Search results for: marketing strategies

Authors: Mohamad Reza Khodabakhsh

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Drug use and addiction are major biological, psychological, and social problems. In drug abuse treatment, it is important to pay attention to personality problems and coping methods of patients. Today, the third-wave treatments in psychotherapy emphasize people's awareness and acceptance of feelings and emotions, cognitions, and behaviors instead of challenging cognitions. For this reason, this research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of group therapy based on acceptance and commitment to self-criticism and coping strategies of people with drug use disorder. This research was a quasi-experimental type of research (pre-test-post-test design with an unequal control group), and the statistical population of this research included all men with drug use disorder in Mashhad, 174 of whom among the 75 people eligible for this research, 30 of them were selected by available sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. In this research, Gilbert's self-criticism scale was used to measure self-criticism, and Andler and Barker's coping strategies questionnaire was used to measure coping strategies. Therapeutic intervention (treatment based on acceptance and commitment) was performed on the experimental group for eight sessions of 90 minutes, and then post-tests were taken from both groups, and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results showed that treatment based on acceptance and commitment significantly reduced self-criticism and improved coping strategies used by patients with drug use disorder (p>0.01). Therefore, treatment based on acceptance and commitment has been effective in reducing self-criticism and improving the coping strategies of patients with drug use disorder due to teaching clients to accept thoughts and conditions.

Keywords: treatment based on acceptance and commitment, self-criticism, coping strategies, addiction

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Authors: Sima Modirkhamene, Arezoo Khezri

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The purpose of the present investigation was to probe the main motivational strategies Iranian school vs. institute teachers use in virtual and in-person classes to motivate students in learning the English language. Yet another purpose was to understand teachers’ perceptions about any modifications in their use of motivational strategies before and during/after the pandemic. For the purpose of this investigation, a total of 63 EFL teachers (35 female, 28 male) were conveniently sampled from schools and institutes in the cities of Mahabad and Sardasht. Moreover, for the interview phase of the study, 20 percent (n=16) of the sample was selected conveniently. The required data was gathered through a modified questionnaire (Cheng & Dornyei, 2007) consisting of 42 items and a set of semi-structured interviews. The outcomes of a set of non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests demonstrated that presenting tasks properly in online classes and familiarizing learners with L2- related values in in-person classes came out as the most influential source of motivational strategies practiced by EFL school teachers. Additionally, it was found that proper teacher behavior(showing enthusiasm) in both in-person and virtual classes and presenting tasks properly in in-person classes were overwhelmingly endorsed by EFL institute teachers. The study also portrayed no statistically significant mean difference between school and institute EFL teachers’ overall use of motivational strategies in virtual and in-person classes. The interview results indicated that the strategies of designing tasks through technological aids, provision of videos, gamification techniques, assigning projects, and delivering formative online feedback were held in high regard during/after the pandemic due to the high reliance of teaching on the Internet connection. Meanwhile, the research has indicated that the spread of COVID-19 was the main reason for teachers’ modifications in motivational strategies, in response to the crisis of the pandemic, all educational contexts at all levels resorted to online education as a result their strategies were adapted to the new situation. The findings brought to light through this investigation provided initial evidence of the unintended consequences of the pandemic on teachers’ strategic choices. Therefore, to deliver a better education for the future, the study suggests more concentration on the quality of teaching as well as reframing the status quo of teaching .

Keywords: virtual teaching, motivational teaching strategies, teaching context, online education

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Authors: L. Bokopane, K. Kusakana, H. J. Vermaark

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The success of renewable powered electric vehicle charging station in isolated areas depends highly on the availability and sustainability of renewable resources all year round at a selected location. The main focus of this paper is to discuss the possible charging strategies that could be implemented to find the best possible configuration of an electric Tuk-Tuk charging station at a given location within South Africa. The charging station is designed, modeled and simulated to evaluate its performances. The techno-economic analysis of different feasible supply configurations of the charging station using renewable energies is simulated using HOMER software and the results compared in order to select the best possible charging strategies in terms of cost of energy consumed.

Keywords: electric tuk-tuk, renewable energy, energy Storage, hybrid systems, HOMER

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Authors: Marah Joy A. Nanglegan

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A survey was conducted to describe knowledge, attitude, practices, information needs, and information seeking behavior of small-scale farmers on Organic Agriculture Production (OAP) in a rural community in Ifugao, Philippines. Respondents’ age ranged from 23-67 years old. Most of them are male, married, and have reached high school level. The major source of income is farming with an average monthly income of less than Php 5,000 for a household size of seven. More than fifty percent of the respondents are members of a farmer’s organization. Farm size is less than one hectare. Majority of them own their farms and have been farming for more than twenty years. Very few attended training on Organic Agriculture Production (OAP). Most of them are not aware of any OAP program in their community. Hence, their farming practices are mostly conventional. The overall level of knowledge on OAP among all respondents was below the average. On attitude, most of the respondents agreed that organic farming would decrease production costs by reducing input purchases. They believe it benefits both the consumer and the producer. In fact, they are aware of the many benefits of organic farming, especially on health. Likewise, many of them agreed on the benefits of organic farming to soil fertility, to the environment, and to increase the income of farmers. Many of them, however, see organic farming as troublesome and difficult in terms of time and effort, obtaining organic inputs, limited production, and marketing aspects. They also have heavy reliance on pesticides and herbicides to control pests and diseases. On practices, majority of the respondents stated that they practiced crop rotation, manual weeding, and the use of animal manure. Most of them desired to do organic farming but needed information such as production techniques, costs, and marketing opportunities. Their most preferred communication channel is through extension agents and contact farmers. Their most preferred communication method is through trainings and seminars as well as through farm demonstrations. Results of this study will serve as a basis for developing appropriate communication strategies to improve knowledge, attitude, and practices of respondents on organic agriculture as well as enhance the promotion of organic agriculture production in the community.

Keywords: Ifugao, knowledge attitude practices, organic agriculture, Philippines

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Authors: Belayneh Yohannes

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In Ethiopia, onion production is increasing from time to time mainly due to its high profitability per unit area. Onion has a significant contribution to generating cash income for farmers in the Raya Azebo district. Therefore, enhancing onion producers’ access to the market and improving market linkage is an essential issue. Hence, this study aimed to analyze structure-conduct-performance of onion market and identifying factors affecting the market supply of onion producers. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected from 150 farm households and 20 traders. Four onion marketing channels were identified in the study area. The highest total gross margin is 27.6 in channel IV. The highest gross marketing margin of producers of the onion market is 88% in channel II. The result from the analysis of market concentration indicated that the onion market is characterized by a strong oligopolistic market structure, with the buyers’ concentration ratio of 88.7 in Maichew town and 82.7 in Mekelle town. Lack of capital, licensing problems, and seasonal supply was identified as the major entry barrier to onion marketing. Market conduct shows that the price of onion is set by traders while producers are price takers. Multiple linear regression model results indicated that family size in adult equivalent, irrigated land size, access to information, frequency of extension contact, and ownership of transport significantly determined the quantity of onion supplied to the market. It is recommended that strengthening and diversifying extension services in information, marketing, post-harvest handling, irrigation application, and water harvest technology is highly important.

Keywords: oligopoly, onion, market chain, multiple linear regression

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Authors: Farzam Chakherlouy, Amirmehdi Dokhanchi

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Nowadays organizations have to identify, evaluate and manage intangible assets which enable them to provide maximum requirements to achieve their goals and strategies. Organizations also have to try to promote and improve these kinds of assets continuously. It seems necessary to implement developed strategies in today’s competitive world where all the organizations and companies spend great amounts of expenses for developing their own strategies. In fact, after determining strategies to be implemented, the management process is not completed and it will not have any effect on the success and existence of the organization until these strategies are implemented. The objective of this article is to define the intellectual capital and it components and studying the impact of intellectual capital on the implementation of strategy based upon the Bozbura model. Three dimensions of human capital, relational capital, and the structural capital. According to the test’s results, the correlation between the intellectual capital and three components of strategic implementation (leadership, human resource management, and culture) has not been approved yet. According to results of Friedman’s test in relation with the intellectual capital, the maximum inadequacy of this company is in the field of human capital (with an average of 3.59) and the minimum inadequacy is in the field of the relational capital (customer) with an average of 2.83. Besides, according to Friedman test in relation with implementation of the strategy, the maximum inadequacy relates to the culture of the organization and the corporate control with averages of 2.60 and 3.45 respectively. In addition, they demonstrate a good performance in scopes of human resources management and financial resources management strategies.

Keywords: Bozbura model, intellectual capital, strategic management, implementation of strategy, Modiran Ideh Pardaz company

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Authors: T. Arshad

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A correlation study was done to explore the relationship of intrusiveness, appraisal and thought control strategies in patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Theoretical frame work for the present study was Salkovskis (1985) cognitive model of obsessive compulsive disorder. Sample of 100 patients (men=48, women=52) of age 14-62 years (M=32.13, SD=10.37) was recruited from hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. Revised Obsessional Intrusion Inventory, Stress Appraisal Measure, Thought Control Questionnaire and Symptoms Checklist-R were self-administered. Findings revealed that intrusiveness is correlated with appraisals (controllable by self, controllable by others, uncontrollable, stressfulness) and thought control strategy (punishment). Furthermore, appraisals (uncontrollable, stressfulness, controllable by others) were emerged as strong predictors for different through control strategies (distraction, punishment and social control). Moreover, men have higher frequency of intrusion, whereas women were frequently using social control as thought control strategy. Results implied that intrusiveness, appraisals (controllable by others, uncontrollable, stressfulness) and thought control strategy (punishment) are related which maintains the disorder.

Keywords: appraisal, intrusiveness, obsessive compulsive disorder, thought control strategies

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Authors: Li Hua Li, Ling Ling Li

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With the National Fitness Program being established as a national strategy by the Chinese government, Chinese old planning strategies of sports facilities which are based on the purpose for hosting high-level sports events have been failed to meet the rapid growth of Chinese residents’ healthy needs. As the most important carrier for promoting the health of citizens in China, public sports facilities may have further conflicts when they are planned without considering the characteristics of the city itself and the fitness needs of the urban residents. With the planning practice in Songyuan in northeastern China, this paper explores the key planning strategies of public sports facilities through the field investigation to obtain the current situation of public sports facilities in Songyuan and the questionnaire to get the date of Songyuan residents’ fitness characteristics and needs. Findings from this investigation suggest that the planning of public sports facilities in Songyuan should first increase the quantities of public sports facilities at the community level, which could match the fitness population and meet the fitness needs in Songyuan. Secondly, the planning should combine with other available resources, such as urban parks, squares and other places where Songyuan residents often choose to do physical activities to enhance the vitality of public sports facilities. Finally, the planning should also link the urban transportation system in Songyuan to improve the accessibility and efficiency of public sports facilities. All these planning strategies could provide essential information for updating the urban and regional design of Songyuan.

Keywords: field investigation, healthy needs, public sports facilities, planning strategies, questionnaire

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Authors: Noor Ismael, Lisa Mische Lawson, Lauren Little, Murad Moqbel

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Background/Significance: Caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) develop coping mechanisms to overcome daily challenges to successfully parent their child. There is variability in coping strategies used among caregivers of children with ASD. Capturing homogeneity among such variable groups may help elucidate targeted intervention approaches for caregivers of children with ASD. Study Purpose: This study aimed to identify groups of caregivers of children with ASD based on coping mechanisms, and to examine whether there are differences among these groups in terms of strain level. Methods: This study utilized a secondary data analysis, and included survey responses of 273 caregivers of children with ASD. Measures consisted of the COPE Inventory and the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire. Data analyses consisted of cluster analysis to group caregiver coping strategies, and analysis of variance to compare the caregiver coping groups on strain level. Results: Cluster analysis results showed four distinct groups with different combinations of coping strategies: Social-Supported/Planning (group one), Spontaneous/Reactive (group two), Self-Supporting/Reappraisal (group three), and Religious/Expressive (group four). Caregivers in group one (Social-Supported/Planning) demonstrated significantly higher levels than the remaining three groups in the use of the following coping strategies: planning, use of instrumental social support, and use of emotional social support, relative to the other three groups. Caregivers in group two (Spontaneous/Reactive) used less restraint relative to the other three groups, and less suppression of competing activities relative to the other three groups as coping strategies. Also, group two showed significantly lower levels of religious coping as compared to the other three groups. In contrast to group one, caregivers in group three (Self-Supporting/Reappraisal) demonstrated significantly lower levels of the use of instrumental social support and the use of emotional social support relative to the other three groups. Additionally, caregivers in group three showed more acceptance, positive reinterpretation and growth coping strategies. Caregivers in group four (Religious/Expressive) demonstrated significantly higher levels of religious coping relative to the other three groups and utilized more venting of emotions strategies. Analysis of Variance results showed no significant differences between the four groups on the strain scores. Conclusions: There are four distinct groups with different combinations of coping strategies: Social-Supported/Planning, Spontaneous/Reactive, Self-Supporting/Reappraisal, and Religious/Expressive. Each caregiver group engaged in a combination of coping strategies to overcome the strain of caregiving.

Keywords: autism, caregivers, cluster analysis, coping strategies

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Authors: Sawsan M. H. Domi

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Approximately 50% of the energy used in buildings, including houses, provide environmental comfortable levels of thermal living. In Khartoum - the city under study- cooling uses the largest portion of energy and the basic idea of Low energy houses is to minimize energy consumption. Therefore, houses are designed to use natural climate strategies to provide thermal comfort. Strategies such as semi-open spaces, shading devices, small high windows and thick walls. The study aims to review these strategies and then, apply them. It aims to change house microclimate by using vegetation, green areas, and other components. A low energy house is being designed s. It will be the first low energy house in Khartoum designed to create a low-cost energy efficient building without any mechanical systems. Three different types of houses in Khartoum are examined and evaluated according to their energy loads which provides the basis for the designed house. The designed house uses passive design strategies to reduce the need for cooling. These results show that the house reduced energy cooling loads by more than 60% compared to the average of the three given types. The design house is economically viable when taking into consideration the energy prices in Sudan.

Keywords: building envelope, climate, energy loads, ventilation

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Authors: Bara M Yousef, Naresh B Raj, Nadiah W Arfah, Brightlin N Dhas

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Background: Executive function (EF) impairment is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). EF strategies are considered effective in improving the therapeutic outcomes of children with ASD. Aims: This study primarily aims to explore whether integrating EF strategies combined with regular occupational therapy intervention is more effective in improving daily life skills (DLS) and sensory integration/processing (SI/SP) skills than regular occupational therapy alone in children with ASD and secondarily aims to assess treatment outcomes on improving visual motor integration (VMI) skills. Procedures: A total of 92 children with ASD will be recruited and, following baseline assessments, randomly assigned to the treatment group (45-min once weekly individual occupational therapy plus EF strategies) and control group (45-min once weekly individual therapy sessions alone). Results and Outcomes: All children will be evaluated systematically by assessing SI/SP, DLS, and VMI, skills at baseline, 7 weeks, and 14 weeks of treatment. Data will be analyzed using ANCOVA and T-test. Conclusions and Implications: This single-blind, randomized controlled trial will provide empirical evidence for the effectiveness of EF strategies when combined with regular occupational therapy programs. Based on trial results, EF strategies could be recommended in multidisciplinary programs for children with ASD. Trial Registration: The trial has been registered in the clinicaltrail.gov for a registry, protocol ID: MRC-01-22-509 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05829577, registered 25th April 2023

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, executive function strategies, daily life skills, sensory integration/processing, visual motor integration, occupational therapy, effectiveness

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Authors: Tesfay Gidey, Emiru Birhane, Ashenafi Manaye, Hailemariam Kassa, Tesfay Atsbha, Negasi Solomon, Hadgu Hishe, Aklilu Negussie, Petr Madera, Jose G. Borges

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The globally endangered Dracaena ombet is one of the ten dragon multipurpose tree species in arid ecosystems. Anthropogenic and natural factors are now impacting the sustainability of the species. This study was conducted to prioritize criteria and alternative strategies for the conservation of the species using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model by involving all relevant stakeholders in the Desa'a dry Afromontane forest in northern Ethiopia. Information about the potential alternative strategies and the criteria for their evaluation was first collected from experts, personal experiences, and literature reviews. Afterward, they were validated using stakeholders' focus group discussions. Five candidate strategies with three evaluation criteria were considered for prioritization using the AHP techniques. The overall priority ranking value of the stakeholders showed that the ecological criterion was deemed as the most essential factor for the choice of alternative strategies, followed by the economic and social criteria. The minimum cut-off strategy, combining exclosures with the collection of only 5% of plant parts from the species, soil and water conservation, and silviculture interventions, was selected as the best alternative strategy for sustainable D. ombet conservation. The livelihood losses due to the selected strategy should be compensated by the collection of non-timber forest products, poultry farming, home gardens, rearing small ruminants, beekeeping, and agroforestry. This approach may be extended to study other dragon tree species and explore strategies for the conservation of other arid ecosystems.

Keywords: conservation strategies, analytical hierarchy process model, Desa'a forest, endangered species, Ethiopia, overexploitation

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Authors: Joanna Peksa, Faith Dillon-Lee

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Current developments in the Western economies have turned some universities into corporate institutions driven by practices of production and commodity. Academia is increasingly becoming integrated into national economies as a result of students paying fees and is consequently using business practices in student retention and engagement. With these changes, pedagogy status as a priority within the institution has been changing in light of these new demands. New strategies have blurred the boundaries that separate a student from a client. This led to a change of the dynamic, disrupting the traditional idea of the knowledge market, and emphasizing the corporate aspect of universities. In some cases, where students are seen primarily as a customer, the purpose of academia is no longer to educate but sell a commodity and retain fee-paying students. This paper considers opposing viewpoints on the commodification of higher education, reflecting on the reality of maintaining a pedagogic grounding in an increasingly commercialized sector. By analysing a case study of the Student Success Festival, an event that involved academic and marketing teams, the differences are considered between the respective visions of the pedagogic arm of the university and the corporate. This study argues that the initial concept of the event, based on the principles of gamification, independent learning, and cognitive criticality, was more clearly linked to a grounded pedagogic approach. However, when liaising with the marketing team in a crucial step in the creative process, it became apparent that these principles were not considered a priority in terms of their remit. While the study acknowledges in the power of pedagogy, the findings show that a pact of concord is necessary between different stakeholders in order for students to benefit fully from their learning experience. Nevertheless, while issues of power prevail and whenever power is unevenly distributed, reaching a consensus becomes increasingly challenging and further research should closely monitor the developments in pedagogy in the UK higher education.

Keywords: economic pressure, commodification, pedagogy, gamification, public service, marketization

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Authors: Maia Seturi, Tamari Todua

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Economic growth is seen as the increase in the production capacity of a country. It enables a country to produce more and more material wealth and social benefits. Today, the success of any product on the market is closely related to the issue of branding. The brand is a source of information for a user/consumer, which helps to simplify the choice of goods and reduce consumer risk. The paper studies the role of branding in order to promote Georgian tea brands. The main focus of the research is directed to consumer attitudes regarding Georgian tea brands. The methodology of the paper is based on marketing research. The findings study revealed that the majority of consumers prefer foreign tea brands. The final part of the article presents the main recommendations.

Keywords: marketing research, customer behavior, brand, successful brand

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Authors: Monica Anumula

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Nowadays human beings attain comfort zone artificially for heating, cooling and lighting the spaces they live, and their main importance is given to aesthetics of building and they are not designed to protect themselves from climate. They depend on artificial sources of energy resulting in energy wastage. In order to reduce the amount of energy being spent in the construction industry and Energy Package goals by 2020, new ways of constructing houses is required. The larger part of energy consumption of a building is directly related to architectural aspects hence nature has to be integrated into the building design to attain comfort zone and reduce the dependency on artificial source of energy. The research is to develop bioclimatic design strategies and techniques for the walls and roofs of Vijayawada houses. Study and analysis of design strategies and techniques of various cases like Kerala, Mangalore etc. for similar kind of climate is examined in this paper. Understanding the vernacular architecture and modern techniques of that various cases and implementing in the housing of Vijayawada not only decreases energy consumption but also enhances socio cultural values of Vijayawada. This study focuses on the comparison of vernacular techniques and modern building bio climatic strategies to attain thermal comfort and energy reduction in hot and humid climate. This research provides further thinking of new strategies which include both vernacular and modern bioclimatic techniques.

Keywords: bioclimatic design, energy consumption, hot and humid climates, thermal comfort

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Authors: Noor Ismael, Somaya Malkawi, Sherin Al Awady, Taleb Ismael

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Background/Significance: Cancer is a serious health condition that affects individuals’ quality of life during and after the course of this condition. Children who have survived cancer and their caregivers may deal with residual physical, cognitive or social disabilities. There is little research on caregivers’ health and wellbeing after cancer. To the authors’ best knowledge; there is no specific research about how caregivers cope with everyday stressors after cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the coping strategies that caregivers of children who have survived cancer utilize to overcome everyday stressors. Methods: This study utilized a descriptive survey design. The sample consisted of 103 caregivers, who visited the health and wellness clinic at a national cancer center (additional demographics are presented in the results). The sample included caregivers of children who were off cancer treatments for at least two years from the beginning of data collection. The institution’s internal review board approved this study. Caregivers who agreed to participate completed the survey. The survey collected caregiver reported demographic information and the Brief COPE which measures caregivers' frequency of engaging in certain coping strategies. The Brief COPE consisted of 14 coping sub-scales, which are self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, use of emotional support, use of instrumental support, behavioral disengagement, venting, positive reframing, planning, humor, acceptance, religion, and self-blame. Data analyses included calculating sub-scales’ scores for the fourteen coping strategies and analysis of frequencies of demographics and coping strategies. Results: The 103 caregivers who participated in this study were 62% mothers, 80% married, 45% finished high school, 50% do not work outside the house, and 60% have low family income. Result showed that religious coping (66%) and acceptance (60%) were the most utilized coping strategies, followed by positive reframing (45%), active coping (44%) and planning (43%). The least utilized coping strategies in our sample were humor (5%), behavioral disengagement (8%), and substance-use (10%). Conclusions: Caregivers of children who have survived cancer mostly utilize religious coping and acceptance in dealing with everyday stressors. Because these coping strategies do not directly solve stressors like active coping and planning coping strategies, it is important to support caregivers in choosing and implementing effective coping strategies. Knowing from our results that some caregivers may utilize substance use as a coping strategy, which has negative health effects on caregivers and their children, there must be direct interventions that target these caregivers and their families.

Keywords: caregivers, cancer, stress, coping

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Authors: Seetanah Boopen, R. V. Sannassee

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The objective of the present study is two-fold. Firstly, to assess the impact of air access liberalization on tourism demand for Mauritius and secondly to analyses the dual impact of the interplay between air access liberalization and marketing promotion efforts on tourism demand. Using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, the results suggest that air access liberalization is an important ingredient, albeit to a lesser extent as compared to other classical explanatory variables, of tourism demand. The results also highlight the fact that Mauritius is perceived as a luxurious destination and tourists are deemed price sensitive. Moreover, our dynamic approach interestingly confirms the presence of repeat tourism in the island. Finally, the findings also uncover the positive impact of the interplay between air access liberalization and marketing promotion efforts on fostering tourism demand.

Keywords: air access liberalization, ARDL, SIDS, time series

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Authors: Deepak Singh, Rail Kuliev

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The abstract highlights the critical importance of optimizing data integration and management strategies in the upstream oil and gas industry. With its complex and dynamic nature generating vast volumes of data, efficient data integration and management are essential for informed decision-making, cost reduction, and maximizing operational performance. Challenges such as data silos, heterogeneity, real-time data management, and data quality issues are addressed, prompting the proposal of several strategies. These strategies include implementing a centralized data repository, adopting industry-wide data standards, employing master data management (MDM), utilizing real-time data integration technologies, and ensuring data quality assurance. Training and developing the workforce, “reskilling and upskilling” the employees and establishing robust Data Management training programs play an essential role and integral part in this strategy. The article also emphasizes the significance of data governance and best practices, as well as the role of technological advancements such as big data analytics, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). To illustrate the practicality of these strategies, real-world case studies are presented, showcasing successful implementations that improve operational efficiency and decision-making. In present study, by embracing the proposed optimization strategies, leveraging technological advancements, and adhering to best practices, upstream oil and gas companies can harness the full potential of data-driven decision-making, ultimately achieving increased profitability and a competitive edge in the ever-evolving industry.

Keywords: master data management, IoT, AI&ML, cloud Computing, data optimization

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Authors: Md. Toufiq Hasan

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This research set out to explore the source of stress and coping strategies of undergraduate Occupational Therapy students’ of Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI) in Bangladesh. For that reason, a quantitative and prospective type survey has been conducted by the researcher with 27 student participants of BHPI Occupational Therapy department whose stress scores were ≥40 according to Zung’s self-rating depression scale. Data was collected by using Bengali and English joined questionnaire of Inventory of College Students’ Recent Life Experience and Ways of Coping Scale. The researcher followed ‘Comprehensive sampling’ procedure to study the entire group of population. From the in-depth analysis to data found some source of stress and coping strategies of the students’. Stress was found significantly more in 2nd year students rather than other years. Female students were more vulnerable for stress rather than male. The age ranges 18-20 years of students are more vulnerable for stress. The main sources of stresses are found that, a lot of responsibilities and too many things to do at once and not enough time to meet their obligation or duties. The important coping strategies are found that, they criticized or lectured their selves, tried not to burn their bridges, but leave things open somewhat and inspired to do something creative. Findings of the study highlighted the need for teachers-students interactive relationship for better academic performance. The study also discloses some important recommendations for the students and teachers. At last the findings of the study will help the Occupational Therapy students and teachers of BHPI.

Keywords: BHPI undergraduate occupational therapy students, stress, source of stress, coping strategies

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Authors: Nima Amani, Ali Salehi Dastjerdi, Fatemeh Ahmadi, Ardalan Sabamehr

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The cost overrun of the construction projects has always been one of the main problems of the construction companies caused by the risky nature of the construction projects. Therefore, today, the application of risk management is inevitable. Although in theory, the issue of risk management is divided into the opportunities and threats management, in practice, most of the projects have been focused on the threats management. However, considering the opportunities management and applying the opportunities-response strategies can lead to the improved profitability of the construction projects of the companies. In this paper, a new technique is developed to identify the opportunities in the construction projects using an improved protocol and propose the appropriate opportunities-response strategies to the construction companies to provide them with higher profitability. To evaluate the effectiveness of the protocol for selecting the most appropriate strategies in ‎response to the opportunities and threats, two projects from a construction company in Iran were ‎studied. Both projects selected were in mid-range in terms of size and similar in terms of time, ‎run time and costs. Finally, the output indicates that using the proposed opportunities-response strategies show that the company's profitability in the future can be increased approximately for similar projects.

Keywords: opportunities management, risk-response strategy, opportunity-response strategy, productivity, risk management

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Authors: Kakhaber Djakeli

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For market leadership, iconic brands already start to establish their unique digital avatars into Metaverse and offer Non Fungible Tokens to their fans. Metaverse can be defined as an evolutionary step of Internet development. So if companies and brands use the internet, logically, they can find new solutions for them and their customers in Metaverse. Marketing and Management today must learn how to combine physical world activities with those either entitled as digital, virtual, and immersive. A “Phygital” Solution uniting physical and digital competitive activities of the company covering the questions about how to use virtual worlds for Brand Development and Non Fungible Tokens for more attractiveness soon will be most relevant question for Branding. Thinking comprehensively, we can entitle this type of branding as an Immersive one. As we see, the Immersive Brands give customers more mesmerizing feelings than traditional ones. Accordingly, the Branding can be divided by the company in its own understanding into two models: traditional and immersive. Immersive Branding being more directed to Sensorial challenges of Humans will be big job for International Universities in near future because they target the Generation - Z. To try to help those International Universities opening the door to the mesmerizing, immersive branding, the Marketing Research have been undertaken. The main goal of the study was to establish the model for Immersive Branding at International Universities and answer on many questions what logically arises in university life. The type of Delphi Surveys entitled as an Expert Studies was undertaken for one great mission, to help International Universities to open the opportunities to Phygital activities with reliable knowledge with Model of Immersive Branding. The Questionnaire sent to Experts of Education were covering professional type of questions from education to segmentation of customers, branding, attitude to students, and knowledge to Immersive Marketing. The research results being very interesting and encouraging enough to make author to establish the New Model of Immersive Experiential Branding for International Universities.

Keywords: branding, immersive marketing, students, university

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Authors: Jorge Anibal Restrepo Morales, Sonia Martín Gómez

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A model based on a logical framework was developed to quantify SMEs' internationalization capacity. To do so, linguistic variables, such as human talent, infrastructure, innovation strategies, FTAs, marketing strategies, finance, etc. were integrated. It is argued that a company’s management of international markets depends on internal factors, especially capabilities and resources available. This study considers internal factors as the biggest business challenge because they force companies to develop an adequate set of capabilities. At this stage, importance and strategic relevance have to be defined in order to build competitive advantages. A fuzzy inference system is proposed to model the resources, skills, and capabilities that determine the success of internationalization. Data: 157 linguistic variables were used. These variables were defined by international trade entrepreneurs, experts, consultants, and researchers. Using expert judgment, the variables were condensed into18 factors that explain SMEs’ export capacity. The proposed model is applied by means of a case study of the textile and clothing cluster in Medellin, Colombia. In the model implementation, a general index of 28.2 was obtained for internationalization capabilities. The result confirms that the sector’s current capabilities and resources are not sufficient for a successful integration into the international market. The model specifies the factors and variables, which need to be worked on in order to improve export capability. In the case of textile companies, the lack of a continuous recording of information stands out. Likewise, there are very few studies directed towards developing long-term plans, and., there is little consistency in exports criteria. This method emerges as an innovative management tool linked to internal organizational spheres and their different abilities.

Keywords: business strategy, exports, internationalization, fuzzy set methods

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Authors: Lara Ann Türeli, Özlem Bozkurt

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There is a biochemical component to listening to music. The type of music listened to can lead to different levels of neurotransmitter and biochemical activity within the brain, resulting in brain stimulation and different moods. Therefore, music plays an important role in neuromarketing and consumer behavior. The quality of a commercial can be measured by the effect the music has on its audience. Thus, understanding how music can affect the brain can provide better marketing strategies for all businesses. The type of music used plays an important role in how a person responds to certain experiences. In the context of marketing and consumer behavior, music can determine whether a person will be intrigued to buy something. Depending on the type of music listened to by an individual; the music may trigger the release of pleasurable neurotransmitters such as dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in reward pathways in the brain. When an individual experiences a pleasurable activity, increased levels of dopamine are produced, eventually leading to the formation of new reward pathways. Consequently, the increased dopamine activity within the brain triggered by music can result in new reward pathways along the dopamine pathways in the brain. Selecting pleasurable music for commercials can result in long-term brain stimulation, increasing consumerism. The effect of music on consumerism should be considered not only in commercials but also in the atmosphere it creates within stores. The type of music played in a store can affect consumer behavior and intention. Specifically, the rhythm, pitch, and pace of music can contribute to the mood of the song. The background music in a store can determine the consumer’s emotional presence and consequently affect their intentions. In conclusion, understanding the physiological, psychological, and neurochemical basis of the effect of music on brain stimulation is essential to understand consumer behavior. The role of dopamine in the formation of reward pathways as a result of music directly contributes to consumer behavior and the tendency of a commercial or store to leave a long-term effect on the consumer. The careful consideration of the pitch, pace, and rhythm of a song in the selection of music can not only help companies predict the behavior of a consumer but also determine the behavior of a consumer.

Keywords: sensory processing, neuropsychology, dopamine, neuromarketing

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Authors: Kenneth Okelo, Esther Waithaka, Maureen Mweru

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Development of oral language skills is a precursor to writing and reading acquisition. Oral skill is a means of communication through which people express their desires, ideas, excitements, amusements, disappointments and exchange information. In addition, oral skills have been found to be an important tool for thinking and concept development in children. Research carried out in industrialised countries have identified some appropriate teaching strategies used to enhance acquisition of oral language skills such as repetition, substitution, explanation, contrast, exemplification and code-switching. However, these studies’ geographical locations do not reflect the diversity of the Kenyan society. In addition, studies conducted in Kenya in the past have not established why pre-primary school teachers are not using appropriate teaching strategies. The purpose of this study was to find out whether teachers’ experience, academic qualification and type of training influences their choice of teaching strategies in the development of oral language skills inside and out of the classroom in selected preschools in Kibra Sub-County, Nairobi County. In addition, this study aimed at finding out the strategies used by teachers in Kibra Sub-County to promote oral skills development among pre-primary school children. The study was guided by Holdaway’s theory of language acquisition. Descriptive survey design was employed during this study. Questionnaires and observation schedules were used to collect data. Eighty-three (83) preschool teachers were sampled using multistage sampling methods for observation. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. The researcher carried out content analysis on the qualitative data. The main descriptive methods used were tabulation of frequencies and percentages. Chi squire test was the inferential statistic used to test the relationship between variables. The main findings of the study indicate that teaching strategies that were mostly used by pre-primary school teachers were code-switching, examples, repetition, substitution and explanation. While questions, direction, expansion of children words and contrast were the least used teaching strategies when teaching oral language skills. The study revealed that the there is a slight correlation between the type of training of teachers and the teaching strategies as most of DICECE trained teachers used more teaching strategies when teaching oral skills compared to other teachers. The findings also revealed that there was a partial significant correlation between teacher’s academic qualifications and a few teaching strategies. A similar correlation was also observed between teaching experience and a few teaching strategies. Since the strategies used by pre-primary school teachers under the study were less than half of the recommended teaching strategies to promote oral skills, the study recommends that teachers should be encouraged to use more in structural strategies to improve children’s oral language skills.

Keywords: Kenya early childhood education, Kenya education, oral language skills acquisition, teaching methods

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Authors: Mduduzi Nhlozi

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Food insecurity continues to persist in rural areas of South Africa today. A number of factors can be attributed to this including declining rural economies, rising unemployment, natural disasters such as drought as well as shifting cultural norms, values, traditions and beliefs. This paper explores mechanisms used by rural households to achieve food security in the midst of various threats and risks to their livelihoods. The study used semi-structured questionnaire to collect information on lived experiences of households in their quest to access and ensure availability of food. The paper finds that households use a number of food strategies namely economy-related, culture-related and rite-of-passage related strategies to achieve food security. The thrust of argument in the paper is that there is a need for food security studies to move beyond the orthodox, economic analytic framework, towards new institutional economics, focusing on local governance and socio-cultural systems supporting households to achieve food security. It advocates for localised food security plans to be developed by local municipalities to improve food security status for rural households.

Keywords: household, food insecurity, food strategies, new institutional economics, umkhanyakude

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Authors: Robert Smith, Omar Espinoza, Anna Pitta

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In the United States, trees felled in urban areas and wood generated through construction and demolition are primarily disposed of as low-value resources, such as biomass for energy, landscaping mulch, composting, or landfilled. An emerging industry makes use of these underutilized resources to produce high value-added products, with associated benefits for the environment, the local economy, and consumers. For the circular economy to be successful, markets must be created for sustainable, reusable natural materials. Research was carried out to increase the understanding of the marketing practices of urban and reclaimed wood industries. This paper presents the results of a nationwide survey of these companies. The results indicate that a majority of companies in this industry are small firms, operating for less than 10 years, which produce mostly to order and sell their products at comparatively higher prices than competing products made from virgin natural resources. Promotional messages included quality, aesthetics, and customization, conveyed through company webpages, word of mouth, and social media. Distribution channels used include direct sales, online sales, and retail sales. Partnerships are critical for effective raw material procurement. Respondents indicated optimistic growth expectations, despite barriers associated with urban and reclaimed wood materials and production.

Keywords: urban and reclaimed wood, circular economy, marketing, wood products

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Authors: Ezgi Avci-Surucu, Doganbey Akgul

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Turkey’s energy reforms has achieved energy security through a variety of interlinked measures including electricity, gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency legislation; the establishment of an energy sector regulatory authority; energy price reform; the creation of a functional electricity market; restructuring of state-owned energy enterprises; and private sector participation through privatization and new investment. However, current strategies, namely; “Electricity Sector Reform and Privatization Strategy” and “Electricity Market and Supply Security Strategy” has been criticized for various aspects. The present paper analyzes the implementation of the aforementioned strategies in the framework of generation scheduling, transmission constraints, bidding structure and general aspects; and argues the deficiencies of current strategies which decelerates power investments and creates uncertainties. We conclude by policy suggestions to eliminate these deficiencies in terms of price and risk management, infrastructure, customer focused regulations and systematic market development.

Keywords: electricity markets, risk management, regulations, balancing and settlement, bilateral trading, generation scheduling, bidding structure

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Authors: Aysha Zahidie, Meesha Iqbal

Abstract:

This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of strategies adopted by national health systems across the globe in different ‘geographical regions’ in the Northern Hemisphere to combat COVID-19 pandemic. Data is included from the first case reported in November 2019 till mid-April 2020. Sources of information are COVID-19 case repositories, official country websites, university research teams’ perspectives, official briefings, and available published research articles to date. We triangulated all data to formulate a comprehensive illustration of COVID-19 situation in each country included. It has been found that the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak experienced in China, Taiwan, and South Korea saw better strategies adopted by leadership to combat COVID-19 pandemic containment as compared to Iran, Italy, and the United States of America. Saudi Arabia has so far been successful in the implementation of containment strategies as there have been no large outbreaks in major cities or confined areas such as prisons. The situation has yet to unfold in India and Pakistan, which exhibit their own weaknesses in policy formulation or implementation in response to health crises.

Keywords: national health systems, COVID-19, prevention, response

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Authors: Nattapong Techarattanased, Paweena Sribunrueng

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The objective of this study is to investigate strategies in customer relationship management and customers’ behavior in making decision on buying car insurance of Southeast Insurance Co. Ltd. in Bangkok. Subjects in this study included 400 customers with the age over 20 years old to complete questionnaires. The data were analyzed by arithmetic mean and multiple regressions. The results revealed that the customers’ opinions on the strategies in customer relationship management, i.e. customer relationship, customer feedback, customer follow-up, useful service suggestions, customer communication, and service channels were in moderate level but on the customer retention was in high level. Moreover, the strategy in customer relationship management, i.e. customer relationship, and customer feedback had an influence on customers’ buying decision on buying car insurance. The two factors above can be used for the prediction at the rate of 34%. In addition, the strategy in customer relationship management, i.e. customer retention, customer feedback, and useful service suggestions had an influence on the customers’ buying decision on period of being customers. The three factors could be used for the prediction at the rate of 45%.

Keywords: strategies, customer relationship management, behavior in buying decision, car insurance

Procedia PDF Downloads 383

Authors: Rana M. Mostafa, Nouby M. Ghazaly, Ahmed S. Ali

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This article introduces a solution for increasing the wind energy extracted from turbines to overcome the more electric power required. This objective provides a new science discipline; wind turbine control. This field depends on the development in power electronics to provide new control strategies for turbines. Those strategies should deal with all turbine operating modes. Here there are two control strategies developed for variable speed horizontal axis wind turbine for rated and over rated wind speed regions. These strategies will support wind energy validation, decrease manufacturing overhead cost. Here nonlinear adaptive method was used to design speed controllers to a scheme for ‘Aeolos50 kw’ wind turbine connected to permanent magnet generator via a gear box which was built on MATLAB/Simulink. These controllers apply maximum power point tracking concept to guarantee goal achievement. Procedures were carried to test both controllers efficiency. The results had been shown that the developed controllers are acceptable and this can be easily declared from simulation results.

Keywords: adaptive method, pitch controller, wind energy, nonlinear control

Procedia PDF Downloads 226