Search results for: contingency theory approach

Authors: Mehdi Ghatei, Masoomeh Lorestani

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Upstream Tailings Storage Facilities (TSFs) may experience slope instabilities due to soil liquefaction, especially in regions known to be seismically active. In this study, liquefaction susceptibility of an upstream-raised TSF in Western Australia was assessed using two different approaches. The first approach assessed liquefaction susceptibility using Cone Penetration Tests with pore pressure measurement (CPTu) as described by the National Centre for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER). This assessment was based on the four CPTu tests that were conducted on the perimeter embankment of the TSF. The second approach used the Finite Element (FE) method with application of an equivalent linear model to predict the undrained cyclic behavior, the pore water pressure and the liquefaction of the materials. The tailings parameters were estimated from the CPTu profiles and from the laboratory tests. The cyclic parameters were estimated from the literature where test results of similar material were available. The results showed that there was a good agreement, in the liquefaction susceptibility of the tailings material, between the NCEER and FE methods with equivalent linear model.

Keywords: liquefaction , CPTU, NCEER, finite element method, equivalent linear model

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Authors: Asiri Wijesinghe, N. D. Kodikara, Damitha Sandaruwan

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The Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a rapidly growing interrogation around the world which can be annotated by abortive metabolism of glucose that causes long-term infection in human retina. This is one of the preliminary reason of visual impairment and blindness of adults. Information on retinal pathological mutation can be recognized using ocular fundus images. In this research, we are mainly focused on resurrecting an automated diagnosis system to detect DR anomalies such as severity level classification of DR patient (Non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy approach) and vessel tortuosity measurement of untwisted vessels to assessment of vessel anomalies (Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy approach). Severity classification method is obtained better results according to the precision, recall, F-measure and accuracy (exceeds 94%) in all formats of cross validation. In ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curves also visualized the higher AUC (Area Under Curve) percentage (exceeds 95%). User level evaluation of severity capturing is obtained higher accuracy (85%) result and fairly better values for each evaluation measurements. Untwisted vessel detection for tortuosity measurement also carried out the good results with respect to the sensitivity (85%), specificity (89%) and accuracy (87%).

Keywords: fundus image, exudates, microaneurisms, hemorrhages, tortuosity, diabetic retinopathy, optic disc, fovea

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Authors: Gupta Amit, Kumar Ramesh, P. C. Tewari

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Globalization is putting enormous pressure on the business organizations specially manufacturing one to rethink the supply chain in innovative manners. Inventory consumes major portion of total sale revenue. Effective and efficient inventory management plays a vital role for the successful functioning of any organization. Selection of inventory policy is one of the important purchasing activities. This paper focuses on selection and ranking of alternative inventory policies. A deterministic quantitative model-based on Distance Based Approach (DBA) method has been developed for evaluation and ranking of inventory policies. We have employed this concept first time for this type of the selection problem. Four inventory policies Economic Order Quantity (EOQ), Just in Time (JIT), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and monthly policy are considered. Improper selection could affect a company’s competitiveness in terms of the productivity of its facilities and quality of its products. The ranking of inventory policies is a multi-criteria problem. There is a need to first identify the selection criteria and then processes the information with reference to relative importance of attributes for comparison. Criteria values for each inventory policy can be obtained either analytically or by using a simulation technique or they are linguistic subjective judgments defined by fuzzy sets, like, for example, the values of criteria. A methodology is developed and applied to rank the inventory policies.

Keywords: inventory policy, ranking, DBA, selection criteria

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Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

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Rapid aging and depopulation could lead to serious problems, including workforce shortages and health expenditure costs. The current and predicted future LTC workforce shortages could be a real threat to Taiwan’s society. By means of comparison of data from 144 nursing aide trainees and 727 general public, the main purpose of the present study was to determine whether there were any notable differences between the two groups toward engaging in LTC services. Moreover, this study focused on recognizing the attributes of the general public who had the willingness to take LTC jobs but continue to ride the fence. A self-developed questionnaire was designed based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior model. After conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis, the questionnaire was a reliable and valid instrument for both nursing aide trainees and the general public. The main results were as follows: Firstly, nearly 70% of nursing aide trainees showed interest in LTC jobs. Most of them were middle-aged female (M = 46.85, SD = 9.31), had a high school diploma or lower, had unrelated work experience in healthcare, and were mostly unemployed. The most common reason for attending the LTC training program was to gain skills in a particular field. The second most common reason was to obtain the license. The third and fourth reasons were to be interested in caring for people and to increase income. The three major reasons that might push them to leave LTC jobs were physical exhaustion, payment is bad, and being looked down on. Secondly, the variables that best-predicted nursing aide trainees’ intention to engage in LTC services were having personal willingness, perceived behavior control, with high school diploma or lower, and supported from family and friends. Finally, only 11.80% of the general public reported having interest in LTC jobs (the disapproval rating was 50% for the general public). In comparison to nursing aide trainees who showed interest in LTC settings, 64.8% of the new workforce for LTC among the general public was male and had an associate degree, 54.8% had relevant healthcare experience, 67.1% was currently employed, and they were younger (M = 32.19, SD = 13.19) and unmarried (66.3%). Furthermore, the most commonly reason for the new workforce to engage in LTC jobs were to gain skills in a particular field. The second priority was to be interested in caring for people. The third and fourth most reasons were to give back to society and to increase income, respectively. The top five most commonly reasons for the new workforce to quitting LTC jobs were listed as follows: physical exhaustion, being looked down on, excessive working hours, payment is bad, and excessive job stress.

Keywords: long-term care services, nursing aide trainees, Taiwanese people, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: Eid Nasr Saad Nasr

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Although human rights protection in the industrial sector has increased, human rights violations continue to occur. Although the government has passed human rights laws, labor laws, and an international treaty ratified by the United States, human rights crimes continue to occur and go undetected. The growing number of textile companies in Bekasi is also leading to an increase in human rights violations as the government has no obligation to protect them. The United States government and business leaders should respect, protect and defend the human rights of workers. The article discusses the human rights violations faced by garment factory workers in the context of the law, as well as ideas for improving the protection of workers' rights. The connection between development and human rights has long been the subject of academic debate. Therefore, to understand the dynamics between these two concepts, a number of principles have been adopted, ranging from the right to development to a human rights-based approach to development. Despite these attempts, the precise connection between development and human rights is not yet fully understood. However, the inherent interdependence between these two concepts and the idea that development efforts must respect human rights guarantees has gained momentum in recent years. It will then be examined whether the right to sustainable development is recognized.

Keywords: sustainable development, human rights, the right to development, the human rights-based approach to development, environmental rights, economic development, social sustainability human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security

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Authors: Liliane Steiner

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Beyond the testimonial act, that sheds light on the feminine experience in the Holocaust, the survivors' writing voices first and foremost the abjection of the feminine self brutally inflicted by the Nazis in the Holocaust, and in the same movement redeems the self by the means of poetics, and brings it to an existential state of being a subject. This study aims to stress the poetics of this writing in order to promote the Holocaust literature from the margins to the mainstream and to contribute to the commemoration of the Holocaust in the next generations. Methodology: The study of the survivors' redeeming of self is based on Julia Kristeva's theory of the abject: the self-throws out everything that threatens its existence and Liliane Steiner's theory of the post- abjection of hell: the belated act of vomiting the abject experiences settles cores with the author of the abject to redeem the self. The research will focus on Ruth Sender's trilogy The Cage, To Life and The Holocaust Lady as a case study. Findings: The binary mode that characterizes this writing reflects the experience of Jewish women, who were subject(s), were treated violently as object(s), debased, defeminized and, eventually turned into abject by the Nazis. In a tour de force, this writing re-enacts the postponed resistance, that vomited the abject imposed on the feminine self by the very act of narration, which denounces the real abject, the perpetrators. The post-abjection of self is acted out in constructs of abject, relating the abject experience of the Holocaust as well as the rehabilitation of the surviving self (subject). The transcription of abject surfaces in deconstructing the abject through self- characterization, and in the elusive rendering of bad memories, having recourse to literary figures. The narrative 'I' selects, obstructs, mends and tells the past events from an active standpoint, as would a subject in control of its (narrative) fate. In a compensatory movement, the narrating I tells itself by reconstructing the subject and proving time and again that I is other. Moreover, in the belated endeavor to revenge, testify and narrate the abject, the narrative I defies itself, and represents itself as a dialectical I, splitting and multiplying itself in a deconstructing way. The dialectical I is never (one) I. It voices not only the unvoiced but also and mainly the other silenced 'I's. Drawing its nature and construct from traumatic memories, the dialectical I transgresses boundaries to narrate her story, and in the same breath, the story of Jewish women doomed to silence. In this narrative feat, the dialectical I stresses its essential dialectical existence with the past, never to be (one) again. Conclusion: The pattern of I is other generates patterns of subject(s) that defy, transgress and repudiate the abject and its repercussions on the feminine I. The feminine I writes itself as a survivor that defies the abject (Nazis) and takes revenge. The paradigm of metamorphosis that accompanies the journey of the Holocaust memoirist engenders life and surviving as well as a narration that defies stagnation and death.

Keywords: abject, feminine writing, holocaust, post-abjection

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Authors: Sophia Yakhlef

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Norm-critical pedagogy is an approach originating from intersectional gender pedagogy, feminist pedagogy, queer pedagogy, and critical pedagogy. In the Swedish context, the norm critical approach is rising in popularity, and norms that are highlighted or challenged are, for example, various dimensions of power such as ’whiteness norm’, discourses of ’Swedishness’, ’middle class norm’, heteronormativity, and body functionality. Instead of seeing students as a homogenous group, intersectional pedagogy focuses on the consequences of differences and on critically paying attention to differences. The perspective encourages teachers to assess their teaching methods, material, and the course literature provided in their education. The classical sociological literature that most students encounter when studying behaviour science or sociology has, in recent years, been referred to as the sociological canon. The sociological perspectives of the classical scholars included in the canon have, in many ways, shaped how we perceive the history of sociology and theories of the modern world in general. The sociological canon has, in recent decades, been challenged by, amongst others, feminist, post-colonial, and queer theorists. This urges us to further investigate the implications that this might have on sociological and behavioural science education, as well as on pedagogical considerations and teaching methods. This qualitative case study focuses on the experiences of implementing a norm critical pedagogical perspective in an online behavioural science programme at Kristianstad University in Sweden. Interviews and informal conversations were conducted in 2022 with teachers regarding their experiences of teaching online, of implementing a student-centred learning approach, and their experiences of implementing a norm critical perspective in sociology and criminology courses. The study demonstrates the inclusion aspect of online education, the benefits of adopting a norm critical perspective, the challenges that arise when updating course literature, and the urgent need for guidance and education for teachers regarding inclusion and paying attention to power asymmetry.

Keywords: norm critical pedagogy, online-education, sociological canon, sweden

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Authors: R. Abdulrahman, A. Eardley, A. Soliman

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The proliferation in the development of mobile learning (m-learning) has played a vital role in the rapidly growing electronic learning market. This relatively new technology can help to encourage the development of in learning and to aid knowledge transfer a number of areas, by familiarizing students with innovative information and communications technologies (ICT). M-learning plays a substantial role in the deployment of learning methods for nursing students by using the Internet and portable devices to access learning resources ‘anytime and anywhere’. However, acceptance of m-learning by students is critical to the successful use of m-learning systems. Thus, there is a need to study the factors that influence student’s intention to use m-learning. This paper addresses this issue. It outlines the outcomes of a study that evaluates the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model as applied to the subject of user acceptance in relation to m-learning activity in nurse education. The model integrates the significant components across eight prominent user acceptance models. Therefore, a standard measure is introduced with core determinants of user behavioural intention. The research model extends the UTAUT in the context of m-learning acceptance by modifying and adding individual innovativeness (II) and quality of service (QoS) to the original structure of UTAUT. The paper goes on to add the factors of previous experience (of using mobile devices in similar applications) and the nursing students’ readiness (to use the technology) to influence their behavioural intentions to use m-learning. This study uses a technique called ‘convenience sampling’ which involves student volunteers as participants in order to collect numerical data. A quantitative method of data collection was selected and involves an online survey using a questionnaire form. This form contains 33 questions to measure the six constructs, using a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 42 respondents participated, all from the Nursing Institute at the Armed Forces Hospital in Saudi Arabia. The gathered data were then tested using a research model that employs the structural equation modelling (SEM), including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results of the CFA show that the UTAUT model has the ability to predict student behavioural intention and to adapt m-learning activity to the specific learning activities. It also demonstrates satisfactory, dependable and valid scales of the model constructs. This suggests further analysis to confirm the model as a valuable instrument in order to evaluate the user acceptance of m-learning activity.

Keywords: mobile learning, nursing institute students’ acceptance of m-learning activity in Saudi Arabia, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model (UTAUT), structural equation modelling (SEM)

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Authors: M. Ghasemi, F. Eskandari, B. Hamzehei, A. R. Arshi

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Bioelectric activity of nervous cells might be changed causing by various factors. This alteration can lead to unforeseen circumstances in other organs of the body. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to model a single neuron and its behavior under an initial stimulation. This study was developed based on cable theory by means of the Bond Graph method. The numerical values of the parameters were derived from empirical studies of cellular electrophysiology experiments. Initial excitation was applied through square current functions, and the resulted action potential was estimated along the neuron. The results revealed that the model was developed in this research adapted with the results of experimental studies and demonstrated the electrical behavior of nervous cells properly.

Keywords: bond graph, stimulation, nervous cells, modeling

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Authors: Sara Sharifi Yazdi

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The main purpose of this study is to find out about the reasons and the ways of middle-class married women betrayal via their living world. This is qualitative research, so deep semi-structured, episodic interview techniques and observation techniques were used to collect data; meanwhile, the basic theory method was used to analyze the data. The sample in this research includes 34 women with emotional and sexual relationships out of marriage. The results indicate that some set of conditions created the first spark of change in their opinions. These changes are empowered through both experiences of tolerance and exclusion, so strategies such as distance, compulsive tolerance, counteract, etc. have been used for reacting by the people in this study; besides some of the other consequences of betrayal which can be named are lack of comfort, feeling of deprivation, violence, labeling, guilty feelings of grief, and so on.

Keywords: living world, rejection, admission, betrayal, sexual relationship, marriage

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Authors: Imen Douzi, Karim Ben Kahla

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In spite of the growing attention for social innovation, it is still considered to be in a stage of infancy with minimal progress in theory development. Upon examining the field of study, one would have to conclude that, over the past two decades, academic research has focused primarily on establishing a conceptual foundation. This has resulted in a considerable stream of conceptual papers which have outnumbered empirical articles. Nevertheless, despite its growing popularity, scholars and practitioners are far from reaching a consensus as to what social innovation actually means which resulted in competing definitions and approaches within the field of social innovation and lack of unifying conceptual framework. This paper reviews empirical research studies on social innovation, classifies them along three dimensions and summarizes research findings for each of these dimensions. Preliminary to the analysis of empirical researches, an overview of different perspectives of social innovation is presented.

Keywords: analysis of empirical research, definition, empirical research, social innovation perspectives

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Authors: Chhaya Gangwal, R. N. Bhaumik, Shishir Kumar

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Handling uncertainty and impreciseness of knowledge appears to be a challenging task in Information Systems. Intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) and rough set theory enhances databases by allowing it for the management of uncertainty and impreciseness. This paper presents a new efficient query optimization technique for the multi-valued or imprecise IF rough database. The usefulness of this technique was illustrated on malaria knowledge from the rural tribal communities of Tripura where most of the information is multi-valued and imprecise. Then, the querying about knowledge on malaria is executed into SQL server to make the implementation of IF rough data querying simpler.

Keywords: intuitionistic fuzzy set, rough set, relational database, IF rough relational database

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Authors: Wen-Chung Wang, Xue-Lan Qiu

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Ipsative tests have been widely used in vocational and career counseling (e.g., the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey). Pairwise-comparison items are a typical item format of ipsative tests. When the two statements in a pairwise-comparison item measure two different constructs, the item is referred to as a multidimensional pairwise-comparison (MPC) item. A typical MPC item would be: Which activity do you prefer? (A) playing with young children, or (B) working with tools and machines. These two statements aim at the constructs of social interest and investigative interest, respectively. Recently, new item response theory (IRT) models for ipsative tests with MPC items have been developed. Among them, the Rasch ipsative model (RIM) deserves special attention because it has good measurement properties, in which the log-odds of preferring statement A to statement B are defined as a competition between two parts: the sum of a person’s latent trait to which statement A is measuring and statement A’s utility, and the sum of a person’s latent trait to which statement B is measuring and statement B’s utility. The RIM has been extended to polytomous responses, such as preferring statement A strongly, preferring statement A, preferring statement B, and preferring statement B strongly. To promote the new initiatives, in this study we developed computerized adaptive testing algorithms for MFC items and evaluated their performance using simulations and two real tests. Both the RIM and its polytomous extension are multidimensional, which calls for multidimensional computerized adaptive testing (MCAT). A particular issue in MCAT for MPC items is the within-person statement exposure (WPSE); that is, a respondent may keep seeing the same statement (e.g., my life is empty) for many times, which is certainly annoying. In this study, we implemented two methods to control the WPSE rate. In the first control method, items would be frozen when their statements had been administered more than a prespecified times. In the second control method, a random component was added to control the contribution of the information at different stages of MCAT. The second control method was found to outperform the first control method in our simulation studies. In addition, we investigated four item selection methods: (a) random selection (as a baseline), (b) maximum Fisher information method without WPSE control, (c) maximum Fisher information method with the first control method, and (d) maximum Fisher information method with the second control method. These four methods were applied to two real tests: one was a work survey with dichotomous MPC items and the other is a career interests survey with polytomous MPC items. There were three dependent variables: the bias and root mean square error across person measures, and measurement efficiency which was defined as the number of items needed to achieve the same degree of test reliability. Both applications indicated that the proposed MCAT algorithms were successful and there was no loss in measurement proficiency when the control methods were implemented, and among the four methods, the last method performed the best.

Keywords: computerized adaptive testing, ipsative tests, item response theory, pairwise comparison

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Authors: A B M Enamol Hassan

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The forest storing up in Bangladesh is of deep concern to policy analysts because of increasing encroachment that results in deforestation and degradation of the ecosystem. To address these problems, forest-dependent people, as responsible for encroachment, could be involved in the co-management process along with other local stakeholders through a participatory approach. On the basis of this premise, this paper conceptualizes and empirically assesses the integration of all stakeholders in the co-management process through two lenses such as participation and collaboration. The study also analyzed the issues of sustainability in local communities along with examining constraints that limit the processes of integration. The study used a qualitative research method, which included face-to-face interviews with semi-structured questionnaires and field notes following the purposive sampling technique focusing on Comilla Sadar South Upazila (CSSU), Bangladesh. The findings of this paper reveal beneficiaries, Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) and Union Parishad (UP), come together as leading actors, while NGOs and business entrepreneurs are ignored in the co-management process of social forestry. However, integrated management contributes to the strength of community sustainability, although it has some major limitations causing the matter of concerns among the local communities and policy analysts.

Keywords: integration, participation, collaboration, stakeholders, community sustainability

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Authors: Reda Mankbadi

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There are several technologically-important flow situations in which there is a need to control the outcome of the fluid flow. This could include flow separation, drag, noise, as well as particulate separations, to list only a few. One possible approach is the passive control, in which the design geometry is changed. An alternative approach is the Active Flow Control (AFC) technology in which an actuator is imbedded in the flow field to change the outcome. Examples of AFC are pulsed jets, synthetic jets, plasma actuators, heating and cooling, Etc. In this work will present an overview of the development of this field. Some examples will include: Airfoil Noise Suppression: LES is used to simulate the effect of the synthetic jet actuator on controlling the far field sound of a transitional airfoil. The results show considerable suppression of the noise if the synthetic jet is operated at frequencies. Mixing Enhancement and suppression: Results will be presented to show that imposing acoustic excitations at the nozzle exit can lead to enhancement or reduction of the jet plume mixing. In a vertical takeoff of Aircraft or in Space Launch, we will present results on the effects of water injection on reducing noise, and on protect the structure and pay load from fatigue damage. Other applications will include airfoil-gust interaction and propulsion systems optimizations.

Keywords: aerodynamics, simulations, aeroacoustics, active flow control (AFC), Large-Eddy Simulations (LES)

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Authors: Julaine Allan, Katarzyna Olcon, Padmini Pai, Lynne Keevers, Mim Fox, Maria Mackay, Ruth Everingham, Sue Cutmore, Chris Degeling, Kristine Falzon, Summer Finlay

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Effective local responses to community needs are grounded in contextual knowledge and built on existing resources. The SEED Wellbeing Program was created in 2020 in response to cumulative disasters, bushfires, floods and COVID experienced by healthcare staff in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, NSW, Australia. SEED used a participatory action methodology to bring healthcare staff teams together to engage in restorative activities in the workplace. Guided by Practice Theory, this study identified the practices that supported the recovery of healthcare staff.

Keywords: mental health and wellbeing, workplace wellness, healthcare providers, natural disasters, COVID-19, burnout, occupational trauma

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Authors: Abdulrahman Aljabri, Essam R. I. Mahmoud, Hamad Almohamedi, Zhengyi Jiang

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Cold rolled thin strip has received intensive attention through technological and theoretical progress in the rolling process, as well as researchers have focused on its control during rolling as an essential parameter for producing thinner strip with good shape and profile. An advanced approach has been proposed to analysis the thin strip profile in cold rolling of pair roll crossing and shifting mill using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) with an ALE technique. The ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian) techniques to enable more flexibility of the ALE technique in the adjustment of the finite element mesh, which provides a significant tool for simulating the thin strip under realistic rolling process constraint and provide accurate model results. The FEA can provide theoretical basis for the 3D model of controlling the strip shape and profile in thin strip rolling, and deliver an optimal rolling process parameter, and suggest corrective changes during cold rolling of thin strip.

Keywords: pair roll crossing, work roll shifting, strip shape and profile, finite element modeling

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Authors: Ahmed Krobba, Meriem Touzene, Mohamed Debeyche

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The wireless communications system (5G) will provide more diverse applications and higher quality services for users compared to the long-term evolution 4G (LTE). 5G uses a higher carrier frequency, which suffers from information loss in 5G coverage. Most 5G users often cannot obtain high-quality communications due to transmission channel noise and channel complexity. Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH-NR: Physical Uplink Control Channel New Radio) plays a crucial role in 5G NR telecommunication technology, which is mainly used to transmit link control information uplink (UCI: Uplink Control Information. This study based of evaluating the performance of channel physical uplink control PUCCH-NR under low Signal-to-Noise Ratios with various antenna numbers reception. We propose the artificial intelligence approach based on deep neural networks (Deep Learning) to estimate the PUCCH-NR channel in comparison with this approach with different conventional methods such as least-square (LS) and minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE). To evaluate the channel performance we use the block error rate (BLER) as an evaluation criterion of the communication system. The results show that the deep neural networks method gives best performance compared with MMSE and LS

Keywords: 5G network, uplink (Uplink), PUCCH channel, NR-PUCCH channel, deep learning

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Authors: Fatemehsadat Mortazavizadeh, Amin Dehghani, Majid Mirzaei, Nurulhuda Binti Mohammad Ramli, Adnan Dehghani

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Flood is Malaysia's most common and serious natural disaster. Kelantan River Basin is a tropical basin that experiences a rainy season during North-East Monsoon from November to March. It is also one of the hardest hit areas in Peninsular Malaysia during the heavy monsoon rainfall. Considering the consequences of the flood events, it is essential to develop the flood inundation map as part of the mitigation approach. In this study, the delineation of flood inundation zone in the area of Kelantan River basin using a hydrodynamic model is done by HEC-RAS, QGIS and ArcMap. The streamflow data has been generated with the weather generator based on the observation data. Then, the data is statistically analyzed with the Extreme Value (EV1) method for 2-, 5-, 25-, 50- and 100-year return periods. The minimum depth, maximum depth, mean depth, and the standard deviation of all the scenarios, including the OBS, are observed and analyzed. Based on the results, generally, the value of the data increases with the return period for all the scenarios. However, there are certain scenarios that have different results, which not all the data obtained are increasing with the return period. Besides, OBS data resulted in the middle range within Scenario 1 to Scenario 40.

Keywords: flood inundation, kelantan river basin, hydrodynamic model, extreme value analysis

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Authors: V. Ložar, N. Hadžić, T. Opetuk, R. Keser

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The development of digital twins strongly depends on efficient algorithms and their capability to mirror real-life processes. Nowadays, such efforts are required to establish factories of the future faced with new demands of custom-made production. The ship hull processes face these challenges too. Therefore, it is important to implement design and evaluation approaches based on production system engineering. In this study, the recently developed finite state method is employed to describe the stell hull process as a platform for the implementation of digital twinning technology. The application is justified by comparing the finite state method with the analytical approach. This method is employed to rebuild a model of a real shipyard ship hull process using a combination of serial and splitting lines. The key performance indicators such as the production rate, work in process, probability of starvation, and blockade are calculated and compared to the corresponding results obtained through a simulation approach using the software tool Enterprise dynamics. This study confirms that the finite state method is a suitable tool for digital twinning applications. The conclusion highlights the advantages and disadvantages of methods employed in this context.

Keywords: digital twin, finite state method, production system engineering, shipyard

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Authors: Araba A. Z. Osei-Tutu, Ebenezer Odame, Joseph Bawa, Samuel Amponsah

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Education is recognized as a fundamental human right and a catalyst for development. Despite progress in the provision of higher education on the African continent, there persist challenges with the tripartite areas of access, equity and quality. Therefore, this systematic review aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of conversations and voices of scholars on these three concepts in HE in Africa. The systematic review employed a thematic analysis approach, synthesizing findings from 38 selected sources. After a critical analysis of the sources included in the systematic review, deficits in access, quality, and equity were outlined, focusing on infrastructure, regional disparities, and privatization challenges. The review also revealed the weak enforcement of quality assurance measures. Strategies for improvement, proffered by the study, include expanding public sector HE, deregulating the educational sector, promoting open and distance learning, implementing preferential admission policies, and enhancing financial aid. This research contributes valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and stakeholders, fostering a collaborative approach to address challenges and promote holistic development in African higher education.

Keywords: access, equity, quality, higher education, Africa, systematic review, strategies

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Authors: Arcady Ponosov

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Many well-known age-structured population models are derived from the celebrated McKendrick-von Foerster equation (MFE), also called the biological conservation law. A similar technique is suggested for the stochastically perturbed MFE. This technique is shown to produce stochastic versions of the deterministic population models, which appear to be very different from those one can construct by simply appending additive stochasticity to deterministic equations. In particular, it is shown that stochastic Nicholson’s blowflies model should contain both additive and multiplicative stochastic noises. The suggested transformation technique is similar to that used in the deterministic case. The difference is hidden in the formulas for the exact solutions of the simplified boundary value problem for the stochastically perturbed MFE. The analysis is also based on the theory of stochastic delay differential equations.

Keywords: boundary value problems, population models, stochastic delay differential equations, stochastic partial differential equation

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Authors: Hagar Wahba

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In an attempt to bridge a literature gap, the study explores the different gendered consequences of economic globalization on Egyptian women in informal employment. Under the intersectionality theory, the study highlights issues related to equal economic opportunities among women in different segments of informal employment during Covid-19. Accordingly, this study explores the different vulnerabilities of women in lower segments of the informal sector in Egypt, which intersected with inequalities brought by the pandemic. Therefore, through collecting primary data, the study was able to gain a more intersectional understanding of women’s experiences in informal employment during Covid-19. In women in technology-based work in Egypt were proven to be in a more advantaged position than other women whose jobs depended on face-to-face interactions during the pandemic.

Keywords: economic globalisation, informal employment, women, egypt, intersectional feminism, decent work, Covid-19

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Authors: Roya Khajepour, Alireza B. Novinzadeh

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A major issue with spherical robot is it surface shape, which is not always predictable. This means that given only the dynamic model of the robot, it is not possible to control the robot. Due to the fact that in certain conditions it is not possible to measure surface friction, control methods must be prepared for these conditions. Moreover, although spherical robot never becomes unstable or topples thanks to its special shape, since it moves by rolling it has a non-holonomic constraint at point of contact and therefore it is considered a non-holonomic system. Existence of such a point leads to complexity and non-linearity of robot's kinematic equations and makes the control problem difficult. Due to the non-linear dynamics and presence of uncertainty, the sliding-mode control is employed. The proposed method is based on Lyapunov Theory and guarantees system stability. This controller is insusceptible to external disturbances and un-modeled dynamics.

Keywords: sliding mode, spherical robot, non-holomonic constraint, system stability

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Authors: Daidai Shen, Jean Claude Thill, Wenjia Zhang

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This study explores the dynamics of synergy and complementarity within city networks, specifically focusing on the headquarters-subsidiary relations of firms. We begin by defining these two types of networks and establishing their pivotal roles in shaping city network structures. Utilizing the mesoscale analytic approach of weighted stochastic block modeling, we discern relational patterns between city pairs and determine connection strengths through statistical inference. Furthermore, we introduce a community detection approach to uncover the underlying structure of these networks using advanced statistical methods. Our analysis, based on comprehensive network data up to 2017, reveals the coexistence of both complementarity and synergy networks within China’s technology-intensive manufacturing cities. Notably, firms in technology hardware and office & computing machinery predominantly contribute to the complementarity city networks. In contrast, a distinct synergy city network, underpinned by the cities of Suzhou and Dongguan, emerges amidst the expansive complementarity structures in technology hardware and equipment. These findings provide new insights into the relational dynamics and structural configurations of city networks in the context of technology-intensive manufacturing, highlighting the nuanced interplay between synergy and complementarity.

Keywords: city system, complementarity, synergy network, higher-order network

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Authors: Tarak Barhoumi, Younes Boujelbene

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Nowadays, the problems of freight transport pose logistical constraints on the urban system in the city. The aim of this article is to gain a better understanding of the interactions between local traffic and interurban traffic on the one hand and between the location system and the transport system on the other hand. Thus, in a simulation and analysis approach cannot be restricted to the only transport system. The proposed approach is based on an assessment of the impact of freight transport, which is closely linked to the diagnostic method, based on two surveys carried out on the territory of the urban community of Sfax. These surveys are based on two main components 'establishment component' first and 'driver component' second. The results propose a reorganization of freight transport in the city of Sfax. First, an orientation of the heavy goods vehicles traffic towards the major axes of transport namely the ring roads (ring road N° 2, ring road N° 4 and ring road N° 11) and the penetrating news of the city. Then, the implementation of a retail goods delivery policy and the strengthening of logistics in the city. The creation of a logistics zone at the ring road N° 11 where various modes of freight transport meet, in order to decongest the roads of heavy goods traffic, reduce the cost of transport and thus improve the competitiveness of the economy regional.

Keywords: urban logistics systems, transport freight, diagnostics, evaluation

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Authors: Mustapha Ouardouz, Mina Amharref, Abdessamed Bernoussi

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The future energy, for limited energy resources countries, goes through renewable energies (solar, wind etc.). The renewable energies constitute a major component of the energy strategy to cover a substantial part of the growing needs and contribute to environmental protection by replacing fossil fuels. Indeed, sustainable development involves the promotion of renewable energy and the preservation of the environment by the use of clean energy technologies to limit emissions of greenhouse gases and reducing the pressure exerted on the forest cover. So the impact studies, of the energy use on the environment and farm-related risks are necessary. For that, a global approach integrating all the various sectors involved in such project seems to be the best approach. In this paper we present an approach based on the multi criteria analysis and the realization of one pilot to achieve the development of an innovative geo-intelligent environmental platform. An implementation of this platform will collect, process, analyze and manage environmental data in connection with the nature of used energy in the studied region. As an application we consider a region in the north of Morocco characterized by intense agricultural and industrials activities and using diverse renewable energy. The strategic goals of this platform are; the decision support for better governance, improving the responsiveness of public and private companies connected by providing them in real time with reliable data, modeling and simulation possibilities of energy scenarios, the identification of socio-technical solutions to introduce renewable energies and estimate technical and implantable potential by socio-economic analyzes and the assessment of infrastructure for the region and the communities, the preservation and enhancement of natural resources for better citizenship governance through democratization of access to environmental information, the tool will also perform simulations integrating environmental impacts of natural disasters, particularly those linked to climate change. Indeed extreme cases such as floods, droughts and storms will be no longer rare and therefore should be integrated into such projects.

Keywords: renewable energies, decision aided tool, environment, simulation

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Authors: Pei-Yu Lee

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This study investigates the life experience and self-interpretation of female cervical cancer patients under Taiwanese cultural context. Through a Narrative Analysis Research approach, the study took six cervical cancer female patients with an average age of 58 years (ranging from 55-66 years) for an average of twice, 60 minutes each time, in-depth recorded interviews under their consent. After converting the interview recordings into transcripts, the study applied the Riessman approach to analyze the contents. The results revealed two major theme, including 1. The symbolic meaning of the cervix, and 2. Women's perseverance and compliance. Because of the illness metaphor of cervical cancer and the designation of women being family caregivers under the Chinese patriarchal culture, females with cervical cancer are not only patients but also responsible for being family and partner roles, in which contradictions of intimate relationships exist. Show the strength of perseverance and compliance in the course of life. On the other hand, they have to identify and recognize their roles in life and strive to determine the situation of coexisting with the disease to picture their life. The results showed that female cervical cancer patients not only need to combat the disease but also stand against the stigma and the traditional responsibility given to women. The researchers recommend that nurses should include cultural implications in their care of female cervical cancer patients.

Keywords: female, cervical cancer, narrative analysis research, taiwan

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Authors: Magdalena Zabrocka

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The terror of women throughout the governance of the current populist ruling party in Poland, PiS, has been a subject of a heated debate alongside the issues of minorities’ rights, the rule of law, and democracy in the country. The challenges that women and other vulnerable groups are currently facing, however, come down to more than just a lack of comprehensive equality laws, severely limited reproductive rights, hateful slogans, and messages propagated by the central authority and its sympathisers, or a common disregard for women’s fundamental rights. Many sources and media reports are available only in Polish, while international rapporteurs fail to acknowledge the whole picture of the tragedy happening in the country and the variety of factors affecting it. Starting with the authorities’ and Polish catholic church’s propaganda concerning CEDAW and the Istanbul Convention Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence by spreading strategic disinformation that it codifies ‘gender ideology’ and ‘anti-Christian values’ in order to convince the electorate that the legal instruments should be ‘abandoned’. Alongside severely restricted abortion rights, bullying medical professionals helping women exercise their reproductive rights, violating women’s privacy by introducing a mandatory registry of pregnancies (so that one’s pregnancy or its ‘loss’ can be tracked and traced), restricting access to the ‘day after pill’ and real sex education at schools (most schools have a subject of ‘knowledge of living in a family’), introducing prison punishment for teachers accused of spreading ‘sex education’, and many other, the current tyrant government, has now decided to target the youngest with its misinformation and indoctrination, via strategically designed textbooks and curriculum. Biology books have seen a big restriction on the size of the chapters devoted to evolution, reproductive system, and sexual health. Approved religion books (which are taught 2-3 times a week as compared to 1 a week sciences) now cover false information about Darwin’s theory and arguments ‘against it’. Most recently, however, the public spoke up against the absurd messages contained in the politically rewritten history books, where the material about some figures not liked by the governing party has already been manipulated. In the recently approved changes to the history textbook, one can find a variety of strongly biased and politically-charged views representative of the conservatives in the states, most notably, equating the ‘gender ideology’ and feminism with Nazism. Thus, this work, by employing a human rights approach, would focus on the right to education and development as well as the considerate obstacles to access to scientific information by the youth.

Keywords: Poland, right to education, right to development, authoritarianism, access to information

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Authors: Moldir Makenova

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Alongside the implementation of trilingual education in schools, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan innovated the school curriculum in 2013 to include a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach. In this regard, some transition issues have arisen, such as unprepared teachers, a need for more awareness of the CLIL approach, and teaching resources. Some teachers view it as a challenge due to its combination of both content and language. This often creates anxiety among teachers who are knowledgeable about their subject areas in Kazakh or Russian but are deficient in delivering the subject’s content in English. Thus, with this new teaching approach, teachers encounter to choose the role of language and answer how language works in the CLIL classroom. This study aimed to explore how teachers experience the changing role of language in the curriculum and to find out what challenges teachers face related to CLIL implementation and how their language proficiency influences their teaching practices. A qualitative comparative case study was conducted in an X Lyceum and a mainstream school piloting CLIL. Data collection procedures were conducted via semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. Eight content teachers were chosen from these two schools as the target group of this study. Subject teachers, rather than language teachers, were chosen as the target group to grasp how the language-related issues in the new curriculum are interpreted by educators who do not necessarily identify themselves as language experts at the outset. The findings showed that mainstream teachers prioritize content over language because, as content teachers, the knowledge of content is more essential for them rather than the language. In contrast, most X Lyceum teachers balance language and content and additionally showed their preferences to support the ‘English language only' policy among 10-11 graders. Moreover, due to the low-level English proficiency, mainstream teachers did highlight the necessity of CLIL training and further collaboration with language teachers. This study will be beneficial for teachers and policy-makers to enable them to solve the issues mentioned above related to the implementation of CLIL. Larger-scale research conducted in the future would further inform its successful deployment country-wide.

Keywords: role of language, trilingual education, updated curriculum, teacher practices

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