Search results for: green innovation practices

Authors: Mariusz Hofman

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The paper ‘Theoretical framework for value creation in Project-Oriented Companies’ is designed to determine, how organisations create value and whether this allows them to achieve market success. An assumption has been made that there are two routes to achieving this value. The first one is to create intangible assets (i.e. the resources of human, structural and relational capital), while the other one is to create added value (understood as the surplus of revenue over costs). It has also been assumed that the combination of the achieved added value and unique intangible assets translates to the success of a project-oriented company. The purpose of the paper is to present hypothetical and deductive model which describing the modus operandi of such companies and approach to model operationalisation. All the latent variables included in the model are theoretical constructs with observational indicators (measures). The existence of a latent variable (construct) and also submodels will be confirmed based on a covariance matrix which in turn is based on empirical data, being a set of observational indicators (measures). This will be achieved with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Due to this statistical procedure, it will be verified whether the matrix arising from the adopted theoretical model differs statistically from the empirical matrix of covariance arising from the system of equations. The fit of the model with the empirical data will be evaluated using χ2, RMSEA and CFI (Comparative Fit Index). How well the theoretical model fits the empirical data is assessed through a number of indicators. If the theoretical conjectures are confirmed, an interesting development path can be defined for project-oriented companies. This will let such organisations perform efficiently in the face of the growing competition and pressure on innovation.

Keywords: value creation, project-oriented company, structural equation modelling

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Authors: O. J. Makinde, O. A. Abiola

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Background: Hazards and injuries are two common phenomena that have been associated with the building construction profession. Apart from injuries, deaths from injuries sustained at work have been high in this profession. This study, therefore, attempts to determine the attitude, practice, and prevalence of injuries among this group of workers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with 285 respondents. The sampling was multi-staged. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to elicit information such as socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, attitude and practice of occupational safety and prevalence of injuries among the workers. The data were analyzed using epi-info 3.5.1 statistical software. Result: The modal age group is 25-34yrs which made up 40% of the respondents. Most of the respondents were male (86.3%). Most of the respondent (52.3%) have their highest educational level as the secondary school. Most of the respondents (64.9%) had a poor attitude to occupational safety while 91.6% had poor occupational safety practices. The prevalence of occupational injury was very high (64.9%). Particles in the eyes have the highest prevalence (52.3%) while electric shock has the least prevalence (19.6%).None of the respondent working at a height used safety belt while working. Conclusion: Attitude and practice of occupational safety are poor among this group of workers and prevalence of injuries was high.

Keywords: building, construction, Hazard, injury, workers

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Authors: M A. Habit, S. A. Syed-Sahil, A. Bahari

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Abstract—Laser cutting is a method of manufacturing process that uses laser in order to cut materials. It provides and ensures extreme accuracy which has a clean cut effect, CO2 laser dominate this application due to their good- quality beam combined with high output power. It comes with a small scale and it has a limitation in cutting sizes of materials, therefore it is more appropriate for custom- made products. The same laser cutting machine is also capable in cutting fine material such as fine silk, cotton, leather, polyester, etc. Lack of explorations and knowledge besides being unaware about this technology had caused many of the designers not to use this laser cutting method in their collections. The objectives of this study are: 1) To identify the potential of laser cutting technique in Custom-Made Garments for men’s casual wear: 2) To experiment the laser cutting technique in custom made garments: 3) To offer guidelines and formula for men’s custom- made casualwear designs with aesthetic value. In order to achieve the objectives, this research has been conducted by using mixed methods which are interviews with two (2) local experts in the apparel manufacturing industries and interviews via telephone with five (5) local respondents who are local emerging fashion designers, the questionnaires were distributed to one hundred (100) respondents around Klang Valley, in order to gain the information about their understanding and awareness regarding laser cutting technology. The experiment was conducted by using natural and man- made fibers. As a conclusion, all of the objectives had been achieved in producing custom-made men’s casualwear and with the production of these attires it will help to educate and enhance the innovation in fine technology. Therefore, there will be a good linkage and collaboration between the design experts and the manufacturing companies.

Keywords: custom-made, fashion, laser cut, men’s wear

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Authors: Theresa Adderley

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Background: Aside from abstinence, correct and consistent use of latex condoms is the best known effective method to reduce HIV transmission among sexually active heterosexual individuals. When condoms are correctly used, the risk of HIV transmission is reduced by approximately 85%, relative to risk when not protected during sexual intercourse. The literature provides evidence that heterosexual young adults continue to be the group among whom STI rates are highest and the group that engages in more sexual risk-taking behaviors such as inconsistent or no condom usage. This study examines condom attitudes, condom use self-efficacy and their contributions to safer sex behaviors among heterosexual men living in The Bahamas. Methods: Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, and a convenience sample of 185 heterosexual males (Mage= 31.95, SD = 11.35), three standardized instruments were used to assess behaviors that may not only place heterosexual males at risk for HIV infection but also their female partners. Results: The results of this study suggest that condom attitudes, and condom use self-efficacy are important in explaining 24% variance in safer sex behaviors among Bahamian men. Income (β= -.15, p < .01; condom attitudes, (β= .36, p < .01), and condom use self-efficacy (β= .1, p < .01) were significantly associated with safer sex behaviors. Conclusion: Rather than focusing only on the use of safer sex behaviors, an effective HIV prevention strategy must consider condom attitudes and condom use self-efficacy as specific variables that may contribute to perpetuating the transmission of HIV.

Keywords: condom attitudes, safer sex behaviors, HIV, condom self-efficacy

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Authors: Mohd Bahroddin Badri, Ridzuan Masri

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Despite the existence of large volume of waqf assets, it is argued that the potential of these assets not fully unleashed. There are many waqf assets especially in the form of land waqf that are idle and undeveloped mainly because of the insufficient fund and lack of investment expertise. This paper attempts to explore few cases on the innovation of waqf development in Malaysia and some countries that demonstrate synergistic collaboration between stakeholders, e.g., the government, nazir, Islamic religious councils, corporate entities and Islamic financial institutions for waqf development. This paper shows that cash waqf, corporate waqf, Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Sukuk are found to be contemporary mechanisms within Islamic finance ecosystem that drive and rejuvenate the development of waqf to the next level. It further highlights few samples of waqf Sukuk that were successfully issued in selected countries. This paper also demonstrates that the benefit of waqf is beyond religious matters, which may also include education, healthcare, social care, infrastructure and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. This research is qualitative in nature, whereby the researcher employs descriptive method on the collected data. The researcher applies case study and library research method to collect and analyse data from journal articles, research papers, conference paper and annual reports. In a nutshell, the potential of contemporary models as demonstrated in this paper is very promising, in which the practical application of those instruments should be expanded for the rejuvenation of waqf asset.

Keywords: cash waqf, corporate waqf, Sukuk waqf, build-operate-transfer

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Authors: Jose Gay D. Gallego

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This study examined the learning performance in General Psychology of 297 freshmen of the CPSU-Main through the Pre and Post Tests. The instructional intervention via Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was applied to 33% (97 out of 297) of these freshmen as the Treatment Group while the 67% (200) belonged to the Control Group for traditional instructions. Statistical inferences utilized one-way Analysis of Variance for mean differences; Pearson R Correlations for bivariate relationships, and; Factor Analysis for significant components that contributed most to the Universal Design for Learning instructions. Findings showed very high levels of students’ acquired UDL skills. Results in the pre test in General Psychology, respectively, were low and average when grouped into low and high achievers. There was no significant mean difference in the acquired nine UDL components when categorized into seven colleges to generalize that between colleges they were on the same very high levels. Significant differences were found in three test areas in General Psychology in eight colleges whose students in College of teacher education taking the lead in the learning performance. Significant differences were also traced in the post test in favor of the students in the treatment group. This proved that UDL really impacted the learning performance of the low achieving students. Significant correlations were revealed between the components of UDL and General Psychology. There were twenty four significant itemized components that contributed most to UDL instructional interventions. Implications were emphasized to maximizing the principles of UDL with the contention of thoughtful planning related to the four curricular pillars of UDL: (a) instructional goals, (b) instructional delivery methods, (c) instructional materials, and (d) student assessments.

Keywords: universal design for learning, enhanced performance, teaching innovation, technology in education, social science area

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Authors: Harriet Nalubega, Eddie Mwebesa

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In Uganda, over 90% of people use herbal remedies. Herbal medicine use has been associated with delayed clinical appointments, presentation with advanced cancers, financial constraints, and misdiagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of herbal medicine use and practices amongst cancer patients receiving Palliative Care at Mobile Hospice Mbarara (MHM) and the associated challenges. This was a mixed-methods prospective study conducted in 2022 at MHM, where patients were interviewed, and a questionnaire was completed. 87% of the patients had used herbal medicine. Of these, 83% were female, and 59% had not received formal education. 27% of patients had used herbal remedies for a year or more. 51% of patients who were consuming herbs stopped using them after starting palliative care treatment. Motivations for herbal medicine use were in the hope for a cure in 59%, for pain relief in 30%, and peer influence in 10%. There is a high prevalence of herbal medicine use in Palliative Care. Female gender and lack of formal education were disproportionately associated with herbal remedy use. Most patients consume herbal remedies in search of a cure or to relieve severe pain. Education of cancer patients about herbal remedy use may improve treatment outcomes in Palliative Care.

Keywords: prevalence, herbal medicine, cancer patients, palliative care

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Authors: Atif Mahmood, Mohammad Inayatullah Khan Babar

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Communication infrastructure has been installed, operated, and maintained all over the world according to defined electrical safety standards for separate or joint structures. These safety standards have been set for the safeguard of public, utility workers (employees and contractors), utility facilities, electrical communication equipment’s connected to the utility facilities and other facilities or premise adjacent to utility facilities. Different communication utilities in Pakistan use standards of different countries due to the absence of Common National Electrical Safety Standards of Pakistan. It is really important to devise a framework for implementation of a uniform standard for strict compliance. In this context, it is important to explore the compliance of safety standards for communication conductors and equipment for separate or joint structures for which NESC standards are taken as reference. Specific reference to grounding techniques including grounding AC/DC systems and its frames, leaving Fences, Messenger wires and special circuits used for the protection for lightning etc, ungrounded so recommendations are also given after in-depth analysis of current technical practices for the installation and maintenance of communication infrastructure.

Keywords: utility facilities, grounding electrodes, special circuits, grounding conductor

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Authors: P. S. Thein, S. Pramumijoyo, K. S. Brotopuspito, J. Kiyono, W. Wilopo, A. Furukawa, A. Setianto

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In this study, we estimated the seismic ground motion parameters based on microtremor measurements at Palu City. Several earthquakes have struck along the Palu-Koro Fault during recent years. The USGS epicenter, magnitude Mw 6.3 event that occurred on January 23, 2005 caused several casualties. We conducted a microtremor survey to estimate the strong ground motion distribution during the earthquake. From this survey we produced a map of the peak ground acceleration, velocity, seismic vulnerability index and ground shear strain maps in Palu City. We performed single observations of microtremor at 151 sites in Palu City. We also conducted 8-site microtremors array investigation to gain a representative determination of the soil condition of subsurface structures in Palu City. From the array observations, Palu City corresponds to relatively soil condition with Vs ≤ 300 m/s, the predominant periods due to horizontal vertical ratios (HVSRs) are in the range of 0.4 to 1.8 s and the frequency are in the range of 0.7 to 3.3 Hz. Strong ground motions of the Palu area were predicted based on the empirical stochastic green’s function method. Peak ground acceleration and velocity becomes more than 400 gal and 30 kine in some areas, which causes severe damage for buildings in high probability. Microtremor survey results showed that in hilly areas had low seismic vulnerability index and ground shear strain, whereas in coastal alluvium was composed of material having a high seismic vulnerability and ground shear strain indication.

Keywords: Palu-Koro fault, microtremor, peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, seismic vulnerability index

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Authors: Pram Abhayawardhana, Ali Reza Nazmi, Hossein Najaf Zadeh

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This study examines the use of additive manufacturing (AM) to develop sustainable and intelligent agricultural formulations that can gradually release fertilisers. AM offers the ability to design customised formulations with precise geometries and controlled release properties while taking into account their mechanical, chemical, and environmental properties. The study specifically investigates the use of an aerogel matrix mixed with a potential fertiliser in agriculture. Highly porous 3D printed aerogel structures were designed to enable the slow release of fertilisers. The performance of the formulated mixture is evaluated against other commonly used materials for slow-release applications. The findings suggest that the 3D printed gel made has great potential for slow-release fertilisers, providing an environmentally friendly solution for agricultural practices. The combination of AM technology and sustainable materials can play a vital role in mitigating the negative environmental impact of traditional fertilisers, as well as improving the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production.

Keywords: 3D printing, hydrogel, aerogel, fertiliser, agriculture

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Authors: Dawit Abay Tesfamariam

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Ethiopia’s Climate- Resilient Green Economy strategy focuses mainly on generating and utilization of Renewable Energy (RE). The data collected in 2016 by Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) indicates that the intermittent RE sources on the grid from solar and wind energy were only 8 % of the total energy produced. On the other hand, the EEP electricity generation plan in 2030 indicates that 36 % of the energy generation share will be covered by solar and wind sources. Thus, a case study was initiated to model and compute the balance and consumption of electricity in three different scenarios: 2016, 2025, and 2030 using the Energy PLAN Model (EPM). Initially, the model was validated using the 2016 annual power-generated data to conduct the EPM analysis for two predictive scenarios. The EPM simulation analysis using EPM for 2016 showed that there was no significant excess power generated. Hence, the model’s results are in line with the actual 2016 output. Thus, the EPM was applied to analyze the role of energy storage in RE in Ethiopian grid systems. The results of the EPM simulation analysis showed there will be excess production of 402 /7963 MW average and maximum, respectively, in 2025. The excess power was dominant in all months except in the three rainy months of the year (June, July, and August). Consequently, based on the validated outcomes of EPM indicates, there is a good reason to think about other alternatives for the utilization of excess energy and storage of RE. Thus, from the scenarios and model results obtained, it is realistic to infer that; if the excess power is utilized with a storage mechanism that can stabilize the grid system; as a result, the extra RE generated can be exported to support the economy. Therefore, researchers must continue to upgrade the current and upcoming energy storage system to synchronize with RE potentials that can be generated from RE.

Keywords: renewable energy, storage, wind, energyplan

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Authors: Arthy Vinayakam, Emilda Judith Ezhil Rajan

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Adolescents with epilepsy living in developing country like India face many difficulties on stigma towards the disease. The psychological wellbeing of adolescents who are living with epilepsy has a varied influence on their daily activities and decision-making. Parental involvement with adolescents has always been a subject of caution. The dynamics in adolescents with epilepsy is much varied as their parental aspects has been known to have an impact on their education, socialization and wellbeing. The current study aims to identify the effect of parental styles, how they tend to effect the perception of self-concept that relate to the stigma in adolescents with epilepsy. A sample of 30 adolescents with epilepsy and their parents were taken; a control group of 30 adolescents and their parents were also taken. The General Health Questionnaire -12 was used as a screening for both groups to be included in the study. Parents were evaluated with Parenting Practices Questionnaire (PPQ). Adolescents were administered the Epilepsy Stigma Scale (ESS), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSS) and Adolescent Wellbeing Scale (AWS). Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study highlight the challenges of both parent and their influence on adolescent’s wellbeing. The findings also establish the impact of parenting style on the stigma in adolescents having epilepsy and how this influences their self-concept whereby their emotional strength.

Keywords: epilepsy, parenting style, stigma, wellbeing

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Authors: Enido Fabiano de Ramos, Ieda Kanashiro Makiya, Francisco I. Giocondo Cesar

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This study presents an analysis of the Digital Twin concept applied to the academic environment, focusing on the development of a Digital Twin Smart Campus Framework. Using bibliometric analysis methodologies and literature review, the research investigates the evolution and applications of the Digital Twin in educational contexts, comparing these findings with the advances of Industry 4.0. It was identified gaps in the existing literature and highlighted the need to adapt Digital Twin principles to meet the specific demands of a smart campus. By integrating Industry 4.0 concepts such as automation, Internet of Things, and real-time data analytics, we propose an innovative framework for the successful implementation of the Digital Twin in academic settings. The results of this study provide valuable insights for university campus managers, allowing for a better understanding of the potential applications of the Digital Twin for operations, security, and user experience optimization. In addition, our framework offers practical guidance for transitioning from a digital campus to a digital twin smart campus, promoting innovation and efficiency in the educational environment. This work contributes to the growing literature on Digital Twins and Industry 4.0, while offering a specific and tailored approach to transforming university campuses into smart and connected spaces, high demanded by Society 5.0 trends. It is hoped that this framework will serve as a basis for future research and practical implementations in the field of higher education and educational technology.

Keywords: smart campus, digital twin, industry 4.0, education trends, society 5.0

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Authors: Rajrupa Ghosh, Abhijit Mitra

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Future use of animal protein sources in prawn feeds is expected to be considerably reduced as a consequence of increasing economical, environmental and safety issues. Of main concern has been the use of expensive marine protein sources, such as fish meal which often results in fouling of water quality and disease outbreak in cultured species. To determine prawn capacity to use practical feeds with plant proteins as replacement ingredients to animal protein sources, 8-months growth trial was conducted in two sets of ponds using juvenile (0.02 gm) Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Among the two sets, one set (comprising of three ponds) is experimental pond included formulated feed prepared with 30% Porteresia coarctata dust along with other general ingredients and another set (comprising of another three ponds) is control pond with commercial feed. Mean final weight, percent weight gain, final net yield, feed conversion ratio and survival were evaluated. Higher condition index values, survival rate and gain in prawn weight were observed in experimental pond compared to control pond. Low FCR values were observed in the experimental pond than the control pond. Evaluation of production parameters at the end of the study demonstrated significant differences (P ≥ 0.05) among two ponds. The variation may be attributed to specially formulated plant based feed that not only boosted up the growth of prawns, but also upgraded the ambient aquatic health. These results indicate that fish meal can be replaced with algal protein sources in diets without affecting prawn growth and production.

Keywords: macrobrachium rosenbergii, porteresia coarctata, Indian sundarbans, feed

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Authors: Inten Meutia, Emylia Yuniarti

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The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of interest rate, the rate of return of Islamic banks on the amount of mudarabah deposits in Islamic banks. In analyzing the effect of rate of return in the Islamic banks and interest rate risk in the conventional banks, the 1-month Islamic deposit rate of return and 1 month fixed deposit interest rate of a total Islamic deposit are considered. Using data covering the period from January 2010 to Sepember 2013, the study applies the regression analysis to analyze the effect between variable and independence t-test to analyze the mean difference between rate of return and rate of interest. Regression analysis shows that rate of return have significantly negative influence on mudarabah deposits, while interest rate have negative influence but not significant. The result of independent t test shows that the interest rate is not different from the rate of return in Islamic Bank. It supports the hyphotesis that rate of return in Islamic banking mimic rate of interest in conventional bank. The results of the study have important implications on the risk management practices of the Islamic banks in Indonesia.

Keywords: conventional bank, interest rate, Islamic bank, rate of return

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Authors: Farah Ali, Tehreem Fayyaz, Musadiq Idris

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The present work was undertaken to investigate effects of various extracts of W. somniferafor anti-diabetic activity in alloxan induced diabetic rabbits. Rabbits were acclimatized for a week to standard laboratory temperature. Animals were fed according to a strict schedule (8 am, 3 pm and 10 pm) with green fodder (Medicago sativa) and tap water ad libitum. Animals were divided into nine groups of six rabbits each in a random manner. Body weights and physical activities of all rabbits were recorded before start of experiments. The animals of group 1 and 2 were given lactose (250 mg/kg,p.o) and Withaniasomniferaroot powder (100 mg/kg, p.o) respectively daily from day 1-20. Animals of group 3 were given alloxan (100 mg/kg,i.v) as a single dose on day 1. Powdered root of Withaniasomnifera in the doses of 100, 150, 200 mg/kg and its aqueous and ethanol extracts (equivalent to 200 mg/kg of crude drug) were given to the treated animals (groups 4-8), respectively by oral route for three weeks (day 1-20o.d), along with alloxan (100 mg/kg, i.v) as a single dose on day 1. Group 9 was treated with metformin (200 mg/kg, p.o) daily from day 1-20, along with a single dose of alloxan (100 mg/ kg, i.v) on day 1. Fasting serum glucose concentration in groups 3-9 was increased significantly (p<0.05) on day 3, with a maximum increase (215.3 mg/dl) in animals of toxic control (TC) group (3) on day 21 of the experiment as compared to normal control (NC) group (1). Effects of different doses (100, 150, 200 mg/kg, p.o) of W. somnifera root powder (WS) decreased the fasting serum glucose concentration as compared to toxic control group, with a maximum decrease (88.3 mg/dl) in group 2 (treated control) on day 21 of the experiment. Metformin (200 mg/kg, p.o) (reference control), aqueous extract (AWS) and ethanol extract (EWS) of W. somnifera (equivalent to 100 mg/kg W.somnifera root, p.o) antagonized the effects of alloxan as compared to toxic control group. These results indicate that the W. somnifera possess significant anti –diabetic activity.

Keywords: diabetes, serum, glucose, blood, sugar, rabbits

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Authors: Sadia Aziz, Mahwish Ali, Safia Ahmed

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Comparing other methods of waste water treatment, constructed wetlands are one of the most fascinating practices because being a natural process they are eco-friendly have low construction and maintenance cost and have considerable capability of wastewater treatment. The current research was focused mainly on comparison of Ranunculus muricatus and Typha latifolia as wetland plants for domestic wastewater treatment by designing and constructing efficient pilot scale HSSF mesocosms. Parameters like COD, BOD5, PO4, SO4, NO3, NO2, and pathogenic indicator microbes were studied continuously with successive treatments. Treatment efficiency of the system increases with passage of time and with increase in temperature. Efficiency of T. latifolia planted setups in open environment was fairly good for parameters like COD and BOD5 which was showing up to 82.5% for COD and 82.6% for BOD5 while DO was increased up to 125%. Efficiency of R. muricatus vegetated setup was also good but lowers than that of T. latifolia planted showing 80.95% removal of COD and BOD5. Ranunculus muricatus was found effective in reducing bacterial count in wastewater. Both macrophytes were found promising in wastewater treatment.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, wetland, mesocosms study, wetland plants

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Authors: B. Nazari, M. A. Mohammadifar, S. Shojaee-Aliabadi, L. Mirmoghtadaie

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Millets as a new source of plant protein were not used in food applications due to its poor functional properties. In this study, the effect of high intensity ultrasound (frequency: 20 kHz, with contentious flow) (US) in 100% amplitude for varying times (5, 12.5, and 20 min) on solubility, emulsifying activity index (EAI), emulsion stability (ES), foaming capacity (FC), and foaming stability (FS) of millet protein concentrate (MPC) were evaluated. In addition, the structural properties of best treatments such as molecular weight and surface charge were compared with the control sample to prove the US effect. The US treatments significantly (P<0.05) increased the solubility of the native MPC (65.8±0.6%) at all sonicated times with the maximum solubility that is recorded at 12.5 min treatment (96.9±0.82 %). The FC of MPC was also significantly affected by the US treatment. Increase in sonicated time up to 12.5 min significantly increased the FC of native MPC (271.03±4.51 ml), but higher increase reduced it significantly. Minimal improvements were observed in the FS of all sonicated MPC compared to the native MPC. Sonicated time for 12.5 min affected the EAI and ES of the native MPC more markedly than 5 and 20 min that may be attributed to higher increase in proteins tendency to adsorption at the oil and water interfaces after the US treatment at this time. SDS-PAGE analysis showed changes in the molecular weight of MPC that attributed to shearing forces created by cavitation phenomenon. Also, this phenomenon caused an increase in the exposure of more amino acids with negative charge in the surface of US treated MPC, that was demonstrated by Zetasizer data. High intensity ultrasound, as a green technology, can significantly increase the functional properties of MPC and can make this usable for food applications.

Keywords: functional properties, high intensity ultrasound, millet protein concentrate, structural properties

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Authors: Farouk A. N. Bouhadiba

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This work addresses the issue of the LMD(Licence, Master, Doctorat) in Algeria and the impact it has had on education quality in terms of educational affect and effect. It starts with a brief introduction to the financial means, the educational settings, and the social environment in place when the LMD was institutionalized in Algeria (2003-2004). Some factors for the success or failure of this top-down institutional endeavor are examined and analyzed. These include – among other factors - the teacher/student attitudes, apprehensions, and motivations on the one hand and the institutional euphoria for the LMD in Algeria on the other hand. Some issues at stake are discussed. More specifically, the professional versus the student affect on today’s attitudes, interests, and values is examined as a result of nearly two decades of LMD teaching and learning in Algerian universities. We shall then present some official curricula that, in terms of content, reflect the spirit, principles, and architectures of the LMD but which, in reality, are partially, if not fully, set aside when it comes to teaching practices, learning behaviors, motivation, and evaluation. The discussion on effect highlights attitudinal, developmental, and social markers that are indicative of the extent to which Education Quality in Algeria has been positively or negatively affected by the implementation of the LMD.

Keywords: LMD bachelor's masters doctorat, affects and effects, education quality, Algeria

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Authors: Ionel Zagan, Vasile Gheorghita Gaitan, Adrian Brezulianu

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This paper presents the contributions in designing a mobile system named Tele-ECG implemented for remote monitoring of cardiac patients. For a better flexibility of this application, the authors chose to implement a local memory and multiple communication interfaces. The project described in this presentation is based on the ARM Cortex M0+ microcontroller and the ADAS1000 dedicated chip necessary for the collection and transmission of Electrocardiogram signals (ECG) from the patient to the microcontroller, without altering the performances and the stability of the system. The novelty brought by this paper is the implementation of a remote monitoring system for cardiac patients, having a real-time behavior and multiple interfaces. The microcontroller is responsible for processing digital signals corresponding to ECG and also for the implementation of communication interface with the main server, using GSM/Bluetooth SIMCOM SIM800C module. This paper translates all the characteristics of the Tele-ECG project representing a feasible implementation in the biomedical field. Acknowledgment: This paper was supported by the project 'Development and integration of a mobile tele-electrocardiograph in the GreenCARDIO© system for patients monitoring and diagnosis - m-GreenCARDIO', Contract no. BG58/30.09.2016, PNCDI III, Bridge Grant 2016, using the infrastructure from the project 'Integrated Center for research, development and innovation in Advanced Materials, Nanotechnologies, and Distributed Systems for fabrication and control', Contract No. 671/09.04.2015, Sectoral Operational Program for Increase of the Economic Competitiveness co-funded from the European Regional Development Fund.

Keywords: Tele-ECG, real-time cardiac monitoring, electrocardiogram, microcontroller

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Authors: Yas Barzegar, Atrin Barzegar

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Drinking water quality assessment is a major issue today; technology and practices are continuously improving; Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods prove their efficiency in this domain. The current research seeks a hierarchical fuzzy model for predicting drinking water quality in Rome (Italy). The Mamdani fuzzy inference system (FIS) is applied with different defuzzification methods. The Proposed Model includes three fuzzy intermediate models and one fuzzy final model. Each fuzzy model consists of three input parameters and 27 fuzzy rules. The model is developed for water quality assessment with a dataset considering nine parameters (Alkalinity, Hardness, pH, Ca, Mg, Fluoride, Sulphate, Nitrates, and Iron). Fuzzy-logic-based methods have been demonstrated to be appropriate to address uncertainty and subjectivity in drinking water quality assessment; it is an effective method for managing complicated, uncertain water systems and predicting drinking water quality. The FIS method can provide an effective solution to complex systems; this method can be modified easily to improve performance.

Keywords: water quality, fuzzy logic, smart cities, water attribute, fuzzy inference system, membership function

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Authors: A. Asambe

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A study was conducted to determine the level of compliance with sanitary measures in piggeries, and awareness and risk factors of African swine fever in Benue State, Nigeria. Questionnaires were distributed to 74 respondents consisting of piggery owners and attendants in different piggeries across 12 LGAs to collect data for this study. Sanitary measures in piggeries were observed to be generally very poor, though respondents admitted being aware of ASF. Piggeries located within a 1 km radius of a slaughter slab (OR=9.2, 95% CI - 3.0-28.8), piggeries near refuse dump sites (OR=3.0, 95% CI - 1.0-9.5) and piggeries where farm workers wear their work clothes outside of the piggery premises (OR=0.2, 95% CI - 0.1-0.7) showed higher chances of ASFV infection and were significantly associated (p < 0.0001), (p < 0.05) and (p < 0.01), and were identified as potential risk factors. The study concluded that pigs in Benue State are still at risk of an ASF outbreak. Proper sanitary and hygienic practices is advocated and emphasized in piggeries, while routine surveillance for ASFV antibodies in pigs in Benue State is strongly recommended to provide a reliable reference data base to plan for the prevention of any devastating ASF outbreak.

Keywords: African swine fever, awareness, piggery, risk factors, sanitary measures

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Authors: Amira D. Ali

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Action research studies in education often address learners’ needs and empower practitioner-researcher to effectively change instructional practices and school communities. A systematic review of action research (AR) studies undertaken in EFL/ESL settings was conducted in this paper to systematically analyze empirical studies on action research published within a ten-year period (between 2010 and 2019). The review also aimed at investigating the focal strategies in teaching the language skills at school level and evaluating the overall quality of AR studies concerning focus, purpose, methodology and contribution. Inclusion criteria were established and 41 studies that fit were finally selected for the systematic review. Garrard’s (2007) Matrix Method was used to structure and synthesize the literature. Results showed a significant diversity in teaching strategies and implementation of the AR model. Almost a quarter of the studies focused on improving writing skills at elementary school level. In addition, findings revealed that (44%) of the studies used a mixed approach followed by qualitative method approach (41%), whereas only (15%) employed quantitative methodology. Research gaps for future action research in developing language skills were pointed out, and recommendations were offered.

Keywords: action research, EFL/ESL context, language skills, systematic review

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Authors: Md. Rifat-Ur- Rahman

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Dhamairnagar, Sirajganj, Bangladesh, local villagers describe the peculiar mounds spotted scattered among the nearby villages as “Buruj”. Among these, a mound was explored in one of these mounds, in Khirtala village, in early 2019. Primary archaeological surveys and map making has been conducted in this site, where suspect lays the remains of an 8 square miles city, at least 1200 years old. In the government gazettes of Bangladesh from 1990, this place has been linked with a mythical kind from the Indian epic, Mahabharata. In the primary explorations, found bricks, mortars, different kinds of potteries and terracotta pieces. Assumable observation is that this city was a flourishing establishment during the early Pala dynasty of Bengal (800 AD to 1200 AD). At present there are four indigenous groups live around this site and they are known as Mahato, Teli, Oraon and Santals. These four indigenous groups are considered as the core four of Bengali ethnicity. In the folklore of these groups we find stories of ancient kingdoms which have not been documented through archaeological findings yet. So, a question rises about the population that was used to reside in this archaeological site. Were they the ancestors of these indigenous tribes that are dwelling in this area? With such primary information, the aim is to conduct a comparative study of the physiology; osteology and cultural practices of this civilization.

Keywords: Archaeology, Heritage, Indigenous Peoples, Physiology

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Authors: Anita Kéri

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Recent developments in the field of education have led to a renewed interest in teaching methodologies and practices. Gamification is fast becoming a key instrument in the education of new generations and besides other methods, serious games have become the center of attention. Ready-built serious games are available for most higher education institutions to buy and implement. However, monetary restraints and the unalterable nature of the games might deter most higher education institutions from the application of these serious games. Therefore, there is a continuously growing need for a customizable serious game that has been developed based on a concrete need analysis and experts’ opinion. There has been little evidence so far of serious games that have been created based on relevant and current need analysis from higher education institution teachers, professional practitioners and students themselves. Therefore, the aim of this current paper is to analyze the needs of higher education institution educators with special emphasis on their needs, the applicability of serious games in their classrooms, and exploring options for the development of a customizable serious game framework. The paper undertakes to analyze workshop discussions on implementing serious games in education and propose a customizable serious game framework applicable in the education of the new generation. Research results show that the most important feature of a serious game is its customizability. The fact that practitioners are able to manage different scenarios and upload their own content to a game seems to be a key to the increasingly widespread application of serious games in the classroom.

Keywords: education, gamification, game-based learning, serious games

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Authors: Dana Lee, Young Chan Kim

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the fashion corporate social responsibility (CSR) ad framing and consumer purchase behaviours with the focus on consumer’s concern and involvement towards fashion brands. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to 200 respondents. Factor analysis and other statistical analyses were applied to test hypotheses. The results suggested that the quality of the product was the most important factor when consumers purchase fashion brand products with high level of responsibility towards unethical practices but surprisingly favourability for fast fashion. Unexpectedly, it was shown that consumers took the plenty of blame, but not much responsibility on buying fast fashion evading their responsibility to CSR ad, and their purchase intentions remained unchanged. The result, on the other hand, showed that fashion CSR ads can significantly moderate individuals’ emotions even though this had no significant correlation with the purchase intentions. Despite the limited sample size and geographical region, this research has important implications for contemporary fashion brands that use ad framing to understand how consumers’ involvement and concernedness toward the CSR actions in ad, influence their favourability (purchase intention) for fashion brands.

Keywords: framing effect, CSR advertisements, consumer behaviour, purchase intention

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Authors: Rasika Dayarathna

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Computing has reached every corner of our lives in many forms. The Internet, particularly Social Media, Artificial Intelligence, are prominent among them. As a result, computing has changed our lives and it is expected that severe changes will take place in the coming years. It has introduced a new set of ethical challenges and amplified the existing ethical challenges. It is the duty of everyone involved from conceptualizing, designing, implementing, deploying, and using to follow generally accepted practices in order to avoid or minimize harm and improve the quality of life. Since computing in various forms mentioned above has a significant impact on our lives, various codes of conduct and standards have been introduced. Among many, the ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is a leading one. This was drafted for everyone, including aspiring computing professionals. However, teaching a code of conduct for aspiring computing professionals is very challenging since this universal code needs to be taught for young computing professionals in a local setting where there are value mismatches and exposure to information systems. This paper discusses the importance of teaching the code, how to overcome the challenges, and suggestions to improve the code to make it more appealing and buying in. It is expected that the improved approach would contribute to improving the quality of life.

Keywords: code of conduct, professionalism, ethics, code of ethics, ethics education, moral development

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Authors: Jafar Akbari

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Quinolines are very important compounds partially because of their pharmacological properties which include wide applications in medicinal chemistry. notable among them are antimalarial drugs, anti-inflammatory agents, antiasthamatic, antibacterial, antihypertensive, and tyrosine kinase inhibiting agents. Despite quinoline usage in pharmaceutical and other industries, comparatively few methods for their preparation have been reported.The Friedlander annulation is one of the simplest and most straightforward methods for the synthesis of poly substituted quinolines. Although, modified methods employing lewis or br¢nsted acids have been reported for the synthesis of quinolines, the development of water stable acidic catalyst for quinoline synthesis is quite desirable. One of the most remarkable features of ionic liquids is that the yields can be optimized by changing the anions or the cations. Recently, sulfonic acid functionalized ionic liquids were used as solvent-catalyst for several organic reactions. We herein report the one pot domino approach for the synthesis of quinoline derivatives in Friedlander manner using TSIL as a catalyst. These ILs are miscible in water, and their homogeneous system is readily separated from the reaction product, combining advantages of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. In this reaction, the catalyst plays a dual role; it ensures an effective condensation and cyclization of 2-aminoaryl ketone with second carbonyl group and it also promotes the aromatization to the final product. Various types of quinolines from 2-aminoaryl ketones and β-ketoesters/ketones were prepared in 85-98% yields using the catalytic system of SO3-H functionalized ionic liquid/H2O. More importantly, the catalyst could be easily recycled for five times without loss of much activity.

Keywords: antimalarial drugs, green chemistry, ionic liquid, quinolines

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Authors: Apurba Kanti Chowdhury, Taslima Zahan

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The inclusion of mungbean in a cropping pattern not only increases the cropping intensity but also enriches soil health as well as ensures nutrition for the fast-growing population of Bangladesh. A study was conducted in the farmers’ field during 2013-14 and 2014-15 to observe the performance of four-crop based improve cropping pattern Potato-Mungbean-Jute -t.aman rice against the existing cropping pattern Potato-Jute -t.aman rice at Domar, Nilphamari followed by randomized complete block design with three replications. Two years study revealed that inclusion of mungbean and better management practices in improved cropping pattern provided higher economic benefit over the existing pattern by 73.1%. Moreover, the average yield of potato increased in the improved pattern by 64.3% compared to the existing pattern; however yield of jute and t.aman rice in improved pattern declined by 5.6% and 10.7% than the existing pattern, respectively. Nevertheless, the additional yield of mungbean in the improved pattern helped to increase rice equivalent yield of the whole pattern by 38.7% over the existing pattern. Thus, the addition of mungbean in the existing pattern Potato-Jute -t.aman rice seems to be profitable for the farmers and also might be sustainable if the market channel of mungbean developed.

Keywords: crop diversity, food nutrition, production efficiency, yield improvement

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Authors: Simeon Karafolas, Maciej Woźniak

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Mostly of public financing programs at national and regional level are funded from European Union sources. EU can participate directly to a national and regional program (example LEADER initiative, URBAN…) or indirectly by funding regional or national funds. Funds from European Union are provided from EU multiannual financial framework form which the annual budget is programmed. The adjusted program 2007-2013 of the EU considered commitments of almost 1 trillion Euros for the EU-28 countries. Provisions of the new program 2014-2020 consider commitments of more than 1 trillion Euros. Sustainable growth, divided to Cohesion and Competitiveness for Growth an Employment, is one of the two principal categories; the other is the preservation and management of natural resources. Through this financing process SMEs benefited of EU and public sources by receiving grants for their investments. Most of the financial instruments are available indirectly through the national financial intermediaries. Part of them is managed by the European Investment Fund. The paper focuses on the public financing to SMEs by examining case studies on divers forms of public help. It tries to distinguish the efficiency of the examined good practices and therefore try to have some conclusions on the possibility of application to other regions.

Keywords: DIFASS, grants, SMEs, public financing

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