Search results for: internal organisational factors

Authors: Siti Rahmawati

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Indonesia has had long period of monetary economic crisis and it is followed by an upward trend in the price of fuel oil. This situation impacts all aspects of tuna fishermen community. For instance, the basic needs of fishing communities increase and the lower purchasing power then lead to economic and social instability as well as the health of fishermen household. To understand this AHP method is applied to acknowledge the model of tuna fisheries management priorities and cold chain marketing channel and the utilization levels that impact on human health. The study is designed as a development research with the number of 180 respondents. The data were analyzed by Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The development of tuna fishery business can improve productivity of production with economic empowerment activities for coastal communities, improving the competitiveness of products, developing fish processing centers and provide internal capital for the development of optimal fishery business. From economic aspects, fishery business is more attracting because the benefit cost ratio of 2.86. This means that for 10 years, the economic life of this project can work well as B/C> 1 and therefore the rate of investment is economically viable. From the health aspects, tuna can reduce the risk of dying from heart disease by 50%, because tuna contain selenium in the human body. The consumption of 100 g of tuna meet 52.9% of the selenium in the body and activating the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidaxe which can protect the body from free radicals and stimulate various cancers. The results of the analytic hierarchy process that the quality of tuna products is the top priority for export quality as well as quality control in order to compete in the global market. The implementation of the policy can increase the income of fishermen and reduce the poverty of fishermen households and have impact on the human health whose has high risk of disease.

Keywords: management of tuna, social, economic, health

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Authors: Veruska C. Dutra, Mary L. G. S. Senna

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The development of tourism is on the use of landscapes, natural or constructed, which involves a number of factors that contribute to the deterioration of nature. Tourist activity coupled with sustainable development has led to the emergence of many questions about these terms, since they are not well defined in this sense through literature searches. The present study was to analyze the main concepts and discussions involving sustainable tourism, providing reflections that can cause answers about one of the main questions in today's activity sector on whether its sustainability is a myth or reality. The methodology of this study is discussions, theoretical studies and bibliographic research. The results showed that the scholars who address the issue, often leave uncertainty about some discussions that demonstrate that there are still many studies to be conducted in order to prove that the claims so as to form the basis of what will be Tourism sustainable.

Keywords: tourism, sustainability, development, discussions

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Naufal Ahmad Rijalul Alam

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This article presents a quality of education for the poor people in Indonesia and the offering of strategy to be done. It also investigates the influence of Islamic Education which stands behind the religious values in developing effort of government to respond the problem with using humanities approaches in medium society. The offering strategy resulted in four agenda: 1) building a shared commitment, 2) encouraging the improvement of the quality of public and private schools, 3) encouraging the use of 'the indicator of disaffection' for gifted children, and 4) encouraging the enlargement of vocational training centers and polytechnics. The conclusion is that the quality of education can be increased with these four agenda, although they are not too easy because it deals with other factors such as the economy, politics, and culture which is happening in the country.

Keywords: quality education, poor people, strategy of Islamic education, medium community

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Authors: M. Osipova

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Thanks to informational technologies development every sphere of economics is becoming more and more data-centralized as people are generating huge datasets containing information on any aspect of their life. Applying research of such data to human resources management allows getting scarce statistics on labor market state including salary expectations and potential employees’ typical career behavior, and this information can become a reliable basis for management decisions. The following article presents results of career behavior research based on freely accessible resume data. Information used for study is much wider than one usually uses in human resources surveys. That is why there is enough data for statistically significant results even for subgroups analysis.

Keywords: human resources management, salary expectations, statistics, turnover

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: Tadele Tesfaw, Ajit Pal Singh, Abebaw Mekonnen Gezahegn

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Welding is a basic manufacturing process for making components or assemblies. Recent welding economics research has focused on developing the reliable machinery database to ensure optimum production. Research on welding of materials like steel is still critical and ongoing. Welding input parameters play a very significant role in determining the quality of a weld joint. The metal active gas (MAG) welding parameters are the most important factors affecting the quality, productivity and cost of welding in many industrial operations. The aim of this study is to investigate the optimization process parameters for metal active gas welding for 60x60x5mm dead mild steel plate work-piece using Taguchi method to formulate the statistical experimental design using semi-automatic welding machine. An experimental study was conducted at Bishoftu Automotive Industry, Bishoftu, Ethiopia. This study presents the influence of four welding parameters (control factors) like welding voltage (volt), welding current (ampere), wire speed (m/min.), and gas (CO2) flow rate (lit./min.) with three different levels for variability in the welding hardness. The objective functions have been chosen in relation to parameters of MAG welding i.e., welding hardness in final products. Nine experimental runs based on an L9 orthogonal array Taguchi method were performed. An orthogonal array, signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are employed to investigate the welding characteristics of dead mild steel plate and used in order to obtain optimum levels for every input parameter at 95% confidence level. The optimal parameters setting was found is welding voltage at 22 volts, welding current at 125 ampere, wire speed at 2.15 m/min and gas flow rate at 19 l/min by using the Taguchi experimental design method within the constraints of the production process. Finally, six conformations welding have been carried out to compare the existing values; the predicated values with the experimental values confirm its effectiveness in the analysis of welding hardness (quality) in final products. It is found that welding current has a major influence on the quality of welded joints. Experimental result for optimum setting gave a better hardness of welding condition than initial setting. This study is valuable for different material and thickness variation of welding plate for Ethiopian industries.

Keywords: Weld quality, metal active gas welding, dead mild steel plate, orthogonal array, analysis of variance, Taguchi method

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Authors: Mohammad Tahsin Karimi Nezhad, Zaynab Shadbahr, Ali Gholami

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In recent years many attempts have been made to assess groundwater contamination by nitrates worldwide. The assessment of spatial and temporal variations of physico-chemical parameters of water is necessary to mange water quality. The objectives of the study were to evaluate spatial variability and temporal changes of hydrochemical factors by water sampling from 24 wells in the Shoush City suburb. The analysis was conducted for the whole area and for different land use and geological classes. In addition, nitrate concentration variability with descriptive parameters such as sampling depth, dissolved oxygen, and on ground nitrogen loadings was also investigated The results showed that nitrate concentrations did not exceed the standard limit (50 mg/l). EC of water samples, ranged from 900 to 1200 µs/cm, TDS from 775 to 830 mg/l and pH from 5.6 to 9.

Keywords: groundwater, GIS, water quality, Iran

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Authors: Gabriela Kalcikova, Gregor Marolt, Anita Jemec Kokalj, Andreja Zgajnar Gotvajn

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Since the 90’s, nanotechnology is one of the fastest growing fields of science. Nanomaterials are increasingly becoming part of many products and technologies. Metal oxide nanoparticles are among the most used nanomaterials. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) is widely used due to its versatile properties; it has been used in products including plastics, paints, food, batteries, solar cells and cosmetic products. It is also a very effective photocatalyst used for water treatment. Such expanding application of nZnO increases their possible occurrence in the environment. In the aquatic ecosystem nZnO interact with natural environmental factors such as UV radiation, and thus it is essential to evaluate possible interaction between them. In this context, the aim of our study was to evaluate combined ecotoxicity of nZnO and Zn²⁺ on duckweed Lemna minor in presence or absence UV. Inhibition of vegetative growth of duckweed Lemna minor was monitored over a period of 7 days in multi-well plates. After the experiment, specific growth rate was determined. ZnO nanoparticles used were of primary size 13.6 ± 1.7 nm. The test was conducted with nominal nZnO and Zn²⁺ (in form of ZnCl₂) concentrations of 1, 10, 100 mg/L. Experiment was repeated with presence of natural intensity of UV (8h UV, 10 W/m² UVA, 0.5 W/m² UVB). Concentration of Zn during the test was determined by ICP-MS. In the regular experiment (absence of UV) the specific growth rate was slightly increased by low concentrations of nZnO and Zn²⁺ in comparison to control. However, 10 and 100 mg/L of Zn²⁺ resulted in 45% and 68% inhibition of the specific growth rate, respectively. In case of nZnO both concentrations (10 and 100 mg/L) resulted in similar ~ 30% inhibition and the response was not dose-dependent. The lack of the dose-response relationship is often observed in case of nanoparticles. The possible explanation is that the physical impact prevails instead of chemical ones. In the presence of UV the toxicity of Zn²⁺ was increased and 100 mg/L of Zn²⁺ caused total inhibition of the specific growth rate (100%). On the other hand, 100 mg/L of nZnO resulted in low inhibition (19%) in comparison to the experiment without UV (30%). It is thus expected, that tested nZnO is low photoactive, but could have a good UV absorption and/or reflective properties and thus protect duckweed against UV impacts. Measured concentration of Zn in the test suspension decreased only about 4% after 168h in the case of ZnCl₂. On the other hand concentration of Zn in nZnO test decreased by 80%. It is expected that nZnO were partially dissolved in the medium and at the same time agglomeration and sedimentation of particles took place and thus the concentration of Zn at the water level decreased. Results of our study indicated, that nZnO combined with UV of natural intensity does not increase toxicity of nZnO, but slightly protect the plant against UV negative effects. When Zn²⁺ and ZnO results are compared it seems that dissolved Zn plays a central role in the nZnO toxicity.

Keywords: duckweed, environmental factors, nanoparticles, toxicity

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Authors: Kristina Ancutiene

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The goal of this research is to perform comparative analysis between the virtual fit of the woman's dress and the fit on a real person. The dress fitting was done using mechanical and structural parameters of the 100 % linen fabric and using Modaris_3D_Fit software (CAD Lectra). The dress was also sawn after which garment fit differences of real and virtual dress was researched. Four respondents whose figures were similar were used to evaluate the ease and strain deformations of the real and virtual dress. The scores that were given by the respondents wearing the real dress were compared to the ease and strain results that were given by the software. The main result was that respondents feel similar to the virtual stretch deformations but their ease feeling is not always matching the virtual ones. The results may be influenced by psychological factors and different understanding about purpose of garment.

Keywords: virtual garment, 3D CAD, garment fit, mechanical properties

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Authors: Tri Murti, Muhammad Hanafiah Juni, Hejar Abdul Rahman, Salmiah Binti Said

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The diarrhoeal disease continues to be a leading cause of childhood mortality in countries such as Indonesia, where it is estimated to be responsible for 300,000 deaths annually in children under the age of years. Morbidity survey the Ministry of Health of Indonesia from 2000 to 2010 showed incidence diarrhoea remains a leading cause of infant mortality. Causes of death from diarrhoea is related to poor governance both at home and in health facilities. Despite the improvement of health facilities and government effort to reduce the occurrence of diarrhoea among children and death from diarrhoea, the incidence of diarrhoea among children area still high.

Keywords: management diarrheal disease, practices mother, treatment, diarrhoea among children

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Authors: Jonas Sanon

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The valorization of research is becoming a transversal instrument linking different sectors (academic, public and industrial). The practice of valorization seems to impact innovation techniques within companies where, there is often the implementation of industrial conventions of training through research (CIFRE), continuous training programs for employees, collaborations and partnerships around joint research and R&D laboratories focused on the needs of companies to improve or develop more efficient innovations. Furthermore, many public initiatives to support innovation and technology transfer have been developed at the international, European and national levels, with significant budget allocations. Thus, in the context of this work, we tried to analyze the way in which research transfer structures are evaluated within the Saclay ecosystem. In fact, the University-Paris-Saclay is one of the best French universities; it is made up of 10 university components, more than 275 laboratories and is in partnership with the largest French research centers This work mainly focused on how evaluations affected research transfer structures, how evaluations were conducted, and what the managers of research transfer structures thought about assessments. Thus, with the aid of the conducted interviews, it appears that the evaluations do not have a significant impact on the qualitative aspect of research and innovation, but is rather present a directive aspect to allow the structures to benefit or not from the financial resources to develop certain research work, sometimes directed and influenced by the market, some researchers might try to accentuate their research and experimentation work on themes that are not necessarily their areas of interest, but just to comply with the calls for proposed thematic projects. The field studies also outline the primary indicators used to assess the effectiveness of valorization structures as "the number of start-ups generated, the license agreements signed, the structure's patent portfolio, and the innovations of items developed from public research.". Finally, after mapping the actors, it became clear that the ecosystem of the University of Paris-Saclay benefits from a richness allowing it to better value its research in relation to the three categories of actors it has (internal, external and transversal), united and linked by a relationship of proximity of sharing and endowed with a real opportunity to innovate openly.

Keywords: research valorization, technology transfer, innovation, evaluation, impacts and performances, innovation policy

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Authors: M. H. Arslan, U. K. Sahin, H. Acikgoz-Tufan, I. Gocek, I. Erdem

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Various exterior factors have perpetual effects on textile materials during wear, use and laundering in everyday life. In accordance with their frequency of use, textile materials are required to be laundered at certain intervals. The medium in which the laundering process takes place have inevitable detrimental physical and chemical effects on textile materials caused by the unique parameters of the process inherently existing. Connatural structures of various textile materials result in many different physical, chemical and mechanical characteristics. Because of their specific structures, these materials have different behaviors against several exterior factors. By modeling the behavior of commercial and test textiles as group-wise against laundering process, it is possible to disclose the relation in between these two groups of materials, which will lead to better understanding of their behaviors in terms of similarities and differences against the washing parameters of the laundering. Thus, the goal of the current research is to examine the behavior of two groups of textile materials as commercial textiles and as test textiles towards the main washing machine parameters during laundering process such as temperature, load quantity, mechanical action and level of water amount by concentrating on shrinkage, pilling, sewing defects, collar abrasion, the other defects other than sewing, whitening and overall properties of textiles. In this study, cotton fabrics were preferred as commercial textiles due to the fact that garments made of cotton are the most demanded products in the market by the textile consumers in daily life. Full factorial experimental set-up was used to design the experimental procedure. All profiles always including all of the commercial and the test textiles were laundered for 20 cycles by commercial home laundering machine to investigate the effects of the chosen parameters. For the laundering process, a modified version of ‘‘IEC 60456 Test Method’’ was utilized. The amount of detergent was altered as 0.5% gram per liter depending on varying load quantity levels. Datacolor 650®, EMPA Photographic Standards for Pilling Test and visual examination were utilized to test and characterize the textiles. Furthermore, in the current study the relation in between commercial and test textiles in terms of their performance was deeply investigated by the help of statistical analysis performed by MINITAB® package program modeling their behavior against the parameters of the laundering process. In the experimental work, the behaviors of both groups of textiles towards washing machine parameters were visually and quantitatively assessed in dry state.

Keywords: behavior against washing machine parameters, performance evaluation of textiles, statistical analysis, commercial and test textiles

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Authors: Bilal Okudan, Omur F. Karakullukcu, Yusuf Can

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Work motivation is one of the fundamental elements that determine the attitudes and performance of employees towards work. In this sense, work motivation depends not only on individual and occupational factors but also on employees' perception of organizational climate and organizational trust. Organizations that are aware of this have begun to do more research on work motivation in recent years to ensure that employees have the highest possible performance. In this framework of the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of sports employees' perceptions of organizational climate and organizational trust on work motivation. In the study, it has also been analyzed if there is any significant difference in the department of sports services’ employees’ organizational climate and organizational trust perception, and work motivation levels in terms of gender, age, duty status, year of service and level of education. 278 sports managers, who work in the department of sports service’s central and field organization at least as a chief in the manager position, have been chosen with random sampling method and they have voluntarily participated in the study. In the study, the organizational climate scale which was developed by Bilir (2005), organizational trusts scale developed by koksal (2012) and work motivation scale developed by Mottaz J. Clifford (1985) have been used as a data collection tool. The questionnaire form used as a data collection tool in the study includes a personal information form consisting of 5 questions; questioning gender, age, duty status, years of service and level of education. In the study, Pearson Correlation Analysis has been used for defining the correlation among organizational climate, organizational trust perceptions and work motivation levels in sports managers and regression analysis has been used to identify the effect of organizational climate and organizational trust on work motivation. T-test for binary grouping and ANOVA analysis have been used for more than binary groups in order to determine if there is any significant difference in the level of organizational climate, organizational trust perceptions and work motivations in terms of the participants’ duty status, year of service and level of education. According to the research results, it has been found that there is a positive correlation between the department of sports services’ employees’ organizational climate, organizational trust perceptions and work motivation levels. According to the results of the regression analysis; it is understood that the sports employees’ perception of organizational climate and organizational trust are two main factors which affects the perception of work motivation. Also, the results show that there is a significant difference in the level of organizational climate and organizational trust perceptions and work motivations of the department of sports services’ employees in terms of duty status, year of service, and level of education; however, the results reveal that there is no significant difference in terms of age groups and gender.

Keywords: sports manager, organizational climate, organizational trust, work motivation

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Authors: Alexandre Bédard, Caroline Coulombe, Jonathan Harvey

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Envisioning process (EP) in medium enterprises is treated equally in very small enterprises. Building on the concept of social construction, this study aims to explore how envisioning is constructed in a medium enterprise in which stakeholders are involved and how it is influenced. We use a unique case method based on qualitative data collected through 11 interviews representing various members of the organization. Through the discussion of the findings, we were able to confirm the social construction of the EP and to identify three main stakeholders responsible for the construction of the vision, mainly political and social powers, actors of the organization, and financial providers. Moreover, EP is influenced by external factors; in this case, the history of the organization and the value and importance of the art and the culture for Cambodians.

Keywords: envisioning process, social constructivism, medium enterprise, legitimacy

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Authors: Evgeny E. Tereshatov

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Astatine-211 is considered one of the most promising radionuclides for Targeted Alpha Therapy. In order to develop reliable procedures to label biomolecules and utilize efficient delivery vehicle principles, one should understand the main chemical characteristics of astatine. The short half-life of 211At (~7.2 h) and absence of any stable isotopes of this element are limiting factors towards studying the behavior of astatine. Our team has developed a procedure for rapid and efficient isolation of astatine from irradiated bismuth material in nitric acid media based on 3-octanone and 1-octanol extraction chromatography resins. This process has been automated and it takes 20 min from the beginning of the target dissolution to the At-211 fraction elution. Our next step is to consider commercially available chromatography resins and their applicability in astatine purification in the same media. Results obtained along with the corresponding sorption mechanisms will be discussed.

Keywords: astatine-211, chromatography, automation, mechanism, radiopharmaceuticals

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Authors: S. M. Ali, S. I. Mohamed

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Reduction of feed cost for broiler production is at most importance in decreasing the cost of production. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the use of synthetic amino acids (L-lysine – DL-methionine) instead of super concentrate and groundnut cake versus meat powder as protein sources. A total of 180 male broiler chicks (Cobb – strain) at 15 day of age (DOA) were selected according to their average body weight (380 g) from a broiler chicks flock at Elbashair Farm. The chicks were randomly divided into six groups of 30 chicks. Each group was further sub divided into three replicates with 10 birds. Six experimental diets were formulated. The first diet contained groundnut cake and super concentrate as the control (GNC + C); in the second diet, meat powder and super concentrate (MP + C) were used. The third diet contained groundnut cake and amino acids (GNC + AA); the forth diet contained meat powder and amino acids (MP + AA). The fifth diet contained groundnut cake, meat powder and super concentrate (GNC + MP + C) and the sixth diet contained groundnut cake, meat powder and amino acids (GNC + MP + AA). The formulated rations were randomly assigned for the different sub groups in a completely randomized design of six treatments and three replicates. Weekly feed intake, body weight and mortality were recorded and body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were calculated. At the end of the experiment (49 DOA), nine birds from each treatment were slaughtered. Live body weight, carcass weight, head, shank, and some internal organs (gizzard, heart, liver, small intestine, and abdominal fat pad) weights were taken. For the overall experimental period the (GNC + C +MP) consumed significantly (P≤0.01) the highest cumulative feed while the (MP + AA) group consumed the lowest amount of feed. The (GNC + C) and the (GNC + AA) groups had the heaviest live body weight while (MP + AA) had the lowest live body weight. The overall FCR was significantly (P≤0.01) the best for (GNC + AA) group while the (MP + AA) reported the worst FCR. However, the (GNC + AA) had significantly (P≤0.01) the lowest AFP. The (GNC + MP + Con) group had the highest dressing % while the (MP + AA) group had the lowest dressing %. It is concluded that amino acids can be used instead of super concentrate in broiler feeding with perfect performance and less cost and that meat powder is not advisable to be used with amino acids.

Keywords: broiler chickens, DL-lysine, methionine, performance

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Authors: Kwok Tak Kit

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Construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated in the process of urbanization which only contribute to approx. 25–35 per cent of municipal solid waste (MSW), and the action to reduce the generation of other MSW is considered more critical. Developed and cities produce a higher percentage of inorganic waste rather than organic waste. Most of the MSW was disposed in landfill, and a large number of the landfills are not effectively and efficiently operated to receive the untreated incoming waste. It is also a global problem that the demands for enhancement of basic infrastructure for waste collection, treatment, and disposal, including rehabilitation of the dump sites, is the urgent priority. This paper is to review the factors taken into consideration of waste management development in relation to circular economy development on development countries and green recovery in the post-pandemic era for further researches use.

Keywords: waste management, waste reduction, circular economy, developed countries, sustainable design goals

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Authors: Yo-Seph Byun, Gyu-Phil Lee, Young-Bin Park, Gye-Chun Cho, Seong-Won Lee

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In Korea, a study on Limit State Design (LSD) for underground structures is being conducted in order to perform more effective design. In this study, as a result of MCS (Monte-Carlo Simulation) technique, failure probabilities of the structure during normal and earthquake are estimated in reliability analysis. Target reliability indexes are determined depending on load combinations for underground structure, and then, design variables such as load and material factors in LSD are decided. As a result, through the research in order to determine more reliable design variables, a specification of LSD for underground structures is able to be developed.

Keywords: design variable, limit state design, target reliability index, underground structure

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Authors: Najwa Alsayed Omar

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With the increasing popularity of the Internet, online reading has become an essential source for EFL readers. Using strategies to comprehend information on online reading texts play a crucial role in students’ academic success. Metacognitive reading strategies are effective factors that enhance EFL learners reading comprehension. This study aimed at exploring the use of online metacognitive reading strategies by postgraduate Libyan EFL students. Quantitative data was collected using the Survey of Online Reading Strategies (OSORS). The findings revealed that the participants were moderate users of metacognitive online reading strategies. Problem solving strategies were the most frequently reported used strategies, while support reading strategies were the least. The five most and least frequently reported strategies were identified. Based on the findings, some future research recommendations were presented.

Keywords: metacognitive strategies, online reading, online reading strategies, postgraduate students

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Authors: Ahmed Elsebaay, Maged A. Abu Adma, Mahmoud Ramadan

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This study presents a technique clarifying the effect of ambient air temperature and loads power factor changing from standard values on electric generator power rating. The study introduces an optimized technique for selecting the correct electric generator power rating for certain application and operating site ambient temperature. The de-rating factors due to the previous effects will be calculated to be applied on a generator to select its power rating accurately to avoid unsafe operation and save its lifetime. The information in this paper provides a simple, accurate, and general method for synchronous generator selection and eliminates common errors.

Keywords: ambient temperature, de-rating factor, electric generator, power factor

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Authors: Chia-Ching Sun, Li-Yin Chien, Chun-Ting Hsiao

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Background: Appropriate gestation weight gain benefits pregnant women and their children; however, excessive weight gain could raise the risk of adverse health outcomes and chronicle diseases. Nevertheless, there is currently limited evidence on the effect of physical activities on pregnant women’s gestational weight gain. Purpose: This study aimed to explore the correlation between the level of physical activity and gestation weight gain during the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Methods: This longitudinal study enrolled 800 healthy pregnant women aged over 20 from six hospitals in northern Taiwan. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data twice for each participant during 14-27 and 28-40 weeks of gestation. Variables included demographic data, maternal health history, and lifestyle. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form was used to measure the level of physical activity from walking and of moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity before and during pregnancy. Weight recorded at prenatal checkups were used to calculate average weight gain in each trimester of pregnancy. T-tests, ANOVA, chi-squared tests, and multivariable logistic regression models were applied to determine the predicting factors for weight gain during the second and third trimester. Result: Participants who had achieved recommended physical activity level (150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity a week) before pregnancy (aOR=1.85, 95% CI=1.27-2.67) or who achieved recommended walking level (150 minutes a week) during the second trimester of pregnancy (aOR=1.43, 95% CI= 1.00-2.04) gained significantly more weight during the second trimester. Compared with those who did not reach recommended level of moderate-intensity physical activity (150 minutes a week), women who had reached that during the second trimester were more likely to be in the less than recommended weight gain group than in the recommended weight gain group (aOR=2.06, CI=1.06-4.00). However, there was no significant correlation between physical activity level and weight gain in the third trimester. Other predicting factors of excessive weight gain included education level which showed a negative correlation (aOR=0.38, CI=0.17-0.88), whereas overweight and obesity before pregnancy showed a positive correlation (OR=3.97, CI=1.23-12.78). Conclusions/implications for practice: Participants who had achieved recommended physical activity level before pregnancy significantly reduced exercise during pregnancy and gained excessive weight during the second trimester. However, women who engaged in the practice of physical activity as recommended could effectively control weight gain in the third trimester. Healthcare professionals could suggest that pregnant women who exercise maintain their pre-pregnancy level of physical activity, given activities requiring physical contact or causing falls are avoided. For those who do not exercise, health professionals should encourage them to gradually increase the level of physical activity. Health promotion strategies related to weight control and physical activity level achievement should be given to women before pregnancy.

Keywords: pregnant woman, physical activity, gestation weight gain, obesity, overweight

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Authors: Malay Niraj, Praveen Kumar

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The present study is a new approach for improving equipment life and Overall Equipment Efficiency (O.E.E.) through suitable maintenance practice with the help of value engineering. Value engineering is a one of the most powerful decision-making techniques which depend on many factors. The improvements are the result of recommendations made by multidisciplinary teams representing all parties involved. VE is a rigorous, systematic effort to improve the OEE and optimize the life cycle cost of a facility. The study describes problems in maintenance arising due to the absence of having clear criteria and strong decision constrain how to maintain failing equipment. Using factor comparisons, the study has been made between different maintenance practices and finally best maintenance practice based on value engineering technique has been selected.

Keywords: maintenance strategy, overall equipment efficiency, value engineering, decision-making

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Authors: Yunus Emre Kara, Atilla Kuzu, Levent Cirpici

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Recently, in the interior design of hospitals, the effect of the physical environment on the healing process has been frequently emphasized, and the importance of psychological and behavioral factors has increased day by day. When designing new hospital interiors, it became important to create spaces that not only meet medical requirements but also support the healing process of patients with interior design. In this study, the patient rooms, corridor, atrium area, waiting area, and entrance counter in a hospital were handled with patient-centered design, evidence-based design, and remedial architectural approaches, and it was seen that the healing and reassuring elements in hospitals were extremely important.

Keywords: evidence based design, healing architecture, hospital, organic design, parametric design

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Authors: Varvara Roubtsova, Mohamed Chekired

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Recent studies on the numerical simulation of geotechnical problems show the importance of considering the soil micro-structure. At this scale, soil is a discrete particle medium where the particles can interact with each other and with water flow under external forces, structure loads or natural events. This paper presents research conducted in a virtual laboratory named SiGran, developed at IREQ (Institut de recherche d’Hydro-Quebec) for the purpose of investigating a broad range of problems encountered in geotechnics. Using Discrete Element Method (DEM), SiGran simulated granular materials directly by applying Newton’s laws to each particle. The water flow was simulated by using Marker and Cell method (MAC) to solve the full form of Navier-Stokes’s equation for non-compressible viscous liquid. In this paper, examples of numerical simulation and their comparisons with real experiments have been selected to show the complexity of geotechnical research at the micro level. These examples describe transient flows into a porous medium, interaction of particles in a viscous flow, compacting of saturated and unsaturated soils and the phenomenon of liquefaction under seismic load. They also provide an opportunity to present SiGran’s capacity to compute the distribution and evolution of energy by type (particle kinetic energy, particle internal elastic energy, energy dissipated by friction or as a result of viscous interaction into flow, and so on). This work also includes the first attempts to apply micro discrete results on a macro continuum level where the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method was used to resolve the system of governing equations. The material behavior equation is based on the results of simulations carried out at a micro level. The possibility of combining three methods (DEM, MAC and SPH) is discussed.

Keywords: discrete element method, marker and cell method, numerical simulation, multi-scale simulations, smoothed particle hydrodynamics

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Authors: Nuwan Kuruwitaarachchi, M. K. M. Peiris, C. N. Madawala, K. M. A. R. Perera, V. U. N Perera

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Dealing with businesses with the foreign market always took a special place in a country’s economy. Political and social factors came into play making currency rate changes fluctuate rapidly. Currency rate prediction has become an important factor for larger international businesses since large amounts of money exchanged between countries. This research focuses on comparing the accuracy of mainly three models; Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Artificial Neural Networks(ANN) and Support Vector Machines(SVM). series of data import, export, USD currency exchange rate respect to LKR has been selected for training using above mentioned algorithms. After training the data set and comparing each algorithm, it was able to see that prediction in SVM performed better than other models. It was improved more by combining SVM and SVR models together.

Keywords: ARIMA, ANN, FFNN, RMSE, SVM, SVR

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Authors: Sohini Manna, Jong Woo Kim, Oleg Shpyrko, Eric E. Fullerton

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CVD techniques have emerged as a promising approach in the formation of a broad range of nanostructured materials. The realization of many practical applications will require efficient and economical synthesis techniques that preferably avoid the need for templates or costly single-crystal substrates and also afford process adaptability. Towards this end, we have developed a single-step route for the reduction-type synthesis of nanostructured Ni materials using a thermal CVD method. By tuning the CVD growth parameters, we can synthesize morphologically dissimilar nanostructures including single-crystal cubes and Au nanostructures which form atop untreated amorphous SiO2||Si substrates. An understanding of the new properties that emerge in these nanostructures materials and their relationship to function will lead to for a broad range of magnetostrictive devices as well as other catalysis, fuel cell, sensor, and battery applications based on high-surface-area transition-metal nanostructures. We use coherent X-ray diffraction imaging technique to obtain 3-D image and strain maps of individual nanocrystals. Coherent x-ray diffractive imaging (CXDI) is a technique that provides the overall shape of a nanostructure and the lattice distortion based on the combination of highly brilliant coherent x-ray sources and phase retrieval algorithm. We observe a fine interplay of reduction of surface energy vs internal stress, which plays an important role in the morphology of nano-crystals. The strain distribution is influenced by the metal-substrate interface and metal-air interface, which arise due to differences in their thermal expansion. We find the lattice strain at the surface of the octahedral gold nanocrystal agrees well with the predictions of the Young-Laplace equation quantitatively, but exhibits a discrepancy near the nanocrystal-substrate interface resulting from the interface. The strain in the bottom side of the Ni nanocube, which is contacted on the substrate surface is compressive. This is caused by dissimilar thermal expansion coefficients between Ni nanocube and Si substrate. Research at UCSD support by NSF DMR Award # 1411335.

Keywords: CVD, nanostructures, strain, CXRD

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Authors: Corbel Camille, Le Cerf Flora, Capriz Françoise, Vaillant-Ciszewicz Anne-Julie, Breaud Jean, Guerin Olivier, Corveleyn Xavier

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Background: The medical environment can generate stressful and anxiety-provoking situations for patients, particularly during painful care procedures for the older population. These stressful environments have deleterious effects on the quality of care and can even put the patient at risk and set the care team up for failure. The search for a solution is, therefore, imperative. The development of new technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), seems to be an answer to this problem. Objectives: The objective of this study is to compare the effects of virtual reality on pain and anxiety when caring for older hospitalized people with the effects of usual care. More precisely, different individual factors (age, cognitive level, individual preferences, etc.) and different virtual reality universes (personalized or non-personalized) are studied to understand the role of these factors in reducing pain and anxiety during care procedures. The aim of this study is to improve the quality of life of patients and caregivers in their work environment. Method: This mono-centered, randomized, controlled study was conducted from September 2023 to September 2024 on 120 participants recruited from the geriatric departments of the Cimiez Hospital, Nice, France. Participants are randomized into three groups: a control group, a personalized VR group and a non-personalized VR group. Each participant is followed during a painful care session. Data are collected before, during and after the care, using measures of pain (Algoplus and numerical scale) and anxiety (Hospital anxiety scale and numerical scale). Physiological assessments with an oximeter are also performed to collect both heart and respiratory rate measurements. The implementation of the care will be assessed among healthcare providers to evaluate its effects on the difficulty and fatigue associated with the care. Additionally, a questionnaire (System Usability Scale) will be administered at the conclusion of the study to determine the willingness of healthcare providers to integrate VR into their daily care practices. Result: The preliminary results indicate significant effects on anxiety (p=.001) and pain (p=<.001) following the VR intervention during care, as compared to the control group. Conclusion: The preliminary results suggest that VRI appears to be a suitable and effective method for reducing anxiety and pain among older hospitalized individuals compared with standard care. Finally, the experiences of healthcare professionals involved will also be considered to assess the impact of these interventions on working conditions and patient support.

Keywords: anxiety, care, pain, older adults, virtual reality

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Authors: Jeff Colwell, Benjamin Knox

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While fire and explosion incidents are often observed by eyewitnesses, the weight that fire investigators should place on those observations in their investigations is a complex issue. There is no doubt that eyewitness statements can be an important component to an investigation, particularly when other evidence is sparse, as is often the case when damage to the scene is severe. However, it is well known that eyewitness statements can be incorrect for a variety of reasons, including deception. In this paper, we reviewed factors that can have an effect on the complex processes associated with the perception, retention, and retrieval of an event. We then review the accuracy of eyewitness statements from unique criminal and civil incidents, including fire and explosion incidents, in which the accuracy of the statements could be independently evaluated. Finally, the motives for deceptive eyewitness statements are described, along with techniques that fire and explosion investigators can employ, to increase the accuracy of the eyewitness statements that they solicit.

Keywords: fire, explosion, eyewitness, reliability

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Authors: Sophie Oakes-Rogers, Di Bailey, Karen Slade

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Female offenders are a uniquely vulnerable group, who are at high risk of suicide. Whilst the prevention of self-harm and suicide remains a key global priority, we need to better understand the relationship between these challenging behaviours that constitute a pressing problem, particularly in environments designed to prioritise safety and security. Method choice is unlikely to be random, and is instead influenced by a range of cultural, social, psychological and environmental factors, which change over time and between countries. A key aspect of self-harm and suicide in women receiving forensic care is the lack of free access to methods. At a time where self-harm and suicide rates continue to rise internationally, understanding the role of these influencing factors and the impact of current suicide prevention strategies on the use of near-lethal methods is crucial. This poster presentation will present findings from 25 interviews and 3 focus groups, which enlisted a Participatory Action Research approach to explore the differences between self-harming and suicidal behavior. A key element of this research was using the lived experiences of women receiving forensic care from one forensic pathway in the UK, and the staffs who care for them, to discuss the role of near-lethal self-harm (NLSH). The findings and suggestions from the lived accounts of the women and staff will inform a draft assessment tool, which better assesses the risk of suicide based on the lethality of methods. This tool will be the first of its kind, which specifically captures the needs of women receiving forensic services. Preliminary findings indicate women engage in NLSH for two key reasons and is determined by their history of self-harm. Women who have a history of superficial non-life threatening self-harm appear to engage in NLSH in response to a significant life event such as family bereavement or sentencing. For these women, suicide appears to be a realistic option to overcome their distress. This, however, differs from women who appear to have a lifetime history of NLSH, who engage in such behavior in a bid to overcome the grief and shame associated with historical abuse. NLSH in these women reflects a lifetime of suicidality and indicates they pose the greatest risk of completed suicide. Findings also indicate differences in method selection between forensic provisions. Restriction of means appears to play a role in method selection, and findings suggest it causes method substitution. Implications will be discussed relating to the screening of female forensic patients and improvements to the current suicide prevention strategies.

Keywords: forensic mental health, method substitution, restriction of means, suicide

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Authors: Chia-Jung Chang, Sheng-Che Chen, Ming-Long Yeh, Chih-Wei Wang, Chih-Han Chang

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Introduction and Motivation: In recent years, magnesium alloy is used to be a kind of medical biodegradable materials. Magnesium is an essential element in the body and is efficiently excreted by the kidneys. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of magnesium alloy is closest to human bone. However, in some cases magnesium alloy corrodes so quickly that it would release hydrogen on surface of implant. The other product is hydroxide ion, it can significantly increase the local pH value. The above situations may have adverse effects on local cell functions. On the other hand, nowadays magnesium alloy corrode too fast to maintain the function of implant until the healing of tissue. Therefore, much recent research about magnesium alloy has focused on controlling the corrosion rate. The in vitro corrosion behavior of magnesium alloys is affected by many factors, and pH value is one of factors. In this study, we will study on the influence of pH value on the corrosion behavior of magnesium alloy by the Micro-CT (micro computed tomography) and other instruments.Material and methods: In the first step, we make some guiding plates for specimens of magnesium alloy AZ91 by Rapid Prototyping. The guiding plates are able to be a standard for the degradation of specimen, so that we can use it to make sure the position of specimens in the CT image. We can also simplify the conditions of degradation by the guiding plates.In the next step, we prepare the solution with different pH value. And then we put the specimens into the solution to start the corrosion test. The CT image, surface photographs and weigh are measured on every twelve hours. Results: In the primary results of the test, we make sure that CT image can be a way to quantify the corrosion behavior of magnesium alloy. Moreover we can observe the phenomenon that corrosion always start from some erosion point. It’s possibly based on some defect like dislocations and the voids with high strain energy in the materials. We will deal with the raw data into Mass Loss (ML) and corrosion rate by CT image, surface photographs and weigh in the near future. Having a simple prediction, the pH value and degradation rate will be negatively correlated. And we want to find out the equation of the pH value and corrosion rate. We also have a simple test to simulate the change of the pH value in the local region. In this test the pH value will rise to 10 in a short time. Conclusion: As a biodegradable implant for the area with stagnating body fluid flow in the human body, magnesium alloy can cause the increase of local pH values and release the hydrogen. Those may damage the human cell. The purpose of this study is finding out the equation of the pH value and corrosion rate. After that we will try to find the ways to overcome the limitations of medical magnesium alloy.

Keywords: magnesium alloy, biodegradable materials, corrosion, micro-CT

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Authors: Daniel Herrera Gonzalez, Maria Luisa Montas

Abstract:

There are some factors affecting consumer decision-making regarding the use of the front of package labels in order to find benefits to the well-being of the human being. Currently, there are several labels that help influence or change the purchase decision for food products. These labels communicate the impact that food has on human health; therefore, consumers are more critical and intelligent when buying and consuming food products. The research explores the association between front-of-pack labeling and food choice; the association between label content and purchasing decisions is complex and influenced by different factors, including the packaging itself. The main objective of this study was to examine the perception of health labels and nutritional declarations and their influence on buying decisions in the non-alcoholic beverages sector. This comparative study of two developing countries will show how consumers take nutritional labels into account when deciding to buy certain foods. This research applied a quantitative methodology with correlational scope. This study has a correlational approach in order to analyze the degree of association between variables. Likewise, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method and structural equation modeling (SEM) as a powerful multivariate technique was used as statistical technique to find the relationships between observable and unobservable variables. The main findings of this research were the obtaining of three large groups and their perception and effects on nutritional and wellness labels. The first group is characterized by taking an attitude of high interest on the issue of the imposition of the nutritional information label on products and would agree that all products should be packaged given its importance to preventing illnesses in the consumer. Likewise, they almost always care about the brand, the size, the list of ingredients, and nutritional information of the food, and also the effect of these on health. The second group stands out for presenting some interest in the importance of the label on products as a purchase decision, in addition to almost always taking into account the characteristics of size, money, components, etc. of the products to decide on their consumption and almost always They are never interested in the effect of these products on their health or nutrition, and in group 3, it differs from the others by being more neutral regarding the issue of nutritional information labels, and being less interested in the purchase decision and characteristics of the product and also on the influence of these on health and nutrition. This new knowledge is essential for different companies that manufacture and market food products because they will have information to adapt or anticipate the new laws of developing countries as well as the new needs of health-conscious consumers when they buy food products.

Keywords: healthy labels, consumer behavior, nutritional information, healthy products

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