Search results for: Airline Business Program

Authors: Getachew Weldemichael, Sentayehu Alamerew, Leta Tulu, Gezahegn Berecha

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Coffee quality improvement program is becoming the focus of coffee research, as the world coffee consumption pattern shifted to high-quality coffee. However, there is limited information on the genetic variation of C. Arabica for quality improvement in potential specialty coffee growing areas of Ethiopia. Therefore, this experiment was conducted with the objectives of determining the magnitude of variation among 105 coffee accessions collected from east Wollega coffee growing areas and assessing correlations between the different coffee qualities attributes. It was conducted in RCRD with three replications. Data on green bean physical characters (shape and make, bean color and odor) and organoleptic cup quality traits (aromatic intensity, aromatic quality, acidity, astringency, bitterness, body, flavor, and overall standard of the liquor) were recorded. Analysis of variance, clustering, genetic divergence, principal component and correlation analysis was performed using SAS software. The result revealed that there were highly significant differences (P<0.01) among the accessions for all quality attributes except for odor and bitterness. Among the tested accessions, EW104 /09, EW101 /09, EW58/09, EW77/09, EW35/09, EW71/09, EW68/09, EW96 /09, EW83/09 and EW72/09 had the highest total coffee quality values (the sum of bean physical and cup quality attributes). These genotypes could serve as a source of genes for green bean physical characters and cup quality improvement in Arabica coffee. Furthermore, cluster analysis grouped the coffee accessions into five clusters with significant inter-cluster distances implying that there is moderate diversity among the accessions and crossing accessions from these divergent inter-clusters would result in hetrosis and recombinants in segregating generations. The principal component analysis revealed that the first three principal components with eigenvalues greater than unity accounted for 83.1% of the total variability due to the variation of nine quality attributes considered for PC analysis, indicating that all quality attributes equally contribute to a grouping of the accessions in different clusters. Organoleptic cup quality attributes showed positive and significant correlations both at the genotypic and phenotypic levels, demonstrating the possibility of simultaneous improvement of the traits. Path coefficient analysis revealed that acidity, flavor, and body had a high positive direct effect on overall cup quality, implying that these traits can be used as indirect criteria to improve overall coffee quality. Therefore, it was concluded that there is considerable variation among the accessions, which need to be properly conserved for future improvement of the coffee quality. However, the variability observed for quality attributes must be further verified using biochemical and molecular analysis.

Keywords: accessions, Coffea arabica, cluster analysis, correlation, principal component

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Kever Gomes, Rosana Martins

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The use of environmental indicators is today an important strategy for analyzing the sustainability of agricultural systems. Despite of the considerable importance of family agriculture for Brazilian economy, sustainable agricultural practices are still weakly known, and the known ones, underused. Currently, economic aspects of the relationship between man and nature lead to the destruction of natural ecosystems, which justifies the urgent need for dissemination and usage of new sustainable production techniques. The study shows the agro-social and social-cultural trajectory of the farmers and hypothesis are advanced on what would imply the adoption of agroforestry systems in family agriculture. This study aimed to investigate aspects related to the perception of sustainable agriculture, especially on agroforestry systems in farms of farmers from Distrito Federal-Brazil. Agro-social characteristics of farmers were systematized considering their perceptions about agroforestry systems for the preparation of proposal for a program of Environmental Services Payment, intended for families who are involved in the various activities of home gardens. This study used qualitative methodological approaches of quantitative research, using descriptive exploratory research. To get the necessary elements for the intended analysis, interviews were conducted at 40 heads of households of which 15 were men and 25 women. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, having been considered in the analysis the frequency, consistency, coherence and originality of responses. It was found that the lack of financial resources and lack of technical assistance are limiting factors for the dissemination and use of sustainable agricultural practices. Considering the great number of species found for the main categories of use, it can be inferred that the home gardens play important functions for the interviewed families, contributing for the food and medicine production destined for the consumption by the families themselves, and also playing an important esthetic function thanks to the variety of their ornamental plants. The wealth of these home gardens may be related to the rural origin and to the culture of the owners, who still keep a cultivation tradition. It was found that the products obtained from the home gardens contributed for the diet’s variety of the informants, representing a promising potential for the improvement of the population alimentation. The study reached the conclusion over the need to motivate the interest of these farmers to seek information and resources to enable the implementation of Agroforestry projects, including the recovery of areas in their properties, even those distinct from their backyards. The study shows the agro-social and social-cultural trajectory of the farmers and hypothesis are advanced on what would imply the adoption of agroforestry systems in family agriculture.

Keywords: agro-biodiversity, natural conservation, silviculture, urban agriculture

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Claudia Norambuena, Myissa Weiss, Maria Ruiz Maya, Matthew Straley, Elijah Hammond, Benjamin Chesebrough, David Grow

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The purpose of this project is to develop a low-cost, portable sensor device that can be used at home for long-term analysis of gait and balance abnormalities. One area of particular concern involves the asymmetries in movement and balance that can accompany certain types of injuries and/or the associated devices used in the repair and rehabilitation process (e.g. the use of splints and casts) which can often increase chances of falls and additional injuries. This device has the capacity to monitor a patient during the rehabilitation process after injury or operation, increasing the patient’s access to healthcare while decreasing the number of visits to the patient’s clinician. The sensor device may thereby improve the quality of the patient’s care, particularly in rural areas where access to the clinician could be limited, while simultaneously decreasing the overall cost associated with the patient’s care. The device consists of nine interconnected accelerometer/ gyroscope/compass chips (9-DOF IMU, Adafruit, New York, NY). The sensors attach to and are used to determine the orientation and acceleration of the patient’s lower abdomen, C7 vertebra (lower neck), L1 vertebra (middle back), anterior side of each thigh and tibia, and dorsal side of each foot. In addition, pressure sensors are embedded in shoe inserts with one sensor (ESS301, Tekscan, Boston, MA) beneath the heel and three sensors (Interlink 402, Interlink Electronics, Westlake Village, CA) beneath the metatarsal bones of each foot. These sensors measure the distribution of the weight applied to each foot as well as stride duration. A small microntroller (Arduino Mega, Arduino, Ivrea, Italy) is used to collect data from these sensors in a CSV file. MATLAB is then used to analyze the data and output the hip, knee, ankle, and trunk angles projected on the sagittal plane. An open-source program Processing is then used to generate an animation of the patient’s gait. The accuracy of the sensors was validated through comparison to goniometric measurements (±2° error). The sensor device was also shown to have sufficient sensitivity to observe various gait abnormalities. Several patients used the sensor device, and the data collected from each represented the patient’s movements. Further, the sensors were found to have the ability to observe gait abnormalities caused by the addition of a small amount of weight (4.5 - 9.1 kg) to one side of the patient. The user-friendly interface and portability of the sensor device will help to construct a bridge between patients and their clinicians with fewer necessary inpatient visits.

Keywords: biomedical sensing, gait analysis, outpatient, rehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Bruce Hunter

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Background: The transition for student veterans from military service to higher education can be a challenging endeavor, especially for those pursuing an education in nursing. While the experiences and perspectives of each student veteran is unique, their successful integration into an academic environment can be influenced by a complex array of barriers and facilitators. This mixed-methods study aims to explore the themes and concepts that can be found in the transition experiences of student veterans in nursing education, with a focus on identifying the barriers they face and the facilitators that support their success. Methods: This study utilizes an explanatory mixed-methods approach. The research participants include student veterans enrolled in nursing programs across three academic institutions in the Southeastern United States. Quantitative Phase: A Likert scale instrument is distributed to a sample of student veterans in nursing programs. The survey assesses demographic information, academic experiences, social experiences, and perceptions of institutional support. Quantitative data is analyzed using descriptive statistics to assess demographics and to identify barriers and facilitators to the transition. Qualitative Phase: Two open-ended questions were posed to student veterans to explore their lived experiences, barriers, and facilitators during the transition to nursing education and to further explain the quantitative findings. Thematic analysis with line-by-line coding is employed to identify recurring themes and narratives that may shed light on the barriers and facilitators encountered. Results: This study found that the successful academic integration of student veterans lies in recognizing the diversity of values and attitudes among student veterans, understanding the potential challenges they face, and engaging in initiative-taking steps to create an inclusive and supportive academic environment that accommodates the unique experiences of this demographic. Addressing these academic and social integration concerns can contribute to a more understanding environment for student veterans in the BSN program. Conclusion: Providing support during this transitional period is crucial not only for retaining veterans, but also for bolstering their success in achieving the status of registered nurses. Acquiring an understanding of military culture emerges as an essential initial step for nursing faculty in student veteran retention and for successful completion of their programs. Participants found that their transition experience lacked meaningful social interactions, which could foster a positive learning environment, enhance their emotional well-being, and could contribute significantly to their overall success and satisfaction in their nursing education journey. Recognizing and promoting academic and social integration is important in helping veterans experience a smooth transition into and through the unfamiliar academic environment of nursing education.

Keywords: nursing, education, student veterans, barriers, facilitators

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Amirreza Fazely Hamedani, Muzzamil Aziz, Philipp Wieder, Ramin Yahyapour

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Software-defined networking in recent years came into the sight of so many network designers as a successor to the traditional networking. Unlike traditional networks where control and data planes engage together within a single device in the network infrastructure such as switches and routers, the two planes are kept separated in software-defined networks (SDNs). All critical decisions about packet routing are made on the network controller, and the data level devices forward the packets based on these decisions. This type of network is vulnerable to DDoS attacks, degrading the overall functioning and performance of the network by continuously injecting the fake flows into it. This increases substantial burden on the controller side, and the result ultimately leads to the inaccessibility of the controller and the lack of network service to the legitimate users. Thus, the protection of this novel network architecture against denial of service attacks is essential. In the world of cybersecurity, attacks and new threats emerge every day. It is essential to have tools capable of managing and analyzing all this new information to detect possible attacks in real-time. These tools should provide a comprehensive solution to automatically detect, predict and prevent abnormalities in the network. Big data encompasses a wide range of studies, but it mainly refers to the massive amounts of structured and unstructured data that organizations deal with on a regular basis. On the other hand, it regards not only the volume of the data; but also that how data-driven information can be used to enhance decision-making processes, security, and the overall efficiency of a business. This paper presents an intelligent big data framework as a solution to handle illegitimate traffic burden on the SDN network created by the numerous DDoS attacks. The framework entails an efficient defence and monitoring mechanism against DDoS attacks by employing the state of the art machine learning techniques.

Keywords: apache spark, apache kafka, big data, DDoS attack, machine learning, SDN network

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: P. Tardi, B. Szilagyi, A. Makai, P. Acs, M. Hock, M. Jaromi

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Osteoporosis is becoming a major public health problem, particularly in postmenopausal women, as the incidence of this disease is getting higher. Nowadays, one of the most common chronic musculoskeletal diseases is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis-related knowledge is an important contributor to prevent or to treat osteoporosis. The most important strategies to prevent or treat the disease are increasing the level of physical activity at all ages, cessation of smoking, reduction of alcohol consumption, adequate dietary calcium, and vitamin D intake. The aim of the study was to measure the osteoporosis-related knowledge and physical activity among women age over 50 years. For the measurements, we used the osteoporosis questionnaire (OPQ) to examine the disease-specific knowledge and the global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ) to measure the quantity and quality of the physical activity. The OPQ is a self-administered 20-item questionnaire with five categories: general information, risk factors, investigations, consequences, and treatment. There are four choices per question (one of them is the 'I do not know'). The filler gets +1 for a good answer, -1 point for a bad answer, and 0 for 'I do not know' answer. We contacted with 326 women (63.08 ± 9.36 year) to fill out the questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was carried out, and we calculated Spearman's correlation coefficient to examine the relationship between the variables. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel, and all statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (Version 24). The participants of the study (n=326) reached 8.76 ± 6.94 points on OPQ. Significant (p < 0.001) differences were found in the results of OPQ according to the highest level of education. It was observed that the score of the participants with osteoporosis (10.07 ± 6.82 points) was significantly (p=0.003) higher than participants without osteoporosis (9.38 ± 6.66 points) and the score of those women (6.49 ± 6.97 points) who did not know that osteoporosis exists in their case. The GPAQ results showed the sample physical activity in the dimensions of vigorous work (479.86 ± 684.02 min/week); moderate work (678.16 ± 804.5 min/week); travel (262.83 ± 380.27 min/week); vigorous recreation (77.71 ± 123.46 min/week); moderate recreation (115.15 ± 154.82 min/week) and total weekly physical activity (1645.99 ± 1432.88 min/week). Significant correlations were found between the osteoporosis-related knowledge and the physical activity in travel (R=0.21; p < 0.001), vigorous recreation (R=0.35; p < 0.001), moderate recreation (R=0.35; p < 0.001), total vigorous minutes/week (R=0.15; p=0.001) and total moderate minutes/week (R=0.13; p=0.04) dimensions. According to the results that were achieved, the highest level of education significantly determines osteoporosis-related knowledge. Physical activity is an important contributor to prevent or to treat osteoporosis, and it showed a significant correlation with osteoporosis-related knowledge. Based on the results, the development of osteoporosis-related knowledge may help to improve the level of physical activity, especially recreation. Acknowledgment: Supported by the ÚNKP-20-1 New National Excellence Program of The Ministry for Innovation and Technology from the Source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.

Keywords: osteoporosis, osteoporosis-related knowledge, physical activity, prevention

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Archil Undilashvili, Ketevan Stvilia, Dustin Gilbreath, Giorgi Dzneladze, Gordon Charchward

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Introduction: In recent years, diverse types of wheelchairs, both local production and imported, have been made available on the Georgian market for wheelchair users. Some types of wheelchairs are sold together with a service package, while the others, including the State Program, Supported locally-produced ones, don’t provide adjustment and maintenance service packages to users. Within the USAID Physical Rehabilitation Project in Georgia, a study was conducted to assess the impact of the wheelchair service provision in line with the WHO guidelines on the health and overall satisfaction of wheelchair users in Georgia. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in May 2021. A structured questionnaire was used for telephone interviews that, along with socio-demographic characteristics, included questions for assessment of accessibility, availability, timeliness, cost and quality of wheelchair services received. Out of 1060 individuals listed in the census of wheelchair users, 752 were available for interview, with an actual response rate of 73.4%. 552 wheelchair users (31%) or their caregivers (69%) agreed to participate in the survey. In addition to using descriptive statistics, the study used multivariate matching of wheelchair users who received wheelchair services and who did not (control group). In addition, to evaluate satisfaction with service provision, respondents were asked to assess services. Findings: The majority (67%) of wheelchair users included in the survey were male. The average age of participants was 43. The three most frequently named reasons for using a wheelchair were cerebral palsy (29%), followed by stroke (18%), and amputation (12%). Users have had their current chair for four years on average. Overall, 60% of respondents reported that they were assessed before providing a wheelchair, but only half of them reported that their preferences and needs were considered. Only 13% of respondents had services in line with WHO guidelines and only 22% of wheelchair users had training when they received their current chair. 16% of participants said they had follow-up services, and 41% received adjustment services after receiving the chair. A slight majority (56%) of participants were satisfied with the quality of service provision and the service provision overall. Similarly, 55% were satisfied with the accessibility of service provision. A slightly larger majority (61%) were satisfied with the timeliness of service provision. The matching analysis suggests that users that received services in line with WHO guidelines were more satisfied with their chairs (the difference 17 point/0-100 scale) and they were four percentage points less likely to have health problems attributed to the chair. The regression analysis provides a similar finding of a 21 point increase in satisfaction attributable to services. Conclusion: The provision of wheelchair services in line with WHO guidelines and with follow-up services is likely to have a positive impact on the daily lives of wheelchair users in Georgia. Wheelchair services should be institutionalized as a standard component of wheelchair provision in Georgia.

Keywords: physical rehabilitation, wheelchair users, persons with disabilities, wheelchair production

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Mirad Böhm, Diede De Kok

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It goes without saying that for many NGOs a high level of safety and security are crucial issues, which often necessitates the support of military personnel to varying degrees. The relationship between military and NGO personnel is usually a difficult one and while there has been progress, clashes naturally still occur owing to different interpretations of mission objectives amongst many other challenges. NGOs tend to view safety and security as necessary steps towards their goal instead of fundamental pillars of their core ‘business’. The military perspective, however, considers them primary objectives; thus, frequently creating a different vision of how joint operations should be conducted. This paper will argue that internalizing safety and security into the NGO organizational culture is compelling in order to ensure a more effective cooperation with military partners and, ultimately, to achieve their goals. This can be accomplished through a change in perception of safety and security concepts as a fixed and major point on the everyday agenda. Nowadays, there are several training programmes on offer addressing such issues but they primarily focus on the individual level. True internalization of these concepts should reach further by encompassing a wide range of NGO activities, beginning with daily proceedings in office facilities far from conflict zones including logistical and administrative tasks such as budgeting, and leading all the way to actual and potentially hazardous missions in the field. In order to effectuate this change, a tool is required to help NGOs realize, firstly, how they perceive and define safety and security, and secondly, how they can adjust this perception to their benefit. The ‘safety culture ladder’ is a concept that suggests what organizations can and should do to advance their safety. While usually applied to private industrial scenarios, this work will present the concept as a useful instrument to visualize and facilitate the internalization process NGOs ought to go through. The ‘ladder’ allows them to become more aware of the level of their safety and security measures, and moreover, cautions them to take these measures proactively rather than reactively. This in turn will contribute to a rapprochement between military and NGO priority setting in regard to what constitutes a safe working environment.

Keywords: NGO-military cooperation, organisational culture, safety and security awareness, safety culture ladder

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Shaher A. I. Shalfawi, Fredrik Hviding, Bjornar Kjellstadli

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The main purpose of this study was to measure the effect of two different strength training methods on muscle strength, muscle mass, fat mass and endurance factors. Fourteen physical education students accepted to participate in this study. The participants were then randomly divided into three groups, traditional training group (TTG), cluster training group (CTG) and control group (CG). TTG consisted of 4 participants aged ( ± SD) (22.3 ± 1.5 years), body mass (79.2 ± 15.4 kg) and height (178.3 ± 11.9 cm). CTG consisted of 5 participants aged (22.2 ± 3.5 years), body mass (81.0 ± 24.0 kg) and height (180.2 ± 12.3 cm). CG consisted of 5 participants aged (22 ± 2.8 years), body mass (77 ± 19 kg) and height (174 ± 6.7 cm). The participants underwent a hypertrophy strength training program twice a week consisting of 4 sets of 10 reps at 70% of one-repetition maximum (1RM), using barbell squat and barbell bench press for 8 weeks. The CTG performed 2 x 5 reps using 10 s recovery in between repetitions and 50 s recovery between sets, while TTG performed 4 sets of 10 reps with 90 s recovery in between sets. Pre- and post-tests were administrated to assess body composition (weight, muscle mass, and fat mass), 1RM (bench press and barbell squat) and a laboratory endurance test (Bruce Protocol). Instruments used to collect the data were Tanita BC-601 scale (Tanita, Illinois, USA), Woodway treadmill (Woodway, Wisconsin, USA) and Vyntus CPX breath-to-breath system (Jaeger, Hoechberg, Germany). Analysis was conducted at all measured variables including time to peak VO2, peak VO2, heart rate (HR) at peak VO2, respiratory exchange ratio (RER) at peak VO2, and number of breaths per minute. The results indicate an increase in 1RM performance after 8 weeks of training. The change in 1RM squat was for the TTG = 30 ± 3.8 kg, CTG = 28.6 ± 8.3 kg and CG = 10.3 ± 13.8 kg. Similarly, the change in 1RM bench press was for the TTG = 9.8 ± 2.8 kg, CTG = 7.4 ± 3.4 kg and CG = 4.4 ± 3.4 kg. The within-group analysis from the oxygen consumption measured during the incremental exercise indicated that the TTG had only a statistical significant increase in their RER from 1.16 ± 0.04 to 1.23 ± 0.05 (P < 0.05). The CTG had a statistical significant improvement in their HR at peak VO2 from 186 ± 24 to 191 ± 12 Beats Per Minute (P < 0.05) and their RER at peak VO2 from 1.11 ± 0.06 to 1.18 ±0.05 (P < 0.05). Finally, the CG had only a statistical significant increase in their RER at peak VO2 from 1.11 ± 0.07 to 1.21 ± 0.05 (P < 0.05). The between-group analysis showed no statistical differences between all groups in all the measured variables from the oxygen consumption test during the incremental exercise including changes in muscle mass, fat mass, and weight (kg). The results indicate a similar effect of hypertrophy strength training irrespective of the methods of the training used on untrained subjects. Because there were no notable changes in body-composition measures, the results suggest that the improvements in performance observed in all groups is most probably due to neuro-muscular adaptation to training.

Keywords: hypertrophy strength training, cluster set, Bruce protocol, peak VO2

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: Honey Bryant, Elvina Chu

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Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults in Canada and directly related to depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders; with an estimated annual cost of $50 billion in health care. Strokes not only impact the individual but society as a whole. Current stroke rehabilitation does not include Music Therapy, although it has success in clinical research in the use of stroke rehabilitation. This study examines the use of neurologic music therapy (NMT) in conjunction with stroke rehabilitation to improve sleep quality, reduce stress levels, and promote neurogenesis. Existing research on NMT in stroke is limited, which means any conclusive information gathered during this study will be significant. My novel hypotheses are a.) stroke patients will become less depressed and less anxious with improved sleep following NMT. b.) NMT will reduce stress levels and promote neurogenesis in stroke patients admitted for rehabilitation. c.) Beneficial effects of NMT will be sustained at least short-term following treatment. Participants were recruited from the in-patient stroke rehabilitation program at Providence Care Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. All participants-maintained stroke rehabilitation treatment as normal. The study was spilt into two groups, the first being Passive Music Listening (PML) and the second Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT). Each group underwent 10 sessions of intensive music therapy lasting 45 minutes for 10 consecutive days, excluding weekends. Psychiatric Assessments, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Hospital Anxiety & Depression Rating Scale (HADS), and Music Engagement Questionnaire (MusEQ), were completed, followed by a general feedback interview. Physiological markers of stress were measured through blood pressure measurements and heart rate variability. Serum collections reviewed neurogenesis via Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and stress markers of cortisol levels. As this study is still on-going, a formal analysis of data has not been fully completed, although trends are following our hypotheses. A decrease in sleepiness and anxiety is seen upon the first cohort of PML. Feedback interviews have indicated most participants subjectively felt more relaxed and thought PML was useful in their recovery. If the hypothesis is supported, larger external funding which will allow for greater investigation of the use of NMT in stroke rehabilitation. As we know, NMT is not covered under Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), so there is limited scientific data surrounding its uses as a clinical tool. This research will provide detailed findings of the treatment of neuropsychiatric aspects of stroke. Concurrently, a passive music listening study is being designed to further review the use of PML in rehabilitation as well.

Keywords: music therapy, psychotherapy, neurologic music therapy, passive music listening, neuropsychiatry, counselling, behavioural, stroke, stroke rehabilitation, rehabilitation, neuroscience

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Mladen Milicevic

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This presentation will address how the statistical analysis of digitized popular music influences the music creation and emotionally manipulates consumers.Furthermore, it will deal with semiological aspect of uniformization of musical taste in order to predict the potential revenues generated by popular music sales. In the USA, we live in an age where most of the popular music (i.e. music that generates substantial revenue) has been digitized. It is safe to say that almost everything that was produced in last 10 years is already digitized (either available on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, or some other platform). Depending on marketing viability and its potential to generate additional revenue most of the “older” music is still being digitized. Once the music gets turned into a digital audio file,it can be computer-analyzed in all kinds of respects, and the similar goes for the lyrics because they also exist as a digital text file, to which any kin of N Capture-kind of analysis may be applied. So, by employing statistical examination of different popular music metrics such as tempo, form, pronouns, introduction length, song length, archetypes, subject matter,and repetition of title, the commercial result may be predicted. Polyphonic HMI (Human Media Interface) introduced the concept of the hit song science computer program in 2003.The company asserted that machine learning could create a music profile to predict hit songs from its audio features Thus,it has been established that a successful pop song must include: 100 bpm or more;an 8 second intro;use the pronoun 'you' within 20 seconds of the start of the song; hit the bridge middle 8 between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 30 seconds; average 7 repetitions of the title; create some expectations and fill that expectation in the title. For the country song: 100 bpm or less for a male artist; 14-second intro; uses the pronoun 'you' within the first 20 seconds of the intro; has a bridge middle 8 between 2 minutes and 2 minutes 30 seconds; has 7 repetitions of title; creates an expectation,fulfills it in 60 seconds.This approach to commercial popular music minimizes the human influence when it comes to which “artist” a record label is going to sign and market. Twenty years ago,music experts in the A&R (Artists and Repertoire) departments of the record labels were making personal aesthetic judgments based on their extensive experience in the music industry. Now, the computer music analyzing programs, are replacing them in an attempt to minimize investment risk of the panicking record labels, in an environment where nobody can predict the future of the recording industry.The impact on the consumers taste through the narrow bottleneck of the above mentioned music selection by the record labels,created some very peculiar effects not only on the taste of popular music consumers, but also the creative chops of the music artists as well. What is the meaning of this semiological shift is the main focus of this research and paper presentation.

Keywords: music, semiology, commercial, taste

Procedia PDF Downloads 374

Authors: Lulu Wang, Yongjun Xu, Xiaoyang Qiao

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The Forbidden City is well known for being full of Chinese cultural and historical relics. However, the Masters in the Forbidden City, a documentary film, doesn’t just dwell on the stories of the past. Instead, it focuses on ordinary people—the restorers of the relics and antiquities, which has caught the sight of Chinese audiences. From this popular documentary film, a new way can be considered, that is to show the relics, antiquities and painting with a character of modern humanities by films and TV programs. Of course, it can’t just like a simple explanation from tour guides in museums. It should be a perfect combination of scenes, heritages, stories, storytellers and background music. All we want to do is trying to dig up the humanity behind the heritages and then create a virtual scene for the audience to have emotional resonance from the humanity. It is believed that there are two problems. One is that compared with the entertainment shows, why people prefer to see the boring restoration work. The other is that what the interaction is between those history documentary films, the heritages, the audiences and collective memory. This paper mainly used the methods of text analysis and data analysis. The audiences’ comment texts were collected from all kinds of popular video sites. Through analyzing those texts, there was a word cloud chart about people preferring to use what kind of words to comment the film. Then the usage rate of all comments words was calculated. After that, there was a Radar Chart to show the rank results. Eventually, each of them was given an emotional value classification according their comment tone and content. Based on the above analysis results, an interaction model among the audience, history films/TV programs and the collective memory can be summarized. According to the word cloud chart, people prefer to use such words to comment, including moving, history, love, family, celebrity, tone... From those emotional words, we can see Chinese audience felt so proud and shared the sense of Collective Identity, so they leave such comments: To our great motherland! Chinese traditional culture is really profound! It is found that in the construction of collective memory symbology, the films formed an imaginary system by organizing a ‘personalized audience’. The audience is not just a recipient of information, but a participant of the documentary films and a cooperator of collective memory. At the same time, it is believed that the traditional background music, the spectacular present scenes and the tone of the storytellers/hosts are also important, so it is suggested that the museums could try to cooperate with the producers of movie and TV program to create a vivid scene for the people. Maybe it’s a more artistic way for heritages to be open to all the world.

Keywords: audience, heritages, history movies, TV programs

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Hala Alioua, Alberic Tellier

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This paper is designed to spotlight the research on corporate strategic planning, by emphasizing the role of middle manager of SBU’s and related issues such as the context of vision change. Previous research on strategic vision has been focused principally at the SME, with relatively limited consideration given to the role of middle managers SBU’s in the context of change. This project of research has been done by using a single case study. We formulated through our immersion for 2.5 years on the ground and by a qualitative method and abduction approach. This entity that we analyze is a subsidiary of multinational companies headquartered in Germany, specialized in manufacturing automotive equipment. The "Delta Company" is a French manufacturing plant that has undergone numerous changes over the past three years. The two major strategic changes that have a significant impact on the Delta plant are the strengths of its core business through « lead plant strategy» in 2011 and the implementation of a new strategic vision in 2014. These consecutive changes impact the purpose of the mission of the middle managers. The plant managers ask the following questions: How the middle managers make sense of the corporate strategic planning imposed by the parent company? How they appropriate the new vision and decline it into actions on the ground? We chose the individual interview technique through open-ended questions as the source of data collection. We first of all carried out an exploratory approach by interviewing 8 members of the Management committee’s decision and 19 heads of services. The first findings and results show that exist a divergence of opinion and interpretations of the corporate strategic planning among organization members and there are difficulties to make sense and interpretations of the signals of the environment. The lead plant strategy enables new projects which insure the workload of Delta Company. Nevertheless, it creates a tension and stress among the middle managers because its provoke lack of resources to the detriment of their main jobs as manufacturer plant. The middle managers does not have a clear vision and they are wondering if the new strategic vision means more autonomy and less support from the group.

Keywords: change, middle managers, vision, sensemaking

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma

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Obesity, a disease associated with a low-grade inflammation, is a risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). So far, MetS risk factors such as parameters related to glucose and lipid metabolisms as well as blood pressure were considered for the evaluation of this disease. There are still some ambiguities related to the characteristic features of MetS observed particularly in pediatric population. Hormonal imbalance is also important, and quite a lot information exists about the behaviour of some hormones in adults. However, the hormonal profiles in pediatric metabolism have not been cleared yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the profiles of cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones in children with MetS. The study population was composed of morbid obese (MO) children without (Group 1) and with (Group 2) MetS components. WHO BMI-for age and sex percentiles were used for the classification of obesity. The values above 99 percentile were defined as morbid obesity. Components of MetS (central obesity, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, high triacylglycerol levels, low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol) were determined. Anthropometric measurements were performed. Ratios as well as obesity indices were calculated. Insulin, cortisol, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T₃ and free T₄ analyses were performed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Data were evaluated by statistical package for social sciences program. p<0.05 was accepted as the degree for statistical significance. The mean ages±SD values of Group 1 and Group 2 were 9.9±3.1 years and 10.8±3.2 years, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) values were calculated as 27.4±5.9 kg/m² and 30.6±8.1 kg/m², successively. There were no statistically significant differences between the ages and BMI values of the groups. Insulin levels were statistically significantly increased in MetS in comparison with the levels measured in MO children. There was not any difference between MO children and those with MetS in terms of cortisol, T₃, T₄ and TSH. However, T₄ levels were positively correlated with cortisol and negatively correlated with insulin. None of these correlations were observed in MO children. Cortisol levels in both MO as well as MetS group were significantly correlated. Cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones are essential for life. Cortisol, called the control system for hormones, orchestrates the performance of other key hormones. It seems to establish a connection between hormone imbalance and inflammation. During an inflammatory state, more cortisol is produced to fight inflammation. High cortisol levels prevent the conversion of the inactive form of the thyroid hormone T₄ into active form T₃. Insulin is reduced due to low thyroid hormone. T₃, which is essential for blood sugar control- requires cortisol levels within the normal range. Positive association of T₄ with cortisol and negative association of it with insulin are the indicators of such a delicate balance among these hormones also in children with MetS.

Keywords: children, cortisol, insulin, metabolic syndrome, thyroid hormones

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Authors: Kiyanoush Ghalavand, Ali Ferydooni

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Fars province Fārs or Pārs is a vast land located in the southwest of Iran. All over the province, you can see and feel the glory of Ancient Iranian culture and civilization. There are many monuments from pre-historical to the Islamic era within this province. The existence of ancient cultural and historical monuments in Fars province including the historical complex of Persepolis, the tombs of Persian poets Hafez and Saadi, and dozens of other valuable cultural and historical works of this province as a symbol of Iranian national identity and the manifestation of transcendent cultural values of this national identity. Fars province is quintessentially Persian. Its name is the modern version of ancient Parsa, the homeland, if not the place of origin, of the Persians, one of the great powers of antiquity. From here, the Persian Empire ruled much of Western and Central Asia, receiving ambassadors and messengers at Persepolis. It was here that the Persian kings were buried, both in the mountain behind Persepolis and in the rock face of nearby Naqsh-e Rustam. We have a complex paradox in Persian and Islamic ideology in the age of technology in Iran. The main purpose of the present article is to identify and describe the problems and prospects of origin and development of the modern approach to the conservation and restoration of ancient monuments and historic buildings, the influence that this development has had on international collaboration in the protection and conservation of cultural heritage, and the present consequences worldwide. The definition of objects and structures of the past as heritage, and the policies related to their protection, restoration, and conservation, have evolved together with modernity, and are currently recognized as an essential part of the responsibilities of modern society. Since the eighteenth century, the goal of this protection has been defined as the cultural heritage of humanity; gradually this has included not only ancient monuments and past works of art but even entire territories for a variety of new values generated in recent decades. In its medium-term program of 1989, UNESCO defined the full scope of such heritage. The cultural heritage may be defined as the entire corpus of material signs either artistic or symbolic handed on by the past to each culture and, therefore, to the whole of humankind. As a constituent part of the affirmation and enrichment of cultural identities, as a legacy belonging to all humankind, the cultural heritage gives each particular place its recognizable features and is the storehouse of human experience. The preservation and the presentation of the cultural heritage are therefore a corner-stone of any cultural policy. The process, from which these concepts and policies have emerged, has been identified as the ‘modern conservation movement’.

Keywords: tradition, modern, heritage, historical building, protection, cultural policy, fars province

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Authors: Tony R. Walker, N. Devin MacAskill, Andrew Thalhiemer

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Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia has long been subject to effluent and atmospheric inputs of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a large coking operation and steel plant that operated in Sydney for nearly a century until closure in 1988. Contaminated effluents from the industrial site resulted in the creation of the Sydney Tar Ponds, one of Canada’s largest contaminated sites. Since its closure, there have been several attempts to remediate this former industrial site and finally, in 2004, the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia committed to remediate the site to reduce potential ecological and human health risks to the environment. The Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens cleanup project has become the most prominent remediation project in Canada today. As an integral part of remediation of the site (i.e., which consisted of solidification/stabilization and associated capping of the Tar Ponds), an extensive multiple media environmental effects program was implemented to assess what effects remediation had on the surrounding environment, and, in particular, harbour sediments. Additionally, longer-term natural sediment recovery rates of select contaminants predicted for the harbour sediments were compared to current conditions. During remediation, potential contributions to sediment quality, in addition to remedial efforts, were evaluated which included a significant harbour dredging project, propeller wash from harbour traffic, storm events, adjacent loading/unloading of coal and municipal wastewater treatment discharges. Two sediment sampling methodologies, sediment grab and gravity corer, were also compared to evaluate the detection of subtle changes in sediment quality. Results indicated that overall spatial distribution pattern of historical contaminants remains unchanged, although at much lower concentrations than previously reported, due to natural recovery. Measurements of sediment indicator parameter concentrations confirmed that natural recovery rates of Sydney Harbour sediments were in broad agreement with predicted concentrations, in spite of ongoing remediation activities. Overall, most measured parameters in sediments showed little temporal variability even when using different sampling methodologies, during three years of remediation compared to baseline, except for the detection of significant increases in total PAH concentrations noted during one year of remediation monitoring. The data confirmed the effectiveness of mitigation measures implemented during construction relative to harbour sediment quality, despite other anthropogenic activities and the dynamic nature of the harbour.

Keywords: contaminated sediment, monitoring, recovery, remediation

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Authors: Stephen Rulisa, Aimee Nyiramahirwe

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Background: Strategies to increase the uptake of contraception services have been adopted in Rwanda, but the unmet need for family planning remains high. Women in the postpartum period are at higher risk for unintended pregnancy due to the silent conversion from lactational amenorrhea to reactivation of ovulatory cycles. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of male partners in the uptake of postpartum contraception. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among women who delivered at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali for a period of 3 months with random sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and antenatal data, information on male companionship, and intent to use postpartum contraception at admission. Participants were contacted six weeks later to collect data on contraceptive use. The outcome variables were uptake of postpartum contraception and types of contraceptives taken (long-acting vs. short-acting), controlling for male companionship during the antenatal period. A Chi-square test was used and a p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 209 women were recruited with a mean age of 30.8±5.2 years. The majority (60.9%) were multigravida, and 66.5% were multiparous. More than half (55%) had male partner companionship, 18.3% had companionship for four antenatal visits, and 28.2% had education on contraception with their male partner. Factors significantly associated with uptake of postpartum contraception were: age above 30 years, owning or heading a business, multigravidity, multiparity, antenatal care at a health center or district hospital, cesarean delivery, and previous utilization of contraception. Male companionship significantly increased the intent to use contraception, uptake of modern contraception in general, and uptake of long active contraceptives but did not predict the uptake of short-acting contraceptives. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a positive association between male companionship during antenatal care, labor and delivery with the uptake of postpartum family planning. Our study suggests more sensitization to involve the male partners, improving the education on contraception during antenatal care and further research to assess the sustained uptake of contraception beyond the postpartum period.

Keywords: postpartum, family planning, contraception, male partner, uptake

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Authors: Aswathy Vijayan, Sharath Sunder Rajeev

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Trade has been fundamental in the footprint of human civilization since ancient time. In most of the historic cities, city development was along trading routes, where marketplaces are the major entrance to a city and hence a major element of the urban fabric. Marketplaces are where the commercial activities flourish, people, having a sense of belonging to the place, where they easily fit in. Acknowledging the built environment in and around the market in a way, creating a sense of place is an important factor in the success of public spaces. Local markets are developed in an organic manner, which adds on to the people experience and perception of urban space. With the city development, the commercial needs within the city increase, hence marketplaces flourish, irrespective of the functional segregation within. The work-live culture in the marketplaces diminishes as the commercial expansion washes away the residential patches within it. Real estate flourishes as the newer infills are without considering the carrying capacity of the place. Chalai market is a prominent business center serving the regional level of Thiruvananthapuram city. The transformation trend of marketplaces in city cores are understood from case study on Fatimid Cairo Marketplace. The parameters that led to transformation of marketplaces in a global context is considered for the analysis of the Chalai market. The structure of the marketplace over the years is analyzed in terms of transformation in location, transformation in the land- use, change in commodity, and transformation in movement and activity. The aim of the research is to emphasize the need to understand the transformation trend, in creating a suitable development pattern for the city. The unregulated transformation within the city core has led to tremendous transformation in the user group and user pattern and eventually to the commercial trend. With the change in lifestyle and need for new amenities have led to addition of new infills leading to the degradation of the native commerce. Hence addressing the transformation of marketplaces are crucial to maintaining the locational significance and cultural importance and heritage of the place.

Keywords: bazaar, market centers, marketplaces, traditional city, traditional market, urban fabric

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Authors: Maria Amaia Iza Padilla, Ibai Ostolozaga

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The objective of this paper is to analyze how transportation costs between regions within a country can affect not only domestic trade but also the allocation of resources in a given region, aggregate productivity, and relative domestic prices (tradable versus non-tradable). On the one hand, there is a vast literature that analyzes the transportation costs faced by countries when trading with the rest of the world. However, this paper focuses on the effect of transportation costs on domestic trade. Countries differ in their domestic road infrastructure and transport quality. There is also some literature that focuses on the effect of road infrastructure on the price difference between regions but not on relative prices at the aggregate level. On the other hand, this work is also related to the literature on resource misallocation. Finally, the paper is also related to the literature analyzing the effect of trade on the development of the manufacturing sector. Using the World Bank Enterprise Survey database, it is observed cross-country differences in the proportion of firms that consider transportation as an obstacle. From the International Comparison Program, we obtain a significant negative correlation between GDP per worker and relative prices (manufacturing sector prices relative to the service sector). Furthermore, there is a significant negative correlation between a country’s transportation quality and the relative price of manufactured goods with respect to the price of services in that country. This is consistent with the empirical evidence of a negative correlation between transportation quality and GDP per worker, on the one hand, and the negative correlation between GDP per worker and domestic relative prices, on the other. It is also shown that in a country, the share of manufacturing firms whose main market is at the local (regional) level is negatively related to the quality of the transportation infrastructure within the country. Similarly, this index is positively related to the share of manufacturing firms whose main market is national or international. The data also shows that those countries with a higher proportion of manufacturing firms operating locally have higher relative prices. With this information in hand, the paper attempts to quantify the effects of the allocation of resources between and within sectors. The higher the trade barriers caused by transportation costs, the less efficient allocation, which causes lower aggregate productivity. Second, it is built a two-sector model where regions within a country trade with each other. On the one hand, it is found that with respect to the manufacturing sector, those countries with less trade between their regions will be characterized by a smaller variety of goods, less productive manufacturing firms on average, and higher relative prices for manufactured goods relative to service sector prices. Thus, the decline in the relative price of manufactured goods in more advanced countries could also be explained by the degree of trade between regions. This trade allows for efficient intra-industry allocation (traders are more productive, and resources are allocated more efficiently)).

Keywords: misallocation, relative prices, TFP, transportation cost

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Authors: T. Iakovleva

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Present paper suggests a theoretical model that describes the process of the development of responsible innovations on the firm level in health and welfare sectors. There is a need to develop new firm strategies in these sectors. This paper suggests to look on the concept of responsible innovation that was originally developed on the social level and to apply this new concept to the new area of firm strategy. The rapid global diffusion of information and communication technologies has greatly improved access to knowledge. At the same time, communication is cheap, information is a commodity, and global trade increases technological diffusion. As a result, firms and users, including those outside of industrialized nations, get early exposure to the latest technologies and information. General-purpose technologies such as mobile phones and 3D printers enable individuals to solve local needs and customize products. The combined effect of these changes is having a profound impact on the innovation landscape. Meanwhile, the healthcare sector is facing unprecedented challenges, which are magnified by budgetary constraints, an aging population and the desire to provide care for all. On the other hand, patients themselves are changing. They are savvier about their diseases, they expect their relation with the healthcare professionals to be open and interactive, but above all they want to be part of the decision process. All of this is a reflection of what is already happening in other industries where customers have access to large amount of information and became educated buyers. This article addresses the question of how ICT research and innovation may contribute to developing solutions to grand societal challenges in a responsible way. A broad definition of the concept of responsibility in the context of innovation is adopted in this paper. Responsibility is thus seen as a collective, uncertain and future-oriented activity. This opens the questions of how responsibilities are perceived and distributed and how innovation and science can be governed and stewarded towards socially desirable and acceptable ends. This article addresses a central question confronting politicians, business leaders, and regional planners.

Keywords: responsible innovation, ICT, healthcare, welfare sector

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Authors: Abhijit Trailokya

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Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD’s) are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. Many clinical trials have demonstrated that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering, reduces the incidence of coronary and cerebrovascular events across a broad spectrum of patients at risk. Guidelines for the management of patients at risk have been established in Europe and North America. The guidelines have advocated progressively lower LDL-C targets and more aggressive use of statin therapy. In Indian patients, comprehensive data on dyslipidemia management and its treatment outcomes are inadequate. There is lack of information on existing treatment patterns, the patient’s profile being treated, and factors that determine treatment success or failure in achieving desired goals. Purpose: The present study was planned to determine the lipid control status in high-risk dyslipidemic patients treated with lipid-lowering therapy in India. Methods: This cross-sectional, non-interventional, single visit program was conducted across 483 sites in India where male and female patients with high-risk dyslipidemia aged 18 to 65 years who had visited for a routine health check-up to their respective physician at hospital or a healthcare center. Percentage of high-risk dyslipidemic patients achieving adequate LDL-C level (< 70 mg/dL) on lipid-lowering therapy and the association of lipid parameters with patient characteristics, comorbid conditions, and lipid lowering drugs were analysed. Results: 3089 patients were enrolled in the study; of which 64% were males. LDL-C data was available for 95.2% of the patients; only 7.7% of these patients achieved LDL-C levels < 70 mg/dL on lipid-lowering therapy, which may be due to inability to follow therapeutic plans, poor compliance, or inadequate counselling by physician. The physician’s lack of awareness about recent treatment guidelines also might contribute to patients’ poor adherence, not explaining adequately the benefit and risks of a medication, not giving consideration to the patient’s life style and the cost of medication. Statin was the most commonly used anti-dyslipidemic drug across population. The higher proportion of patients had the comorbid condition of CVD and diabetes mellitus across all dyslipidemic patients. Conclusion: As per the European Society of Cardiology guidelines the ideal LDL-C levels in high risk dyslipidemic patients should be less than 70%. In the present study, 7.7% of the patients achieved LDL-C levels < 70 mg/dL on lipid lowering therapy which is very less. Most of high risk dyslipidemic patients in India are on suboptimal dosage of statin. So more aggressive and high dosage statin therapy may be required to achieve target LDLC levels in high risk Indian dyslipidemic patients.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, LDL-C, lipid lowering drug, statins

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Authors: Maureen Royce, Joshi Jariwala, Sally Kah

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Change is inevitable, but the change process is progressive. Organisational change is the process in which an organisation changes strategies, operational methods, systems, culture, and structure to affect something different in the organisation. This process can be continuous or developed over a period and driven by internal and external factors. Organisational change is essential if organisations are to survive in dynamic and uncertain environments. However, evidence from research shows that many change initiatives fail, leading to severe consequences for organisations and their resources. The complex models of third sector organisations, i.e., social enterprise, compounds the levels of change in these organisations. Interestingly, innovation is associated with a change in social enterprises due to the hybridity of product and service development. Furthermore, the creation of social intervention has offered a new process and outcomes to the lifecycle of change. Therefore, different forms of organisational innovation are developed, i.e., total, evolutionary, expansionary, and developmental, which affect the interventions of social enterprises. This raises both theoretical and business concerns on how the competing hybrid nature of social enterprises change, how change is managed, and the impact on these organisations. These perspectives present critical questions for further investigation. In this study, we investigate the impact of organisational change on employees and organisational development at DaDaFest –a disability arts organisation with a social focus based in Liverpool. The three main objectives are to explore the drivers of change and the implementation process; to examine the impact of organisational change on employees and; to identify barriers to organisation change and development. To address the preceding research objectives, qualitative research design is adopted using semi-structured interviews. Data is analysed using a six-step thematic analysis framework, which enables the study to develop themes depicting the impact of change on employees and organisational development. This study presents theoretical and practical contributions for academics and practitioners. The knowledge contributions encapsulate the evolution of change and the change cycle in a social enterprise. However, practical implications provide critical insights into the change management process and the impact of change on employees and organisational development.

Keywords: organisational change, change management, organisational change system, social enterprise

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Authors: Jiabei Zhang

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Although adapted physical education (APE) teacher preparation programs are available in the nation, a consistent standards-based competency evaluation scale for preparing of qualified personnel for teaching children with disabilities in APE cannot be identified in the literature. The purpose of this study was to develop a standard-based competency evaluation scale for assessing qualifications for teaching children with disabilities in APE. Standard-based competencies were reviewed and identified based on research evidence documented as effective in teaching children with disabilities in APE. A standard-based competency scale was developed for assessing qualifications for teaching children with disabilities in APE. This scale included 20 standard-based competencies and a 4-point Likert-type scale for each standard-based competency. The first standard-based competency is knowledgeable of the causes of disabilities and their effects. The second competency is the ability to assess physical education skills of children with disabilities. The third competency is able to collaborate with other personnel. The fourth competency is knowledgeable of the measurement and evaluation. The fifth competency is to understand federal and state laws. The sixth competency is knowledgeable of the unique characteristics of all learners. The seventh competency is the ability to write in behavioral terms for objectives. The eighth competency is knowledgeable of developmental characteristics. The ninth competency is knowledgeable of normal and abnormal motor behaviors. The tenth competency is the ability to analyze and adapt the physical education curriculums. The eleventh competency is to understand the history and the philosophy of physical education. The twelfth competency is to understand curriculum theory and development. The thirteenth competency is the ability to utilize instructional designs and plans. The fourteenth competency is the ability to create and implement physical activities. The fifteenth competency is the ability to utilize technology applications. The sixteenth competency is to understand the value of program evaluation. The seventeenth competency is to understand professional standards. The eighteenth competency is knowledgeable of the focused instruction and individualized interventions. The nineteenth competency is able to complete a research project independently. The twentieth competency is to teach children with disabilities in APE independently. The 4-point Likert-type scale ranges from 1 for incompetent to 4 for highly competent. This scale is used for assessing if one completing all course works is eligible for receiving an endorsement for teaching children with disabilities in APE, which is completed based on the grades earned on three courses targeted for each standard-based competency. A mean grade received in three courses primarily addressing a standard-based competency will be marked on a competency level in the above scale. The level 4 is marked for a mean grade of A one receives over three courses, the level 3 for a mean grade of B over three courses, and so on. One should receive a mean score of 3 (competent level) or higher (highly competent) across 19 standard-based competencies after completing all courses specified for receiving an endorsement for teaching children with disabilities in APE. The validity, reliability, and objectivity of this standard-based competency evaluation scale are to be documented.

Keywords: evaluation scale, teacher preparation, adapted physical education teachers, and children with disabilities

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Authors: Linda Weinberg, Miriam Symon

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While few institutions of higher education in Israel offer international programs taught entirely in English, many Israeli students today can study at least one content course taught in English during their degree program. In particular, with the growth of international partnerships and opportunities for student mobility, English medium instruction is a growing phenomenon. There are however no official guidelines in Israel for how to develop and implement content courses in English and no training to help lecturers prepare for teaching their materials in a foreign language. Furthermore, the implications for the students and the nature of the courses themselves have not been sufficiently considered. In addition, the institution must have lecturers who are able to teach these courses effectively in English. An international project funded by the European Union addresses these issues and a set of guidelines which provide guidance for lecturers in adapting their courses for delivery in English have been developed. A train-the-trainer approach is adopted in order to cascade knowledge and experience in English medium instruction from experts to language teachers and on to content teachers thus maximizing the scope of professional development. To accompany training, a model English medium course has been created which serves the dual purpose of highlighting alternatives to the frontal lecture while integrating language learning objectives with content goals. This course can also be used as a standalone content course. The development of the guidelines and of the course utilized backwards, forwards and central design in an iterative process. The goals for combined language and content outcomes were identified first after which a suitable framework for achieving these goals was constructed. The assessment procedures evolved through collaboration between content and language specialists and subsequently were put into action during a piloting phase. Feedback from the piloting teachers and from the students highlight the need for clear channels of communication to encourage frank and honest discussion of expectations versus reality. While much of what goes on in the English medium classroom requires no better teaching skills than are required in any classroom, the understanding of students' abilities in achieving reasonable learning outcomes in a foreign language must be rationalized and accommodated within the course design. Concomitantly, preparatory language classes for students must be able to adapt to prepare students for specific language and cognitive skills and activities that courses conducted in English require. This paper presents findings from the implementation of a purpose-designed English medium instruction course arrived at through an iterative backwards, forwards and central design process utilizing feedback from students and lecturers alike leading to suggested guidelines for English medium instruction in higher education.

Keywords: English medium instruction, higher education, iterative design process, train-the-trainer

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Authors: Kristina Amaleviciute, Ieva Jokubauskaite, Alvyra Slepetiene, Jonas Volungevicius, Inga Liaudanskiene

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The main task of this research was to investigate the chemical composition of the differently used soil in profiles. To identify the differences in the soil were investigated organic carbon (SOC) and its fractional composition: dissolved organic carbon (DOC), mobile humic acids (MHA) and C to N ratio of natural and anthropogenically affected Luvisols. Research object: natural and anthropogenically affected Luvisol, Akademija, Kedainiai, distr. Lithuania. Chemical analyses were carried out at the Chemical Research Laboratory of Institute of Agriculture, LAMMC. Soil samples for chemical analyses were taken from the genetics soil horizons. SOC was determined by the Tyurin method modified by Nikitin, measuring with spectrometer Cary 50 (VARIAN) in 590 nm wavelength using glucose standards. For mobile humic acids (MHA) determination the extraction procedure was carried out using 0.1 M NaOH solution. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was analyzed using an ion chromatograph SKALAR. pH was measured in 1M H2O. N total was determined by Kjeldahl method. Results: Based on the obtained results, it can be stated that transformation of chemical composition is going through the genetic soil horizons. Morphology of the upper layers of soil profile which is formed under natural conditions was changed by anthropomorphic (agrogenic, urbogenic, technogenic and others) structure. Anthropogenic activities, mechanical and biochemical disturbances destroy the natural characteristics of soil formation and complicates the interpretation of soil development. Due to the intensive cultivation, the pH values of the curve equals (disappears acidification characteristic for E horizon) with natural Luvisol. Luvisols affected by agricultural activities was characterized by a decrease in the absolute amount of humic substances in separate horizons. But there was observed more sustainable, higher carbon sequestration and thicker storage of humic horizon compared with forest Luvisol. However, the average content of humic substances in the soil profile was lower. Soil organic carbon content in anthropogenic Luvisols was lower compared with the natural forest soil, but there was more evenly spread over in the wider thickness of accumulative horizon. These data suggest that the organization of geo-ecological declines and agroecological increases in Luvisols. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the National Science Program ‘The effect of long-term, different-intensity management of resources on the soils of different genesis and on other components of the agro-ecosystems’ [grant number SIT-9/2015] funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.

Keywords: agrogenization, dissolved organic carbon, luvisol, mobile humic acids, soil organic carbon

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Authors: Shams Khaled Abdelrahman Abdallah Elbaz, Alaa Aldeen Abd Al Hakeem Balbaa

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Positional Release Technique versus Kinesio Tape on pain level, pressure pain threshold level and functional disability in patients with back myofascial pain syndrome at iliocostalis lumborum. Backgrounds/significance: Myofascial Pain Syndrome is a common muscular pain syndrome that arises from trigger points which are hyperirritable, painful and tender points within a taut band of skeletal muscle. In more recent literature, about 75% of patients with musculoskeletal pain presenting to a community medical centres suffer from myofascial pain syndrome.Iliocostalis lumborum are most likely to develop active trigger points. Subjects: Thirty patients diagnosed as back myofascial pain syndrome with active trigger points in iliocostalis lumborum muscle bilaterally had participated in this study. Methods and materials: Patients were randomly distributed into two groups. The first group consisted of 15 patients (8 males and 7 females) with mean age 30.6 (±3.08) years, they received positional release technique which was applied 3 times per session, 3/week every other day for 2 weeks. The second group consisted of 15 patients(5 males, 10 females) with a mean age 30.4 (±3.35) years, they received kinesio tape which was applied and changed every 3 days with one day off for a total 3 times in 2 weeks. Both techniques were applied over trigger points of the iliocostalis lumborum bilaterally. Patients were evaluated pretreatment and posttreatment program for Pain intensity (Visual analogue scale), pressure pain threshold (digital pressure algometry), and functional disability (The Oswestry Disability Index). Analyses: Repeated measures MANOVA was used to detect differences within and between groups pre and post treatment. Then the univariate ANOVA test was conducted for the analysis of each dependant variable within and between groups. All statistical analyses were done using SPSS. with significance level set at p<0.05 throughout all analyses. Results: The results revealed that there was no significant difference between positional release technique and kinesio tape technique on pain level, pressure pain threshold and functional activities (p > 0.05). Both groups of patients showed significant improvement in all the measured variables (p < 0.05) evident by significant reduction of both pain intensity and functional disability as well as significant increase of pressure pain threshold Conclusions : Both positional release technique and kinesio taping technique are effective in reducing pain level, improving pressure pain threshold and improving function in treating patients who suffering from back myofascial pain syndrome at iliocostalis lumborum. As there was no statistically significant difference was proven between both of them.

Keywords: positional release technique, kinesio tape, myofascial pain syndrome, Iliocostalis lumborum

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Authors: Mohammad Emamjome Kashan, Alan S. Fung

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In Canada, more than 32% of the total energy demand is related to the building sector. Therefore, there is a great opportunity for Greenhouse Gases (GHG) reduction by integrating solar collectors to provide building heating load and domestic hot water (DHW). Despite the cold winter weather, Canada has a good number of sunny and clear days that can be considered for diurnal solar thermal energy storage. Due to the energy mismatch between building heating load and solar irradiation availability, relatively big storage tanks are usually needed to store solar thermal energy during the daytime and then use it at night. On the other hand, water tanks occupy huge space, especially in big cities, space is relatively expensive. This project investigates the possibility of using a specific building construction material (ICF – Insulated Concrete Form) as diurnal solar thermal energy storage that is integrated with a heat pump and microchannel solar thermal collector (MCST). Not much literature has studied the application of building pre-existing walls as active solar thermal energy storage as a feasible and industrialized solution for the solar thermal mismatch. By using ICF walls that are integrated into the building envelope, instead of big storage tanks, excess solar energy can be stored in the concrete of the ICF wall that consists of EPS insulation layers on both sides to store the thermal energy. In this study, two solar-based systems are designed and simulated inTransient Systems Simulation Program(TRNSYS)to compare ICF wall thermal storage benefits over the system without ICF walls. In this study, the heating load and DHW of a Canadian single-family house located in London, Ontario, are provided by solar-based systems. The proposed system integrates the MCST collector, a water-to-water HP, a preheat tank, the main tank, fan coils (to deliver the building heating load), and ICF walls. During the day, excess solar energy is stored in the ICF walls (charging cycle). Thermal energy can be restored from the ICF walls when the preheat tank temperature drops below the ICF wall (discharging process) to increase the COP of the heat pump. The evaporator of the heat pump is taking is coupled with the preheat tank. The provided warm water by the heat pump is stored in the second tank. Fan coil units are in contact with the tank to provide a building heating load. DHW is also delivered is provided from the main tank. It is investigated that the system with ICF walls with an average solar fraction of 82%- 88% can cover the whole heating demand+DHW of nine months and has a 10-15% higher average solar fraction than the system without ICF walls. Sensitivity analysis for different parameters influencing the solar fraction is discussed in detail.

Keywords: net-zero building, renewable energy, solar thermal storage, microchannel solar thermal collector

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Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

Abstract:

Rapid aging and depopulation could lead to serious problems, including workforce shortages and health expenditure costs. The current and predicted future LTC workforce shortages could be a real threat to Taiwan’s society. By means of comparison of data from 144 nursing aide trainees and 727 general public, the main purpose of the present study was to determine whether there were any notable differences between the two groups toward engaging in LTC services. Moreover, this study focused on recognizing the attributes of the general public who had the willingness to take LTC jobs but continue to ride the fence. A self-developed questionnaire was designed based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior model. After conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis, the questionnaire was a reliable and valid instrument for both nursing aide trainees and the general public. The main results were as follows: Firstly, nearly 70% of nursing aide trainees showed interest in LTC jobs. Most of them were middle-aged female (M = 46.85, SD = 9.31), had a high school diploma or lower, had unrelated work experience in healthcare, and were mostly unemployed. The most common reason for attending the LTC training program was to gain skills in a particular field. The second most common reason was to obtain the license. The third and fourth reasons were to be interested in caring for people and to increase income. The three major reasons that might push them to leave LTC jobs were physical exhaustion, payment is bad, and being looked down on. Secondly, the variables that best-predicted nursing aide trainees’ intention to engage in LTC services were having personal willingness, perceived behavior control, with high school diploma or lower, and supported from family and friends. Finally, only 11.80% of the general public reported having interest in LTC jobs (the disapproval rating was 50% for the general public). In comparison to nursing aide trainees who showed interest in LTC settings, 64.8% of the new workforce for LTC among the general public was male and had an associate degree, 54.8% had relevant healthcare experience, 67.1% was currently employed, and they were younger (M = 32.19, SD = 13.19) and unmarried (66.3%). Furthermore, the most commonly reason for the new workforce to engage in LTC jobs were to gain skills in a particular field. The second priority was to be interested in caring for people. The third and fourth most reasons were to give back to society and to increase income, respectively. The top five most commonly reasons for the new workforce to quitting LTC jobs were listed as follows: physical exhaustion, being looked down on, excessive working hours, payment is bad, and excessive job stress.

Keywords: long-term care services, nursing aide trainees, Taiwanese people, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: George Madalin Danila, Mihaiella Cretu, Cristian Puscasu

Abstract:

The recycling of used antifreeze/coolant is a widely discussed and intricate issue. Complying with government regulations for the proper disposal of hazardous waste poses a significant challenge for today's automotive and industrial industries. In recent years, global focus has shifted toward Earth's fragile ecology, emphasizing the need to restore and preserve the natural environment. The business and industrial sectors have undergone substantial changes to adapt and offer products tailored to these evolving markets. The global antifreeze market size was evaluated at US 5.4 billion in 2020 to reach USD 5,9 billion by 2025 due to the increased number of vehicles worldwide, but also to the growth of HVAC systems. This study presents the evaluation of an ion exchange resin-based installation designed for the recycling of engine coolants, specifically ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG). The recycling process aims to restore the coolant to meet the stringent ASTM standards for both new and recycled coolants. A combination of physical-chemical methods, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was employed to analyze and validate the purity and performance of the recycled product. The experimental setup included performance tests, namely corrosion to glassware and the tendency to foaming of coolant, to assess the efficacy of the recycled coolants in comparison to new coolant standards. The results demonstrate that the recycled EG coolants exhibit comparable quality to new coolants, with all critical parameters falling within the acceptable ASTM limits. This indicates that the ion exchange resin method is a viable and efficient solution for the recycling of engine coolants, offering an environmentally friendly alternative to the disposal of used coolants while ensuring compliance with industry standards.

Keywords: engine coolant, glycols, recycling, ion exchange resin, circular economy

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Authors: Georgia Saxami, Evangelia N. Kerezoudi, Evdokia K. Mitsou, Marigoula Vlassopoulou, Georgios Zervakis, Adamantini Kyriacou

Abstract:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex group of developmental disorders of the brain, characterized by social and communication dysfunctions, stereotypes and repetitive behaviors. The potential interaction between gut microbiota (GM) and autism has not been fully elucidated. Children with autism often suffer gastrointestinal dysfunctions, while alterations or dysbiosis of GM have also been observed. Treatment with dietary components has been postulated to regulate GM and improve gastrointestinal symptoms, but there is a lack of evidence for such approaches in autism, especially for prebiotics. This study assessed the effects of Pleurotus eryngii mushroom (candidate prebiotic) and inulin (known prebiotic compound) on gut microbial composition, using faecal samples from autistic children in an in vitro batch culture fermentation system. Selected members of GM were enumerated at baseline (0 h) and after 24 h fermentation by quantitative PCR. After 24 h fermentation, inulin and P. eryngii mushroom induced a significant increase in total bacteria and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii compared to the negative control (gut microbiota of each autistic donor with no carbohydrate source), whereas both treatments induced a significant increase in levels of total bacteria, Bifidobacterium spp. and Prevotella spp. compared to baseline (t=0h) (p for all <0.05). Furthermore, this study evaluated the impact of fermentation supernatants (FSs), derived from P. eryngii mushroom or inulin, on the expression levels of tight junctions’ genes (zonulin-1, occludin and claudin-1) in Caco-2 cells stimulated by bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Pre-incubation of Caco-2 cells with FS from P. eryngii mushroom led to a significant increase in the expression levels of zonulin-1, occludin and claudin-1 genes compared to the untreated cells, the cells that were subjected to LPS and the cells that were challenged with FS from negative control (p for all <0.05). In addition, incubation with FS from P. eryngii mushroom led to the highest mean expression values for zonulin-1 and claudin-1 genes, which differed significantly compared to inulin (p for all <0.05). Overall, this research highlighted the beneficial in vitro effects of P. eryngii mushroom on the composition of GM of autistic children after 24 h of fermentation. Also, our data highlighted the potential preventive effect of P. eryngii FSs against dysregulation of the intestinal barrier, through upregulation of tight junctions’ genes associated with the integrity and function of the intestinal barrier. This research has been financed by "Supporting Researchers with Emphasis on Young Researchers - Round B", Operational Program "Human Resource Development, Education and Lifelong Learning."

Keywords: gut microbiota, intestinal barrier, autism spectrum disorders, Pleurotus Eryngii

Procedia PDF Downloads 150