Search results for: cognitive resources

Authors: Michael Naidoo

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The purpose and functions of higher education institutions in the 21st century are evolving because of rapid changes in the global landscape. To remain germane, higher education institutions are in a period of swift and radical change. The success of these changes is highly dependent on the effective leadership of the institution. Consequently, many higher education institutions have invested time and finances into the management and leadership development of their staff. The development has taken many different forms and focus areas, depending on the societal and institutional needs, as well as available financial resources and infrastructural practices. South Africa has many public and private higher education institutions which are also undergoing significant changes to meet the contextual needs of the country. Many of these institutions have provided management and leadership development programs for their staff. This research aims at exploring the common, critical content, structure and practices of effective management and leadership development programs at higher educational institutions. This research will also examine a specific management development program (MDP) at a South African private higher educational institution. Finally, the research will review how organizational leadership is utilized in management and leadership development programs. The research is underpinned by the paradigm of interpretivism. This is because the aims of the research will be achieved by the collection of qualitative data. The qualitative data will be gathered through individual semi-structured interviews with the facilitators of the MDP program and some of the MDP candidates. The validity of the findings will be increased by the triangulation of data from both sets of interviews. An embedded, single case study design will be used. All ethical protocols will be followed throughout the research. The findings of the research should reveal more information about the key elements that should be incorporated into management and leadership development programs. These include crucial content, structure and practices. The research should also reveal how organizational leadership can be successfully incorporated into the programs. This research can then be used by higher educational institutions to strengthen their management and leadership development programs.

Keywords: managment, leadership, development, organizational leadership

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Authors: Benjamin Bressolette, S´ebastien Denjean, Vincent Roussarie, Mitsuko Aramaki, Sølvi Ystad, Richard Kronland-Martinet

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New sensors and technologies – such as microphones, touchscreens or infrared sensors – are currently making their appearance in the automotive sector, introducing new kinds of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs). The interactions with such tools might be cognitively expensive, thus unsuitable for driving tasks. It could for instance be dangerous to use touchscreens with a visual feedback while driving, as it distracts the driver’s visual attention away from the road. Furthermore, new technologies in car cockpits modify the interactions of the users with the central system. In particular, touchscreens are preferred to arrays of buttons for space improvement and design purposes. However, the buttons’ tactile feedback is no more available to the driver, which makes such interfaces more difficult to manipulate while driving. Gestures combined with an auditory feedback might therefore constitute an interesting alternative to interact with the HMI. Indeed, gestures can be performed without vision, which means that the driver’s visual attention can be totally dedicated to the driving task. In fact, the auditory feedback can both inform the driver with respect to the task performed on the interface and on the performed gesture, which might constitute a possible solution to the lack of tactile information. As audition is a relatively unused sense in automotive contexts, gesture sonification can contribute to reducing the cognitive load thanks to the proposed multisensory exploitation. Our approach consists in using a virtual object (VO) to sonify the consequences of the gesture rather than the gesture itself. This approach is motivated by an ecological point of view: Gestures do not make sound, but their consequences do. In this experiment, the aim was to identify efficient sound strategies, to transmit dynamic information of VOs to users through sound. The swipe gesture was chosen for this purpose, as it is commonly used in current and new interfaces. We chose two VO parameters to sonify, the hand-VO distance and the VO velocity. Two kinds of sound parameters can be chosen to sonify the VO behavior: Spectral or temporal parameters. Pitch and brightness were tested as spectral parameters, and amplitude modulation as a temporal parameter. Performances showed a positive effect of sound compared to a no-sound situation, revealing the usefulness of sounds to accomplish the task.

Keywords: auditory feedback, gesture sonification, sound perception, virtual object

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Authors: Ezra N. S. Lockhart

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The number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased approximately 173% during the last decade making ASD the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. This rise in prevalence rates indeed has an effect on schools. ASD is overwhelmingly the most reported primary special education eligibility category for students accessing special education, at a national average of 61.3%. ASD is regarded as an urgent public health concern at an estimated annual per capita cost of $3.2 million. Furthermore, considering that ASD is a lifelong disorder estimated lifetime per capita cost reach $35 billion. The resources available to special education programs are insufficient to meet the educational needs of the 6.4 million students receiving special educational services. This is especially true given that there has been and continues to be a chronic shortage of fully certified special education teachers for decades. Reports indicate that 81.1% of students with special needs spend 40% or more in general education classrooms. Regardless of whether support is implemented in the special education or general education classroom the resource demand is obvious. Schools are actively seeking to implement low-cost alternatives and budget saving measures in response to this demand. In public school settings, programs such as Applied Behavior Analysis are challenging to implement and fund at $40,000 per student per year. As an alternative, computer-based interventions are inexpensive, less time-consuming to implement, and require minimal teacher or paraprofessional training to administer. Affordability, pricing schemes, availability, and compatibility of computer-based interventions that support social and emotional skill development in individuals with ASD are discussed.

Keywords: affordability, autism spectrum disorder, computer-based intervention, emotional skills, social skills

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

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

Keywords: caregivers, cancer, stress, coping

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Authors: Jane Mullen

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Little research has been undertaken on adult dyslexia and the impact it has on those who have professional careers. There are many complexities behind the career decisions people make, but for teachers who are dyslexic, it can be even more complex. Dyslexia particularly impacts on written and verbal communication, as well as planning and organisation skills which are essential skills for a teacher. As the teachers are aware of their areas of weakness many, make the conscious decision not to disclose their disability at work. In England, the reduction to three attempts to pass the compulsory English and Maths tests prior to undertaking teacher training may mean that dyslexics are now excluded from trying to enter the profession. Together with the fact that dyslexic teachers often chose to remain ‘hidden’ the situation appears to be counter to the inclusive rhetoric that dominates the current educational discourse. This paper is based on in-depth narrative research that has been undertaken with a small group of teachers who are dyslexic in England and firstly explores the strategies and resources that the teachers have found useful. The narratives of the teachers are full of difficulties as well as diversity, consequently, the paper secondly examines how life experiences have impacted on the way the teachers see their dyslexia and how it affects them professionally. Using a narrative methodology enables the teachers to tell their ‘stories’ of how they feel their dyslexia impacts on their lives professionally. The first interview centred around a limited number of semi structured questions about family background, educational experiences, career development, management roles and professional disclosure. The second interview focused on the complexities of being a teacher who is dyslexic and to ‘unlock’ some of their work based narratives visual elicitation was used. Photographs of work-based strategies, issues or concerns were sent to the researcher and these were used as the basis for discussion in the second interview. The paper concludes by discussing possible reasonable adjustments and professional development that might benefit teachers who are dyslexic.

Keywords: dyslexia, life history, narrative, professional, professional development, strategies, teachers

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Authors: Mitansha, Suzanne Wilkinson, Regan Potangaroa

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The built environment is designed, maintained, operated, and decommissioned by construction organisations, which play a significant role in providing physical resources and rebuilding infrastructures during major crises and disasters. It is evident that enhancing the resilience of construction organisations allows better responding ability and speedy recovery from disasters and acts as a boon for the nation in the face of significant disruptions. As individuals are the integral component of any organisation, hence, individual resilience is considered a critical aspect, which may boost organisational resilience of construction sector. It has been observed that individual resilience is indirectly supported by organisation’s citizenship behaviour, job performance, and career success. Not only this, it also tends to hold a directly proportional relation with job satisfaction, physical and emotional well-being affected by organisation’s work culture, whereas the resilience of organisation increases as a result of positive adaption, growth and collective learning of the employees as an entity. Moreover, indicators like Situation awareness in staff and crisis related issues, effective vulnerability management, organisational leadership and culture ensured by approachable, encouraging and people-oriented leaders, are prominent for achieving organisational resilience. It, thus, becomes perceptible that both, organisational and individual resiliencies have the potential to influence each other. Consequently, it arises a major question that how these characteristics are associated and tend to behave with respect to each other The study, thus, aims to explore the overlapping dimensions of organisational and individual resilience to determine the impact boundaries. The research methodology of the paper would be based on systematic literature review specifically focused on the resilience of construction industry. This would provide a direct comparison of characteristics influencing individual and organisational resilience and will present the most significant indicators of individual resilience, that can eventually help to enhance the resilience of construction organisations amidst any disaster or crisis.

Keywords: construction industry, individual resilience, organizational resilience, overlapping dimension

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Authors: Islam Abou El-Magd, Elham Ali, Moahmed Zakzouk, Nesreen Khairy, Naglaa Zanaty

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Maine environment and coastal zone are wealthy with natural resources that contribute to the local economy of Egypt. The Gulf of Suez and Red Sea area accommodates diverse human activities that contribute to the local economy, including oil exploration and production, touristic activities, export and import harbors, etc, however, it is always under the threat of pollution due to human interaction and activities. This research aimed at integrating in-situ measurements and remotely sensed data with hydrodynamic model to map and simulate the oil pollution. High-resolution satellite sensors including Sentinel 2 and Plantlab were functioned to trace the oil pollution. Spectral band ratio of band 4 (infrared) over band 3 (red) underpinned the mapping of the point source pollution from the oil industrial estates. This ratio is supporting the absorption windows detected in the hyperspectral profiles. ASD in-situ hyperspectral device was used to measure experimentally the oil pollution in the marine environment. The experiment used to measure water behavior in three cases a) clear water without oil, b) water covered with raw oil, and c) water after a while from throwing the raw oil. The spectral curve is clearly identified absorption windows for oil pollution, particularly at 600-700nm. MIKE 21 model was applied to simulate the dispersion of the oil contamination and create scenarios for crises management. The model requires precise data preparation of the bathymetry, tides, waves, atmospheric parameters, which partially obtained from online modeled data and other from historical in-situ stations. The simulation enabled to project the movement of the oil spill and could create a warning system for mitigation. Details of the research results will be described in the paper.

Keywords: oil pollution, remote sensing, modelling, Red Sea, Egypt

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Authors: Nour Mohamad Fayad

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Complex and extensively researched, the impact of corruption on economic growth seems to be intricate. Many experts believe that corruption reduces economic development. However, counterarguments have suggested that corruption either promotes growth and development or has no significant impact on economic performance. Clearly, there is no consensus in the economics literature regarding the possible relationship between corruption and economic development. Corruption's complex and clandestine nature, which makes it difficult to define and measure, is one of the obstacles that must be overcome when investigating its effect on an economy. In an attempt to contribute to the ongoing debate, this study examines the impact of corruption on economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region between 2000 and 2021 using a Customized Corruption Index-CCI and panel data on MENA countries. These countries were selected because they are understudied in the economic literature, and despite the World Bank's recent emphasis on corruption in the developing world, the MENA countries have received little attention. The researcher used Cobb-Douglas functional form to test corruption in MENA using a customized index known as Customized Corruption Index-CCI to track corruption over almost 20 years, then used the dynamic panel data. The findings indicate that there is a positive correlation between corruption and economic growth, but this is not consistent across all MENA nations. First, the relatively recent lack of data from MENA nations. This issue is related to the inaccessibility of data for many MENA countries, particularly regarding the returns on resources, private malfeasance, and other variables in Gulf countries. In addition, the researcher encountered several restrictions, such as electricity and internet outages, due to the fact that he is from Lebanon, a country whose citizens have endured difficult living conditions since the Lebanese crisis began in 2019. Demonstrating a customized index known as Customized Corruption Index-CCI that suits the characteristics of MENA countries to peculiarly measure corruption in this region, the outcome of the Customized Corruption Index-CCI is then compared to the Corruption Perception Index-CPI and Control of Corruption from World Governance Indicator-CC from WGI.

Keywords: corruption, economic growth, corruption measurements, empirical review, impact of corruption

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Authors: Hauwau Mohammed

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Research purpose: the integration of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) has long been initiated into healthcare systems. This has been to help improve maternal mortality, particularly in developing countries. Nigeria is seen as one of the countries with a high maternal death rate due to common pregnancy complications and low resources. Communities with challenges of universal coverage of skilled workers rely on TBAs for pregnancy-related services, including delivery. The Sokoto State government has conducted several training programs on a significant number of TBAs to enable a formal integration of relationships with skilled healthcare for women in rural regions. This study aims to explore a standard method and develop an assessment framework for improving TBAs training programs in Sokoto State. Research Design, Methodology & Methods : Using a qualitative design, an interpretive phenomenology approach will be applied to explore the lived-experiences of 28 TBAs, who have undergone a form of training while also examining the strategies used to develop those programs through 8 policymakers and/or program trainers. For the collection stage, a focus group discussion and a face-to-face interview will be conducted, where the latter is for TBAs and the former for policymakers and training officials. Analysis: Data will be analyse through IPA format while using Nvivo to code and catalog personal experiential generated patterns. Secondary review: a scoping review of secondary data from Nigeria was used to map the knowledge gap and the extent of available data. The thematic analytic findings suggested that there are various approaches used to incorporate TBAs into the healthcare system, which include interventional programs targeted at specific health issues. In addition, incentives were used to encourage TBAs to facilitate the frequent use of skilled care for women.

Keywords: traditional birth attendants, Nigeria, training, program

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Authors: Abdullah Alnutayfat, Alexander Sutin

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One of the most important types of renewable energy resources is wind energy which can be produced by wind turbines. The blades of the wind turbine are exposed to the pressure of the harsh environment, which causes a significant issue for the wind power industry in terms of the maintenance cost and failure of blades. One of the reliable methods for blade inspection is the vibroacoustic structural health monitoring (SHM) method which examines information obtained from the structural vibrations of the blade. However, all vibroacoustic SHM techniques are based on comparing the structural vibration of intact and damaged structures, which places a practical limit on their use. Methods for nonlinear vibroacoustic SHM are more sensitive to damage and cracking and do not need to be compared to data from the intact structure. This paper presents the Vibro-Acoustic Modulation (VAM) method based on the modulation of high-frequency (probe wave) by low-frequency loads (pump wave) produced by the blade rotation. The blade rotation alternates bending stress due to gravity, leading to crack size variations and variations in the blade resonance frequency. This method can be used with the classical SHM vibration method in which the blade is excited by piezoceramic actuator patches bonded to the blade and receives the vibration response from another piezoceramic sensor. The VAM modification of this method analyzes the spectra of the detected signal and their sideband components. We suggest the VAM model as the simple mechanical oscillator, where the parameters of the oscillator (resonance frequency and damping) are varied due to low-frequency blade rotation. This model uses the blade vibration parameters and crack influence on the blade resonance properties from previous research papers to predict the modulation index (MI).

Keywords: wind turbine blades, damaged detection, vibro-acoustic structural health monitoring, vibro-acoustic modulation

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Authors: Douglas Arthur, Oluwayemisi Ekor, Ernest Obese, Andrew Kissi Agyei, Elvis Ofori Ameyaw

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bjective: Pain negatively impacts every aspect of health, and patients with pain disorders create enormous demands on healthcare systems globally, costing economies up to $635 billion annually. The study was therefore conducted at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), the only Tertiary Hospital in the Central Region of Ghana and was designed to assess pain disorders in patients between 18 and 90 years attending Urology Clinic. Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design, and 149 subjects (16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-90 years) were conveniently selected. The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), a multidimensional instrument that assesses several aspects of pain by the use of words (descriptors) that the patient chooses to express his/her pain, was used as the primary instrument for data collection. A patient profile form (PPF) was also designed to document the demographics and history of patients. Results: The prevalence of pain disorders was higher among females compared to males. The univariate and multivariate analysis showed that females were more likely to experience pain while being married correlated with a lower likelihood of pain. Again, the 45-54 age group exhibited the highest prevalence of pain disorders. Results from the MPQ showed that half of the patients experienced pain on a daily basis, 15.91% had experienced pain for 3-6 months and 37% experienced pain for more than one year. Pain intensity was described by 25% of the subjects as excruciating for their worst pain experience, followed by 21% for the distressing experience. The most frequently reported area of pain was the abdominal region (22.72%). The co-administration of NSAIDs and opioid compounds was provided for 17.46% of the patients with chronic pain. Conclusion: The treatment interventions improved the pain and associated symptoms such as nausea, improved daily activities and ability to sleep. However, attention and resources should be devoted to 45-54 age group.

Keywords: pain, opioids, distressing, excruciating

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Authors: K. Haggag, N. S. Elshemy

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Due to limited fossil resource and an increased need for environmentally friendly, sustainable technologies, the importance of using renewable feed stocks in textile industry area will increase in the decades to come. This research highlights some of the perspectives in this area. Alkyd resins for high characterization and reactive properties, completely based on commercially available renewable resources (sunflower and/or soybean oil) were prepared and characterized. In this work, we present results on the synthesis of various alkyd resins according to the alcoholysis – polyesterification process under different preparation conditions using a microwave synthesis as energy source to determine suitable reaction conditions. Effects of polymerization parameters, such as catalyst ratio, reaction temperature and microwave power level have been studied. The prepared binder was characterized via FT-IR, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), in addition to acid value (AV), iodine value (IV), water absorbance, weight loss, and glass transition temperature. The prepared binder showed high performance physico-mechanical properties. TEM analysis showed that the polymer latex nanoparticle within range of 20–200 nm. The study involved the application of the prepared alkyd resins as binder for pigment printing process onto cotton fabric by using a flat screen technique and the prints were dried and thermal cured. The optimum curing conditions were determined, color strength and fastness properties of pigment printed areas to light, washing, perspiration and crocking were evaluated. The rheological properties and apparent viscosity of prepared binders were measured in addition roughness of the prints was also determined.

Keywords: nano-binder, microwave heating, renewable resource, alkyd resins, sunflower oil, soybean oil

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Authors: Rosa S. Wong, Keith T.S. Tung, Winnie W. Y. Tso, King-Wa Fu, Nirmala Rao, Patrick Ip

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Electronic devices have become an essential part of our lives. Various reports have highlighted the alarming usage of electronic devices at early ages and its long-term developmental consequences. More sedentary screen time was associated with increased adiposity, worse cognitive and motor development, and psychosocial health. Apart from the problems caused by children’s own screen time, parents today are often paying less attention to their children due to hand-held device. Some anecdotes suggest that distracted parenting has negative impact on parent-child relationship. This study examined whether distracted parenting detrimentally affected parent-child activities which may, in turn, impair children’s psychosocial health. In 2018/19, we recruited a cohort of preschoolers from 32 local kindergartens in Tin Shui Wai and Sham Shui Po for a 5-year programme aiming to build stronger foundations for children from disadvantaged backgrounds through an integrated support model involving medical, education and social service sectors. A comprehensive set of questionnaires were used to survey parents on their frequency of being distracted while parenting and their frequency of learning and recreational activities with children. Furthermore, they were asked to report children’s screen time amount and their psychosocial problems. Mediation analyses were performed to test the direct and indirect effects of electronic device-distracted parenting on children’s psychosocial problems. This study recruited 873 children (448 females and 425 males, average age: 3.42±0.35). Longer screen time was associated with more psychosocial difficulties (Adjusted B=0.37, 95%CI: 0.12 to 0.62, p=0.004). Children’s screen time positively correlated with electronic device-distracted parenting (r=0.369, p < 01). We also found that electronic device-distracted parenting was associated with more hyperactive/inattentive problems (Adjusted B=0.66, p < 0.01), fewer prosocial behavior (Adjusted B=-0.74, p < 0.01), and more emotional symptoms (Adjusted B=0.61, p < 0.001) in children. Further analyses showed that electronic device-distracted parenting exerted influences both directly and indirectly through parent-child interactions but to different extent depending upon the outcome under investigation (38.8% for hyperactivity/inattention, 31.3% for prosocial behavior, and 15.6% for emotional symptoms). We found that parents’ use of devices and children’s own screen time both have negative effects on children’s psychosocial health. It is important for parents to set “device-free times” each day so as to ensure enough relaxed downtime for connecting with children and responding to their needs.

Keywords: early childhood, electronic device, psychosocial wellbeing, parenting

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Authors: A. O. Oluwajobi, O. A. Falusi, N. A. Zubbair, T. Owoeye, F. Ladejobi, M. C. Dangana, A. Abubakar

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The technology of mobile telephony has positively enhanced human life and reports on the bio safety of the radiation from their antennae have been contradictory, leading to serious litigations and violent protests by residents in several parts of the world. The crave for more information, as requested by WHO in order to resolve this issue, formed the basis for this study on the effect of the radiation from 900 MHz GSM antenna on the DNA of Hibiscus sabdariffa. Seeds of H. sabdariffa were raised in pots placed in three replicates at 100, 200, 300 and 400 metres from the GSM antennae in three selected test locations and a control where there was no GSM signal. Temperature (˚C) and the relative humidity (%) of study sites were measured for the period of study (24 weeks). Fresh young leaves were harvested from each plant at two, eight and twenty-four weeks after sowing and the DNA extracts were subjected to RAPD-PCR analyses. There were no significant differences between the weather conditions (temperature and relative humidity) in all the study locations. However, significant differences were observed in the intensities of radiations between the control (less than 0.02 V/m) and the test (0.40-1.01 V/m) locations. Data obtained showed that DNA of samples exposed to rays from GSM antenna had various levels of distortions, estimated at 91.67%. Distortions occurred in 58.33% of the samples between 2-8 weeks of exposure while 33.33% of the samples were distorted between 8-24 weeks exposure. Approximately 8.33% of the samples did not show distortions in DNA while 33.33% of the samples had their DNA damaged twice, both at 8 and at 24 weeks of exposure. The study showed that radiation from the 900 MHz GSM antenna is potent enough to cause distortions to DNA of H. sabdariffa even within 2-8 weeks of exposure. DNA damage was also independent of the distance from the antenna. These observations would qualify emissions from GSM mast as environmental hazard to the existence of plant biodiversities and all life forms in general. These results will trigger efforts to prevent further erosion of plant genetic resources which have been threatening food security and also the risks posed to living organisms, thereby making our environment very safe for our existence while we still continue to enjoy the benefits of the GSM technology.

Keywords: damage, DNA, GSM antenna, radiation

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Authors: Abdulfattah A. Q. Alwah, Amal Al‑Attar, Sumyah M. Al-Fanini, Ellen Fetzer

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Cultural landscapes enhance the spiritual relationship between people and their environment. They represent civilized evidence of peoples' interaction with nature and the exploitation of its resources to build their civilization. Yemeni urban and rural environments are rich in many cultural landscape elements that reflect the ingenuity of Yemeni people in interacting with nature. Yemen's mountain cities and villages appear in harmony with mountains, with vertical tower building patterns, local building materials, and unique architectural and urban elements and features. Such cities and villages are still full of life today, such as the cities of Taiz, Ibb, Lahj, and historical Jableh and hundreds of mountain villages in the provinces of the mountainous highlands. The cultivated mountain terraces reflect the ability of Yemenis to create arable areas in the tall mountains and to use successful means of irrigation and rainwater drainage. Unfortunately, there is a severe shortage of research studies that discuss the cultural landscapes in Yemen and the mechanisms for their preservation. Therefore, this study aimed to shed light on the types of mountain cultural landscapes in Yemen and discuss the means of their preservation. The study achieved its objectives through a theoretical review of available studies and field visits to some sites in Ibb, Jableh, and Taiz cities. The study highlighted the human contribution to these sites and elements and showed the Yemenis’ skills in adapting to nature and benefiting from it ideally. This study can guide the competent authorities to assess, develop, and protect cultural landscape sites in Yemen.

Keywords: civilization, urban environment, Yemeni mountain architecture, human heritage conservation, cultural identity

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Authors: Davie Hope Moyo

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The environment is a combination of two things: resources and hazards. One of the hazards that is a result of environmental changes is the occurrence of flooding. Floods are one of the disasters that are highly feared by people because they have a huge impact on the human population and their environment. In recent years, flooding disasters in the Nsanje district are increasing in both frequency and magnitude. This study aims to understand the root causes of this phenomenon. To understand the causes of flooding, this study focused on the case of TA Ndamera in the Nsanje district, southern Malawi. People in the Nsanje district face disruption in their day-to-day life because of floods that affect their communities. When floods happen, people lose their property, land, livestock, and even lives. The study was carried out in order to have a better understanding of the root causes of floods. The findings of this study may help the government and other development agencies to put in place mitigation measures that will make Nsanje District resilient to the occurrence of future flood hazards. Data was collected from the area of TA Ndamera in order to assess the causes of flooding in the district. Interviews, transect walks, and researcher observation was done to appreciate the topography of the district and evaluate other factors that are making the people become vulnerable to the impacts of flooding in the district. It was found that flooding in the district is mainly caused by heavy rainfall in the upper shire, settlements along river banks, deforestation, and the topography of the district in general. The research study ends by providing recommendation strategies that need to be put in place to increase the resilience of the communities to future flood hazards. The research recommends the development of indigenous knowledge systems to alert people of incoming floods, construction of evacuation centers to ease pressure on schools, savings, and insurance schemes, construction of dykes, desilting rivers, and afforestation.

Keywords: disaster causes, mitigation, safety measures, Nsanje Malawi

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Authors: Mustafa Eruyar, Ersoy Pehlivan, Fatih Kafalı, Fatih Gundogan

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All megacities are not only under the pressure of common urbanization and growth problems but also dealing with different challenges according to their specific circumstances. However, the majority of cities focuses mainly on popular smart city projects, which are usually driven by strong private sector, regardless of their characteristics, each city needs to develop customized projects within a tailor-made smart city roadmap to be able to solve its own challenges. Smart city manifest, helps citizens to feel the action better than good reading smart city vision statements, which consists of five elements; namely purpose, values, mission, vision, and strategy. This study designs a methodology for smart city roadmap based on a top-down approach, breaking down of smart city manifest to feasible projects for a systematic smart city transformation. This methodology was implemented in Istanbul smart city transformation program which includes smart city literature review, current state analysis, roadmap, and architecture projects, respectively. Istanbul smart city roadmap project followed an extensive literature review of certain leading smart cities around the world and benchmarking of the city’s current state using well known smart city indices. In the project, needs of citizens and service providers of the city were identified via stakeholder, persona and social media analysis. The project aimed to develop smart city projects targeting fulfilling related needs by implementing a gap analysis between current state and foreseen plans. As a result, in 11 smart city domains and enablers; 24 strategic objectives, 50 programs, and 101 projects were developed with the support of 183 smart city stakeholder entities and based on 125 citizen persona profiles and last one-year social media analysis. In conclusion, the followed methodology helps cities to identify and prioritize their needs and plan for long-term sustainable development, despite limited resources.

Keywords: needs-based, manifest, roadmap, smart city, top-down approach

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Authors: O. Alelweet, S. Pavia

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In order to face current compelling environmental problems affecting the planet, the construction industry needs to adapt. It is widely acknowledged that there is a need for durable, high-performance, low-greenhouse gas emission binders that can be used as an alternative to Portland cement (PC) to lower the environmental impact of construction. Alkali activated materials (AAMs) are considered a more sustainable alternative to PC materials. The binders of AAMs result from the reaction of an alkali metal source and a silicate powder or precursor which can be a calcium silicate or an aluminosilicate-rich material. This paper evaluates the particle size, specific surface area, chemical and mineral composition and amorphousness of silicate materials (most industrial waste locally produced in Ireland and Saudi Arabia) to develop alkali-activated binders that can replace PC resources in specific applications. These include recycled ceramic brick, bauxite, illitic clay, fly ash and metallurgical slag. According to the results, the wastes are reactive and comply with building standards requirements. The study also evidenced that the reactivity of the Saudi bauxite (with significant kaolinite) can be enhanced on thermal activation; and high calcium in the slag will promote reaction; which should be possible with low alkalinity activators. The wastes evidenced variable water demands that will be taken into account for mixing with the activators. Finally, further research is proposed to further determine the reactive fraction of the clay-based precursors.

Keywords: alkali activated materials, alkali-activated binders, sustainable building materials, recycled ceramic brick, bauxite, red mud, clay, fly ash, metallurgical slags, particle size, chemical and mineral composition and amorphousness, water demand, particle density

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Authors: Udomporn Pangnakorn, Settawut Prasatporn, Sombat Chuenchooklin

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The effect of biopesticide on growth, yield and pest infestation of maize (Zea mays Linn.) (variety DK 6818) was evaluated during the drought season. The experimental plots were located at research station of Faculty of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand. The extracted substance from plants was evaluated in the plots in 4 treatments: 1) water as control; 2) bitter bush (Chromolaena odorata L.); 3) neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss), 4) golden shower (Cassia fistula Linn.). The experiment was followed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 4 treatments and 4 replications per treatment. The results showed that golden shower gave the highest growth of maize in term of height (203.29 cm), followed by neem and bitter bush with average height of 202.66 cm and 191.66 cm respectively with significance different. But neem treatment given significantly higher average of yield component in term of length, width, and weight of pod corn with 18.89 cm 13.91 cm and 166.46 g respectively. Also, treatment of neem showed the highest harvested yield at 284.06 kg/ha followed by the golden shower and bitter bush with harvested yield at 245.86 kg/ha and 235.52 kg/ha respectively. Additionally, treatment of neem and golden shower were the highest effectiveness for reducing insects pest infestation of maize: corn leaf aphid Rhopalosiphum maidis Fitch, corn borer Ostrinia fumacalis Guenee and corn armyworm Mythimna separata Walker. The treatment of neem, golden shower, and bitter bush given reduction insect infestation on maize with leaves area were infested at 5,412 mm², 6,827 mm² and 8,910 mm² respectively with significance different when compared to control.

Keywords: maize, Zea mays Linn., biopesticide, bitter bush, Chromolaena odorata L.), neem, Azadirachta indica A. Juss, golden shower, Cassia fistula Linn.

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Authors: Visvaganthie Moodley

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Language use and aesthetic appreciation are integral to meaning-making in prose, as they are in poetry. However, in comparison to poetic analysis, a literary analysis of prose that focuses on linguistics and stylistics is somewhat scarce as it generally requires the study of lengthy texts. Nevertheless, the effect of linguistic and stylistic features in prose as conscious design by authors for creating specific effects and conveying preconceived messages is drawing increasing attention of linguists and literary experts. A close examination of language use in prose can, among a host of literary purposes, convey emotive and cognitive values and contribute to making interpretations about how fictional characters are represented to the imaginative reader. This paper provides a literary analysis of Yann Martel’s narrative of a 14-year-old Indian boy, Pi, who had survived the wreck of a Japanese cargo ship, by focusing on his 227-day journey of tribulations, along with a Bengal tiger, on a lifeboat. The study favours a pluralistic approach blending literary criticism, linguistic analysis and stylistic description. It adopts Leech and Short’s (2007) broad framework of linguistic and stylistic categories (lexical categories, grammatical categories, figures of speech etc. [sic] and context and cohesion) as well as a range of other relevant linguistic phenomena to show how the narrator, Pi, and the author influence the reader’s interpretations of Pi’s character. Such interpretations are made using the lens of Freud’s psychoanalytical theory (which focuses on the interplay of the instinctual id, the ego and the moralistic superego) and Blake’s philosophy of innocence and experience (the two contrary states of the human soul). The paper traces Pi’s transformation from animal-loving, God-fearing vegetarian to brutal animal slayer and cannibal in his journey of survival. By a close examination of the linguistic and stylistic features of the narrative, it argues that, despite evidence of butchery and cannibalism, Pi’s gruesome behaviour is motivated by extreme physiological and psychological duress and not intentional malice. Finally, the paper concludes that the voice of the narrator, Pi, and that of the author, Martel, act as powerful persuasive agents in influencing the reader to respond with a sincere flow of sympathy for Pi and judge him as having retained his innocence in his instinctual need for survival.

Keywords: foregrounding, innocence and experience, lexis, literary analysis, psychoanalytical lens, style

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Authors: Kittipon Chittanukul, Chayut Bureethan, Chutimon Piromyaporn

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In Thailand, the natural gas pipeline system requires the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for approval by the relevant agency, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), in the pre-construction stage. As of December 2022, PTT has a lot of gas pipeline system spanning around the country. Our experience has shown that the EIA is a significant part of the project plan. In 2011, There was a catastrophic flood in multiple areas of Thailand. It destroyed lives and properties. This event is still in Thai people’s mind. Furthermore, rainfall has been increasing for three consecutive years (2020-2022). Moreover, municipalities are situated in low land river basin and tropical rainfall zone. So many areas still suffer from flooding. Especially in 2022, there will be a 60% increase in water demand compared to the previous year. Therefore, all activities will take into account the quality of the receiving water. The above information emphasizes water and wastewater management are significant in EIA report. PTT has accumulated a large number of lessons learned in water and wastewater management. Our pipeline system execution is composed of EIA stage, construction stage, and operation and maintenance phase. We provide practical Information on water and wastewater management to enhance the EIA process for the pipeline system. The examples of lessons learned in water and wastewater management include techniques to address water and wastewater impact throughout the overall pipelines systems, mitigation measures and monitoring results of these measures. This practical information will alleviate the anxiety of the ONEP committee when approving the EIA report and will build trust among stakeholders in the vicinity of the gas pipeline system area.

Keywords: environmental impact assessment, gas pipeline system, low land basin, high risk flooding area, mitigation measure

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Authors: Omran M. Kenshel, Alan J. O'Connor

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Estimating the service life of Reinforced Concrete (RC) bridge structures located in corrosive marine environments of a great importance to their owners/engineers. Traditionally, bridge owners/engineers relied more on subjective engineering judgment, e.g. visual inspection, in their estimation approach. However, because financial resources are often limited, rational calculation methods of estimation are needed to aid in making reliable and more accurate predictions for the service life of RC structures. This is in order to direct funds to bridges found to be the most critical. Criticality of the structure can be considered either form the Structural Capacity (i.e. Ultimate Limit State) or from Serviceability viewpoint whichever is adopted. This paper considers the service life of the structure only from the Structural Capacity viewpoint. Considering the great variability associated with the parameters involved in the estimation process, the probabilistic approach is most suited. The probabilistic modelling adopted here used Monte Carlo simulation technique to estimate the Reliability (i.e. Probability of Failure) of the structure under consideration. In this paper the authors used their own experimental data for the Correlation Length (CL) for the most important deterioration parameters. The CL is a parameter of the Correlation Function (CF) by which the spatial fluctuation of a certain deterioration parameter is described. The CL data used here were produced by analyzing 45 chloride profiles obtained from a 30 years old RC bridge located in a marine environment. The service life of the structure were predicted in terms of the load carrying capacity of an RC bridge beam girder. The analysis showed that the influence of SV is only evident if the reliability of the structure is governed by the Flexure failure rather than by the Shear failure.

Keywords: Chloride-induced corrosion, Monte-Carlo simulation, reinforced concrete, spatial variability

Procedia PDF Downloads 466

Authors: Benjamin Bonsu Bruce, Marian Dorcas Quain David Appiah-Kubi, Gertrude Osei-Diko, Harrison Kwame Dapaah

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Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] is a major staple food and remains a significant crop to many cultural and agricultural customs worldwide. In Ghana, taro is mostly propagated using vegetative material, which is conserved in field collection and recycled from their farms to establish new fields. However, this practice promotes the accumulation of systemic pathogens. Prior exposure to pests and subsequent expression of disease symptoms can also be a huge constraint to sustainable conservation and utilization of taro genetic resources. In vitro, slow growth is one of the most promising techniques to be utilized for conservation. The objective of this study was to find a medium-term in vitro conservation protocol for local and exotic taro genotypes. The medium-term conservation study was conducted using actively growing shoots obtained from in vitro cultures. Explants were cultured to full strength in complete Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with Mannitol at different concentrations (0g/l, 20g/l, 25g/l, and 30g/l). Another medium that was tested as an additional treatment is the White’s medium. The highest number of shoots (6.33) and leaves (22.67) occurred on medium containing 20 and 25g/l mannitol in genotype SAO 006 as compared to other genotypes, whereas 30g/l mannitol was the best to restrict growth for the entire 6 months period in terms of shoot height (22.50cm). The study reveals that mannitol supplemented culture media could reduce the growth of Colocasia plantlets, especially in stem height. Culture growth following 6 months of conservation, showed that healthy shoot cultures of Taro were obtained after 6 months of storage in a medium containing 20gl⁻¹ and 25gl⁻¹ mannitol.

Keywords: complete murashige, skoog medium, culture conditions, mannitol, slow growth conservation

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Giulia Sarego, Lorenzo Olivieri, Andrea Valmorbida, Carlo Bettanini, Giacomo Colombatti, Marco Pertile, Enrico C. Lorenzini

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International guidelines recommend removing any artificial body in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) within 25 years from mission completion. Among disposal strategies, electrodynamic tethers appear to be a promising option for LEO, thanks to the limited storage mass and the minimum interface requirements to the host spacecraft. In particular, recent technological advances make it feasible to deorbit large objects with tether lengths of a few kilometers or less. To further investigate such an innovative passive system, the European Union is currently funding the project E.T.PACK – Electrodynamic Tether Technology for Passive Consumable-less Deorbit Kit in the framework of the H2020 Future Emerging Technologies (FET) Open program. The project focuses on the design of an end of life disposal kit for LEO satellites. This kit aims to deploy a taped tether that can be activated at the spacecraft end of life to perform autonomous deorbit within the international guidelines. In this paper, the orbital performance of the E.T.PACK deorbiting kit is compared to other disposal methods. Besides, the orbital decay prediction is parametrized as a function of spacecraft mass and tether system performance. Different values of length, width, and thickness of the tether will be evaluated for various scenarios (i.e., different initial orbital parameters). The results will be compared to other end-of-life disposal methods with similar allocated resources. The analysis of the more innovative system’s performance with the tape coated with a thermionic material, which has a low work-function (LWT), for which no active component for the cathode is required, will also be briefly discussed. The results show that the electrodynamic tether option can be a competitive and performant solution for satellite disposal compared to other deorbit technologies.

Keywords: deorbiting performance, H2020, spacecraft disposal, space electrodynamic tethers

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Authors: Maria Jose Granero Paris, Ana Isabel Jimenez Zarco, Agustin Pablo Alvarez Herranz

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In the industrial sector the collaboration along the supply chain is key especially in order to develop product, production methods or process innovations. The access to resources and knowledge not being available inside the company, the achievement of cost competitive solutions, the reduction of the time required to innovate are some of the benefits linked with the collaboration with suppliers. The big industrial manufacturers have a long tradition to collaborate with their suppliers to develop new products in the developed countries. Since they have increased their global supply chains and global sourcing activities, the objective of the research is to analyse if the same best practices, way of working, experiences, information technology tools, governance methodologies are applied when collaborating with suppliers in the developed world or in developing countries. Most of the current research focuses to analyse the Supply Chain Collaboration in the developed countries and in recent years the number of publications related to the Supply Chain Collaboration in developing countries has increased, but there is still a lack of research comparing both and analysing the similarities, differences and key success factors among the Supply Chain Collaboration practices in developed and developing countries. With this gap in mind, the research under preparation will focus on the following goals: -Identify the most important elements required for a successful supply chain collaboration in the developed and developing countries. -Set up the optimal governance framework to manage the supply chain collaboration in the developed and developing countries. -Define some recommendations about required improvements in the current supply chain collaboration business relationship practices in place. Following the case methodology we will analyze the way manufacturers and suppliers collaborate in the development of new products, production methods or process innovations and in the set up of new global supply chains in two industries with different level of technology intensity and collaboration history being the automotive and aerospace industries.

Keywords: global supply chain networks, Supply Chain Collaboration, supply chain governance, supply chain performance

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Authors: Sunday Nathaniel Obasi, Chiamak Chinasa Obasi

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Soil characterization and classification provide the basic information necessary to create a functional evaluation and soil classification schemes. Fertility capability classification (FCC) on the other hand is a technical system that groups the soils according to kinds of problems they present for management of soil physical and chemical properties. This research was carried out in Ebonyi state, southeastern Nigeria, which is an agrarian state and a leading rice producing part of southeastern Nigeria. In order to maximize the soil and enhance the productivity of rice in Ebonyi soils, soil classification, and fertility classification information need to be supplied. The state was grouped into three locations according to their agricultural zones namely; Ebonyi north, Ebonyi central and Ebonyi south representing Abakaliki, Ikwo and Ivo locations respectively. Major rice growing areas of the soils were located and two profile pits were sunk in each of the studied zones from which soils were characterized, classified and fertility capability classification (FCC) developed. Soil classification was done using United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Taxonomy and correlated with World Reference Base for soil resources. Results obtained classified Abakaliki 1 and Abakaliki 2 as Typic Fluvaquents (Ochric Fluvisols). Ikwo 1 was classified as Vertic Eutrudepts (Eutric Vertisols) while Ikwo 2 was classified as Typic Eutrudepts (Eutric Cambisols). Ivo 1 and Ivo 2 were both classified as Aquic Eutrudepts (Gleyic Leptosols). Fertility capability classification (FCC) revealed that all studied soils had mostly loamy topsoils and subsoils except Ikwo 1 with clayey topsoil. Limitations encountered in the studied soils include; dryness (d), low ECEC (e), low nutrient capital reserve (k) and water logging/ anaerobic condition (gley). Thus, FCC classifications were Ldek for Abakaliki 1 and 2, Ckv for Ikwo 1, LCk for Ikwo 2 while Ivo 1 and 2 were Legk and Lgk respectively.

Keywords: soil classification, soil fertility, limitations, modifiers, Southeastern Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Ajved Ahmed

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This research paper explores the intricate relationship between sports activities and disability, aiming to shed light on the multifaceted impacts of sports participation on individuals with disabilities. As the world grapples with the challenges posed by the growing population of people with disabilities, understanding the role of sports in their lives becomes increasingly important. The paper begins by providing a comprehensive overview of the diverse forms of disabilities, emphasizing the wide spectrum of physical, sensory, and cognitive impairments. It then delves into the benefits of sports activities for individuals with disabilities, highlighting the profound physical, psychological, and social advantages that engagement in sports can offer. These benefits encompass improved physical fitness, enhanced self-esteem and mental well-being, increased social integration, and a sense of empowerment and independence. Furthermore, the paper examines the barriers and challenges that individuals with disabilities often encounter when attempting to participate in sports activities, ranging from inaccessible facilities to societal prejudices and stereotypes. It underscores the critical role of inclusive sports programs, adaptive equipment, and policy initiatives in overcoming these barriers and fostering an environment where everyone can enjoy the benefits of sports. Through a comprehensive review of existing research and case studies, the paper also explores specific sports and their suitability for various types of disabilities. It discusses adapted sports like wheelchair basketball, blind soccer, and para-swimming, showcasing how these tailored activities not only accommodate disabilities but also promote excellence and competition at the highest levels. Additionally, the research paper delves into the economic and societal implications of increased sports participation among individuals with disabilities. It explores the potential for greater inclusion in the workforce, reduced healthcare costs, and the fostering of a more inclusive and accepting society. This research paper underscores the profound impact of sports activities on individuals with disabilities, highlighting their potential to improve physical health, mental well-being, and social integration. It calls for continued efforts to break down barriers and promote inclusive sports programs to ensure that everyone, regardless of their abilities, can access the transformative power of sports. Ultimately, this study contributes to a broader understanding of disability and sports, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and accessibility in creating a more equitable and healthier society.

Keywords: sports and health, sports and disability, curing disability through sports, health benefits of sports

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Authors: Mahmoud Abdel Hameed Shahin

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Job demands that are incompatible with an employee's skills, resources, or needs cause unpleasant emotional and physical reactions known as job stress. Nurses offer care in hospital emergency rooms all around the world, and since they operate in such a dynamic and unpredictable setting, they are constantly under pressure. It has been discovered that job stress has harmful impacts on nurses' health as well as their capacity to handle the demands of their jobs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of job stress experienced by the emergency department nurses at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Buraidah City, Saudi Arabia. In October 2021, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. 80 nurses were conveniently selected for the study, the bulk of them worked at King Fahad Specialist Hospital's emergency department. An electronic questionnaire with a sociodemographic data sheet and a job stress scale was given to the participating nurses after ethical approval was received from the Ministry of Health's representative bodies. Using SPSS Version 26, both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze and tabulate the acquired data. According to the findings, the factors that contributed to the most job stress in the clinical setting were having an excessive amount of work to do and working under arbitrary deadlines, whereas the factors that contributed to the least stress were receiving the proper recognition or rewards for good work. In the emergency room of King Fahad Specialist Hospital, nurses had a moderate level of stress (M=3.32 ± 0.567/5). Based on their experience, emergency nurses' levels of job stress varied greatly, with nurses with less than a year of experience notably experiencing the lowest levels of job stress. The amount of job stress did not differ significantly based on the emergency nurses' age, nationality, gender, marital status, position, or level of education. The causes and impact of stress on emergency nurses should be identified and alleviated by hospitals through the implementation of interventional programs.

Keywords: emergency nurses, job pressure, Qassim, Saudi Arabia, job stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Durga Toshniwal, Lokesh Agrawal

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As the web continues to play an increasing role in information exchange, and conducting daily activities, computer users have become the target of miscreants which infects hosts with malware or adware for financial gains. Unfortunately, even a single visit to compromised web site enables the attacker to detect vulnerabilities in the user’s applications and force the downloading of multitude of malware binaries. We provide an approach to effectively scan the so-called drive-by downloads on the Internet. Drive-by downloads are result of URLs that attempt to exploit their visitors and cause malware to be installed and run automatically. To scan the web for malicious pages, the first step is to use a crawler to collect URLs that live on the Internet, and then to apply fast prefiltering techniques to reduce the amount of pages that are needed to be examined by precise, but slower, analysis tools (such as honey clients or antivirus programs). Although the technique is effective, it requires a substantial amount of resources. A main reason is that the crawler encounters many pages on the web that are legitimate and needs to be filtered. In this paper, to characterize the nature of this rising threat, we present implementation of a web crawler on Python, an approach to search the web more efficiently for pages that are likely to be malicious, filtering benign pages and passing remaining pages to antivirus program for detection of malwares. Our approaches starts from an initial seed of known, malicious web pages. Using these seeds, our system generates search engines queries to identify other malicious pages that are similar to the ones in the initial seed. By doing so, it leverages the crawling infrastructure of search engines to retrieve URLs that are much more likely to be malicious than a random page on the web. The results shows that this guided approach is able to identify malicious web pages more efficiently when compared to random crawling-based approaches.

Keywords: web crawler, malwares, seeds, drive-by-downloads, security

Procedia PDF Downloads 222

Authors: Esmeralda Hysenbelliu

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The aim of this paper is to present the QoE (Quality of Experience) IPTV SDN-based media streaming server enhanced architecture for configuring, controlling, management and provisioning the improved delivery of IPTV service application with low cost, low bandwidth, and high security. Furthermore, it is given a virtual QoE IPTV SDN-based topology to provide an improved IPTV service based on QoE Control and Management of multimedia services functionalities. Inside OpenFlow SDN Controller there are enabled in high flexibility and efficiency Service Load-Balancing Systems; based on the Loading-Balance module and based on GeoIP Service. This two Load-balancing system improve IPTV end-users Quality of Experience (QoE) with optimal management of resources greatly. Through the key functionalities of OpenFlow SDN controller, this approach produced several important features, opportunities for overcoming the critical QoE metrics for IPTV Service like achieving incredible Fast Zapping time (Channel Switching time) < 0.1 seconds. This approach enabled Easy and Powerful Transcoding system via FFMPEG encoder. It has the ability to customize streaming dimensions bitrates, latency management and maximum transfer rates ensuring delivering of IPTV streaming services (Audio and Video) in high flexibility, low bandwidth and required performance. This QoE IPTV SDN-based media streaming architecture unlike other architectures provides the possibility of Channel Exchanging between several IPTV service providers all over the word. This new functionality brings many benefits as increasing the number of TV channels received by end –users with low cost, decreasing stream failure time (Channel Failure time < 0.1 seconds) and improving the quality of streaming services.

Keywords: improved quality of experience (QoE), OpenFlow SDN controller, IPTV service application, softwarization

Procedia PDF Downloads 140