Search results for: local resident's attitude
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 6620

Search results for: local resident's attitude

6110 Tender Systems and Processes within the Mauritian Construction Industry: Investigating the Predominance of International Firms and the Lack of Absorptive Capacity in Local Firms

Authors: K. Appasamy, P. Paul

Abstract:

Mauritius, a developing small-island-state, is facing a recession which is having a considerable economic impact particularly on its construction sector. Further, the presence of foreign entities, both as companies and workers, within this sector is creating a very competitive environment for local firms. This study investigates the key drivers that allow foreign firms to participate in this sector, in particular looking at the international and local tender processes, and the capacity of local industry to participate. This study also looks at how the current set up may hinder the latter’s involvement. The methodology used included qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with established foreign companies, local companies, and public bodies. Study findings indicate: there is an adequate availability of professional skills and expertise within the Mauritian construction industry but a lack of skilled labour especially at the operative level; projects awarded to foreign firms are either due to their uniqueness and hence lack of local knowledge, or due to foreign firms having lower tender bids; tendering systems and processes are weak, including monitoring and enforcement, which encourages corruption and favouritism; a high level of ignorance of this sector’s characteristics and opportunities exists amongst the local population; local entities are very profit oriented and have short term strategies that discourage long term investment in workforce training and development; but most importantly, stakeholders do not grasp the importance of encouraging youngsters to join this sector, they have no long term vision, and there is a lack of mutual involvement and collaboration between them. Although local industry is highly competent, qualified and experienced, the tendering and procurement systems in Mauritius are not conducive enough to allow for effective strategic planning and an equitable allocation of projects during an economic downturn so that the broadest spread of stakeholders’ benefit. It is of utmost importance that all sector and government entities collaborate to formulate strategies and reforms on tender processes and capacity building to ensure fairness and continuous growth of this sector in Mauritius.

Keywords: construction industry, tender process, international firms, local capacity, Mauritius

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6109 The Role of Multinational Enterprises' Investments in Emerging Country's Economic Development, Case of Georgia

Authors: V. Charaia

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From the strategic point of view, not all Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) are always positively benefiting the host economy, i.e. not all Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are promoting local/host economies. FDI could have different impact on different sectors of the economy, based not only on annual investment amount, but MNE motivations and peculiarities of the host economy in particular. FDI analysis based only on its amount can lead to incorrect decisions, it is much more important to understand the essence of investment. Consequently, our research is oriented on MNE’s motivations, answering which sectors are most popular among international investors and why, what motivated them to invest into one or another business. Georgian economy for the last period of time is attracting more and more efficiency seeking investments, which could be translated as - concentrating production in a limited number of locations to supply various markets, while benefiting local economy with: new technologies, employment, exports diversification, increased income for the local economy and so on. Foreign investors and MNEs in particular are no longer and not so much interested in the resource seeking investments, which was the case for Georgia in the last decade of XX century. Despite the fact of huge progress for the Georgian economy, still there is a room for foreign investors to make a local market oriented investments. The local market is still rich in imported products, which should be replaced by local ones. And the last but not the least important issue is that approximately 30% of all FDIs in Georgia according to this research are “efficiency seeking” investments, which is an enormous progress and a hope for future Georgian success.

Keywords: investments, MNE, FDI motivations, Georgian economy

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6108 Secondary Science Teachers' Views about Purposes of Practical Works in School Science

Authors: Kew-Cheol Shim, Sung-Hwan Moon, Ji-Hyon Kil, Kyoungho Kim

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The purpose of this paper was to examine views of secondary school science teachers about purposes to use practical works in school science. The instrument to survey consisted eighteen items, which were categorized into four components as follows: ‘Scientific inquiry’, ‘Scientific knowledge’, ‘Science-related attitude’, and ‘STS (science-technology-society)’. Subjects were 152 secondary school science teachers (male 70 and female 82; middle school 50 and high school 102), who are teaching in 42 schools of 8 provinces. On the survey, science teachers were asked to answer on 5-point Lickert scale (from 1 to 5) how they thought of using practical works on purposes with domains of science objectives in school. They had positive views about using practical works for improving scientific inquiry process skills, science-related attitudes, and perceptions about STS literacy, and acquiring scientific knowledge. They would have the most willingness of using practical works for ‘Scientific Inquiry’ among domains of science objectives in school.

Keywords: secondary school, science teacher, practical work, scientific inquiry, scientific knowledge, scientific attitude, STS

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6107 Nitrogen Fixation, Cytokinin and Exopolysachharide Production by indigenous Azotobacter spp. from East Nusa Tenggara

Authors: Reginawanti Hindersah, Widiya Septiani Perdanawati, Dewi Azizah Sulaksana, Hidiyah Ayu Ma’rufah

Abstract:

Maize in some region in East Nusa Tenggara Indonesia bordering Republic Democratic of Timor Leste is important local food crop and commonly cultivated using conventional method without appropriate plant nutrition system so that productivity is still low. A way to enhance local corn yield is adding biofertilizer containing nitrogen (N2) fixing bacteria such as Azotobacter. The purpose of this research was to determine N2 fixation, cytokinin as well as exopolysachharide production capacity of six indigenous Azotobacter strains in pure culture. The N2 fixation capacities of native 3 day old Azotobacter strains added to Ashby Media varied from 0.01 to 0.39 µM/g/hour. Cytokinin production of these strain in liquid culture of N-free Media was 0.11 to 40.04 ppm while exopolysachharide content in liquid culture of Vermani Media varied from 0.4 to 27.3 g/L. This results demonstrate that some local Azotobacter strains might be used as biofertilizer.

Keywords: azotobacter, local isolate, N fixation, phythohormone, exopolysaccaride

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6106 Pahlevāni and Zoorkhāneh Rituals as Creative Cultural Product in Tourism; Case Study: Isfahan, Iran

Authors: Neda Torabi Farsani, Mohammad Mortazavi, Maryam Masaeli

Abstract:

Nowadays intangible heritage as a creative product plays an important role in promoting tourism. The intangible heritage is transmitted from past generation to the present and future generation and constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, nature and history. In recent decade, intangible heritage especially Pahlevāni and Zoorkhāneh rituals as creative cultural product attract many tourists to a destination and they well-known as tourist attractions in Iran. The study was conducted in Isfahan city. This research has two major purposes: 1) to introduce Pahlevāni and Zoorkhāneh ritual as tourist attraction and, 2) to investigate the attitude of domestic tourists towards Pahlevāni and Zoorkhāneh ritual in Isfahan city. On the basis of the results of this study, it can be concluded that the domestic tourists are interested in gaining experience and increasing their knowledge in Pahlevāni and Zoorkhāneh ritual.

Keywords: Isfahan, Pahlevāni and Zoorkhāneh ritual, tourist attitude, Iran

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6105 Red Clay Properties and Application for Ceramic Production

Authors: Ruedee Niyomrath

Abstract:

This research aimed at surveying the local red clay raw material sources in Samut Songkram province, Thailand to test the physical and chemical properties of the local red clay, including to find the approach to develop the local red clay properties for ceramic production. The findings of this research would be brought to apply in the ceramic production industry of the country all at the upstream level which was the community in the raw material source, at the mid water level which was the ceramic producer and at the downstream level which was the distributor and the consumer as well as the community producer who would apply them to their identity and need of the community business.

Keywords: chemical properties of red clay, physical properties of red clay, ceramic production, red clay product

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6104 Interaction of Local, Flexural-Torsional, and Flexural Buckling in Cold-Formed Steel Lipped-Angle Compression Members

Authors: K. C. Kalam Aswathy, M. V. Anil Kumar

Abstract:

The possible failure modes of cold-formed steel (CFS) lipped angle (LA) compression members are yielding, local, flexural-torsional, or flexural buckling, and any possible interaction between these buckling modes. In general, the strength estimated by current design guidelines is conservative for these members when flexural-torsional buckling (FTB) is the first global buckling mode, as the post-buckling strength of this mode is not accounted for in the global buckling strength equations. The initial part of this paper reports the results of an experimental and numerical study of CFS-LA members undergoing independent FTB. The modifications are suggested to global buckling strength equations based on these results. Subsequently, the reduction in the ultimate strength from strength corresponding to independent buckling modes for LA members undergoing interaction between buckling modes such as local-flexural torsional, flexural-flexural torsional, local-flexural, and local-flexural torsional-flexural are studied systematically using finite element analysis results. A simple and more accurate interaction equation that accounts for the above interactions between buckling modes in CFS-LA compression members is proposed.

Keywords: buckling interactions, cold-formed steel, flexural-torsional buckling, lipped angle

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6103 A Multi-Population DE with Adaptive Mutation and Local Search for Global Optimization

Authors: Zhoucheng Bao, Haiyan Zhu, Tingting Pang, Zuling Wang

Abstract:

This paper proposes a multi-population DE with adaptive mutation and local search for global optimization, named AMMADE. In order to better coordinate the cooperation between the populations and the rational use of resources. In AMMADE, the population is divided based on the Euclidean distance sorting method at each generation to appropriately coordinate the cooperation between subpopulations and the usage of resources, such that the best-performed subpopulation will get more computing resources in the next generation. Further, an adaptive local search strategy is employed on the best-performed subpopulation to achieve a balanced search. The proposed algorithm has been tested by solving optimization problems taken from CEC2014 benchmark problems. Experimental results show that our algorithm can achieve a competitive or better than related methods. The results also confirm the significance of devised strategies in the proposed algorithm.

Keywords: differential evolution, multi-mutation strategies, memetic algorithm, adaptive local search

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6102 The Relationship between Celebrity Worship and Religiosity: A Study in Turkish Context

Authors: Saadet Taşyürek Demirel, Halide Sena Koçyiğit, Rümeysa Fatma Çetin

Abstract:

Celebrity worship, characterized by excessive admiration and devotion towards public figures, often mirrors elements of religious fervor. This study delves into the intricate connection between celebrity worship and religiosity, particularly within the Turkish cultural context, where Islamic values predominantly shape societal norms. The investigation involves the adaptation of the Celebrity Attitude Scale into Turkish and scrutinizes the interplay between young individuals' religiosity and their extreme adulation of celebrities. Additionally, the study explores potential moderating factors, such as age and gender, that might influence this relationship. A cohort of 197 young adults, aged 19 to 30, participated in this research, responding to self-administered questionnaires that assessed their attitudes towards celebrities using the adapted Celebrity Attitude Scale, along with their self-reported religiosity. The anticipated relationship between religiosity and celebrity worship is hypothesized to exhibit a non-linear pattern. Specifically, we expect religiosity to positively predict celebrity worship tendencies among individuals with minimal to moderate religiosity levels. Conversely, a negative association between religiosity and celebrity worship is expected to manifest among participants exhibiting moderate to high levels of religiosity. The findings of this study will contribute to the comprehension of the intricate dynamics between celebrity worship and religiosity, offering insights specifically within the Turkish cultural context. By shedding light on this relationship, the study aims to enhance our understanding of the multifaceted influences that shape individuals' perceptions and behaviors towards both celebrities and religious inclinations. Methodology of the study: A quantitative research will be conducted, where the factor analysis and correlational method will be used. The factor structure of the scale will be determined with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability, internal consistency, Objectives of the study: This study examines the relationship between religiosity and celebrity worship by young adults in the Turkish context. The other aim of the study is to assess the Turkish validity and reliability of the Celebrity Attitude Scale and contribute it to the literature. Main Contributions of the study: The study aims to introduce celebrity worship to Turkish literature, assess the Celebrity Attitude Scale's reliability in a Turkish sample, explore manifestations of celebrity worship, and examine its link to religiosity. This research addresses the lack of Turkish sources on celebrity worship and extends understanding of the concept.

Keywords: celebrity, worship, religiosity, god

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6101 Effects of Local Ground Conditions on Site Response Analysis Results in Hungary

Authors: Orsolya Kegyes-Brassai, Zsolt Szilvágyi, Ákos Wolf, Richard P. Ray

Abstract:

Local ground conditions have a substantial influence on the seismic response of structures. Their inclusion in seismic hazard assessment and structural design can be realized at different levels of sophistication. However, response results based on more advanced calculation methods e.g. nonlinear or equivalent linear site analysis tend to show significant discrepancies when compared to simpler approaches. This project's main objective was to compare results from several 1-D response programs to Eurocode 8 design spectra. Data from in-situ site investigations were used for assessing local ground conditions at several locations in Hungary. After discussion of the in-situ measurements and calculation methods used, a comprehensive evaluation of all major contributing factors for site response is given. While the Eurocode spectra should account for local ground conditions based on soil classification, there is a wide variation in peak ground acceleration determined from 1-D analyses versus Eurocode. Results show that current Eurocode 8 design spectra may not be conservative enough to account for local ground conditions typical for Hungary.

Keywords: 1-D site response analysis, multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW), seismic CPT, seismic hazard assessment

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6100 Minority Students' Attitudes on Preferential Policies for Ethnic Minorities in China: Case Study of an Institute of Education for Ethnic Minorities

Authors: Xiaoxu Liu, Yuwen Chen

Abstract:

In this study, we investigated ethnic minority students’ perception of the implementation of preferential policies in China. Using a mixed methods design, we surveyed 320 students from an institute of education for ethnic minorities and conducted further in-depth interviews with seven respondents. Although interviewees were from 30 ethnic groups, most of them were from mainstream high schools. We found that minority students from preparatory classes have an overall positive attitude towards preferential policies and preparatory class but lack sense of belonging to the university for various reasons. Findings indicate that although preparatory class is regarded as being helpful for minority students’ academic development, there are differences of attitude mainly depending on the high schools they graduated from and their ethnic identities. Our analyses suggest that ethnicity, high school graduated from, hometown and family income are more important than gender, religion, and political affiliation when accounting for their perceptions of the implementation of preferential policies in China.

Keywords: Chinese minority education, higher education, preferential policies, survey analysis

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6099 Subsidying Local Health Policy Programs as a Public Management Tool in the Polish Health Care System

Authors: T. Holecki, J. Wozniak-Holecka, P. Romaniuk

Abstract:

Due to the highly centralized model of financing health care in Poland, local self-government rarely undertook their own initiatives in the field of public health, particularly health promotion. However, since 2017 the possibility of applying for a subsidy to health policy programs has been allowed, with the additional resources to be retrieved from the National Health Fund, which is the dominant payer in the health system. The amount of subsidy depends on the number of inhabitants in a given unit and ranges about 40% of the total cost of the program. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of newly implemented solutions in financing health policy on the management of public finances, as well as on the activity provided by local self-government in health promotion. An effort to estimate the amount of expenses that both local governments, and the National Health Fund, spent on local health policy programs while implementing the new solutions. The research method is the analysis of financial data obtained from the National Health Fund and from local government units, as well as reports published by the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Pricing, which holds substantive control over the health policy programs, and releases permission for their implementation. The study was based on a comparative analysis of expenditures on the implementation of health programs in Poland in years 2010-2018. The presentation of the results includes the inclusion of average annual expenditures of local government units per 1 inhabitant, the total number of positively evaluated applications and the percentage share in total expenditures of local governments (16 voivodships areas). The most essential purpose is to determine whether the assumptions of the subsidy program are working correctly in practice, and what are the real effects of introducing legislative changes into local government levels in the context of public health tasks. The assumption of the study was that the use of a new motivation tool in the field of public management would result in multiplication of resources invested in the provision of health policy programs. Preliminary conclusions show that financial expenditures changed significantly after the introduction of public funding at the level of 40%, obtaining an increase in funding from own funds of local governments at the level of 80 to 90%.

Keywords: health care system, health policy programs, local self-governments, public health management

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6098 Monitoring and Evaluation of Master Science Trainee Educational Students to their Practicum in Teaching Physics for Improving and Creating Attitude Skills for Sustainable Developing Upper Secondary Students in Thailand

Authors: T. Santiboon, S. Tongbu, P. S. Saihong

Abstract:

This study focuses on investigating students' perceptions of their physics classroom learning environments of their individualizations and their interactions with the instructional practicum in teaching physics of the master science trainee educational students for improving and creating attitude skills’ sustainable development toward physics for upper secondary educational students in Thailand. Associations between these perceptions and students' attitudes toward physics were also determined. The learning environment perceptions were obtained using the 35-item Physics Laboratory Environment Inventory (PLEI) modified from the original Science Laboratory Environment Inventory. The 25-item Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) was assessed those dimensions which distinguish individualized physics classrooms from convention on individualized open and inquiry-based education Teacher-student interactions were assessed with the 48-item Questionnaires on Teacher Interaction (QTI). Both these questionnaires have an Actual Form (assesses the class as it actually is) and a Preferred Form (asks the students what they would prefer their class to be like - the ideal situation). Students’ creating attitude skills’ sustainable development toward physics were assessed with the Test Of Physics-Related Attitude (TOPRA) modified from the original Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA) The questionnaires were administered in three phases with the Custer Random Sampling technique to a sample consisted of 989 students in 28 physics classes from 10 schools at the grade 10, 11, and 12 levels in the Secondary Educational Service Area 26 (Maha Sarakham Province) and Area 27 (Roi-Et). Statistically significant differences were found between the students' perceptions of actual-1, actual-2 and preferred environments of their physics laboratory and distinguish individualized classrooms, and teacher interpersonal behaviors with their improving and creating attitudes skills’ sustainable development to their physics classes also were found. Predictions of the monitoring and evaluation of master science trainee educational students of their practicum in teaching physics; students’ skills developments of their physics achievements’ sustainable for the set of actual and preferred environments as a whole and physics related attitudes also were correlated. The R2 values indicate that 58%, 67%, and 84% of the variances in students’ attitudes to their actuale-1, actual-2 and preferred for the PLEI; 42%,science trainee educational students of their practicum in teaching physics; students’ skill developments of their physics achievements’ sustainable for the set of actual and preferred environments as a whole and physics related attitudes also were correlated. The R2 values indicate that 58%, 67%, and 84% of the variances in students’ attitudes to their actuale-1, actual-2 and preferred for the PLEI; 42%, 63%, and 72% for the ICEQ, and 38%, 59%, and 68% for the QTI in physics environment classes were attributable to their perceptions of their actual and preferred physics environments and their developing creative science skills’ sustainable toward physics, consequently. Based on all the findings, suggestions for improving the physics laboratory and individualized classes and teacher interpersonal behaviors with students' perceptions are provided of their improving and creating attitude skills’ sustainable development by the master science trainee educational students ’ instructional administrations.

Keywords: promotion, instructional model, qualitative method, reflective thinking, trainee teacher student

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6097 Knowledge, Attitude and Practice: An Investigation into the Challenges to Effective Parenting among Malay-Muslim Fathers in Singapore

Authors: Mohamad Shamsuri Juhari

Abstract:

Fathers who positively involve themselves in their children’s lives will have had a constructive influence on the latter’s social, behavioural, and psychological development. This paper will share the preliminary findings of an ongoing research project which investigates Singaporean fathers from the nation’s minority Malay-Muslim community who commit the reverse, that is, it intends to study the reasons behind these fathers’ non-involvement during the period of their children’s developing years be it through absence, disinterest or ignorance. For instance, children from homes with absentee fathers are more likely to develop deficiencies in attitude and conduct. A father’s negative show of parental skills can also cause setbacks in the child’s education, economic instability in the latter’s future family life, as well as the likelihood of an ensuing intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour. In the context of the minority Singaporean Malay-Muslim community, the need to investigate the challenges faced by fathers from the ethnic group in carrying out their parental roles arose due to the perceptible rise in statistics reflecting delinquency among its youths. This has resulted in other associated issues such as teenage pregnancies (and the subsequent cyclical patterns of divorce and single motherhood), over-representation in the data for drug offences, and under-representation in statistics reflecting academic achievement. While other factors are known to be involved, these negative outcomes have also been attributed to the lack of fatherly guidance in the affected Malay families. This still-ongoing research project is being carried out in two phases: The first by means of secondary research as well as exploratory data collection via roundtable and focus group discussions with fathers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. This sets the way for the second phase in which a survey will be undertaken, followed by a series of in-depth face-to-face interviews. The research findings will then be translated into intervention initiatives to overcome the identified challenges. Based on the results collated from Phase 1 of the research, this paper will share a ‘first look’ on the challenges to effective parenting faced by Malay-Muslim fathers in Singapore specifically those relating to the socio-cultural domains of attitude, knowledge, and practice.

Keywords: Malay fathers, socio-cultural domains, attitude, knowledge, practice

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6096 A Thematic Analysis on the Drivers of Community Participation for River Restoration Projects, the Case of Kerala, India

Authors: Alvin Manuel Vazhayil, Chaozhong Tan, Karl M. Wantzen

Abstract:

As local community participation in river restoration projects is increasingly recognized to be crucial for sustainable outcomes, researchers are exploring factors that motivate community participation globally. In India, while there is consensus in literature on the importance of community engagement in river restoration projects, research on what drives local communities to participate is limited, especially given the societal and economic challenges common in the Global South. This study addresses this gap by exploring the drivers of community participation in the local river restoration initiatives of the "Now Let Me Flow" campaign in Kerala, India. The project aimed to restore 87,000 kilometers of streams through the middle-ground governance approach that integrated bottom-up community efforts with top-down governmental support. The fieldwork involved interviews with 26 key agents, including local leaders, policy practitioners, politicians, and environmental activists associated with the project, and the collection of secondary data from 12 documents including project reports and news articles. The data was analyzed in NVivo (NVivo 11 Plus for Windows, version 11.3.0.773) using thematic analysis which included two cycles of systematic coding. The findings reveal two main drivers influencing community participation: top-down actions from local governments, and bottom-up drivers within the community. The study highlights the importance of local stakeholder collaboration, support of local governments, and local community engagement in successful river restoration projects. These findings are consistent with other empirical studies on participatory environmental problem-solving globally. The results offer crucial insights for policymakers and governments to better design and implement effective and sustainable participatory river restoration projects.

Keywords: community initiatives, drivers of participation, environmental governance, river restoration

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6095 Administrative Supervision of Local Authorities’ Activities in Selected European Countries

Authors: Alina Murtishcheva

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The development of an effective system of administrative supervision is a prerequisite for the functioning of local self-government on the basis of the rule of law. Administrative supervision of local self-government is of particular importance in the EU countries due to the influence of integration processes. The central authorities act on the international level; however, subnational authorities also have to implement European legislation in order to strengthen integration. Therefore, the central authority, being the connecting link between supranational and subnational authorities, should bear responsibility, including financial responsibility, for possible mistakes of subnational authorities. Consequently, the state should have sufficient mechanisms of control over local and regional authorities in order to correct their mistakes. At the same time, the control mechanisms do not deny the autonomy of local self-government. The paper analyses models of administrative supervision of local self-government in Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, and France. The research methods used in this paper are theoretical methods of analysis of scientific literature, constitutions, legal acts, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe reports, and constitutional court decisions, as well as comparative and logical analysis. The legislative basis of administrative supervision was scrutinized, and the models of administrative supervision were classified, including a priori control and ex-post control or their combination. The advantages and disadvantages of these models of administrative supervision are analysed. Compliance with Article 8 of the European Charter of Local Self-Government is of great importance for countries achieving common goals and sharing common values. However, countries under study have problems and, in some cases, demonstrate non-compliance with provisions of Article 8. Such non-conformity as the endorsement of a mayor by the Flemish Government in Belgium, supervision with a view to expediency in Great Britain, and the tendency to overuse supervisory power in Poland are analysed. On the basis of research, the tendencies of administrative supervision of local authorities’ activities in selected European countries are described. Several recommendations for Ukraine as a country that had been granted the EU candidate status are formulated. Having emphasised its willingness to become a member of the European community, Ukraine should not only follow the best European practices but also avoid the mistakes of countries that have long-term experience in developing the local self-government institution. This project has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement № P-PD-22-194

Keywords: administrative supervision, decentralisation, legality, local authorities, local self-government

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6094 Current Trends in the Arabic Linguistics Development: Between National Tradition and Global Tendencies

Authors: Olga Bernikova, Oleg Redkin

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Globalization is a process of worldwide economic, political and cultural integration. Obviously, this phenomenon has both positive and negative issues. This article analyzes the impact of the modern process of globalization on the national traditions of language teaching and research. In this context, the problem of the ratio of local to global can be viewed from several sides. Firstly, since English is the language of over 80 percent of scientific and technical research worldwide, what should be the language of science in certain region? Secondly, language 'globality' is not always associated with English, because intercultural communications may have their regional peculiarities. For example, in the Arab world, Modern Standard Arabic can also be regarded as 'global' phenomenon, since the mother-tongue languages of the population are local Arabic dialects. In addition, the correlation 'local' versus 'global' is manifested not only in the linguistic sphere but also in the methodology used in language acquisition and research. Thus, the major principles of the Arabic philological tradition, which goes back to the 7th century, are still spread in the modern Arab world. At the same time, the terminology and methods of language research that are peculiar to this tradition are quite far from the issues of general linguistics that underlies the description of all the languages of the world. The present research relies on a comparative analysis of sources in Arabic linguistics, including original works in Arabic dating back to the 12th-13th centuries. As a case study, interaction of local and global is also considered on the example of the Arabic teaching and research in Russia. Speaking about the correlation between local and global it is possible to forecast development of two parallel tendencies: the spread of the phenomena of globalization on one hand, and local implementation of a language policy aimed at preserving native languages, including Arabic, on the other.

Keywords: Arabic, global, language, local, tradition

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6093 Linguistic Devices Reflecting Violence in Border–Provinces of Southern Thailand on the Front Page of Local and National Newspapers

Authors: Chanokporn Angsuviriya

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The objective of the study is to analyse linguistic devices reflecting the violence in the south border provinces; namely Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkla on 1,344 front pages of three local newspapers; namely ChaoTai, Focus PhakTai and Samila Time and of two national newspapers, including ThaiRath and Matichon, between 2004 and 2005, and 2011 and 2012. The study shows that there are two important linguistic devices: 1) lexical choices consisting of the use of verbs describing violence, the use of quantitative words and the use of words naming someone who committed violent acts, and 2) metaphors consisting of “a violent problem is heat”, “a victim is a leaf”, and “a terrorist is a dog”. Comparing linguistic devices between two types of newspapers, national newspapers choose to use words more violently than local newspapers do. Moreover, they create more negative images of the south of Thailand by using stative verbs. In addition, in term of metaphors “a terrorist is a fox.” is only found in national newspapers. As regards naming terrorists “southern insurgents”, this noun phrase which is collectively called by national newspapers has strongly negative meaning. Moreover, “southern insurgents” have been perceived by the Thais in the whole country while “insurgents” that are not modified have been only used by local newspapers.

Keywords: linguistic devices, local newspapers, national newspapers, violence

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6092 The Relationship Between Spirituality and Quality of Life in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury, Iran

Authors: Khadije Khazaeli, Farzane Saberi

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Spinal cord injury is one of the traumatic events which has a great impact on the quality of life. spirituality has been used to improve many disorders and abnormalities in recent years and positive results have been seen; accordingly, the present study investigated the relationship between spirituality and quality of life in these patients. This study is a cross-sectional study of the correlation type was conducted on 100 people with spinal cord injury in Isfahan province in 2016 by the available sample method. Spirituality was assessed through the Spiritual Attitude Questionnaire and quality of life through the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire. Pearson correlation and regression tests were used to analyze the data. The results of this study showed that spirituality has a significant relationship with the quality of life of patients with spinal cord injury. It was also proved that all sub-units of spirituality, including attitude and spiritual ability, can affect all components of quality of life. The findings suggest that spirituality, along with other factors, can lead to a significant improvement in quality of life and, ultimately, general health of patients with SCI.

Keywords: spinal cord injury, quality of life, spirituality, patients

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6091 The Factors Affecting the Development of the Media and Animations for Vocational School in Thailand

Authors: Tanit Pruktara

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The research aimed to study the students’ learning achievement and awareness level on electrical energy consumption and conservation and also to investigate the students’ attitude on the developed multimedia supplemented instructional unit for learning household electrical energy consumption and conservation in grade 10 Thailand student. This study used a quantitative method using MCQ for pre and post-achievement tests and Likert scales for awareness and attitude survey questionnaires. The results from this were employed to improve the multimedia to be appropriate for the classroom and with real life situations in the second phase, the main study. The experimental results showed that the developed learning unit significantly improved the students’ learning achievement as well as their awareness of electric energy conservation. Additional we found the student will enjoy participating in class activities when the lessons are taught using multimedia and helps them to develop the relevance between the course and real world situations.

Keywords: lesson plan, media and animations, training course, vocational school in Thailand

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6090 Performance Investigation of UAV Attitude Control Based on Modified PI-D and Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion

Authors: Ebrahim Hassan Kapeel, Ahmed Mohsen Kamel, Hossan Hendy, Yehia Z. Elhalwagy

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Interest in autopilot design has been raised intensely as a result of recent advancements in Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs). Due to the enormous number of applications that UAVs can achieve, the number of applied control theories used for them has increased in recent years. These small fixed-wing UAVs are suffering high non-linearity, sensitivity to disturbances, and coupling effects between their channels. In this work, the nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI) control lawisdesigned for a nonlinear small fixed-wing UAV model. The NDI is preferable for varied operating conditions, there is no need for a scheduling controller. Moreover, it’s applicable for high angles of attack. For the designed flight controller validation, a nonlinear Modified PI-D controller is performed with our model. A comparative study between both controllers is achieved to evaluate the NDI performance. Simulation results and analysis are proposed to illustrate the effectiveness of the designed controller based on NDI.

Keywords: UAV dynamic model, attitude control, nonlinear PID, dynamic inversion

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6089 Assessing Economic Losses Of 2104 Flood Disaster: A Case Study on Dabong, Kelantan, Malaysia

Authors: Ahmad Hamidi Mohamed, Jamaluddin Othman, Mashitah Suid, Mohd Zaim Mohd Shukri

Abstract:

Floods are considered an annual natural disaster in Kelantan. However, the record-setting flood of 2014 was a 'tsunami-like disaster'. A study has been conducted with the objectives to assess the economic impact of the flood to the resident of Dabong area in Kelantan Darul Naim, Malaysia. This area was selected due to the severity during the flood. The impacts of flood on local people were done by conducting structured interviews with the use of questionnaires. The questionnaire was intended to acquire information on losses faced by Dabong residence. Questionnaires covered various areas of inconveniences suffered with respect to health effects, including illnesses suffered, their intensities, duration and their associated costs. Loss of productivity and quality of life was also assessed. Inquiries were made to Government agencies to obtain relevant statistical data regarding the loss due to the flood tragedy. The data collected by giving formal request to the governmental agencies and formal meetings were done. From the study a staggering amount of losses were calculated. This figure comes from losses of property, Farmers/Agriculture, Traders/Business, Health, Insurance and Governmental losses. Flood brings hardship to the people of Dabong and these losses of home will cause inconveniences to the society. The huge amount of economic loss extracted from this study shows that federal and state government of Kelantan need to find out the cause of the major flood in 2014. Fast and effective measures have to be planned and implemented in flood prone area to prevent same tragedy happens in the future.

Keywords: economic impact, flood tragedy, Malaysia, property losses

Procedia PDF Downloads 262
6088 Study of Mixed Convection in a Vertical Channel Filled with a Reactive Porous Medium in the Absence of Local Thermal Equilibrium

Authors: Hamid Maidat, Khedidja Bouhadef, Djamel Eddine Ameziani, Azzedine Abdedou

Abstract:

This work consists of a numerical simulation of convective heat transfer in a vertical plane channel filled with a heat generating porous medium, in the absence of local thermal equilibrium. The walls are maintained to a constant temperature and the inlet velocity is uniform. The dynamic range is described by the Darcy-Brinkman model and the thermal field by two energy equations model. A dimensionless formulation is developed for performing a parametric study based on certain dimensionless groups such as, the Biot interstitial number, the thermal conductivity ratio and the volumetric heat generation. The governing equations are solved using the finite volume method, gave rise to a multitude of results concerning in particular the thermal field in the porous channel and the existence or not of the local thermal equilibrium.

Keywords: local thermal non equilibrium model, mixed convection, porous medium, power generation

Procedia PDF Downloads 601
6087 Effect of Collaborative Learning on Development of Process Skills and Attitude to Wards Science

Authors: Shri Krishna Mishra, Badri Yadav

Abstract:

Effect of collaborative learning on development of process skills and attitude towards science is It rightly said that the destiny of the nation is shaped inside its classroom. Classroom is a place where the pupil and teacher interact purposefully to gain knowledge. Teaching is the principal mode of education. It can be called a transaction between teacher and pupil, in which one transmits knowledge to other. The teaching learning process consists of three important components, the pupils, the teacher and the curriculum; the classroom is the collection of students of their own individual abilities and needs. In the present classroom teaching learners are either persuasive recipient or passive observant. The school environment leading to low-achievement we have to try better to develop in the young mind. Children are the sticks of dynamite, bundles of energy and potential power waiting to be ignited. Guide them carefully to a place where their potentialities and strength will be used to build a better world. Man’s future depends to large extent on scientific advances and development of productive activity. Science is considered as an important subject in school curricular. The education commission (1964-66) has suggested that science education is necessary for all children at school stage. It is essential to develop children’s logical and critical thinking. But these days thinking process and academic achievement of students have been suppressed by competitive environment of our schools. How the students perceive each other and interact with one another is a neglected aspect of instruction. In the constructivist perspective learning in a process of construction of knowledge. Learners actively construct their own knowledge by connecting new ideas to existing ideas on the basis of materials/ activities presented to them (experience).

Keywords: effect of collaborative learning, development of process skills, science education, attitude towards science

Procedia PDF Downloads 274
6086 Impact of Implementation of Right to Education in Pakistan

Authors: Rukhsar Ahmed, Jawed Aziz Masudi

Abstract:

In the present study, an attempt has been made about the right to an education in Pakistan. The research is the focus in respect of International Law Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The main motivation behind getting great training is, as a rule, decent resident and afterward being effective in close to home and expert life. We are fragmented without decent instruction since training makes us the right mastermind and right chief. In such a focused world, instruction has turned into a need for people after sustenance, dress and haven. It can give answers for all issues; it advances great propensities and mindfulness about defilement, fear-mongering, and other social issues among us.

Keywords: education, right to education, human right, universal declaration, law

Procedia PDF Downloads 152
6085 Assessing the Citizens' Adoption of E-Government Platforms in the North West Province Local Governments, South Africa

Authors: Matsobane Mosetja, Nehemiah Mavetera, Ernest Mnkandla

Abstract:

Local governments in South Africa are responsible for the provision of basic services. There are countless benefits that come with e-Government platforms if they are properly implemented to help local governments deliver these basic services to citizens. This study investigates factors influencing the adoption and use of e-Government platforms by citizens in the North West Province, South. The study is set against a background of significant change in South Africa where government services are electronically delivered. The outcome of the study revealed that: 1) decisions on the development of e-Government platforms are made based on a series of consultative forums; 2) the municipalities are open to constructive criticism on their online platform; 3) the municipalities have room for dialogue on how best to improve service delivery; 4) the municipalities are accessible to the citizens all the time; 5) the municipalities are making means and ways to empower them to be part of the collective and lastly e-Government provides room for online discussion.

Keywords: e-government, e-government platforms, user acceptance, local government

Procedia PDF Downloads 384
6084 Evaluation of Flange Bending Capacity near Member End Using a Finite Element Analysis Approach

Authors: Alicia Kamischke, Souhail Elhouar, Yasser Khodair

Abstract:

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Specification (360-10) provides equations for calculating the capacity of a W-shaped steel member to resist concentrated forces applied to its flange. In the case of flange local bending, the capacity equations were primarily formulated for an interior point along the member, which is defined to be at a distance larger than ten flange thicknesses away from the member’s end. When a concentrated load is applied within ten flange thicknesses from the member’s end, AISC requires a fifty percent reduction to be applied to the flange bending capacity. This reduction, however, is not supported by any research. In this study, finite element modeling is used to investigate the actual reduction in capacity near the end of such a steel member. The results indicate that the AISC equation for flange local bending is quite conservative for forces applied at less than ten flange thicknesses from the member’s end and a new equation is suggested for the evaluation of available flange local bending capacity within that distance.

Keywords: flange local bending, concentrated forces, column, flange capacity

Procedia PDF Downloads 679
6083 Moving Towards Zero Waste in a UK Local Authority Area: Challenges to the Introduction of Separate Food Waste Collections

Authors: C. Cole, M. Osmani, A. Wheatley, M. Quddus

Abstract:

EU and UK Government targets for minimising and recycling household waste has led the responsible authorities to research the alternatives to landfill. In the work reported here the local waste collection authority (Charnwood Borough Council) has adopted the aspirational strategy of becoming a “Zero Waste Borough” to lead the drive for public participation. The work concludes that the separate collection of food waste would be needed to meet the two regulatory standards on recycling and biologically active wastes. An analysis of a neighbouring Authority (Newcastle-Under-Lyne Borough Council (NBC), a similar sized local authority that has a successful weekly food waste collection service was undertaken. Results indicate that the main challenges for Charnwood Borough Council would be gaining householder co-operation, the extra costs of collection and organising alternative treatment. The analysis also demonstrated that there was potential offset value via anaerobic digestion for CBC to overcome these difficulties and improve its recycling performance.

Keywords: England, food waste collections, household waste, local authority

Procedia PDF Downloads 406
6082 Relative Navigation with Laser-Based Intermittent Measurement for Formation Flying Satellites

Authors: Jongwoo Lee, Dae-Eun Kang, Sang-Young Park

Abstract:

This study presents a precise relative navigational method for satellites flying in formation using laser-based intermittent measurement data. The measurement data for the relative navigation between two satellites consist of a relative distance measured by a laser instrument and relative attitude angles measured by attitude determination. The relative navigation solutions are estimated by both the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The solutions estimated by the EKF may become inaccurate or even diverge as measurement outage time gets longer because the EKF utilizes a linearization approach. However, this study shows that the UKF with the appropriate scaling parameters provides a stable and accurate relative navigation solutions despite the long measurement outage time and large initial error as compared to the relative navigation solutions of the EKF. Various navigation results have been analyzed by adjusting the scaling parameters of the UKF.

Keywords: satellite relative navigation, laser-based measurement, intermittent measurement, unscented Kalman filter

Procedia PDF Downloads 348
6081 Real-Time Recognition of the Terrain Configuration to Improve Driving Stability for Unmanned Robots

Authors: Bongsoo Jeon, Jayoung Kim, Jihong Lee

Abstract:

Methods for measuring or estimating of ground shape by a laser range finder and a vision sensor (exteroceptive sensors) have critical weakness in terms that these methods need prior database built to distinguish acquired data as unique surface condition for driving. Also, ground information by exteroceptive sensors does not reflect the deflection of ground surface caused by the movement of UGVs. Therefore, this paper proposes a method of recognizing exact and precise ground shape using Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) as a proprioceptive sensor. In this paper, firstly this method recognizes attitude of a robot in real-time using IMU and compensates attitude data of a robot with angle errors through analysis of vehicle dynamics. This method is verified by outdoor driving experiments of a real mobile robot.

Keywords: inertial measurement unit, laser range finder, real-time recognition of the ground shape, proprioceptive sensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 283