Search results for: Support Vector Machines (SVMs)

Authors: Sinead Creedon, Anna Trace

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Nurses were the most exposed of all frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mainly female nurses working in the acute hospital sector formed the frontline defence in the Irish health service. They faced it with resilience and courage despite exposure to risk of burnout and threats to their mental health and wellbeing. Gaining an understanding of the nurses’ journey in adapting to this harsh climate could inform positive psychology interventions and / or support staff such as senior hospital managers in an adverse work situation. Furthermore, it would strengthen our insight and theoretical understanding on the use of positive psychology interventions in adverse work conditions. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was carried out to gain insight into how nurses adapted to the changing work environment during the pandemic. Online semi-structured interviews were done with six experienced female nurses who were all redeployed to the frontline from their own roles. The three themes representing the nurses’ journey were the Protection of Sacrificial Self, The Fortifying Effect of Us, and Critical Turning Points & Growth. Nurses revitalised themselves by creating a sense of ‘us’ to help them face a harsh climate against others, which enabled additional critical turning points. This study further enriches our understanding of personal growth and trauma in adverse work conditions by including an exploration of what sacrificial commitment adds to our understanding of physical and moral courage.

Keywords: COVID-19, nurses, positive psychology, resilience, sacrificial commitment, supports

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Authors: Fujia Yang

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Alongside technological innovation, the current “double reduction” policy and English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education in China both emphasise and encourage appropriately integrating educational technologies into the classroom. Therefore, schools are increasingly using digital means to engage students in English reading, but the impact of such technologies on Chinese pupils’ reading achievement remains unclear. To serve as a reference for reforming English reading education in primary schools under the double reduction policy, this study investigates the effects and primary influencing factors of a specific reading programme, Accelerated Reader (AR), on Chinese primary school students’ reading achievement. A quantitative online survey was used to collect 37 valid questionnaires from teachers, and the results demonstrate that, from teachers’ perspectives, the AR program seemed to positively affect students’ reading achievement by recommending material at the appropriate reading levels and developing students’ reading habits. Although the reading enjoyment derived from the AR program does not directly influence students’ reading achievement, these factors are strongly correlated. This can be explained by the self-paced, independent learning AR format, its high accuracy in predicting reading level, the quiz format and external motivation, and the importance of examinations and resource limitations in China. The results of this study may support reforming English reading education in Chinese primary schools.

Keywords: educational technology, reading programme, primary students, accelerated reader, reading effects

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Authors: Sheikh Shams Azam, Manoj Raju, Venkatesh Pagidimarri, Vamsi Kasivajjala

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Over the past decade, there has been a steep rise in the data-driven analysis in major areas of medicine, such as clinical decision support system, survival analysis, patient similarity analysis, image analytics etc. Most of the data in the field are well-structured and available in numerical or categorical formats which can be used for experiments directly. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, there exists a wide expanse of data that is intractable for direct analysis owing to its unstructured nature which can be found in the form of discharge summaries, clinical notes, procedural notes which are in human written narrative format and neither have any relational model nor any standard grammatical structure. An important step in the utilization of these texts for such studies is to transform and process the data to retrieve structured information from the haystack of irrelevant data using information retrieval and data mining techniques. To address this problem, the authors present Q-Map in this paper, which is a simple yet robust system that can sift through massive datasets with unregulated formats to retrieve structured information aggressively and efficiently. It is backed by an effective mining technique which is based on a string matching algorithm that is indexed on curated knowledge sources, that is both fast and configurable. The authors also briefly examine its comparative performance with MetaMap, one of the most reputed tools for medical concepts retrieval and present the advantages the former displays over the latter.

Keywords: information retrieval, unified medical language system, syntax based analysis, natural language processing, medical informatics

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Authors: Muskan Jain, Baiju Gopal

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Objectives: Intimacy in interpersonal relationships is integral to psychological health and everyday wellbeing; the focus is on intimacy, which can be described as feelings of closeness, connection, and belonging within relationships, which is influenced by an individual's gender identity as well as life experiences. The study aims to explore the experiences of intimacy of the non-binary gender; this marginalized community has increased risks of developing the imposter phenomenon. The study explores the influence of IP on the development and sustenance of intimacy in relationships. Methods: The present study accumulates detailed narratives from 10 non-binary young adults ages 18 to 25 in metropolitan cities of India. Thematic analysis was used for the data analysis. Results: Seven major themes have emerged revolving around internalized criticism and self-depreciating behavior, which causes distance between partners. The four themes that result in the internalization of criticism are lack of social stability, invalidation by social units, adverse life experiences, and estrangement due to gender identity. Three themes that encapsulate major difficulties in relationships are limited self-disclosure, inhibition of physical needs, and fear of taking space. The findings have been critically compared and contrasted with the existing body of literature in the domain, which sets the agenda for further inquiry. Conclusion: It is important for future studies to capture the experiences of non-binary genders in India to provide better therapeutic support in order to assist them in forming meaningful and authentic relationships, thus increasing overall wellbeing.

Keywords: imposter phenomenon, intimacy, internalized criticism, marginalized community

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Authors: Amiraa Ali Mansor, Haslinda Abdullah, Angela Chan Nguk Fong, Norhaida Hanim Binti Ahmad Tajudin, Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah

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Obesity has risen sharply over the past three decades, posing a grave public health concern globally. In Malaysia, it has also emerged as a significant health threat. While the second Sustainable Development Goal, "Zero Hunger", aims to ensure equitable access to nutritious food for all, a key challenge lies in addressing food insecurity. Food insecurity not only pertains to the quantity but also the quality of food, with both dimensions playing a pivotal role in health outcomes. To date, much of the research on food security has focused on household levels. There remains a research gap concerning university students, a population transitioning to independence from parental support and grappling with limited resources. This study seeks to bridge this gap by extending the Food Security Theory to incorporate the psychological dimension of self-esteem. Using a quantitative approach, data was collected from 452 public university students in Malaysia through a cross-sectional research design and a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. The anticipated findings will provide novel insights by linking food security with self-esteem. Such insights have implications for healthcare policy and the framing of preventive strategies against obesity. It is hoped that this research will not only contribute to the academic discourse on Food Security Theory but also serve as a foundation for refining national health policies and programs aimed at fostering a healthier lifestyle.

Keywords: obesity, food security, body image, self-esteem

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Authors: Rafael Santos Fischer, Aloísio Leoni Schmid, Amanda Dalla-Bonna

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The life cycle analysis and the energy life cycle analysis are useful design support tools when sustainability becomes imperative. The final phase of buildings life cycle is probably the least known, on which less knowledge is available. In the Brazilian building industry, the lifespan of a building design rarely is treated as a definite design parameter. There is rather a common sense attitude to take any building demands as permanent, and to take for granted that buildings solutions are durable and solid. Housing, being a permanent issue in any society, presents a real challenge to the choice of a design lifespan. In Brazilian history, there was a contrast of the native solutions of collective, non-durable houses built by several nomadic tribes, and the stone and masonry buildings introduced by the sedentary Portuguese conquerors. Durable buildings are commonly associated with welfare. However, social dynamics makes traditional families of both parents and children be just one of several possible arrangements. In addition, a more liberal attitude towards family leads to an increase in the number of people living in alternative arrangements. Japan is an example of country where houses have been made intentionally ephemeral since the half of 20th century. The present article presents the development of a flexible housing design solution on the basis of the Design Science Research approach. A comparison in terms of energy life cycle shows how flexibility and dematerialization may point at a feasible future for housing policies in Brazil.

Keywords: adaptability, adaptable building, embodied energy, life cyclce analysis, social housing

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Authors: Wendy Flory, Kazi Czarnecki, Matthijs Mercy, Mark Joswiak, Mary Beth Seasholtz

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Polyurethane Materials are present in a wide range of industrial segments such as Furniture, Building and Construction, Composites, Automotive, Electronics, and more. Dow is one of the leaders for the manufacture of the two main raw materials, Isocyanates and Polyols used to produce polyurethane products. Dow is also a key player for the manufacture of Polyurethane Systems/Formulations designed for targeted applications. In 1990, the first analytical chemometric models were developed and deployed for use in the Dow QC labs of the polyols business for the quantification of OH, water, cloud point, and viscosity. Over the years many models have been added; there are now over 140 models for quantification and hundreds for product identification, too many to be reasonable for support. There are 29 global models alone for the quantification of OH across > 70 products at many sites. An attempt was made to consolidate these into a single model. While the consolidated model proved good statistics across the entire range of OH, several products had a bias by ASTM E1655 with individual product validation. This project summary will show the strategy for global model updates for OH, to reduce the number of models for quantification from over 140 to 5 or less using chemometric methods. In order to gain an understanding of the best product groupings, we identify clusters by reducing spectra to a few dimensions via Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP). Results from these cluster analyses and a separate validation set allowed dow to reduce the number of models for predicting OH from 29 to 3 without loss of accuracy.

Keywords: hydroxyl, global model, model maintenance, near infrared, polyol

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Authors: Cansu Tari, Ute Poerschke

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Sustainable campus design and planning in Higher Education requires an entire action plan and coordination of physical, educational, and social systems. Many institutions in the world are defining their sustainable development path and some are following existing green building and sustainable campus rating/ranking systems, guidelines. In the context of higher education, Turkish universities have limited academic, social and financial support related to sustainable living, building, and campus studies. While some research has been conducted in the last 60 years by farsighted academics, most of these works are based on individuals’ or small organizations’ own interests and efforts, and they are not known enough by the population of universities and possible prospective investors. Regarding the recent fast and uncontrolled growth in the Turkish Higher Education environment, setting a campus sustainability indicator set is a necessity for sustainable development of universities. The main objective of this paper is to specify the applicable sustainability indicators in the national context of Turkey, and propose a model guideline for sustainable Turkish university campuses. The analysis of Turkish legislation on environmental issues, special conditions of Turkish Higher Education system, and Turkey’s environmental risks and challenges set the backbone of the study and distinguish the set of indicators from generalized guidelines. Finally, the paper outlines some concrete suggestions for Turkish Universities to integrate sustainability efforts in their regional context. It will be useful for campus sustainability managers and planners, interested in developing action plans in their national and regional scope.

Keywords: campus sustainability, sustainability indicators, Turkish universities, national campus sustainability action plan

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Authors: Kerryn Krige, Kerrin Myers

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Social entrepreneurship offers the opportunity to simultaneously address both social and economic inequality in South Africa. Its appeal across racial groups, its attractiveness to young people, its applicability in rural and peri-urban markets, and its acceleration in middle income, large-business economies suits the South African context. However, the potential to deliver much-needed developmental benefits has not been realised because the social entrepreneurship debate lacks evidence as to who social entrepreneurs are, their goals and operations and the socio-economic results they achieve. As a result, policy development has been stunted, and legislative barriers and red tape remain. Social entrepreneurs are isolated from the mainstream economy, and struggle to access funding because of limitations in legislative and organisational structures. The objective of the study is to strengthen the ecosystem for social entrepreneurship in South Africa by producing robust, policy-rich information from and about social enterprises currently in operation across the country. The study employs a quantitative survey methodology, using online and telephonic data collection methods. A purposive sample of 1000 social enterprises was included in the first large-scale study of social entrepreneurship in South Africa. The results offer deep insight into the characteristics of social enterprises; the activities they undertake and the markets they serve; their modes of operation and funding sources as well as key challenges and support systems. The results contribute towards developing a model of social enterprise in the African context.

Keywords: social enterprise, key characteristics, challenges and enablers, towards an African model

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Authors: Nyla Anjum, Humaira Bano

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Disability, regardless of its type and nature limits one or two significant life activities. These limitations constitute risk factors for suicide. Rate and intensity of problem upsurges in critical age of adolescence. Researches in the field of mental health over look problem of suicide among persons with disability. Aim of the study was to investigate prevalence and risk factors for suicide among adolescents with disability. The study constitutes purposive sample of 106 elements of both gender with four major categories of disability: hearing impairment, physical impairment, visual impairment and intellectual disabilities. Face to face interview technique was opted for data collection. Other variable are: socio-economic status, social and family support, provision of services for persons with disability, education and employment opportunities. For data analysis independent sample t-test was applied to find out significant differences in gender and One Way Analysis of variance was run to find out differences among four types of disability. Major predictors of suicide were identified with multiple regression analysis. It is concluded that ideation, plans and attempts of suicide among adolescents with disability is a multifaceted and imperative concern in the area of mental health. Urgent research recommendations contains valid measurement of suicide rate and identification of more risk factors for suicide among persons with disability. Study will also guide towards prevention of this pressing problem and will bring message of happy and healthy life not only for persons with disability but also for their families. It will also help to reduce suicide rate in society.

Keywords: suicide, risk factors, adolescent, disability, mental health

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Authors: Oluremi I. Bamgbade, Oluwayomi Babatunde

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Governments and nonprofits have been in the support of sustainability as the goal of businesses especially in the construction industry because of its considerable impacts on the environment, economy, and society. However, to measure the degree to which an organisation is being sustainable or pursuing sustainable growth can be difficult as a result of the clear sustainability strategy required to assume their commitment to the goal and competitive advantage. This research investigated the influence of organisational culture and organisational structure in achieving sustainable construction among South African construction firms. A total of 132 consultants from the nine provinces in South Africa participated in the survey. The data collected were initially screened using SPSS (version 21) while Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) algorithm and bootstrap techniques were employed to test the hypothesised paths. The empirical evidence also supported the hypothesised direct effects of organisational culture and organisational structure on sustainable construction. Similarly, the result regarding the relationship between organisational culture and organisational structure was supported. Therefore, construction industry can record a considerable level of construction sustainability and establish suitable cultures and structures within the construction organisations. Drawing upon organisational control theory, these findings supported the view that these organisational internal factors have a strong contingent effect on sustainability adoption in construction project execution. The paper makes theoretical, practical and methodological contributions within the domain of sustainable construction especially in the context of South Africa. Some limitations of the study are indicated, suggesting opportunities for future research.

Keywords: organisational culture, organisational structure, South African construction firms, sustainable construction

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Authors: Xin Qi Dong, Melissa Simon

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Aims: Elder mistreatment and suicidal ideation are important public health concerns among aging populations. This study will examine the association between elder mistreatment and suicidal ideation among Chinese older adults in the USA. Methods: Guided by a community-based participatory research approach, in this study we conducted in-person interviews with Chinese older adults aged 60 years and older in the Greater Chicago area from 2011 to 2013. Elder mistreatment was assessed by a 10-item instrument derived from the Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test (H-S/EAST) and the Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (VASS). Suicidal ideation was assessed by the ninth item of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Geriatric Mental State Examination-Version A (GMS-A). Results: Overall, 3,159 Chinese older adults participated in this study, and their mean age was 72.8 years. After controlling for age, gender, education, income, medical comorbidities, depressive symptoms, and social support, elder mistreatment was significantly associated with 2-week suicidal ideation (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.52--4.01) and 12-month suicidal ideation (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.62--3.73). With respect to gender differences, the study found that the association remained significant for older women but not for older men after adjusting for all confounding factors. Conclusion: As the largest epidemiology study conducted among Chinese older adults in the USA, this study suggests that elder mistreatment is significantly associated with 2-week and 12-month suicidal ideation in older women but not in older men. Longitudinal studies should be conducted to explore the mechanisms through which elder mistreatment links with suicidal ideation.

Keywords: suicidal ideation, elder abuse, family violence, Asian health equity

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Authors: Habibi Said Mustafa, Hiroko Ono

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Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, has witnessed a major population growth in the last decades which caused a significant increase in the number of informal settlements. The residents are suffering from many problems such as poor infrastructure, shortage of public facilities, depriving of the sense of ownership and facing much environmental degradation. Even though majority of the residents are living in such condition, the government response has been quite weak. The government’s main planning strategy has been upgrading in the form of provision of facilities and improving elements of physical infrastructure, unfortunately most of the projects which had not community’s support, faced with lots of challenges such as people’s resistance or even in some cases the project rather than solving the problem, compounded them to a worse condition. A major reason as to why many projects have not been effective in achieving certain objectives in the past is the results of local people were not being involved. Community participation plays an important role in slum development projects. The development of an integrated urban development concept these days without the mobilization of participants and community seems difficult and impossible. Therefore this paper looks into factors and methods which can help in creating a participatory approach for developing the slums in Kabul city. Furthermore, it describes the result of a questionnaire which was conducted on a part of the Kabul Old City due to hear resident’s problem related to the slum upgrading and collect their opinions on this regard. The research also points out some factors which can severely hamper the successful implementation of a slum upgrading project if not adequately addressed.

Keywords: Community empowerment, Informal settlements, Job opportunities, People participation

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Authors: Sanghoon Shim, Jaehwan Jung, Sung-Ah Kim

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As the digital technology develops, studies on the TUI (Tangible User Interface) that links the physical environment utilizing the human senses with the virtual environment through the computer are actively being conducted. In addition, there has been a tremendous advance in computer design making through the use of computer-aided design techniques, which enable optimized decision-making through comparison with machine learning and parallel comparison of alternatives. However, a complex design that can respond to user requirements or performance can emerge through the intuition of the designer, but it is difficult to actualize the emerged design by the designer's ability alone. Ancillary tools such as Gaudí's Sandbag can be an instrument to reinforce and evolve emerged ideas from designers. With the advent of many commercial tools that support 3D objects, designers' intentions are easily reflected in their designs, but the degree of their reflection reflects their intentions according to the proficiency of design tools. This study embodies the environment in which the form can be implemented by the fingers of the most basic designer in the initial design phase of the complex type building design. Leapmotion is used as a sensor to recognize the hand motions of the designer, and it is converted into digital information to realize an environment that can be linked in real time in virtual reality (VR). In addition, the implemented design can be linked with Rhino™, a 3D authoring tool, and its plug-in Grasshopper™ in real time. As a result, it is possible to design sensibly using TUI, and it can serve as a tool for assisting designer intuition.

Keywords: design environment, digital modeling, hand gesture, TUI, virtual reality

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Authors: Amit S. Chauhan, S. Mandal

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The structural response of shear walls subjected to various types of loads is difficult to predict precisely. They are incorporated in buildings to resist lateral forces and support the gravity loads. The steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) are used as lateral load resisting systems for buildings and acts as an alternative to reinforced concrete shear walls (RCSWs). This paper compares the behavior of SPSW with the RCSW incorporated in a building frame having G+6 storey, located in Zone III, using the technique of Equivalent Static Method (ESM) as per Indian Standard Criteria For Earthquake Resistant Design of Structures IS 1893:2002. This paper intends to evaluate several parameters such as lateral displacement at tip, inter-storey drift, weight of steel and volume of concrete with the alteration of the shear wall with respect to different types viz., SPSW and RCSW. The strip model employed in this study is a widely accepted analytical tool for SPSW analysis. SPSW can be modelled as truss members by using a series of diagonal tension strips positioned at 45-degree angles. In this paper, by replacing the SPSWs with the tension strips, the G+6 building has been analyzed using STAAD.Pro V8i. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that structure with SPSWs is much better then structure with RCSWs.

Keywords: equivalent static method, inter-storey drift, lateral displacement, Steel plate shear wall, strip model

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Authors: José María Agugusto-landa, Inmaculada García-Martínez, Lara Checa Domene, Óscar Gavín Chocano

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Self-concept is the perception that a person has of himself, of his abilities, skills, traits, and values. Self-concept is composed of different dimensions, such as academic self-concept, physical self-concept, social self-concept, emotional self-concept, and family self-concept. The relationship between the dimensions of self-concept and mental health and academic performance among future teachers is a topic of interest for educational psychology. Some studies have found that: (i) There is a positive relationship between general self-concept, academic self-concept and academic performance, that is, students who have a more positive image of themselves tend to get better grades and be more motivated to learn. (ii) There is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence, physical self-concept and healthy habits, that is, students who regulate and understand their emotions better have a higher satisfaction with their physical appearance and follow a more balanced diet and a higher physical activity. As for gender differences in the dimensions of self-concept among future teachers, some studies have found that: (i) Girls tend to have a higher self-concept in the social, family and verbal dimensions, that is, they perceive themselves as more capable of relating to others, communicating effectively and receiving support from their family. (ii) Boys tend to have a higher self-concept in the physical, emotional and mathematical dimensions, that is, they perceive themselves as more capable of performing physical activities, controlling their emotions and solving mathematical problems. (iii) There are no significant differences between general self-concept and academic self-concept according to gender, that is, both girls and boys have a similar perception of their global worth and academic competence.

Keywords: preservice teachers, self-concept, academic performance, mental wellbeing

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Authors: Lakmali Anthony, Madeline Gillies

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Purpose: Long-term survivorship in colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing as mortality decreases, leading to increased focus on patient-reported outcomes such as quality of life (QoL). CRC patients often have decreased QoL even after treatment is complete. This systematic review of the literature aims to identify psychosocial factors associated with decreased QoL in post-treatment CRC patients. Methodology: This systematic review was performed in accordance with the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations. The search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsychINFO using MeSH headings. The two authors screened studies for relevance and extracted data. Results: Seventeen studies were identified, including 6,272 total participants (mean = 392, 58% male) with a mean age of 60.6 years. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 was the most common measure of QoL (n=14, 82.3%). Most studies (n=15, 88.2%) found that emotional distress correlated with poor global QoL. This was most commonly measured with the Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale (n=11, 64.7%). Other psychosocial factors associated with QoL were lack of social support, body image, and financial difficulties. Clinicopathologic determinants included presence of stoma and metastasis. Conclusion: This systematic review provides a summary of the psychosocial determinants of poor QoL in post-treatment CRC patients, as well as the most commonly reported measures of these. An understanding of these potentially modifiable determinants of poor outcome is pivotal to the provision of quality, patient-centred care in surgical oncology.

Keywords: colorectal cancer, cancer surgery, quality of life, oncology, social determinants

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Authors: S. Aberkane, N. Djabali, S. Fafi, A. Baghezza

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Chronic illnesses affect many Algerians. It is possible to investigate the impact of illness representations and coping on quality of life and whether illness representations are indirectly associated with quality of life through their influence on coping. This study aims at investigating the relationship between illness perception, coping strategies and quality of life with chronic illness. Illness perceptions are indirectly associated with the quality of life through their influence on coping mediation. A sample of 316 participants with chronic illness living in the region of Batna, Algeria, has been adopted in this study. A correlation statistical analysis is used to determine the relationship between illness perception, coping strategies, and quality of life. Multiple regression analysis was employed to highlight the predictive ability of the dimensions of illness perception and coping strategies on the dependent variables of quality of life, where mediation analysis is considered in the exploration of the indirect effect significance of the mediator. This study provides insights about the relationship between illness perception, coping strategies and quality of life in the considered sample (r = 0.39, p < 0.01). Therefore, it proves that there is an effect of illness identity perception, external and medical attributions related to emotional role, physical functioning, and mental health perceived, and these were fully mediated by the asking for assistance (c’= 0.04, p < 0.05), the guarding (c’= 0.00, p < 0.05), and the task persistence strategy (c’= 0.05, p < 0.05). The findings imply partial support for the common-sense model of illness representations in a chronic illness population. Directions for future research are highlighted, as well as implications for psychotherapeutic interventions which target unhelpful beliefs and maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy).

Keywords: chronic illness, coping, illness perception, quality of life, self- regulation model

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Authors: Milena Lakicevic

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The paper deals with the problem of optimizing management options for urban parks within different scenarios of nature protection and tourism importance. The procedure is demonstrated on a case study example of urban parks in Novi Sad (Serbia). Six management strategies for the selected area have been processed by the decision support method PROMETHEE. Two criteria used for the evaluation were nature protection and tourism and each of them has been divided into a set of indicators: for nature protection those were biodiversity and preservation of original landscape, while for tourism those were recreation potential, aesthetic values, accessibility and culture features. It was pre-assumed that each indicator in a set is equally important to a corresponding criterion. This way, the research was focused on a sensitivity analysis of criteria weights. In other words, weights of indicators were fixed and weights of criteria altered along the entire scale (from the value of 0 to the value of 1), and the assessment has been performed in two-dimensional surrounding. As a result, one could conclude which management strategy would be the most appropriate along with changing of criteria importance. The final ranking of management alternatives was followed up by investigating the mean PROMETHEE Φ values for all options considered and when altering the importance of nature protection/tourism. This type of analysis enabled detecting an alternative with a solid performance along the entire scale, i.e., regardlessly of criteria importance. That management strategy can be seen as a compromise solution when the weight of criteria is not defined. As a conclusion, it can be said that, in some cases, instead of having criteria importance fixed it is important to test the outputs depending on the different schemes of criteria weighting. The research demonstrates the state of the final decision when the decision maker can estimate criteria importance, but also in cases when the importance of criteria is not established or known.

Keywords: criteria weights, PROMETHEE, sensitivity analysis, urban parks

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Authors: Sharifah I. N. A. Syed Azmi, Nazarina Mohd Nasir

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The Billing & Customer Relationship Management (BCRM) project is an important enabler towards realizing customer experience transformation. It involves technological shifts for future scalability, revision of multiple business processes and adoption of change by the users and impacted employees. This massive transition, if not managed properly, may result in the decline of business performance due to productivity drop. Organizational change management is an essential element in BCRM project implementation to ensure the system is well understood and embraced by all stakeholders. In order to move impacted employees from unaware state or denial mode to full-acceptance mindset and committing themselves in using the new system, their involvement in the whole change process starting from the initial stage is imperative. Through the BCRM Change Management Plan, a holistic approach was taken whereby the strategy and program for five key components namely executive sponsorship, continuous communication, process change readiness, organizational readiness and individual readiness were all carefully established. Roles of the project sponsor, change agents, change ambassadors and community of practice (CoP) were clearly defined in gaining high commitment and support across the entire organization. Continuous communication and engagement initiatives throughout project implementation have been carried out to reach all stakeholders. The business readiness was constantly monitored and assessed including effectiveness of end-user training, thorough review of process documentation and completion of roles realignment exercise.

Keywords: BCRM, change management, organizational change, transformation project

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Authors: R. Echeverría Echeverría, C. Carrillo Trujillo, N. Evia Alamilla

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Today, bullying is an expression of violence. It is a present problem in different contexts. Bullying and harassment have become subject matter of professional psychology , anthropology and other social sciences and related areas. However, most research on bullying have focused on peer violence and basic education. There is little attention to harassment in higher education. It also has little generation of research and interventions in universities, undergraduate and postgraduate level. The aim of this paper is to present a proposal for intervention to the attention of college students who have had an experience of harassment and / or bullying in a Public University of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The methodology was qualitative phenomenological. Semiestructura interview techniques and focus groups were used. 6 students participated who have lived harassment or bullying. Also they are participating teachers and university leaders who play an important role in the presence of such cases. The purpose is to analyze the presence of policies for the prevention, treatment and punishment of those problems. The qualitative data analysis will be based on the general proposal of Rodriguez Gomez Gil Flores and García Jiménez (1999). The results show the need to create a body entrusted to provide timely attention to cases of bullying or harassment that are reported. It is important to take legal and psychological support of the University authorities. It is proposed to create a mechanism to ensure timely care and not victimized who has had the experience; in addition to the punishment of those who exercised to ensure that violence. In discussing the successes and failures of the proposal are highlighted. And the processes that have been facilitated or hampered progress for the project.

Keywords: bullying, harassment, intervention, public university

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Authors: Kamand Bagherian, Nariman Niknejad

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A vibration isolation technology for precise position control of a rotary system powered by two permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motors is proposed, where this system is mounted on an oscillatory frame. To achieve vibration isolation for this system, active damping and disturbance rejection (ADDR) technology is presented which introduces a cooperation of a main and an auxiliary PMDC, controlled by discrete-time sliding mode control (DTSMC) based schemes. The controller of the main actuator tracks a desired position and the auxiliary actuator simultaneously isolates the induced vibration, as its controller follows a torque trend. To determine this torque trend, a combination of two algorithms is introduced by the ADDR technology. The first torque-trend producing algorithm rejects the disturbance by counteracting the perturbation, estimated using a model-based observer. The second torque trend applies active variable damping to minimize the oscillation of the output shaft. In this practice, the presented technology is implemented on a rotary system with a pendulum attached, mounted on a linear actuator simulating an oscillation-transmitting structure. In addition, the obtained results illustrate the functionality of the proposed technology.

Keywords: active damping, discrete-time nonlinear controller, disturbance tracking algorithm, oscillation transmitting support, position control, stability robustness, vibration isolation

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Authors: Sayan Munshi, Subrajit Banerjee, Indrani Chakraborty

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Tourism is a prime sector in the economic development of many countries in particular the Indian sub-continent. Tourism is considered an integral pillar in the Make in India Program under the Government of India. The statistics of tourism in India had evolved from a past with the formation of History. The sector had shown dynamic changes in the statistics since 1980. With the evolving tourism along with destinations, this sector has been converted into the prime industry, as it not only impacts the destination but on the other hand supports the periphery of the destination. Tourism boost revenue and creates varied economic possibilities for the residents. Due to the influx of tourism in the cities, a load on the infrastructure and services can be observed, specifically in the Physical Infrastructure sectors. Due to the floating population in the designated tourism core of the Urban / Peri-Urban area, issues pertaining to Solid waste management and Transportation are highly observed. Thus, a need for capacity building arises for the infrastructure impacted by tourism, which may result in the upgradation of the lifestyle of the city and its permanent users. As tourism of a region has a dependency on the infrastructure, the paper here focuses on the relationship between tourism potential of a region and the infrastructural determinants of the city or region and hence to derive a structural equation supporting the relationship, further determine a coefficient and suggest the domain of in need of upgradation or retrofitting possibilities. The outcome of the paper is to suggest possible recommendations towards the formation of policies on an urban level to support the tourism potential of the region.

Keywords: urban planning, tourism planning, infrastructure, transportation, solid waste management

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Authors: Ivy Rose Mathew

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The purpose of this study is to outline the efficacy of technology and the opportunities it can bring to implement a successful delivery model in Distance Learning. Distance Learning has proliferated over the past few years across the world. Some of the current challenges faced by current students of distance education include lack of motivation, a sense of isolation and a need for greater and improved communication. Hence the author proposes a creative technology supported model for distance learning exactly mirrored on the traditional face to face learning that can be adopted by distance learning providers. This model suggests the usage of a range of technologies and social networking facilities, with the aim of creating a more engaging and sustaining learning environment to help overcome the isolation often noted by distance learners. While discussing the possibilities, the author also highlights the complexity and practical challenges of implementing such a model. Design/methodology/approach: Theoretical issues from previous research related to successful models for distance learning providers will be considered. And also the analysis of a case study from one of the largest private tertiary institution in Botswana, Botho University will be included. This case study illustrates important aspects of the distance learning delivery model and provides insights on how curriculum development is planned, quality assurance is done, and learner support is assured for successful distance learning experience. Research limitations/implications: While some of the aspects of this study may not be applicable to other contexts, a number of new providers of distance learning can adapt the key principles of this delivery model.

Keywords: distance learning, efficacy, learning experience, technology supported model

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Authors: Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro, Alexeis Garcia-Perez, Denise Bedford

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This paper provides guidelines for what constitutes a knowledge worker. Many graduates from non-managerial domains adopt, at some point in their professional careers, management roles at different levels, ranging from team leaders through to executive leadership. This is particularly relevant for professionals from an engineering background. Moving from a technical to an executive-level requires an understanding of those behaviour management techniques that can motivate and support individuals and their performance. Further, the transition to management also demands a shift of contextual enablers from tangible to intangible resources, which allows individuals to create new capacities, competencies, and capabilities. In this dynamic process, the knowledge worker becomes that key individual who can help members of the management board to transform information into relevant knowledge. However, despite its relevance in shaping the future of the organization in its transition to the knowledge economy, the role of a knowledge worker has not yet been studied to an appropriate level in the current literature. In this study, the authors review both the contextual enablers and behaviour outputs related to the role of the knowledge worker and relate these to their ability to deal with everyday management issues such as knowledge heterogeneity, varying motivations, information overload, or outdated information. This study highlights that the aggregate of capacities, competences and capabilities (CCCs) can be defined as knowledge structures, the study proposes several contextual enablers and behaviour outputs that knowledge workers can use to work cooperatively, acquire, distribute and knowledge. Therefore, this study contributes to a better comprehension of how CCCs can be managed at different levels through their contextual enablers and behaviour outputs.

Keywords: knowledge workers, capabilities, capacities, competences, knowledge structures

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Authors: Ayobami Adeyemo, Michael Chimonyo, Munyaradzi Marufu

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Gastrointestinal nematode (GNT) infection significantly hinder sustainable and profitable sheep production on rangelands. While vitamin E and protein supplementation have individually proven to improve host immunity to parasitism in lambs, to our knowledge, there is no information on the interaction of dietary vitamin E and protein supplementation on lamb growth and GIN faecal egg counts in naturally infected lambs. Therefore, the current study investigated the interaction of dietary protein and vitamin E supplementation on faecal egg counts (FEC) and growth performance of lambs. Twenty four Dohne Merino lambs aged 12 months were allocated equally to each of four treatment combinations, with six lambs in each treatment group for a period of eight weeks. Treatment one lambs received dietary protein and vitamin E (PE), treatment two lambs received dietary protein and no vitamin E (PNE), treatment three received dietary vitamin E and no protein (NPE), and treatment four received no dietary protein and vitamin E supplementation (NPNE). The lambs were allowed to graze on Pennisetum clandestinum contaminated with a heavy load of nematodes. Dietary protein supplementation increased (P < 0.01) average daily gain (ADG) and body condition scores (BCS). Dietary vitamin E supplementation had no effect (P > 0.05) on ADG and BCS. There was no interaction (P > 0.05) between dietary protein and vitamin E supplementation on ADG and BCS. Combined supplementation of dietary protein and vitamin E supplementation significantly reduced (P < 0.01) faecal egg counts and larval counts, respectively. Also, dietary protein and vitamin E supplementation reduced GNT faecal egg counts over the exposure period. The current findings support the hypothesis that the interaction of dietary protein and vitamin E supplementation reduced faecal egg counts and larval counts in lambs. This necessitates future findings on the interaction of dietary protein and vitamin E supplementation on blood associated profiles.

Keywords: gastrointestinal nematodes, nematode eggs, Haemonchus, Trichostrongylus

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Authors: Xiaohan Gao, Kai Liu

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As essential components of urban areas, primary and secondary schools are extensively distributed throughout various regions of the city. During times of urban disturbances, these schools become direct carriers of complex disruptions. Therefore, fostering resilient schools becomes a pivotal driving force to promote high-quality urban development and a cornerstone of sustainable school growth. This paper adopts the theory of spatial resilience and focuses on primary and secondary schools in Chinese cities as the research subject. The study first explores the potential disturbance risks faced by schools and delves into the origin and concept of spatial resilience in the educational context. Subsequently, the paper conducts a meta-analysis to characterize the spatial resilience of primary and secondary schools and devises a spatial resilience planning mechanism. Drawing insights from exemplary cases both domestically and internationally, the research formulates spatial and planning resilience strategies for primary and secondary schools to cope with perturbations. These strategies encompass creating an overall layout that integrates harmoniously with nature, promoting organic growth in the planning structure, fostering ecological balance in the landscape system, and enabling dynamic adaptation in architectural spaces. By cultivating the capacity for "resistance-adaptation-transformation," these approaches support sustainable development within the school space. The ultimate goal of this project is to establish a cohesive and harmonious layout that advances the sustainable development of primary and secondary schools while contributing to the overall resilience of urban areas.

Keywords: complex disruption, primary and secondary schools, spatial resilience, sustainable development

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Authors: Haneen Alrawashdeh, Naciye Kunt

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Intercultural communicative competence or (ICC), is an extension of communicative competence that takes into account the intercultural aspect of learning a foreign language. Accordingly, this study aimed at investigating the intercultural interaction impact on English as a foreign language learners' academic achievement of language as a scholastic subject and their motivation towards learning it. To achieve the aim of the study, a qualitative research approach was implemented by means of semi-structured interviews. Interview sessions were conducted with eight teachers of English as well as ten English language learners who work in the tourism industry in a variety of career paths, such as selling antiques and traditional costumes. An analysis of learners' grades of English subjects from 2014 to 2019 academic years was performed by using the Open Education Management Information System Database in Jordan to support the findings of the study. The results illustrated that due to the fact that they work in the tourism sector, students gain skills and knowledge that assist them in better academic achievement in the subject of English by practicing intercultural communication with different nationalities on a daily basis; intercultural communication enhances students speaking skills, lexicon, and fluency; however, despite that their grades showed increasing, from teachers perspectives, intercultural communicative competence reduces their linguistic accuracy and ability to perform English academic writing in academic contexts such as exams.

Keywords: intercultural communicative competence, Jordan, language learning motivation, language academic achievement

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Oluwaseun Adeleke, Samuel O. Ikani, Fidelis Edet, Anthony Nwala, Mopelola Raji, Simeon Christian Chukwu

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Background The Delivering Innovations in Selfcare (DISC) project promotes universal access to quality selfcare services beginning with subcutaneous depot medroxy progesterone acetate (DMPA-SC) contraceptive self-injection (SI) option. Self-inject (SI) offers women a highly effective and convenient option that saves them frequent trips to providers. Its increased use has the potential to improve the efficiency of an overstretched healthcare system by reducing provider workloads. State Social and Behavioral Change Communications (SBCC) Officers lead project demand creation and service delivery innovations that have resulted in significant increases in SI uptake among women who opt for injectables. Strategies Service Delivery Innovations The implementation of the "Moment of Truth (MoT)" innovation helped providers overcome biases and address client fear and reluctance to self-inject. Bi-annual program audits and supportive mentoring visits helped providers retain their competence and motivation. Proper documentation, tracking, and replenishment of commodities were ensured through effective engagement with State Logistics Units. The project supported existing state monitoring and evaluation structures to effectively record and report subcutaneous depot medroxy progesterone acetate (DMPA-SC) service utilization. Demand creation Innovations SBCC Officers provide oversight, routinely evaluate performance, trains, and provides feedback for the demand creation activities implemented by community mobilizers (CMs). The scope and intensity of training given to CMs affect the outcome of their work. The project operates a demand creation model that uses a schedule to inform the conduct of interpersonal and group events. Health education sessions are specifically designed to counter misinformation, address questions and concerns, and educate target audience in an informed choice context. The project mapped facilities and their catchment areas and enlisted the support of identified influencers and gatekeepers to enlist their buy-in prior to entry. Each mobilization event began with pre-mobilization sensitization activities, particularly targeting male groups. Context-specific interventions were informed by the religious, traditional, and cultural peculiarities of target communities. Mobilizers also support clients to engage with and navigate online digital Family Planning (FP) online portals such as DiscoverYourPower website, Facebook page, digital companion (chat bot), interactive voice response (IVR), radio and television (TV) messaging. This improves compliance and provides linkages to nearby facilities. Results The project recorded 136,950 self-injection (SI) visits and a self-injection (SI) proportion rate that increased from 13 percent before the implementation of interventions in 2021 to 62 percent currently. The project cost-effectively demonstrated catalytic impact by leveraging state and partner resources, institutional platforms, and geographic scope to scale up interventions. The project also cost effectively demonstrated catalytic impact by leveraging on the state and partner resources, institutional platforms, and geographic scope to sustainably scale-up these strategies. Conclusion Using evidence-informed iterations of service delivery and demand creation models have been useful to significantly drive self-injection (SI) uptake. It will be useful to consider this implementation model during program design. Contemplation should also be given to systematic and strategic execution of strategies to optimize impact.

Keywords: family planning, contraception, DMPA-SC, self-care, self-injection, innovation, service delivery, demand creation.

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Authors: Mijoh A. Gbededo, Kapila Liyanage, Ilias Oraifige

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Decision making for sustainable manufacturing design and management requires critical considerations due to the complexity and partly conflicting issues of economic, social and environmental factors. Although there are tools capable of assessing the combination of one or two of the sustainability factors, the frameworks have not adequately integrated all the three factors. Case study and review of existing simulation applications also shows the approach lacks integration of the sustainability factors. In this paper we discussed the development of a simulation based framework for support of a holistic assessment of sustainable manufacturing design and management. To achieve this, a strategic approach is introduced to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing decision supporting tools. Investigation reveals that Discrete Event Simulation (DES) can serve as a rock base for other Life Cycle Analysis frameworks. Simio-DES application optimizes systems for both economic and competitive advantage, Granta CES EduPack and SimaPro collate data for Material Flow Analysis and environmental Life Cycle Assessment, while social and stakeholders’ analysis is supported by Analytical Hierarchy Process, a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis method. Such a common and integrated framework creates a platform for companies to build a computer simulation model of a real system and assess the impact of alternative solutions before implementing a chosen solution.

Keywords: discrete event simulation, life cycle sustainability analysis, manufacturing, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 266