Search results for: modern wireless communication

Authors: Nahid Nariman

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The prosperity of any nation depends on its ability to use human potential, in particular, to offer an education that builds learners' competencies to become effective workforce participants and true citizens of the world. Ever since the Second World War, the United States has been a dominant player in the world politically, economically, socially, and culturally. The rapid rise of technological advancement and consumer technologies have made it clear that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) play a crucial role in today’s world economy. Exploring the top qualities demanded from new hires in the industry—i.e., problem-solving skills, teamwork, dependability, adaptability, technical and communication skills— sheds light on the kind of path that is needed for a successful educational system to effectively support STEM. The focus of 21st century education has been to build student competencies by preparing them to acquire and apply knowledge, to think critically and creatively, to competently use information, be able to work in teams, to demonstrate intellectual and moral values as well as cultural awareness, and to be able to communicate. Many educational reforms pinpoint various 'ideal' pathways toward STEM that educators, policy makers, and business leaders have identified for educating the workforce of tomorrow. This study will explore how problem-based learning (PBL), an instructional strategy developed in the medical field and adopted with many successful results in K-12 through higher education, is the proper approach to stimulate underrepresented high school students' interest in pursuing STEM careers. In the current study, the effect of a problem-based STEM model on students' attitudes and career interests was investigated using qualitative and quantitative methods. The participants were 71 low-income, native Hawaiian high school students who would be first-generation college students. They were attending a summer STEM camp developed as the result of a collaboration between the University of Hawaii and the Upward Bound Program. The project, funded by the National Science Foundation's Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program, used PBL as an approach in challenging students to engage in solving hands-on, real-world problems in their communities. Pre-surveys were used before camp and post-surveys on the last day of the program to learn about the implementation of the PBL STEM model. A Career Interest Questionnaire provided a way to investigate students’ career interests. After the summer camp, a representative selection of students participated in focus group interviews to discuss their opinions about the PBL STEM camp. The findings revealed a significantly positive increase in students' attitudes towards STEM disciplines and STEM careers. The students' interview results also revealed that students identified PBL to be an effective form of instruction in their learning and in the development of their 21st-century skills. PBL was acknowledged for making the class more enjoyable and for raising students' interest in STEM careers, while also helping them develop teamwork and communication skills in addition to scientific knowledge. As a result, the integration of PBL and a STEM learning experience was shown to positively affect students’ interest in STEM careers.

Keywords: problem-based learning, science education, STEM, underrepresented students

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Authors: Habib Noorbhai

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History of Cricket: Cricket has a known history spanning from the 16th century till present, with international matches having been played since 1844. The game of cricket arrived in Australia as soon as colonization began in 1788. Cricketers started playing on turf wickets in the late 1800’s and dimensions for both the boundary and pitch later became assimilated. As the years evolved, cricket bats and balls, protective equipment, playing surfaces and the three formats of the game adapted to the playing conditions and laws of cricket. Business of Cricket: During the late 1900's, the shorter version of the game (T20) was introduced in order to attract the crowds to stadiums and television viewers for broadcasting rights. One could argue if this was merely a business venture or a platform for enhancing the performance of cricketers. Between the 16th and 20th century, cricket was a common sport played for passion and pure enjoyment. Industries saw a potential in diversified business ventures in the game (as well as other sports played globally) and cricket subsequently became a career for players, administrators and coaches, the media, health professionals, managers and the corporate world. Pros and Cons of Cricket Developments: At present, the game has significantly gained from the use of technology, sports sciences and varied mechanisms to optimize the performances and forecast frameworks for injury prevention in cricket players. Unfortunately, these had not been utilized in the earlier times of cricket and it would prove interesting to observe how the greats of the game would have benefited with such developments. Cricketers in the 21st century are faced with many overwhelming commitments. One of these is playing cricket for 11 months in a year, making it more than 250 days away from home and their families. As the demand of player contracts increase, the supply of commitment and performances from players increase. Way Forward and Future Implications: The questions are: Are such disadvantages contributing to the overload and injury risks of players? How far have we really come in the cricketing world or has everything since the game’s inception become institutionalized with a business model? These are the fundamental questions which need to be addressed and legislation, policies and ethical considerations need to be drafted and implemented. These will ensure that there is equilibrium of effective transitions and management of not only the players, but also the credibility of the wonderful game.

Keywords: enterprising business of cricket, technology, legislation, credibility

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Authors: Claudio Loconsole, Daniele Leonardis, Antonio Brunetti, Gianpaolo Francesco Trotta, Nicholas Caporusso, Vitoantonio Bevilacqua

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Unfortunately, many people still do not have access to communication, with specific regard to reading and writing. Among them, people who are blind or visually impaired, have several difficulties in getting access to the world, compared to the sighted. Indeed, despite technology advancement and cost reduction, nowadays assistive devices are still expensive such as Braille-based input/output systems which enable reading and writing texts (e.g., personal notes, documents). As a consequence, assistive technology affordability is fundamental in supporting the visually impaired in communication, learning, and social inclusion. This, in turn, has serious consequences in terms of equal access to opportunities, freedom of expression, and actual and independent participation to a society designed for the sighted. Moreover, the visually impaired experience difficulties in recognizing objects and interacting with devices in any activities of daily living. It is not a case that Braille indications are commonly reported only on medicine boxes and elevator keypads. Several software applications for the automatic translation of written text into speech (e.g., Text-To-Speech - TTS) enable reading pieces of documents. However, apart from simple tasks, in many circumstances TTS software is not suitable for understanding very complicated pieces of text requiring to dwell more on specific portions (e.g., mathematical formulas or Greek text). In addition, the experience of reading\writing text is completely different both in terms of engagement, and from an educational perspective. Statistics on the employment rate of blind people show that learning to read and write provides the visually impaired with up to 80% more opportunities of finding a job. Especially in higher educational levels, where the ability to digest very complex text is key, accessibility and availability of Braille plays a fundamental role in reducing drop-out rate of the visually impaired, thus affecting the effectiveness of the constitutional right to get access to education. In this context, the Braille Lab project aims at overcoming these social needs by including affordability in designing and developing assistive tools for visually impaired people. In detail, our awarded project focuses on a technology innovation of the operation principle of existing assistive tools for the visually impaired leaving the Human-Machine Interface unchanged. This can result in a significant reduction of the production costs and consequently of tool selling prices, thus representing an important opportunity for social entrepreneurship. The first two assistive tools designed within the Braille Lab project following the proposed approach aims to provide the possibility to personally print documents and handouts and to read texts written in Braille using refreshable Braille display, respectively. The former, named ‘Braille Cartridge’, represents an alternative solution for printing in Braille and consists in the realization of an electronic-controlled dispenser printing (cartridge) which can be integrated within traditional ink-jet printers, in order to leverage the efficiency and cost of the device mechanical structure which are already being used. The latter, named ‘Braille Cursor’, is an innovative Braille display featuring a substantial technology innovation by means of a unique cursor virtualizing Braille cells, thus limiting the number of active pins needed for Braille characters.

Keywords: Human rights, social challenges and technology innovations, visually impaired, affordability, assistive tools

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Authors: R. Ramesh, K. K. Shivaraman

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The main aim of this paper is to handle the energy requirement in an efficient manner by merging the advanced digital communication and control technologies for smart grid applications. In order to reduce user home load during peak load hours, utility applies several incentives such as real-time pricing, time of use, demand response for residential customer through smart meter. However, this method provides inconvenience in the sense that user needs to respond manually to prices that vary in real time. To overcome these inconvenience, this paper proposes a convolutional neural network (CNN) with k-means clustering machine learning model which have ability to forecast energy requirement in short term, i.e., hour of the day or day of the week. By integrating our proposed technique with home energy management based on Bluetooth low energy provides predicted value to user for scheduling appliance in advanced. This paper describes detail about CNN configuration and k-means clustering algorithm for short-term energy forecasting.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, fuzzy logic, k-means clustering approach, smart home energy management

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Authors: Sushil K. Sharma, Jeff Zhang, Saeed Tabar

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Worldwide, several governments are utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) to create smart city infrastructures to improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare. Over 700 cities from around the world have already started implementing their smart city projects. Smart City utilizes the network of connected things, or the Internet of Things (IoT), that interconnects devices and various components across city infrastructure, making them work together seamlessly to enhance the quality, performance, and interactivity of urban services, optimize resources, and reduce costs. Without developing smart cities, the accelerating growth of cities, and their disproportionate consumption of physical and social resources are unsustainable. In 2016, the Indian Government released a list of 100 cities with the intention of kick-starting the process of developing them into 'smart cities’ as part of the Smart Cities Mission. This study reports the progress and challenges of Smart City projects in India. The data were collected through the city/state government websites, media reports, and focus group discussions/interviews. The preliminary results indicate that smart city projects are not only behind in their implementation and scope but also lacks the sincerity for its implementation.

Keywords: smart city, smart government, Internet of Things, digital government

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Authors: Philip A. Szlosek, M. Susan Guyer, Mary G. Barnum, Elizabeth M. Mullin

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In the United States, athletic training is a healthcare profession that encompasses the prevention, examination, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Athletic trainers work under the direction of or in collaboration with a physician and are recognized by the American Medical Association as allied healthcare professionals. Internationally, this profession is often known as athletic therapy. As healthcare professionals, athletic trainers must be prepared for autonomous practice immediately after graduation. However, new athletic trainers have been shown to have clinical areas of strength and weakness.To better assess professional readiness and improve the preparedness of new athletic trainers, the factors of athletic training professional readiness must be defined. Limited research exists defining the holistic aspects of professional readiness needed for athletic trainers. Confirming the factors of professional readiness in athletic training could enhance the professional preparation of athletic trainers and result in more highly prepared new professionals. The objective of this study was to further explore and confirm the factors of professional readiness in athletic training. Authors useda qualitative design based in grounded theory. Participants included athletic trainers with greater than 24 months of experience from a variety of work settings from each district of the National Athletic Trainer’s Association. Participants took the demographic questionnaire electronically using Qualtrics Survey Software (Provo UT). After completing the demographic questionnaire, 20 participants were selected to complete one-on-one interviews using GoToMeeting audiovisual web conferencing software. IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, v. 21.0) was used to calculate descriptive statistics for participant demographics. The first author transcribed all interviews verbatim and utilized a grounded theory approach during qualitative data analysis. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative analysis and open and axial coding. Trustworthiness was established using reflexivity, member checks, and peer reviews. Analysis revealed four overarching themes, including management, interpersonal relations, clinical decision-making, and confidence. Management was categorized as athletic training services not involving direct patient care and was divided into three subthemes, including administration skills, advocacy, and time management. Interpersonal Relations was categorized as the need and ability of the athletic trainer to properly interact with others. Interpersonal relations was divided into three subthemes, including personality traits, communication, and collaborative practice. Clinical decision-making was categorized as the skills and attributes required by the athletic trainer whenmaking clinical decisions related to patient care. Clinical decision-making was divided into three subthemes including clinical skills, continuing education, and reflective practice. The final theme was confidence. Participants discussed the importance of confidence regarding relationships building, clinical and administrative duties, and clinical decision-making. Overall, participants explained the value of a well-rounded athletic trainer and emphasized that athletic trainers need communication and organizational skills, the ability to collaborate, and must value self-reflection and continuing education in addition to having clinical expertise. Future research should finalize a comprehensive model of professional readiness for athletic training, develop a holistic assessment instrument for athletic training professional readiness, and explore the preparedness of new athletic trainers.

Keywords: autonomous practice, newly certified athletic trainer, preparedness for professional practice, transition to practice skills

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Authors: Qi Wang

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Chinese has become a powerful worldwide language and millions of learners are studying it all over the words. Chinese is a tone language with unique meaningful characters, which makes foreign learners master it with more difficulties. On the other hand, as each foreign language, the learners of Chinese first will learn the basic Chinese Sound Structure (the initials and finals, tones, Neutral Tone and Tone Sandhi). It’s quite common that in the following studies, teachers made a lot of efforts on drilling and error correcting, in order to help students to pronounce correctly, but ignored the training of suprasegmental features (e.g. stress, intonation). This paper analysed the oral data based on our graduation students (two-year program) from 2006-2013, presents the intonation pattern of our graduates to speak Chinese as second language -high and plain with heavy accents, without lexical stress, appropriate stop endings and intonation, which led to the misunderstanding in different real contexts of communications and the international official Chinese test, e.g. HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test), HSKK (HSK Speaking Test). This paper also demonstrated how the Chinese to use the suprasegmental features strategically in different functions and moods (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory and rhetorical intonations) in order to train the learners to achieve better Communicative Performance.

Keywords: second language learning, suprasegmental, communication, HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test)

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Authors: Vitor S. Mendonca, Maria Luisa S. Schmidt

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The Brazilian medical profession is viewed as being error-free, so healthcare professionals who commit an error are condemned there. Medical errors occur frequently in the Brazilian healthcare system, so identifying better options for handling this issue has become of interest primarily for physicians. The purpose of this study is to better understand the tensions involved in the fear of making an error due to the harm and risk this would represent for those involved. A qualitative study was performed by means of the narratives of the lived experiences of ten acting physicians in the State of Sao Paulo. The concept and characterization of errors were discussed, together with the fear of making an error, the near misses or error in itself, how to deal with errors and what to do to avoid them. The analysis indicates an excessive pressure in the medical profession for error-free practices, with a well-established physician-patient relationship to facilitate the management of medical errors. The error occurs, but a lack of information and discussion often leads to its concealment due to fear or possible judgment by society or peers. The establishment of programs that encourage appropriate medical conduct in the event of an error requires coherent answers for humanization in Brazilian medical science. It is necessary to improve the discussion about medical errors and disseminate models of communication and notification of errors in Brazil.

Keywords: medical error, narrative, physician-patient relationship, qualitative research

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Authors: Pei-Jun Xue, Ming-Yu Hsiao

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Language is the emblem of a culture, representing the extension of cultural life. In addition, it is also an important tool for communication and message transmission. It carries not only information but also covers the self-conscious of the information constructor as well as the situational experiences of users from different backgrounds. Moreover, design can be regarded as a language, a dynamic process of coding and decoding. With the designers’ experiences in everyday life, they bring them into the products’ experiences. Considered from the aspects of atmosphere and the five senses, a designer should consider and reconsider how to communicate the messages effectively to suit the users’ needs. In the process of language learning, we should understand the construction behind it and the rules of the compositions of language codes. Regarding the understanding of the design of works or the form of product construction, it is necessary for us to understand the coding system during the process of product construction. The form (signifiers) and meanings (signified) of Chinese characters are closely related. At the same time, it is also a process of simplifying the complicated to the simple. This study discusses the chinese characters that used in the cultural symbols construction, and analysis of existing products by Peirce's semiotic triangles. Through people's cognition of Chinese characters and constitute method, help to understand the way of construction product symbol.

Keywords: cultural-creative product design, cultural product, cultural symbols, linguistic symbols

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Authors: Hüseyin Altubaş, Hasret Aktaş, A. Mücahid Zengin

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Children determine the direction of the power of consumption. They affect the decisions of their parents but they also reached to a significant purchasing power themselves. Children, who are turning interactive behavior to normal behavior are becoming the decision makers in a company’s survival. Companies that analyze this effective target audience can communicate successfully with children. Children, who are interactive individuals, are closer to advertising. They are almost talking better with advertising. They are not afraid to express their likings, as well as their dislikes. Children have an interactive lifestyle and they were exposed to the vast changes in technology after year 2000. They do not know a life without internet, they spend mobile life in internet. This Z generation is the new determinants of brands. Z generation finds it appropriate to be brand ambassadors and they completely changed traditional media and traditional consumer behavior. These children live social reality with virtual reality and they feed brands differently. Brands that interact with Z generation are affected by this feeding positively, while brands that keep interaction in traditional levels are affected negatively. In this research we examine the communication, advertising and brand behaviors of Z generation. We especially analyze this generation’s interaction with social media brands and their interactive attitudes.

Keywords: social media, Z generation, children, advertising, brand choice

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Authors: Sisira Edirippulige

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Background: Digital health education and training (DHET) is imperative for preparing current and future clinicians to work competently in digitally enabled environments. Despite rapid integration of digital health in modern health services, systematic education and training opportunities for health workers is still lacking. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate healthcare professionals’ perspectives and expectations regarding the knowledge, skills and competency needs in digital health for current and future healthcare workforce. Methods: A qualitative study design with semi-structured individual interviews was employed. A purposive sample method was adopted to collect relevant information from the health workers. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) was followed when we reported this study. Results: Two themes emerged while analysing the data: (1) what to teach in DHET and (2) how to teach DHET. Overall, healthcare professionals agreed that DHET is important for preparing current and future clinicians for working competently in digitally enabled environments. Knowledge relating to what is digital health, types of digital health, use of technology and human factors in digital health were considered as important to be taught in DHET. Skills relating to digital health consultations, clinical information system management and remote monitoring were considered important to be taught. Blended learning which combined e-learning and classroom-based teaching, simulation sessions and clinical rotations were suggested by healthcare professionals as optimal approaches to deliver the above-mentioned content. Conclusions: This study is the first of its kind to investigate health professionals’ perspectives and expectations relating to the knowledge, skills and competency needs in digital health for current and future healthcare workforce. Healthcare workers are keen to acquire relevant knowledge, skills and competencies related to digital health. Different modes of education delivery is of interest to fit in with busy schedule of health workers.

Keywords: digital health, telehealth, telemedicine, education, curriculum

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Authors: Hargunjeet Shergill, Palwinder Singh

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The present paper analyzes the lack of teachers' awareness and knowledge regarding the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the college students. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder causes individuals to consistently display extreme inattention, impulsivity and in many cases hyperactivity as a result of the physiological differences of the brain. Teachers have a formative influence on their students and can play a key role in identifying and supporting students with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Despite the pervasiveness and salience of this disorder, educators at college continue to labor under a number of misconceptions about the nature of ADHD. In order to fulfill this important role, it is imperative for teachers to have explicit knowledge about this disorder. ADHD in college students remains the most under-recognized and undertreated mental health condition. The overall aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ knowledge and misconceptions of ADHD with a particular focus on recognition, assessment and management of ADHD in adult college students. It designed to assess the college teachers' knowledge, opinions, and experience related to the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and by maintaining open lines of communication with the students and understanding some key elements that can affect students’ overall growth and ability. The discussion focuses on the value of the role of teachers and their relationship with each college student dealing with ADHD.

Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, development of ADHD, diagnostic criteria, role of teachers

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Authors: Batuhan Kocaoglu

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Nowadays digital transformation is a hot topic both in service and production business. For the companies who want to stay alive in the following years, they should change how they do their business. Industry leaders started to improve their ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) like backbone technologies to digital advances such as analytics, mobility, sensor-embedded smart devices, AI (Artificial Intelligence) and more. Selecting the appropriate technology for the related business problem also is a hot topic. Besides this, to operate in the modern environment and fulfill rapidly changing customer expectations, a digital transformation of the business is required and change the way the business runs, affect how they do their business. Even the digital transformation term is trendy the literature is limited and covers just the philosophy instead of a solid implementation plan. Current studies urge firms to start their digital transformation, but few tell us how to do. The huge investments scare companies with blur definitions and concepts. The aim of this paper to solidify the steps of the digital transformation and offer a roadmap for the companies and academicians. The proposed roadmap is developed based upon insights from the literature review, semi-structured interviews, and expert views to explore and identify crucial steps. We introduced our roadmap in the form of 8 main steps: Awareness; Planning; Operations; Implementation; Go-live; Optimization; Autonomation; Business Transformation; including a total of 11 sub-steps with examples. This study also emphasizes four dimensions of the digital transformation mainly: Readiness assessment; Building organizational infrastructure; Building technical infrastructure; Maturity assessment. Finally, roadmap corresponds the steps with three main terms used in digital transformation literacy as Digitization; Digitalization; and Digital Transformation. The resulted model shows that 'business process' and 'organizational issues' should be resolved before technology decisions and 'digitization'. Companies can start their journey with the solid steps, using the proposed roadmap to increase the success of their project implementation. Our roadmap is also adaptable for relevant Industry 4.0 and enterprise application projects. This roadmap will be useful for companies to persuade their top management for investments. Our results can be used as a baseline for further researches related to readiness assessment and maturity assessment studies.

Keywords: digital transformation, digital business, ERP, roadmap

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Authors: Muhammad Maisam Abbas, Salman Tariq, Usama Riaz, Muhammad Tanveer, Humaira Abdul Ghafoor

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to a developmental disorder that impairs an individual's communication and interaction ability. Individuals feel difficult to read facial expressions while communicating or interacting. Facial Expression Recognition (FER) is a unique method of classifying basic human expressions, i.e., happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, neutral, and anger through static and dynamic sources. This paper conducts a comprehensive comparison and proposed optimal method for a continued research project—a system that can assist people who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in recognizing facial expressions. Comparison has been conducted on three supervised learning algorithms EigenFace, FisherFace, and LBPH. The JAFFE, CK+, and TFEID (I&II) datasets have been used to train and test the algorithms. The results were then evaluated based on variance, standard deviation, and accuracy. The experiments showed that FisherFace has the highest accuracy for all datasets and is considered the best algorithm to be implemented in our system.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, ASD, EigenFace, facial expression recognition, FisherFace, local binary pattern histogram, LBPH

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Authors: Vilma Zydziunaite, Ausra Rutkiene

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In modern society, problems related to the teacher's personality, mental and physical health, teacher's emotions and competencies are becoming more and more relevant. In Lithuania, compared to other European countries, teachers experience specific difficulties at work: they have to work in conditions of constant reforms and changes and face growing competition due to the decrease in students and schools. Professional burnout, teacher’s self-efficacy and perceived stress are interrelated personally and/or organisationally. So, the relationship between teachers' professional burnout, self-efficacy, and perceived stress in the school environment seems to be a relatively underresearched area in Lithuania. The research aim was to reveal and characterize teacher burnout, self-efficacy, and perceived stress in the Lithuanian school context. The quantitative research design with a questioning survey was chosen for the study. The sample size consisted of 427 Lithuanian teachers. Research results revealed the highest scores for exhaustion and the lowest for cynicism; at a time when the teacher experiences professional burnout, cynicism is observed as the weakest characteristic; no significant differences were found according to educational level work experience; significant differences were identified according to age for exhaustion and overall burnout level among teachers; the most of teachers in Lithuanian sample perceive the moderate stress level in school environment; overall burnout has a significant correlation with self-efficacy and stress among Lithuanian teachers. This study has empirical and practical implications: it is relevant to study the problems of teacher's professional burnout, stress, and self-efficacy in connection with contextual qualitative variables and specify the interrelationships between variables in order to be able to identify specific problems and provide empirical evidence to practically solve them. From a practical point of view, the results show that the socio-emotional state of teachers should not be dismissed as an insignificant aspect. Therefore, the school administration must make efforts to develop a positive school climate that supports the socio-emotional state of the teacher. At the same time, school administration must pay great attention to the development of teachers' socio-emotional competencies without ignoring their importance in the teacher's professional life.

Keywords: Lithuania, perceived stress, professional burnout, self-efficacy, teacher

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Authors: Stanimira Ntermentzieva

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Gender studies in post-communist Eastern Europe emerged in the early 1990s after the collapse of the communist regime. It can be explained by a series of cultural and political factors. However, Bulgarian female composers’ contribution to Western art music has not been studied. This field shows us some aspects of the impact of globalization on gender issues. This paper outlines the female composers in the establishment of the modern Bulgarian state and society. It is dedicated to the Bulgarian award-winning female composers who studied in Western European and American universities in the 1990s. Many of them migrated to these regions as part of a great migration in which Bulgaria lost 2.3 to three million of its population and strived to modernize Bulgarian music. Nowadays, the Union of Bulgarian Composers has 262 members, but only 19 of them are women. The Grammy-awarded Penka Kouneva (b. 1967) is one of the few female composers in Hollywood. She composed and orchestrated film scores, music for video games and television. Anna-Maria Ravnopolska-Dean (b. 1960) is a Bulgarian/American harpist, arranger, composer, pedagogue and TV host. She wrote pieces for harp and chamber ensembles. Maria Panayotova (b. 1976) studied composition in the USA. Alexandra Fol (b. 1981) and Vania Angelova (b. 1954) work in Canada and are recipients of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, among others. Afroditi Katmeridou, born in Bulgaria in 1956 by Greek parents, was the first woman who wrote electroacoustic music. One of the well-known contemporary composers is the British/Bulgarian Dobrinka Tabakova (b. 1980). She moved with her family to the United Kingdom when she was 11 and studied Composition at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Her album String Paths was nominated for a Grammy award. Many female composers made a successful career in EU countries: Albena Petrovic-Vratchanska (Luxemburg), Yuliana Tochkova-Patrouilleau (France), Dariana Kumanova (Italy), Tveta Dimitrova (Austria), Ivajla Kirova (Germany), Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin (Austria) and more.

Keywords: balgarian music, female composers, gender studies, western art music, migration

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Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Fayza Al Hammadi, Ayman Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari, Salah Al Yami

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Background: In recent years, the number of non-native speakers of the Arabic language has exponentially increased. Aims: This analytical study aims to investigate written grammatical errors committed by Arabic as a Second Language (ASL) learners. More specifically, it explores the reasons behind committing these errors and their effects on the daily communication of ASL learners. Methods: Ten (10) ASL senior learners of the Arabic Language Institute (ALI), College of Arts, King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were randomly selected in this study. The participants were asked to write paragraphs about themselves and then their written work was linguistically analyzed and evaluated by the researchers and some Arabic Language experts before it was statistically analyzed. Conclusions: Results outline that written grammatical errors of ASL learners are characterized by the misuse of many grammatical items. Mainly, these items are proper nouns (PN), common nouns (CN), main verbs (MV), adjectives (adj.), time adverbs (T. Adv.), manner adverbs (M. Adv.), objective pronouns (OP), and central determiners (C Det.) including demonstratives (Dem.) and articles (Artic.), pronouns (Pron.) and prepositions (Prep.).

Keywords: written, grammatical errors, Arabic, second language, non-native learners, analysis.

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Authors: Markus Remm, Sebastian Dienert

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Vehicle interiors are not only changing in terms of design and functionality but also due to new driving situations in which, for example, autonomous operating modes are possible. Flexible seating positions are changing the requirements for passive safety system behavior and location in the interior of a vehicle. With fully autonomous driving, the driver can, for example, leave the position behind the steering wheel and take a seated position facing backward. Since autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles will share the same road network for the foreseeable future, accidents cannot be avoided, which makes the use of passive safety systems indispensable. With JENOPTIK-VOTAN® A technology, the trend towards flexible predetermined airbag weakening lines is enabled. With the help of laser beams, the predetermined weakening lines are introduced from the backside of the components so that they are absolutely invisible. This machining process is sensor-controlled and guarantees that a small residual wall thickness remains for the best quality and reliability for airbag weakening lines. Due to the wide processing range of the laser, the processing of almost all materials is possible. A CO₂ laser is used for many plastics, natural fiber materials, foams, foils and material composites. A femtosecond laser is used for natural materials and textiles that are very heat-sensitive. This laser type has extremely short laser pulses with very high energy densities. Supported by a high-precision and fast movement of the laser beam by a laser scanner system, the so-called cold ablation is enabled to predetermine weakening lines layer by layer until the desired residual wall thickness remains. In that way, for example, genuine leather can be processed in a material-friendly and process-reliable manner without design implications to the components A-Side. Passive safety in the vehicle is increased through the interaction of modern airbag technology and high-precision laser airbag weakening. The JENOPTIK-VOTAN® A product family has been representing this for more than 25 years and is pointing the way to the future with new and innovative technologies.

Keywords: design freedom, interior material processing, laser technology, passive safety

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Authors: M. Okeke, A. Blyth

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Industrial Control Systems (ICS) such as Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) can be seen in many different critical infrastructures, from nuclear management to utility, medical equipment, power, waste and engine management on ships and planes. The role SCADA plays in critical infrastructure has resulted in a call to secure them. Many lives depend on it for daily activities and the attack vectors are becoming more sophisticated. Hence, the security of ICS is vital as malfunction of it might result in huge risk. This paper describes how the application of Prey Predator (PP) approach in flocks of birds could enhance the detection of malicious activities on ICS. The PP approach explains how these animals in groups or flocks detect predators by following some simple rules. They are not necessarily very intelligent animals but their approach in solving complex issues such as detection through corporation, coordination and communication worth emulating. This paper will emulate flocking behavior seen in birds in detecting predators. The PP approach will adopt six nearest bird approach in detecting any predator. Their local and global bests are based on the individual detection as well as group detection. The PP algorithm was designed following MapReduce methodology that follows a Split Detection Convergence (SDC) approach.

Keywords: artificial life, industrial control system (ICS), IDS, prey predator (PP), SCADA, SDC

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Authors: Matthew F. Gibson, Narasimha D. Rao, Raphael B. Slade, Joana Portugal Pereira, Joeri Rogelj

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Globally, India’s population is among the most severely impacted by nutrient deficiency, yet millions of tonnes of food are lost before reaching consumers. Across food groups, grains represent the largest share of daily calories and overall losses by mass in India. If current losses remain unresolved and follow projected population rates, we estimate, by 2030, losses from grains for human consumption could increase by 1.3-1.8 million tonnes (Mt) per year against current levels of ~10 Mt per year. This study quantifies energy input to minimise storage losses across India, responsible for a quarter of grain supply chain losses. In doing so, we identify and explore a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) triplet between SDG₂, SDG₇, and SDG₁₂ and provide insight for development of joined up agriculture and health policy in the country. Analyzing rice, wheat, maize, bajra, and sorghum, we quantify one route to reduce losses in supply chains, by modelling the energy input to maintain favorable climatic conditions in modern silo storage. We quantify key nutrients (calories, protein, zinc, iron, vitamin A) contained within these losses and calculate roughly how much deficiency in these dietary components could be reduced if grain losses were eliminated. Our modelling indicates, with appropriate uncertainty, maize has the highest energy input intensity for storage, at 110 kWh per tonne of grain (kWh/t), and wheat the lowest (72 kWh/t). This energy trade-off represents 8%-16% of the energy input required in grain production. We estimate if grain losses across the supply chain were saved and targeted to India’s nutritionally deficient population, average protein deficiency could reduce by 46%, calorie by 27%, zinc by 26%, and iron by 11%. This study offers insight for development of Indian agriculture, food, and health policy by first quantifying and then presenting benefits and trade-offs of tackling food grain losses.

Keywords: energy, food loss, grain storage, hunger, India, sustainable development goal, SDG

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Authors: Carlos Gonzalez

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This paper describes a system to optimize the use of the internet by clients requiring downloading of videos at peak hours. The system consists of a web server belonging to a provider of video contents, a provider of internet communications and a software application running on a client’s computer. The client using the application software will communicate to the video provider a list of the client’s future video demands. The video provider calculates which videos are going to be more in demand for download in the immediate future, and proceeds to request the internet provider the most optimal hours to do the downloading. The times of the downloading will be sent to the application software, which will use the information of pre-established hours negotiated between the video provider and the internet provider to download those videos. The videos will be saved in a special protected section of the user’s hard disk, which will only be accessed by the application software in the client’s computer. When the client is ready to see a video, the application will search the list of current existent videos in the area of the hard disk; if it does exist, it will use this video directly without the need for internet access. We found that the best way to optimize the download traffic of videos is by negotiation between the internet communication provider and the video content provider.

Keywords: internet optimization, video download, future demands, secure storage

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Xin Zhao

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The project aims to expand the notion of narrative learning and address the importance of learning by reflection in our learning and teaching context at a British university. Drawing on the key concepts such as development ZPD, transition and reflection-in and –on-action, this project analyses the learning experiences of a small sample of Chinese postgraduate students in a British University, who use part-time job experience to develop cross-cultural communication skills. The project adopts a mixed methods approach. Questionnaires and focus group interviews are used to examine the way in which students adapt (or not adapt) to the culture of learning in a British university and develop a renewed sense of self in transitions from one culture to the other. The project also looks at how the students appropriate opportunities for learning not just from classrooms but outside classrooms from everyday encounters. The project aims to address the implication of learning by reflection as development in transition. Time in and for learning, or duration, is taken for granted in theorising narrative learning. The project shall explore this very issue of time in relation to learning by reflection in considering time in/of/for learning as duration.

Keywords: cross-cultural competence, learning by refection, international student transition, part-time work experience

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Authors: Sulafah Basahel

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Nowadays, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) around the world are attempting to utilize Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to enhance learning process and strategies of knowledge delivery for students through Distance Education (DE) system. Stakeholders in DE system face a complex situation of different ill-defined and related issues that influence decision making process. In this study system thinking as a body of knowledge is used to explore the emergent properties that produced from these connections between issues and could have either positive or negative outcomes for the DE development. Checkland Soft System Methodology (SSM) - Mode 2 is employed in a cultural context of Saudi Arabia for more knowledge acquisition purposes among multiple stakeholders in DE rather than solving problems to achieve an overall development of DE system. This paper will discuss some political, cultural issues and connections between them that impact on effectiveness of stakeholders’ activities and relations. This study will significantly contribute to both system thinking and education fields by leading decision makers in DE to reconsider future plans, strategies and right actions for more successful educational practices.

Keywords: distance education, higher education institutions, ill-defined issues, soft system methodology-Mode 2

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Authors: Ching-Yi Yiu, Hui-Chen Hsu

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Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a popular problem in the modern society. It usually leads to sleep disorder, excessive daytime sleepiness and associated with cardiovascular diseases, cognitive dysfunction and even death. The nonsurgical therapies include continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), diet and oral appliances. The surgical approaches have nasal surgery, tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) and transoral robotic surgery (TORS).We compare the impact of surgical treatments on these kinds of patients. Methods: Between January 2018 to September 2022, We have enrolled 125 OSAS patients including 82 male and 43 female in Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, Taiwan. The age distribution from 6 to 71 years old (y/o) with mean age 36.1 y/o. The averaged body mass index (BMI) is 25 kg/m2 in male and 25.5 kg/m2 in female. In this cohort, we evaluated their upper airway obstruction sites with nasopharyngoscopy and scheduled a planned surgery. Some of cases received polysomnography (PSG) preoperatively, the averaged apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is 37.7 events/hour. We have 68 patients received tonsillectomy, 9 received UPPP, 42 received UPPP and septomeatoplasty (SMP) and 6 received adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy (A and T). The subjective daytime sleepiness was evaluated with the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Results: In the 68 tonsillectomy group, the averaged BMI is 24.9 kg/m2. In the UPPP group, the averaged BMI is 28.9 kg/m2. In UPPP and SMP group, the averaged BMI is 27.9 kg/m2. In the A and T group, the averaged BMI is 17.2 kg/m2. The reduction of AHI less than 20 is 58% postoperatively. The ESS reduced from 10.9 to 4.9 after surgery. Conclusion: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a common upper airway disturbance in the general population. The prevalence rate is ranging high depending on different regions, age, sex and race. It leads to severe morbidity and mortality including car accident, stroke, nocturnal desaand sudden death and should be considered to be a major public health problem. The CPAP is effective to improve daytime sleepiness but the long-term compliance is low. The surgical treatment with different modalities can produce 50% decrease in AHI and ESS after surgery in the 6 to 12 months short-term period.

Keywords: apnea-hypopnea index, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, polysomnography, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Mostafa Sarabzadeh, Masoumeh Helalizadeh, Seyyed Mahmoud Hejazi

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Multiple Sclerosis is considered as diseases related to central nerve system, the chronic and progressive disease impress on sensory and motor function of people. Due to equilibrium problems in this patients that related to disorder of nerve conduction transmission from central nerve system to organs and the nature of elastic bands that can make changes in neuromuscular junctions and momentary actions, the aim of this research is evaluate elastic training effect by reactionary ropes on nerve conduction velocity (in lower and upper limb) and functional balance in female patients with Multiple Sclerosis. The study was a semi-experimental study that was performed based on pre and post-test method, The statistical community consisted of 16 women with MS in the age mean 25-40yrs, at low and intermediate levels of disease EDSS 1-4 (Expanded Disability Status Scale) that were divided randomly into elastic and control groups, so the training program of experimental group lasted six weeks, 3 sessions per week of elastic exercises with reactionary ropes. Electroneurography parameters (nerve conduction velocity- latency) of Upper and lower nerves (Median, Tibial, Sural, Peroneal) along with balance were investigated respectively by the Electroneurography system (ENG) and Timed up and go (TUG) functional test two times in before and after the training period. After that, To analyze the data were used of Dependent and Independent T-test (with sig level p<0.05). The results showed significant increase in nerve conduction velocity of Sural (p=0.001), Peroneal (p=0.01), Median (p=0.03) except Tibial and also development Latency Time of Tibial (p= 0), Peroneal (p=0), Median (p=0) except Sural. The TUG test showed significant decreases in execution time too (p=0.001). Generally, based on what the obtained data can indicate, modern training with elastic bands can contribute to enhanced nerve conduction velocity and balance in neurosis patients (MS) so lead to reduce problems, promotion of mobility and finally more life expectancy in these patients.

Keywords: balance, elastic bands, multiple sclerosis, nerve conduction, velocity

Procedia PDF Downloads 199

Authors: H. L. M. Fawzan

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Undoubtedly, learning English as a second language (ESL) is considered a challenging task. It is more difficult for students in far-away districts when compared with the students in the capital cities, where learning resources are easily available and where the environment is conducive to learning. Thus, this study is an analysis of the challenges faced by learners in learning English as the second language within kurunegala district in Sri Lanka. Even though various efforts have been taken by the Sri Lankan Educationalists for improving the situation of English language teaching for the past few decades, a disappointing situation still exist in the achievements of English learning among Sri Lankan students. So, it is necessary to explore real reasons behind the poor achievements of the students in the English Language. It is also an attempt to highlight what can be done to improve the situation significantly. Kurunegala is far away from the capital city of Sri Lanka and is a densely populated district. In the year 2020, state university admission was 45.87% from the Kurunegala district (Department of Examinations). The researcher strived to examine some of the likely challenges faced when teaching English in secondary schools in Kurunegala. The data was collected using a questionnaire from 35 students from schools within the Kurunegala education division. The result of the study reveals that students were highly motivated to learn English for their prospects and expectations such as local and international communication, academic advancement, and employment prospects.

Keywords: english, teaching, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, challenges

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Authors: Chamindi Dilkushi Senaratne

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Sri Lanka has lived with the English language for more than 200 years. Although officially considered a link language, the phenomenal usage of English by the Sinhala-English bilingual has given rise to a mixed code with identifiable structural characteristics. The extensive use of the mixed language by the average Sri Lankan bilingual has resulted in it being used as a medium of communication by creative writers of bilingual advertisements in Sri Lanka. This study analyses the way in which English is used in bilingual advertisements in both print and electronic media in Sri Lanka. The theoretical framework for the study is based on Kachru’s analysis of the use of English by the bilingual, Muysken’s typology on code mixing theories in colonial settings and Myers-Scotton’s theory on the Matrix Language Framework Model. The study will look at a selection of Sinhala-English advertisements published in newspapers from 2015 to 2016. Only advertisements using both Sinhala and English are used for the analysis. To substantiate data collected from the newspapers, the study will select bilingual advertisements from television advertisements. The objective of the study is to analyze the mixed patterns used for creative purposes by advertisers. The results of the study will reveal the creativity used by the Sinhala –English bilingual and the morphological processes used by the creators of Sinhala-English bilingual advertisements to attract the masses.

Keywords: bilingual, code mixing, morphological processes, mixed code

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Authors: Somruedee Pongsena

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The purpose of this study is to follow up on the graduated students of Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics from Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU) during the 1999 – 2012 academic years and to provide the fundamental guideline for developing the current curriculum according to Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF: HEd). The sample was collected from 75 graduates by interview and online questionnaire. The content covered 5 subjects: ethics and moral, knowledge, cognitive skills, interpersonal skills and responsibility, numerical analysis as well as communication and information technology skills. Data were analyzed by using statistical methods as percentiles, means, standard deviation, t-tests, and F-tests. The findings showed that samples were mostly females younger than 26 years old. The majority of graduates had income in the range of 10,001-20,000 Baht and their experience range was 2-5 years. In addition, overall opinions from receiving knowledge to apply to work were at agree; mean score was 3.97 and standard deviation was 0.40. In terms of opinion difference, the hypothesis' testing results indicate gender only had different opinion at a significant level of 0.05.

Keywords: follow-up, graduates, knowledge, opinion, work performance.

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Paula Pita-Galán

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In 1920 Georgiana Goddard King, an Art Historian and Professor at Bryn Mawr College (PA, USA), published The Way of Saint James (New York: P.G. Putnam’s Sons), one of the earliest modern guides of this pilgrimage route. In its three volumes, the author described the towns and villages crossed by the Camino, talking about the history, traditions, monuments, and the people that she had met during her own pilgrimage together with the photographer Edith H. Lowber. The two women walked the route from Toulouse to Santiago in several journeys that took place between 1911 and 1914, travelling with funds of the Hispanic Society of New York. The cultural interest that motivated the journey explains how King intertwines in her narration history, anthropology, geography, art history, and religion, giving; as a result, the book targeted intellectuals, curious travelers, and tourist rather than pilgrims in a moment in which the pilgrimage to Santiago had almost disappeared as a practice. The Way of Saint James is barely known nowadays, so the aim of this research is disseminate it, focusing on the modernity of its approach and pointing at the link that it has with Georgiana King’s understanding of art as a product of the culture and civilization that produces it. In this paper, we will analyze The Way of Saint James in its historiographical context as it was written during the rise of the interest on Spain and its culture in the United States of America; paying special attention on the relationship of the author with the Hispanic Society and sir Archer Milton Huntington. On the other hand, we will look into Georgiana Goddard King’s work as an scholar by analyzing her works and the personal papers (letters, notes, and manuscripts) that she left in Bryn Mawr College, where I have been researching with a Fulbright grant. As a result, we will understand the pioneer approach of this unique guide of the Way of Saint James as a reflection of Georgiana King’s own modernity as an scholar. The wide cultural interests of King gave, as a result, a guide that offers a transversal knowledge of The Way of Saint James, together with King’s impressions and experiences, in the same way of current guides but far from the ‘objective’ and formalist methodology followed by her colleagues. This kind of modernity was badly understood at her time and helped the oblivion of this book as well as her author.

Keywords: georgiana goddard king, the way of saint james, pilgrimage, cultural heritage, guide

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: Bimrisha Mali

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The present study investigates the type of errors English as a second language (ESL) learners produce using the definite article ‘the’. The participants were provided a questionnaire on the learner's ability test. The questionnaire consists of three cloze tests and two free composition tests. Each participant's response was received in the form of written data. A total of 78 participants from three government schools participated in the study. The participants are high-school students from Rural Assam. Assam is a north-eastern state of India. Their age ranged between 14-15. The medium of instruction and the communication among the students take place in the local language, i.e., Assamese. Pit Corder’s steps for conducting error analysis have been followed for the analysis procedure. Four types of errors were found (1) deletion of the definite article, (2) use of the definite article as modifiers as adjectives, (3) incorrect use of the definite article with singular proper nouns, (4) substitution of the definite article by the indefinite article ‘a’. Classifiers in Assamese that express definiteness is used with nouns, adjectives, and numerals. It is found that native language (L1) transfer plays a pivotal role in the learners’ errors. The analysis reveals the learners' inability to acquire the semantic connotation of definiteness in English due to native language (L1) interference.

Keywords: definite article error, l1 transfer, error analysis, ESL

Procedia PDF Downloads 110