Search results for: social characteristics

Authors: Milind Anurag

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This study investigates cutting-edge truss design improvements, which are specifically adapted to satisfy the structural demands and difficulties associated with high-performance facades and roofs in modern architectural environments. With a growing emphasis on sustainability, energy efficiency, and eye-catching architectural aesthetics, the structural components that support these characteristics play an important part in attaining the right balance of form and function. The paper seeks to contribute to the evolution of truss design methods by combining data from these investigations, giving significant insights for architects, engineers, and researchers interested in the creation of high-performance building envelopes. The findings of this study are meant to inform future design standards and practices, promoting the development of structures that seamlessly integrate architectural innovation with structural robustness and environmental responsibility.

Keywords: truss design, high-performance, facades, finite element analysis, structural efficiency

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Authors: Cláudia Pereira, Lívia Boeschenstein

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This article aims to present an analysis of rock band t-shirts as an element that claims a certain identity in modern-contemporary culture. This work focuses on the study of t-shirts that display the name, related elements and the logo of punk band The Ramones, because of its strong presence in the collective mind along the last decades. As we shall see, it is possible to observe a phenomenon of symbolic transition from the original cultural place of that object. At first, it was a piece of cloth that had been part of a specific subculture and then it became just a generic item diluted by the mainstream. This symbolic transitional phenomenon is significant in many ways and will be discussed furthermore. For the analysis, we begin with a brief introduction to the history of the band, followed by the study about the vintage rock band T-shirts and their meanings. From there, we will turn to a historical contextualization of band T-shirts as a subcultural item and to its redefinition after the appropriation made by the mainstream. To guide this reasoning, it will be used theories about the styles, subcultures and youth culture and about material culture from an anthropological perspective. In addition, we shall see the theories and concepts of social representations in order to understand the ways of using the Ramones’s T-shirt as a representative element of a fashionable style. This T-shirt, after being resignified by the standardization and the massive consumption, no longer symbolizes the punk movement, its behavioral motivations and original policies. Also has little to do with the rage the working class suburbs of London or New York. It seems to be a mute and vague sign of a restricted rebellion, foreseen and framed establishing a stylistic contrast to the designer clothes and good behavior predicted by establishment. It's an item that composes a specific style available on the market, but at the same time is accepted by the mainstream and provides a subcultural association that has some prestige in society. Another perspective is that of resignification loop. As the same way that punk resignified the conventional goods for their own social standards, fashion resignifies what was said to be an object of a subculture and absorbs in their own mass culture standards. Therefore, outsiders to the punk phenomenon wearing Ramones’s T-shirts can be perceived negatively by subcultural members, but at the same time are well received by those who are partially unaware or completely out of subcultural context. For the general public, the stamp of the Ramones’s logo happens to be appreciated as a diffuse allusion to a punk style, since its original meaning has being entirely neutralized.

Keywords: social representations, subcultures, material culture, punk

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Authors: Andrew Enaifoghe

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The study examined the role of public management development in enhancing public service delivery in the South African local government. The study believes that the ultimate empowerment of the third tier sphere of governments in South Africa remains the instrument required to enhance both national and continental development. This over the year has been overwhelmed with problems and imbalance related to ethical practice, accountability and the functional local government system and the machinery itself. The study finds that imbalances are being strengthened by a lack of understanding and unanimity as to what a public management development in a democratic system is and how it should work to achieve the dividends of democracy in delivering public goods. Studies indicated that the magnitudes are widespread corruption and misrepresentations of government priorities; both of which weaken the ability of governments to enhance broad-based economic growth and social well-being of the people. This study addressed the problem of public management and accountable local government. The study indicates the need for citizens’ participation in the decision-making process in delivering public service in South Africa and how its accountability mechanism supports good governance. The study concludes that good and ethical watersheds in South Africa have since reached such proportions that social pressure, the pressure from the government and various institutions have to re-consider where they stand regarding ethics, ethical behaviour, accountability and professionalism in delivering public goods to the people at the local municipal government.

Keywords: accountability, development, democratic system, South Africa

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Authors: Tracey Estriplet-Adams

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This paper focuses on the influence of maternal-fetal bonding by examining attachment theory, psycho-social-cultural influences/adaptations, and maternal well-being. A systematic review methodology was used to synthesize research results to summarize current evidence that can contribute to evidence-based practices. It explores the relationship between attachment styles, prenatal attachment, and perceptions of maternal-infant bonding/attachment six weeks postpartum. It also examines the protective factors of maternal-fetal attachment development. The research explores Bowlby's attachment theory and its relevance to maternal-fetal bonding with a Black Feminist Theory lens. Additionally, it discusses the impact of perceived stress, social support, and ecological models on maternal-fetal attachment. The relationship between maternal well-being, maternal-fetal attachment, and early postpartum bonding is reviewed. Moreover, the paper specifically addresses black mothers and maternal-fetal bonding, exploring the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, class, geographic location, cultural identities, and immigration status. It considers the role of familial and partner support, as well as the relationship between maternal attachment style and maternal-fetal bonding, within the framework of attachment theory and black feminist theory. Therefore, it is imperative to center Black women's voices in research, policy, and healthcare practices. Black women are experts in their own experiences and advocate for their autonomy in decision-making regarding maternal-fetal health. By amplifying their voices, we can ensure that interventions are grounded in their lived experiences.

Keywords: maternal-fetal bonding, infant well-being, maternal-infant attachment, black mothers

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Authors: Grace Onubedo

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The primary objective of this research study is to contribute to and deepen the understanding of the realities and conditions for which children recruited by violent extremist organisations in Nigeria live, as well as ascertain the state of their mental health following their reunification with either family or protection workers. The research is intended to contribute to a more focused child protection programming agenda for children associated with armed forces and groups in Nigeria and the wider conflict setting. The extent to which violence has affected the psychological well-being and mental health of children abducted and exposed to activities of Violent Extremist groups remains a largely empirical question. This research attempts to answer the following research questions with the aim of providing further evidences for informed programming: I. What are the demographic characteristics of children associated with armed groups? II. What is the state of their mental health? III. What is the relationship between their background and their mental health?

Keywords: counterterrorism, psychosocial support, psychological distress, children, armed groups

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Authors: Gloria Toledo, Andrea Lizasoain, Leonardo Mena

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Immigration has largely increased in Chile in the last 20 years. About 6.6% of our population is foreign, from which 14.3% is Haitian. Haitians are between 15 and 29 years old and have come to Chile escaping from a social crisis. They believe that education and work will help them do better in life. Therefore, rates of Haitian students in the Chilean school system have also increased: there were 3,121 Haitian students enrolled in 2017. This is a challenge for the public school, which takes in young people who must face schooling, social immersion and learning of a second language simultaneously. The linguistic barrier affects both students’ and teachers’ adaptation process, which has an impact on the students’ academic performance and consequent acquisition of Spanish. In order to explore students’ academic performance and interlanguage development, we examined how L1 teachers assess Haitian high school students’ written production in Spanish. With this purpose, teachers were asked to use a specially designed grid to assess correction, accommodation, lexical and analytical complexity, organization and fluency of both Haitian and Chilean students. Parallelly, texts were approached from an error analysis perspective. Results from grids and error analysis were then compared. On the one hand, it has been found that teachers give very little feedback to students apart from scores and grades, which does not contribute to the development of the second language. On the other hand, error analysis has yielded that Haitian students are in a dynamic process of the acquisition of Spanish, which could be enhanced if L1 teacher were aware of the process of interlanguage developmen.

Keywords: assessment, error analysis, grid, immigration, Spanish aquisition, writing

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Authors: Sengul Celik, Alper Ketenci

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In Turkish Constitution about health care in Article 56, it is said that: everyone has the right to live in a healthy and balanced environment. It is the duty of the state and citizens to improve the environment, protect environmental health, and prevent environmental pollution. The state ensures that everyone lives their lives in physical and mental health; it organizes the planning and service of health institutions from a single source in order to realize cooperation by increasing savings and efficiency in human and substance power. The state fulfills this task by utilizing and supervising health and social institutions in the public and private sectors. General health insurance can be established by law for the widespread delivery of health services. To have health care is one of the basic rights of patients. After the coupe attempt in July 2016, the Government of Turkey has announced a state of emergency and issued lots of emergency decrees. By these emergency decrees, lots of people were dismissed from their jobs and lost their some basic social rights. The violations occur in social life. One of the most common observations is the discrimination by government in health care system. This study aims to put forward the violation of human rights in health care system in Turkey due to their discriminated position by an emergency decree. The study is a case study that is based on nine interviews with the people or relatives of people who lost their jobs by an emergency decree in Turkey. In this study, no personally identifiable information was obtained for the safety of individuals. Also no distinctive questions regarding the identity of individuals were asked. The interviews are obtained through internet call applications. The data were analyzed through the requirements of regular health care system in Turkey. The interviews expose that the people or the relatives of people lost their right to have regular health care. They have to pay extra amount both in clinical services and in medication treatment. The patient right to quality medical care without prejudice is violated. It was assessed that the people who are involved in emergency decree and their relatives are discriminated by government and deprived of regular medical care and supervision. Although international legal arrangements and legal responsibilities of the state have been put forward by Article 56, they are violated in practice. To prevent these kinds of violations, some measures should be taken against the deprivation in health care system especially towards the discriminated people by an emergency decree.

Keywords: emergency decree in Turkey, health care, discriminated people, patients rights

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Authors: Abdelghani Leghouchi

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This study aims to predict the consequences associated with the propagation of the flood wave that may occur after the failure of the Taksebt dam and suggest an efficient emergency action plan (EAP) for mitigation purposes. To achieve the objectives of this study, the hydrodynamic model HEC-RAS 2D was used for the flood routing of the dam break wave, which gave an estimate of the hydraulic characteristics downstream the Taksebt dam. Geospatial analysis of the simulation results conducted in a Geographic information system (GIS) environment showed that many residential areas are considered to be in danger in case of the Taksebt dam break event. Based on the obtained results, an emergency actions plan was suggested to moderate the causalities in the downstream area at risk. Overall, the present study showed that the integration of 2D hydraulic modeling and GIS provides great capabilities in providing realistic view of the dam break wave propagation that enhances assessing the associated risks and proposing appropriate mitigation measures.

Keywords: taksebt dam, dam break, wave propagation time, HEC-RAS 2D

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Authors: Shoji Matsumoto

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Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has been widely used in the automotive, aerospace, and high-tech industries due to its superior mechanical properties after welding. However, when it becomes a matter to perform a high-quality joint using FSW, it is necessary to secure an advanced tilt angle (usually 1 to 5 degrees) using a dedicated FSW machine and to use a joint structure and a restraining jig that can withstand the tool pressure applied during the jointing process using a highly rigid processing machine. One issue that has become a challenge in this process is ‘productivity and versatility’. To solve this problem, we have conducted research and development of multi-functioning machines and robotics with FSW tools, which combine cutting/milling and FSW functions as one in recent years. However, the narrow process window makes it prone to welding defects and lacks repeatability, which makes a limitation for FSW its use in the fields where precisions required. Another reason why FSW machines are not widely used in the world is because of the matter of very high cost of ownership.

Keywords: synchronized, stir, welding, friction, traveling speed, synchronized stir welding, friction stir welding

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Authors: Somar Boubou, Tatsuo Narikiyo, Michihiro Kawanishi

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In this work, we address the problem of 3D object recognition with depth sensors such as Kinect or Structure sensor. Compared with traditional approaches based on local descriptors, which depends on local information around the object key points, we propose a global features based descriptor. Proposed descriptor, which we name as Differential Histogram of Normal Vectors (DHONV), is designed particularly to capture the surface geometric characteristics of the 3D objects represented by depth images. We describe the 3D surface of an object in each frame using a 2D spatial histogram capturing the normalized distribution of differential angles of the surface normal vectors. The object recognition experiments on the benchmark RGB-D object dataset and a self-collected dataset show that our proposed descriptor outperforms two others descriptors based on spin-images and histogram of normal vectors with linear-SVM classifier.

Keywords: vision in control, robotics, histogram, differential histogram of normal vectors

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Authors: Inderpreet Kaur, Sukhjit Kaur, Balwinder Singh Sohi

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The design proposed in this paper mainly focuses on implementation of a single feed compact rectangular microstrip patch antenna (MSA) for single band application. The antenna presented here also works in dual band but its best performance has been obtained when optimised to work in single band mode. In this paper, a new feeding structure is applied in the patch antenna design to overcome undesirable features of the earlier multilayer feeding structures while maintaining their interesting features.To make the proposed antenna more efficient the optimization of the antenna design parameters have been done using HFSS’s optometric. For the proposed antenna one resonant frequency has been obtained at 6.03GHz, with Bandwidth of 167MHz and return loss of -33.82db. The characteristics of the designed structure are investigated by using FEM based electromagnetic solver.

Keywords: bandwidth, retun loss, parasitic lines, microstrip antenna

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Authors: Chih-Lin Chang, Tzu-Ching Weng

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The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between corporate political ties and independent directors' functions. With reference to the literature variables such as the characteristics of the relevant board of directors in the past, a single comprehensive function indicator is established as a substitute variable for the function of independent directors, and the impact of political connection on the independent board of directors is further discussed. This research takes Taiwan listed enterprises from 2014 to 2020 as the main research object and conducts empirical research through descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis. The empirical results show that companies with political connections will have a positive impact on the number of independent directors; political connections also have a significant positive relationship with the functional part of independent directors, which means that because companies have political connections, they have a positive impact on the seats or functions of independent directors. will pay more attention and increase their oversight functions.

Keywords: political, connection, independent, director, function

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Authors: Suhrita Saha

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Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy company Mattel Inc and it made debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York in 9 March 1959. From being a fashion doll to a symbol of fetishistic commodification, Barbie has come a long way. A Barbie doll is sold every three seconds across the world, which makes the billion dollar brand the world’s most popular doll for the girls. The 11.5 inch moulded plastic doll has a height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Her vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). Her weight is permanently set at 110 pounds which would be 35 pounds underweight. Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie wanted a doll that represented adulthood and allowed children to imagine themselves as teenagers or adults. While Barbie might have been intended to be independent, imaginative and innovative, the physical uniqueness does not confine the doll to the status of a play thing. It is a cultural icon but with far reaching critical implications. The doll is a commodity bearing more social value than practical use value. The way Barbie is produced represents industrialization and commodification of the process of symbolic production. And this symbolic production and consumption is a standardized planned one that produce stereotypical ‘pseudo-individuality’ and suppresses cultural alternatives. Children are being subject to and also arise as subjects in this consumer context. A very gendered, physiologically dissected sexually charged symbolism is imposed upon children (both male and female), childhood, their social worlds, identity, and relationship formation. Barbie is also very popular among Indian children. While the doll is essentially an imaginative representation of the West, it is internalized by the Indian sensibilities. Through observation and questionnaire-based interview within a sample population of adolescent children (primarily female, a few male) and parents (primarily mothers) in Kolkata, an Indian metropolis, the paper puts forth findings of sociological relevance. 1. Barbie creates, recreates, and accentuates already existing divides between the binaries like male- female, fat- thin, sexy- nonsexy, beauty- brain and more. 2. The Indian girl child in her associative process with Barbie wants to be like her and commodifies her own self. The male child also readily accepts this standardized commodification. Definition of beauty is thus based on prejudice and stereotype. 3. Not being able to become Barbie creates health issues both psychological and physiological varying from anorexia to obesity as well as personality disorder. 4. From being a plaything Barbie becomes the game maker. Barbie along with many other forms of simulation further creates a consumer culture and market for all kind of fitness related hyper enchantment and subsequent disillusionment. The construct becomes the reality and the real gets lost in the play world. The paper would thus argue that Barbie from being an innocuous doll transports itself into becoming social construct with long term and irreversible adverse impact.

Keywords: barbie, commodification, personality disorder, sterotype

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Authors: Oluwagbenga O. Isaac Orimoogunje, Omolola Helen Oshosanya

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The study examined land management in a typical watershed in southwestern Nigeria with a view to ascertaining its impact on land suitability analysis for rice cultivation and production. The study applied the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), weighted overlay analysis (WOA), multi-criteria decision-making techniques, and suitability map calculations within a Geographic Information System environment. Five main criteria were used, and these include climate, topography, soil fertility, macronutrients, and micronutrients. A consistency ratio (CR) of 0.067 was obtained for rice cultivation. The results showed that 95% of the land area is suitable for rice cultivation, with pH units ranging between 4.6 and 6.0, organic matter of 1.4–2.5 g kg-1 and base saturation of more than 80%. The study concluded that the Ofiki watershed is a potential site for large-scale rice cultivation in a sustainable capacity.

Keywords: land management, land characteristics, land suitability, rice production, watershed

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Authors: Patricia Martinez Lanz, Patricia Hernandez Valdez

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Over the last decade, crime has reached unprecedented levels and has caused much violent death in Mexico. To establish factors that potentially can facilitate crime, as well as the status of the emotional wellbeing presented in prison population, the present study was realized with a sample composed of 299 inmates of the Federal Center for Social Reinsertion in Oaxaca, Mexico. A questionnaire was specifically developed designed and applied to this population, evaluating sociodemographic factors and four Likert scales: substance consumption (drugs and alcohol), domestic violence and depressive symptoms. Reliability was adequate (Cronbach's Alpha= .703) and validity of the instrument showed appropriate relations between the reagents of each scale. Results showed through Chi Square analysis, statistically significant differences in the correlations between sociodemographic factors, domestic violence, addictions and depressive symptoms. Results reported that most of the inmates were between 28 and 47 years old (51.8%), had a low educational level (elementary school 42.5%), were in consensual union (42.5%), had high and severe levels of alcohol consumption (43.5% of the cases) and reported the presence of high and severe level of depression (28.9% of the cases). The results of this research are part of a national study of all Federal Centers for Social Reinsertion System in Mexico, in order to developed intervention strategies used in prison to prevent crime.

Keywords: delinquency, addictions, violence, depression, crime, criminal behavior

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Authors: Anésio de Leles Ferreira Filho, Wesley Rodrigues de Oliveira, Jéssica Santoro Gonçalves, Jorge Andrés Cormane Angarita

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The increase in electric power demand in face of environmental issues has intensified the participation of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics, in the energy matrix of various countries. Due to their operational characteristics, they can generate time-varying harmonic and inter-harmonic distortions. For this reason, the application of methods of measurement based on traditional Fourier analysis, as proposed by IEC 61000-4-7, can provide inaccurate results. Considering the aspects mentioned herein, came the idea of the development of this work which aims to present the results of a comparative evaluation between a methodology arising from the combination of the Prony method with the Kalman filter and another method based on the IEC 61000-4-30 and IEC 61000-4-7 standards. Employed in this study were synthetic signals and data acquired through measurements in a 50kWp photovoltaic installation.

Keywords: harmonics, inter-harmonics, iec61000-4-7, parametric estimators, photovoltaic generation

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Authors: Zeyad Suleiman Bataineh

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Introduction: civilian wars are associated with severe humanitarian effects that include loss of individuals and properties. Psychological dimensions are also included depression. Objectives: the main objectives of the present study were to investigate the depression level among Syrian patients who visited internal medicine clinics and other related variables. Methods and subjects: this study was conducted based on cross sectional study design. A total of 175 patients were involved. Patients were asked to fill a questionnaire to assess the level of depression that include demographic variables such as gender, age, educational level, and social status. Beck Aaron scale for depression was used. Participation in this study was voluntary, and all patients were informed about their rights to withdraw from the study without being negatively affected. Data were entered into excel spreading sheet for all participants. SPSS version 21 was used to analyze data. Data were described as means, the standard deviation for linear variables, frequencies, and percentages for categorical variables. The relationships between variables were evaluated using independent t test and One Way ANOVA test. Significance was considered at α≤0.05. Results: Depression was found in 152 (87%) of participants. The majority of participants with depression had moderate to severe depression. Depression was significantly associated gender, age, educational level, and social status (p<0.05). Conclusion: psychological rehabilitation is required for patients who experienced civilian wars.

Keywords: mental health, deprssion, health system, psychological dimension

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Authors: M. Fozan Ur Rab, Mahrukh, M. Alam, N. Sheikh

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The purpose of this study is to analyze various high lift low Reynolds number airfoils using two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code in the isolated flow field and select optimum airfoil to suit the motorsports application. The airfoil is selected after comparing the stall behavior, transition location, pressure recovery, pressure distribution and boundary layer characteristics of various airfoils. The prime consideration while selecting airfoil is highest Cl while achieving the sustainable performance over a range of Reynolds numbers encountered on the race track. The increase in Cl is always accompanied by the increase in Cd but this must be compromised since the main goal is to increase an aerodynamic grip. It is always desirable to increase the down-force in Formula One (F1)/Formula Student (FS) to gain reduction in lap time. This paper establishes the criteria for selection of high lift low Reynolds number airfoil while considering various parameters which affect the performance of airfoils.

Keywords: aerodynamics, airfoil, downforce, formula student, lap time

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Authors: Sashank Nyapati, Laura Lorente-Prieto, Maria Peiro

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The general objective of this study is to analyse the mediating role of meaningfulness in the relationships between job autonomy and job satisfaction and supportive organizational climate and job satisfaction. Theories such as the Job Characteristics Model, Conservation of Resources theory, as well as the Job Demands-Resources theory were used as theoretical framework. Data was obtained from the 5th European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), and sample was composed of 1005 and 1000 workers from Spain and Portugal respectively. The analysis was conducted using the SOBEL Macro for SPSS (A multiple regression mediation model) developed by Preacher and Hayes in 2003. Results indicated that Meaningfulness partially mediates both the Job Autonomy-Job Satisfaction as well as the Supportive Organizational Climate-Job Satisfaction relationships. However, the percentages are large enough to draw substantial conclusions, especially that Job Meaningfulness plays an essential – if indirect – role in the amount of Satisfaction that one experiences at work. Some theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: meaningfulness, job autonomy, supportive organizational climate, job satisfaction

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Authors: Kazuyasu Yoshino, Keita Yamaguchi, Toshihiko Nishimura, Masashi Kawasaki

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Shared Space, the planning and design concept that allows pedestrians and vehicles to coexist in a street space, has been advocated and developed according to the traffic conditions in each country in Europe. Especially in German/French-speaking countries, the "Meeting Zone," which is a traffic rule combining speed regulation (20km/h) and pedestrian priority, is often applied when designing shared spaces at intersections, squares, and streets in the city center. In this study, the process of establishment and development of the Meeting Zone in Switzerland, France, and Austria was chronologically organized based on the descriptions in the major discourse and guidelines in each country. Then, the characteristics of the spatial design were extracted by analyzing representative examples of Meeting Zone applications. Finally, the relationships between the different approaches to designing of Meeting Zone and traffic regulations in different countries were discussed.

Keywords: shared space, traffic calming, meeting zone, street design

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Authors: Karen V. Lee

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The significance of this study involves autoethnographic research about a music teacher learning about the socialization of gender issues in teaching. Mentorship involving intervention helps with the consequences influencing a transgendered music teacher. Basic storytelling methodology involves the qualitative method of research as a theoretical framework where the author provides a storied reflection about political issues surrounding teachers and the sociology of gender. Sub-themes involve counseling, adult education to ensure students and teachers receive social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and educational resources that evoke visceral, emotional responses from the audience. Major findings share how stories are helpful resources for others who struggle with the socialization of gender. It is hoped the research dramatizes an episodic yet incomplete story that highlights the circumstances surrounding the protagonist having his sex reassignment surgery during his undergraduate education degree. In conclusion, the research is a reflexive storied framework that embraces a positive outlook about a transgendered teacher during his masectomy. The sensory experience seeks verisimilitude by evoking lifelike and believable feelings from others. Thus, the scholarly importance of the sociology of gender and society provides transformative aspects that contributes to social change. Overall, the surgery surrounding the story about transgendered issues are not uncommon in society. Thus, continued education supports the moral mission to help teachers overcome and understand issues of gender that can socially impacts their professional lives as teachers.

Keywords: sociology of gender, transgender, music teachers, story, autoethnography as research, ideology

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Authors: Rabia Bashir, Sajjad Akbar

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There is an inevitable demand of web mining due to rapid increase of huge information on the Internet, but the striking variety of web structures has made required content retrieval a difficult task. To counter this issue, Web Content Mining (WCM) emerges as a potential candidate which extracts and integrates suitable resources of data to users. In past few years, research has been done on several extraction techniques for WCM i.e. agent-based, template-based, assumption-based, statistic-based, wrapper-based and machine learning. However, it is still unclear that either these approaches are efficiently tackling the significant challenges of WCM or not. To answer this question, this paper identifies these challenges such as language independency, structure flexibility, performance, automation, dynamicity, redundancy handling, intelligence, relevant content retrieval, and privacy. Further, mapping of these challenges is done with existing extraction mechanisms which helps to adopt the most suitable WCM approach, given some conditions and characteristics at hand.

Keywords: content mining challenges, web content mining, web content extraction approaches, web information retrieval

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Authors: Amandeep Singh, Surinder Singh

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A slotted Bow-Tie microstrip patch antenna utilizing input of coplanar waveguide for high frequency wireless applications is proposed and analyzed in this work. RT/Duroid 5880 with its dielectric constant 2.2 is opted for the experimentation to analyze the proposed microstrip slot antenna. This antenna is exclusively designed for the frequency range of 10 GHz to 11 GHz and modelling parameters are obtained from the already existing data and dimensions of antenna are adjusted by employing some corrugated slots in the Bowtie shape to obtain the required bandwidth so that it can radiate within the specified range. The characteristics of proposed antenna are measured by a FEM electromagnetic field solver and it is found that the reflection coefficient, voltage standing wave ratio, radiated gain, feed point impedance, radiation efficiency are in a good agreement. This antenna is also exhibiting an absolute bandwidth of 1000 MHz. The validated results indicate that the proposed bowtie microstrip slot antenna comes under the wideband category and utilized in the wireless application ranges between the 10 GHz – 11 GHz.

Keywords: CPW, bowtie, FEM, corrugated

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Authors: Shradha Parsekar, Suma Nair, Ajay Bailey, Binu V. S.

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Background: Concealing of cancer-related information is seen in many low-and-middle-income countries and may be associated with multiple factors. Comparatively, there is lack of information about, how breast cancers diagnosed women disclose cancer-related information to their social contacts and vice versa. To get more insights on the participant’s experience, opinions, expectations, and attitudes, a qualitative study is a suitable approach. Therefore, this study involving in-depth interviews was planned to lessen this gap. Methods: Interviews were conducted separately among breast cancer patients and their caregivers with semi-structured qualitative interview guide. Purposive and convenient sampling was being used to recruit patients and caregivers, respectively. Ethical clearance and permission from the tertiary hospital were obtained and participants were selected from the Udupi district, Karnataka, India. After obtaining a list of breast cancer diagnosed cases, participants were contacted in person and their willingness to take part in the study was taken. About 39 caregivers and 35 patients belonging to different breast cancer stages were recruited. Interviews were recorded with prior permission. Data was managed by Atlas.ti 8 software. The recordings were transcribed, translated and coded in two cycles. Most of the patients belonged to stage II and III cancer. Codes were grouped together into to whom breast cancer status was concealed to and underneath reason for the same. Main findings: followings are the codes and code families which emerged from the data. 1) Concealing the breast cancer status from social contacts other than close family members (such as extended family, neighbor and friends). Participants perceived the reasons as, a) to avoid questions which people probe (which doesn’t have answers), b) to avoid people paying courtesy visit (to inquire about the health as it is Indian culture to visit the sick person) making it inconvenient for patient and caregivers have to offer something and talk to them, c) to avoid people getting shocked (react as if cancer is different from other diseases) or getting emotional/sad, or getting fear of death d) to avoid getting negative suggestion or talking anything in front of patient as it may affect patient negatively, e) to avoid getting stigmatized, f) to avoid getting obstacle in child’s marriage. 2) Participant concealed the breast cancer status of young children as they perceived that it may a) affect studies, b) affect emotionally, c) children may get scared. 3) Concealing the breast cancer status from patients as the caregivers perceived that they have fear of a) worsening patient’s health, b) patient getting tensed, c) patient getting shocked, and d) patient getting scared. However, some participants stressed important in disclosing the cancer status to social contact/patient to make the people aware of the disease. Conclusion: The news of breast cancer spreads like electricity in the wire, therefore, patient or family avoid it for many reasons. Although, globally, due to physicians’ ethical obligations, there is an inclination towards more disclosure of cancer diagnosis and status of prognosis to the patient. However, it is an ongoing argument whether patient/social contacts should know the status especially in a country like India.

Keywords: breast cancer, concealing cancer status, India, qualitative study

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Authors: Linda Márcia Mendes Delazeri, Dênis Antônio Da Cunha

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Over the past few years, the evidence that human activities have altered the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have become stronger, indicating that this accumulation is the most likely cause of climate change observed so far. The risks associated with climate change, although uncertain, have the potential to increase social vulnerability, exacerbating existing socioeconomic challenges. Developing countries are potentially the most affected by climate change, since they have less potential to adapt and are those most dependent on agricultural activities, one of the sectors in which the major negative impacts are expected. In Brazil, specifically, it is expected that the localities which form the semiarid region are among the most affected, due to existing irregularity in rainfall and high temperatures, in addition to economic and social factors endemic to the region. Given the strategic limitations to handle the environmental shocks caused by climate change, an alternative adopted in response to these shocks is migration. Understanding the specific features of migration flows, such as duration, destination and composition is essential to understand the impacts of migration on origin and destination locations and to develop appropriate policies. Thus, this study aims to examine whether climatic factors have contributed to rural-urban migration in semiarid municipalities in the recent past and how these migration flows will be affected by future scenarios of climate change. The study was based on microeconomic theory of utility maximization, in which, to decide to leave the countryside and move on to the urban area, the individual seeks to maximize its utility. Analytically, we estimated an econometric model using the modeling of Fixed Effects and the results confirmed the expectation that climate drivers are crucial for the occurrence of the rural-urban migration. Also, other drivers of the migration process, as economic, social and demographic factors were also important. Additionally, predictions about the rural-urban migration motivated by variations in temperature and precipitation in the climate change scenarios RCP 4.5 and 8.5 were made for the periods 2016-2035 and 2046-2065, defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The results indicate that there will be increased rural-urban migration in the semiarid region in both scenarios and in both periods. In general, the results of this study reinforce the need for formulations of public policies to avoid migration for climatic reasons, such as policies that give support to the productive activities generating income in rural areas. By providing greater incentives for family agriculture and expanding sources of credit for the farmer, it will have a better position to face climate adversities and to settle in rural areas. Ultimately, if migration becomes necessary, there must be the adoption of policies that seek an organized and planned development of urban areas, considering migration as an adaptation strategy to adverse climate effects. Thus, policies that act to absorb migrants in urban areas and ensure that they have access to basic services offered to the urban population would contribute to the social costs reduction of climate variability.

Keywords: climate change, migration, rural productivity, semiarid region

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Authors: Zainab Algharibi, Julie McAdam, Catherine Fagan

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The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how Omani children in the first grade experience their needs during their transition to primary school. Theoretically, the paper was built on two perspectives: Dewey's concept of continuity of experience and the boundary objects introduced by Vygotsky (CHAT). The methodology of the study is based on the crucial role of children’s agency which is a very important activity as an educational tool to enhance the child’s participation in the learning process and develop their ability to face various issues in their life. Thus, the data were obtained from 45 children in grade one from 4 different primary schools using drawing and visual narrative activities, in addition to researcher observations during the start of the first weeks of the academic year for the first grade. As the study dealt with children, all of the necessary ethical laws were followed. This paper is considered original since it seeks to deal with the issue of children's transition from kindergarten to primary school in Oman, if not in the Arab region. Therefore, it is expected to fill an important gap in this field and present a proposal that will be a door for researchers to enter this research field later. The analysis of drawing and visual narrative was performed according to the social semiotics approach in two phases. The first is to read out the surface message “denotation,” while the second is to go in-depth via the symbolism obtained from children while they talked and drew letters and signs. This stage is known as “signified”; a video was recorded of each child talking about their drawing and expressing themself. Then, the data were organised and classified according to a cross-data network. Regarding the researcher observation analyses, the collected data were analysed according to the model was developed for the "grounded theory". It is based on comparing the recent data collected from observations with data previously encoded by other methods in which children were drawing alongside the visual narrative in the current study, in order to identify the similarities and differences, and also to clarify the meaning of the accessed categories and to identify sub-categories of them with a description of possible links between them. This is a kind of triangulation in data collection. The study came up with a set of findings, the most vital being that the children's greatest interest goes to their social and psychological needs, such as friends, their teacher, and playing. Also, their biggest fears are a new place, a new teacher, and not having friends, while they showed less concern for their need for educational knowledge and skills.

Keywords: children’s academic needs, children’s social needs, transition, primary school

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Authors: Mustapha Benssalah, Mustapha Djeddou, Karim Drouiche

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The random number generation (RNG) presents a significant importance for the security and the privacy of numerous applications, such as RFID technology and smart cards. Since, the quality of the generated bit sequences is paramount that a weak internal generator for example, can directly cause the entire application to be insecure, and thus it makes no sense to employ strong algorithms for the application. In this paper, we propose a new pseudo random number generator (PRNG), suitable for cryptosystems ECC-based, constructed by randomly selecting points from several elliptic curves randomly selected. The main contribution of this work is the increasing of the generator internal states by extending the set of its output realizations to several curves auto-selected. The quality and the statistical characteristics of the proposed PRNG are validated using the Chi-square goodness of fit test and the empirical Special Publication 800-22 statistical test suite issued by NIST.

Keywords: PRNG, security, cryptosystem, ECC

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Authors: Anastasia V. Kovaleva, Alena A. Ryabova, Vladimir N. Kasatkin

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Background: The most simple form of entrainment to a sensory (typically auditory) rhythmic stimulus involves perceiving and synchronizing movements with an isochronous beat with one level of periodicity, such as that produced by a metronome. Children with pediatric cancer usually treated with chemo- and radiotherapy. Because of such treatment, psychologists and health professionals declare cognitive and motor abilities decline in cancer patients. The purpose of our study was to measure working memory characteristics with association with audio-motor synchronization tasks, also involved some memory resources, in children with different degrees of central nervous system lesions: posterior fossa tumors, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and healthy controls. Methods: Our sample consisted of three groups of children: children treated for posterior fossa tumors (PFT-group, n=42, mean age 12.23), children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL-group, n=11, mean age 11.57) and neurologically healthy children (control group, n=36, mean age 11.67). Participants were tested for working memory characteristics with Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Pattern recognition memory (PRM) and spatial working memory (SWM) tests were applied. Outcome measures of PRM test include the number and percentage of correct trials and latency (speed of participant’s response), and measures of SWM include errors, strategy, and latency. In the synchronization tests, the instruction was to tap out a regular beat (40, 60, 90 and 120 beats per minute) in synchrony with the rhythmic sequences that were played. This meant that for the sequences with an isochronous beat, participants were required to tap into every auditory event. Variations of inter-tap-intervals and deviations of children’s taps from the metronome were assessed. Results: Analysis of variance revealed the significant effect of group (ALL, PFT and control) on such parameters as short-term PRM, SWM strategy and errors. Healthy controls demonstrated more correctly retained elements, better working memory strategy, compared to cancer patients. Interestingly that ALL patients chose the bad strategy, but committed significantly less errors in SWM test then PFT and controls did. As to rhythmic ability, significant associations of working memory were found out only with 40 bpm rhythm: the less variable were inter-tap-intervals of the child, the more elements in memory he/she could retain. The ability to audio-motor synchronization may be related to working memory processes mediated by the prefrontal cortex whereby each sensory event is actively retrieved and monitored during rhythmic sequencing. Conclusion: Our results suggest that working memory, tested with appropriate cognitive methods, is associated with the ability to synchronize movements with rhythmic sounds, especially in sub-second intervals (40 per minute).

Keywords: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), audio-motor synchronization, posterior fossa tumor, working memory

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Authors: Anantdeep Kaur, Sharanjeet Singh

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Early childhood education and assessment of children is a very essential tool that helps them in their growth and development. Techniques should be developed, and tools should be created in this field as it is a very important learning phase of life. Some information and sources are included for student assessment to provide a record of growth in all developmental areas cognitive, physical, Language, social-emotional, and approaches to learning. As an early childhood educator, it is very important to identify children who need special support and counseling to improve them because they are not mentally mature to discuss with the teacher their problems and needs. It is the duty and responsibility of the educator to assess children from their body language, behavior, and their routine actions about their skills that can be improved and which can take them forward in their future life. And also, children should be assessed with their weaker points because this is the right time to correct them, and they be improved with certain methods and tools by working on them constantly. Observing children regularly with all their facets of development, including intellectual, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical development. Every day, a physical education class should be regulated to check their physical growth activities, which can help to assess their physical activeness and motor abilities. When they are outside on the playgrounds, it is very important to instill environmental understanding among them so that they should know that they are very part of this nature, and it will help them to be one with the universe rather than feeling themselves individually. This technique assists them in living their childhood full of energy all the time. All types of assessments have unique purposes. It is important first to determine what should be measured, then find the program that best assesses those.

Keywords: special needs, motor ability, environmental understanding, physical development

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Authors: Ji-Seok Hong, Hee-Jang Moon, Hong-Gye Sung

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The details of flow structures and the coupling mechanism between vortex shedding and acoustic excitation in a solid rocket motor with two inhibitors have been investigated using 3D Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) analysis. The oscillation frequencies and vortex shedding periods from two inhibitors compare reasonably well with the experimental data and numerical result. A total of four different locations of the rear inhibitor has been numerically tested to characterize the coupling relation of vortex shedding frequency and acoustic mode. The major source of triggering pressure oscillation in the combustor is the resonance with the acoustic longitudinal half mode. It was observed that the counter-rotating vortices in the nozzle flow produce roll torque.

Keywords: large eddy simulation, proper orthogonal decomposition, SRM instability, flow-acoustic coupling

Procedia PDF Downloads 549