Search results for: critical success factors (csf)

Authors: Yosra M. Badiei, Evelyn Ortiz, Marisa Portenti, David Szalda

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Water-oxidation half-reaction is a critical reaction that can be driven by a sustainable energy source (e.g., solar or wind) and be coupled with a chemical fuel making reaction which stores the released electrons and protons from water (e.g., H₂ or methanol). The use of molecular water-oxidation catalysts (WOC) allow the rationale design of redox active metal centers and provides a better understanding of their structure-activity-relationship. Herein, the structure of a Ru(III) complex bearing a doubly deprotonated N,N'-bis(aryl)pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide ligand which contains a water molecule in its primary coordination sphere was elucidated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Further spectroscopic experimental data and pH-dependent electrochemical studies reveal its water-oxidation reactivity. Emphasis on mechanistic details for O₂ formation of this complex will be addressed.

Keywords: water-oxidation, catalysis, ruthenium, artificial photosynthesis

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Authors: Tafadzwa Shumba, Rose C. Nyatondo, Regret Sunge

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This research analyses the impact of budget deficits on the economic performance of Zimbabwe. The study employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) confines testing method to co-integration and long-run estimation using time series data from 1980-2018. The Augmented Dick Fuller (ADF) and the Granger approach were used to testing for stationarity and causality among the factors. Co-integration test results affirm a long term association between GDP development rate and descriptive factors. Causality test results show a unidirectional connection between budget shortfall to GDP development and bi-directional causality amid debt and budget deficit. This study also found unidirectional causality from debt to GDP growth rate. ARDL estimates indicate a significantly positive long term and significantly negative short term impact of budget shortfall on GDP. This suggests that budget deficits have a short-run growth retarding effect and a long-run growth-inducing effect. The long-run results follow the Keynesian theory that posits that fiscal deficits result in an increase in GDP growth. Short-run outcomes follow the neoclassical theory. In light of these findings, the government is recommended to minimize financing of recurrent expenditure using a budget deficit. To achieve sustainable growth and development, the government needs to spend an absorbable budget deficit focusing on capital projects such as the development of human capital and infrastructure.

Keywords: ARDL, budget deficit, economic performance, long run

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Authors: Vijaya Nirmala Pangi, K. V. Subhramanyam, C. Vijay Lakshmi

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Background: The prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is increasing drastically at a vigorous rate all over the world population. Aim: The present study aims to determine the prevalence of type-2 diabetes mellitus in Paderu tribal area population of Visakhapatnam district, located in northeastern region of Andhra Pradesh. Methods: A random sampling method was followed in 1025 subjects including controls (n=25) and determined 75-g oral glucose tolerance test to assess the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The effect of anthropometric factors like age, gender, literacy, socio economic status, and environmental risk factors such as body fat response, hypertension and psychophysical stress response were determined in the studied subjects. Results: 78 (7.8%) were diabetic. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus was found to be comparable between the two genders. Prevalence of diabetes was observed to be high in illiterate, low economic status subjects. Body fat response was comparable between control and diabetic subjects. However hypertension, stress associated enzymes showed significant (p < 0.05) decrease in diabetic subjects compared to controls in both the genders. Conclusion: It appears that there is a rising pattern in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in tribal area, Paderu, Andhra Pradesh, India compared to previous rural studies.

Keywords: anthropometric studies, hypertension, oral glucose tolerance test, stress enzymes, type-2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: I. R. Keke, C. S. Nwigwe, O. S. Nwanjo, A. S. Egeruoh

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An experiment was carried out at Urban Farm and Fisheries Nigeria Ltd, Owerri Imo State South East Nigeria between February and June 2014 to induce Brood stock of Heterobranchus longifilis (mean wt 1.3kg) in concrete tanks (1.0 x 2.0 x 1.5m) in dimension using a synthetic hormone (Ovaprim) and pituitary extract from Heterobranchus longifilis. Brood stock males were selected as pituitary donors and their weights matched those of females to be injected at 1ml/kg body weight of Fish. Ovaprim, was injected at 0.5ml/kg body weight of female fish. A latency period of 12 hours was allowed after injection of the Brood stock females before stripping the egg and incubation at 23 °C. While incubating the eggs, samples were drawn and the rate of fertilization was determined. Hatching occurred within 33 hours and hatchability rate (%) was determined by counting the active hatchings. The result showed that Ovaprim injected Brood stock eggs fertilized up to 80% while the pituitary from the Heterobranchus longifilis had low fertilization and hatching success 20%. Ovaprim is imported and costly, so more effort is required to enhance the procedures for homoplastic hypophysation.

Keywords: heterobranchus longifilis, ovaprim, hypophysation, latency period, pituitary

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Authors: Babatunde Joel Todowede

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The challenges of nation building and sustainable development have continued to feature prominently in the general reckoning of problems of underdevelopment in the developing countries of the world. Thus, since the attainment of political independence from the British colonial administration in 1960, one of the critical thrusts of central governance in Nigeria has been the particular policy attention of the educational sector. Of course, education is perceived as the logical bridge between the two contrasting worlds of underdevelopment and development, hence, its fundamental importance. The various public policies and practices associated with the Nigerian educational sector are specifically elaborated and critically assessed in this paper. In the final analysis, it is concluded that the educational sector should be better configured and managed in ways that the wider challenges of nation-building and sustainable development are effectively tractable.

Keywords: Nigeria education, educational need, educational plans and policies, educational challenges, corrective measures, emerging economy

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Authors: Daniel Ngusha Chile

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The rapid advancement of communication and information technology has significantly transformed how organisations engage in strategic communication. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, leveraging the convergence of these fields is essential for driving impact and fostering innovation. This study examines the integration of communication, information technology, and strategic communication, exploring how their synergy enhances message delivery, audience engagement, and organisational effectiveness. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research employs surveys and case studies to investigate the adoption of digital tools and platforms in strategic communication practices across various industries. Quantitative data were analysed to identify trends in technology use, while qualitative insights were drawn from interviews with communication professionals to understand challenges and best practices. The findings reveal that organisations which strategically integrate communication and information technology experience improved message clarity, wider audience reach, and stronger brand positioning. However, the study also highlights barriers such as gaps in technological literacy and ethical concerns regarding data privacy. In conclusion, the convergence of communication, information technology, and strategic communication is pivotal in shaping the future of organisational success. Embracing these advancements enables more effective engagement, adaptability, and resilience in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Keywords: communication, information technology, strategic communication, digital transformation

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Authors: Anietie J. Atangwho, Udeme E. Asibong, Item J. Atangwho, Ndifreke E. Udonwa

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Diabesity, a syndrome where diabetes and obesity occur simultaneously in a single patient, has emerged as a recent challenge to the medical world and is already at epidemic proportion in some countries. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of diabesity among adult patients attending the General Outpatient clinic of three healthcare facilities in Calabar in a bid to improve healthcare delivery to patients at risk. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was employed using a mixed method approach that comprised quantitative and qualitative components i.e., Focused Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informant Interview (KII). One hundred and ninety (190) participants aged 18 to 72 years and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30kg/m2 were recruited as the study population for the quantitative study using systematic random sampling technique and analysed using SPSS version 25. The qualitative component performed 4 FGDs and 3 KIIs. Results of sociodemographic variables showed respondents aged 35 – 44 as highest in number (37.3%). Of this number, 83.7% were females, 76.8% married, and 3.7% earned USD1,110.00 monthly. Whereas majority of the participants (65.8 %) were within class 1 obesity, only 38% considered themselves obese. Diabesity occurrence was found to be 12.6% (i.e. BMI ≥ 30 to 45.2kg/m2 vs FBS ≥ 7.0 – 14.8mmo/l), with 38% of them being previously undiagnosed. About 48.4 % of the respondents ate two meals only per day; with 90.5% eating between meals. Snacking was predominant, mostly pastries (67.9%), with 58.9% taking cola drinks alongside. Sixty-one percent participated in one form of exercise or the other, with walking/trekking as the most common; 34.4 % had no regular exercise schedule. Only about 39.5% of the participants spent less than an hour on devices like phone, television, and laptops. Additionally, previously known and newly diagnosed hypertensive patients were 27.9% and 7.2%, respectively. Qualitative assessment with KII and FGDs showed eating unhealthy diets and lack of exercise as major factors responsible for diabesity. The bivariate analysis revealed significant association between diabesity with marital status and hypertension (p = 0.007 and p = 0.005, respectively). Also, positive association with diabesity were eating snacking (p = 0.017) and number of times a respondent snacks per day (p = 0.035). Overall, the study has revealed the occurrence of diabesity in Calabar at 12.6 % of the study population, with 38 % of them previously undiagnosed; it identified unhealthy diets and lack of exercise as causative factors as well as hypertension as snacking associatory indicators of diabesity.

Keywords: diabesity, obesity, diabetes, unhealthy diet

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Authors: Dercan Gencbas, Hatice Bebis, Sue Moorhead

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In the nursing process, many of the nursing classification systems were created to be used in international. From these, NANDA-I, Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) and Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). In this direction, the main objective of this study is to establish a model for caregivers in hospitals and communities in Turkey and to ensure that nursing outputs are assessed by NOC-based measures. There are many scales to measure Urinary Incontinence (UI), which is very common in children, in old age, vaginal birth, NOC scales are ideal for use in the nursing process for comprehensive and holistic assessment, with surveys available. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the validity of the NOC outputs and indicators used for UI NANDA-I. This research is a methodological study. In addition to the validity of scale indicators in the study, how much they will contribute to recovery after the nursing intervention was assessed by experts. Scope validations have been applied and calculated according to Fehring 1987 work model. According to this, nursing inclusion criteria and scores were determined. For example, if experts have at least four years of clinical experience, their score was 4 points or have at least one year of the nursing classification system, their score was 1 point. The experts were a publication experience about nursing classification, their score was 1 point, or have a doctoral degree in nursing, their score was 2 points. If the expert has a master degree, their score was 1 point. Total of 55 experts rated Fehring as a “senior degree” with a score of 90 according to the expert scoring. The nursing interventions to be applied were asked to what extent these indicators would contribute to recovery. For coverage validity tailored to Fehring's model, each NOC and NOC indicator from specialists was asked to score between 1-5. Score for the significance of indicators was from 1=no precaution to 5=very important. After the expert opinion, these weighted scores obtained for each NOC and NOC indicator were classified as 0.8 critical, 0.8 > 0.5 complements, > 0.5 are excluded. In the NANDA-I / NOC / NIC system (guideline), 5 NOCs proposed for nursing diagnoses for UI were proposed. These outputs are; Urinary Continence, Urinary Elimination, Tissue Integrity, Self CareToileting, Medication Response. After the scales are translated into Turkish, the weighted average of the scores obtained from specialists for the coverage of all 5 NOCs and the contribution of nursing initiatives exceeded 0.8. After the opinions of the experts, 79 of the 82 indicators were calculated as critical, 3 of the indicators were calculated as supplemental. Because of 0.5 > was not obtained, no substance was removed. All NOC outputs were identified as valid and usable scales in Turkey. In this study, five NOC outcomes were verified for the evaluation of the output of individuals who have received nursing knowledge of UI and variant types. Nurses in Turkey can benefit from the outputs of the NOC scale to perform the care of the elderly incontinence.

Keywords: nursing outcomes, content validity, nursing diagnosis, urinary incontinence

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Authors: Lazaro E. Nnko, Japhet J. Kashaigili, Gerald C. Monela, Pantaleo K. T. Munishi

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Agroforestry systems and practices are perceived to improve livelihood and sustainable management of natural resources. However, their adoption in various regions differs with the biophysical conditions and societal characteristics. This study was conducted in Kilombero District to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of different agroforestry systems and practices in agro-ecosystems and farming systems. A household survey, key informant interviews, and focus group discussion was used for data collection in three villages. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression in SPSS were applied for analysis. Results show that Igima and Ngajengwa villages had home garden practices dominated, as revealed by 63.3% and 66.7%, respectively, while Mbingu village had mixed intercropping practice with 56.67%. Agrosilvopasture systems were dominant in Igima and Ngajengwa villages with 56.7% and 66.7%, respectively, while in Mbingu village, the dominant system was agrosilviculture with 66.7%. The results from multinomial logistic regression show that different explanatory variable was statistical significance as predictors of the adoption of agroforestry systems and practices. Residence type and sex were the most dominant factor influencing the adoption of agroforestry systems. Duration of stay in the village, availability of extension education, residence, and sex were the dominant factor influencing the adoption of agroforestry practices. The most important and statistically significant factors among these were residence type and sex. The study concludes that agroforestry will be more successful if the local priorities, which include social-economic need characteristics of the society, will be considered in designing systems and practices. The socio-economic need of the community should be addressed in the process of expanding the adoption of agroforestry systems and practices.

Keywords: agroforestry adoption, agroforestry systems, agroforestry practices, agroforestry, Kilombero

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Authors: Shameka Stanford

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This presentation will discuss how cognitive and communication disorders in the areas of executive functioning, receptive and expressive language can impact the problem-solving and decision making of individuals with such impairments. More specifically, this presentation will discuss approaches the legal defense team of capital case lawyers can add to their experience when servicing individuals who have a history of educational decline, special education, and limited intervention and treatment. The objective of the research is to explore and identify the correlations between impaired executive function skills and decision making and competency for individuals facing death penalty charges. To conduct this research, experimental design, randomized sampling, qualitative analysis was employed. This research contributes to the legal and criminal justice system related to how they view, defend, and characterize, and judge individuals with documented cognitive and communication disorders who are eligible for capital case charges. More importantly, this research contributes to the increased ability of death penalty lawyers to successfully defend clients with a history of academic difficulty, special education, and documented disorders that impact educational progress and academic success.

Keywords: cognitive impairments, communication disorders, death penalty, executive function

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Authors: Liberata Borralho, Saúl N. de Jesus, Adelinda Candeias, Victória Fernández-Puig

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In the last decades, we have witnessed a deterioration in the health of teachers worldwide, reflecting the constant social, political and economic changes. The quality of teaching and the success of students depends on the health status of the teachers, which justifies the importance of periodically evaluating their health. With this purpose, the Teacher’s Health Questionnaire was applied to 15.394 teachers teaching in Portugal and Spain (6.208 Spanish and 9.186 Portuguese) of primary and secondary education (3.482 men, 11.911 women). This questionnaire is specific and includes both the main risks of the teaching profession and the manifestations of teacher well-being, according to the definition recommended by the World Health Organization. A descriptive analysis of the results was carried out, including a study of the dimensions and the differences according to some sociodemographic and professional variables, from an analysis of variance ANOVA, applying the Bonferroni correction. Cluster analysis (K-means) allowed us to obtain cutoff scores to assess health status. The results allow concluding that Portuguese teachers perceive a poor well-being in the performance of their professional activity and that more than half present manifestations in the various dimensions of health deterioration, highlighting the exhaustion and cognitive disorders. In turn, Spanish teachers demonstrate a high level of well-being, being the musculoskeletal dimensions and cognitive disorders the main manifestations of deterioration of health.

Keywords: job prevention, occupational health, teacher’s health, teachers work risks, teacher’s well-being

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Authors: Seyed Amin Vakili, Sahar Sadat Vakili, Seyed Ehsan Vakili, Nader Abdoli Yazdi

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The main purpose of this paper is to present the Modified Newmark Method of buckling analysis frame considering the effect of the axial load. The discussion will be restricted to plane frameworks containing a constant cross-section for each element. In addition, it is assumed that the frames are prevented from out-of-plane deflection. In this method, stiffness matrix of the structure is considered to be constant. The most important advantage of such a method is that it obtains both upper and lower critical loads. The advanced of the present method is fast convergence, ability to use computer simulations, and ability to model structures with semi-rigid support conditions using linear and rotational spring.

Keywords: buckling, stability, frame, modified newmark method

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Authors: U.K. Sarkar, G. Karnatak, P. Mishal, Lianthuamluaia, S. Kumari, S.K. Das, B.K. Das

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Inland open water fisheries provide food, income, livelihood and nutritional security to millions of fishers across the globe. However, the open water ecosystem and fisheries are threatened due to climate change and anthropogenic pressures, which are more visible in the recent six decades, making the resources vulnerable. Understanding the interaction between meteorological parameters and inland fisheries is imperative to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies. As per IPCC 5th assessment report, the earth is warming at a faster rate in recent decades. Global mean surface temperature (GMST) for the decade 2006–2015 (0.87°C) was 6 times higher than the average over the 1850–1900 period. The direct and indirect impacts of climatic parameters on the ecology of fisheries ecosystem have a great bearing on fisheries due to alterations in fish physiology. The impact of meteorological factors on ecosystem health and fish food organisms brings about changes in fish diversity, assemblage, reproduction and natural recruitment. India’s average temperature has risen by around 0.7°C during 1901–2018. The studies show that the mean air temperature in the Ganga basin has increased in the range of 0.20 - 0.47 °C and annual rainfall decreased in the range of 257-580 mm during the last three decades. The studies clearly indicate visible impacts of climatic and environmental factors on inland open water fisheries. Besides, a significant reduction in-depth and area (37.20–57.68% reduction), diversity of natural indigenous fish fauna (ranging from 22.85 to 54%) in wetlands and progression of trophic state from mesotrophic to eutrophic were recorded. In this communication, different applications of biometeorology in inland fisheries management with special reference to the assessment of ecosystem and species vulnerability to climatic variability and change have been discussed. Further, the paper discusses the impact of climate anomaly and extreme climatic events on inland fisheries and emphasizes novel modeling approaches for understanding the impact of climatic and environmental factors on reproductive phenology for identification of climate-sensitive/resilient fish species for the adoption of climate-smart fisheries in the future. Adaptation and mitigation strategies to enhance fish production and the role of culture-based fisheries and enclosure culture in converting sequestered carbon into blue carbon have also been discussed. In general, the type and direction of influence of meteorological parameters on fish biology in open water fisheries ecosystems are not adequately understood. The optimum range of meteorological parameters for sustaining inland open water fisheries is yet to be established. Therefore, the application of biometeorology in inland fisheries offers ample scope for understanding the dynamics in changing climate, which would help to develop a database on such least, addressed research frontier area. This would further help to project fisheries scenarios in changing climate regimes and develop adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope up with adverse meteorological factors to sustain fisheries and to conserve aquatic ecosystem and biodiversity.

Keywords: biometeorology, inland fisheries, aquatic ecosystem, modeling, India

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Authors: Evanka Madan, Madhu Puri, Dan Zilberstein, Rohini Muthuswami, Rentala Madhubala

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The extensive interaction between the host and pathogen metabolic networks decidedly shapes the outcome of infection. Utilization of arginine by the host and pathogen is critical for determining the outcome of pathogenic infection. Infections with L. donovani, an intracellular parasite, will lead to an extensive competition of arginine between the host and the parasite donovani infection. One of the major amino acid (AA) sensing signaling pathways in mammalian cells are the mammalian target of rapamycin complex I (mTORC1) pathway. mTORC1, as a sensor of nutrient, controls numerous metabolic pathways. Arginine is critical for mTORC1 activation. SLC38A9 is the arginine sensor for the mTORC1, being activated during arginine sufficiency. L. donovani transport arginine via a high-affinity transporter (LdAAP3) that is rapidly up-regulated by arginine deficiency response (ADR) in intracellular amastigotes. This study, to author’s best knowledge, investigates the interaction between two arginine sensing systems that act in the same compartment, the lysosome. One is important for macrophage defense, and the other is essential for pathogen virulence. We hypothesize that the latter modulates lysosome arginine to prevent host defense response. The work presented here identifies an upstream regulatory role of LdAAP3 in regulating the expression of SLC38A9-mTORC1 pathway, and consequently, their function in L. donovani infected THP-1 cells cultured in 0.1 mM and 1.5 mM arginine. It was found that in physiological levels of arginine (0.1 mM), infecting THP-1 with Leishmania leads to increased levels of SLC38A9 and mTORC1 via an increase in the expression of RagA. However, the reversal was observed with LdAAP3 mutants, reflecting the positive regulatory role of LdAAP3 on the host SLC38A9. At the molecular level, upon infection, mTORC1 and RagA were found to be activated at the surface of phagolysosomes which was found to form a complex with phagolysosomal localized SLC38A9. To reveal the relevance of SLC38A9 under physiological levels of arginine, endogenous SLC38A9 was depleted and a substantial reduction in the expression of host mTORC1, its downstream active substrate, p-P70S6K1 and parasite LdAAP3, was observed, thereby showing that silencing SLC38A9 suppresses ADR. In brief, to author’s best knowledge, these results reveal an upstream regulatory role of LdAAP3 in manipulating SLC38A9 arginine sensing in host macrophages. Our study indicates that intra-macrophage survival of L. donovani depends on the availability and transport of extracellular arginine. An understanding of the sensing pathway of both parasite and host will open a new perspective on the molecular mechanism of host-parasite interaction and consequently, as a treatment for Leishmaniasis.

Keywords: arginine sensing, LdAAP3, L. donovani, mTORC1, SLC38A9, THP-1

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Authors: Carolina A. Santos, Alexandra B. Ribeiro

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Climate change and environmental degradation are threats to humanity. Europe has been addressing these problems, namely through the Green Deal, with the use of batteries in mobility and energy fields. However, these require the use of critical raw materials, like lithium, which demand is estimated to grow 60 times in the next 30 years. Thus, it is fundamental to promote a circular economy with lithium recovery from secondary resources. These are nowadays key topics, which will be even more relevant in the future, so a new way to approach them is needed and must be encouraged. Therefore, one of our main goals is to analyse two methods of lithium retrieval from secondary sources, bioleaching, and electrodialysis, and assess them regarding their sustainability. The latest results show good efficiency of removal with both methods, even though there are some matrix interferences. Hence, further investment and research are needed in order to make this process sustainable and our society more circular.

Keywords: lithium, sustainable mining, social license to operate, bioleaching, electrodialysis

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Authors: Sonia Anand Knowlton

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As the use of Artificial Intelligence is becoming increasingly integrated in virtually every area of life, the need and interest to logically formalize the law and judicial reasoning is growing tremendously. The study of argumentation frameworks (AFs) provides promise in this respect. AF’s provide a way of structuring human reasoning using a formal system of non-monotonic logic. P.M. Dung first introduced this framework and demonstrated that certain arguments must prevail and certain arguments must perish based on whether they are logically “attacked” by other arguments. Dung labelled the set of prevailing arguments as the “preferred extension” of the given argumentation framework. Trevor Bench-Capon’s Value-based Argumentation Frameworks extended Dung’s AF system by allowing arguments to derive their force from the promotion of “preferred” values. In VAF systems, the success of an attack from argument A to argument B (i.e., the triumph of argument A) requires that argument B does not promote a value that is preferred to argument A. There has been thorough discussion of the application of VAFs to the law within the computer science literature, mainly demonstrating that legal cases can be effectively mapped out using VAFs. This article analyses VAFs from a jurisprudential standpoint to provide a philosophical and theoretical analysis of what VAFs tell the legal community about the judicial reasoning, specifically distinguishing between legal and moral reasoning. It highlights the limitations of using VAFs to account for judicial moral reasoning in theory and in practice.

Keywords: nonmonotonic logic, legal formalization, computer science, artificial intelligence, morality

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Authors: Deepak Chaudhary

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This paper attempts to analyze the leadership phenomena, its challenges, and prospects in Nepal. Literature is reviewed rigorously to explain the theoretical and empirical aspects of leadership. Besides, In-depth interviews with three national leaders were interviewed to know the challenges regarding polity and leadership. Similarly, a survey among 434 households in Katahari rural municipality and Godavari municipality was carried out to assess people’s perceptions of leaders. Leadership is normally pronounced in the wake of the success of the country’s development or crisis management. Real leaders are those who can avert any crisis successfully and proceed with the country in a progressive and normal way. Leadership’s working style can create a favorable institutional environment in the public institution that can lead development programs successfully. However, the literature suggests that Nepal is still struggling towards modernization in comparison to some East-Asian countries whose socio-economic situation was more similar in the 1950s. Similarly, Nepal has been facing several social movements after the 1990s, which resulted in a new political system, though the performance of the public institution has been a question and it goes to the leadership’s role. The poor tackling of natural disasters like earthquakes flooding, and pandemics raises the questions of the leadership’s role to some extent. The government of Nepal's record of developmental expenditures is dismal. However, leadership has been the central part of people, community, and country, and hence, the study of leadership phenomena in relation to a country’s well-being is intrinsic.

Keywords: challenges, leadership, institutionalization, effectiveness

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Authors: Johannes J. Schneider, Mathias S. Weyland, Peter Eggenberger Hotz, William D. Jamieson, Oliver Castell, Alessia Faggian, Rudolf M. Füchslin

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Agglomerations of polydisperse systems of spherical particles are created in computer simulations using a simplified stochastic-hydrodynamic model: Particles sink to the bottom of the cylinder, taking into account gravity reduced by the buoyant force, the Stokes friction force, the added mass effect, and random velocity changes. Two types of particles are considered, with one of them being able to create connections to neighboring particles of the same type, thus forming a network within the agglomeration at the bottom of a cylinder. Decreasing the fraction of these particles, a percolation transition occurs. The critical regime is determined by investigating the maximum cluster size and the percolation susceptibility.

Keywords: binary system, maximum cluster size, percolation, polydisperse

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Authors: Kulvinder Bajwa, Narsi R. Bishnoi

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Finding a sustainable alternative for today’s petrochemical industry is a major challenge facing by researchers, scientists, chemical engineers, and society at the global level. Microorganisms are considered to be sustainable feedstock for 3rd generation biofuel production. In this study, we have investigated the potential of a native bacterial strain isolated from a petrol contaminated site for the production of biodiesel. The bacterium was identified to be Rhodococcus opacus by biochemical test and 16S rRNA. Compositional analysis of bacterial biomass has been carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to confirm lipid profile. Lipid and biomass were optimized by combination with Box Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology. The factors selected for the optimization of growth condition were glucose, yeast extract, and ammonium nitrate concentration. The experimental model developed through RSM in terms of effective operational factors (BBD) was found to be suitable to describe the lipid and biomass production, which indicated higher lipid and biomass with a minimum concentration of ammonium nitrate, yeast extract, and quite higher dose of glucose supplementation. Optimum results of the experiments were found to be 2.88 gL⁻¹ biomass and lipid content 38.75% at glucose 20 gL⁻¹, ammonium nitrate 0.5 gL⁻¹ and yeast extract 1.25 gL⁻¹. Furthermore, GCMS study revealed that Rhodococcus opacus has favorable fatty acid profile for biodiesel production.

Keywords: biofuel, Oleaginious bacteria, Rhodococcus opacus, FTIR, BBD, free fatty acids

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Authors: Lakmali Anthony, Madeline Gillies

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Purpose: Decreasing mortality has led to increased focus on patient-reported outcomes such as quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer. Breast cancer 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 breast cancer 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 3,150 total participants (mean = 197) with a mean age of 51.9 years. There was substantial heterogeneity in measures of QoL. The most common was the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 (n=7, 41.1%). Most studies (n=12, 70.5%) found that emotional distress correlated with poor QoL, while 3 found no significant association. The most common measure of emotional distress was the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (n=12, 70.5%). Other psychosocial factors associated with QoL were unmet needs, problematic social support, and negative affect. Clinicopathologic determinants included mastectomy without reconstruction, stage IV disease, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion: This systematic review provides a summary of the psychosocial determinants of poor QoL in post-treatment breast cancer 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: breast cancer, quality of life, psychosocial determinants, cancer surgery

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Authors: Yusuf S. Dambatta, Ahmed A. D. Sarhan

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Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of the most prominent rapid prototyping (RP) technologies which is being used to efficiently fabricate CAD 3D geometric models. However, the process is coupled with many drawbacks, of which the surface quality of the manufactured RP parts is among. Hence, studies relating to improving the surface roughness have been a key issue in the field of RP research. In this work, a technique of modelling the surface roughness in FDM is presented. Using experimentally measured surface roughness response of the FDM parts, an ANFIS prediction model was developed to obtain the surface roughness in the FDM parts using the main critical process parameters that affects the surface quality. The ANFIS model was validated and compared with experimental test results.

Keywords: surface roughness, fused deposition modelling (FDM), adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), orientation

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Authors: Shwiri Eshwa Chumbow

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This research paper explores the contribution of legal translation in conflict resolution with a specific focus on the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. The Anglophone Crisis, which emerged from grievances concerning language and legal systems, has underscored the importance of accurate and culturally sensitive legal translation services. Using documentary research and case study analysis, this paper examines the impact of translation (or lack thereof) on conflict resolution and proposes translation-related solutions to resolve the conflict and promote peace. The findings highlight the critical role of (legal) translation in bridging linguistic and cultural gaps, facilitating dialogue, and fostering understanding in conflict resolution processes.

Keywords: anglophone crisis, Cameroon, conflict resolution, francophone, legal translation, translation

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Authors: Ahmed ElAzab, Amira M. Idrees, Mahmoud A. Mahmoud, Hesham Hefny

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Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook attracts over 500 million users across the world, for those users, their social life, even their practical life, has become interrelated. Their interaction with social networking has affected their life forever. Accordingly, social networking sites have become among the main channels that are responsible for vast dissemination of different kinds of information during real time events. This popularity in Social networking has led to different problems including the possibility of exposing incorrect information to their users through fake accounts which results to the spread of malicious content during life events. This situation can result to a huge damage in the real world to the society in general including citizens, business entities, and others. In this paper, we present a classification method for detecting fake accounts on Twitter. The study determines the minimized set of the main factors that influence the detection of the fake accounts on Twitter, then the determined factors have been applied using different classification techniques, a comparison of the results for these techniques has been performed and the most accurate algorithm is selected according to the accuracy of the results. The study has been compared with different recent research in the same area, this comparison has proved the accuracy of the proposed study. We claim that this study can be continuously applied on Twitter social network to automatically detect the fake accounts, moreover, the study can be applied on different Social network sites such as Facebook with minor changes according to the nature of the social network which are discussed in this paper.

Keywords: fake accounts detection, classification algorithms, twitter accounts analysis, features based techniques

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Authors: A. Abdullah, N. Faghih Mirzaei, S. Hany Haron

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Neighbourhood environment walkability on reported physical activity (PA) levels of students of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Malaysia. Compared with previous generations, today’s young people spend less time playing outdoors and have lower participation rates in PA. Research suggests that negative perceptions of neighbourhood walkability may be a potential barrier to adolescents’ PA. The sample consisted of 200 USM students (to 24 years old) who live outside of the main campus and engage in PA in sport halls and sport fields of USM. The data were analysed using the t-test, binary logistic regression, and discriminant analysis techniques. The present study found that youth PA was affected by neighbourhood environment walkability factors, including neighbourhood infrastructures, neighbourhood safety (crime), and recreation facilities, as well as street characteristics and neighbourhood design variables such as facades of sidewalks, roadside trees, green spaces, and aesthetics. The finding also illustrated that active students were influenced by street connectivity, neighbourhood infrastructures, recreation facilities, facades of sidewalks, and aesthetics, whereas students in the less active group were affected by access to destinations, neighbourhood safety (crime), and roadside trees and green spaces for their PAs. These results report which factors of built environments have more effect on youth PA and they message to the public to create more awareness about the benefits of PA on youth health.

Keywords: fear of crime, neighbourhood built environment, physical activities, street characteristics design

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Authors: Rima Alfaraj, Abeer Alarawi, Murtadha AlTammar

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The global energy landscape heavily relies on the oil and gas industry, which faces the critical challenge of reducing its carbon footprint. To address this issue, the integration of advanced materials like aerogels has emerged as a promising solution to enhance sustainability and environmental performance within the industry. This study thoroughly examines the application of aerogel-based technologies in the oil and gas sector, focusing particularly on their role in carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives. Aerogels, known for their exceptional properties, such as high surface area, low density, and customizable pore structure, have garnered attention for their potential in various CCS strategies. The review delves into various fabrication techniques utilized in producing aerogel materials, including sol-gel, supercritical drying, and freeze-drying methods, to assess their suitability for specific industry applications. Beyond fabrication, the practicality of aerogel materials in critical areas such as flow assurance, enhanced oil recovery, and thermal insulation is explored. The analysis spans a wide range of applications, from potential use in pipelines and equipment to subsea installations, offering valuable insights into the real-world implementation of aerogels in the oil and gas sector. The paper also investigates the adsorption and storage capabilities of aerogel-based sorbents, showcasing their effectiveness in capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) molecules. Optimization of pore size distribution and surface chemistry is examined to enhance the affinity and selectivity of aerogels towards CO₂, thereby improving the efficiency and capacity of CCS systems. Additionally, the study explores the potential of aerogel-based membranes for separating and purifying CO₂ from oil and gas streams, emphasizing their role in the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) value chain in the industry. Emerging trends and future perspectives in integrating aerogel-based technologies within the oil and gas sector are also discussed, including the development of hybrid aerogel composites and advanced functional components to further enhance material performance and versatility. By synthesizing the latest advancements and future directions in aerogel used for CCS applications in the oil and gas industry, this review offers a comprehensive understanding of how these innovative materials can aid in transitioning towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious energy landscape. The insights provided can assist in strategic decision-making, drive technology development, and foster collaborations among academia, industry, and policymakers to promote the widespread adoption of aerogel-based solutions in the oil and gas sector.

Keywords: CCS, porous, carbon capture, oil and gas, sustainability

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Authors: Sara Saboonian, Pierre Filion

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There are two distinct planning approaches attempting to transform the North American suburb so as to reduce its adverse environmental impacts. The first one, the recentralization approach, proposes intensification, multi-functionality and more reliance on public transit and walking. It thus offers an alternative to the prevailing low-density, spatial specialization and automobile dependence of the North American suburb. The second approach concentrates instead on the provision of green infrastructure, which rely on natural systems rather than on highly engineered solutions to deal with the infrastructure needs of suburban areas. There are tensions between these two approaches as recentralization generally overlooks green infrastructure, which can be space consuming (as in the case of water retention systems), and thus conflicts with the intensification goals of recentralization. The research investigates three Canadian planned suburban centres in the Greater Toronto Area, where recentralization is the current planning practice, despite rising awareness of the benefits of green infrastructure. Methods include reviewing the literature on green infrastructure planning, a critical analysis of the Ontario provincial plans for recentralization, surveying residents’ preferences regarding alternative suburban development models, and interviewing officials who deal with the local planning of the three centres. The case studies expose the difficulties in creating planned suburban centres that accommodate green infrastructure while adhering to recentralization principles. Until now, planners have been mostly focussed on recentralization at the expense of green infrastructure. In this context, the frequent lack of compatibility between recentralization and the space requirements of green infrastructure explains the limited presence of such infrastructures in planned suburban centres. Finally, while much attention has been given in the planning discourse to the economic and lifestyle benefits of recentralization, much less has been made of the wide range of advantages of green infrastructure, which explains limited public mobilization over the development of green infrastructure networks. The paper will concentrate on ways of combining recentralization with green infrastructure strategies and identify the aspects of the two approaches that are most compatible with each other. The outcome of such blending will marry high density, public-transit oriented developments, which generate walkability and street-level animation, with the presence of green space, naturalized settings and reliance on renewable energy. The paper will advance a planning framework that will fuse green infrastructure with recentralization, thus ensuring the achievement of higher density and reduced reliance on the car along with the provision of critical ecosystem services throughout cities. This will support and enhance the objectives of both green infrastructure and recentralization.

Keywords: environmental-based planning, green infrastructure, multi-functionality, recentralization

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Authors: Chris Landorf, Stephen Ward

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This paper addresses a virtual environment approach to work integrated learning for students in construction-related disciplines. The virtual approach provides a safe and pedagogically rigorous environment where students can apply theoretical knowledge in a simulated real-world context. The paper describes the development of a 4-dimensional digital construction environment and associated learning activities funded by the Australian Office for Learning and Teaching. The environment was trialled with over 1,300 students and evaluated through questionnaires, observational studies and coursework analysis. Results demonstrate a positive impact on students’ technical learning and collaboration skills, but there is need for further research in relation to critical thinking skills and work-readiness.

Keywords: architectural education, construction industry, digital learning environments, immersive learning

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Authors: Oyedele Ogundana, Amon Simba, Kostas Galanakis, Lynn Oxborrow

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The debate about factors influencing the business growth of women-owned businesses has been a topical issue in business management. Currently, scholars have identified the issues of access to money, market, and management as canvasing factors influencing the business growth of women-owned businesses. However, the influence of motherhood (household/family context) on business growth is inconclusive in the literature; despite that women are more family-oriented than their male counterparts. Therefore, this research study considers the influence of motherhood factor (household/family context) on the business growth of women-owned sewing businesses (WOSBs) in Lagos, Nigeria. The sewing business sector is chosen as the fashion industry (which includes sewing businesses) currently accounts for the second largest number of jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa, following agriculture. Thus, sewing businesses provide a rich ground for contributing to existing scholarly work. Research questions; (1) In what way does the motherhood factor influence the business growth of WOSBs in Lagos? (2) To what extent does the motherhood factor influence the business growth of WOSBs in Lagos? For the method design, a pragmatic approach, a mixed-methods technique and an abductive form of reasoning are adopted. The method design is chosen because it fits, better than other research perspectives, with the research questions posed in this study. For instance, using a positivist approach will not sufficiently answer research question 1, neither will an interpretive approach sufficiently answer research question 2. Therefore, the research method design is divided into 2 phases, and the results from one phase are used to inform the development of the subsequent phases (only phase 1 has been completed at the moment). The first phase uses qualitative data and analytical method to answer research question 1. While the second phase of the research uses quantitative data and analytical method to answer research question 2. For the qualitative phase, 5 WOSBs were purposefully selected and interviewed. The sampling technique is selected as it was not the intention of the researcher to make any statistical inferences, at this phase, rather the purpose was just exploratory. Therefore, the 5 sampled women comprised of 2 unmarried women, 1 married woman with no child, and 2 married women with children. A 40-60 minutes interview was conducted per participants. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Thereafter, the data were analysed using thematic analysis in order to unearth patterns and relationships. Findings for the first phase of this research reveals that motherhood (household/family context) directly influences (positively/negatively) the performance of WOSBs in Lagos. Apart from a direct influence on WOSBs, motherhood also moderates (positively/negatively) other factors–e.g., access to money, management/human resources and market/opportunities– influencing WOSBs in Lagos. To further strengthen this conclusion, a word frequency query result shows that ‘family,’ ‘husband’ and ‘children’ are among the 10 words used frequently in all the interview transcripts. This first phase contributes to existing studies by showing the various forms by which motherhood influences WOSBs. The second phase (which data are yet to be collected) would reveal the extent to which motherhood influence the business growth of WOSBs in Lagos.

Keywords: women-owned sewing businesses, business growth, motherhood, Lagos

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Authors: Han Song, Tingting Wei, Dong Chen

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The combination of capital and rural areas in China has shown its great significance in promoting urban-rural integration and new-style urbanization, enhancing regional capacity for sustainable rural development and optimizing human settlement environment. The purpose of this study is to find capital operation mechanism in rural area and rural planning guidance in China. Based on case studies in Chinese rural areas, two types of capital operation mechanism in rural areas are summed up: intervention in the field of agriculture promoting the upgrading and innovation of agricultural industry chain, intervention in rural life and leisure areas updating rural connotation and form. In the light of experiences in Japan and Taiwan, it is proposed that government's norms and guidance, rural investment intensity and rural self-organization are three important factors for capital to drive rural development. It is also found that the unique land tenure and rural governance tradition are two important factors effecting the combination of capital and rural regions in China, which requires full attention in rational policy-making and rural planning. It comes to a conclusion as four directions of the overall reform of the rural planning: targeting at enhancing the viability of rural and sustainable capacity, encouraging differences in investment incentives and planning policies, providing land usage in the rural areas with planning support and reforming the village system. Directional guidance is also made for different types of capital investments, suggesting that capital should be rooted in agriculture and rural land to benefit farmers and update human settlements.

Keywords: capital, rural areas, rural planning, rural governance

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Authors: Helena Chytilova, Robin Maialeh

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Experimental economics is subject to criticism with regards to frequently discussed trade-off between internal and external validity requirements, which seems to be critically flawed. Incompatibility of trade-off condition and condition of internal validity as a prerequisite for external validity is presented. In addition, the imprecise concept of artificiality found to be rather improving external validity, seems to strengthen illusory status of external versus internal validity tension. Internal validity will be further analysed with regards to Duhem-Quine problem, where unpredictability argument is significantly weakened trough application of inductivism within the illustrative hypothetical-deductive model. Discussion outlined above partially weakens critical arguments related to robustness of results in experimental economics, if perfectly controlled experimental environment is secured.

Keywords: Duhem-Quine problem, external validity, inductivism, internal validity

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