. Need for achievement was positively related to managerial skills Need for affiliation was positively related to three dimensions of career preference as well as managerial skills Need for power was positively related to three dimensions of career preference and managerial skills Social needs appear to be stronger predictor of career preference and managerial skills than big five traits. Findings have implications for selection process in industry.

Keywords: big five traits, career preference, personality, social needs

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Authors: Chan Ka Lok Sobel

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The rapid evolution of digital media platforms has given rise to new forms of narrative engagement, particularly through multi-channel storytelling. This research focuses on exploring the teaching pedagogy and effectiveness of multi-channel storytelling for social media, cinema, games, and streaming platforms. The study employs case studies of the popular series "Squid Game" to investigate the diverse pedagogical approaches and strategies used in teaching multi-channel storytelling. Through qualitative research methods, including interviews, surveys, and content analysis, the research assesses the effectiveness of these approaches in terms of student engagement, knowledge acquisition, critical thinking skills, and the development of digital literacy. The findings contribute to understanding best practices for incorporating multi-channel storytelling into educational contexts and enhancing learning outcomes in the digital media landscape.

Keywords: digital literacy, game-based learning, artificial intelligence, animation production, educational technology

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Authors: Nádia Pereira, Paula Ferreira, Sofia Francisco, Sofia Oliveira, Sidclay Souza, Paula Paulino, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão

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Social media has progressed into a platform for hate speech among its users, and thus, there is an increasing need to develop automatic detection classifiers of offense and conflicts to help decrease the prevalence of such incidents. Online communication can be used to intentionally harm someone, which is why such classifiers could be essential in social networks. A possible application of these classifiers is the automatic detection of cyberbullying. Even though identifying the aggressive language used in online interactions could be important to build cyberbullying datasets, there are other criteria that must be considered. Being able to capture the language, which is indicative of the intent to harm others in a specific context of online interaction is fundamental. Offense and hate speech may be the foundation of online conflicts, which have become commonly used in social media and are an emergent research focus in machine learning and natural language processing. This study presents two Portuguese language offense-related datasets which serve as examples for future research and extend the study of the topic. The first is similar to other offense detection related datasets and is entitled Aggressiveness dataset. The second is a novelty because of the use of the history of the interaction between users and is entitled the Conflicts/Attacks dataset. Both datasets were developed in different phases. Firstly, we performed a content analysis of verbal aggression witnessed by adolescents in situations of cyberbullying. Secondly, we computed frequency analyses from the previous phase to gather lexical and linguistic cues used to identify potentially aggressive conflicts and attacks which were posted on Twitter. Thirdly, thorough annotation of real tweets was performed byindependent postgraduate educational psychologists with experience in cyberbullying research. Lastly, we benchmarked these datasets with other machine learning classifiers.

Keywords: aggression, classifiers, cyberbullying, datasets, hate speech, machine learning

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Authors: Nurlaila Effendy

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Companies in Asia face a number of constraints in tight competitiveness in ASEAN Economic Community 2015 and globalization. An economic capitalism system as an integral part of globalization processing brings broad impacts. They need to improve business performance in globalization and ASEAN Economic Community. Organizational development has quite clearly demonstrated that aligning individual’s personal goals with the goals of the organization translates into measurable and sustained performance improvement. Human capital is a key to achieve company performance. Employee Engagement (EE) creates and expresses themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally to achieve company goals and individual goals. One will experience a total involvement when they undertake their jobs and feel a self integration to their job and organization. A leader plays key role in attaining the goals and objectives of a company/organization. Any Manager in a company needs to have leadership competence and global mindset. As one the of positive organizational behavior developments, psychological capital (PsyCap) is assumed to be one of the most important capitals in the global mindset, in addition to intellectual capital and social capital. Textile companies also need to face a number of constraints in tight competitiveness in regional and global. This research involved 42 managers in two textiles and a spinning companies in a group, in Central Java, Indonesia. It is a quantitative research with Partial Least Squares (PLS) studying job resource (Social Support & Organizational Climate) and Personal Resource (4 dimensions of Psychological Capital & Leadership Competence) as prediction of Employee Engagement, also Employee Engagement and leadership competence as prediction of leader’s performance. The performance of a leader is measured by means of achievement on objective strategies in terms of 4 perspectives (financial and non-financial perspectives) in a Balanced Score Card (BSC). It took one year during a business plan of year 2014, from January to December 2014. The result of this research is there is correlation between Job Resource (coefficient value of Social Support is 0.036 & coefficient value of organizational climate is 0.220) and Personal Resource (coefficient value of PsyCap is 0.513 & coefficient value of Leadership Competence is 0.249) with employee engagement. There is correlation between employee engagement (coefficient value is 0.279) and leadership competence (coefficient value is 0.581) with performance.

Keywords: organizational climate, social support, psychological capital leadership competence, employee engagement, performance, integrated textile companies

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Authors: Omuvwie R. Ewien

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Palm oil production in Delta State, Nigeria, is a significant economic activity. However, ensuring its sustainability is crucial to mitigate environmental impacts, promote social equity, and maintain long-term economic viability. This abstract provides an overview of palm oil production sustainability in Delta State, focusing on environmental, social, and economic aspects. In terms of environmental sustainability, the impact of palm oil plantations on deforestation and biodiversity loss is explored. The adoption of sustainable land use practices and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as conserving high conservation value areas and utilizing methane capture systems, are highlighted. Social sustainability considerations encompass the inclusion and empowerment of smallholders, ensuring fair labor practices and community engagement. Supporting small-scale farmers, promoting fair working conditions, and investing in local infrastructure and services are identified as key strategies. Economic sustainability is emphasized through yield improvement, efficiency, and value addition. Enhancing productivity and profitability for farmers, promoting downstream processing and market diversification, and building economic resilience is crucial for long-term sustainability. Government policies, including regulatory frameworks and public-private collaborations, play a pivotal role in promoting sustainable palm oil production. Enabling policies and partnerships with industry stakeholders and NGOs facilitates the adoption of sustainable practices. Challenges such as illegal activities, the need to balance economic development with environmental conservation, and leveraging technology for sustainability are discussed. The abstract concludes by emphasizing the importance of stakeholders' commitment to prioritize sustainable palm oil production in Delta State, Nigeria, for a sustainable future.

Keywords: palm oil production, environmental sustainability, community development, yield improvement, future outlook

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Authors: Esther Burkitt, Dawn Watling

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Background: Four types of patterns of simultaneous mixed emotions have been identified in middle childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The present study applied an analogue emotion scale which permits measuring of intensity of opposite valence emotions over time rather than bipolar ratings and used an exhaustive coding scheme to investigate whether children in early childhood experience previously identified and additional types of mixed emotional experiences. Methods: To explore the presence of simultaneous mixed emotion experiences in early childhood, 112 children (59 girls) aged 5 years 1 month - 7 years 2 months (X=6 years 1 month; SD = 10 months) were recruited across the UK. They were allocated on the basis of alternation by gender on class lists to one of two conditions hearing vignettes describing mixed emotion events in an age and gender matched protagonist or themselves (other, n = 57 and self, n = 55). Findings: New types of flexuous, vertical and other experiences were identified alongside sequential, prevalent, highly parallel and inverse types of experiences identified in older populations. Conclusions: The analogue emotion scale uncovered a broader range of simultaneous mixed emotional experiences than previously identified. The value of exploring the utility of the findings in emotion assessments is discussed along with suggestions to explore impacts of educational and cultural influences on children’s mixed emotional experiences.

Keywords: childhood, emotion, graphing, self

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Authors: Inje Cho

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The leading health risks threatening the world today are associated with a modern lifestyle characterized by sedentary behavior, stress, anxiety, and an obesogenic food environment. To counter this alarming trend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have proffered Physical Activity guidelines to bolster physical engagement. Concurrently, the burgeon of smartphones and mobile applications has witnessed a proliferation of fitness applications aimed at invigorating exercise adherence and real-time activity monitoring. Grounded in the Uses and gratification theory, this study delves into the technological affordances of mobile fitness applications, discerning the mediating influences of escapism and social outcome expectations on attitudes and exercise intention. The theory explains how individuals employ distinct communication mediums to satiate their exigencies and desires. Technological affordances manifest as attributes of emerging technologies that galvanize personal engagement in physical activities. Several features of mobile fitness applications include affordances for goal setting, virtual rewards, peer support, and exercise information. Escapism, denoting the inclination to disengage from normal routines, has emerged as a salient motivator for the consumption of new media. This study postulates that individual’s perceptions technological affordances within mobile fitness applications, can affect escapism and social outcome expectations, potentially influencing attitude, and behavior formation. Thus, the integrated model has been developed to empirically examine the interrelationships between technological affordances, escapism, social outcome expectations, and exercise intention. Structural Equation Modelling serves as the methodological tool, and a cohort of 400 Fitbit users shall be enlisted from the Prolific, data collection platform. A sequence of multivariate data analyses will scrutinize both the measurement and hypothesized structural models. By delving into the effects of mobile fitness applications, this study contributes to the growing of new media studies in sport management. Moreover, the novel integration of the uses and gratification theory, technological affordances, via the prism of escapism, illustrates the dynamics that underlies mobile fitness user’s attitudes and behavioral intentions. Therefore, the findings from this study contribute to theoretical understanding and provide pragmatic insights to developers and practitioners in optimizing the impact of mobile fitness applications.

Keywords: technological affordances, uses and gratification, mobile fitness apps, escapism, physical activity

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Authors: Aarti Suryawanshi

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Royal Tourism has always been a popular niche activity for many tourists around the world. The United Kingdom being at the heart of it, has been a pioneering nation for Royal tourists. Though many other countries with monarchies such as India, Thailand, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, and many more have attracted tourists with the motivation to see and experience the royalty to their nations, the Middle Eastern countries have never really been the attraction for Royal tourists. Royalty in the middle east is fast emerging as a tourist product and also paving way to marketing opportunity that may lead to the increased popularity of the Royal Houses of the region. Dubai has been garnering the centre stage for futuristic developments, economic growth initiatives, and continuous efforts towards urbanisation which has brought the lime light on the Royal house of the Al Maktoum globally, along with the younger royal members being extensively recognised and appreciated for their public and private adventures which are shared through various social media platforms. The objective of this paper is to analyse the popularity of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum through social media platforms and the possibility of inducing Royal Tourism in Dubai. An empirical study has been performed to describe the automated repositioning of the city of Dubai as a royal tourism hub.

Keywords: royalty, royal tourism, monarchy, marketing strategy, repositioning

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Authors: Eduardo Garcia Agustin

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This paper focuses on how Mickey – the 10-year-old main character and narrator in Paul McVeigh’s novel The Good Son (2015) – becomes aware of his own queerness and its implications in a conflicting place and time such as Belfast during ‘The Troubles’ in the 1980s. Queer theory allows a comparative reading of identity issues such as national and gender discourses. As opposed to some other excluding social constructs that classify identities in an Us-Others binomial, queer has become a sort of umbrella term where there is room for more identities other than LGTBQ. Therefore, it offers some relevant tools to read this highly awarded novel by focusing on the intersectional construction of Mickey’s identity in progress within the social and familiar realms. The aim of this paper is to offer a queer reading of the The Good Son, which was awarded with the Polari First Book Prize in 2016, by showing the key role of Mickey’s conflictive realization of his own queerness in the polarized society of Northern Ireland in the 1980s, where there is no shade of grey. Within such a polarized context, Mickey’s perception of his own internal and external identity conflicts he is exposed to will show how necessary a certain touch of pink is as a potential escape to those conflicts.

Keywords: conflict, national identity, Northern Ireland, queer identity

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Authors: Teng Minnie Y., Jarus Tal, Wong Anita

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Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the lifestyle of all Canadians. While "stay-at-home" public health directives have been implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, they may also lead to or worsen physical and social health challenges for older adults. In particular, older adults with disabilities are especially vulnerable. In response, we quickly adapted to virtual rehabilitation exercise intervention for older adults. Objectives: First, to identify the factors that influenced the acceptability and feasibility of virtual exercise implementation, and second, to evaluate whether the virtual delivery was effective for health promotion in older adults with disabilities. Methods: We carried out weekly virtual exercise programs from January 2021 to June 2021. We conducted semi-structured focus groups and interviews to explore the perspectives of participants who are older adults. The focus group and interview data are transcribed and coded thematically. Conclusions: The acceptability and feasibility of delivering exercises virtually were influenced by the provision of a safe and supportive environment for social connection, the availability of the necessary technology, and the role of the support system.

Keywords: physical activity, virtual exercises, older adults, people with disabilities

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Authors: Lukasz Grzegorz Broda, Taiwo Oseni, Andrew Stranieri, Rodrigo Marino, Ronelle Welton, Mark Yates

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The oral health of residents in aged care centres in Australia is poor, contributing to infections, hospital admissions, and increased suffering. Although the use of electric toothbrushes has been deployed in many centres, smartbrushes that record and transmit information about brushing patterns and duration are not routinely deployed. Yet, the use of smartbrushes for aged care residents promises better oral care. Thus, a study aimed at investigating the appropriateness and suitability of a smartbrush for aged care residents is currently underway. Due to the peculiarity of the aged care setting, the incorporation of smartbrushes into residents’ care does require careful planning and design considerations. This paper describes an initial design process undertaken through the use of an actor to understand the important elements to be incorporated whilst installing a smartbrush for use in aged care settings. The design covers the configuration settings of the brush and app, including ergonomic factors related to brush and smartphone placement. A design science approach led to an installation re-design and a revised protocol for the planned study, the ultimate aim being to design installations to enhance perceived usefulness, ease of use, and attitudes towards the incorporation of smartbrushes for improving oral health care for aged care residents.

Keywords: smartbrush, applied computing, life and medical sciences, health informatics

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Authors: George Cudjoe Agbemabiese, John Paul Kosiba, Michael Boadi Nyamekye, Vanessa Narkie Tetteh, Caleb Nunoo, Mohammed Muniru Husseini

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The smartphone industry continues to experience massive growth, evidenced by expanding markets and an increasing number of brands, models and manufacturers. As technology advances rapidly, manufacturers of smartphones are consistently introducing new innovations to keep up with the latest evolving industry trends and customer demand for more modern devices. This study aimed to assess the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant (VA) on improving customer experience, resulting in the continuous use of mobile brands. Specifically, this article assesses the role of hedonic, utilitarian, and social benefits provided by AIVA on customer experience and the continuance intention to use mobile phone brands. Using a primary data collection instrument, the quantitative approach was adopted to examine the study's variables. Data from 348 valid responses were used for the analysis based on structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS version 23. Three main factors were identified to influence customer experience, which results in continuous usage of mobile phone brands. These factors are social benefits, hedonic benefits, and utilitarian benefits. In conclusion, a significant and positive relationship exists between the factors influencing customer experience for continuous usage of mobile phone brands. The study concludes that mobile brands that invest in delivering positive user experiences are in a better position to improve usage and increase preference for their brands. The study recommends that mobile brands consider and research their prospects' and customers' social, hedonic, and utilitarian needs to provide them with desired products and experiences.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, continuance usage, customer experience, smartphone industry

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Authors: Arup K. Sarma, Jayshree Hazarika

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The North-eastern part of India, which receives heavier rainfall than other parts of the subcontinent, is of great concern now-a-days with regard to climate change. High intensity rainfall for short duration and longer dry spell, occurring due to impact of climate change, affects river morphology too. In the present study, an attempt is made to delineate the North-Eastern region of India into some homogeneous clusters based on the Fuzzy Clustering concept and to compare the resulting clusters obtained by using conventional methods and non conventional methods of clustering. The concept of clustering is adapted in view of the fact that, impact of climate change can be studied in a homogeneous region without much variation, which can be helpful in studies related to water resources planning and management. 10 IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) stations, situated in various regions of the North-east, have been selected for making the clusters. The results of the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) analysis show different clustering patterns for different conditions. From the analysis and comparison it can be concluded that non conventional method of using GCM data is somehow giving better results than the others. However, further analysis can be done by taking daily data instead of monthly means to reduce the effect of standardization.

Keywords: climate change, conventional and nonconventional methods of clustering, FCM analysis, homogeneous regions

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Authors: Frederick W. Gooding, Jr., Mark Beeman

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Nearly a century ago, the groundbreaking 1915 film ‘The Birth of a Nation’ popularized the way Hollywood made movies with its avant-garde, feature-length style. The movie's subjugating and demeaning depictions of African American women (and men) reflected popular racist beliefs held during the time of slavery and the early Jim Crow era. Although much has changed concerning race relations in the past century, American sociologist Patricia Hill Collins theorizes that the disparaging images of African American women originating in the era of plantation slavery are adaptable and endure as controlling images today. In this context, a comparative analysis of the successful contemporary film, ‘Bringing Down the House’ starring Queen Latifah is relevant as this 2004 film was designed to purposely defy and ridicule classic stereotypes of African American women. However, the film is still tied to the controlling images from the past, although in a modern hybrid form. Scholars of race and film have noted that the pervasive filmic imagery of the African American woman as the loyal mammy stereotype faded from the screen in the post-civil rights era in favor of more sexualized characters (i.e., the Jezebel trope). Analyzing scenes and dialogue through the lens of sociological and critical race theory, the troubling persistence of African American controlling images in film stubbornly emerge in a movie like ‘Bringing Down the House.’ Thus, these controlling images, like racism itself, can adapt to new social and economic conditions. Although the classic controlling images appeared in the first feature length film focusing on race relations a century ago, ‘The Birth of a Nation,’ this black and white rendition of the mammy figure was later updated in 1939 with the classic hit, ‘Gone with the Wind’ in living color. These popular controlling images have loomed quite large in the minds of international audiences, as ‘Gone with the Wind’ is still shown in American theaters currently, and experts at the British Film Institute in 2004 rated ‘Gone with the Wind’ as the number one movie of all time in UK movie history based upon the total number of actual viewings. Critical analysis of character patterns demonstrate that images that appear superficially benign contribute to a broader and quite persistent pattern of marginalization within the aggregate. This approach allows experts and viewers alike to detect more subtle and sophisticated strands of racial discrimination that are ‘hidden in plain sight’ despite numerous changes in the Hollywood industry that appear to be more voluminous and diverse than three or four decades ago. In contrast to white characters, non-white or minority characters are likely to be subtly compromised or marginalized relative to white characters if and when seen within mainstream movies, rather than be subjected to obvious and offensive racist tropes. The hybrid form of both the older Jezebel and Mammy stereotypes exhibited by lead actress Queen Latifah in ‘Bringing Down the House’ represents a more suave and sophisticated merging of past imagery ideas deemed problematic in the past as well as the present.

Keywords: African Americans, Hollywood film, hybrid, stereotypes

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Authors: Erica Lima

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The objective of this paper is to discuss relevant points about teaching translation in Brazilian universities and the possible impacts of blogs and social networks to translator education today. It is intended to analyze the curricula of Brazilian translation courses, contrasting them to information obtained from two social networking groups of great visibility in the area concerning essential characteristics to become a successful profession. Therefore, research has, as its main corpus, a few undergraduate translation programs’ syllabuses, as well as a few postings on social networks groups that specifically share professional opinions regarding the necessity for a translator to obtain a degree in translation to practice the profession. To a certain extent, such comments and their corresponding responses lead to the propagation of discourses which influence the ideas that aspiring translators and recent graduates end up having towards themselves and their undergraduate courses. The postings also show that many professionals do not have a clear position regarding the translator education; while refuting it, they also encourage “free” courses. It is thus observed that cyberspace constitutes, on the one hand, a place of mobilization of people in defense of similar ideas. However, on the other hand, it embodies a place of tension and conflict, in view of the fact that there are many participants and, as in any other situation of interlocution, disagreements may arise. From the postings, aspects related to professionalism were analyzed (including discussions about regulation), as well as questions about the classic dichotomies: theory/practice; art/technique; self-education/academic training. As partial result, the common interest regarding the valorization of the profession could be mentioned, although there is no consensus on the essential characteristics to be a good translator. It was also possible to observe that the set of socially constructed representations in the group reflects characteristics of the world situation of the translation courses (especially in some European countries and in the United States), which, in the first instance, does not accurately reflect the Brazilian idiosyncrasies of the area.

Keywords: cyberspace, teaching translation, translator education, university

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Authors: Flavio Cordeiro Fontanella, Asla Medeiros e Sá, Moacyr Alvim Horta Barbosa da Silva

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In the present work, we analyse the performance of football results forecasting models. In order to do so, we have performed the data collection from eight different forecasting models during the 2021 Brazilian football season. First, we guide the analysis through visual representations of the data, designed to highlight the most prominent features and enhance the interpretation of differences and similarities between the models. We propose using a 2-simplex triangle to investigate visual patterns from the results forecasting models. Next, we compute the expected points for every team playing in the championship and compare them to the final league standings, revealing interesting contrasts between actual to expected performances. Then, we evaluate forecasts’ accuracy using the Ranked Probability Score (RPS); models comparison accounts for tiny scale differences that may become consistent in time. Finally, we observe that the Wisdom of Crowds principle can be appropriately applied in the context, driving into a discussion of results forecasts usage in practice. This paper’s primary goal is to encourage football forecasts’ performance discussion. We hope to accomplish it by presenting appropriate criteria and easy-to-understand visual representations that can point out the relevant factors of the subject.

Keywords: accuracy evaluation, Brazilian championship, football results forecasts, forecasting models, visual analysis

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Authors: D. Berg, N. Hartley, L. Nasr

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This paper presents a conceptual model of human-robot interaction within service encounters and the effect on the well-being of both consumers and service providers. In this paper, service providers are those employees who work alongside frontline service robots. The significance of this paper lies in the knowledge created which outlines how frontline service robots can be effectively utilized in service encounters for the benefit of organizations and society as a whole. As this paper is conceptual in nature, the main methodologies employed are theoretical, namely problematization and theory building. The significance of this paper is underpinned by the shift of service robots from manufacturing plants and factory floors to consumer-facing service environments. This service environment places robots in direct contact with frontline employees and consumers creating a hybrid workplace where humans work alongside service robots. This change from back-end to front-end roles may have implications not only on the physical environment, servicescape, design, and strategy of service offerings and encounters but also on the human parties of the service encounter itself. Questions such as ‘how are frontline service robots impacting and changing the service encounter?’ and ‘what effect are such changes having on the well-being of the human actors in a service encounter?’ spring to mind. These questions form the research question of this paper. To truly understand social service robots, an interdisciplinary perspective is required. Besides understanding the function, system, design or mechanics of a service robot, it is also necessary to understand human-robot interaction. However not simply human-robot interaction, but particularly what happens when such robots are placed in commercial settings and when human-robot interaction becomes consumer-robot interaction and employee-robot interaction? A service robot in this paper is characterized by two main factors; its social characteristics and the consumer-facing environment within which it operates. The conceptual framework presented in this paper contributes to interdisciplinary discussions surrounding social robotics, service, and technology’s impact on consumer and service provider well-being, and hopes that such knowledge will help improve services, as well as the prosperity and well-being of society.

Keywords: frontline service robots, human-robot interaction, service encounters, well-being

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Authors: Gila Kurtz, Dan Kohen Vacs

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Social robots (SR) is an emerging field striving to deploy computers capable of resembling human shapes and mimicking human movements, gestures, and behaviors. The evolving capability of SR to interact with human offers groundbreaking ways for learning and training opportunities. Studies show that SR can offer instructional experiences for fostering creativity, entertainment, enjoyment, and curiosity. These added values are essential for empowering instructional opportunities as gamified learning experiences. We present our project focused on deploying an activity to be experienced in an escape room aimed at team-based learning scaffolded by an SR, NAO. An escape room is a well-known approach for gamified activities focused on a simulated scenario experienced by team-based participants. Usually, the simulation takes place in a physical environment where participants must complete a series of challenges in a limited amount of time. During this experience, players learn something about the assigned topic of the room. In the current learning simulation, students must "save the nation" by locating sensitive information stolen and stored in a vault of four locks. Team members have to look for hints and solve riddles mediated by NAO. Each solution provides a unique code for opening one of the four locks. NAO is also used to provide ongoing feedback on the team's performance. We captured the proceeding of our activity and used it to conduct an evaluation study among ten experts in related areas. The experts were interviewed on their overall assessment of the learning activity and their perception of the added value related to the robot. The results were very encouraging on the feasibility that NAO can serve as a motivational tutor in adults' collaborative game-based learning. We believe that this study marks the first step toward a template for developing innovative team-based training using escape rooms supported by a humanoid robot.

Keywords: social robot, NAO, learning, team based activity, escape room

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Authors: Sherry Ann Ganase, Sandra Sookram

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In this paper, the vulnerability level to climate change is analysed using a comprehensive index, consisting of five pillars: human, social, natural, physical, and financial. A structural equation model is also applied to determine the indicators and relationships that exist between the observed environmental changes and the quality of life. Using survey data to model the results, a value of 0.382 is derived as the vulnerability level for San Pedro, where values closer to zero indicates lower vulnerability and values closer to one indicates higher vulnerability. The results showed the social pillar to be most vulnerable, with the indicator ‘participation’ ranked the highest in its cohort. Although, the environmental pillar is ranked as least vulnerable, the indicators ‘hazard’ and ‘biodiversity’ obtained scores closer to 0.4, suggesting that changes in the environment are occurring from natural and anthropogenic activities. These changes can negatively influence the quality of life as illustrated in the structural equation modelling. The study concludes by reporting on the need for collective action and participation by households in lowering vulnerability to ensure sustainable development and livelihood.

Keywords: climate change, participation, San Pedro, structural equation model, vulnerability index

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Authors: Ghzlan Mahmoud Abdel Aziz

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This case study aims to identify the intrastate conflicts between the nation state and armed groups. Nowadays, most wars weaken states against armed groups. Thus, it is very important to negotiate with such groups in order to reinforce the law for the protection of victims. These armed groups are the cause of conflicts and they are related with many of humanitarian issues that result out of conflicts. In this age of rivalry; terrorists, insurgents, or transnational criminal parties have surfaced to the top as a reaction to these armed groups in an effort to set up a new world order. Moreover, the intra state conflicts became increasingly treacherous than the interstate conflicts, particularly when nation state systems deal with armed groups which try to influence the state. The unexpected upraising of the Arab Spring during 2011 in parts of the Middle East and North Africa formed various patterns of conflicts. The events of the Arab Spring resulted in current and long term change across the region. Significant modifications in the level, strength and period of armed conflict around the world have been made. Egypt was in the center of these events. It has fought back the armed groups under the name of terrorism and spread common disorder and violence among civilians. On this note, this study focuses on the problem of the transformation in the methods of organized violence within one state rather than between two state or more and analyzes the objectives, strategies, and internal composition of armed groups and the environments that foster them, with a focus on the Egyptian case.

Keywords: armed groups, conflicts, Egyptian armed forces, intrastate conflicts

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Authors: Pi-Hsia Hung

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The development of mathematical competency has individual benefits as well as benefits to the wider society. Children who begin school behind their peers in their understanding of number, counting, and simple arithmetic are at high risk of staying behind throughout their schooling. The development of effective strategies for improving the educational trajectory of these individuals will be contingent on identifying areas of early quantitative knowledge that influence later mathematics achievement. A computer-based quantity assessment was developed in this study to investigate the characteristics of 2nd and 3rd grade slow learners in quantity. The concept of quantification involves understanding measurements, counts, magnitudes, units, indicators, relative size, and numerical trends and patterns. Fifty-five tasks of quantitative reasoning—such as number sense, mental calculation, estimation and assessment of reasonableness of results—are included as quantity problem solving. Thus, quantity is defined in this study as applying knowledge of number and number operations in a wide variety of authentic settings. Around 1000 students were tested and categorized into 4 different performance levels. Students’ quantity ability correlated higher with their school math grade than other subjects. Around 20% students are below basic level. The intervention design implications of the preliminary item map constructed are discussed.

Keywords: mathematics assessment, mathematical cognition, quantity, number sense, validity

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Authors: Chalachew Kassaw, Henok Ababu, Bethelhem Sileshy, Lulu Abebe, Birhanie Mekuriaw

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Background: Psychological discomfort is a state of emotional distress caused by everyday stressors and obligations that are difficult to manage. Orthopedic trauma has a wide range of effects on survivors' physical health, as well as a variety of mental health concerns that impede recovery. Psychiatric and behavioral conditions are 3-5 times more common in people who have undergone physical trauma, and they are a predictor of poor outcomes. Despite the above facts, there is a shortage of research done on the subject. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of psychological distress and associated factor among patients attending orthopedic treatment at Gedeo zone, South Ethiopia 2022. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken at Dilla University Referral Hospital from October –November 2022. The data was collected via a face-to-face interview, and the Kessler psychological distress scale (K-10) was used to assess psychological distress. A total of 386 patients receiving outpatient and inpatient services at the orthopedic unit were chosen using a simple random selection technique. A Statistical Package for the Social Science version 21 (SPSS-21) was used to enter and evaluate the data. To find related factors, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regressions were used. Variables having a p-value of less than 0.05 were deemed statistically significant. Result: A total of 386 participants with a response rate of 94.8% were included in the study. Out of all respondents, 114 (31.4%) of the individuals have experienced psychological distress. Independent variables such as Females [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=5.8, 95%CI=(4.6-15.6)], Average monthly income of <3500 birrs [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) =4.8, 95% CI=(2.4-9.8) ], Current history of substance use [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) =2.6, 95% CI=(1.66-4.7)], Strong social support [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.4, 95% CI= 0.4(0.2-0.8)], and Poor sleep quality (PSQI score>5) [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=2.0, 95%CI= 2.0(1.2-2.8)] were significantly associated with psychological distress. Conclusion: The prevalence of psychological distress was high. Being female, having poor social support, and having a high PSQI score were significantly associated factors with psychological distress. It is good if clinicians emphasize orthopedic patients, especially females and those having poor social support and low sleep quality symptoms.

Keywords: psychological distress, orthopedic unit, Dilla University hospital, Dilla Town, Southern Ethiopia

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Authors: Xize Dai, Jian Hao, Claus Leth Bak, Gian Carlo Montanari, Huai Wang

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Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is a critical component applicable to power electronics systems, especially for high-voltage applications involving several high-voltage and high-frequency SiC/GaN devices. The insulation system of PCB is facing more challenges from high-voltage and high-frequency stress that can alter the dielectric properties. Dielectric properties of the PCB insulation system also determine the electrical field distribution that correlates with intrinsic and extrinsic aging mechanisms. Hence, investigating the dielectric properties in the frequency domain of the PCB insulation system is a must. The paper presents the frequency-dependent, temperature-dependent, and voltage-dependent dielectric properties, permittivity, conductivity, and dielectric loss tangents of PCB insulation systems. The dielectric properties mechanisms associated with frequency, temperature, and voltage are revealed from the design perspective. It can be concluded that the dielectric properties of PCB in the frequency domain show a strong dependence on voltage, frequency, and temperature. The voltage-, frequency-, and temperature-dependent dielectric properties are associated with intrinsic conduction behavior and polarization patterns from the perspective of dielectric theory. The results may provide some reference for the PCB insulation system design in high voltage, high frequency, and high-temperature power electronics applications.

Keywords: electrical insulation system, dielectric properties, high voltage and frequency, printed circuit board

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Authors: Laila Ozola, Evita Straumite

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Celiac disease is a permanent enteropathy caused by the ingestion of gluten, a protein occurring in wheat, rye and barley. The only way of the effective daily treatment is a strict gluten-free diet. From the investigation of products available in the local market, it was found that Latvian producers do not offer gluten-free products. The aim of this research was to study and analyze changes of celiac patient’s attitude to gluten-free product quality and availability in the Latvian market and purchasing habits. The survey was designed using website www.visidati.lv, and a questionnaire was sent to people suffering from celiac disease. The first time the respondents were asked to fill in the questionnaire in 2011, but now repeatedly from the beginning of September 2013 till the end of January 2014. The questionnaire was performed with 75 celiac patients, respondents were from all Latvian regions and they answered 16 questions. One of the most important questions was aimed to find out consumers’ opinion about quality of gluten-free products, consumption patterns of gluten-free products, and, moreover, their interest in products made in Latvia. Respondents were asked to name gluten-free products they mainly buy and give specific purchase locations, evaluate the quality of products and necessity for products produced in Latvia. The results of questionnaire show that the consumers are satisfied with the quality of gluten-free flour, flour blends, sweets and pasta, but are not satisfied with the quality of bread and confectionery available in the Latvian markets.

Keywords: consumers, gluten-free products, quality, survey

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Authors: Latika Choudhary

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“The potential benefits of Artificial Intelligence are huge, So are the dangers.” - Dave Water. Artificial intelligence is one of the facet of Information technology domain which despite several attempts does not have a clear definition or ambit. However it can be understood as technology to solve problems via automated decisions and predictions. Artificial intelligence is essentially an algorithm based technology which analyses the large amounts of data and then solves problems by detecting useful patterns. Owing to its automated feature it will not be wrong to say that humans & AI have more utility than humans alone or computers alone.1 For many decades AI experienced enthusiasm as well as setbacks, yet it has today become part and parcel of our everyday life, making it convenient or at times problematic. AI and related technology encompass Intellectual Property in multiple ways, the most important being AI technology for management of Intellectual Property, IP for protecting AI and IP as a hindrance to the transparency of AI systems. Thus the relationship between the two is of reciprocity as IP influences AI and vice versa. While AI is a recent concept, the IP laws for protection or even dealing with its challenges are relatively older, raising the need for revision to keep up with the pace of technological advancements. This paper will analyze the relationship between AI and IP to determine how beneficial or conflictual the same is, address how the old concepts of IP are being stretched to its maximum limits so as to accommodate the unwanted consequences of the Artificial Intelligence and propose ways to mitigate the situation so that AI becomes the friend it is and not turn into a potential foe it appears to be.

Keywords: intellectual property rights, information technology, algorithm, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Rajkamal Kumar, Sudhir Mishra

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The connections between various elements of concrete structures play a vital role in determining the durability of structures. These connections produce discontinuities and to ensure the monolithic behavior of structures, these connections should be carefully designed. The connections between concrete layers may occur in various situations such as structure repairing and rehabilitation or construction of huge structures with cast-in-situ or pre-cast elements, etc. Bond strength at the interface of these concrete layers should be able to prevent the progressive slip from taking place and it should also ensure satisfactory performance of the structure. Different approaches to enhance the bond strength at interface have been a major area of research. Nowadays, micro-concrete is getting popular as a repair material. Under this ambit, this paper aims to present the experimental results of connections between concrete layers of different age with artificial indentation at interface with two types of repair material: Concrete with same parent concrete composition and ready-mix mortar (micro-concrete), artificial indentations (grooves and holes) were made on the old layer of concrete to increase the bond strength. Curing plays an important role in determining the bond strength. Optimum duration for curing have also been discussed for each type of repair material. Different types of failure patterns have also been mentioned.

Keywords: adhesion, cohesion, compressive stress, micro-concrete, shear stress, slant shear test

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Authors: Rafael Carlos C. Aniceto, Bryce Abraham M. Anos, Don Christian A. Cornel, Marjerie Brianna S. Go, Samantha Nicole U. Roque, Earl Christian C. Te

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Indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Philippines are a vulnerable, marginalized group in terms of health and overall well-being due to social inequities and cultural differences. National standards regarding maternal healthcare are geared towards facility-based delivery with modern medicine, health services, and skilled birth attendants. Standards and procedures of care for pregnant mothers do not take into account cultural differences between indigenous people and the majority of the population. There do exist, however, numerous other factors that cause relatively poorer health outcomes among indigenous peoples (IPs). This analytic cross-sectional study sought to determine the association between social determinants of health (SDH), focusing on status as indigenous peoples, and maternal health-related knowledge and attitudes (KA), and health behavior of the Dumagat-Agta indigenous people of Barangay Catablingan and Barangay San Marcelino, General Nakar, Quezon Province, and their utilization of health facilities for antenatal care, facility-based delivery and postpartum care, which would affect their health outcomes (that were not within the scope of this study). To quantitatively measure the primary/secondary exposures and outcomes, a total of 90 face-to-face interviews with IP and non-IP mothers were done. For qualitative information, participant observation among 6 communities (5 IP and 1 non-IP), 11 key informant interviews (traditional and modern health providers) and 4 focused group discussions among IP mothers were conducted. Primary quantitative analyses included chi-squared, T-test and binary logistic regression, while secondary qualitative analyses involved thematic analysis and triangulation. The researchers spent a total of 15 days in the community to learn the culture and participate in the practices of the Dumagat-Agta more intensively and deeply. Overall, utilization of all MNCHN services measured in the study was lower for IP mothers compared to their non-IP counterparts. After controlling for confounders measured in the study, IP status (primary exposure) was found to be significantly correlated with utilization of and adherence to two MNCHN-prescribed services: number of antenatal care check-ups and place of delivery (secondary outcomes). Findings show that being an indigenous mother leads to unfavorable social determinants of health, and if compounded by a difference in knowledge and attitudes, would then lead to poor levels of utilization of MNCHN-prescribed services. Key themes from qualitative analyses show that factors that affected utilization were: culture, land alienation, social discrimination, socioeconomic status, and relations between IPs and non-IPs, specifically with non-IP healthcare providers. The findings of this study aim to be used to help and guide in policy-making, to provide healthcare that is not only adequate and of quality, but more importantly, that addresses inequities stemming from various social determinants, and which is socio-culturally acceptable to indigenous communities. To address the root causes of health problems of IPs, there must be full recognition and exercise of their collective rights to communal assets, specifically land, and self-determination. This would improve maternal and child health outcomes to one of the most vulnerable and neglected sectors in society today.

Keywords: child health, indigenous people, knowledge-attitudes-practices, maternal health, social determinants of health

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Authors: Sedat Cereci

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This study investigates character of communication, evaluates communication and information need of people, handles relation between communication and contemporary technology, and emphasizes technological lack on communication education in many societies. To get information and communication are of main needs of people and people developed different instruments and technics to learn and to communicate in the past. Because of social need, communication became social matter and governments contributed facilities of communication and set communication places for people to meet and to communicate. Industrial Revolution and technological developments also contributed communication technics and proved numerous technological facilities for communication. Education in the world also use developed technology in any department and communication education especially necessities high technological facilities in schools. Many high schools and universities have communication departments and most of them use contemporary technological facilities, but they are not sufficient. Communication departments in educational organizations in Turkey have computer classrooms, monitors, cameras, microphones, telephones, different softwares, and others. However, despite all this, technological facilities and teaching methods are not sufficient because of contemporary developments. Technology develops rapidly due to hopes of people and technological facilities in education cannot catch developments and people always hope more.

Keywords: information, communication education, technology, technological lack, contemporary conditions, technics

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