Search results for: images about Japan and Japanese people

Authors: Chris Nelson

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Quality and excellence are qualitative topics that are usually addressed based on knowledge and past experience from leadership and those in charge of the organization. The significance of this study is to highlight the differences and similarities between these two mindsets and how an operational staff can most appropriately use them in the workplace. Quality and excellence are two words that are talked about a lot in the manufacturing world. Buzzwords such as operational excellence, quality controls, and efficiencies are discussed in the boardroom as well on the shop floor. These terms are used quite frequently and with good reasons. When a person visits their favorite local restaurant, They go because 1) they like the food and 2) the people are some of the greatest individuals to be around. With that in mind, they know they always put out quality food. They do not always go because the quality of the food is far superior than other restaurants. But the quality of ingredients always meets their expectations. When they compare them to the term excellence, they are disappointed. The food never looks like the pictures on the menu. But when have you ever been to a restaurant where the food looks the same as on the menu? For them, when evaluating which buzzword to use as a guiding star, its simple: excellence. The corporation can accomplish these goals by operating at a standard that far exceeds customer’s wants and needs.

Keywords: industrial engineering, innovation, management and technology, logistics and scheduling, six sigma

Procedia PDF Downloads 193

Authors: Katsumi Hirano, Yusuke Kakuta, Koji Yoshida, Shozo Itagaki, Masahiko Kajioka, Toshihiko Okada

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A conversion technology of cellulosic biomass and waste plastics to liquid fuel at low pressure and low temperature has been investigated. This study aims at the production of the liquefied fuel (CPLF) of substituting diesel oil by mixing cellulosic biomass and waste plastics in the presence of solvent. Co-liquefaction of cellulosic biomass (Japan cedar) and polypropylene (PP) using wood tar or mineral oil as solvent at 673K with an autoclave was carried out. It was confirmed that the co-liquefaction gave CPLF in a high yield among the cases of wood or of polypropylene Which was ascribed the acceleration of decomposition of plastics by radicals derived from the decomposition of wood. The co-liquefaction was also conducted by a small twin screw extruder. It was found that CPLF was obtained in the co-liquefaction, And the acceleration of decomposition of plastics in the presence of cellulosic biomass. The engine test of CPLF showed that the engine performances, Compression ignition and combustion　characteristics were almost similar to those of diesel fuel at any mixing ratio of CPLF and any load, Therefore, CPLF could be practically used as alternative fuel for diesel engines.

Keywords: Cellulosic Biomass, Co-liquefaction, Solvent, Waste Plastics

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: P. M. Kundu, L. R. Singo, J. O. Odiyo

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Luvuvhu River catchment in South Africa experiences floods resulting from heavy rainfall of intensities exceeding 15 mm per hour associated with the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The generation of runoff is triggered by the rainfall intensity and soil moisture status. In this study, remote sensing and GIS techniques were used to analyze the hydrologic response to land cover changes. Runoff was calculated as a product of the net precipitation and a curve number coefficient. It was then routed using the Muskingum-Cunge method using a diffusive wave transfer model that enabled the calculation of response functions between start and end point. Flood frequency analysis was determined using theoretical probability distributions. Spatial data on land cover was obtained from multi-temporal Landsat images while data on rainfall, soil type, runoff and stream discharges was obtained by direct measurements in the field and from the Department of Water. A digital elevation model was generated from contour maps available at http://www.ngi.gov.za. The results showed that land cover changes had impacted negatively to the hydrology of the catchment. Peak discharges in the whole catchment were noted to have increased by at least 17% over the period while flood volumes were noted to have increased by at least 11% over the same period. The flood time to peak indicated a decreasing trend, in the range of 0.5 to 1 hour within the years. The synergism between remotely sensed digital data and GIS for land surface analysis and modeling was realized, and it was therefore concluded that hydrologic modeling has potential for determining the influence of changes in land cover on the hydrologic response of the catchment.

Keywords: catchment, digital elevation model, hydrological model, routing, runoff

Procedia PDF Downloads 563

Authors: Yulin Liang

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Under the background of protecting ecology, natural education is an effective way for people to understand nature. At the same time, it is a new means of sustainable development of eco-tourism, which can improve the functions of China 's protected areas and develop new business formats for the development of national parks. This study takes national park gateway communities as the research object and uses literature review, inductive reasoning and other research methods to sort out the development process of natural education in China and the research progress of natural education design in national park gateway communities. Finally, it discuss how gateway communities can use natural education to transform their development methods and provide theoretical and practical basis for the development of gateway communities in national parks.

Keywords: nature education, gateway communities, national park, sustainable development

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Authors: Noura Al-Ajmi, Mohammed A. Almulla

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With the increased utilization of technology devices around the world, healthcare and medical diagnosis are critical issues that people worry about these days. Doctors are doing their best to avoid any medical errors while diagnosing diseases and prescribing the wrong medication. Subsequently, artificial intelligence applications that can be installed on mobile devices such as rule-based expert systems facilitate the task of assisting doctors in several ways. Due to their many advantages, the usage of expert systems has increased recently in health sciences. This work presents a backward rule-based expert system that can be used for a headache diagnosis and medication recommendation system. The structure of the system consists of three main modules, namely the input unit, the processing unit, and the output unit.

Keywords: headache diagnosis system, prescription recommender system, expert system, backward rule-based system

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Authors: Rohini Sharma, Chandan Kumar Sahoo, Rama Krishna Gupta Potnuru

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Strong competitive forces and requirements to achieve efficiency are forcing the organizations to realize the necessity and inevitability of change. What's more, the trend does not appear to be abating. Researchers have estimated that about two thirds of change project fails. Empirical evidences further shows that organizations invest significantly in the planned change but people side is accounted for in a token or instrumental way, which is identified as one of the important reason, why change endeavours fail. However, whatever be the reason for change, organizational change readiness must be gauged prior to the institutionalization of organizational change. Hence, in this study the influence of employee voice and employee involvement on organizational change readiness via commitment-to-change is examined, as it is an area yet to be extensively studied. Also, though a recent study has investigated the interrelationship between leadership, organizational change readiness and commitment to change, our study further examined these constructs in relation with employee voice and employee involvement that plays a consequential role for organizational change readiness. Further, integrated conceptual model weaving varied concepts relating to organizational readiness with focus on commitment to change as mediator was found to be an area, which required more theorizing and empirical validation, and this study rooted in an Indian public sector organization is a step in this direction. Data for the study were collected through a survey among employees of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL); the first integrated Steel Plant in the public sector in India, for which stratified random sampling method was adopted. The schedule was distributed to around 700 employees, out of which 516 complete responses were obtained. The pre-validated scales were used for the study. All the variables in the study were measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree (1)” to “strongly agree (5)”. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS 22 was used to examine the hypothesized model, which offers a simultaneous test of an entire system of variables in a model. The study results shows that inter-relationship between employee voice and commitment-to-change, employee involvement and commitment-to-change and commitment-to-change and organizational change readiness were significant. To test the mediation hypotheses, Baron and Kenny’s technique was used. Examination of direct and mediated effect of mediators confirmed that commitment-to-change partially mediated the relation between employee involvement and organizational change readiness. Furthermore, study results also affirmed that commitment-to-change does not mediate the relation between employee involvement and organizational change readiness. The empirical exploration therefore establishes that it is important to harness employee’s valuable suggestions regarding change for building organizational change readiness. Regarding employee involvement, it was found that sharing information and involving people in decision-making, leads to a creation of participative climate, which educes employee commitment during change and commitment-to-change further, fosters organizational change readiness.

Keywords: commitment-to-change, change management, employee voice, employee involvement, organizational change readiness

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Authors: Jim Shih-Chiao Chin, Yu Ting Yeh, Shui Lien Chen, Yi-Fen Tsai

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his study is taking Adidas Company as the object, explored the brand awareness directly or indirectly affects brand affect and word of mouth. First, explored the brand awareness on category fit and image fit, and examined the influence of category fit and image fit on extension attitude. This study then designates the effect of extension attitude on brand affect and word-of-mouth. The relationship of brand awareness on brand affect and word-of-mouth was also explored. The study participants are people who have purchased Adidas extension products. A total of 700 valid questionnaires were collected and statistical software AMOS 20.0 was used to examine the research hypotheses by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Finally, theoretical implications and research directions are provided for future studies.

Keywords: brand extension, brand awareness, product category fit, brand image fit, brand affect, word-of-mouth (WOM)

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Authors: Hasan Atakan Sengul, Nergis Canturk, Bahar Erbas

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Drinking water is indispensable for life. With increasing awareness of communities, the content of drinking water and tap water has been a matter of curiosity. The presence of Bisphenol-A is the top one when content curiosity is concerned. The most used chemical worldwide for production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins is Bisphenol-A. People are exposed to Bisphenol-A chemical, which disrupts the endocrine system, almost every day. Each year it is manufactured an average of 5.4 billion kilograms of Bisphenol-A. Linear formula of Bisphenol-A is (CH₃)₂C(C₆H₄OH)₂, its molecular weight is 228.29 and CAS number is 80-05-7. Bisphenol-A is known to be used in the manufacturing of plastics, along with various chemicals. Bisphenol-A, an industrial chemical, is used in the raw materials of packaging mate-rials in the monomers of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. The pass through the nutrients of Bisphenol-A substance happens by packaging. This substance contaminates with nutrition and penetrates into body by consuming. International researches show that BPA is transported through body fluids, leading to hormonal disorders in animals. Experimental studies on animals report that BPA exposure also affects the gender of the newborn and its time to reach adolescence. The extent to what similar endocrine disrupting effects are on humans is a debate topic in many researches. In our country, detailed studies on BPA have not been done. However, it is observed that 'BPA-free' phrases are beginning to appear on plastic packaging such as baby products and water carboys. Accordingly, this situation increases the interest of the society about the subject; yet it causes information pollution. In our country, all national and international studies on exposure to BPA have been examined and Ankara province has been designated as testing region. To assess the effects of plastic use in daily habits of people and the plastic amounts removed out of the body, the results of the survey conducted with volunteers who live in Ankara has been analyzed with Sciex appliance by means of LC-MS/MS in the laboratory and the amount of exposure and BPA removal have been detected by comparing the results elicited before. The results have been compared with similar studies done in international arena and the relation between them has been exhibited. Consequently, there has been found no linear correlation between the amount of BPA in drinking water and the amount of BPA in urine. This has also revealed that environmental exposure and the habits of daily plastic use have also direct effects a human body. When the amount of BPA in drinking water is considered; minimum 0.028 µg/L, maximum 1.136 µg/L, mean 0.29194 µg/L and SD(standard deviation)= 0.199 have been detected. When the amount of BPA in urine is considered; minimum 0.028 µg/L, maximum 0.48 µg/L, mean 0.19181 µg/L and SD= 0.099 have been detected. In conclusion, there has been found no linear correlation between the amount of BPA in drinking water and the amount of BPA in urine (r= -0.151). The p value of the comparison between drinking water’s and urine’s BPA amounts is 0.004 which shows that there is a significant change and the amounts of BPA in urine is dependent on the amounts in drinking waters (p < 0.05). This has revealed that environmental exposure and daily plastic habits have also direct effects on the human body.

Keywords: analyze of bisphenol-A, BPA, BPA in drinking water, BPA in urine

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Authors: Sandip Mitra

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Studies on Governance and Accountability has often stressed the need to release Data in public domain to increase transparency ,which otherwise act as an evidence of performance. However, inefficient handling, lack of capacity and the dynamics of transfers (especially fund transfers) are important issues which need appropriate attention. E-Governance alone can not serve as a measure of transparency as long as a comprehensive planning is instituted. Studies on Governance and public exposure has often triggered public opinion in favour or against any government. The root of the problem (especially in local governments) lies in the management of the governance. The participation of the people in the local government functioning, the networks within and outside the locality, synergy with various layers of Government are crucial in understanding the activities of any government. Unfortunately, data on such issues are not released in the public domain .If they are at all released , the extraction of information is often hindered for complicated designs. A Study has been undertaken with a few local Governments in India. The data has been analysed to substantiate the views.

Keywords: accountability, e-governance, transparency, local government

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Authors: Jin Chuhao, Chen Xiang

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In recent years, due to the rapid development of Chinese urbanization, a great deal of rural population surge into urban to make a living. This fact causes the vicious circulation of rural development including sharp decrease of agricultural labor force in rural area, the obvious increase of rural land price, the shrinking of traditional agriculture and the bigger gap between Chinese urban and rural areas. With the improvement of living condition and ideological level of the Chinese people, the use and renewal of the traditional villages are gaining more and more attention, thus agricultural cultural and creative industries appears. Basing on the investigation of practical projects, this paper discusses how the agricultural cultural and creative industries promote the sustainable development of Chinese rural areas.

Keywords: sustainable design, Chinese rural areas, renewal, agricultural cultural and creative industries

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Authors: Ireen Manase Kabembo, Patrick Chanda

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Background: Substance use disorders are among the chronic conditions that affect all age groups. Worldwide, there is an increase in young people affected by SUDs, which implies that more family members are transitioning into the caregiver role. Family caregivers play a buffering role in the formal healthcare system due to their involvement in caring for persons with acute and chronic conditions in the home setting. Family carers of youth with problematic alcohol and marijuana use experience myriad challenges in managing daily care for this medically vulnerable group. In addition, the poor health-seeking behaviours of youth with SUDs characterized by eluding treatment and runaway tendencies coupled with the effects of the pandemic made caregiving a daunting task for most family caregivers. Issues such as limited and unavailable psychotropic medications, social stigma and discrimination, financial hurdles, systemic barriers in adolescent and young adult mental healthcare services, and the lack of a perceived vulnerability to Covid-19 by youth with SUDs are experiences of family caretakers. Methods: A qualitative study with 30 family caregivers of youth aged 16-24 explored their lived experiences and subjective meanings using two in-depth semi-structured interviews, a caregiving timeline, and participant observation. Findings: Results indicate that most family caregivers had challenges managing care for treatment elusive youth, let alone having them adhere to Covid-19 regulations. However, youth who utilized healthcare services and adhered to treatment regimens had positive outcomes and sustained recovery. The effects of the pandemic, such as job losses and the closure of businesses, further exacerbated the financial challenges experienced by family caregivers, making it difficult to purchase needed medications and daily necessities for the youth. The unabated stigma and discrimination of families of substance-dependent youth in Zambian communities further isolated family caregivers, leaving them with limited support. Conclusion: Since young people with SUDs have a compromised mental capacity due to the cognitive impairments that come with continued substance abuse, they often have difficulties making sound judgements, including the need to utilize SUD recovery services. Also, their tendency to not adhere to the Covid-19 pandemic requirements places them at a higher risk for adverse health outcomes in the (post) pandemic era. This calls for urgent implementation of robust youth mental health services that address prevention and recovery for these emerging adults grappling with substance use disorders. Support for their family caregivers, often overlooked, cannot be overemphasized.

Keywords: chronic care management, Covid-19 pandemic, family caregivers, youth with substance use disorders

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Authors: Helyeh Doutaghi

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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. Under the Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter), the UNSC’s primary responsibility is maintaining international peace and security, which it does through establishing and adopting a Security Council resolution. United Nations resolutions are formal expressions of the opinion or will of United Nations organs. However, there have been times when powerful politicians (or governments with great political power) had the first say in situations where the UNSC should have had jurisdiction based on the principle of rule of law, which is the notion that people are governed by the law rather than by officials. This paper will assess the effectiveness of the UNSC by analyzing its actions during the Iran-Iraq war for it has been found that one of the major reasons for the prolongation of the war was a result of the one-sided positions taken by the UNSC and many nations. The UNSC’s success in achieving its primary goal during the war will be discussed, including an examination of the duties and structure of the UNSC by reviewing the articles in the UN Charter; this will include examples of the UNSC’s role in other international disputes as well.

Keywords: UN Security Council, Iran, Iraq, charter, international law

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Authors: Berkay Buluş, Aytekin İşman, Kübra Yüzüncüyıl

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Developments in media and communication technologies have changed the way we use media. The importance of convergence culture has been increasing day by day within the framework of these developments. With new media, it is possible to say that social networks are the most powerful platforms that are integrated to this digitalization process. Although social networks seem like the place that people can socialize, they can also be utilized as places of production. On the other hand, audience has become users within the framework of transformation from national to global broadcasting. User generated contents make conventional media and new media collide. In this study, these communication platforms will be examined not as platforms that replace one another but mediums that unify each other. In the light of this information, information that is produced by users regarding new media platforms and all new media use practices are called convergence culture. In other words, convergence culture means intersections of conventional and new media. In this study, examples of convergence culture will be analyzed in detail.

Keywords: new media, convergence culture, convergence, use of new media, user generated content

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Authors: Ardawan Mustafa Ismail, Rebaz Sdiq Ismail

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The subject of minorities takes an exceptional importance at all levels, around the world, especially those whose population is composed of many nationalities, and this subject became a very affective part in every country for its security, entity and stability, such as the nationality, religion or culture, as a result of internal factors and external influences, and at the same time it became clear that enslaving minorities had become a matter of reality. Which made the rights of minorities one of the legal, political and geographical issues, many attempts emerged that specialists and non-specialists have given the minorities ’problems their realistic solutions away from theorizing and assumption. On this chosen topic, there are many researches that are written in general places, but… It is believed did not see any in-depth studies dealing with the protection of minority rights of the Region of Kurdistan/ Iraq, because in the Region of Kurdistan/ Iraq there are many minorities living in this area, such as: Muslims, Yazidi, Assyrian, Christian, Chaldeans, and others.

Keywords: minority, international law, protection, Kurdistan, people

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Authors: Fahad Suleiman

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Agriculture has been the mainstay of the nation’s economy in Nigeria. It provides food for the ever rapidly increasing population and raw materials for the industries. People especially the rural dwellers are gainfully employed on their crop farms and small-scale livestock farms for income earning. In farming, availability of funds and time management are one of the major factors that influence the system of farming in Nigeria in which mathematical science knowledge was highly required in order for farms to be managed effectively. Farmers often applied mathematics, almost every day for a variety of tasks, ranging from measuring and weighing, to land marking. This paper, therefore, explores some of the ways math is used in farming. For instance, farmers use arithmetic variety of farm activities such as seed planting, harvesting crop, cultivation and mulching. It is also important in helping farmers to know how much their livestock weighs, how much milk their cows produce and crop yield per acres, among others.

Keywords: agriculture, application, economic, farming, mathematics

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Authors: Saeid Gharechelou, Stuart Green, Fiona Cawkwell

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Hedgerow has an important role for a wide range of ecological habitats, landscape, agriculture management, carbon sequestration, wood production. Hedgerow detection accurately using satellite imagery is a challenging problem in remote sensing techniques, because in the special approach it is very similar to line object like a road, from a spectral viewpoint, a hedge is very similar to a forest. Remote sensors with very high spatial resolution (VHR) recently enable the automatic detection of hedges by the acquisition of images with enough spectral and spatial resolution. Indeed, recently VHR remote sensing data provided the opportunity to detect the hedgerow as line feature but still remain difficulties in monitoring the characterization in landscape scale. In this research is used the TerraSAR-x Spotlight and Staring mode with 3-5 m resolution in wet and dry season in the test site of Fermoy County, Ireland to detect the hedgerow by acquisition time of 2014-2015. Both dual polarization of Spotlight data in HH/VV is using for detection of hedgerow. The varied method of SAR image technique with try and error way by integration of classification algorithm like texture analysis, support vector machine, k-means and random forest are using to detect hedgerow and its characterization. We are applying the Shannon entropy (ShE) and backscattering analysis in single and double bounce in polarimetric analysis for processing the object-oriented classification and finally extracting the hedgerow network. The result still is in progress and need to apply the other method as well to find the best method in study area. Finally, this research is under way to ahead to get the best result and here just present the preliminary work that polarimetric image of TSX potentially can detect the hedgerow.

Keywords: TerraSAR-X, hedgerow detection, high resolution SAR image, dual polarization, polarimetric analysis

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Authors: Anastasia Schnitzer, Oliver Rehren

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Mental health has become an increasingly important topic in society in recent years, not least due to the challenges posed by the corona pandemic. Along with this, the public has become more and more aware that a lack of enlightenment and proper coping mechanisms may result in a notable risk to develop mental disorders. Yet, there are still many biases against those affected, which are further connected to issues of stigmatization and societal exclusion. One of the main strategies to combat these forms of prejudice and stigma is to induce intergroup contact. More specifically, the Intergroup Contact Theory states engaging in certain types of contact with members of marginalized groups may be an effective way to improve attitudes towards these groups. However, due to the persistent prejudice and stigmatization, affected individuals often do not dare to speak openly about their mental disorders, so that intergroup contact often goes unnoticed. As a result, many people only experience conscious contact with individuals with a mental disorder through media. As an analogy to the Intergroup Contact Theory, the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis proposes that repeatedly being exposed to positive media representations of outgroup members can lead to a reduction of negative prejudices and attitudes towards this outgroup. While there is a growing body of research on the merit of this mechanism, measurements often only consist of 'positive' or 'negative' parasocial contact conditions (or examine the valence or quality of the previous contact with the outgroup); meanwhile, more specific conditions are often neglected. The current study aims to tackle this shortcoming. By scrutinizing the potential of contemporary series as a narrative framework of high quality, we strive to elucidate more detailed aspects of beneficial parasocial contact -for the sake of reducing prejudice and stigma towards individuals with mental disorders. Thus, a two-factorial between-subject online panel study with three measurement points was conducted (N = 95). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups, having to watch episodes of either a series with a narrative framework of high (Quality-TV) or low quality (Continental-TV), with one-week interval in-between the episodes. Suitable series were determined with the help of a pretest. Prejudice and stigma towards people with mental disorders were measured at the beginning of the study, before and after each episode, and in a final follow-up one week after the last two episodes. Additionally, parasocial interaction (PSI), quality of contact (QoC), and transportation were measured several times. Based on these data, multivariate multilevel analyses were performed in R using the lavaan package. Latent growth models showed moderate to high increases in QoC and PSI as well as small to moderate decreases in stigma and prejudice over time. Multilevel path analysis with individual and group levels further revealed that a qualitative narrative framework leads to a higher quality of contact experience, which then leads to lower prejudice and stigma, with effects ranging from moderate to high.

Keywords: prejudice, quality of contact, parasocial contact, narrative framework

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Authors: Dana Kristalova

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This article deals with geographical conditions in terrain and their effect on the movement of vehicles, their effect on speed and safety of movement of people and vehicles. Finding of the optimal routes outside the communication is studied in the army environment, but it occur in civilian as well, primarily in crisis situation, or by the provision of assistance when natural disasters such as floods, fires, storms, etc. have happened. These movements require the optimization of routes when effects of geographical factors should be included. The most important factor is surface of the terrain. It is based on several geographical factors as are slopes, soil conditions, micro-relief, a type of surface and meteorological conditions. Their mutual impact has been given by coefficient of deceleration. This coefficient can be used for commander´s decision. New approaches and methods of terrain testing, mathematical computing, mathematical statistics or cartometric investigation are necessary parts of this evaluation.

Keywords: surface of a terrain, movement of vehicles, geographical factor, optimization of routes

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Authors: Burcu Ileri, Deniz Sanliyuksel Yucel, Onder Ayyildiz

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The oxidation of pyrite in water results in the formation of acid mine drainage, which typically forms extremely acid mine lake (AML) in the depression areas of abandoned Etili open-pit coal mine site, Northwest Turkey. Nine acid mine lakes of various sizes have been located in the Etili coal mine site. Hayirtepe AML is one of the oldest lake having a mean pH value of 2.9 and conductivity of 4550 μS/cm, and containing elevated concentrations of Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn. The water quality of the lake has been deteriorated due to its high chemical composition, in particular, increasing heavy metal pollution. In this study, fly ash (FA), a coal combustion by-product from fluidized bed thermal power plant in the northwestern part of Turkey, was used as an adsorbent for the treatment of Hayirtepe AML. The FA is a relatively abundant and cost effective material, but its use in adsorption processes usually require excessive adsorbent doses. To increase adsorption efficiency and lower the adsorbent dose, we modified the FA by means of ultrasonic treatment (20 kHz and 40 kHz). The images of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have demonstrated that ultrasonic treatment not only decreased the size of ash particles but also created pits and cracks on their surfaces which in turn led to a significant increase in the BET surface area. Both FA and modified fly ash were later tested for the removal of heavy metals from the AML. The effect of various operating parameters such as ultrasonic power, pH, ash dose, and adsorption contact time were examined to obtain the optimum conditions for the treatment process. The results have demonstrated that removal of heavy metals by ultrasound-modified fly ash requires much shorter treatment times and lower adsorbent doses than those attained by the unmodified fly ash. This research was financially supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), (Project no: 116Y510).

Keywords: acid mine lake, heavy metal, modified fly ash, ultrasonic treatment

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Authors: David Alejandro Torres-Lopez , Lilia Albores-Gallo, Ronald Soto-Calderon, Roberto Lagunes-Cordoba

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Autism Screening Questionnaire for Daycare Attendees (ASQ-DAT) is a screening instrument that assesses the risk of autism in children between 12 and 47 months, being the first free observational instrument created according to the criteria of the DSM-5 that can be applied by teachers in nurseries. The people in charge of answering the questionnaires are the daycare assistants. Its application presents a series of previous activities with which daycare assistants are familiar (dance, games, oral narration and breakfast), which are executed with the children and then answer a questionnaire with dichotomous questions "Yes/No" in approximately 3 minutes per child. The instrument was developed with the participation of nurseries according to the protocols of the creation of psychometric instruments of the Classical Test Theory having as a gold standard ADOS-2 Modules T and 1. The results of the investigation show that the use of ASQ-DAT combined with the application of M-CHAT / RF provides more information about the risk of ASD in young children, which allows improvements in the screening.

Keywords: diagnosis, screening, autism, daycare

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Authors: Mohamad Reza Khodabakhsh

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Physical activity is important because it affects the stress and mental health of the elderly. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between the physical activity of the elderly and stress and mental health. The current research is correlational research, and the studied population includes all the elderly who are engaged in sports in the parks of Mashhad city in 2021. The whole community consists of 200 people. Sampling was done by the headcount method. The tool used in this research is a questionnaire. The physical activity questionnaire is Likert. General GHQ is based on the self-report method. The study method is correlation type to find the relationship between predictor and predicted variables, and the multiple regression method was used for the relationships between the sub-components. And the results showed that physical activity has the effect of reducing the stress of the elderly and improving their mental health. In general, the results of this research indicate the confirmation of the research hypotheses.

Keywords: relationship, physical activity, stress, mental health, elderly

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Authors: Sarah Amodeo

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Drawing on the author’s research about the experiences of female immigrant students in academic Adult Education, in Montreal, Quebec, this paper deconstructs the benefits of autoethnography as a methodology for educators in Adult Education. Autoethnography is an advantageous methodology for teachers in Adult Education as it allows for deep engagement, allowing for educators to reflect on student experiences and their day-to-day realities, and in turn, allowing for professional development, improved andragogy, and changes to classroom practices. Autoethnography is a qualitative research methodology that cultivates strategies for improving adult learning. The paper begins by outlining the context that inspired autoethnography for the author’s work, highlighting the emergence of autoethnography as a method, while examining how it is evolving and drawing on foundational work that continues to inspire research. The basic autoethnographic methodologies that are explored in this paper include the use of memory work in episode formation, the use of personal photographs, and textual readings of artworks. Memory work allows for the researcher to use their professional experience and the lived/shared experiences of their students in their research, drawing on episodes from their past. Personal photographs and descriptions of artwork allow researchers to explore images of learning environments/realities in ways that compliment student experiences. Major findings of the text are examined through the analysis of categories of autoethnography. Specific categories include realism, impressionism, and conceptualism which aid in orientating the analysis and emergent themes that develop through self-study. Finally, the text presents a discussion surrounding the limitations of autoethnography, with attention to the trustworthiness and ethical issues. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications of autoethnography for adult educators in juxtaposition with youth sector work.

Keywords: artwork, autoethnography, conceptualism, episode formation, impressionism, memory work, personal photographs, and realism, realism

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Authors: Mohammad Jan-Nataj Zeinab, Kahrizi Sedighe, Bayat Noshin, Giti Torkaman

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According to the importance of the back extensor muscle strength in postmenopausal women, this study aimed to determine the relationship between strength and changes in the thickness of back extensor muscles during isometric contraction in healthy and osteoporotic postmenopausal women. Strength and thickness of the muscles of 42 postmenopausal women were measured respectively, using a handheld dynamometer and ultrasonography. Also, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between the strength and thickness. The results indicated a high reproducibility dynamometer test and ultrasonography. The decrease of strength in people with osteoporosis, occurred more through changes in muscle structure such as reducing the number and size of muscle fibers than changes in the nervous system part.

Keywords: back extensor muscles, strength, thickness, osteoporosis

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Authors: Tahraoui Boualem

Abstract:

Researching the historical framework of international crime means examining the historical facts that have contributed to uncovering this serious crime affecting international interests, and the law by which the study of the subject of international crime is determined is international criminal law, which is a branch of public international law. In this context, the historical study of international crime means recognizing the existence of an international community governed by international law, which makes us acknowledge that ancient societies lacked such stable and recurring international relations. Therefore, an attempt to monitor international crime in those ancient societies is only to demonstrate a historical fact that those societies have known some features of this crime, and have contributed in one way or another to the development of international criminal law without defining its concept or legal nature. The international community has affirmed the principle of establishing peace, achieving security, and respecting human rights. As a basis for friendly relations between the people of the international community and in case of prejudice, such as the aggressors breaching the obligations imposed on them, whether in time of peace or war.

Keywords: historical framework, of international crime, peace or war., international law

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Authors: M. Pellerone, S. G. Razza, L. Miano, A. Miccichè, M. Adamo

Abstract:

The teacher’s attitude plays a decisive role in promoting the development of the non-native or disabled student and counteracting hypothetical negative attitudes and prejudice towards those who are “different”.The objective of the present research is to measure the relationship between teachers’ prejudices towards disabled and/or immigrant students as predictors of teaching-learning strategies. A cross-sectional study involved 200 Italian female teachers who completed an anamnestic questionnaire, the Assessment Teaching Scale, the Italian Modern and Classical Prejudices Scale towards people with ID, and the Pettigrew and Meertens’ Blatant Subtle Prejudice Scale. Confirming research hypotheses, data underlines the predictive role of prejudice on teaching strategies, and in particular on the socio-emotional and communicative-relational dimensions. Results underline that general training appears necessary, especially for younger generations of teachers.

Keywords: disabled students, immigrant students, instructional competence, prejudice, teachers

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Authors: Melis Inalpulat, Levent Genc

Abstract:

In the present study, an attempt was made to state the Land Use Land Cover (LULC) transformation over three decades around the urban regions of Balıkesir, Bursa, and Çanakkale provincial centers (PCs) in Turkey. Landsat imageries acquired in 1984, 1999 and 2014 were used to determine the LULC change. Images were classified using the supervised classification technique and five main LULC classes were considered including forest (F), agricultural land (A), residential area (urban) - bare soil (R-B), water surface (W), and other (O). Change detection analyses were conducted for 1984-1999 and 1999-2014, and the results were evaluated. Conversions of LULC types to R-B class were investigated. In addition, population changes (1985-2014) were assessed depending on census data, the relations between population and the urban areas were stated, and future populations and urban area needs were forecasted for 2030. The results of LULC analysis indicated that urban areas, which are covered under R-B class, were expanded in all PCs. During 1984-1999 R-B class within Balıkesir, Bursa and Çanakkale PCs were found to have increased by 7.1%, 8.4%, and 2.9%, respectively. The trend continued in the 1999-2014 term and the increment percentages reached to 15.7%, 15.5%, and 10.2% at the end of 30-year period (1984-2014). Furthermore, since A class in all provinces was found to be the principal contributor for the R-B class, urban sprawl lead to the loss of agricultural lands. Moreover, the areas of R-B classes were highly correlated with population within all PCs (R²>0.992). Depending on this situation, both future populations and R-B class areas were forecasted. The estimated values of increase in the R-B class areas for Balıkesir, Bursa, and Çanakkale PCs were 1,586 ha, 7,999 ha and 854 ha, respectively. Due to this fact, the forecasted values for 2,030 are 7,838 ha, 27,866, and 2,486 ha for Balıkesir, Bursa, and Çanakkale, and thus, 7.7%, 8.2%, and 9.7% more R-B class areas are expected to locate in PCs in respect to the same order.

Keywords: landsat, LULC change, population, urban sprawl

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Authors: Nithya Venkataraman

Abstract:

The creative journey in design often starts with a spark of inspiration, the source of which can be from myriad stimuli- nature, poetry, personal experiences or even fleeting thoughts and images. While it is indeed an important source of creative exploration, interpretation of this inspiration may often times be influenced by demographic and psychographic variables of the creator - Age, gender, lifecycle stage, personal experiences and individual personality traits being some of these factors. Common sources of inspiration can thus be interpreted differently, translating to different elements of design, and using varied principles in their execution. Do such variables in the creator influence the nature of the creative output? If yes, what are the visible matrices in the output which can be differentiated? An observational study with two groups of Design students, studying in the same design institute, under the guidance of the same design mentor, was conducted to map this influence. Both the groups were unaware of each other but worked with a common source of inspiration as provided by the instructor. In order to maintain congruence, both the groups were provided with lyrical compositions from well-known ballads and poetry as the source of their inspiration. The outputs were abstract renditions using lines, colors and shapes; and these were analyzed under matrices for the elements and principles used to create the compositions. The study indicated that there was a demarcation in terms of the choice of lines, colors and shapes chosen to create the composition, between both groups. The groups also tended to use repetition, proportion and emphasis differently; giving rise to varied uses of the Design principles. The study threw interesting observations on how Design interpretation can vary for the same source of inspiration, based on demographic and psychographic variances. The implications can be traced not just to the process of creative design, but also to the deep social roots that bind creative thinking and Design ideation; which can provide an interesting commentary between different cohorts on what constitutes ‘Good Design’.

Keywords: design compositions, inspiration, interpretation, psychographic factors, social factors

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Authors: Daniel Phillip Svozil, Eileen Petrie, Kristy Robson, Lee Baumgartner, Max Finlayson

Abstract:

Recreational angling is recognized for its potential to improve health and wellbeing which has translated into policy initiatives to increase participation in the sport. However, these benefits have been examined mostly among voluntary participants. Thus, there is an assumption that recreational angling is perceived equally and that these benefits may be evident even to non-anglers. This paper reviews the published benefits to health and wellbeing of recreational angling and proposes an approach to systemically analyze interactions among the perceptions, socio-economic barriers, and knowledge of these benefits among people at different levels of participation (including non-participants). The outcomes of this study will assist in identifying the feasibility of recreational angling for improving health and wellbeing outcomes among participants (i.e., fishing may not be for everyone) and designing interventions that address the perceptions and socio-economic barriers among individuals that may benefit from participation in recreational angling.

Keywords: angling, health, wellbeing, connecting with nature

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Authors: Filiz Erden, E. Elhan Özus, Melek Tufan

Abstract:

If the history of clothing is examined, it is seen that clothing has gone through many stages from ancient times to present. Each nation has shaped its clothing according to its own traditions, customs, beliefs, living conditions. While clothes are being prepared, attributing different meanings to colors and patterns of the fabrics has become a common characteristic of many cultures. It is known that cloths worn in special days such as mourning, weddings, engagements, festivals and business vary according to their models, fabrics, colors and patterns. We witness use of cloth to differentiate people belonging to certain classes from nobles throughout the history. Striped fabric has carried many different meanings and uses throughout the history. In this study, place has been given to the important periods related to the history of striped fabric by examining current meaning of the striped fabric and dimensions of its meanings in the past. Also, evening dresses have been designed by using striped fabrics in order to reveal how striped fabric is liked and demanded after it coped with difficulties and being despised in its history.

Keywords: striped fabric, design, clothing, fasion

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Authors: Karrar Raoof Kareem Kamoona, Enas Fathi Taher AlHares, Zeynep Isik

Abstract:

The various disciplines in the construction industry and the co-existence of the people in the various disciplines are what builds well-developed, closely-knit interpersonal skills at various hierarchical levels thus leading to a varied way of leadership. The varied decision making aspects during the lifecycle of a project include: autocratic, participatory and last but not least, free-rein. We can classify some of the decision makers in the construction industry in a hierarchical manner as follows: project executive, project manager, superintendent, office engineer and finally the field engineer. This survey looked at how decisions are made during the construction period by the key stakeholders in the project. From the paper it is evident that the three decision making aspects can be used at different times or at times together in order to bring out the best leadership decision. A blend of different leadership styles should be used to enhance the success rate during the project lifecycle.

Keywords: leadership style, construction, decision-making, built environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 350