Search results for: information security management system

Authors: Cesar Augusto Hoil Rosas, José Luis Vázquez Burgos, José Juan Carbajal Hernandez

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White fish (Chirostoma estor estor) is an endemic species that habits in the Patzcuaro Lake, located in Michoacan, Mexico; being an important source of gastronomic and cultural wealth of the area. Actually, it have undergone an immense depopulation of individuals, due to the high fishing, contamination and eutrophication of the lake water, resulting in the possible extinction of this important species. This work proposes a new computational model for monitoring and assessment of critical environmental parameters of the white fish ecosystem. According to an Analytical Hierarchy Process, a mathematical model is built assigning weights to each environmental parameter depending on their water quality importance on the ecosystem. Then, a development of an advanced system for the monitoring, analysis and control of water quality is built using the virtual environment of LabVIEW. As results, we have obtained a global score that indicates the condition level of the water quality in the Chirostoma estor ecosystem (excellent, good, regular and poor), allowing to provide an effective decision making about the environmental parameters that affect the proper culture of the white fish such as temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen. In situ evaluations show regular conditions for a success reproduction and growth rates of this species where the water quality tends to have regular levels. This system emerges as a suitable tool for the water management, where future laws for white fish fishery regulations will result in the reduction of the mortality rate in the early stages of development of the species, which represent the most critical phase. This can guarantees better population sizes than those currently obtained in the aquiculture crop. The main benefit will be seen as a contribution to maintain the cultural and gastronomic wealth of the area and for its inhabitants, since white fish is an important food and economical income of the region, but the species is endangered.

Keywords: Chirostoma estor estor, computational system, lab view, white fish

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Authors: Niracha Chompurach, Dararat Khampusaen

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EFL students have to be able to synthesize the texts they are reading critically to compose and connect the information. This study focuses on the effects of the application of Infographics as a supplementary tool to improve Thai EFL students’ Academic reading skills. Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data, and knowledge offering students to work on gathering multiple types of information, such as pictures, texts, graphs, mapping, and charts. The study aims to investigate if the Infographics as a supplementary tool in academic reading lessons can make a difference in students’ reading skills, and the students’ opinions toward the application of infographics as a reading tool. The participants of this study were 3rd year Thai EFL Khon Kaen University students who took English Academic Reading course. This study employed Infographics assignments, Infographics rubric, and Gucus group interview. This study would advantage for both EFL teachers and students as a means to engage the students to handle the larger load of and represents the complex information in visible and comprehensible way.

Keywords: EFL, e-learning, infographics, language education

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Authors: Yen-Mei Lee

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The concept of a knowledge-behavior gap has been discussed for several years. It is addressed that an individual’s knowledge does not sufficiently transfer to his or her actual actions. This concept is mostly focused on fields related to medicine or applied to health care issues to explain how people or patients connect their personal knowledge to actual health care behaviors. To our knowledge, seldomly has this research been applied to discuss people’s online information seeking behavior. In the current study, the main purpose is to investigate the relationship between web users’ personal values and their actual performances when seeking information on the Internet. The total number of twenty-eight participants, divided into one experienced group (n=14) and one novice group (n=14), were recruited and asked to complete a self-report questionnaire of fifty items related to information seeking actions and behaviors. During the execution, participants needed to rate the importance level (how important each item is) and the performance level (how often they actually do each item) from 1 to 10 points on each item. In this paper, the mean scores of the importance and the performance level are analyzed and discussed. The results show that there is a gap between web user’s knowledge and their actual online seeking behaviors. Both experienced group and novice group have higher average scores of the importance level (experienced group = 7.57, novice group = 6.01) than the actual performance level (experienced group = 6.89, novice group = 5.00) in terms of the fifty online information seeking actions. On the other hand, the experienced group perceives more importance of the fifty online seeking actions and performs actual behaviors better than the novice group. Moreover, experienced participants express a consistent result between their concept knowledge and actual behaviors. For instance, they feel extending a seeking strategy is important and frequently perform this action when seeking online. However, novice participants do not have a consistency between their knowledge and behaviors. For example, though they perceive browsing and judging information are less important than they get lost in the online information seeking process. However, in the actual behavior rating, the scores show that novices do browsing and judge information more often than they get lost when seeking information online. These results, therefore, help scholars and educators have a better understanding of the difference between experienced and novice web users regarding their concept knowledge and actual behaviors. In future study, figuring out how to narrow down the knowledge-behavior gap and create practical guidance for novice users to increase their online seeking efficiency is crucial. Not only could it help experienced users be aware of their actual information seeking behaviors, but also help the novice become mastery to concisely obtain information on the Internet.

Keywords: experienced web user, information seeking behavior, knowledge-behavior gap, novice, online seeking efficiency

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Authors: Eman Mohamed Ali Elalwani

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The Libyan heritage buildings are currently facing a number of crises that pose a threat to their structural integrity, functionality, and overall performance. One of the challenges pertains to the loss of community identity, which has arisen due to the lack of awareness and unconscious behavior of the residents. An additional issue arises from inadequate site management practices, including the implementation of modern techniques and innovative building materials that are incompatible with structural elements, resulting in the deformation of certain sections of the buildings. The security concerns of the city, along with the ongoing civil conflict, fostered a conducive environment for violations, resulting in the vandalism of certain monuments in the city. However, the degradation of this valuable heritage is mainly attributed to the city's neglect and pollution. The elevated groundwater level resulting from pollution has led to erosion in the building's foundations. Mitigating these negative consequences through strategic interventions and rehabilitation is required to preserve this treasure. In order to assist the local community in recovering from those crises, this paper stated a viable strategy for promoting preservation efforts that aimed at safeguarding the heritage sites while also providing guidance to decision-makers and the local community on how to avoid these crises, preserve, enhance, and recognize the significance of the Libyan heritage.

Keywords: cultural heritage, historical buildings, Tripoli’s old city, Red Castle, crises, preservation

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Authors: Sergey Kholodkevich, Tatiana Kuznetsova

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The objective assessment of ecological state of water ecosystems is impossible without the use of biological methods of the environmental monitoring capable in the integrated look to reveal negative for biota changes of quality of water as habitats. Considerable interest for the development of such methods of environmental quality control represents biomarker approach. Measuring systems, by means of which register cardiac activity characteristics, received the name of bioelectronic. Bioelectronic systems are information and measuring systems in which animals (namely, benthic invertebrates) are directly included in structure of primary converters, being an integral part of electronic system of registration of these or those physiological or behavioural biomarkers. As physiological biomarkers various characteristics of cardiac activity of selected invertebrates have been used in bioelectronic system.lChanges in cardiac activity are considered as integrative measures of the physiological condition of organisms, which reflect the state of the environment of their dwelling. Greatest successes in the development of tools of biological methods and technologies of an assessment of surface water quality in real time. Essential advantage of bioindication of water quality by such tool is a possibility of an integrated assessment of biological effects of pollution on biota and also the expressness of such method and used approaches. In the report the practical experience of authors in biomonitoring and bioindication of an ecological condition of sea, brackish- and freshwater areas is discussed. Authors note that the method of non-invasive cardiac activity monitoring of selected invertebrates can be used not only for the advancement of biomonitoring, but also is useful in decision of general problems of comparative physiology of the invertebrates.

Keywords: benthic invertebrates, physiological state, heart rate monitoring, water quality assessment

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Authors: Rituraj Deka, Nomi Baruah

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The development of information technology during the past few years resulted in designing of more and more complex software. The outsourcing of software development makes a higher requirement for the management of software development project. Various software enterprises follow various paths in their pursuit of excellence, applying various principles, methods and techniques along the way. The new research is proving that CMMI and Agile methodologies can benefit from using both methods within organizations with the potential to dramatically improve business performance. The paper describes a mapping between CMMI key process areas (KPAs) and Feature-Driven Development (FDD) communication perspective, so as to increase the understanding of how improvements can be made in the software development process.

Keywords: Agile, CMMI, FDD, KPAs

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Authors: Bintou Jobe

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The construction sector, both in the United Kingdom (UK) and developing Anglophone West African countries, specifically The Gambia, is facing significant health and safety challenges. While the UK has established legislation and regulations to support Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the industry, the same level of support is lacking in developing countries. The significance of this review is to assess the extent and effectiveness of OHS legislation and regulatory reform in the construction industry, with a focus on understanding the challenges faced by both the UK and developing Anglophone West African countries. It aims to highlight the benefits of implementing an OHS management system, specifically ISO 45001. This study uses a literature review approach, synthesizing publications from the past decade and identifying common themes and best practices related to Occupational Health and Safety in the construction industry. Findings were analysed, compared, and conclusions and recommendations were drawn after developing research questions and addressing them. This comprehensive review of the literature allows for a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by the industry in both contexts. The findings of the study indicate that while the UK has established robust health and safety legislation, many UK construction companies have not fully met the standards outlined in ISO 45001. These challenges faced by the UK include poor data management, inadequate communication of best practices, insufficient training, and a lack of safety culture mirroring those observed in the developing Anglophone countries. Therefore, compliance with OHS management systems has been shown to yield benefits, including injury prevention and centralized health and safety documentation. In conclusion, the effectiveness of OHS legislation for developing Anglophone West African countries should consider the positive impact experienced by the UK. The implementation of ISO 45001 can serve as a benchmark standard and potentially inform recommendations for developing countries. The selection criteria for literature include search keywords and phrases, such as occupational health and safety challenges, The Gambia, developing countries management systems, ISO 45001, and impact and effectiveness of OHS legislation. The literature was sourced from Google Scholar, the UK Health and Safety Executive websites, and Google Advanced Search.

Keywords: ISO 45001, developing countries, occupational health and safety, UK

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Authors: Sarath Chandran Nair S, Srinivas Kodati, Vasudevan R, Asraff A. K

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Spacecrafts generally employ liquid propulsion for their attitude and orbital maneuvers or raising it from geo-transfer orbit to geosynchronous orbit. Liquid propulsion systems use either mono-propellant or bi-propellants for generating thrust. These propellants are generally stored in either spherical tanks or cylindrical tanks with spherical end domes. The propellant tanks are provided with a propellant acquisition system/propellant management device along with vanes and their conical mounting structure to ensure propellant availability in the outlet for thrust generation even under a low/zero-gravity environment. Slosh is the free surface oscillations in partially filled containers under external disturbances. In a spacecraft, these can be due to control forces and due to varying acceleration. Knowledge of slosh and its effect due to internals is essential for understanding its stability through control stability studies. It is mathematically represented by a pendulum-mass model. It requires parameters such as slosh frequency, damping, sloshes mass and its location, etc. This paper enumerates various numerical and experimental methods used for evaluating the slosh parameters required for representing slosh. Numerical methods like finite element methods based on linear velocity potential theory and computational fluid dynamics based on Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations are used for the detailed evaluation of slosh behavior in one of the spacecraft propellant tanks used in an Indian space mission. Experimental studies carried out on a scaled-down model are also discussed. Slosh parameters evaluated by different methods matched very well and finalized their dispersion bands based on experimental studies. It is observed that the presence of internals such as propellant management devices, including conical support structure, alters slosh parameters. These internals also offers one order higher damping compared to viscous/ smooth wall damping. It is an advantage factor for the stability of slosh. These slosh parameters are given for establishing slosh margins through control stability studies and finalize the spacecraft control system design.

Keywords: control stability, propellant tanks, slosh, spacecraft, slosh spacecraft

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Authors: Shugufta Mohammad Zubair

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This study explores the Effect of the new food System Inspection system also called the new inspection color card scheme on reduction of critical & major food safety violations in Dubai. Data was collected from all retail food service establishments located in two zones in the city. Each establishment was visited twice, once before the launch of the new system and one after the launch of the system. In each visit, the Inspection checklist was used as the evaluation tool for observation of the critical and major violations. The old format of the inspection checklist was concerned with scores based on the violations; but the new format of the checklist for the new inspection color card scheme is divided into administrative, general major and critical which gives a better classification for the inspectors to identify the critical and major violations of concerned. The study found that there has been a better and clear marking of violations after the launch of new inspection system wherein the inspectors are able to mark and categories the violations effectively. There had been a 10% decrease in the number of food establishment that was previously given A grade. The B & C grading were also considerably dropped by 5%.

Keywords: food inspection, risk assessment, color card scheme, violations

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Authors: Xie Kefeng, Zhang He

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For the stability and control demand of offshore small floating platform, a 2-HUS/U parallel mechanism was presented as offshore platform. Inverse kinematics was obtained by institutional constraint equation, and the dynamic model of offshore 2-HUS/U parallel platform was derived based on rigid body’s Lagrangian method. The equivalent moment of inertia, damping and driving force/torque variation of offshore 2-HUS/U parallel platform were analyzed. A numerical example shows that, for parallel platform of given motion, system’s equivalent inertia changes 1.25 times maximally. During the movement of platform, they change dramatically with the system configuration and have coupling characteristics. The maximum equivalent drive torque is 800 N. At the same time, the curve of platform’s driving force/torque is smooth and has good sine features. The control system needs to be adjusted according to kinetic equation during stability and control and it provides a basis for the optimization of control system.

Keywords: 2-HUS/U platform, dynamics, Lagrange, parallel platform

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Authors: Soumiya Bhattacharjee, P. K. Champati Ray, Shovan L. Chattoraj, Mrinmoy Dhara

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The entire Himalayan range is globally renowned for rainfall-induced landslides. The prime focus of the study is to determine rainfall based threshold for initiation of landslides that can be used as an important component of an early warning system for alerting stake holders. This research deals with temporal dimension of slope failures due to extreme rainfall events along the National Highway-58 from Karanprayag to Badrinath in the Garhwal Himalaya, India. Post processed 3-hourly rainfall intensity data and its corresponding duration from daily rainfall data available from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) were used as the prime source of rainfall data. Landslide event records from Border Road Organization (BRO) and some ancillary landslide inventory data for 2013 and 2014 have been used to determine Intensity Duration (ID) based rainfall threshold. The derived governing threshold equation, I= 4.738D^-0.025, has been considered for prediction of landslides of the study region. This equation was validated with an accuracy of 70% landslides during August and September 2014. The derived equation was considered for further prediction of landslides of the study region. From the obtained results and validation, it can be inferred that this equation can be used for initiation of landslides in the study area to work as a part of an early warning system. Results can significantly improve with ground based rainfall estimates and better database on landslide records. Thus, the study has demonstrated a very low cost method to get first-hand information on possibility of impending landslide in any region, thereby providing alert and better preparedness for landslide disaster mitigation.

Keywords: landslide, intensity-duration, rainfall threshold, TRMM, slope, inventory, early warning system

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Authors: Zuhal Mohammed, Khalid Siddig, Harald Grethe

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Vocational training (VT) has been identified as a potential engine for achieving economic and social development, particularly in developing countries, while during the last two decades it is deemed as an essential determinant of human capital accumulation. Furthermore, it has a crucial role in reducing inequality, wage gaps and unemployment and in promoting skill decomposition. Government plays an important role in the human capital formulation by providing finance for education. In some countries, a large portion of the public educational investment is devoted to academic education (primary, secondary and tertiary). This is reflected in disproportionately increasing investment in various education sectors other than vocational education and VT. Nevertheless, the finance of VT system is not likely to increase or even remain at its existing level. This paper conducts an in-depth analysis to quantify the impacts of various options for expanding the public expenditure on education as well as vocational training in the Sudan. The study uses a recursive dynamic CGE modelling framework that accommodates VT and allows depicting the impact of various policies targeting the vocational training system with special focus on the agricultural sector. This allows for depicting the potential effects of various resource allocation policies not only among education versus non-education sectors, but also between the various types of education and training. Moreover, the study assesses the role of VT system in the economy through its influence on workers’ skill improvement and their movement across sectors. The results show that an increase in the public educational investment will lead to decrease the supply of low and high educated workers as results of increasing the school participation of the students in the short run. While in the medium to long run, this measure guides to increase the productivity of the labour and thus the growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore, the findings of the study provide Sudanese policymakers with needed information to help to adopt measures to reduce unemployment, enhance workers’ skill and ultimately improve livelihoods.

Keywords: vocational training, recursive dynamic CGE, skill level, labour market, economic growth, Sudan

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Authors: Sejin Jung, Dongho Kang, Byungsik Kim

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Assessing the impact of climate change requires the use of a multi-model ensemble (MME) to quantify uncertainties between scenarios and produce downscaled outlines for simulation of climate under the influence of different factors, including topography. This study decreases climate change scenarios from the 13 global climate models (GCMs) to assess the impacts of future climate change. Unlike South Korea, North Korea lacks in studies using climate change scenarios of the CoupledModelIntercomparisonProject (CMIP5), and only recently did the country start the projection of extreme precipitation episodes. One of the main purposes of this study is to predict changes in the average climatic conditions of North Korea in the future. The result of comparing downscaled climate change scenarios with observation data for a reference period indicates high applicability of the Multi-Model Ensemble (MME). Furthermore, the study classifies climatic zones by applying the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system to the MME, which is validated for future precipitation and temperature. The result suggests that the continental climate (D) that covers the inland area for the reference climate is expected to shift into the temperate climate (C). The coefficient of variation (CVs) in the temperature ensemble is particularly low for the southern coast of the Korean peninsula, and accordingly, a high possibility of the shifting climatic zone of the coast is predicted. This research was supported by a grant (MOIS-DP-2015-05) of Disaster Prediction and Mitigation Technology Development Program funded by Ministry of Interior and Safety (MOIS, Korea).

Keywords: MME, North Korea, Koppen–Geiger, climatic zones, coefficient of variation, CV

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Authors: Mina Salamatmanesh, Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Tim Ramsay, Josee Lagacé, Lindsey Sikora, JoAnne Whittingham

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Introduction: Hearing loss (HL) is one of the most common disorders that presents at birth and in early childhood. Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) has been adopted based on the assumption that with early identification of HL, children will have access to optimal amplification and intervention at younger ages, therefore, taking advantage of the brain’s maximal plasticity. One particular challenge for parents in the early years is achieving consistent hearing aid (HA) use which is critical to the child’s development and constitutes the first step in the rehabilitation process. This study examined the consistency of hearing aid use in young children based on data logging information documented during audiology sessions in the first three years after hearing aid fitting. Methodology: The first 100 children who were diagnosed with bilateral HL before 72 months of age since 2003 to 2015 in a pediatric audiology clinic and who had at least two hearing aid follow-up sessions with available data logging information were included in the study. Data from each audiology session (age of child at the session, average hours of use per day (for each ear) in the first three years after HA fitting) were collected. Clinical characteristics (degree of hearing loss, age of HA fitting) were also documented to further understanding of factors that impact HA use. Results: Preliminary analysis of the results of the first 20 children shows that all of them (100%) have at least one data logging session recorded in the clinical audiology system (Noah). Of the 20 children, 17(85%) have three data logging events recorded in the first three years after HA fitting. Based on the statistical analysis of the first 20 cases, the median hours of use in the first follow-up session after the hearing aid fitting in the right ear is 3.9 hours with an interquartile range (IQR) of 10.2h. For the left ear the median is 4.4 and the IQR is 9.7h. In the first session 47% of the children use their hearing aids ≤5 hours, 12% use them between 5 to 10 hours and 22% use them ≥10 hours a day. However, these children showed increased use by the third follow-up session with a median (IQR) of 9.1 hours for the right ear and 2.5, and of 8.2 hours for left ear (IQR) IQR is 5.6 By the third follow-up session, 14% of children used hearing aids ≤5 hours, while 38% of children used them ≥10 hours. Based on the primary results, factors like age and level of HL significantly impact the hours of use. Conclusion: The use of data logging information to assess the actual hours of HA provides an opportunity to examine the: a) challenges of families of young children with HAs, b) factors that impact use in very young children. Data logging when used collaboratively with parents, can be a powerful tool to identify problems and to encourage and assist families in maximizing their child’s hearing potential.

Keywords: hearing loss, hearing aid, data logging, hours of use

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Authors: Dawei Cai

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In this paper, we present a new wearable device that provide an automatic guidance servie for visitors. By combining the position information from NFC and the orientation information from a 6 axis acceleration and terrestrial magnetism sensor, the head's direction can be calculated. We developed an algorithm to calculate the device orientation based on the data from acceleration and terrestrial magnetism sensor. If visitors want to know some explanation about an exhibit in front of him, what he has to do is just lift up his mobile device. The identification program will automatically identify the status based on the information from NFC and MEMS, and start playing explanation content for him. This service may be convenient for old people or disables or children.

Keywords: wearable device, ubiquitous computing, guide sysem, MEMS sensor, NFC

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Authors: Eurico Lima Basto, Ofélia Pinto, Anabela Silva, Amélia Ferreira-Da-Silva

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The purpose if this study is two-fold: on the one hand, to identify the accounting information systems implemented in third sector organizations, as well as its components, its tools and the decisions and control purposes they serve; on the other hand, and by confronting these two theories - institutional theory versus rational choice – we intent to go further by understanding the reasons behind the adoption of the aforementioned tools. Data has been collected from third sector organizations operating in Portugal. Our sample includes all juridical types of organizations such as foundations, cooperative, associations or private institutions of social solidarity. The questionnaire contained sixteen close-ended questions and four open-questions. Results confirm the theoretical perspective of institutionalism. Most third sector organizations operating in Portugal implemented only traditional accounting tools like standard accounting statements, cost accounting, budgeting. Moreover, there is clear evidence that the decisions about the implementation of these tools were coercive oriented. With this study it is intended to contribute to a better understanding of the context of third sector organizations in Portugal, in particular the role that accounting plays in this sector, with a special focus on management accounting tools, and the factors that influence their use and the degree of their usefulness in the process of decision making.

Keywords: third sector, accounting tools, institutional theory, Portugal, descriptive research

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Authors: Tatiana Rizova

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The migrant crisis, which peaked in 2015-2016, posed an unprecedented challenge to the European Union’s (EU) newest member states, including Bulgaria and Hungary. Their governments had to formulate sound migration policies with expediency and sensitivity to the needs of millions of people fleeing violent conflicts in the Middle East and failed states in North Africa. Political leaders in post-communist countries had to carefully coordinate with other EU member states on joint policies and solutions while minimizing the risk of alienating their increasingly anti-migrant domestic constituents. Post-communist member states’ governments chose distinct policy responses to the crisis, which were dictated by factors such as their governments’ partisan stances on migration, their views of the European Union, and the decision to frame the crisis as a security or a humanitarian issue. This paper explores how two Bulgarian governments (Boyko Borisov’s second and third government formed during the 43rd and 44th Bulgarian National Assembly, respectively) navigated the processes of EU migration policy making and managing the expectations of their electorates. Based on a comparative analysis of refugee policies in Bulgaria and Hungary during the height of the crisis (2015-2016) and a temporal analysis of refugee policies in Bulgaria (2015-2018), the paper advances the following conclusions. Drawing on insights of the Copenhagen school of security studies, the paper argues that cultural concerns dominated domestic debates in both Bulgaria and Hungary; both governments framed the issue predominantly as a matter of security rather than humanitarian disaster. Regardless of the similarities in issue framing, however, the two governments sought different paths of tackling the crisis. While the Bulgarian government demonstrated its willingness to comply with EU decisions (such as the proposal for mandatory quotas for refugee relocation), the Hungarian government defied EU directives and became a leading voice of dissent inside the EU. The current Bulgarian government (April 2017 - present) appears to be committed to complying with EU decisions and accepts the strategy of EU burden-sharing, while the Hungarian government has continually snubbed the EU’s appeals for cooperation despite the risk of hefty financial penalties. Hungary’s refugee policies have been influenced by the parliamentary representation of the far right-wing party Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik), which has encouraged the majority party (FIDESZ) to adopt harsher anti-migrant rhetoric and more hostile policies toward refugees. Bulgaria’s current government is a coalition of the center-right Citizens for a European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) and its far right-wing junior partners – the United Patriots (comprised of three nationalist political parties). The parliamentary presence of Jobbik in Hungary’s parliament has magnified the anti-migrant stance, rhetoric, and policies of Mr. Orbán’s Civic Alliance; we have yet to observe a substantial increase in the anti-migrant rhetoric and policies in Bulgaria’s case. Analyzing responses to the migrant/refugee crisis is a critical opportunity to understand how issues of cultural identity and belonging, inclusion and exclusion, regional integration and disintegration are debated and molded into policy in Europe’s youngest member states in the broader EU context.

Keywords: Copenhagen School, migrant crisis, refugees, security

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Authors: Gamze Sekeroglu, Mikail Altan

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Working capital is identified as firm’s all current assets. Inventories which are one of the working capital elements are very important among current assets for firms. Because, profitability is an indicator for firms’ financial success is provided with minimum cost and optimum inventory quantity. So in this study, it is investigated as comparatively that the effect of inventory management on the profitability of Turkish firms which operated in weaving industry, eatables industry, wholesale and retail industry in between 2003 – 2012 years. Research data consist of profitability ratios and inventory turnovers ratio calculated by using balance sheets and income statements of firms which operated in Borsa Istanbul (BIST). In this research, the relationship between inventories and profitability is investigated by using SPSS-20 software with regression and correlation analysis. The results achieved from three industry departments which exist in study interpreted as comparatively. Accordingly, it is determined that there is a positive relationship between inventory management and profitability in eatables industry. However, it was founded that there is no relationship between inventory management and profitability in weaving industry and wholesale and retail industry.

Keywords: profitability, regression analysis, inventory management, working capital

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Authors: Dyah Adi Sriwahyuni

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Institutional work has become a prominent and contemporary institutional theory perspective in organization studies. A wealth of studies in organizations have explored actor activities in creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutions at the field level. However, the exploration of the work of actors in creating new management practices at the organizational level has been somewhat limited. The current institutional work literature mostly describes the work of actors at the field level and ignores organizational actors who work to realize management practices. Organizational actors here are defined as actors in organizations who work to institutionalize a particular management practice within the organizations. The extant literature has also generalized the types of management practices, which meant overlooking the unique characteristics of each management fashion as well as a management practice. To fill these gaps, this study aims to provide empirical evidence so as to contribute theoretically to institutional work through a comparative case study on organizational actors’ creation of knowledge management (KM) practice in two public sector organizations in Indonesia. KM is a contemporary management practice employed to manage individual and organizational knowledge in order to improve organizational performance. This practice presents a suitable practical setting with which to provide a rich understanding of the organizational actors’ institutional work and their connection with technology. Drawing on and extending the work of Perkmann and Spicer (2008), this study explores the forms of institutional work performed by organizational actors, including their motivation, skills, challenges, and opportunities. The primary data collection is semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable actors and document analysis for validity and triangulation. Following Eisenhardt's cross-case patterns, the researcher analyzed the collected data focusing on within-group similarities and intergroup differences. The researcher coded interview data using NVivo and used documents to corroborate the findings. The study’s findings add to the wealth of institutional theory literature in organization studies, particularly institutional work related to management practices. This study builds a theory about the work of organizational actors in creating knowledge management practices. Using the perspective of institutional work, research can show the roles of the various actors involved, their practices, and their relationship to technology (materiality), not only focusing on actors with a power which has been the theorizing of institutional entrepreneurship. The development of knowledge management practices in the Indonesian public sector is also a significant additional contribution, given that the current KM literature is dominated by conceptualizing the KM framework and the impact of KM on organizations. The public sector, which is the research setting, also provides important lessons on how actors in a highly institutionalized context are creating an institution, in this case, a knowledge management practice.

Keywords: institutional work, knowledge management, case study, public sector organizations

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Authors: Abilio Pires Zacarias

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Analyzing company boards of directors is a relevant and timely topic. As the representative of shareholders, the board is the most senior management body of this type of company. Therefore, ascertaining the best kind of candidates to nominate, namely the most appropriate characteristics for leading the board to achieve better levels of performance, is certainly of great interest. The companies selected for this study were the 1,000 largest non-financial companies and the 100 largest financial companies in Portugal according to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística for 2010. The information stemmed from a questionnaire addressed to the person in charge of daily company management and then processed through STATA 17 with the multivariate analysis of variables - MANOVA. The study may correspondingly report that the vast majority of boards in the sample operate a dual leadership structure. By in terms of its prevalence, unitary leadership represents only a minority. Agency theory and stewardship theory postulate different characteristics for the ideal chairman but neither receive confirmation from our results. On the other hand, our findings do validate the behavioral theory of firms (BToF), concluding that experience is associated with organizational performance. This study is also relevant due to its analysis of companies not listed on the financial markets not only because of their weighting in the economy but also because they remain only very poorly studied in this field and thus also correspondingly contributing to deepening the literature.

Keywords: agency theory, behavioral theory of the firm, board of directors, corporate governance, stewardship theory

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Authors: Xiaohua Zou, Yongxin Su

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The reasonable operation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is of great significance in improving the security, stability, and economy of power system operation. However, the uncertainty of the operating environment, thermal comfort varies by users and rapid decision-making pose challenges for HVAC demand response optimization. In this regard, this paper proposes a reinforcement learning-based method for HVAC demand response optimization considering few-shot personalized thermal comfort (PTC). First, an HVAC DR optimization framework based on few-shot PTC model and DRL is designed, in which the output of few-shot PTC model is regarded as the input of DRL. Then, a few-shot PTC model that distinguishes between awake and asleep states is established, which has excellent engineering usability. Next, based on soft actor criticism, an HVAC DR optimization algorithm considering the user’s PTC is designed to deal with uncertainty and make decisions rapidly. Experiment results show that the proposed method can efficiently obtain use’s PTC temperature, reduce energy cost while ensuring user’s PTC, and achieve rapid decision-making under uncertainty.

Keywords: HVAC, few-shot personalized thermal comfort, deep reinforcement learning, demand response

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Authors: Soyhan Egitim

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This case study aims to investigate leadership practices in diversity management in the liberal arts department of a Japanese university. In 2013, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) revealed their English education reform plan in response to rapid globalization. Based on the new reform plan, Japanese universities would expand their international faculty in order to promote globalization through an increased number of intercultural communication and content-based language classes in English. The study employed a two-phased qualitative approach to gain a deeper understanding of the management strategies employed in diversity management, and the leadership practices influenced those management strategies. In the first phase, a closed-ended qualitative survey was conducted with ten adjunct faculty members from the liberal arts department. The results indicate that syllabus design, grading scheme, textbook choices, and class management policies are strictly regulated by the tenured Japanese faculty. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews were held with international faculty members to understand their personal experiences. Their responses revealed that top-down management approaches are counter-effective in the department’s efforts to promote diversity and thus, a new organizational culture needs to be nurtured to emphasize inclusion alongside diversity. In this regard, the study proposes collaborative leadership as an inclusive leadership practice to minimize power differences in the hierarchy and increase opportunities for inclusion in the rapidly diversifying workforce.

Keywords: collaborative leadership, diversity, inclusion, international faculty, top-down

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Nuchjaree Kidjawan, Orapan Thosingha, Pawinee Vaipatama, Prakrankiat Youngkong, Sirinapha Malangputhong, Kitti Thamrongaphichartkul, Phatcharaporn Phetcharat

Abstract:

NPI uses technology sensorization of things and processed by AI system. The main features are an individual interface pressure sensor system in contact with the mattress and a position management system where the sensor detects the determined pressure with automatic pressure reduction and distribution. The role of NPI is to monitor, identify the risk and manage the interface pressure automatically when the determined pressure is detected. This study aims to evaluate the effects of “Never Pressure Injury (NPI),” an innovative mattress, on the incidence of pressure injuries in critically ill patients. An observational case-control study was employed to compare the incidence of pressure injury between the case and the control group. The control group comprised 80 critically ill patients admitted to a critical care unit of Phyathai3 Hospital, receiving standard care with the use of memory foam according to intensive care unit guidelines. The case group comprised 80 critically ill patients receiving standard care and with the use of the Never Pressure Injury (NPI) innovation mattress. The patients who were over 20 years old and showed scores of less than 18 on the Risk Assessment Pressure Ulcer Scale – ICU and stayed in ICU for more than 24 hours were selected for the study. The patients’ skin was assessed for the occurrence of pressure injury once a day for five consecutive days or until the patients were discharged from ICU. The sample comprised 160 patients with ages ranging from 30-102 (mean = 70.1 years), and the Body Mass Index ranged from 13.69- 49.01 (mean = 24.63). The case and the control group were not different in their sex, age, Body Mass Index, Pressure Ulcer Risk Scores, and length of ICU stay. Twenty-two patients (27.5%) in the control group had pressure injuries, while no pressure injury was found in the case group.

Keywords: pressure injury, never pressure injury, innovation mattress, critically ill patients, prevent pressure injury

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Authors: Indre Brazauskaite, Vilte Auruskeviciene

Abstract:

The paper explores the Stage-Gate framework application for innovation maturity among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Innovation management becomes an essential business survival process for all sizes of organizations that can be evaluated and audited systemically. This research systemically defines and assesses the innovation process from the perspective of the company’s top management. Empirical research explores attitudes and existing practices of innovation management in SMEs in Baltic countries. It structurally investigates the current innovation management practices, level of standardization, and potential challenges in the area. Findings allow to structure of existing practices based on an institutionalized model and contribute to a more advanced understanding of the innovation process among SMEs. Practically, findings contribute to advanced decision-making and business planning in the process.

Keywords: innovation measure, innovation process, SMEs, stage-gate framework

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Authors: Xize Dai, Jian Hao, Claus Leth Bak, Gian Carlo Montanari, Huai Wang

Abstract:

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is a critical component applicable to power electronics systems, especially for high-voltage applications involving several high-voltage and high-frequency SiC/GaN devices. The insulation system of PCB is facing more challenges from high-voltage and high-frequency stress that can alter the dielectric properties. Dielectric properties of the PCB insulation system also determine the electrical field distribution that correlates with intrinsic and extrinsic aging mechanisms. Hence, investigating the dielectric properties in the frequency domain of the PCB insulation system is a must. The paper presents the frequency-dependent, temperature-dependent, and voltage-dependent dielectric properties, permittivity, conductivity, and dielectric loss tangents of PCB insulation systems. The dielectric properties mechanisms associated with frequency, temperature, and voltage are revealed from the design perspective. It can be concluded that the dielectric properties of PCB in the frequency domain show a strong dependence on voltage, frequency, and temperature. The voltage-, frequency-, and temperature-dependent dielectric properties are associated with intrinsic conduction behavior and polarization patterns from the perspective of dielectric theory. The results may provide some reference for the PCB insulation system design in high voltage, high frequency, and high-temperature power electronics applications.

Keywords: electrical insulation system, dielectric properties, high voltage and frequency, printed circuit board

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Authors: Leonardo Ramirez Lopez, Edward Guillen Pinto, Carlos Ramos Linares

Abstract:

The controversy brought about by the increasing use of mHealth apps and their effectiveness for disease prevention and diagnosis calls for immediate control. Although a critical topic in research areas such as medicine, engineering, economics, among others, this issue lacks reliable implementation models. However, projects such as Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) and various studies have helped to create useful and reliable apps. This research is conducted under a quality model to optimize two mHealth apps for older adults. Results analysis on the use of two physical activity monitoring apps - AcTiv (physical activity) and SMCa (energy expenditure) - is positive and ideal. Through a theoretical and practical analysis, precision calculations and personal information control of older adults for disease prevention and diagnosis were performed. Finally, apps are validated by a physician and, as a result, they may be used as health monitoring tools in physical performance centers or any other physical activity. The results obtained provide an effective validation model for this type of mobile apps, which, in turn, may be applied by other software developers that along with medical staff would offer digital healthcare tools for elderly people.

Keywords: model, validation, effective, healthcare, elderly people, mobile app

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Huseyin A. Yavasoglu, Yusuf Ziya Tengiz, Ali Göksenli

Abstract:

In this study, an automatic feeding machine for different type and class of bovine animals is designed. Daily nutrition of a bovine consists of grass, corn, straw, silage, oat, wheat and different vitamins and minerals. The amount and mixture amount of each of the nutrition depends on different parameters of the bovine. These parameters are; age, sex, weight and maternity of the bovine, also outside temperature. The problem in a farm is to constitute the correct mixture and amount of nutrition for each animal. Faulty nutrition will cause an insufficient feeding of the animal concluding in an unhealthy bovine. To solve this problem, a new automatic feeding machine is designed. Travelling of the machine is performed by four tires, which is pulled by a tractor. The carrier consists of eight bins, which each of them carries a nutrition type. Capacity of each unit is 250 kg. At the bottom of each chamber is a sensor measuring the weight of the food inside. A funnel is at the bottom of each chamber by which open/close function is controlled by a valve. Each animal will carry a RFID tag including ID on its ear. A receiver on the feeding machine will read this ID and by given previous information by the operator (veterinarian), the system will detect the amount of each nutrition unit which will be given to the selected animal for feeding. In the system, each bin will open its exit gate by the help of the valve under the control of PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). The amount of each nutrition type will be controlled by measuring the open/close time. The exit canals of the bins are collected in a reservoir. To achieve a homogenous nitration, the collected feed will be mixed by a worm gear. Further the mixture will be transported by a help of a funnel to the feeding unit of the animal. The feeding process can be performed in 100 seconds. After feeding of the animal, the tractor pulls the travelling machine to the next animal. By the help of this system animals can be feeded by right amount and mixture of nutrition

Keywords: bovine, feeding, nutrition, transportation, automatic

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: Houxiang Zhu, Chun Liang

Abstract:

The CRISPR-Cpf1 system has been successfully applied in genome editing. However, target efficiency of the CRISPR-Cpf1 system varies among different gRNA sequences. The published CRISPR-Cpf1 gRNA data was reanalyzed. Many sequences and structural features of gRNAs (e.g., the position-specific nucleotide composition, position-nonspecific nucleotide composition, GC content, minimum free energy, and melting temperature) correlated with target efficiency were found. Using machine learning technology, a support vector machine (SVM) model was created to predict target efficiency for any given gRNAs. The first web service application, CRISPR-DT (CRISPR DNA Targeting), has been developed to help users design optimal gRNAs for the CRISPR-Cpf1 system by considering both target efficiency and specificity. CRISPR-DT will empower researchers in genome editing.

Keywords: CRISPR-Cpf1, genome editing, target efficiency, target specificity

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: J. F. Pollo Gaspary, F. Peron Gaspary, E. M. Simão, R. Concatto Beltrame, G. Orengo de Oliveira, M. S. Ristow Ferreira, F. Sartori Thies, I. F. Minello, F. dos Santos de Oliveira

Abstract:

Background: The immune system has evolved several mechanisms to protect the host against cancer, and it has now been suggested that the expansion of its functions may prevent tumor growth and control the symptoms of cancer patients. Two techniques, ozone therapy and pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF), are independently associated with an increase in the immune system functions and they maybe help palliative care of patients in these conditions. Case Report: A patient with rectal adenocarcinoma with metastases decides to interrupt the clinical chemotherapy protocol due to refractoriness and side effects. As a palliative care alternative treatment it is suggested to the patient the use of ozone therapy associated with PEMF techniques. Results: The patient reports an improvement in well-being, in autonomy and in pain control. Imaging tests confirm a pause in tumor growth despite more than 60 days without using classic treatment. These results associated with palliative care alternative treatment stimulate the return to the chemotherapy protocol. Discussion: This case illustrates that these two techniques can contribute to the control of tumor growth and refractory symptoms, such as pain, probably by enhancing the immune system. Conclusions: The potential use of the combination of these two therapies, ozone therapy and PEMF therapy, can contribute to palliation of cancer patients, alone or in combination with pharmacological therapies. The conduct of future investigations on this paradigm can elucidate how much these techniques contribute to the survival and well-being of these patients.

Keywords: cancer, complementary and alternative medicine , ozone therapy, palliative care, PEMF therapy

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Réka Sárközi, Péter Iványi, Attila B. Széll

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to present the adaptation of the dome construction tool for formex algebra to the parametric design software Grasshopper. Formex algebra is a mathematical system, primarily used for planning structural systems such like truss-grid domes and vaults, together with the programming language Formian. The goal of the research is to allow architects to plan truss-grid structures easily with parametric design tools based on the versatile formex algebra mathematical system. To produce regular structures, coordinate system transformations are used and the dome structures are defined in spherical coordinate system. Owing to the abilities of the parametric design software, it is possible to apply further modifications on the structures and gain special forms. The paper covers the basic dome types, and also additional dome-based structures using special coordinate-system solutions based on spherical coordinate systems. It also contains additional structural possibilities like making double layer grids in all geometry forms. The adaptation of formex algebra and the parametric workflow of Grasshopper together give the possibility of quick and easy design and optimization of special truss-grid domes.

Keywords: parametric design, structural morphology, space structures, spherical coordinate system

Procedia PDF Downloads 239