Search results for: performance measurement framework

Authors: Adeniran Adetunji, Babalola M. Florence, Akande Ademola

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In this paper, we made an overview on the concept of adaptive e-Learning system, enumerates the elements of adaptive learning concepts e.g. A pedagogical framework, multiple learning strategies and pathways, continuous monitoring and feedback on student performance, statistical inference to reach final learning strategy that works for an individual learner by “mass-customization”. Briefly highlights the motivation of this new system proposed for effective learning teaching. E-Review literature on the concept of adaptive e-learning system and emphasises on the Item Response Calibration, which is an important approach to developing an adaptive e-Learning system. This paper write-up is concluded on the justification of item response calibration/estimation towards designing a successful and effective adaptive e-Learning system.

Keywords: adaptive e-learning system, pedagogical framework, item response, computer applications

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Authors: Maryam Goodarzi, Mahdieh Sheikhi, Mehdi Goodarzi

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This study intends to offer an appropriate strategy development framework for a telecommunication firm (as a case study) which works on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects, development of telecommunication networks, and maintenance of local networks, according to its dominant condition. In this approach, first, the objectives were set and the mission was defined. Then, the capability was assessed by SWOT matrix. Using SPACE matrix, the strategy of the company was determined. The strategic direction is set and an appropriate and superior strategy was developed and offered employing QSPM matrix. The theoretical framework or conceptual model of the present study first involves 4 stages of framework development and then from stage 3 (assessing capability) onward, a strategic management model by Fred R. David. In this respect, the tools and methods offered in the framework are appropriate for all kinds of organizations, particularly small firms, and help strategists identify, evaluate, and select strategies.

Keywords: strategy formulation, firm mission, strategic direction, space diagram, quantitative strategic planning matrix, SWOT matrix

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Authors: Thomas Benson

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This paper leverages theoretical insights into two different justice approaches – environmental justice and ecological justice – to examine the effectiveness of sustainable development within smart cities and related smart city technology initiatives. Through theoretical development, the author seeks to establish an Eco Framework for smart cities and urban sustainable development. In turn, this paper aims to proffer the notion that there are ecologically sustainable ways in which smart cities can get smarter, and that such strategies can be compatible with ecological justice and environmental justice. Ultimately, a single conceptual framework is put forward to integrate the above approaches and concepts with normative prescriptions, which can serve researchers in the continued examination of smart cities and policymakers in their sustainable development of smart cities.

Keywords: ecological justice, environmental justice, normative framework, smart cities, sustainable development

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Authors: Wojciech Dąbrowski, Joanna Bąk, Laurent Solliec

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Nowadays technical and technological progress and constant development of methods and devices applied to sanitary engineering is indispensable. Issues related to sanitary engineering involve flow measurements for water and wastewater. The precise measurement is very important and pivotal for further actions, like monitoring. There are many methods and techniques of flow measurement in the area of sanitary engineering. Weirs and flumes are well–known methods and common used. But also there are alternative methods. Some of them are very simple methods, others are solutions using high technique. The old–time method combined with new technique could be more useful than earlier. Paper describes substitute method of flow gauging (California pipe method) and proposal of modification of this method used for inclined pipe. Examination of possibility of improving and developing old–time methods is direction of the investigation.

Keywords: California pipe, sewerage, flow rate measurement, water, wastewater, improve, modification, hydraulic monitoring, stream

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Authors: C. Park, H. Lee, Y-J. Lee

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Aim: This study aims to present the Sustainability Innovation Capacity Building Framework (SICBF) to enable the wider public to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) for a sustainable future. The intrinsically interwoven nature of sustainability requires systematic approaches to attain. However, there is a lack of an effective framework for capacity building that enables a systematic implementation approach for UN SDGs. The SICBF illustrates the six core components and their dynamics: 1. Momentum creation; 2. Exposure to diverse worldviews; 3. Serendipity/Eureka moment; 4. Creative problem solving; 5. Individual empowerment; 6. Systems thinking. Method: First, a structured literature review was used to synthesise existing sustainability competencies studies and generic innovation competencies. Secondly, the conceptual framework based on literature findings was tested with the participants' survey and interview data collected from four sets of MAKEathon events. The interview analysis and event observation data were used to further refine and validate the conceptual framework. Contributions: The scientific contribution of this study is to pave the way for SDGs specific capacity building framework that caters to the need for systematic approaches to allow the wider public aspiring to tackle the seemingly intractable sustainable development goals. The framework will aid sustainable development academics, educators, and practitioners in understanding the dynamics of how capacity building can be facilitated.

Keywords: capacity building, sustainability innovation, sustainable development, systems thinking, UN SDGs

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Authors: Zainab Mutlaq Ibrahim, Mohamed Bader-El-Den, Mihaela Cocea

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Students' textual feedback can hold unique patterns and useful information about learning process, it can hold information about advantages and disadvantages of teaching methods, assessment components, facilities, and other aspects of teaching. The results of analysing such a feedback can form a key point for institutions’ decision makers to advance and update their systems accordingly. This paper proposes a data mining framework for analysing end of unit general textual feedback using part of speech feature (PoS) with four machine learning algorithms: support vector machines, decision tree, random forest, and naive bays. The proposed framework has two tasks: first, to use the above algorithms to build an optimal model that automatically classifies the whole data set into two subsets, one subset is tailored to assessment practices (assessment related), and the other one is the non-assessment related data. Second task to use the same algorithms to build an optimal model for whole data set, and the new data subsets to automatically detect their sentiment. The significance of this paper is to compare the performance of the above four algorithms using part of speech feature to the performance of the same algorithms using n-grams feature. The paper follows Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDDM) framework to construct the classification and sentiment analysis models, which is understanding the assessment domain, cleaning and pre-processing the data set, selecting and running the data mining algorithm, interpreting mined patterns, and consolidating the discovered knowledge. The results of this paper experiments show that both models which used both features performed very well regarding first task. But regarding the second task, models that used part of speech feature has underperformed in comparison with models that used unigrams and bigrams.

Keywords: assessment, part of speech, sentiment analysis, student feedback

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Authors: Prakash Singh, Thembinkosi Twalo

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The sustainability of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), in South Africa, is being threatened by the reported cases of poor administration, weak management of resources, inappropriate job performance, and inappropriate job behaviour of some of the workers. Since the structural-functionalists assume that formal education is a solution to societal challenges, it therefore means that the BCMM should not be experiencing this threat since many of its workers have various levels of formal education. Consequently, this study using the mixed method research approach, set out to investigate the paradoxical co-existence of inappropriate job behaviour and performance with formal education at the BCMM. Considering the impact of human factors in the labour process, this study draws attention to the divergent objectives of skill and skill bearer, with the application of knowledge subject to the knowledge bearer’s motives, will, attitudes, ethics and values. Consequently, inappropriate job behaviour and performance practices could be due to numerous factors such as lack of the necessary capabilities or refusal to apply what has been learnt due to racial or other prejudices. The role of the human factor in the labour process is a serious omission in human capital theory, which regards schooling as the only factor contributing to the ability to do a job. For this reason this study’s theoretical framework is an amalgamation of the four theories - human capital, social capital, cultural capital, and reputation capital – in an effort to obtain a broader view of the factors that shape job behaviour and performance. Since it has been established that human nature plays a crucial role in how workers undertake their responsibilities, it is important that this be taken into consideration in the BCMM’s monitoring and evaluation of the workers’ job performance practices. Hence, this exploratory study brings to the fore, the effects of poor job performance practices on the job satisfaction of workers.

Keywords: human capital, poor job performance practices, service delivery, workers’ job satisfaction

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Authors: Yu Fang Chen, Jeng Fung Hung

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This study aimed to develop a circular economy scale to assess the level of recognition among high-level executives in businesses regarding the circular economy. The circular economy is crucial for global ESG sustainable development and poses a challenge for corporate social responsibility. The aim of promoting the circular economy is to reduce resource consumption, move towards sustainable development, reduce environmental impact, maintain ecological balance, increase economic value, and promote employment. This study developed a 23-item Circular Economy Scale, which includes three subscales: "Understanding of Circular Economy by Enterprises" (8 items), "Attitudes" (9 items), and "Behaviors" (6 items). The Likert 5-point scale was used to measure responses, with higher scores indicating higher levels of agreement among senior executives with regard to the circular economy. The study tested 105 senior executives and used a structural equation model (SEM) as a measurement indicator to determine the extent to which potential variables were measured. The standard factor loading of the measurement indicator needs to be higher than 0.7, and the average variance explained (AVE) represents the index of convergent validity, which should be greater than 0.5 or at least 0.45 to be acceptable. Out of the 23 items, 12 did not meet the standard, so they were removed, leaving 5 items, 3 items, and 3 items for each of the three subscales, respectively, all with a factor loading greater than 0.7. The AVE for all three subscales was greater than 0.45, indicating good construct validity. The Cronbach's α reliability values for the three subscales were 0.887, 0.787, and 0.734, respectively, and the total scale was 0.860, all of which were higher than 0.7, indicating good reliability. The Circular Economy Scale developed in this study measures three conceptual components that align with the theoretical framework of the literature review and demonstrate good reliability and validity. It can serve as a measurement tool for evaluating the degree of acceptance of the circular economy among senior executives in enterprises. In the future, this scale can be used by senior executives in enterprises as an evaluation tool to further explore its impact on sustainable development and to promote circular economy and sustainable development based on the reference provided.

Keywords: circular economy, corporate social responsibility, scale development, structural equation model

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Authors: Ali Ashtiani, Hamid Shirazi

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This paper reviews the status of existing practice and research related to measuring pavement cracking and using crack density as a pavement surface evaluation protocol. Crack density for pavement evaluation is currently not widely used within the airport community and its use by the highway community is limited. However, surface cracking is a distress that is closely monitored by airport staff and significantly influences the development of maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction plans for airport pavements. Therefore crack density has the potential to become an important indicator of pavement condition if the type, severity and extent of surface cracking can be accurately measured. A pavement distress survey is an essential component of any pavement assessment. Manual crack surveying has been widely used for decades to measure pavement performance. However, the accuracy and precision of manual surveys can vary depending upon the surveyor and performing surveys may disrupt normal operations. Given the variability of manual surveys, this method has shown inconsistencies in distress classification and measurement. This can potentially impact the planning for pavement maintenance, rehabilitation and reconstruction and the associated funding strategies. A substantial effort has been devoted for the past 20 years to reduce the human intervention and the error associated with it by moving toward automated distress collection methods. The automated methods refer to the systems that identify, classify and quantify pavement distresses through processes that require no or very minimal human intervention. This principally involves the use of a digital recognition software to analyze and characterize pavement distresses. The lack of established protocols for measurement and classification of pavement cracks captured using digital images is a challenge to developing a reliable automated system for distress assessment. Variations in types and severity of distresses, different pavement surface textures and colors and presence of pavement joints and edges all complicate automated image processing and crack measurement and classification. This paper summarizes the commercially available systems and technologies for automated pavement distress evaluation. A comprehensive automated pavement distress survey involves collection, interpretation, and processing of the surface images to identify the type, quantity and severity of the surface distresses. The outputs can be used to quantitatively calculate the crack density. The systems for automated distress survey using digital images reviewed in this paper can assist the airport industry in the development of a pavement evaluation protocol based on crack density. Analysis of automated distress survey data can lead to a crack density index. This index can be used as a means of assessing pavement condition and to predict pavement performance. This can be used by airport owners to determine the type of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation in a more consistent way.

Keywords: airport pavement management, crack density, pavement evaluation, pavement management

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Authors: Loh Fu Quan, Fong Zi Heng, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

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Cloud computing has completely transformed the way many businesses operate. Traditionally, confidential data of a business is stored in computers located within the premise of the business. Therefore, a lot of business capital is put towards maintaining computing resources and hiring IT teams to manage them. The advent of cloud computing changes everything. Instead of purchasing and managing their infrastructure, many businesses have started to shift towards working with the cloud with the help of a cloud service provider (CSP), leading to cost savings. However, it also introduces security risks. This research paper focuses on the security risks that arise during data migration and user authentication in cloud computing. To overcome this problem, this paper provides a comprehensive framework that includes Transport Layer Security (TLS), user authentication, security tokens and multi-level data encryption. This framework aims to prevent authorized access to cloud resources and data leakage, ensuring the confidentiality of sensitive information. This framework can be used by cloud service providers to strengthen the security of their cloud and instil confidence in their users.

Keywords: Cloud computing, Cloud security, Cloud security issues, Cloud security framework

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Authors: Muhammad Lawal A., Abdullateef Abdulkarim Jimoh

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This study is to appraise the labour-saving construction methods achievable using a buildability framework through an improved design system. Adoption of labour-efficient technology and construction techniques will be necessary to supplement good buildable designs. Increased usage of prefabricated, modular, and standardized construction components, simplicity in the design, and the number of integrated elements all work to advance buildable design. The objectives of the study include `determining a more efficient buildability framework for designers to achieve labour-saving construction’. 20 completed building projects in Birnin Kebbi, Nigeria, is used as a case study to buttress the proposition that `a more buildable design using buildability frame result in labour-saving in construction adopting a Singapore study approach.

Keywords: buildability framework, buildable designs, construction, labour-saving construction

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Authors: Wendi Dunham, Kimberly Floyd

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The constructivist approach to learning is a theoretical orientation that posits that individuals create their own understanding and knowledge of the world through their experiences and interactions. This approach emphasizes that learning is an active process and that individuals are not passive recipients when constructing their understanding of their world. When used concurrently with trauma-informed practices, a constructivist approach can inform the development of a framework for students and teachers that supports their social, emotional, and mental health in addition to enabling academic success. This framework can be applied to teachers and students. When applied to teachers, it can be used to achieve purposeful coping mechanisms through restorative justice and dispositional mindfulness. When applied to students, the framework can implement proactive, student-based practices such as Response to Intervention (RtI) and the 4 Rs to connect resiliency and intervention to academic learning. Using a constructivist, trauma-informed framework can provide students with a greater sense of control and agency over their trauma experiences and impart confidence in achieving school success.

Keywords: trauma, trauma informed practices in education, constructivist theory framework, school responses to trauma, trauma informed supports for teachers, trauma informed strategies for students, restorative justice, mindfulness, response to intervention, the 4 R's, resiliency

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Authors: Madina Tynybayeva, Sanya Zhumazhanova, Saltanat Kozhakhmetova, Merey Mussabayeva

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One of the leading indicators of the education quality is the level of students’ educational achievements. The processes of modernization of Kazakhstani education system have predetermined the need to improve the national system by assessing the quality of education. The results of assessment greatly contribute to addressing questions about the current state of the educational system in the country. The monitoring of students’ educational achievements (MEAS) is the systematic measurement of the quality of education for compliance with the state obligatory standard of Kazakhstan. This systematic measurement is independent of educational organizations and approved by the order of the Minister of Education and Scienceof Kazakhstan. The MEAS was conducted in the regions of Kazakhstanfor the first time in 2022 by the National Testing Centre. The measurement does not have legal consequences either for students or for educational organizations. Students’ achievements were measured in three subject areas: reading, mathematics and science literacy. MEAS was held for the first time in April this year, 105 thousand students from 1436 schools of Kazakhstan took part in the testing. The monitoring was accompanied by a survey of students, teachers, and school leaders. The goal is to identify which contextual factors affect learning outcomes. The testing was carried out in a computer format. The test tasks of MEAS are ranked according to the three levels of difficulty: basic, medium, and high. Fourth graders are asked to complete 30 closed-type tasks. The average score of the results is 21 points out of 30, which means 70% of tasks were successfully completed. The total number of test tasks for 9th grade students – 75 questions. The results of ninth graders are comparatively lower, the success rate of completing tasks is 63%. MEAS participants did not reveal a statistically significant gap in results in terms of the language of instruction, territorial status, and type of school. The trend of reducing the gap in these indicators is also noted in the framework of recent international studies conducted across the country, in particular PISA for schools in Kazakhstan. However, there is a regional gap in MOES performance. The difference in the values of the indicators of the highest and lowest scores of the regions was 11% of the success of completing tasks in the 4th grade, 14% in the 9thgrade. The results of the 4th grade students in reading, mathematics, and science literacy are: 71.5%, 70%, and 66.9%, respectively. The results of ninth-graders in reading, mathematics, and science literacy are 69.6%, 54%, and 60.8%, respectively. From the surveys, it was revealed that the educational achievements of students are considerably influenced by such factors as the subject competences of teachers, as well as the school climate and motivation of students. Thus, the results of MEAS indicate the need for an integrated approach to improving the quality of education. In particular, the combination of improving the content of curricula and textbooks, internal and external assessment of the educational achievements of students, educational programs of pedagogical specialties, and advanced training courses is required.

Keywords: assessment, secondary school, monitoring, functional literacy, kazakhstan

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Authors: Ahmed Ouammi

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This paper presents an integrated decision framework to support decision makers in the selection and optimal allocation of wind power plants in the electric grid. The developed approach intends to maximize the benefice related to the project investment during the planning period. The proposed decision model considers the main cost components, meteorological data, environmental impacts, operation and regulation constraints, and territorial information. The decision framework is expressed as a stochastic constrained optimization problem with the aim to identify the suitable locations and related optimal wind turbine technology considering the operational constraints and maximizing the benefice. The developed decision support system is applied to a case study to demonstrate and validate its performance.

Keywords: decision support systems, electric power grid, optimization, wind energy

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Authors: Harry Aginta

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Using Phillips curve framework, this paper seeks for new empirical evidence on the relationship between inflation and output in a major emerging economy. By exploiting sub-national data, the contribution of this paper is threefold. First, it resolves the issue of using on-target national inflation rates that potentially causes weakening inflation-output nexus. This is very relevant for Indonesia as its central bank has been adopting inflation targeting framework based on national consumer price index (CPI) inflation. Second, the study tests the relevance of mining sector in output gap estimation. The test for mining sector is important to control for the effects of mining regulation and nominal effects of coal prices on real economic activities. Third, the paper applies panel econometric method by incorporating regional variation that help to improve model estimation. The results from this paper confirm the strong presence of Phillips curve in Indonesia. Positive output gap that reflects excess demand condition gives rise to the inflation rates. In addition, the elasticity of output gap is higher if the mining sector is excluded from output gap estimation. In addition to inflation adaptation, the dynamics of exchange rate and international commodity price are also found to affect inflation significantly. The results are robust to the alternative measurement of output gap

Keywords: Phillips curve, inflation, Indonesia, panel data

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Authors: Shah Muhammad Butt, Ahmed Masaud Ansari

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Present Financial crisis in Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) facing lots of problems considerable budget cuts, make difficult to meet the ever growing IT-based research and learning needs, institutions are rapidly planning and promoting cloud-based approaches for their academic and research needs. A cost effective Hybrid Cloud framework for HEI’s will provide educational services for campus or intercampus communication. Hybrid Cloud Framework comprises Private and Public Cloud approaches. This paper will propose the framework based on the Open Source Cloud (OpenNebula for Virtualization, Eucalyptus for Infrastructure, and Aneka for programming development environment) combined with CSP’s services which are delivered to the end-user via the Internet from public clouds.

Keywords: educational services, hybrid campus cloud, open source, electrical and systems sciences

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Authors: M. A. N. Masrom, M. H. I. A. Rahim, G. K. Chen, S. Mohamed

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Large infrastructure project is one of significant category in the development of Malaysian construction industry. This type of project has been recognized as a high complexity project with numerous construction risks, large cost involvement, highly technical requirements and divers of resources. Besides, the development of large infrastructure such as highway, railway, Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and airport are also needed a large investment of public and private sector. To accomplish the development successfully, several challenges has to be determined prior the project commencement. To date, a comprehensive assessment of key success criteria particularly for large infrastructure in developing country such as Malaysia, is still not systematically defined and therefore, it needs further investigation. This paper aims to explore the potential success criteria that would be useful in gauging overall performance of large infrastructure implementation particularly in developing country. Previous successful criteria studies were used to develop a conceptual framework that possibly suitable for measuring large infrastructure performance. The findings show that successful criteria of infrastructure projects implementation could be grouped according to several key elements as it seems significant to the participants in prioritizing project challenges more systematically.

Keywords: successful criteria, performance, large infrastructure, Malaysia

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Authors: Mehrnoosh Askarizadeh

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The increasing variations of the business world correspond with a high diversity of theoretical perspectives used in project management research. This diversity is reflected by a variety of influencing factors, which have been the subject of empirical studies. This article aims to systemize the different streams of research on the basis of a literature review and at developing a research framework influencing factors. We will identify fundamental elements of a project management theory. The framework consists of three dimensions: design, context, and goal. Its purpose is to support the combination of different perspectives and the development of strategies for further research.

Keywords: project, goal, project management, influencing factors

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Authors: Cesar Julio Recalde

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Background: The role of intangible assets in today´s society is undeniable and continuously growing. More than 80% of corporate market is related to intellectual capital(IC). However, corporate governance principles and practices seem strongly based and oriented towards tangible assets. The impact of intangible assets on corporate governance might require prevention and adaptative actions. Adherence to voluntary mechanisms of intellectual capital reporting (ICR) seems to be a gateway towards adapting corporate governance to intangible assets influence and a conceptual cornerstone. The impact of adherence to intellectual capital reporting on corporate governance and performance needs to be evaluated. Purposes: This work has a sequential two folded purpose: (1) exploring the influences exerted by IC on corporate governance theory and practice, and within that context (2) analyzing the impact of adherence to voluntary mechanisms of ICR on corporate governance. Design and summary: This work employs the theory of the firm and agency theory in order to conceptually explore the effects of each dimension of IC on key corporate governance issues, namely property rights and control by shareholders and residual claims by stakeholders, fiduciary duties of management and the board, opportunistic behavior and transparency. A comprehensive IC taxonomy and map is presented. Within the resulting context, internal and external impact of ICR on corporate governance and performance is conceptually analyzed. IRC constraint and barriers are identified. Intellectual liabilities are presented within the context of IRC. Finally, IRC regulatory framework is surveyed. Findings: Relevant conclusions were rendered on the influence of intellectual capital on corporate governance. Sufficient evidence of a positive impact of IRC on corporate governance and performance was found. Additionally, it was found that IRC exerts a leveraging effect on IC itself. Intellectual liabilities are insufficiently researched and seem to have a relevant importance on IC measuring. IRC regulatory framework was found to be insufficiently developed to capture the essence of intangible assets and to meet corporate governance challenges facing IC. Originality: This work develops a progressive approach to conceptually analyze the mutual influences between IC and corporate governance. An epistemic ideogram represents the intersection of analyzed theories. An IC map is presented. The relatively new topic of intellectual liabilities is conceptually analyzed in the context of IRC. Social liabilities and client liabilities are presented.

Keywords: corporate governance, intellectual capital, intellectual capital reporting, intellectual assets, intellectual liabilities, voluntary mechanisms, regulatory framework

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Authors: Emily Awuor, Helga Huszar, Zoltan Bozoki

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Isotope analysis has found numerous applications in the environmental science discipline, most common being the tracing of environmental contaminants on both regional and global scales. Many environmental contaminants contain ammonia (NH₃) since it is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere and its largest sources are from agricultural and industrial activities. NH₃ isotopes (¹⁴NH₃ and ¹⁵NH₃) are therefore important and can be used in the traceability studies of these atmospheric pollutants. The goal of the project is the construction of a photoacoustic spectroscopy system that is capable of measuring ¹⁵NH₃ isotope selectively in terms of its concentration. A further objective is for the system to be robust, easy-to-use, and automated. This is provided by using two telecommunication type near-infrared distributed feedback (DFB) diode lasers and a laser coupler as the light source in the photoacoustic measurement system. The central wavelength of the lasers in use was 1532 nm, with the tuning range of ± 1 nm. In this range, strong absorption lines can be found for both ¹⁴NH₃ and ¹⁵NH₃. For the selective measurement of ¹⁵NH₃, wavelengths were chosen where the cross effect of ¹⁴NH₃ and water vapor is negligible. We completed the calibration of the photoacoustic system, and as a result, the lowest detectable concentration was 3.32 ppm (3Ϭ) in the case of ¹⁵NH₃ and 0.44 ppm (3Ϭ) in the case of ¹⁴NH₃. The results are most useful in the environmental pollution measurement and analysis.

Keywords: ammonia isotope, near-infrared DFB diode laser, photoacoustic spectroscopy, environmental monitoring

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Authors: Orla McConnell, Cormac MacMahon, Jen Harvey

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Ireland’s national professional development framework for those who teach in higher education, aims to provide guidance and leadership in the planning, developing and engaging in professional development practices. A series of pilot projects have been initiated to help explore the framework’s likely utility and acceptance by educators and their institutions. These projects require engagement with staff in the interpretation and adaption of the framework within their working contexts. The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of one such project with engineering educators at three Institutes of Technology seeking designation as a technological university. The initiative aims to gain traction in the acceptance of the framework with the engineering education community by linking core and discipline-specific teaching and learning competencies with professional development activities most valued by engineering educators. Informed by three strands of literature: professional development in higher education; engineering education; and teaching and learning training provisions, the project begins with a survey of all those involved in teaching and learning in engineering across the three institutes. Based on engagement with key stakeholders, subsequent qualitative research informs the contextualization of the national framework for discipline-specific and institutional piloting. The paper concludes by exploring engineering educator perceptions of the national framework’s utility based on their engagement with the pilot process. Feedback from the pilot indicates that there is a significant gap between the professional development needs of engineering educators and the current professional development provision in teaching and learning.

Keywords: engineering education, pilot, professional development, teaching and learning

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Authors: Branimir Jurun, Elza Jurun

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The focus of this paper is the description of an instrument called 'Quattuor 45' and defining of wave pressure measurement. Special attention is given to measurement of wave pressure created by the wind speed increasing obtained with the instrument 'Quattuor 45' in the investigated area. The study begins with respect to theoretical attitudes and numerous up to date investigations related to the waves approaching the coast. The detailed schematic view of the instrument is enriched with pictures from ground plan and side view. Horizontal stability of the instrument is achieved by mooring which relies on two concrete blocks. Vertical wave peak monitoring is ensured by one float above the instrument. The synthesis of horizontal stability and vertical wave peak monitoring allows to create a representative database for wave pressure measuring. Instrument ‘Quattuor 45' is named according to the way the database is received. Namely, the electronic part of the instrument consists of the main chip ‘Arduino', its memory, four load cells with the appropriate modules and the wind speed sensor 'Anemometers'. The 'Arduino' chip is programmed to store two data from each load cell and two data from the anemometer on SD card each second. The next part of the research is dedicated to data processing. All measured results are stored automatically in the database and after that detailed processing is carried out in the MS Excel. The result of the wave pressure measurement is synthesized by the unit of measurement kN/m². This paper also suggests a graphical presentation of the results by multi-line graph. The wave pressure is presented on the left vertical axis, while the wind speed is shown on the right vertical axis. The time of measurement is displayed on the horizontal axis. The paper proposes an algorithm for wind speed measurements showing the results for two characteristic winds in the Adriatic Sea, called 'Bura' and 'Jugo'. The first of them is the northern wind that reaches high speeds, causing low and extremely steep waves, where the pressure of the wave is relatively weak. On the other hand, the southern wind 'Jugo' has a lower speed than the northern wind, but due to its constant duration and constant speed maintenance, it causes extremely long and high waves that cause extremely high wave pressure.

Keywords: instrument, measuring unit, waves pressure metering, wind seed measurement

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Authors: Mardani Ali Serah, Yuriadi Kusuma, Chandrasa Soekardi

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The improvement of flow strategy was implemented in the intake system of the engine to produce better Compressed Natural Gas engine performance. Three components were studied, designed, simulated, developed,tested and validated in this research. The components are: the mixer, swirl device and fuel cooler device. The three components were installed to produce pressurised turbulent flow with higher fuel volume in the intake system, which is ideal condition for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuelled engine. A combination of experimental work with simulation technique were carried out. The work included design and fabrication of the engine test rig; the CNG fuel cooling system; fitting of instrumentation and measurement system for the performance testing of both gasoline and CNG modes. The simulation work was utilised to design appropriate mixer and swirl device. The flow test rig, known as the steady state flow rig (SSFR) was constructed to validate the simulation results. Then the investigation of the effect of these components on the CNG engine performance was carried out. A venturi-inlet holes mixer with three variables: number of inlet hole (8, 12, and 16); the inlet angles (300, 400, 500, and 600) and the outlet angles (200, 300, 400, and 500) were studied. The swirl-device with number of revolution and the plane angle variables were also studied. The CNG fuel cooling system with the ability to control water flow rate and the coolant temperature was installed. In this study it was found that the mixer and swirl-device improved the swirl ratio and pressure condition inside the intake manifold. The installation of the mixer, swirl device and CNG fuel cooling system had successfully increased 5.5%, 5%, and 3% of CNG engine performance respectively compared to that of existing operating condition. The overall results proved that there is a high potential of this mixer and swirl device method in increasing the CNG engine performance. The overall improvement on engine performance of power and torque was about 11% and 13% compared to the original mixer.

Keywords: intake system, Compressed Natural Gas, volumetric efficiency, engine performance

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Authors: Iraj Mantegh, Charles Vidal

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This paper considers Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management system from a service-oriented architecture point of view and proposes a framework for its performance requirements. The architecture specifically considered is related to the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Traffic Management that is adapted by Transport Canada, in close collaboration with other jurisdictions in the United States and European Union. First, the functional performances for each individual service that comprises the Traffic Management system are defined here, and then quantitative parameters to gauge the performances of individual services are proposed.

Keywords: UAV, drone, UAS, traffic management, UTM

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Authors: Rhoann Kerh, Chen-Fu Chien, Kuo-Yi Lin

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In the era of rapidly increasing notebook market, consumer electronics manufacturers are facing a highly dynamic and competitive environment. In particular, the product appearance is the first part for user to distinguish the product from the product of other brands. Notebook product should differ in its appearance to engage users and contribute to the user experience (UX). The UX evaluates various product concepts to find the design for user needs; in addition, help the designer to further understand the product appearance preference of different market segment. However, few studies have been done for exploring the relationship between consumer background and the reaction of product appearance. This study aims to propose a data mining framework to capture the user’s information and the important relation between product appearance factors. The proposed framework consists of problem definition and structuring, data preparation, rules generation, and results evaluation and interpretation. An empirical study has been done in Taiwan that recruited 168 subjects from different background to experience the appearance performance of 11 different portable computers. The results assist the designers to develop product strategies based on the characteristics of consumers and the product concept that related to the UX, which help to launch the products to the right customers and increase the market shares. The results have shown the practical feasibility of the proposed framework.

Keywords: consumers decision making, product design, rough set theory, user experience

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Authors: Michael Olson

Abstract:

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in the U.S. has established core competencies and milestones for family physicians in residency training programs. These competencies are intended to guide preceptors as they work with physician trainees toward independent practice. This conceptual paper describes a framework for coaching trainees toward these milestones using motivational interviewing as an evidence-based approach. The main objective of applying the motivational interviewing framework to the residency training setting is to facilitate clinical behavior change that meets higher level competencies/rubric. This is a work in progress and there is no manuscript/paper prepared to date. A conceptual paper/framework will be completed by the conference deadline. This is based on a separate but related development of work we have completed and published elsewhere.

Keywords: coaching, motivational interviewing, physicians, competencies

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Authors: Bita Mashayekhi, Amin Jahangard, Milad Samavat, Saeid Homayoun

Abstract:

In the modern competitive business environment, one cannot overstate the importance of corporate social responsibility. The controversial link between the social and financial performance of firms has become a topic of interest for scholars. Hence, this study examines the social and financial performance link by taking into account the mediating role of innovation performance. We conducted the Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) method on an international sample of firms provided by the ASSET4 database. In this research, to explore the black box of the social and financial performance relationship, we first examined the effect of social performance separately on financial performance and innovation; then, we measured the mediation role of innovation in the social and financial performance link. While our results indicate the positive effect of social performance on financial performance and innovation, we cannot document the positive mediating role of innovation. This possibly relates to the long-term nature of benefits from investments in innovation.

Keywords: ESG, financial performance, innovation, social performance, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Nuray Gökçek Karaca, Berrin Gökçek

Abstract:

Employers occupational safety and health training obligations are regulated in 89/391/EEC Framework Directive and also in 6331 numbered Occupational Health and Safety Law in Turkey. The main objective of this research is to determine and evaluate the employers’ occupational health and safety training obligations in Framework Directive in comparison with the 6331 numbered Occupational Health and Safety Law and to examine training principles in Turkey. For this purpose, employers’ occupational health and safety training obligations examined in Framework Directive and Occupational Health and Safety Law. This study carried out through comparative scanning model and literature model. The research data were collected through European Agency and ministry legislations. As a result, employers’ occupational health and safety training obligations in the 6331 numbered Occupational Health and Safety Law are compatible with the 89/391/EEC numbered Framework Directive and training principles are determined by in different ways like the trained workers, training issues, training period, training time, and trainers. In this study, employers’ training obligations are evaluated in detail.

Keywords: directive, occupational health and safety, training, work accidences

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Authors: Herawati Tri Siswati, Nurhidayat Ana Sıdık Fatimah

Abstract:

The Indonesia Basic Health Research, 2013 showed that prevalence of stunting of 6–12 children years old was 35,6%, wasting was 12,2% and obesiy was 9,2%. The Indonesian Goverment have School Health Program, held in coordination, plans, directing and responsible, developing and implement health student. However, it's implementation still under expected, while Indonesian Ministry of Health has initiated the School Health Program acceleration. This aimed is to know the influencing of training to knowledge and skill of elementary school teacher about measurement and assesment nutrirional status children. The research is quasy experimental with pre-post design, in Sleman disctrict, Yogyakarta province, Indonesia, 2015. Subject was all of elementary school teacher’s who responsible in School Health Program in Gamping sub-district, Sleman, Yogyakarta, i.e. 32 persons. The independent variable is training, while the dependent variable are teacher’s klowledge and skill on measurement and assesment nutrirional status children. The data was analized by t-test. The result showed that the knowledge score before training is 31,6±9,7 and after 56,4±12,6, with an increase 24,8±15,7, and p=0.00. The skill score before training is 46,6±11,1 and after 61,7±13, with an increase 15,2±14,2, p = 0.00. Training can increase the teacher’s klowledge and skill on measurement and assesment nutrirional status.

Keywords: training, school health program, nutritional status, children.

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Authors: Shidrokh Goudarzi, Wan Haslina Hassan

Abstract:

Heterogeneous wireless networks are converging towards an all-IP network as part of the so-called next-generation network. In this paradigm, different access technologies need to be interconnected; thus, vertical handovers or vertical handoffs are necessary for seamless mobility. In this paper, we conduct a review of existing vertical handover decision-making mechanisms that aim to provide ubiquitous connectivity to mobile users. To offer a systematic comparison, we categorize these vertical handover measurement and decision structures based on their respective methodology and parameters. Subsequently, we analyze several vertical handover approaches in the literature and compare them according to their advantages and weaknesses. The paper compares the algorithms based on the network selection methods, complexity of the technologies used and efficiency in order to introduce our vertical handover decision framework. We find that vertical handovers on heterogeneous wireless networks suffer from the lack of a standard and efficient method to satisfy both user and network quality of service requirements at different levels including architectural, decision-making and protocols. Also, the consolidation of network terminal, cross-layer information, multi packet casting and intelligent network selection algorithm appears to be an optimum solution for achieving seamless service continuity in order to facilitate seamless connectivity.

Keywords: heterogeneous wireless networks, vertical handovers, vertical handover metric, decision-making algorithms

Procedia PDF Downloads 388