Search results for: special architectural district (SAD)

Authors: Dana Zelicha

Abstract:

A 6-week mindfulness programme was launched to improve the well being and performance of 20 managers (including the supervisor) of an international corporation in London. A unique assessment methodology was customised to the organisation’s needs, measuring four parameters: prioritising skills, listening skills, mindfulness levels and happiness levels. All parameters showed significant improvements (p < 0.01) post intervention, with a remarkable increase in listening skills and mindfulness levels. Although corporate mindfulness programmes have proven to be effective, the challenge remains the low engagement levels at home and the implementation of these tools beyond the scope of the intervention. This study has offered an innovative approach to enforce home engagement levels, which yielded promising results. The programme launched with a 2-day introduction intervention, which was followed by a 6-week training course (1 day a week; 2 hours each). Participants learned all basic principles of mindfulness such as mindfulness meditations, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) practices to incorporate into their professional and personal lives. The programme contained experiential mindfulness meditations and innovative mindfulness tools (OWBA-MT) created by OWBA - The Well Being Agency. Exercises included Mindful Meetings, Unitasking and Mindful Feedback. All sessions concluded with guided discussions and group reflections. One fundamental element of this programme was engagement level outside of the workshop. In the office, participants connected with a mindfulness buddy - a team member in the group with whom they could find support throughout the programme. At home, participants completed online daily mindfulness forms that varied according to weekly themes. These customised forms gave participants the opportunity to reflect on whether they made time for daily mindfulness practice, and to facilitate a sense of continuity and responsibility. At the end of the programme, the most engaged team member was crowned the ‘mindful maven’ and received a special gift. The four parameters were measured using online self-reported questionnaires, including the Listening Skills Inventory (LSI), Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Time Management Behaviour Scale (TMBS) and a modified version of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ). Pre-intervention questionnaires were collected at the start of the programme, and post-intervention data was collected 4-weeks following completion. Quantitative analysis using paired T-tests of means showed significant improvements, with a 23% increase in listening skills, a 22% improvement in mindfulness levels, a 12% increase in prioritising skills, and an 11% improvement in happiness levels. Participant testimonials exhibited high levels of satisfaction and the overall results indicate that the mindfulness programme substantially impacted the team. These results suggest that 6-week mindfulness programmes can improve employees’ capacities to listen and work well with others, to effectively manage time and to experience enhanced satisfaction both at work and in life. Limitations noteworthy to consider include the afterglow effect and lack of generalisability, as this study was conducted on a small and fairly homogenous sample.

Keywords: corporate mindfulness, listening skills, organisational well being, prioritising skills, mindful leadership

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Adrienn Kiss, Karoly Zauer, Gyorgy Keglevich, Rita Molnarne Bernath

Abstract:

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a perennial plant from Southeast Asia, widely used as a spice, herb, and medicine for many illnesses since its beneficial health effects were observed thousands of years ago. Among the compounds found in ginger, zingerone [4-hydroxy-3- methoxyphenyl-2-butanone] deserves special attention: it has an anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effect, it can be used in case of diarrheal disease, helps to prevent the formation of blood clots, has antimicrobial properties, and can also play a role in preventing the Alzheimer's disease. Ferulic acid [(E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-prop-2-enoic acid] is another cinnamic acid derivative in ginger, which has promising properties. Like many phenolic compounds, ferulic acid is also an antioxidant. Based on the results of animal experiments, it is assumed to have a direct antitumoral effect in lung and liver cancer. It also deactivates free radicals that can damage the cell membrane and the DNA and helps to protect the skin against UV radiation. The aim of this work was to synthesize these two compounds by new methods. A few of the reactions were based on the hydrogenation of dehydrozingerone [4-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-one] to zingerone. Dehydrozingerone can be synthesized by a relatively simple method from acetone and vanillin with good yield (80%, melting point: 41 °C). Hydrogenation can be carried out chemically, for example by the reaction of zinc and acetic acid, or Grignard magnesium and ethyl alcohol. Another way to complete the reduction is the electrochemical pathway. The electrolysis of dehydrozingerone without diaphragm in aqueous media was attempted to produce ferulic acid in the presence of sodium carbonate and potassium iodide using platinum electrodes. The electrolysis of dehydrozingerone in the presence of potassium carbonate and acetic acid to prepare zingerone was carried out similarly. Ferulic acid was expected to be converted to dihydroferulic acid [3-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propanoic acid] in potassium hydroxide solution using iron electrodes, separating the anode and cathode space with a Soxhlet paper sheath impregnated with saturated magnesium chloride solution. For this reaction, ferulic acid was synthesized from vanillin and malonic acid in the presence of pyridine and piperidine (yield: 88.7%, melting point: 173°C). Unfortunately, in many cases, the expected transformations did not happen or took place in low conversions, although gas evolution occurred. Thus, a deeper understanding of these experiments and optimization are needed. Since both compounds are found in different plants, they can also be obtained by alkaline extraction or steam distillation from distinct plant parts (ferulic acid from ground bamboo shoots, zingerone from grated ginger root). The products of these reactions are rich in several other organic compounds as well; therefore, their separation must be solved to get the desired pure material. The products of the reactions described above were characterized by infrared spectral data and melting points. The use of these two simple methods may be informative for the formation of the products. In the future, we would like to study the ferulic acid and zingerone content of other plants and extract them efficiently. The optimization of electrochemical reactions and the use of other test methods are also among our plans.

Keywords: ferulic acid, ginger, synthesis, zingerone

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: Milica B. Veljković, Milica B. Simović, Marija M. Ćorović, Ana D. Milivojević, Anja I. Petrov, Katarina M. Banjanac, Dejan I. Bezbradica

Abstract:

In recent decades, the scientific community has recognized the growing importance of prebiotics, and therefore, numerous studies are focused on their economic production due to their low presence in natural resources. It has been confirmed that prebiotics is a source of energy for probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and enable their proliferation, consequently leading to the normal functioning of the intestinal microbiota. Also, products of their fermentation are short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which play a key role in maintaining and improving the health not only of the GIT but also of the whole organism. Among several confirmed prebiotics, fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are considered interesting candidates for use in a wide range of products in the food industry. They are characterized as low-calorie and non-cariogenic substances that represent an adequate sugar substitute and can be considered suitable for use in products intended for diabetics. The subject of this research will be the production of FOS by transforming sucrose using a fructosyltransferase (FTase) present in commercial preparation Pectinex® Ultra SP-L, with special emphasis on the development of adequate FTase immobilization method that would enable selective isolation of the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of FOS from the complex enzymatic mixture. This would lead to considerable enzyme purification and allow its direct incorporation into different sucrose-based products without the fear that the action of the other hydrolytic enzymes may adversely affect the products' functional characteristics. Accordingly, the possibility of selective immobilization of the enzyme using support with primary amino groups, Purolite® A109, which was previously activated and modified using glutaraldehyde (GA), was investigated. In the initial phase of the research, the effects of individual immobilization parameters such as pH, enzyme concentration, and immobilization time were investigated to optimize the process using support chemically activated with 15% and 0.5% GA to form dimers and monomers, respectively. It was determined that highly active immobilized preparations (371.8 IU/g of support - dimer and 213.8 IU/g of support – monomer) were achieved under acidic conditions (pH 4) provided that an enzyme concentration was 50 mg/g of support after 7 h and 3 h, respectively. Bearing in mind the obtained results of the expressed activity, it is noticeable that the formation of dimers showed higher reactivity compared to the form of monomers. Also, in the case of support modification using 15% GA, the value of the ratio of FTase and pectinase (as dominant enzyme mixture component) activity immobilization yields was 16.45, indicating the high feasibility of selective immobilization of FTase on modified polystyrene resin. After obtaining immobilized preparations of satisfactory features, they were tested in a reaction of FOS synthesis under determined optimal conditions. The maximum FOS yields of approximately 50% of total carbohydrates in the reaction mixture were recorded after 21 h. Finally, it can be concluded that the examined immobilization method yielded highly active, stable and, more importantly, refined enzyme preparation that can be further utilized on a larger scale for the development of continual processes for FOS synthesis, as well as for modification of different sucrose-based mediums.

Keywords: chemical modification, fructooligosaccharides, glutaraldehyde, immobilization of fructosyltransferase

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Hossein Aghababaei, Sergio Vitale, Giampaolo Ferraioli

Abstract:

In the context of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, polarization is an important source of information for Earth's surface monitoring. SAR Systems are often considered to transmit only one polarization. This constraint leads to either single or dual polarimetric SAR imaging modalities. Single polarimetric systems operate with a fixed single polarization of both transmitted and received electromagnetic (EM) waves, resulting in a single acquisition channel. Dual polarimetric systems, on the other hand, transmit in one fixed polarization and receive in two orthogonal polarizations, resulting in two acquisition channels. Dual polarimetric systems are obviously more informative than single polarimetric systems and are increasingly being used for a variety of remote sensing applications. In dual polarimetric systems, the choice of polarizations for the transmitter and the receiver is open. The choice of circular transmit polarization and coherent dual linear receive polarizations forms a special dual polarimetric system called hybrid polarimetry, which brings the properties of rotational invariance to geometrical orientations of features in the scene and optimizes the design of the radar in terms of reliability, mass, and power constraints. The complete characterization of target scattering, however, requires fully polarimetric data, which can be acquired with systems that transmit two orthogonal polarizations. This adds further complexity to data acquisition and shortens the coverage area or swath of fully polarimetric images compared to the swath of dual or hybrid polarimetric images. The search for solutions to augment dual polarimetric data to full polarimetric data will therefore take advantage of full characterization and exploitation of the backscattered field over a wider coverage with less system complexity. Several methods for reconstructing fully polarimetric images using hybrid polarimetric data can be found in the literature. Although the improvements achieved by the newly investigated and experimented reconstruction techniques are undeniable, the existing methods are, however, mostly based upon model assumptions (especially the assumption of reflectance symmetry), which may limit their reliability and applicability to vegetation and forest scenarios. To overcome the problems of these techniques, this paper proposes a new framework for reconstructing fully polarimetric information from hybrid polarimetric data. The framework uses Deep Learning solutions to augment hybrid polarimetric data without relying on model assumptions. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with a specific architecture and loss function is defined for this augmentation problem by focusing on different scattering properties of the polarimetric data. In particular, the method controls the CNN training process with respect to several characteristic features of polarimetric images defined by the combination of different terms in the cost or loss function. The proposed method is experimentally validated with real data sets and compared with a well-known and standard approach from the literature. From the experiments, the reconstruction performance of the proposed framework is superior to conventional reconstruction methods. The pseudo fully polarimetric data reconstructed by the proposed method also agree well with the actual fully polarimetric images acquired by radar systems, confirming the reliability and efficiency of the proposed method.

Keywords: SAR image, polarimetric SAR image, convolutional neural network, deep learnig, deep neural network

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Authors: Rama Munajat

Abstract:

Discourse information levels may be viewed from either a background-foreground distinction or a multi-level perspective, and cross-linguistic studies on this area suggest that each information level is marked by a specific linguistic device. In this sense, Sundanese, spoken in Indonesia’s West Javanese Province, further differentiates the background and foreground information into ordinary and significant types. This paper will report an ongoing shift from particle-to-active voice marking in the way Sundanese signals foregrounding events. The shift relates to decades of contact with Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesia’s official language) and linguistic compatibility between the two surface marking strategies. Representative data analyzed include three groups of short stories in both Sundanese and Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) published in three periods: before 1945, 1965-2006, and 2016-2019. In the first group of Sundanese data, forward-moving events dominantly appear in particle KA (Kecap Anteuran, word-accompanying) constructions, where the KA represents different particles that co-occur with a special group of verbs. The second group, however, shows that the foregrounded events are more frequently described in active-voice forms with a subject-predicate (SP) order. Subsequently, the third offers stronger evidence for the use of the SP structure. As for the Indonesian data, the foregrounding events in the first group occur in verb-initial and passive-voice constructions, while in the second and third, the events more frequently appear in active-voice structures (subject-predicate sequence). The marking shift above suggests a structural influence from Indonesian, stemmed from generational differences among authors of the Sundanese short stories, particularly related to their education and language backgrounds. The first group of short stories – published before 1945 or before Indonesia's independence from Dutch – were written by native speakers of Sundanese who spoke Indonesian as a foreign language and went through the Dutch education system. The second group of authors, on the other hand, represents a generation of Sundanese native speakers who spoke Indonesian as a second language. Finally, the third group consists of authors who are bilingual speakers of both Sundanese and Indonesian. The data suggest that the last two groups of authors completed the Indonesian education system. With these, the use of subject-predicate sequences to denote foregrounding events began to appear more frequently in the second group and then became more dominant in those of the third. The coded data also signify that cohesion, coherence, and pragmatic purposes in Particle KA constructions are intact in their respective active-voice structure counterparts. For instance, the foregrounding events in Particle KA constructions occur in Sentence-initial KA and Pre-verbal KA forms, whereas those in the active-voice are described in Subject-Predicate (SP) and Zero-Subject active-voice patterns. Cross-language data further demonstrate that the Sentence-initial KA and the SP active-voice structures each contain an overt noun phrase (NP) co-referential with one of the entities introduced in a preceding context. Similarly, the pre-verbal KA and Zero-Subject active-voice patterns have a deleted noun phrase unambiguously referable to the only one entity previously mentioned. The presence and absence of an NP inform a pragmatic strategy to place prominence on topic/given and comment/new information, respectively.

Keywords: discourse analysis, foregrounding marking, pragmatics, language contact

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Authors: Chris Fersterer, Col Fay, Tobias Danielmeier, Kat Achterberg, Scott Willis

Abstract:

New Zealand, an island nation, has an extensive coastline peppered with small communities of iconic buildings known as Bachs. Post WWII, these modest buildings were constructed by their owners as retreats and generally were small, low cost, often using recycled material and often they fell below current acceptable building standards. In the latter part of the 20^th century, real estate prices in many of these communities remained low and these areas became permanent residences for people attracted to this affordable lifestyle choice. The Blueskin Resilient Communities Trust (BRCT) is an organisation that recognises the vulnerability of communities in low lying settlements as now being prone to increased flood threat brought about by climate change and sea level rise. Some of the inhabitants of Blueskin Bay, Otago, NZ have already found their properties to be un-insurable because of increased frequency of flood events and property values have slumped accordingly. Territorial authorities also acknowledge this increased risk and have created additional compliance measures for new buildings that are less than 2 m above tidal peaks. Community resilience becomes an additional concern where inhabitants are attracted to a lifestyle associated with a specific location and its people when this lifestyle is unable to be met in a suburban or city context. Traditional models of social housing fail to provide the sense of community connectedness and identity enjoyed by the current residents of Blueskin Bay. BRCT have partnered with the Otago Polytechnic Design School to design a new form of community housing that can react to this environmental change. It is a longitudinal project incorporating participatory approaches as a means of getting people ‘on board’, to understand complex systems and co-develop solutions. In the first period, they are seeking industry support and funding to develop a transportable and fully self-contained housing model that exploits current technologies. BRCT also hope that the building will become an educational tool to highlight climate change issues facing us today. This paper uses the Climate Safe House (CSH) as a case study for education in architectural sustainability through experiential learning offered as part of the Otago Polytechnics Bachelor of Design. Students engage with the project with research methodologies, including site surveys, resident interviews, data sourced from government agencies and physical modelling. The process involves collaboration across design disciplines including product and interior design but also includes connections with industry, both within the education institution and stakeholder industries introduced through BRCT. This project offers a rich learning environment where students become engaged through project based learning within a community of practice, including architecture, construction, energy and other related fields. The design outcomes are expressed in a series of public exhibitions and forums where community input is sought in a truly participatory process.

Keywords: community resilience, problem based learning, project based learning, case study

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Authors: Michael Josef Schwerer, Oliver Peschel

Abstract:

Background: The sense and purpose of forensic postmortem examinations are undoubtedly the same in Institutes of Legal Medicine all over the world. Cause and manner of death must be determined, persons responsible for unnatural death must be brought to justice, and accidents demand changes in the respective scenarios to avoid future mishaps. The latter particularly concerns aircraft accidents, not only regarding consequences from criminal or civil law but also in pursuance of the International Civil Aviation Authority’s regulations, which demand lessons from mishap investigations to improve flight safety. Irrespective of the distinct circumstances of a given casualty or the respective questions in subsequent death investigations, a forensic autopsy is the basis for all further casework, the clue to otherwise hidden solutions, and the crucial limitation for final success when not all possible findings have been properly collected. This also implies that the targeted work of police forces and expert witnesses strongly depends on the quality of forensic pathology practice. Deadly events in foreign countries, which lead to investigations not only abroad but also in Germany, can be challenging in this context. Frequently, second-look autopsies after the repatriation of the deceased to Germany are requested by the legal authorities to ensure proper and profound documentation of all relevant findings. Aims and Methods: To validate forensic postmortem practice abroad, a retrospective study using the findings in the corresponding second-look autopsies in the Institute of Legal Medicine Munich over the last 20 years was carried out. New findings unreported in the previous autopsy were recorded and judged for their relevance to solving the respective case. Further, the condition of the corpse at the time of the second autopsy was rated to discuss artifacts mimicking evidence or the possibility of lost findings resulting from, e.g., decomposition. Recommendations for future handling of death cases abroad and efficient autopsy practice were pursued. Results and Discussion: Our re-evaluation confirmed a high quality of autopsy practice abroad in the vast majority of cases. However, in some casework, incomplete documentation of pathology findings was revealed along with either insufficient or misconducted dissection of organs. Further, some of the bodies showed missing parts of some organs, most probably resulting from sampling for histology studies during the first postmortem. For the aeromedical evaluation of a decedent’s health status prior to an aviation mishap, particularly lost or obscured findings in the heart, lungs, and brain impeded expert testimony. Moreover, incomplete fixation of the body or body parts for repatriation was seen in several cases. This particularly involved previously dissected organs deposited back into the body cavities at the end of the first autopsy. Conclusions and Recommendations: Detailed preparation in the first forensic autopsy avoids the necessity of a second-look postmortem in the majority of cases. To limit decomposition changes during repatriation from abroad, special care must be taken to include pre-dissected organs in the chemical fixation process, particularly when they are separated from the blood vessels and just deposited back into the body cavities.

Keywords: autopsy practice, second-look autopsy, retrospective study, quality standards, decomposition changes, repatriation

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Authors: Ok-Kyun Im, Kyoung Hee Kim

Abstract:

We live in an era that faces global challenges of climate changes and resource depletion. With the rapid urbanization and growing energy consumption in the built environment, building facades become ever more important in architectural practice and environmental stewardship. Furthermore, building facade undergoes complex dynamics of social, cultural, environmental and technological changes. Kinetic facades have drawn attention of architects, designers, and engineers in the field of adaptable, responsive and interactive architecture since 1980’s. Materials and building technologies have gradually evolved to address the technical implications of kinetic facades. The kinetic façade is becoming an independent system of the building, transforming the design methodology to sustainable building solutions. Accordingly, there is a need for a new design methodology to guide the design of a kinetic façade and evaluate its sustainable performance. The research objectives are two-fold: First, to establish a new design methodology for kinetic facades and second, to develop a micro-oculi façade system and assess its performance using the established design method. The design approach to the micro-oculi facade is comprised of 1) façade geometry optimization and 2) dynamic building energy simulation. The façade geometry optimization utilizes multi-objective optimization process, aiming to balance the quantitative and qualitative performances to address the sustainability of the built environment. The dynamic building energy simulation was carried out using EnergyPlus and Radiance simulation engines with scripted interfaces. The micro-oculi office was compared with an office tower with a glass façade in accordance with ASHRAE 90.1 2013 to understand its energy efficiency. The micro-oculi facade is constructed with an array of circular frames attached to a pair of micro-shades called a micro-oculus. The micro-oculi are encapsulated between two glass panes to protect kinetic mechanisms with longevity. The micro-oculus incorporates rotating gears that transmit the power to adjacent micro-oculi to minimize the number of mechanical parts. The micro-oculus rotates around its center axis with a step size of 15deg depending on the sun’s position while maximizing daylighting potentials and view-outs. A 2 ft by 2ft prototyping was undertaken to identify operational challenges and material implications of the micro-oculi facade. In this research, a systematic design methodology was proposed, that integrates multi-objectives of kinetic façade design criteria and whole building energy performance simulation within a holistic design process. This design methodology is expected to encourage multidisciplinary collaborations between designers and engineers to collaborate issues of the energy efficiency, daylighting performance and user experience during design phases. The preliminary energy simulation indicated that compared to a glass façade, the micro-oculi façade showed energy savings due to its improved thermal properties, daylighting attributes, and dynamic solar performance across the day and seasons. It is expected that the micro oculi façade provides a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing alternative to glass facades. Recommendations for future studies include lab testing to validate the simulated data of energy and optical properties of the micro-oculi façade. A 1:1 performance mock-up of the micro-oculi façade can suggest in-depth understanding of long-term operability and new development opportunities applicable for urban façade applications.

Keywords: energy efficiency, kinetic facades, sustainable architecture, urban facades

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Hossein Aghababaei, Sergio Vitale, Giampaolo ferraioli

Abstract:

In the context of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, polarization is an important source of information for Earth's surface monitoring . SAR Systems are often considered to transmit only one polarization. This constraint leads to either single or dual polarimetric SAR imaging modalities. Single polarimetric systems operate with a fixed single polarization of both transmitted and received electromagnetic (EM) waves, resulting in a single acquisition channel. Dual polarimetric systems, on the other hand, transmit in one fixed polarization and receive in two orthogonal polarizations, resulting in two acquisition channels. Dual polarimetric systems are obviously more informative than single polarimetric systems and are increasingly being used for a variety of remote sensing applications. In dual polarimetric systems, the choice of polarizations for the transmitter and the receiver is open. The choice of circular transmit polarization and coherent dual linear receive polarizations forms a special dual polarimetric system called hybrid polarimetry, which brings the properties of rotational invariance to geometrical orientations of features in the scene and optimizes the design of the radar in terms of reliability, mass, and power constraints. The complete characterization of target scattering, however, requires fully polarimetric data, which can be acquired with systems that transmit two orthogonal polarizations. This adds further complexity to data acquisition and shortens the coverage area or swath of fully polarimetric images compared to the swath of dual or hybrid polarimetric images. The search for solutions to augment dual polarimetric data to full polarimetric data will therefore take advantage of full characterization and exploitation of the backscattered field over a wider coverage with less system complexity. Several methods for reconstructing fully polarimetric images using hybrid polarimetric data can be found in the literature. Although the improvements achieved by the newly investigated and experimented reconstruction techniques are undeniable, the existing methods are, however, mostly based upon model assumptions (especially the assumption of reflectance symmetry), which may limit their reliability and applicability to vegetation and forest scenarios. To overcome the problems of these techniques, this paper proposes a new framework for reconstructing fully polarimetric information from hybrid polarimetric data. The framework uses Deep Learning solutions to augment hybrid polarimetric data without relying on model assumptions. A convolutional neural network (CNN) with a specific architecture and loss function is defined for this augmentation problem by focusing on different scattering properties of the polarimetric data. In particular, the method controls the CNN training process with respect to several characteristic features of polarimetric images defined by the combination of different terms in the cost or loss function. The proposed method is experimentally validated with real data sets and compared with a well-known and standard approach from the literature. From the experiments, the reconstruction performance of the proposed framework is superior to conventional reconstruction methods. The pseudo fully polarimetric data reconstructed by the proposed method also agree well with the actual fully polarimetric images acquired by radar systems, confirming the reliability and efficiency of the proposed method.

Keywords: SAR image, deep learning, convolutional neural network, deep neural network, SAR polarimetry

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Authors: Rebekah Granger Ellis, Richard B. Speaker, Pat Austin

Abstract:

This study used two psychological scales to examine the level of social and emotional intelligence and moral judgment of over 500 gifted and talented high school students in various academic and creative arts programs in a large metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. For decades, numerous models and programs purporting to encourage socio-affective characteristics of adolescent development have been explored in curriculum theory and design. Socio-affective merges social, emotional, and moral domains. It encompasses interpersonal relations and social behaviors; development and regulation of emotions; personal and gender identity construction; empathy development; moral development, thinking, and judgment. Examining development in these socio-affective domains can provide insight into why some gifted and talented adolescents are not successful in adulthood despite advanced IQ scores. Particularly whether nonintellectual characteristics of gifted and talented individuals, such as emotional, social and moral capabilities, are as advanced as their intellectual abilities and how these are related to each other. Unique characteristics distinguish gifted and talented individuals; these may appear as strengths, but there is the potential for problems to accompany them. Although many thrive in their school environments, some gifted students struggle rather than flourish. In the socio-affective domain, these adolescents face special intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental problems. Gifted individuals’ cognitive, psychological, and emotional development occurs asynchronously, in multidimensional layers at different rates and unevenly across ability levels. Therefore, it is important to examine the long-term effects of participation in various gifted and talented programs on the socio-affective development of gifted and talented adolescents. This quasi-experimental longitudinal study examined students in several gifted and talented education programs (creative arts school, urban charter schools, and suburban public schools) for (1) socio-affective development level and (2) whether a particular gifted and talented program encourages developmental growth. The following research questions guided the study: (1) How do academically and artistically talented gifted 10th and 11th grade students perform on psychometric scales of social and emotional intelligence and moral judgment? Do they differ from their age or grade normative sample? Are their gender differences among gifted students? (2) Does school environment impact 10th and 11th grade gifted and talented students’ socio-affective development? Do gifted adolescents who participate in a particular school gifted program differ in their developmental profiles of social and emotional intelligence and moral judgment? Students’ performances on psychometric instruments were compared over time and by type of program. Participants took pre-, mid-, and post-tests over the course of an academic school year with Defining Issues Test (DIT-2) assessing moral judgment and BarOn EQ-I: YV assessing social and emotional intelligence. Based on these assessments, quantitative differences in growth on psychological scales (individual and school) were examined. Change scores between schools were also compared. If a school showed change, artifacts (culture, curricula, instructional methodology) provided insight as to environmental qualities that produced this difference.

Keywords: gifted and talented education, moral development, socio-affective development, socio-affective education

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Authors: Tracey Woods

Abstract:

In the ever-evolving landscape of academia, the traditional role of the librarian has undergone a remarkable transformation. Once considered as custodians of books and gatekeepers of information, librarians have the potential to take on the vital role of facilitators of cross and inter-disciplinary projects. This shift is driven by the growing recognition of the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex research questions in pursuit of novel solutions to real-world problems. This paper shall explore the potential of the academic librarian’s role in facilitating innovative, multi-disciplinary projects, both recognising and validating the vital role that the librarian plays in a somewhat underplayed profession. Academic libraries support teaching, the strengthening of knowledge discourse, and, potentially, the development of innovative practices. As the role of the library gradually morphs from a quiet repository of books to a community-based information hub, a potential opportunity arises. The academic librarian’s role is to build knowledge across a wide span of topics, from the advancement of AI to subject-specific information, and, whilst librarians are generally not offered the research opportunities and funding that the traditional academic disciplines enjoy, they are often invited to help build research in support of the academic. This identifies that one of the primary skills of any 21st-century librarian must be the ability to collaborate and facilitate multi-disciplinary projects. In universities seeking to develop research diversity and academic performance, there is an increasing awareness of the need for collaboration between faculties to enable novel directions and advancements. This idea has been documented and discussed by several researchers; however, there is not a great deal of literature available from recent studies. Having a team based in the library that is adept at creating effective collaborative partnerships is valuable for any academic institution. This paper outlines the development of such a project, initiated within and around an identified library-specific need: the replication of fragile special collections for object-based learning. The research was developed as a multi-disciplinary project involving the faculties of engineering (digital twins lab), architecture, design, and education. Centred around methods for developing a fragile archive into a series of tactile objects furthers knowledge and understanding in both the role of the library as a facilitator of projects, chairing and supporting, alongside contributing to the research process and innovating ideas through the bank of knowledge found amongst the staff and their liaising capabilities. This paper shall present the method of project development from the initiation of ideas to the development of prototypes and dissemination of the objects to teaching departments for analysis. The exact replication of artefacts is also balanced with the adaptation and evolutionary speculations initiated by the design team when adapted as a teaching studio method. The dynamic response required from the library to generate and facilitate these multi-disciplinary projects highlights the information expertise and liaison skills that the librarian possesses. As academia embraces this evolution, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions across disciplines becomes increasingly attainable.

Keywords: Liaison librarian, multi-disciplinary collaborations, library innovations, librarian stakeholders

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Authors: Arfanara Najnin, Michael W. Roach, Jr., Dr. Jianhong Cecilia Xia

Abstract:

The SkyCar Rapid Transit System (SRT) is an innovative intelligent transport system for the sustainable urban transport system. This system will increase the urban area network connectivity and decrease urban area traffic congestion. The SRT system is designed as a suspended Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system that travels under a guideway 5m above the ground. A driver-less passenger is via pod-cars that hang from slender beams supported by columns that replace existing lamp posts. The beams are setup in a series of interconnecting loops providing non-stop travel from beginning to end to assure journey time. The SRT forward movement is effected by magnetic motors built into the guideway. Passenger stops are at either at line level 5m above the ground or ground level via a spur guideway that curves off the main thoroughfare. The main objective of this paper is to propose an integrated Automated Transit Network (ATN) technology for the future intelligent transport system in the urban built environment. To fulfil the objective a 4D simulated model in the urban built environment has been proposed by using the concept of SRT-ATN system. The methodology for the design, construction and testing parameters of a Technology Demonstrator (TD) for proof of concept and a Simulator (S) has been demonstrated. The completed TD and S will provide an excellent proving ground for the next development stage, the SRT Prototype (PT) and Pilot System (PS). This paper covered by a 4D simulated model in the virtual built environment is to effectively show how the SRT-ATN system works. OpenSim software has been used to develop the model in a virtual environment, and the scenario has been simulated to understand and visualize the proposed SkyCar Rapid Transit Network model. The SkyCar system will be fabricated in a modular form which is easily transported. The system would be installed in increasingly congested city centers throughout the world, as well as in airports, tourist resorts, race tracks and other special purpose for the urban community. This paper shares the lessons learnt from the proposed innovation and provides recommendations on how to improve the future transport system in urban built environment. Safety and security of passengers are prime factors to be considered for this transit system. Design requirements to meet the safety needs to be part of the research and development phase of the project. Operational safety aspects would also be developed during this period. The vehicles, the track and beam systems and stations are the main components that need to be examined in detail for safety and security of patrons. Measures will also be required to protect columns adjoining intersections from errant vehicles in vehicular traffic collisions. The SkyCar Rapid Transit takes advantage of all current disruptive technologies; batteries, sensors and 4G/5G communication and solar energy technologies which will continue to reduce the costs and make the systems more profitable. SkyCar's energy consumption is extremely low compared to other transport systems.

Keywords: SkyCar, rapid transit, Intelligent Transport System (ITS), Automated Transit Network (ATN), urban built environment, 4D Visualization, smart city

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Authors: Nahla Elsherbiny, Ahmed Ahmed, Hamada Mohammed, Mohamed Ali

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Background: The enterococci may be considered as opportunistic agents particularly in immunocompromised patients. It is one of the top three pathogens causing many healthcare associated infections (HAIs). Resistance to several commonly used antimicrobial agents is a remarkable characteristic of most species which may carry various genes contributing to virulence. Objectives: to determine the prevalence of enterococci species in different intensive care units (ICUs) causing health care-associated infections (HAIs), intestinal carriage and environmental contamination. Also, to study the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates with special reference to vancomycin resistance. In addition to phenotypic and genotypic detection of gelatinase, cytolysin and biofilm formation among isolates. Patients and Methods: This study was carried out in the infection control laboratory at Assiut University Hospitals over a period of one year. Clinical samples were collected from 285 patients with various (HAIs) acquired after admission to different ICUs. Rectal swabs were taken from 14 cases for detection of enterococci carriage. In addition, 1377 environmental samples were collected from the surroundings of the patients. Identification was done by conventional bacteriological methods and confirmed by analytical profile index (API). Antimicrobial sensitivity testing was performed by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method and detection of vancomycin resistance was done by agar screen method. For the isolates, phenotypic detection of cytolysin, gelatinase production and detection of biofilm by tube method, Congo red method and microtiter plate. We performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of some virulence genes (gelE, cylA, vanA, vanB and esp). Results: Enterococci caused 10.5% of the HAIs. Respiratory tract infection was the predominant type (86.7%). The commonest species were E.gallinarum (36.7%), E.casseliflavus (30%), E.faecalis (30%), and E.durans (3.4 %). Vancomycin resistance was detected in a total of 40% (12/30) of those isolates. The risk factors associated with acquiring vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) were immune suppression (P= 0.031) and artificial feeding (P= 0.008). For the rectal swabs, enterococci species were detected in 71.4% of samples with the predominance of E. casseliflavus (50%). Most of the isolates were vancomycin resistant (70%). Out of a total 1377 environmental samples, 577 (42%) samples were contaminated with different microorganisms. Enterococci were detected in 1.7% (10/577) of total contaminated samples, 50% of which were vancomycin resistant. All isolates were resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, oxacillin, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, erythromycin, clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethaxazole. For the remaining antibiotics, variable percentages of resistance were reported. Cytolysin and gelatinase were detected phenotypically in 16% and 48 % of the isolates respectively. The microtiter plate method showed the highest percentages of detection of biofilm among all isolated species (100%). The studied virulence genes gelE, esp, vanA and vanB were detected in 62%, 12%, 2% and 12% respectively, while cylA gene was not detected in any isolates. Conclusions: A significant percentage of enterococci was isolated from patients and environments in the ICUs. Many virulence factors were detected phenotypically and genotypically among isolates. The high percentage of resistance, coupled with the risk of cross transmission to other patients make enterococci infections a significant infection control issue in hospitals.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, enterococci, ICUs, virulence factors

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Authors: Rodriguez Diego, Del Valle Martin, Hargreaves Matias, Riveros Jose Luis

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Nutrient deficiencies due to a diet low in quantitative and qualitative terms, are prevalent throughout the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Children and women of childbearing age are especially vulnerable. Limited availability, access and intake of animal foods at home and lack of knowledge about their value in the diet and the role they play in health, contribute to poor diet quality. Poor bioavailability of micronutrients in diets based on foods high in fiber and phytates, the low content of some micronutrients in these foods are further factors to consider. Goats are deeply embedded in almost every Sub-Saharan African rural culture, generally kept for their milk, meat, hair or leather. Goats have played an important role in African social life, especially in food security. Goat meat has good properties for human wellbeing, with a special role in lower income households. It has a high-quality protein (20 protein g/100 meat g) including all essential amino acids, good unsaturated/satured fatty acids relationship, and it is an important B-vitamin source with high micronutrients bioavailability. Mozambique has major food security problems, with poor food access and utilization, undiversified diets, chronic poverty and child malnutrition. Our objective was to design a nutritional intervention based on a dietary diversification, nutritional education, cultural beliefs and local resources, aimed to strengthen food security of children at Barrio Broma village (15°43'58.78"S; 32°46'7.27"E) in Chitima, Mozambique. Two surveys were conducted first of socio-productive local databases and then to 100 rural households about livelihoods, food diversity and anthropometric measurements in children under 5 years. Our results indicate that the main economic activity is goat production, based on a native breed with two deliveries per year in the absence of any management. Adult goats weighted 27.2±10.5 kg and raised a height of 63.5±3.8 cm. Data showed high levels of poverty, with a food diversity score of 2.3 (0-12 points), where only 30% of households consume protein and 13% iron, zinc, and B12 vitamin. The main constraints to food security were poor access to water and low income to buy food. Our dietary intervention was based on improving diet quality by increasing the access to dried goat meat, fresh vegetables, and legumes, and its utilization by a nutritional education program. This proposal was based on local culture and living conditions characterized by the absence of electricity power and drinkable water. The drying process proposed would secure the food maintenance under local conditions guaranteeing food safety for a longer period. Additionally, an ancient local drying technique was rescued and used. Moreover, this kind of dietary intervention would be the most efficient way to improve the infant nutrition by delivering macro and micronutrients on time to these vulnerable populations.

Keywords: child malnutrition, dietary diversification, food security, goat meat

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Authors: Mala Mukherjee

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Background: India is urbanizing very fast and urbanisation in India is treated as one of the most crucial components of economic growth. Though the pace of urbanisation (31.6 per cent in 2011) is however slower and lower than the average for Asia but the absolute number of people residing in cities and towns has increased substantially. Rapid urbanization leads to urban poverty and it is well represented in slums. Currently India has four metropolises and 53 million plus cities. All of them have significant slum population but the standard of living and success of slum development programmes varies across regions. Objectives: Objectives of the paper are to show how urbanisation and slum development varies across space; to show spatial variation in the standard of living in Indian slums; to analyse how the implementation of slum development policies like JNNURM, Rajiv Awas Yojana varies across cities and bring different results in different regions and what are the factors responsible for such variation. Data Sources and Methodology: Census 2011 data on urban population and slum households and amenities have been used for analysing the regional variation of urbanisation in 53 million plus cities of India. Special focus has been put on Kolkata Metropolitan Area. Statistical techniques like z-score and PCA have been employed to work out Standard of Living Deprivation score for all the slums of 53 metropolises. ARC-GIS software is used for making maps. Standard of living has been measured in terms of access to basic amenities, infrastructure and assets like drinking water, sanitation, housing condition, bank account, and so on. Findings: 1. The first finding reveals that migration and urbanization is very high in Greater Mumbai, Delhi, Bangaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata; but slum population is high in Greater Mumbai (50% population live in slums), Meerut, Faridabad, Ludhiana, Nagpur, Kolkata etc. Though the rate of urbanization is high in southern and western states but the percentage of slum population is high in northern states (except Greater Mumbai). 2. Standard of Living also varies widely. Slums of Greater Mumbai and North Indian Cities score fairly high in the index indicating the fact that standard of living is high in those slums compare to the slums in eastern India (Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Kolkata). Therefore, though Kolkata have relatively lesser percentage of slum population compare to north and south Indian cities but the standard of living in Kolkata’s slums is deplorable. 3. It is interesting to note that even within Kolkata Metropolitan Area slums located in the southern and eastern municipal towns like Rajpur-Sonarpur, Pujali, Diamond Harbour, Baduria and Dankuni have lower standard of living compare to the slums located in the Hooghly Industrial belt like Titagarh, Rishrah, Srerampore etc. Slums of the Hooghly Industrial Belt are older than the slums located in eastern and southern part of the urban agglomeration. 4. Therefore, urban development and emergence of slums should not be the only issue of urban governance but standard of living should be the main focus. Slums located in the main cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata get more attention from the urban planners and similarly, older slums in a city receives greater political attention compare to the slums of smaller cities and newly emerged slums of the peripheral parts.

Keywords: urbanisation, slum, spatial variation, India

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Authors: Crysovaladou Kefaloudi, Kassiani Mellou, Eirini Saranti-Papasaranti, Athanasios Koustenis, Chrysoula Botsi, Agapios Terzidis

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Recent migration crisis led to a vast migrant – refugees movement to Greece which created an urgent need for hosting settlements. Taken into account the protection of public health from possible pathogens related to water and food supply as well as waste and sewage accumulation, a 'Living Conditions Recording Form' was created in the context of 'PHILOS' European Program funded by the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of EU’s DG Migration and Home Affairs, in order to assess a number of environmental sanitation parameters, in refugees – migrants camps in mainland. The assessment will be completed until the end of July. From March to June 2017, mobile unit teams comprised of health inspectors of sub-action 2 of “PHILOS” proceeded with the assessment of living conditions in twenty-two out of thirty-one camps and 'Stata' was used for the statistical analysis of obtained information. Variables were grouped into the following categories: 1) Camp administration, 2) hosted population number, 3) accommodation, 4) heating installations, 5) personal hygiene, 6) sewage collection and disposal, 7) water supply, 8) waste collection and management, 9) pest control, 10) fire safety, 11) food handling and safety. Preliminary analysis of the results showed that camp administration was performed in 90% of the camps by a public authority with the coordination of various NGOs. The median number of hosted population was 222 ranging from 62 to 3200, and the median value of hosted population per accommodation type was 4 in 19 camps. Heating facilities were provided in 86.1% of camps. In 18.2 % of the camps, one personal hygiene facility was available per 6 people ranging in the rest of the camps from 1 per 3 to 1 per 20 hosted refugees-migrants. Waste and sewage collection was performed depending on populations demand in an adequate way in all recorded camps. In 90% of camps, water was supplied through the central water supply system. In 85% of camps quantity and quality of water supply inside camps was regularly monitored for microbial and chemical indices. Pest control was implemented in 86.4% of the camps as well as fire safety measures. Food was supplied by catering companies in 50% of the camps, and the quality and quantity food was monitored at a regular basis. In 77% of camps, food was prepared by the hosted population with the availability of proper storage conditions. Furthermore, in all camps, hosted population was provided with personal hygiene items and health sanitary educational programs were implemented in 77.3% of camps. In conclusion, in the majority of the camps, environmental sanitation parameters were satisfactory. However, waste and sewage accumulation, as well as inadequate pest control measures were recorded in some camps. The obtained data have led to a number of recommendations for the improvement of sanitary conditions, disseminated to all relevant stakeholders. Special emphasis was given to hygiene measures implementation during food handling by migrants – refugees, as well as to waste and sewage accumulation taking in to account the population’s cultural background.

Keywords: environmental sanitation parameters, food borne diseases risk assessment, refugee – migrants camps, water borne diseases risk assessment

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Authors: Qianwei Cheng, A. K. M. Mahbubur Rahman, Anis Sarker, Abu Bakar Siddik Nayem, Ovi Paul, Amin Ahsan Ali, M. Ashraful Amin, Ryosuke Shibasaki, Moinul Zaber

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Thomas Friedman, in his famous book, argued that the world in this 21st century is flat and will continue to be flatter. This is attributed to rapid globalization and the interdependence of humanity that engendered tremendous in-flow of human migration towards the urban spaces. In order to keep the urban environment sustainable, policy makers need to plan based on extensive analysis of the urban environment. With the advent of high definition satellite images, high resolution data, computational methods such as deep neural network analysis, and hardware capable of high-speed analysis; urban planning is seeing a paradigm shift. Legacy data on urban environments are now being complemented with high-volume, high-frequency data. However, the first step of understanding urban space lies in useful categorization of the space that is usable for data collection, analysis, and visualization. In this paper, we propose a pragmatic categorization method that is readily usable for machine analysis and show applicability of the methodology on a developing world setting. Categorization to plan sustainable urban spaces should encompass the buildings and their surroundings. However, the state-of-the-art is mostly dominated by classification of building structures, building types, etc. and largely represents the developed world. Hence, these methods and models are not sufficient for developing countries such as Bangladesh, where the surrounding environment is crucial for the categorization. Moreover, these categorizations propose small-scale classifications, which give limited information, have poor scalability and are slow to compute in real time. Our proposed method is divided into two steps-categorization and automation. We categorize the urban area in terms of informal and formal spaces and take the surrounding environment into account. 50 km × 50 km Google Earth image of Dhaka, Bangladesh was visually annotated and categorized by an expert and consequently a map was drawn. The categorization is based broadly on two dimensions-the state of urbanization and the architectural form of urban environment. Consequently, the urban space is divided into four categories: 1) highly informal area; 2) moderately informal area; 3) moderately formal area; and 4) highly formal area. In total, sixteen sub-categories were identified. For semantic segmentation and automatic categorization, Google’s DeeplabV3+ model was used. The model uses Atrous convolution operation to analyze different layers of texture and shape. This allows us to enlarge the field of view of the filters to incorporate larger context. Image encompassing 70% of the urban space was used to train the model, and the remaining 30% was used for testing and validation. The model is able to segment with 75% accuracy and 60% Mean Intersection over Union (mIoU). In this paper, we propose a pragmatic categorization method that is readily applicable for automatic use in both developing and developed world context. The method can be augmented for real-time socio-economic comparative analysis among cities. It can be an essential tool for the policy makers to plan future sustainable urban spaces.

Keywords: semantic segmentation, urban environment, deep learning, urban building, classification

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Authors: Irina Mizeva, Elena Potapova, Viktor Dremin, Mikhail Mezentsev, Valeri Shupletsov

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The local tissue perfusion is regulated by the microvascular tone which is under the control of a number of physiological mechanisms. Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) together with wavelet analyses is the most commonly used technique to study the regulatory mechanisms of cutaneous microcirculation. External factors such as temperature, local pressure of the probe on the skin, etc. influence on the blood flow characteristics and are used as physiological tests to evaluate microvascular regulatory mechanisms. Local probe pressure influences on the microcirculation parameters measured by optical methods: diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and LDF. Therefore, further study of probe pressure effects can be useful to improve the reliability of optical measurement. During pressure tests variation of the mean perfusion measured by means of LDF usually is estimated. An additional information concerning the physiological mechanisms of the vascular tone regulation system in response to local pressure can be obtained using spectral analyses of LDF samples. The aim of the present work was to develop protocol and algorithm of data processing appropriate for study physiological response to the local pressure test. Involving 6 subjects (20±2 years) and providing 5 measurements for every subject we estimated intersubject and-inter group variability of response of both averaged and oscillating parts of the LDF sample on external surface pressure. The final purpose of the work was to find special features which further can be used in wider clinic studies. The cutaneous perfusion measurements were carried out by LAKK-02 (SPE LAZMA Ltd., Russia), the skin loading was provided by the originally designed device which allows one to distribute the pressure around the LDF probe. The probe was installed on the dorsal part of the distal finger of the index figure. We collected measurements continuously for one hour and varied loading from 0 to 180mmHg stepwise with a step duration of 10 minutes. Further, we post-processed the samples using the wavelet transform and traced the energy of oscillations in five frequency bands over time. Weak loading leads to pressure-induced vasodilation, so one should take into account that the perfusion measured under pressure conditions will be overestimated. On the other hand, we revealed a decrease in endothelial associated fluctuations. Further loading (88 mmHg) induces amplification of pulsations in all frequency bands. We assume that such loading leads to a higher number of closed capillaries, higher input of arterioles in the LDF signal and as a consequence more vivid oscillations which mainly are formed in arterioles. External pressure higher than 144 mmHg leads to the decrease of oscillating components, after removing the loading very rapid restore of the tissue perfusion takes place. In this work, we have demonstrated that local skin loading influence on the microcirculation parameters measured by optic technique; this should be taken into account while developing portable electronic devices. The proposed protocol of local loading allows one to evaluate PIV as far as to trace dynamic of blood flow oscillations. This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation under project N 18-15-00201.

Keywords: blood microcirculation, laser Doppler flowmetry, pressure-induced vasodilation, wavelet analyses blood

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Authors: Sunil Arora, Anitya Kumar Jena, S. A. Ravi

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India is at the cusp of major reforms in the hydrocarbon sector. Oil and gas sector is highly liberalised to attract private investment and to increase domestic production. Major hydrocarbon Exploration & Production (E&P) activity here have been undertaken by Government owned companies but with easing up and reworking of hydro carbon exploration licensing policies private players have also joined the fray towards achieving energy security for India. Government of India has come up with policy and administrative reforms including Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), Sagarmala (port-led development with coastal connectivity), and Development of Small Discovered Fields, etc. with the intention to make industry friendly conditions for investment, ease of doing business and reduce gestation period. To harness the potential resources of Deep water and Ultra deep water, High Pressure – High Temperature (HP-HT) regions, Coal Bed Methane (CBM), Shale Hydrocarbons besides Gas Hydrates, participation shall be required from both domestic and international players. Companies engaged in E&P activities in India have traditionally been managing through their captive supply base, but with crude prices under hammer, the need is being felt to outsource non-core activities. This necessitates establishment of a robust support services to cater to E&P Industry, which is currently non-existent to meet the bourgeon challenges. This paper outlines an agenda for creating an Integrated Services Hub (ISH) under Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to facilitate complete gamut of non-core support activities of E&P industry. This responsive and proficient multi-usage facility becomes viable with better resource utilization, economies of scale to offer cost effective services. The concept envisages companies to bring-in their core technical expertise leaving complete hardware peripherals outsourced to this ISH. The Integrated Services Hub, complying with the best in class global standards, shall typically provide following Services under Single Window Solution, but not limited to: a) Logistics including supply base operations, transport of manpower and material, helicopters, offshore supply vessels, warehousing, inventory management, sourcing and procurement activities, international freight forwarding, domestic trucking, customs clearance service etc. b) Trained/Experienced pool of competent Manpower (Technical, Security etc.) will be available for engagement by companies on either short or long term basis depending upon the requirements with provisions of meeting any training requirements. c) Specialized Services through tie-up with global best companies for Crisis Management, Mud/Cement, Fishing, Floating Dry-dock besides provision of Workshop, Repair and Testing facilities, etc. d) Tools and Tackles including drill strings, etc. A pre-established Integrated Services Hub shall facilitate an early start-up of activities with substantial savings in time lines. This model can be replicated at other parts of the world to expedite E&P activities.

Keywords: integrated service hub, India, oil gas, offshore supply base

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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: Rachid Essamoud, Abdelkrim Afenzar, Ahmed Belqadi

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During the Early Mesozoic, the northwestern part of the African continent was affected by initial fracturing associated with the early stages of the opening of the Central Atlantic (Atlantic Rift). During this rifting phase, the Moroccan Meseta experienced an extensive tectonic regime. This extension favored the formation of a set of rift-type basins, including the Mohammedia-Benslimane-ElGara-Berrechid basin. Thus, it is essential to know the nature of the deposits in this basin and their evolution over time as well as their relationship with the basaltic effusion of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). These deposits are subdivided into two large series: The Lower clay-salt series attributed to the Triassic and the Upper clay-salt series attributed to the Liassic. The two series are separated by the Upper Triassic-Lower Liassic basaltic complex. The detailed sedimentological analysis made it possible to characterize four mega-sequences, fifteen types of facies and eight architectural elements and facies associations in the Triassic series. A progressive decrease observed in paleo-slope over time led to the evolution of the paleoenvironment from a proximal system of alluvial fans to a braided fluvial style, then to an anastomosed system. These environments eventually evolved into an alluvial plain associated with a coastal plain where playa lakes, mudflats and lagoons had developed. The pure and massive halitic facies at the top of the series probably indicate an evolution of the depositional environment towards a shallow subtidal environment. The presence of these evaporites indicates a climate that favored their precipitation, in this case, a fairly hot and humid climate. The sedimentological analysis of the supra-basaltic part shows that during the Lower Liassic, the paleopente after basaltic effusion remained weak with distal environments. The faciological analysis revealed the presence of four major sandstone, silty, clayey and evaporitic lithofacies organized in two mega-sequences: the sedimentation of the first rock-salt mega-sequence took place in a brine depression system free, followed by saline mudflats under continental influences. The upper clay mega-sequence displays facies documenting sea level fluctuations from the final transgression of the Tethys or the opening Atlantic. Saliferous sedimentation is therefore favored from the Upper Triassic, but experienced a sudden rupture by the emission of basaltic flows which are interstratified in the azoic salt clays of very shallow seas. This basaltic emission which belongs to the CAMP would come from a fissural volcanism probably carried out through transfer faults located in the NW and SE of the basin. Their emplacement is probably subaquatic to subaerial. From a chronological and paleogeographic point of view, this main volcanism, dated between the Upper Triassic and the Lower Liassic (180-200 MA), is linked to the fragmentation of Pangea and managed by a progressive expansion triggered in the West in close relation with the initial phases of Central Atlantic rifting and seems to coincide with the major mass extinction at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.

Keywords: Basalt, CAMP, Liassic, sedimentology, Triassic, Morocco

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Authors: Osman Adiguzel

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Shape-memory alloys are a new class of functional materials with a peculiar property known as shape memory effect. These alloys return to a previously defined shape on heating after deformation in low temperature product phase region and take place in a class of functional materials due to this property. The origin of this phenomenon lies in the fact that the material changes its internal crystalline structure with changing temperature. Shape memory effect is based on martensitic transitions, which govern the remarkable changes in internal crystalline structure of materials. Martensitic transformation, which is a solid state phase transformation, occurs in thermal manner in material on cooling from high temperature parent phase region. This transformation is governed by changes in the crystalline structure of the material. Shape memory alloys cycle between original and deformed shapes in bulk level on heating and cooling, and can be used as a thermal actuator or temperature-sensitive elements due to this property. Martensitic transformations usually occur with the cooperative movement of atoms by means of lattice invariant shears. The ordered parent phase structures turn into twinned structures with this movement in crystallographic manner in thermal induced case. The twinned martensites turn into the twinned or oriented martensite by stressing the material at low temperature martensitic phase condition. The detwinned martensite turns into the parent phase structure on first heating, first cycle, and parent phase structures turn into the twinned and detwinned structures respectively in irreversible and reversible memory cases. On the other hand, shape memory materials are very important and useful in many interdisciplinary fields such as medicine, pharmacy, bioengineering, metallurgy and many engineering fields. The choice of material as well as actuator and sensor to combine it with the host structure is very essential to develop main materials and structures. Copper based alloys exhibit this property in metastable beta-phase region, which has bcc-based structures at high temperature parent phase field, and these structures martensitically turn into layered complex structures with lattice twinning following two ordered reactions on cooling. Martensitic transition occurs as self-accommodated martensite with inhomogeneous shears, lattice invariant shears which occur in two opposite directions, <110 > -type directions on the {110}-type plane of austenite matrix which is basal plane of martensite. This kind of shear can be called as {110}<110> -type mode and gives rise to the formation of layered structures, like 3R, 9R or 18R depending on the stacking sequences on the close-packed planes of the ordered lattice. In the present contribution, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies were carried out on two copper based alloys which have the chemical compositions in weight; Cu-26.1%Zn 4%Al and Cu-11%Al-6%Mn. X-ray diffraction profiles and electron diffraction patterns reveal that both alloys exhibit super lattice reflections inherited from parent phase due to the displacive character of martensitic transformation. X-ray diffractograms taken in a long time interval show that locations and intensities of diffraction peaks change with the aging time at room temperature. In particular, some of the successive peak pairs providing a special relation between Miller indices come close each other.

Keywords: Shape memory effect, martensite, twinning, detwinning, self-accommodation, layered structures

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Authors: Naoum Mylonas, Eugenia Petridou

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Objectives: The objectives of this research are firstly, to develop an integrated model of predicting factors to new ventures performance, taking into account certain issues and specificities related to creative industry and female entrepreneurship based on the prior research; secondly, to determine the appropriate measures of venture performance in a creative industry context, drawing upon previous surveys; thirdly, to illustrate the importance of entrepreneurial orientation, networking ties, environment dynamism and access to financial capital on new ventures performance. Prior Work: An extant review of the creative industry literature highlights the special nature of entrepreneurship in this field. Entrepreneurs in creative industry share certain specific characteristics and intensions, such as to produce something aesthetic, to enrich their talents and their creativity, and to combine their entrepreneurial with their artistic orientation. Thus, assessing venture performance and success in creative industry entails an examination of how creative people or artists conceptualize success. Moreover, female entrepreneurs manifest more positive attitudes towards sectors primarily based on creativity, rather than innovation in which males outbalance. As creative industry entrepreneurship based mainly on the creative personality of the creator / artist, a high interest is accrued to examine female entrepreneurship in the creative industry. Hypotheses development: H1a: Female entrepreneurs who are more entrepreneurially-oriented show a higher financial performance. H1b: Female entrepreneurs who are more artistically-oriented show a higher creative performance. H2: Female entrepreneurs who have personality that is more creative perform better. H3: Female entrepreneurs who participate in or belong to networks perform better. H4: Female entrepreneurs who have been consulted by a mentor perform better. Η5a: Female entrepreneurs who are motivated more by pull-factors perform better. H5b: Female entrepreneurs who are motivated more by push-factors perform worse. Approach: A mixed method triangulation design has been adopted for the collection and analysis of data. The data are collected through a structured questionnaire for the quantitative part and through semi-structured interviews for the qualitative part as well. The sample is 293 Greek female entrepreneurs in the creative industry. Main findings: All research hypotheses are accepted. The majority of creative industry entrepreneurs evaluate themselves in creative performance terms rather than financial ones. The individuals who are closely related to traditional arts sectors have no EO but also evaluate themselves highly in terms of venture performance. Creative personality of creators is appeared as the most important predictor of venture performance. Pull factors in accordance with our hypothesis lead to higher levels of performance compared to push factors. Networking and mentoring are viewed as very important, particularly now during the turbulent economic environment in Greece. Implications-Value: Our research provides an integrated model with several moderating variables to predict ventures performance in the creative industry, taking also into account the complicated nature of arts and the way artists and creators define success. At the end, the findings may be used for the appropriate design of educational programs in creative industry entrepreneurship. This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: Heracleitus II. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund.

Keywords: venture performance, female entrepreneurship, creative industry, networks

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Authors: Victor Mantilla, Romeu Vicente, António Figueiredo, Victor Ferreira, Sandra Sorte

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Integrating dynamic facades into contemporary building design is shaping a new era of energy efficiency and user comfort. These innovative facades, often constructed using lightweight construction systems and materials, offer an opportunity to have a responsive and adaptive nature to the dynamic behavior of the outdoor climate. Therefore, in regions characterized by high fluctuations in daily temperatures, the ability to adapt to environmental changes is of paramount importance and a challenge. This paper presents a thorough review of the state of the art on double-skin facades (DSF), focusing on lightweight solutions for the external envelope. Dynamic facades featuring elements like movable shading devices, phase change materials, and advanced control systems have revolutionized the built environment. They offer a promising path for reducing energy consumption while enhancing occupant well-being. Lightweight construction systems are increasingly becoming the choice for the constitution of these facade solutions, offering benefits such as reduced structural loads and reduced construction waste, improving overall sustainability. However, the performance of dynamic facades based on low thermal inertia solutions in climatic contexts with high thermal amplitude is still in need of research since their ability to adapt is traduced in variability/manipulation of the thermal transmittance coefficient (U-value). Emerging technologies can enable such a dynamic thermal behavior through innovative materials, changes in geometry and control to optimize the facade performance. These innovations will allow a facade system to respond to shifting outdoor temperature, relative humidity, wind, and solar radiation conditions, ensuring that energy efficiency and occupant comfort are both met/coupled. This review addresses the potential configuration of double-skin facades, particularly concerning their responsiveness to seasonal variations in temperature, with a specific focus on addressing the challenges posed by winter and summer conditions. Notably, the design of a dynamic facade is significantly shaped by several pivotal factors, including the choice of materials, geometric considerations, and the implementation of effective monitoring systems. Within the realm of double skin facades, various configurations are explored, encompassing exhaust air, supply air, and thermal buffering mechanisms. According to the review places a specific emphasis on the thermal dynamics at play, closely examining the impact of factors such as the color of the facade, the slat angle's dimensions, and the positioning and type of shading devices employed in these innovative architectural structures.This paper will synthesize the current research trends in this field, with the presentation of case studies and technological innovations with a comprehensive understanding of the cutting-edge solutions propelling the evolution of building envelopes in the face of climate change, namely focusing on double-skin lightweight solutions to create sustainable, adaptable, and responsive building envelopes. As indicated in the review, flexible and lightweight systems have broad applicability across all building sectors, and there is a growing recognition that retrofitting existing buildings may emerge as the predominant approach.

Keywords: adaptive, control systems, dynamic facades, energy efficiency, responsive, thermal comfort, thermal transmittance

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Authors: Osman Adiguzel

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Shape memory alloys take place in a class of smart materials by exhibiting a peculiar property called the shape memory effect. This property is characterized by the recoverability of two certain shapes of material at different temperatures. These materials are often called smart materials due to their functionality and their capacity of responding to changes in the environment. Shape memory materials are used as shape memory devices in many interdisciplinary fields such as medicine, bioengineering, metallurgy, building industry and many engineering fields. The shape memory effect is performed thermally by heating and cooling after first cooling and stressing treatments, and this behavior is called thermoelasticity. This effect is based on martensitic transformations characterized by changes in the crystal structure of the material. The shape memory effect is the result of successive thermally and stress-induced martensitic transformations. Shape memory alloys exhibit thermoelasticity and superelasticity by means of deformation in the low-temperature product phase and high-temperature parent phase region, respectively. Superelasticity is performed by stressing and releasing the material in the parent phase region. Loading and unloading paths are different in the stress-strain diagram, and the cycling loop reveals energy dissipation. The strain energy is stored after releasing, and these alloys are mainly used as deformation absorbent materials in control of civil structures subjected to seismic events, due to the absorbance of strain energy during any disaster or earthquake. Thermal-induced martensitic transformation occurs thermally on cooling, along with lattice twinning with cooperative movements of atoms by means of lattice invariant shears, and ordered parent phase structures turn into twinned martensite structures, and twinned structures turn into the detwinned structures by means of stress-induced martensitic transformation by stressing the material in the martensitic condition. Thermal induced transformation occurs with the cooperative movements of atoms in two opposite directions, <110 > -type directions on the {110} - type planes of austenite matrix which is the basal plane of martensite. Copper-based alloys exhibit this property in the metastable β-phase region, which has bcc-based structures at high-temperature parent phase field. Lattice invariant shear and twinning is not uniform in copper-based ternary alloys and gives rise to the formation of complex layered structures, depending on the stacking sequences on the close-packed planes of the ordered parent phase lattice. In the present contribution, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies were carried out on two copper-based CuAlMn and CuZnAl alloys. X-ray diffraction profiles and electron diffraction patterns reveal that both alloys exhibit superlattice reflections inherited from the parent phase due to the displacive character of martensitic transformation. X-ray diffractograms taken in a long time interval show that diffraction angles and intensities of diffraction peaks change with the aging duration at room temperature. In particular, some of the successive peak pairs providing a special relation between Miller indices come close to each other. This result refers to the rearrangement of atoms in a diffusive manner.

Keywords: shape memory effect, martensitic transformation, reversibility, superelasticity, twinning, detwinning

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Authors: Bandar Alkahlan

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The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) created the Saudi Future Dwelling (SFD) initiative to identify, localize and commercialize a scalable home manufacturing technology suited to deployment across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This paper outlines the journey, the creation of the international project delivery team, the product design, the selection of the process technologies, and the outcomes. A target was set to remove 85% of the construction and finishing processes from the building site as these activities could be more efficiently completed in a factory environment. Therefore, integral to the SFD initiative is the successful industrialization of the home building process using appropriate technologies, automation, robotics, and manufacturing logistics. The technologies proposed for the SFD housing system are designed to be energy efficient, economical, fit for purpose from a Saudi cultural perspective, and will minimize the use of concrete, relying mainly on locally available Saudi natural materials derived from the local resource industries. To this end, the building structure is comprised of a hybrid system of structural insulated panels (SIP), combined with a light gauge steel framework manufactured in a large format panel system. The paper traces the investigative process and steps completed by the project team during the selection process. As part of the SFD Project, a pathway was mapped out to include a proof-of-concept prototype housing module and the set-up and commissioning of a lab-factory complete with all production machinery and equipment necessary to simulate a full-scale production environment. The prototype housing module was used to validate and inform current and future product design as well as manufacturing process decisions. A description of the prototype design and manufacture is outlined along with valuable learning derived from the build and how these results were used to enhance the SFD project. The industrial engineering concepts and lab-factory detailed design and layout are described in the paper, along with the shop floor I.T. management strategy. Special attention was paid to showcase all technologies within the lab-factory as part of the engagement strategy with private investors to leverage the SFD project with large scale factories throughout the Kingdom. A detailed analysis is included in the process surrounding the design, specification, and procurement of the manufacturing machinery, equipment, and logistical manipulators required to produce the SFD housing modules. The manufacturing machinery was comprised of a combination of standardized and bespoke equipment from a wide range of international suppliers. The paper describes the selection process, pre-ordering trials and studies, and, in some cases, the requirement for additional research and development by the equipment suppliers in order to achieve the SFD objectives. A set of conclusions is drawn describing the results achieved thus far, along with a list of recommended ongoing operational tests, enhancements, research, and development aimed at achieving full-scale engagement with private sector investment and roll-out of the SFD project across the Kingdom.

Keywords: automation, dwelling, manufacturing, product design

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Authors: Meiyan Gao, Zongmin Wang, Haibo Yang, Qiuhua Liang

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Under the background of global climate change and rapid development of modern urbanization, the frequency of climate disasters such as extreme precipitation in cities around the world is gradually increasing. In this paper, Hi-PIMS model is used to simulate the "720" flood in Zhengzhou, and the continuous stages of flood resilience are determined with the urban flood stages are divided. The flood resilience curve under the influence of multiple factors were determined and the urban flood toughness was evaluated by combining the results of resilience curves. The flood resilience of urban unit grid was evaluated based on economy, population, road network, hospital distribution and land use type. Firstly, the rainfall data of meteorological stations near Zhengzhou and the remote sensing rainfall data from July 17 to 22, 2021 were collected. The Kriging interpolation method was used to expand the rainfall data of Zhengzhou. According to the rainfall data, the flood process generated by four rainfall events in Zhengzhou was reproduced. Based on the results of the inundation range and inundation depth in different areas, the flood process was divided into four stages: absorption, resistance, overload and recovery based on the once in 50 years rainfall standard. At the same time, based on the levels of slope, GDP, population, hospital affected area, land use type, road network density and other aspects, the resilience curve was applied to evaluate the urban flood resilience of different regional units, and the difference of flood process of different precipitation in "720" rainstorm in Zhengzhou was analyzed. Faced with more than 1,000 years of rainstorm, most areas are quickly entering the stage of overload. The influence levels of factors in different areas are different, some areas with ramps or higher terrain have better resilience, and restore normal social order faster, that is, the recovery stage needs shorter time. Some low-lying areas or special terrain, such as tunnels, will enter the overload stage faster in the case of heavy rainfall. As a result, high levels of flood protection, water level warning systems and faster emergency response are needed in areas with low resilience and high risk. The building density of built-up area, population of densely populated area and road network density all have a certain negative impact on urban flood resistance, and the positive impact of slope on flood resilience is also very obvious. While hospitals can have positive effects on medical treatment, they also have negative effects such as population density and asset density when they encounter floods. The result of a separate comparison of the unit grid of hospitals shows that the resilience of hospitals in the distribution range is low when they encounter floods. Therefore, in addition to improving the flood resistance capacity of cities, through reasonable planning can also increase the flood response capacity of cities. Changes in these influencing factors can further improve urban flood resilience, such as raise design standards and the temporary water storage area when floods occur, train the response speed of emergency personnel and adjust emergency support equipment.

Keywords: urban flood resilience, resilience assessment, hydrodynamic model, resilience curve

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Authors: Sachoiba Inkah

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The Northeast region has not been a major factor in India’s foreign policy calculation since independence. Instead, the region was ignored and marginalized even to the extent of using force and repressive Acts such as AFSPA(Armed Forces Special Powers Act) to suppress the voices of both states and non-state actors. The liberalization of the economy in the 90s in the wake of globalization gave India a new outlook and the Look East Policy (LEP) was a paradigm shift in India’s engagement with the Southeast Asian nations as it seeks to explore the benefits of the ASEAN. The reorienting of India’s foreign policy to ‘Neighborhood First” is attributed to the present political dispensation, which is further widened to include ‘Extended Neighborhood.’ As a result, the Northeastern states have become key players in India’s participation in regional groupings such as SAARC, BIMSTEC, and BCIM. The need for external balancing, diplomacy and development has reset India’s foreign policy priorities as the Northeast states lie in the confluence of South Asia, Southeast and East Asia, and a stakeholder in Act East Policy. The paper will explore the role of Northeastern states in the framework of Indian foreign policy as it shares international boundaries with China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar and most importantly, study the case of Nagas who are spread across Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh bordering Myanmar. The Indo-Myanmar border is an area of conflict and various illegal activities such as arms trafficking, illegal migrants, drug, and human trafficking are still being carried out and in order to address this issue, both India and Myanmar need to take into consideration the various communities living across the border. And conflict and insurgency should not be a yardstick to curtailed development of infrastructures such as roads, health facilities, transport, and communication in the contested region. The realities, perceptions, and contentions of the Northeastern states and the different communities living in the border areas need a wider discourse as the region the potential to drive India’s diplomatic relations with its neighbors and extended neighborhood. The methods employed are analytical and more of a descriptive analysis on India’s foreign policy framework with a focus on Nagas in Myanmar, drawing from both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include official documents, data, and statistics released by various governmental agencies, parliamentary debates, political speeches, press releases, treaties and agreements, historical biographies and organizational policy papers, protocols and procedures of government conferences, regional organization study reports etc. The paper concludes that the recent proactive engagement between India and Myanmar on trade, defense, economic, and infrastructure development are positive signs cementing bilateral ties, but there is not much room for the people-to-people connect, especially for people living in the borderland. The Freedom of Movement Regime that is in place is limited and there is more scope for improvement as people in the borderland looks towards trade and commerce to not only uplift the border economy but also act as a catalyst for robust engagement between the two countries, albeit with more infrastructure such as road, healthcare, education, a tourist hotspot, trade centers, mobile connectivity, etc.

Keywords: foreign policy, infrastructure development, insurgency, people to people connect

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Authors: Rigas Kotsakis, Nikolaos Tsigilis, Vasilis Grammatikopoulos, Evridiki Zachopoulou

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During the last decade, Greece has faced an unprecedented financial crisis, affecting various aspects and functionalities of Higher Education. Besides the restricted funding of academic institutions, the students and their families encountered economical difficulties that undoubtedly influenced the effective completion of their studies. In this context, a fairly large number of students in Alexander campus of International Hellenic University (IHU) delay, interrupt, or even abandon their studies, especially when they come from low-income families, belong to sensitive social or special needs groups, they have different cultural origins, etc. For this reason, a European project, named “Umbrella”, was initiated aiming at providing the necessary psychological support and counseling, especially to disadvantaged students, towards the completion of their studies. To this end, a network of various academic members (academic staff and students) from IHU, namely iMentor, were implicated in different roles. Specifically, experienced academic staff trained students to serve as intermediate links for the integration and educational support of students that fall into the aforementioned sensitive social groups and face problems for the completion of their studies. The main idea of the project is held upon its person-centered character, which facilitates direct student-to-student communication without the intervention of the teaching staff. The backbone of the iMentors network are senior students that face no problem in their academic life and volunteered for this project. It should be noted that there is a provision from the Umbrella structure for substantial and ethical rewards for their engagement. In this context, a well-defined, stringent methodology was implemented for the evaluation of the extent of the problem in IHU and the detection of the profile of the “candidate” disadvantaged students. The first phase included two steps, (a) data collection and (b) data cleansing/ preprocessing. The first step involved the data collection process from the Secretary Services of all Schools in IHU, from 1980 to 2019, which resulted in 96.418 records. The data set included the School name, the semester of studies, a student enrolling criteria, the nationality, the graduation year or the current, up-to-date academic state (still studying, delayed, dropped off, etc.). The second step of the employed methodology involved the data cleansing/preprocessing because of the existence of “noisy” data, missing and erroneous values, etc. Furthermore, several assumptions and grouping actions were imposed to achieve data homogeneity and an easy-to-interpret subsequent statistical analysis. Specifically, the duration of 40 years recording was limited to the last 15 years (2004-2019). In 2004 the Greek Technological Institutions were evolved into Higher Education Universities, leading into a stable and unified frame of graduate studies. In addition, the data concerning active students were excluded from the analysis since the initial processing effort was focused on the detection of factors/variables that differentiated graduate and deleted students. The final working dataset included 21.432 records with only two categories of students, those that have a degree and those who abandoned their studies. Findings of the first phase are presented across faculties and further discussed.

Keywords: higher education, students support, economic crisis, mentoring

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Authors: Claire Limoge Schraen, Philippe Gueguen, Cedric Giry, Cedric Desprez, Frédéric Ragueneau

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Mediterranean area is characterized by numerous monumental or vernacular masonry structures illustrating old ways of build and live. Those precious buildings are often poorly documented, present complex shapes and loadings, and are protected by the States, leading to legal constraints. This area also presents a moderate to high seismic activity. Even moderate earthquakes can be magnified by local site effects and cause collapse or significant damage. Moreover the structural resistance of masonry buildings, especially when less famous or located in rural zones has been generally lowered by many factors: poor maintenance, unsuitable restoration, ambient pollution, previous earthquakes. Recent earthquakes prove that any damage to these architectural witnesses to our past is irreversible, leading to the necessity of acting preventively. This means providing preventive assessments for hundreds of structures with no or few documents. In this context we want to propose a general method, based on hierarchized numerical models, to provide preliminary structural diagnoses at a regional scale, indicating whether more precise investigations and models are necessary for each building. To this aim, we adapt different tools, being developed such as photogrammetry or to be created such as a preprocessor starting from pictures to build meshes for a FEM software, in order to allow dynamic studies of the buildings of the panel. We made an inventory of 198 baroque chapels and churches situated in the French Alps. Then their structural characteristics have been determined thanks field surveys and the MicMac photogrammetric software. Using structural criteria, we determined eight types of churches and seven types for chapels. We studied their dynamical behavior thanks to CAST3M, using EC8 spectrum and accelerogramms of the studied zone. This allowed us quantifying the effect of the needed simplifications in the most sensitive zones and choosing the most effective ones. We also proposed threshold criteria based on the observed damages visible in the in situ surveys, old pictures and Italian code. They are relevant in linear models. To validate the structural types, we made a vibratory measures campaign using vibratory ambient noise and velocimeters. It also allowed us validating this method on old masonry and identifying the modal characteristics of 20 churches. Then we proceeded to a dynamic identification between numerical and experimental modes. So we updated the linear models thanks to material and geometrical parameters, often unknown because of the complexity of the structures and materials. The numerically optimized values have been verified thanks to the measures we made on the masonry components in situ and in laboratory. We are now working on non-linear models redistributing the strains. So we validate the damage threshold criteria which we use to compute the vulnerability curves of each defined structural type. Our actual results show a good correlation between experimental and numerical data, validating the final modeling simplifications and the global method. We now plan to use non-linear analysis in the critical zones in order to test reinforcement solutions.

Keywords: heritage structures, masonry numerical modeling, seismic vulnerability assessment, vibratory measure

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