Search results for: structured abstraction

Authors: Bahloul Amel

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The present study debates students’ perceptions of the use of technology in learning English as a Foreign Language. Its aim is to explore and understand students’ preparation and presentation of Posters, PowerPoint and Animated Videos by drawing attention to visual and oral elements. The data is collected through observations and semi-structured interviews and analyzed through phenomenological data analysis steps. The themes emerged from the data, visual learning satisfaction in using information and communication technology, providing structure to oral presentation, learning from peers’ presentations, draw attention to using Posters, PowerPoint and Animated Videos as each supports visual learning and organization of thoughts in oral presentations.

Keywords: EFL, posters, PowerPoint presentations, Animated Videos, visual learning

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Authors: Joseph Falzon, Margaret Nelson

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Background: Regeneration and re-use of abandoned historic buildings present a continuous challenge for policy makers and stakeholders in the tourism and leisure industry. Obsolete historic buildings provide great potential for tourism and leisure accommodation, presenting unique heritage experiences to travellers and host communities. Contemporary demands in the hospitality industry continuously require higher standards, some of which are in conflict with heritage conservation principles. Objective: The aim of this research paper is to critically discuss regeneration policies with stakeholders of the tourism and leisure industry and to examine current practices in policy development and the resultant impact of policies on the Maltese tourism and leisure industry. Research Design: Six semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in the tourism and leisure industry participated in the research. A number of measures were taken to reduce bias and thus improve trustworthiness. Clear statements of the purpose of the research study were provided at the start of each interview to reduce expectancy bias. The interviews were semi-structured to minimise interviewer bias. Interviewees were allowed to expand and elaborate as necessary, with only necessary probing questions, to allow free expression of opinion and practices. Interview guide was submitted to participants at least two weeks before the interview to allow participants to prepare for the interview and prevent recall bias during the interview as much as possible. Interview questions and probes contained both positive and negative aspects to prevent interviewer bias. Policy documents were available during the interview to prevent recall bias. Interview recordings were transcribed ‘intelligent’ verbatim. Analysis was carried out using thematic analysis with the coding frame developed independently by two researchers. All phases of the study were governed by research ethics. Findings: Findings were grouped in main themes: financing of regeneration, governance, legislation and policies. Other key issues included value of historic buildings and approaches for regeneration. Whist regeneration of historic buildings was noted, participants discussed a number of barriers that hindered regeneration. Stakeholders identified gaps in policies and gaps at policy implementation stages. European Union funding policies facilitated regeneration initiatives but funding criteria based on economic deliverables presented the intangible heritage gap. Stakeholders identified niche markets for heritage tourism accommodation. Lack of research-based policies was also identified. Conclusion: Potential of regeneration is hindered by inadequate legal framework that supports contemporary needs of the tourism industry. Policies should be developed by active stakeholder participation. Adequate funding schemes have to support the tangible and intangible components of the built heritage.

Keywords: governance, historic buildings, policy, tourism

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Authors: Salwa Enneifer

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The research is intended to investigate Tunisian students’ own perception of the difficulties they encounter in the writing task. To achieve this objective, a questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in the ‘Faculty of Letters Arts and Humanities’ in Kairouan, in Tunisia. Students were classified into three groups: first-, second-, and third-year students. The researcher used 120 questionnaires filled in by the students as data for this study; moreover, 30 students participated in a semi-structured interview to complete the data. The questionnaire results revealed that Tunisian EFL students faced spelling and grammar difficulties. ANOVA also revealed that the first-year students did not recognise that Arabic and English greatly differ in their respective punctuation systems. The second-year class, however, was fully aware of this difference. Additionally, the interview shed light on other aspects or different difficulties experienced by students in writing: a cruel ‘lack of vocabulary’, Arabic language interference, the organisation of the essay and especially the academic essay, and difficulty with writing an argumentative essay.

Keywords: difficulties, writing, Tunisian, EFL students

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Authors: Saleem Abuleil, Khalid S. Alsamara

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Events represent a significant source of information on the web; they deliver information about events that occurred around the world in all kind of subjects and areas. These events can be collected and organized to provide valuable and useful information for decision makers, researchers, as well as any person seeking knowledge. In this paper, we discuss an ongoing research to target stock markets domain to observe and record changes (events) when they happen, collect them, understand the meaning of each one of them, and organize the information along with meaning in a well-structured format. By using Semantic Role Labeling (SRL) technique, we identified four factors for each event in this paper: verb of action and three roles associated with it, entity name, attribute, and attribute value. We have generated a set of rules and techniques to support our approach to analyze and understand the meaning of the events taking place in stock markets.

Keywords: natuaral language processing, Arabic language, event extraction and understanding, sematic role labeling, stock market

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Authors: Yunos Zahri, Ariffin Aswami

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Cyber terrorism represents the convergence of two worlds: virtual and physical. The virtual world is a place in which computer programs function and data move, whereas the physical world is where people live and function. The merging of these two domains is the interface being targeted in the incidence of cyber terrorism. To better understand why cyber terrorism acts are committed, this study presents the context of cyber terrorism from motivational perspectives. Motivational forces behind cyber terrorism can be social, political, ideological and economic. In this research, data are analyzed using a qualitative method. A semi-structured interview with purposive sampling was used for data collection. With the growing interconnectedness between critical infrastructures and Information & Communication Technology (ICT), selecting targets that facilitate maximum disruption can significantly influence terrorists. This work provides a baseline for defining the concept of cyber terrorism from motivational perspectives.

Keywords: cyber terrorism, terrorism, motivation, qualitative analysis

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Authors: Elena Ivany, Leanne Aitken

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Little is known about the delivery of end-of-life care in cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) settings. The aims of this study were to highlight the nurse-identified barriers and facilitators to delivering end-of-life care in the CICU, and to identify whether any of the barriers and/or facilitators are specific to the CICU setting. This was an exploratory qualitative study utilizing semi-structured individual interviews as the data collection method and inductive thematic analysis to structure the data. Six CICU nurses took part in the study. Five key themes were identified, each theme including both barriers and facilitators. The five key themes are as follows: patient-centered care, emotional challenges, reaching concordance, nursing contribution and the surgical intensive care unit.

Keywords: end-of-life, cardiovascular disease, cardiac surgery, critical care

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Authors: E. O. Fakoya, B. G. Abiona, J. O. Soetan

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The study determined Perception of Agricultural Extension Agents of Private Sector Participation in Extension Services in Ogun State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 80 respondents with a well-structured questionnaire. The result of the findings showed that there is need for private sector participation in extension services (=4.313), private extension services has facilities than public extension services (=4.97). Private sector participated in extension services by: giving of loans and credits to farmers (=4.50). Major constraints identified by the respondents were: Transportation problem (=2.88) and lack of fund (=2.77) A significant relationship (P<0.05) exists between factors affecting public extension services(r = 0.641, p = 0.00) and private sector participation in extension services. It was concluded from the study that there is need for private sector to participate in extension service in order to improve productivity of the farmers.

Keywords: agricultural extension, extension agent, private sector, perception

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Authors: Kever Bruno Paradelo Gomes, Rosana Carvalho Martins

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The home gardens areas are production systems, which are located near the homes and are quite common in the tropics. They consist of agricultural and forest species and may also involve the raising of small animals to produce food for subsistence as well as income generation, with a special focus on the conservation of biodiversity. Home gardens are diverse Agroforestry systems with multiple uses, among many, food security, income aid, traditional medicine. The work was carried out on rural properties of the family farmers of the Ponte Alta Rural Nucleus, Gama Administrative Region, in the city of Brasília, Federal District- Brazil. The present research is characterized methodologically as a quantitative, exploratory and descriptive nature. The instruments used in this research were: bibliographic survey and semi-structured questionnaire. The data collection was performed through the application of a semi-structured questionnaire, containing questions that referred to the perception and behavior of the interviewed producer on the subject under analysis. In each question, the respondent explained his knowledge about sustainability, agroecological practices, environmental legislation, conservation methods, forest and medicinal species, ago social and socioeconomic characteristics, use and purpose of agroforestry and technical assistance. The sample represented 55.62% of the universe of the study. We interviewed 99 people aged 18-83 years, with a mean age of 49 years. The low level of education, coupled with the lack of training and guidance for small family farmers in the Ponte Alta Rural Nucleus, is one of the limitations to the development of practices oriented towards sustainable and agroecological agriculture in the nucleus. It is observed that 50.5% of the interviewed people landed with agroforestry yards less than 20 years ago, and only 16.17% of them are older than 35 years. In identifying agriculture as the main activity of most of the rural properties studied, attention is drawn to the cultivation of medicinal plants, fruits and crops as the most extracted products. However, it is verified that the crops in the backyards have the exclusive purpose of family consumption, which could be complemented with the marketing of the surplus, as well as with the aggregation of value to the cultivated products. Initiatives such as this may contribute to the increase in family income and to the motivation and value of the crop in agroecological gardens. We conclude that home gardens of Ponte Alta are highly diverse thus contributing to local biodiversity conservation of are managed by women to ensure food security and allows income generation. The tradition of existing knowledge on the use and management of the diversity of resources used in agroforestry yards is of paramount importance for the development of sustainable alternative practices.

Keywords: agriculture, agroforestry system, rural development, sustainability

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Authors: Lana Whiskeyjack, Kyle Napier

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The Spirit of the language embodies the motivation for indigenous people to connect with the indigenous language of their lineage. While the concept of the spirit of the language is often woven into the discussion by indigenous language revitalizationists, particularly those who are indigenous, there are few tangible terms in academic research conceptually actualizing the term. Through collaborative work with indigenous language speakers, elders, and learners, this research sets out to identify the spirit of the language, the catalysts of disconnection from the spirit of the language, and the sources of reconnection to the spirit of the language. This work fundamentally addresses the terms of engagement around collaboration with indigenous communities, itself inviting a decolonial approach to community outreach and individual relationships. As indigenous researchers, this means beginning, maintain, and closing this work in the ceremony while being transparent with community members in this work and related publishing throughout the project’s duration. Decolonizing this approach also requires maintaining explicit ongoing consent by the elders, knowledge keepers, and community members when handling their ancestral and indigenous knowledge. The handling of this knowledge is regarded in this work as stewardship, both in the handling of digital materials and the handling of ancestral Indigenous knowledge. This work observes recorded conversations in both nêhiyawêwin and English, resulting from 10 semi-structured interviews with fluent nêhiyawêwin speakers as well as three structured dialogue circles with fluent and emerging speakers. The words were transcribed by a speaker fluent in both nêhiyawêwin and English. The results of those interviews were categorized thematically to conceptually actualize the spirit of the language, catalysts of disconnection to thespirit of the language, and community voices methods of reconnection to the spirit of the language. Results of these interviews vastly determine that the spirit of the language is drawn from the land. Although nêhiyawêwin is the focus of this work, Indigenous languages are by nature inherently related to the land. This is further reaffirmed by the Indigenous language learners and speakers who expressed having ancestries and lineages from multiple Indigenous communities. Several other key differences embody this spirit of the language, which include ceremony and spirituality, as well as the semantic worldviews tied to polysynthetic verb-oriented morphophonemics most often found in indigenous languages — and of focus, nêhiyawêwin. The catalysts of disconnection to the spirit of the language are those whose histories have severed connections between Indigenous Peoples and the spirit of their languages or those that have affected relationships with the land, ceremony, and ways of thinking. Results of this research and its literature review have determined the three most ubiquitously damaging interdependent factors, which are catalysts of disconnection from the spirit of the language as colonization, capitalism, and Christianity. As voiced by the Indigenous language learners, this work necessitates addressing means to reconnect to the spirit of the language. Interviewees mentioned that the process of reconnection involves a whole relationship with the land, the practice of reciprocal-relational methodologies for language learning, and indigenous-protected and -governed learning. This work concludes in support of those reconnection methodologies.

Keywords: indigenous language acquisition, indigenous language reclamation, indigenous language revitalization, nêhiyawêwin, spirit of the language

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Authors: Ali Ocholi

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The study was conducted to analyze the impact of agro-allied industries on rural dwellers in Benue state, Nigeria. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the respondents for the study. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaires administered on 366 respondents from the selected communities; the data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The result of Mann-Whitney (U) statistics showed that water availability (14350) and good road network (15082.00) were the only social impact derived from the industries by the rural dwellers. The study recommended that right and proper policies and programmes should be put in place by the government to mandate all private and public agro-allied industries to embark on projects that would be in favour of the rural dwellers where the agro-allied industries are situated.

Keywords: agriculture, agro-allied industry, rural dwellers, Benue state

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Authors: Shelly-Ann Gajadhar

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Over the last twenty years, the traditional economic motivations of foreign direct investment have been amalgamated with geopolitical motivations. This is evidenced by the extensive ratification of bilateral investment treaties (BIT) globally and the emergence of state-owned multinational companies (SOMNCs) that directly compete with local domestic enterprises (LDE). This paper investigates the impact that Chinese SOMNCs have on LDEs within Trinidad and Tobago’s construction sector and, determines whether knowledge transfer occurs. The paper employed semi-structured interviews of industry experts and concluded that LDEs predominantly experience adverse spillovers, inclusive of a long-term competition effect, with no technology transfer occurring.

Keywords: foreign direct investment, bilateral investment treaties, knowledge transfer, international business, Caribbean

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Authors: Ahlem Dhahri, Audrey Becuwe

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This study examines the adoption of sustainable purchasing practices among Tunisian SMEs, with a focus on assessing how environmental and social sustainability maturity affects the implementation of sustainable supplier selection (SSS) criteria. Using institutional theory to classify coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures, as well as emerging drivers and barriers, this study explores the institutional factors influencing sustainable purchasing practices and the specific barriers faced by Tunisian SMEs in this area. An exploratory, abductive qualitative research design was adopted for this multiple case study, which involved 19 semi-structured interviews with owners and managers of 17 Tunisian manufacturing SMEs. The Gioia method was used to analyze the data, thus enabling the identification of key themes and relationships directly from the raw data. This approach facilitated a structured interpretation of the institutional factors influencing sustainable purchasing practices, with insights drawn from the participants' perspectives. The study reveals that Tunisian SMEs are at different levels of sustainability maturity, with a significant impact on their procurement practices. SMEs with advanced sustainability maturity integrate both environmental and social criteria into their supplier selection processes, while those with lower maturity levels rely on mostly traditional criteria such as cost, quality, and delivery. Key institutional drivers identified include regulatory pressure, market expectations, and stakeholder influence. Additional emerging drivers—such as certifications and standards, economic incentives, environmental commitment as a core value, and group-wide strategic alignment—also play a critical role in driving sustainable procurement. Conversely, the study reveals significant barriers, including economic constraints, limited awareness, and resource limitations. It also identifies three main categories of emerging barriers: (1) logistical and supply chain constraints, including retailer/intermediary dependency, tariff regulations, and a perceived lack of direct responsibility in B2B supply chains; (2) economic and financial constraints; and (3) operational barriers, such as unilateral environmental responsibility, a product-centric focus and the influence of personal relationships. Providing valuable insights into the role of sustainability maturity in supplier selection, this study is the first to explore sustainable procurement practices in the Tunisian SME context. Integrating an analysis of institutional drivers, including emerging incentives and barriers, provides practical implications for SMEs seeking to improve sustainability in procurement. The results highlight the need for stronger regulatory frameworks and support mechanisms to facilitate the adoption of sustainable practices among SMEs in Tunisia.

Keywords: Tunisian SME, sustainable supplier selection, institutional theory, determinant, qualitative study

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Authors: Aticha Kwaengsopha, Kevin Wongleedee

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Destination image can cause an increase and decrease in the growth rate of international tourists visiting Thailand. This paper drew upon data collected from an international tourist survey conducted in Bangkok, Thailand during January to March of 2014. The survey was structured primarily to obtain international tourists’ opinions towards the importance of destination image factors that they encountered during their trip in Thailand. A total of 200 respondents were elicited as data input for mean, SD, and t-test. The findings revealed that the overall level of importance of these factors was not very high. The findings also revealed the three most important factors as tourist experience, interesting place, and pleasing destination. In addition, the result for t-test revealed that there was not much effect from gender differences in opinions of the level concerning importance for destination image factors.

Keywords: destination image, international tourists, Thailand, revisit

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Authors: Fazeelat Duran, Darren Bishopp, Jessica Woodhams

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Negative emotions resulting from the breach of perceived obligations by an employer is called the psychological contract violation. Employees perceiving breach and feelings of negative emotions result in adverse outcomes for both the employee and employer. This paper aims to identify the relationships between contract breach, violation, stress and wellbeing and investigate whether fairness and self-efficacy mediate the relationships. A mixed method approach was used to analyze the online-surveys and semi-structured interviews with the police officers. It was identified that the psychological contract violation predicts stress and job-related well-being. Fairness and self-efficacy were identified as significant mediators to understand the underlying mechanisms of association. Whilst, in the interviews social support was identified as a popular mediator. Practical implications for employers are discussed.

Keywords: psychological contract violation and breach, stressors, depression, anxiety

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Authors: Majed Alshaibani

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Social media has emerged as a serious contender to TV news networks in Saudi Arabia. The growing usage of social media as a source of news and information has led to significant impact on the content presented by the news networks in Saudi Arabia. This study explored the various ways in which social media has influenced content aired on Saudi news networks. Data were collected by using semi structured interviews with 13 journalists and content editors working for four Saudi TV news networks and six senior academic experts on TV and media teaching in Saudi universities. The findings of the study revealed that social media has affected four aspects of the content on Saudi TV news networks. As a result the content aired on Saudi news networks is more neutral, real time, diverse in terms of sources and includes content on broader subjects and from different parts of the world. This research concludes that social media has contributed positively and significantly to improving the content on Saudi TV news networks.

Keywords: TV news networks, Saudi Arabia, social media, media content

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Authors: Abdul Rofiq Badril Rizal M. Z.

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This case study examines the experiences of four beginning teachers currently working in New South Wales secondary schools. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews conducted one on one over the period of one month. The data were coded with findings reported through key areas of discovery, which linked to the research presented in the literature review. The participants involved in the case study all reported positive experiences with mentoring, though none were given the opportunity to take part in a formal mentoring program, and all the mentors offered their time voluntarily. The mentoring took different forms, but the support most valued by the participants was the emotional and curriculum related supported received. All participants wished they had greater access to mentoring and felt it would have benefits for most beginning teachers. The study highlights ongoing issues around the lack of access to mentoring, which could be due to factors such as funding, time and training.

Keywords: mentor, mentee, pre-service teacher, beginning teacher

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Authors: Qi Peng

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The Chinese sport sector is currently undergoing a dramatic institutional change. A sport system that was heavily dominated by the government is starting to shift towards one that is driven by the market. During the past sixty years, the Chinese Football Association (CFA), although ostensibly a ‘non-governmental organization’, has been in fact operated under the close supervision and control of the government. The double-identity of CFA has taken most of the blame for the poor performance of the Chinese football team, especially the men’s team. In 2015, a policy initiated by the Chinese government introduced a potentially radical change to the institutional structure of CFA by delegating the power of government agency – the General Administration of Sport of China - to the organization (CFA) itself. Against such background, an overarching research question was brought up- will an organization remained institutionalized within the system change in response to the external (policy) jolt? To answer this question, three principal data collection methods were employed: document review, participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Document review provides the mapping of the structural and cultural framework in which the CFA functions during the change process. The author have had the chance to interact closely with the organization as participant observer in the organization for a period of time, long enough to collect the data, but never too long to get biased view of the situation. This stage enables the author to gain an in-depth understanding of how CFA managed to restructure the governance and legitimacy. Conducting semi-structured interviews with staff within the CFA and from staff within selected stakeholders of CFA also provided a crucial step to gain an insight into the factors for change as well as the implications of the change. A wide range of interviewees that have been and to be interviewed include: CFA members (senior officials and staff); local football associations members; senior Chinese Super League football club managers; CFA Super League Co., LTD (senior officials and staff); CSL broadcasters; Chinese Olympic Committee members. The preliminary research data shows that the CFA is currently undergoing two levels of change: although the settings of CFA has been gradually restructured (organizational framework), the organizational values and beliefs remain almost the same as the CFA before the reform. This means that the plan of shifting from a governmental agency to an autonomous association is an going process, and that organizational core beliefs and values are more difficult to change than its structural framework. This is due to the inertia of the organizational history and the effect of institutionalization. The change of Chinese Football Association is looked at as a pioneering sport organization in China to undertake the “decoupling” road. It is believed that many other sport organizations, especially sport governing bodies will follow the step of CFA in the near future. Therefore, the experience of CFA change is worthy of studying.

Keywords: Chinese Football Association, Organizational Change, Organizational Culture, Structural Framework

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Authors: Nuran Bahar, Mehmet A. Akcayol

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In the aviation industry, many faults may occur frequently during the maintenance processes and assembly operations of complex structured aircrafts because of their high dependencies of components. These faults affect the quality of aircraft parts or developed modules adversely. Technical employee requires long time and high labor force while checking the correctness of each component. In addition, the person must be trained regularly because of the ever-growing and changing technology. Generally, the cost of this training is very high. Augmented Reality (AR) technology reduces the cost of training radically and improves the effectiveness of the training. In this study, the usage of AR technology in the aviation industry has been investigated and the effectiveness of AR with heads-up display glasses has been examined. An application has been developed for comparison of production process with AR and manual one.

Keywords: aerospace, assembly quality, augmented reality, heads-up display

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Authors: Sajid Ali Khan, Karim Ullah, Usman Ghani

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Community participation is the collaboration of project beneficiaries; voluntarily or because of some incentives or persuasion agree to put effort and work with development projects. Sustainability of projects is the ability to maintain its services, operations, and other benefits during its anticipated time. This study investigated the dynamics of community participation and its contribution to the sustainability of projects. In multiple case-study designs with semi-structured questionnaires and interviews, this study analyzes community participation with the help of individual case analysis followed by cross-case analysis in the RAHA & CDLD developmental project. Finally, the study outcomes are linked with the specified literature in order to comprehend the phenomena. The findings of the study suggest an Analytical framework developed by the current study covering different barriers and enablers to community participation and its implications.

Keywords: community participation, enablers, barriers, project sustainability

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Authors: Hafiz Haseeb Nisar, Maryam Bilal

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This qualitative study was conducted to investigate the underlying dynamics, key success factors and characteristics of Pakistani business leaders. The sample included 5 top businessmen from different business sectors. They were approached through the magazine “Manager Today” office in Lahore. Semi-structured interview technique was used to understand their experiences, attitudes, styles of management and key factors in their business success. Grounded theory was employed to analyze data. The following themes emerged as characteristics of business leaders: optimism, assertiveness, professionalism, effective management style, business knowledge/ excellence, supportive family and strong faith in God. It was noted that all these were interlinked, which leads the businessmen to become a successful business tycoon of this country. The importance of this study rests in its eastern contribution to the theoretical framework of the psychology of business leaders and particularly these findings will help to realize the basic key factors of success behind a business leader in Pakistan.

Keywords: business psychology, characteristics, key personality factors, leadership

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Authors: Feiyu Fang, Han Wang, Xin Chen, Jun Zeng, Feng Liang, Peixuan Wu

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The 'rope coiling' effect is a normal instability phenomenon widespread exists in viscous fluid, elastic rods and polymeric fibers owing to compressive stress when they fall into a moving belt. Near-field electro-spinning is the modified electro-spinning technique has the ability to direct write micro fibers. In this research, we study the “rope coiling” effect in near-field electro-spinning. By changing the distance between nozzle and collector or the speed ratio between the charge jet speed and the platform moving speed, we obtain a pile of different models coils including the meandering, alternating and coiling patterns. Therefore, this instability can be used to direct write micro structured fibers with a one-step process.

Keywords: rope coiling effects, near-field electrospinning, direct write, micro structure

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Authors: Magno Enrique Mendoza Meza

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This paper deals with the comparison of three control techniques: the hysteresis on-off control (HyOOC), the hybrid on-off control (HOOC) and the simple Structured Treatment Interruptions (sSTI). These techniques are applied to the mathematical model developed by Kirschner and Webb. To compare these techniques we use a cost functional that minimize the wild-type virus population and the mutant virus population, but the main objective is to minimize the systemic cost of treatment and maximize levels of healthy CD4+ T cells. HyOOC, HOOC, and sSTI are applied to the drug therapies using a reverse transcriptase and protease inhibitors; simulations show that these controls maintain the uninfected cells in a small, bounded neighborhood of a pre-specified level. The controller HyOOC and HOOC are designed by appropriate choice of virtual equilibrium points.

Keywords: virus dynamics, on-off control, hysteresis, multi-drug therapies

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Authors: Mehrnaz Mostafavi

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The assessment and categorization of incidental lung nodules present a considerable challenge in healthcare, often necessitating resource-intensive multiple computed tomography (CT) scans for growth confirmation. This research addresses this issue by introducing a distinct computational approach leveraging radiomics and deep-learning methods. However, understanding local services is essential before implementing these advancements. With diverse tracking methods in place, there is a need for efficient and accurate identification approaches, especially in the context of managing lung nodules alongside pre-existing cancer scenarios. This study explores the integration of text-based algorithms in medical data curation, indicating their efficacy in conjunction with machine learning and deep-learning models for identifying lung nodules. Combining medical images with text data has demonstrated superior data retrieval compared to using each modality independently. While deep learning and text analysis show potential in detecting previously missed nodules, challenges persist, such as increased false positives. The presented research introduces a Structured-Query-Language (SQL) algorithm designed for identifying pulmonary nodules in a tertiary cancer center, externally validated at another hospital. Leveraging natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, the algorithm categorizes lung nodule reports based on sentence features, aiming to facilitate research and assess clinical pathways. The hypothesis posits that the algorithm can accurately identify lung nodule CT scans and predict concerning nodule features using machine-learning classifiers. Through a retrospective observational study spanning a decade, CT scan reports were collected, and an algorithm was developed to extract and classify data. Results underscore the complexity of lung nodule cohorts in cancer centers, emphasizing the importance of careful evaluation before assuming a metastatic origin. The SQL and NLP algorithms demonstrated high accuracy in identifying lung nodule sentences, indicating potential for local service evaluation and research dataset creation. Machine-learning models exhibited strong accuracy in predicting concerning changes in lung nodule scan reports. While limitations include variability in disease group attribution, the potential for correlation rather than causality in clinical findings, and the need for further external validation, the algorithm's accuracy and potential to support clinical decision-making and healthcare automation represent a significant stride in lung nodule management and research.

Keywords: lung cancer diagnosis, structured-query-language (SQL), natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, CT scans

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Authors: Hareem Kausar

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Women of today’s world are energetic, enthusiastic and high-spirited. They tend to be the best in whatever they do and strive to accept and fulfil each challenge with utmost liveliness. The aim of the research was about studying the impact of Maternal Employment on the Child’s Behavioral Development. It was conducted as an initiative to study the impact factor in Pakistani culture and for deep insight to the subject using qualitative research methodology. The samples were interviewed through semi-structured interview method in three phases including two working mothers, two children and a day care center official and the data was collected and analyzed through content analysis. Further, it was linked with the literature from the west and the results show that children of working mothers tend to be sound mentally and physically but at some points they face the inner feeling of solitude. Overall, develop the mechanism in independence in their nature and behavior but maternal employment definitely affects the overall behavioral development of the children.

Keywords: maternal employment, child behavior- development, childhood, impact

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Authors: Azeez Ayodele Ayodele

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This paper investigated the problem of picture books design and the quality of the pictures in picture books. The research surveyed nursery and primary schools in four major cities in southwest of Nigeria. The instruments including the descriptive survey questionnaire and a structured interview were developed, validated and administered for collection of relevant data. Descriptive statistics was used in analyzing the data. The result of the study revealed that there were poor quality of pictures in picture books and this is due to scarcity of trained graphic designers who understand systems approach to picture books design and production. There is thus a need for more qualified graphic designers, given in-service professional training as well as a refresher course as criteria for upgrading by the stakeholders.

Keywords: pictures, picture books, pre-primary schools, trained graphic designers

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Authors: Itiola Kehinde Adeniran

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The study examined the effect of employees’ training on the performance of small scale enterprises in Oyo State. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 150 respondents through purposive sampling method. Linear regression was used with the aid of statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 20 to analyze the data collected in order to examine the effect of independent variable, employees’ training on dependent variable, performance (profit) of small scale enterprises. The result revealed that employees’ training has a significant effect on the performance of small scale enterprises. It was concluded that predictor variable namely (training) is 55.5% variance of enterprises performance (profitability). Therefore, the paper recommended that all small scale enterprises in Nigeria should embrace manpower training and development in order to improve employees’ performance leading to organizational profitability.

Keywords: training, employee performance, small scale enterprise, organizational profitability

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Authors: Wan Norhayate Wan Daud, Fakhrul Anwar Zainol, Maslina Mansor

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The study was conducted to produce case studies from the Malaysian public universities stands point East Coast of Malaysia. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of knowledge management on human capital toward organizational innovation. The focus point of this study is on the management member in the faculties of these three Malaysian Public Universities in the East Coast state of Peninsular Malaysia. In this case, respondents who agreed to further participate in the research will be invited to a one-hour face-to-face semi-structured, in-depth interview. As a result, the sample size for this study was 3 deans of Faculty of Management. Lastly, this study tries to recommend the framework of organizational innovation in Malaysian Public Universities.

Keywords: human capital, knowledge management, organizational innovation, public university

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Authors: Yael Cohen Azaria, Sara Zamir

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This study examined what motivated Israeli Arab students to choose to study for a degree in education and society and the influence of this academic choice on them while they were studying. The study follows the qualitative paradigm of data collection and analysis, in a case study of a homogeneous group of Arab students in a Jewish multicultural academic institution. 33 students underwent semi-structured in-depth interviews. Findings show that the choice stemmed from a desire to lead social change within their own society; to imitate an educational role-model and to realize a dream of higher education. Among the female students, this field suits the role of the woman in Arab society. The interviewees claimed that the influence of their studies was that they felt more openness towards others and those who are different; they felt pride and self-confidence in their abilities, and the women mentioned that they felt empowered.

Keywords: education, higher education, Israeli Arabs, minorities

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Authors: Paraskevi Theodorou, Apostolos Meliones

Abstract:

In the context of the development process of two assistive navigation mobile apps for blind and visually impaired people (BVI) an extensive qualitative analysis of the requirements of potential users has been conducted. The analysis was based on interviews with BVIs and aimed to elicit not only their needs with respect to autonomous navigation but also their preferences on specific features of the apps under development. The elicited requirements were structured into four main categories, namely, requirements concerning the capabilities, functionality and usability of the apps, as well as compatibility requirements with respect to other apps and services. The main categories were then further divided into nine sub-categories. This classification, along with its content, aims to become a useful tool for the researcher or the developer who is involved in the development of digital services for BVI.

Keywords: accessibility, assistive mobile apps, blind and visually impaired people, user requirements analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Jayeola Olabisi, T. Olawale Oladunjoye, Ademola A. Adewumi

Abstract:

The study empirically examines the relationship that exists between the economic environment and entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire is administered on the study and data collected are analysed using Analysis of Variance and Regression. The following variables are indices of determination; Interest Rate (IR); Income Tax (IT). The results of the study show that there is a significant relationship between IR and ED in Nigeria (p < 0.5) with a positive correlation (r=0.526, r2=0.276). Also, there is a significant relationship between IT and ED in Nigeria (p < 0.05), with a positive association (r=0.546; r2=0.299). The study concludes that the emergence of the higher level of the stable economic environment is critical to entrepreneurial development in Nigeria. Therefore, government involvement in public private partnership for infrastructural development, enlargement of productive, judicious and transparent use of funds collected from income tax and affordable interest rate will galvanise the inward sourcing of raw materials that boost entrepreneurial development in Nigeria.

Keywords: interest rate, income tax, business environment and entrepreneurial development

Procedia PDF Downloads 361