Search results for: testing effectiveness

Authors: J. Martin Leal-Graciano, Juan J. Pérez-Gavilán, A. Reyes-Salazar, J. H. Castorena, J. L. Rivera-Salas

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The experimental results about the global behavior of twelve 1:2 scaled reinforced concrete frame subject to in-plane lateral load are presented. The main objective was to generate experimental evidence about the use of steel bars within mortar bed-joints as shear reinforcement in infill walls. Similar to the Canadian and New Zealand standards, the Mexican code includes specifications for this type of reinforcement. However, these specifications were obtained through experimental studies of load-bearing walls, mainly confined walls. Little information is found in the existing literature about the effects of joint reinforcement on the seismic behavior of infill masonry walls. Consequently, the Mexican code establishes the same equations to estimate the contribution of joint reinforcement for both confined walls and infill walls. A confined masonry construction and a reinforced concrete frame infilled with masonry walls have similar appearances. However, substantial differences exist between these two construction systems, which are mainly related to the sequence of construction and to how these structures support vertical and lateral loads. To achieve the objective established, ten reinforced concrete frames with masonry infill walls were built and tested in pairs, having both specimens in the pair identical characteristics except that one of them included joint reinforcement. The variables between pairs were the type of units, the size of the columns of the frame and the aspect ratio of the wall. All cases included tie-columns and tie-beams on the perimeter of the wall to anchor the joint reinforcement. Also, two bare frame with identical characteristic to the infilled frames were tested. The purpose was to investigate the effects of the infill wall on the behavior of the system to in-plane lateral load. In addition, the experimental results were compared with the prediction of the Mexican code. All the specimens were tested in cantilever under reversible cyclic lateral load. To simulate gravity load, constant vertical load was applied on the top of the columns. The results indicate that the contribution of the joint reinforcement to lateral strength depends on the size of the columns of the frame. Larger size columns produce a failure mode that is predominantly a sliding mode. Sliding inhibits the production of new inclined cracks, which are necessary to activate (deform) the joint reinforcement. Regarding the effects of joint reinforcement in the performance of confined masonry walls, many facts were confirmed for infill walls: this type of reinforcement increases the lateral strength of the wall, produces a more distributed cracking and reduces the width of the cracks. Moreover, it reduces the ductility demand of the system at maximum strength. The prediction of the lateral strength provided by the Mexican code is property in some cases; however, the effect of the size of the columns on the contribution of joint reinforcement needs to be better understood.

Keywords: experimental study, Infill wall, Infilled frame, masonry wall

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Authors: Hasan Atakan Sengul, Nergis Canturk, Bahar Erbas

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Drinking water is indispensable for life. With increasing awareness of communities, the content of drinking water and tap water has been a matter of curiosity. The presence of Bisphenol-A is the top one when content curiosity is concerned. The most used chemical worldwide for production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins is Bisphenol-A. People are exposed to Bisphenol-A chemical, which disrupts the endocrine system, almost every day. Each year it is manufactured an average of 5.4 billion kilograms of Bisphenol-A. Linear formula of Bisphenol-A is (CH₃)₂C(C₆H₄OH)₂, its molecular weight is 228.29 and CAS number is 80-05-7. Bisphenol-A is known to be used in the manufacturing of plastics, along with various chemicals. Bisphenol-A, an industrial chemical, is used in the raw materials of packaging mate-rials in the monomers of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. The pass through the nutrients of Bisphenol-A substance happens by packaging. This substance contaminates with nutrition and penetrates into body by consuming. International researches show that BPA is transported through body fluids, leading to hormonal disorders in animals. Experimental studies on animals report that BPA exposure also affects the gender of the newborn and its time to reach adolescence. The extent to what similar endocrine disrupting effects are on humans is a debate topic in many researches. In our country, detailed studies on BPA have not been done. However, it is observed that 'BPA-free' phrases are beginning to appear on plastic packaging such as baby products and water carboys. Accordingly, this situation increases the interest of the society about the subject; yet it causes information pollution. In our country, all national and international studies on exposure to BPA have been examined and Ankara province has been designated as testing region. To assess the effects of plastic use in daily habits of people and the plastic amounts removed out of the body, the results of the survey conducted with volunteers who live in Ankara has been analyzed with Sciex appliance by means of LC-MS/MS in the laboratory and the amount of exposure and BPA removal have been detected by comparing the results elicited before. The results have been compared with similar studies done in international arena and the relation between them has been exhibited. Consequently, there has been found no linear correlation between the amount of BPA in drinking water and the amount of BPA in urine. This has also revealed that environmental exposure and the habits of daily plastic use have also direct effects a human body. When the amount of BPA in drinking water is considered; minimum 0.028 µg/L, maximum 1.136 µg/L, mean 0.29194 µg/L and SD(standard deviation)= 0.199 have been detected. When the amount of BPA in urine is considered; minimum 0.028 µg/L, maximum 0.48 µg/L, mean 0.19181 µg/L and SD= 0.099 have been detected. In conclusion, there has been found no linear correlation between the amount of BPA in drinking water and the amount of BPA in urine (r= -0.151). The p value of the comparison between drinking water’s and urine’s BPA amounts is 0.004 which shows that there is a significant change and the amounts of BPA in urine is dependent on the amounts in drinking waters (p < 0.05). This has revealed that environmental exposure and daily plastic habits have also direct effects on the human body.

Keywords: analyze of bisphenol-A, BPA, BPA in drinking water, BPA in urine

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Authors: Pushplata Garg

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Mobility, is an integral part of living and sustainability of urban mobility, is essential not only for, but also for addressing global warming and climate change. However, very little is understood about the obstacles/hurdles and likely challenges in the success of plans for sustainable urban mobility in Indian cities from the public perspective. Whereas some of the problems and issues are common to all cities, others vary considerably with financial status, function, the size of cities and culture of a place. Problems and issues similar in all cities relate to availability, efficiency and safety of public transport, last mile connectivity, universal accessibility, and essential planning and design requirements of pedestrians and cyclists are same. However, certain aspects like the type of means of public transportation, priority for cycling and walking, type of roadside activities, are influenced by the size of the town, average educational and income level of public, financial status of the local authorities, and culture of a place. The extent of public awareness, civic sense, maintenance of public spaces and law enforcement vary significantly from large metropolitan cities to small and medium towns in countries like India. Besides, design requirements for shading, location of public open spaces and sitting areas, street furniture, landscaping also vary depending on the climate of the place. Last mile connectivity plays a major role in success/ effectiveness of public transport system in a city. In addition to the provision of pedestrian footpaths connecting important destinations, sitting spaces and necessary amenities/facilities along footpaths; pedestrian movement to public transit stations is encouraged by the presence of quality roadside public spaces. It is not only the visual attractiveness of streetscape or landscape or the public open spaces along pedestrian movement channels but the activities along that make a street vibrant and attractive. These along with adequate spaces to rest and relax encourage people to walk as is observed in cities with successful public transportation systems. The paper discusses problems and issues of pedestrians for last mile connectivity in the context of Delhi, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, and Roorkee- four Indian cities representing varying urban contexts, that is, of metropolitan, large and small cities.

Keywords: pedestrianisation, roadside public spaces, last mile connectivity, sustainable urban mobility

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Authors: Jia Guo, Qinyuan Huang, Qinyi Zhong, Yanjing Zeng, Yimeng Li, James Wiley, Kin Cheung, Jyu-Lin Chen

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Context: Mothers with abdominal obesity, particularly in China, face challenges in managing their health due to family responsibilities. Existing diabetes prevention programs do not cater specifically to this demographic. Research Aim: To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of an mHealth-based diabetes prevention program tailored for Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity in reducing weight-related variables and diabetes risk. Methodology: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Changsha, China, where the mHealth group received personalized modules and health messages, while the control group received general health education. Data were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Findings: The mHealth intervention significantly improved waist circumference, modifiable diabetes risk scores, daily steps, self-efficacy for physical activity, social support for physical activity, and physical health satisfaction compared to the control group. However, no differences were found in BMI and certain other variables. Theoretical Importance: The study demonstrates the feasibility and efficacy of a tailored mHealth intervention for Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity, emphasizing the potential for such programs to improve health outcomes in this population. Data Collection: Data on various variables including weight-related measures, diabetes risk scores, behavioral and psychological factors were collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months from participants in the mHealth and control groups. Analysis Procedures: Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the data collected from the mHealth and control groups at different time points during the study period. Question Addressed: The study addressed the effectiveness of an mHealth-based diabetes prevention program tailored for Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity in improving various health outcomes compared to traditional general health education approaches. Conclusion: The tailored mHealth intervention proved to be feasible and effective in improving weight-related variables, physical activity, and physical health satisfaction among Chinese mothers with abdominal obesity, highlighting its potential for delivering diabetes prevention programs to this population.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes, mHealth, obesity, prevention, mothers

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Authors: M. Nerantzaki, I. Koliakou, D. Bikiaris

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This study evaluates the hypothesis that the incorporation of fibrous hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHA) with high crystallinity and high aspect ratio, synthesized by hydrothermal method, into Poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu), improves the bioactivity of the aliphatic polyester and affects new bone growth inhibiting resorption and enhancing bone formation. Hydroxyapatite nanorods were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal procedure. First, the HPO42- -containing solution was added drop-wise into the Ca2+-containing solution, while the molar ratio of Ca/P was adjusted at 1.67. The HA precursor was then treated hydrothermally at 200°C for 72 h. The resulting powder was characterized using XRD, FT-IR, TEM, and EDXA. Afterwards, PBSu nanocomposites containing 2.5wt% (nHA) were prepared by in situ polymerization technique for the first time and were examined as potential scaffolds for bone engineering applications. For comparison purposes composites containing either 2.5wt% micro-Bioglass (mBG) or 2.5wt% mBG-nHA were prepared and studied, too. The composite scaffolds were characterized using SEM, FTIR, and XRD. Mechanical testing (Instron 3344) and Contact Angle measurements were also carried out. Enzymatic degradation was studied in an aqueous solution containing a mixture of R. Oryzae and P. Cepacia lipases at 37°C and pH=7.2. In vitro biomineralization test was performed by immersing all samples in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 21 days. Biocompatibility was assessed using rat Adipose Stem Cells (rASCs), genetically modified by nucleofection with DNA encoding SB100x transposase and pT2-Venus-neo transposon expression plasmids in order to attain fluorescence images. Cell proliferation and viability of cells on the scaffolds were evaluated using fluoresce microscopy and MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Finally, osteogenic differentiation was assessed by staining rASCs with alizarine red using cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) method. TEM image of the fibrous HAp nanoparticles, synthesized in the present study clearly showed the fibrous morphology of the synthesized powder. The addition of nHA decreased significantly the contact angle of the samples, indicating that the materials become more hydrophilic and hence they absorb more water and subsequently degrade more rapidly. In vitro biomineralization test confirmed that all samples were bioactive as mineral deposits were detected by X-ray diffractometry after incubation in SBF. Metabolic activity of rASCs on all PBSu composites was high and increased from day 1 of culture to day 14. On day 28 metabolic activity of rASCs cultured on samples enriched with bioceramics was significantly decreased due to possible differentiation of rASCs to osteoblasts. Staining rASCs with alizarin red after 28 days in culture confirmed our initial hypothesis as the presence of calcium was detected, suggesting osteogenic differentiation of rACS on PBSu/nHAp/mBG 2.5% and PBSu/mBG 2.5% composite scaffolds.

Keywords: biomaterials, hydroxyapatite nanorods, poly(butylene succinate), scaffolds

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Authors: Regina Rekuviene, Vykintas Samaitis, Liudas Mažeika, Audrius Jankauskas, Virginija Jankauskaitė, Laura Gegeckienė, Abdolali Sadaghiani, Shaghayegh Saeidiharzand

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Icing brings significant damage to aviation and renewable energy installations. Air-conditioning, refrigeration, wind turbine blades, airplane and helicopter blades often suffer from icing phenomena, which cause severe energy losses and impair aerodynamic performance. The icing process is a complex phenomenon with many different causes and types. Icing mechanisms, distributions, and patterns are still relevant to research topics. The adhesion strength between ice and surfaces differs in different icing environments. This makes the task of anti-icing very challenging. The techniques for various icing environments must satisfy different demands and requirements (e.g., efficient, lightweight, low power consumption, low maintenance and manufacturing costs, reliable operation). It is noticeable that most methods are oriented toward a particular sector and adapting them to or suggesting them for other areas is quite problematic. These methods often use various technologies and have different specifications, sometimes with no clear indication of their efficiency. There are two major groups of anti-icing methods: passive and active. Active techniques have high efficiency but, at the same time, quite high energy consumption and require intervention in the structure’s design. It’s noticeable that vast majority of these methods require specific knowledge and personnel skills. The main effect of passive methods (ice-phobic, superhydrophobic surfaces) is to delay ice formation and growth or reduce the adhesion strength between the ice and the surface. These methods are time-consuming and depend on forecasting. They can be applied on small surfaces only for specific targets, and most are non-biodegradable (except for anti-freezing proteins). There is some quite promising information on ultrasonic ice mitigation methods that employ UGW (Ultrasonic Guided Wave). These methods are have the characteristics of low energy consumption, low cost, lightweight, and easy replacement and maintenance. However, fundamental knowledge of ultrasonic de-icing methodology is still limited. The objective of this work was to identify the ice formation processes and its progress by employing ultrasonic guided wave technique. Throughout this research, the universal set-up for acoustic measurement of ice formation in a real condition (temperature range from +240 C to -230 C) was developed. Ultrasonic measurements were performed by using high frequency 5 MHz transducers in a pitch-catch configuration. The selection of wave modes suitable for detection of ice formation phenomenon on copper metal surface was performed. Interaction between the selected wave modes and ice formation processes was investigated. It was found that selected wave modes are sensitive to temperature changes. It was demonstrated that proposed ultrasonic technique could be successfully used for the detection of ice layer formation on a metal surface.

Keywords: ice formation processes, ultrasonic GW, detection of ice formation, ultrasonic testing

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Authors: Daniel R. McDougall, Martin D. de Jonge, Gordon M. Miskelly, Duncan J. McGillivray, Andrew G. Jeffs

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The chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is commonly added as a cure-all to seawater in aquaculture hatcheries around the world to reduce heavy metal toxicity, significantly improve the survival of larval shellfish, and to therefore improve the overall production efficiency of the aquaculture industry. However, EDTA is not a biodegradable chemical and is considered to be a persistent organic pollutant, which will accumulate in the environment over time. This makes the use of EDTA unsustainable environmentally, and therefore alternatives should be considered. Ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) is a biodegradable alternative to EDTA with very similar metal chelation properties. This study investigates the effect of EDTA and EDDS at two different concentrations, on metal concentrations found within developing New Zealand green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) larvae. P. canaliculus is New Zealand’s main shellfish aquaculture species, providing a major export for New Zealand’s economy, with excellent potential for increased production in the near future. It is well known that the early stages of bivalve development are the most vulnerable to metal toxicity and P. canaliculus is no exception. The commercially used concentration (12 µmol L⁻¹) of EDTA added to P. canaliculus larval rearing tanks often increases the yield of D-larvae by over 80%. This concentration of EDTA and EDDS will be tested in this study, along with a lower concentration (3 µmol L⁻¹). After 48 hours of larval development, the D-larvae will be analyzed for heavy metal content with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and heavy metal distribution with synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (XFM). In this study, we found that EDDS also improves the yield of P. canaliculus larvae and could be a viable alternative to EDTA in aquaculture. Furthermore, results suggest a higher concentration of chelating agent is more effective for improving the yield of developing P. canaliculus larvae. Metals with significant differences in concentration with the addition of EDTA were Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb (P < 0.05). We observed for the first time to the author’s best knowledge, metal distribution within 100 µm P. canaliculus D-larvae using synchrotron XFM and found changes in the distribution of metals with the addition of EDTA. XFM also has the potential to provide information about the chemical state of the metals within mussel larvae. This research provides greater insight into the reasons for the effectiveness of adding the chelating agent to aquaculture culture water, and a more environmentally conscious alternative to the currently used EDTA, which could be extremely valuable for the aquaculture industry.

Keywords: EDDS, EDTA, heavy metals, P. canaliculus, toxicity, water treatment

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Authors: Robert Caulk

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A generalized framework for adaptive machine learning deployments in algorithmic trading is introduced, tested, and released as open-source code. The presented software aims to test the hypothesis that recent data contains enough information to form a probabilistically favorable short-term price prediction. Further, the framework contains various adaptive machine learning techniques that are geared toward generating profit during strong trends and minimizing losses during trend changes. Results demonstrate that this adaptive machine learning approach is capable of capturing trends and generating profit. The presentation also discusses the importance of defining the parameter space associated with the dynamic training data-set and using the parameter space to identify and remove outliers from prediction data points. Meanwhile, the generalized architecture enables common users to exploit the powerful machinery while focusing on high-level feature engineering and model testing. The presentation also highlights common strengths and weaknesses associated with the presented technique and presents a broad range of well-tested starting points for feature set construction, target setting, and statistical methods for enforcing risk management and maintaining probabilistically favorable entry and exit points. The presentation also describes the end-to-end data processing tools associated with FreqAI, including automatic data fetching, data aggregation, feature engineering, safe and robust data pre-processing, outlier detection, custom machine learning and statistical tools, data post-processing, and adaptive training backtest emulation, and deployment of adaptive training in live environments. Finally, the generalized user interface is also discussed in the presentation. Feature engineering is simplified so that users can seed their feature sets with common indicator libraries (e.g. TA-lib, pandas-ta). The user also feeds data expansion parameters to fill out a large feature set for the model, which can contain as many as 10,000+ features. The presentation describes the various object-oriented programming techniques employed to make FreqAI agnostic to third-party libraries and external data sources. In other words, the back-end is constructed in such a way that users can leverage a broad range of common regression libraries (Catboost, LightGBM, Sklearn, etc) as well as common Neural Network libraries (TensorFlow, PyTorch) without worrying about the logistical complexities associated with data handling and API interactions. The presentation finishes by drawing conclusions about the most important parameters associated with a live deployment of the adaptive learning framework and provides the road map for future development in FreqAI.

Keywords: machine learning, market trend detection, open-source, adaptive learning, parameter space exploration

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Authors: Inga Žukovaitė

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This paper aims to present postdoc research on remote criminal proceedings in court. In this period, when most countries have introduced the possibility of remote criminal proceedings in their procedural laws, it is not only possible to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the legal regulation but also assess the effectiveness of the instrument used and to develop an approach to the process. The example of some countries (for example, Italy) shows, on the one hand, that criminal procedure, based on orality and immediacy, does not lend itself to easy modifications that pose even a slight threat of devaluation of these principles in a society with well-established traditions of this procedure. On the other hand, such strong opposition and criticism make us ask whether we are facing the possibility of rethinking the traditional ways to understand the safeguards in order to preserve their essence without devaluing their traditional package but looking for new components to replace or compensate for the so-called “loss” of safeguards. The reflection on technological progress in the field of criminal procedural law indicates the need to rethink, on the basis of fundamental procedural principles, the safeguards that can replace or compensate for those that are in crisis as a result of the intervention of technological progress. Discussions in academic doctrine on the impact of technological interventions on the proceedings as such or on the limits of such interventions refer to the principles of criminal procedure as to a point of reference. In the context of the inferiority of technology, scholarly debate still addresses the issue of whether the court will not gradually become a mere site for the exercise of penal power with the resultant consequences – the deformation of the procedure itself as a physical ritual. In this context, this work seeks to illustrate the relationship between remote criminal proceedings in court and the principle of immediacy, the concept of which is based on the application of different models of criminal procedure (inquisitorial and adversarial), the aim is to assess the challenges posed for legal regulation by the interaction of technological progress with the principles of criminal procedure. The main hypothesis to be tested is that the adoption of remote proceedings is directly linked to the prevailing model of criminal procedure, arguing that the more principles of the inquisitorial model are applied to the criminal process, the more remote criminal trial is acceptable, and conversely, the more the criminal process is based on an adversarial model, more the remote criminal process is seen as incompatible with the principle of immediacy. In order to achieve this goal, the following tasks are set: to identify whether there is a difference in assessing remote proceedings with the immediacy principle between the adversarial model and the inquisitorial model, to analyse the main aspects of the regulation of remote criminal proceedings based on the examples of different countries (for example Lithuania, Italy, etc.).

Keywords: remote criminal proceedings, principle of orality, principle of immediacy, adversarial model inquisitorial model

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Authors: E. Menga, S. Hernandez

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Finite Element Models (FEMs) are widely used in order to study and predict the dynamic properties of structures and usually, the prediction can be obtained with much more accuracy in the case of a single component than in the case of assemblies. Especially for structural dynamics studies, in the low and middle frequency range, most complex FEMs can be seen as assemblies made by linear components joined together at interfaces. From a modelling and computational point of view, these types of joints can be seen as localized sources of stiffness and damping and can be modelled as lumped spring/damper elements, most of time, characterized by nonlinear constitutive laws. On the other side, most of FE programs are able to run nonlinear analysis in time-domain. They treat the whole structure as nonlinear, even if there is one nonlinear degree of freedom (DOF) out of thousands of linear ones, making the analysis unnecessarily expensive from a computational point of view. In this work, a methodology in order to obtain the nonlinear frequency response of structures, whose nonlinearities can be considered as localized sources, is presented. The work extends the well-known Structural Dynamic Modification Method (SDMM) to a nonlinear set of modifications, and allows getting the Nonlinear Frequency Response Functions (NLFRFs), through an ‘updating’ process of the Linear Frequency Response Functions (LFRFs). A brief summary of the analytical concepts is given, starting from the linear formulation and understanding what the implications of the nonlinear one, are. The response of the system is formulated in both: time and frequency domain. First the Modal Database is extracted and the linear response is calculated. Secondly the nonlinear response is obtained thru the NL SDMM, by updating the underlying linear behavior of the system. The methodology, implemented in MATLAB, has been successfully applied to estimate the nonlinear frequency response of two systems. The first one is a two DOFs spring-mass-damper system, and the second example takes into account a full aircraft FE Model. In spite of the different levels of complexity, both examples show the reliability and effectiveness of the method. The results highlight a feasible and robust procedure, which allows a quick estimation of the effect of localized nonlinearities on the dynamic behavior. The method is particularly powerful when most of the FE Model can be considered as acting linearly and the nonlinear behavior is restricted to few degrees of freedom. The procedure is very attractive from a computational point of view because the FEM needs to be run just once, which allows faster nonlinear sensitivity analysis and easier implementation of optimization procedures for the calibration of nonlinear models.

Keywords: frequency response, nonlinear dynamics, structural dynamic modification, softening effect, rubber

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Authors: Christina Van Wingerden

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This paper focuses on a sense of belonging, isolation, and the use of a learning management system as a “third space” for connection and community. Given student use of learning management systems (LMS) for courses on campuses, moderate to high use of social media and hand-held devices, the author explores the possibilities of LMS as a third space. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated student experiences of isolation, and research indicates that students who experience a sense of belonging have a greater likelihood for academic retention and success. The impacts on students of an LMS designed for student employee orientation and training were examined through a mixed methods approach, including a survey, individual interviews, and focus groups. The sample involved 250-450 undergraduate student employees at a US northwestern university. The goal of the study was to find out the efficiency and effectiveness of the orientation information for a wide range of student employees from multiple student affairs departments. And unexpected finding emerged within the study in 2015 and was noted again as a finding in the 2017 study. Students reported feeling like they individually connected to the department, and further to the university because of the LMS orientation. They stated they could see themselves as part of the university community and like they belonged. The orientation, through the LMS, was designed for and occurred online (asynchronous), prior to students traveling and beginning university life for the academic year. The students indicated connection and belonging resulting from some of the design features. With the onset of COVID-19 and prolonged sheltering in place in North America, as well as other parts of the world, students have been precluded from physically gathering to educate and learn. COVID-19 essentially paused face-to-face education in 2020. Media, governments, and higher education outlets have been reporting on widespread college student stress, isolation, loneliness, and sadness. In this context, the author conducted a current mixed methods study (online survey, online interviews) of students in advanced degree programs, like Ph.D. and Ed.D. specifically investigating isolation and sense of belonging. As a part of the study a prototype of a Canvas site was experienced by student interviewees for their reaction of this Canvas site prototype as a “third” space. Some preliminary findings of this study are presented. Doctoral students in the study affirmed the potential of LMS as a third space for community and social academic connection.

Keywords: COVID-19, isolation, learning management system, sense of belonging

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Authors: Federica Marangio

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This study looks at the triangle of knowledge: research-education-innovation as growth engine of an inclusive and sustainable society, where the research is the strategic process which allows the acquisition of knowledge, innovation appraises the knowledge acquired and the education is the enabling factor of the human capital to create entrepreneurial capital. Where does Italy and China stand in the global geography of innovation? Europe is calling on a smart, inclusive and sustainable growth through a specializing process that looks at the social and economic challenges, able to understand the characteristics of specific geographic areas. It is easily questionable why it is not as simple as it looks to come up with entrepreneurial ideas in all the geographic areas. Seen that the technology plus the human capital should be the means through which is possible to innovate and contribute to the boost of innovation culture, then the young educated people can be seen as the society changing agents and it becomes clear the importance of investigating the skills and competencies that lead to innovation. By starting innovation-based activities, other countries on an international level, are able now to be part of an healthy innovative ecosystem which is the result of a strong growth policy which enables innovation. Analyzing the geography of the innovation on a global scale, comes to light that the innovative entrepreneurship is the process which portrays the competitiveness of the regions in the knowledge-based economy as strategic process able to match intellectual capital and market opportunities. The level of innovative entrepreneurship is not only the result of the endogenous growth ability of the enterprises, but also by significant relations with other enterprises, universities, other centers of education and institutions. To obtain more innovative entrepreneurship is necessary to stimulate more synergy between all these territory actors in order to create, access and value existing and new knowledge ready to be disseminate. This study focuses on individual’s lived experience and the researcher believed that she can’t understand the human actions without understanding the meaning that they attribute to their thoughts, feelings, beliefs and so given she needed to understand the deeper perspectives captured through face-to face interaction. A case study approach will contribute to the betterment of knowledge in this field. This case study will represent a picture of the innovative ecosystem and the entrepreneurial mindset as a key ingredient of endogenous growth and a must for sustainable local and regional development and social cohesion. The case study will be realized analyzing two Chinese companies. A structured set of questions will be asked in order to gain details on what generated success or failure in the different situations with the past and at the moment of the research. Everything will be recorded not to lose important information during the transcription phase. While this work is not geared toward testing a priori hypotheses, it is nevertheless useful to examine whether the projects undertaken by the companies, were stimulated by enabling factors that, as result, enhanced or hampered the local innovation culture.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, education, geography of innovation, education.

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Authors: Margo O'Sullivan, Xuefeng Chen, Qi Zhao, J. Jiang, Ning Fu

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Early childhood development, or ECD, is about the 'whole child' – the physical, social and emotional, cognitive thinking and language progression of each young individual. Overwhelming evidence is now available to support investment in Early Childhood Development internationally, attendance at ECD leads to: improved learning outcomes; improved completion and reduced less dropout rates; and most notably, Professor Heckman, Nobel Laureate’s, findings that for every dollar invested, there is an economic return of up to 17%. Notably, ECD has been included in the 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The Government of China (GOC) has embraced this research and in 2010, State Council, announced focus on ECD setting a target to provide access to ECD for 85% of 3-6 year olds by 2020; to date, the target has surpassed expectations and reached 70.4%. GoC is also increasingly focusing on the even more critical 0-3 age group, when the plasticity of the brain is at its peak and neurons form connections as fast as 1,000 per second. Key to ECD are parents and caregivers of young children, with parental education critical to fully exploiting the significant potential of the early years of children. In China, with such vast numbers, one in seven pre-school age children in the world live in China, the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the National Centre for Education Technology, explored how to best provide parental education and provide key child developmental related knowledge to parents and caregivers. In response, MoE and UNICEF created a resource for parenting information that began with a computer website in 2012, followed by piloting a kiosk service in 2013 for parents in remote areas without access to the internet, and then a mobile phone application in 2014. The resource includes 269 ECD messages and 200 micro-videos covering critical issues of early childhood development from birth to age 6 years: daily care, nutrition and feeding, disease prevention, immunization, development and education, and safety and protection. To date, there have been 397,599 unique views on the website, and data for the mobile app currently being analysed (Links: http://yuer.cbern.gov.cn/; App: https://appsto.re/cn/OiKPZ.i). This paper will explore the development of this resource, its use by parents and the public, efforts to assess the effectiveness in improving parenting and child development, and future plans to roll an updated version in 2016 to all parents.

Keywords: early childhood development, mobile apps for education, parental education, China

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Authors: Bruno R. Mendes, Francisco J. Caldeira, Rita S. Luís

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Population ageing is directly correlated to an increase in medicine consumption. Beyond the latter and the polymedicated profile of elderly, it is possible to see a need for pharmacotherapeutic monitoring due to cognitive and physical impairment. In this sense, the tracking, organization and administration of medicines become a daily challenge and the pill-box dispenser system a solution. The pill-box dispenser (system) consists in a small compartmentalized container to unit dose organization, which means a container able to correlate the patient’s prescribed dose regimen and the time schedule of intake. In many European countries, this system is part of pharmacist’s role in clinical pharmacy. Despite this simple solution, therapy compliance is only possible if the patient adheres to the system, so it is important to establish a qualitative and quantitative analysis on the perception of the patient on the benefits and risks of the pill-box dispenser as well as the identification of the ideal system. The analysis was conducted through an observational study, based on the application of a standardized questionnaire structured with the numerical scale of Likert (5 levels) and previously validated on the population. The study was performed during a limited period of time and under a randomized sample of 188 participants. The questionnaire consisted of 22 questions: 6 background measures and 16 specific measures. The standards for the final comparative analysis were obtained through the state-of-the-art on the subject. The study carried out using the Likert scale afforded a degree of agreement and discordance between measures (Sample vs. Standard) of 56,25% and 43,75%, respectively. It was concluded that the pill-box dispenser has greater acceptance among a younger population, that was not the initial target of the system. However, this allows us to guarantee a high adherence in the future. Additionally, it was noted that the cost associated with this service is not a limiting factor for its use. The pill-box dispenser system, as currently implemented, demonstrates an important weakness regarding the quality and effectiveness of the medicines, which is not understood by the patient, revealing a significant lack of literacy when it concerns with medicine area. The characteristics of an ideal system remain unchanged, which means that the size, appearance and availability of information in the pill-box continue to be indispensable elements for the compliance with the system. The pill-box dispenser remains unsuitable regarding container size and the type of treatment to which it applies. Despite that, it might be a future standard for clinical pharmacy, allowing a differentiation of the pharmacist role, as well as a wider range of applications to other age groups and treatments.

Keywords: clinical pharmacy, medicines, patient safety, pill-box dispenser

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Uswah Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Moazam Fraz, Humayoon Shafique Satti, Qasim Aziz

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Approximately 10-14% of the global population experiences a functional disorder known as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The disorder is defined by persistent abdominal pain and an irregular bowel pattern. IBS significantly impairs work productivity and disrupts patients' daily lives and activities. Although IBS is widespread, there is still an incomplete understanding of its underlying pathophysiology. This study aims to help characterize the phenotype of IBS patients by differentiating the comorbidities found in IBS patients from those in non-IBS patients using machine learning algorithms. In this study, we extracted samples coding for IBS from the UK BioBank cohort and randomly selected patients without a code for IBS to create a total sample size of 18,000. We selected the codes for comorbidities of these cases from 2 years before and after their IBS diagnosis and compared them to the comorbidities in the non-IBS cohort. Machine learning models, including Decision Trees, Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Machine (SVM), AdaBoost, Logistic Regression, and XGBoost, were employed to assess their accuracy in predicting IBS. The most accurate model was then chosen to identify the features associated with IBS. In our case, we used XGBoost feature importance as a feature selection method. We applied different models to the top 10% of features, which numbered 50. Gradient Boosting, Logistic Regression and XGBoost algorithms yielded a diagnosis of IBS with an optimal accuracy of 71.08%, 71.427%, and 71.53%, respectively. Among the comorbidities most closely associated with IBS included gut diseases (Haemorrhoids, diverticular diseases), atopic conditions(asthma), and psychiatric comorbidities (depressive episodes or disorder, anxiety). This finding emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach when evaluating the phenotype of IBS, suggesting the possibility of identifying new subsets of IBS rather than relying solely on the conventional classification based on stool type. Additionally, our study demonstrates the potential of machine learning algorithms in predicting the development of IBS based on comorbidities, which may enhance diagnosis and facilitate better management of modifiable risk factors for IBS. Further research is necessary to confirm our findings and establish cause and effect. Alternative feature selection methods and even larger and more diverse datasets may lead to more accurate classification models. Despite these limitations, our findings highlight the effectiveness of Logistic Regression and XGBoost in predicting IBS diagnosis.

Keywords: comorbidities, disease association, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), predictive analytics

Procedia PDF Downloads 99

Authors: Onabajo Paul

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The testing and assessment of physical fitness of school-aged adolescents in Nigeria has been going on for several decades. Originally, these tests strictly focused on identifying health and physical fitness status and comparing the results of adolescents with others. There is a considerable interest in health and performance fitness of adolescents in which results attained are compared with criteria representing positive health rather than simply on score comparisons with others. Despite the fact that physical education program is being studied in secondary schools and physical activities are encouraged, it is observed that regular assessment of students’ fitness level and health status seems to be scarce or not being done in these schools. The purpose of the study was to assess the heath and performance fitness of adolescents in middle-income schools in Lagos State. A total number of 150 students were selected using the simple random sampling technique. Participants were measured on hand grip strength, sit-up, pacer 20 meter shuttle run, standing long jump, weight and height. The data collected were analyzed with descriptive statistics of means, standard deviations, and range and compared with fitness norms. It was concluded that majority 111(74.0%) of the adolescents achieved the healthy fitness zone, 33(22.0%) were very lean, and 6(4.0%) needed improvement according to the normative standard of Body Mass Index test. For muscular strength, majority 78(52.0%) were weak, 66(44.0%) were normal, and 6(4.0%) were strong according to the normative standard of hand-grip strength test. For aerobic capacity fitness, majority 93(62.0%) needed improvement and were at health risk, 36(24.0%) achieved healthy fitness zone, and 21(14.0%) needed improvement according to the normative standard of PACER test. Majority 48(32.0%) of the participants had good hip flexibility, 38(25.3%) had fair status, 27(18.0%) needed improvement, 24(16.0%) had very good hip flexibility status, and 13(8.7%) of the participants had excellent status. Majority 61(40.7%) had average muscular endurance status, 30(20.0%) had poor status, 29(18.3%) had good status, 28(18.7%) had fair muscular endurance status, and 2(1.3%) of the participants had excellent status according to the normative standard of sit-up test. Majority 52(34.7%) had low jump ability fitness, 47(31.3%) had marginal fitness, 31(20.7%) had good fitness, and 20(13.3%) had high performance fitness according to the normative standard of standing long jump test. Based on the findings, it was concluded that majority of the adolescents had better Body Mass Index status, and performed well in both hip flexibility and muscular endurance tests. Whereas majority of the adolescents performed poorly in aerobic capacity test, muscular strength and jump ability test. It was recommended that to enhance wellness, adolescents should be involved in physical activities and recreation lasting 30 minutes three times a week. Schools should engage in fitness program for students on regular basis at both senior and junior classes so as to develop good cardio-respiratory, muscular fitness and improve overall health of the students.

Keywords: adolescents, health-related fitness, performance-related fitness, physical fitness

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Vladimir Messerle, Alexandr Ustimenko, Oleg Lavrichshev

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This work presents plasma technology for solid fuel ignition and combustion. Plasma activation promotes more effective and environmentally friendly low-rank coal ignition and combustion. To realise this technology at coal fired power plants plasma-fuel systems (PFS) were developed. PFS improve efficiency of power coals combustion and decrease harmful emission. PFS is pulverized coal burner equipped with arc plasma torch. Plasma torch is the main element of the PFS. Plasma forming gas is air. It is blown through the electrodes forming plasma flame. Temperature of this flame is varied from 5000 to 6000 K. Plasma torch power is varied from 100 to 350 kW and geometrical sizes are the following: the height is 0.4-0.5 m and diameter is 0.2-0.25 m. The base of the PFS technology is plasma thermochemical preparation of coal for burning. It consists of heating of the pulverized coal and air mixture by arc plasma up to temperature of coal volatiles release and char carbon partial gasification. In the PFS coal-air mixture is deficient in oxygen and carbon is oxidised mainly to carbon monoxide. As a result, at the PFS exit a highly reactive mixture is formed of combustible gases and partially burned char particles, together with products of combustion, while the temperature of the gaseous mixture is around 1300 K. Further mixing with the air promotes intensive ignition and complete combustion of the prepared fuel. PFS have been tested for boilers start up and pulverized coal flame stabilization in different countries at power boilers of 75 to 950 t/h steam productivity. They were equipped with different types of pulverized coal burners (direct flow, muffle and swirl burners). At PFS testing power coals of all ranks (lignite, bituminous, anthracite and their mixtures) were incinerated. Volatile content of them was from 4 to 50%, ash varied from 15 to 48% and heat of combustion was from 1600 to 6000 kcal/kg. To show the advantages of the plasma technology before conventional technologies of coal combustion numerical investigation of plasma ignition, gasification and thermochemical preparation of a pulverized coal for incineration in an experimental furnace with heat capacity of 3 MW was fulfilled. Two computer-codes were used for the research. The computer simulation experiments were conducted for low-rank bituminous coal of 44% ash content. The boiler operation has been studied at the conventional mode of combustion and with arc plasma activation of coal combustion. The experiments and computer simulation showed ecological efficiency of the plasma technology. When a plasma torch operates in the regime of plasma stabilization of pulverized coal flame, NOX emission is reduced twice and amount of unburned carbon is reduced four times. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (Agreement on grant No. 14.613.21.0005, project RFMEFI61314X0005).

Keywords: coal, ignition, plasma-fuel system, plasma torch, thermal power plant

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Yana Posmitnaya, Galina Rudnitskaya, Tatyana Lukashenko, Anton Bukatin, Anatoly Evstrapov

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An important area of biological and medical research is the study of genetic mutations and polymorphisms that can alter gene function and cause inherited diseases and other diseases. The following methods to analyse DNA fragments are used: capillary electrophoresis and electrophoresis on microfluidic chip (MFC), mass spectrometry with electrophoresis on MFC, hybridization assay on microarray. Electrophoresis on MFC allows to analyse small volumes of samples with high speed and throughput. A soft lithography in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was chosen for operative fabrication of MFCs. A master-form from silicon and photoresist SU-8 2025 (MicroChem Corp.) was created for the formation of micro-sized structures in PDMS. A universal topology which combines T-injector and simple cross was selected for the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Glass K8 and PDMS Sylgard® 184 (Dow Corning Corp.) were used for fabrication of MFCs. Electroosmotic flow (EOF) plays an important role in the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Therefore, the estimate of the quantity of EOF and the ways of its regulation are of interest for the development of the new methods of the electrophoretic separation of biomolecules. The following methods of surface modification were chosen to change EOF: high-frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma treatment in oxygen and argon at low pressure (1 mbar); 1% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol; 3% aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188 (Sigma-Aldrich Corp.). The electroosmotic mobility was evaluated by the method of Huang X. et al., wherein the borate buffer was used. The influence of physical and chemical methods of treatment on the wetting properties of the PDMS surface was controlled by the sessile drop method. The most effective way of surface modification of MFCs, from the standpoint of obtaining the smallest value of the contact angle and the smallest value of the EOF, was the processing with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. This method of modification has been selected for the treatment of channels of MFCs, which are used for the separation of mixture of oligonucleotides fluorescently labeled with the length of chain with 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 nucleotides. Electrophoresis was performed on the device MFAS-01 (IAI RAS, Russia) at the separation voltage of 1500 V. 6% solution of polydimethylacrylamide with the addition of 7M carbamide was used as the separation medium. The separation time of components of the mixture was determined from electropherograms. The time for untreated MFC was ~275 s, and for the ones treated with solution of Kolliphor® P 188 – ~ 220 s. Research of physical-chemical methods of surface modification of MFCs allowed to choose the most effective way for reducing EOF – the modification with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. In this case, the separation time of the mixture of oligonucleotides decreased about 20%. The further optimization of method of modification of channels of MFCs will allow decreasing the separation time of sample and increasing the throughput of analysis.

Keywords: electrophoresis, microfluidic chip, modification, nucleic acid, polydimethylsiloxane, soft lithography

Procedia PDF Downloads 396

Authors: Soyon Kim, Edward Kim

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In order to retrieve information from the massive stream of songs in the music industry, music search by title, lyrics, artist, mood, and genre has become more important. Despite the subjectivity and controversy over the definition of music genres across different nations and cultures, automatic genre classification systems that facilitate the process of music categorization have been developed. Manual genre selection by music producers is being provided as statistical data for designing automatic genre classification systems. In this paper, an automatic music genre classification system utilizing non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) is proposed. Short-term characteristics of the music signal can be captured based on the timbre features such as mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC), decorrelated filter bank (DFB), octave-based spectral contrast (OSC), and octave band sum (OBS). Long-term time-varying characteristics of the music signal can be summarized with (1) the statistical features such as mean, variance, minimum, and maximum of the timbre features and (2) the modulation spectrum features such as spectral flatness measure, spectral crest measure, spectral peak, spectral valley, and spectral contrast of the timbre features. Not only these conventional basic long-term feature vectors, but also NMF based feature vectors are proposed to be used together for genre classification. In the training stage, NMF basis vectors were extracted for each genre class. The NMF features were calculated in the log spectral magnitude domain (NMF-LSM) as well as in the basic feature vector domain (NMF-BFV). For NMF-LSM, an entire full band spectrum was used. However, for NMF-BFV, only low band spectrum was used since high frequency modulation spectrum of the basic feature vectors did not contain important information for genre classification. In the test stage, using the set of pre-trained NMF basis vectors, the genre classification system extracted the NMF weighting values of each genre as the NMF feature vectors. A support vector machine (SVM) was used as a classifier. The GTZAN multi-genre music database was used for training and testing. It is composed of 10 genres and 100 songs for each genre. To increase the reliability of the experiments, 10-fold cross validation was used. For a given input song, an extracted NMF-LSM feature vector was composed of 10 weighting values that corresponded to the classification probabilities for 10 genres. An NMF-BFV feature vector also had a dimensionality of 10. Combined with the basic long-term features such as statistical features and modulation spectrum features, the NMF features provided the increased accuracy with a slight increase in feature dimensionality. The conventional basic features by themselves yielded 84.0% accuracy, but the basic features with NMF-LSM and NMF-BFV provided 85.1% and 84.2% accuracy, respectively. The basic features required dimensionality of 460, but NMF-LSM and NMF-BFV required dimensionalities of 10 and 10, respectively. Combining the basic features, NMF-LSM and NMF-BFV together with the SVM with a radial basis function (RBF) kernel produced the significantly higher classification accuracy of 88.3% with a feature dimensionality of 480.

Keywords: mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC), music genre classification, non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), support vector machine (SVM)

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Toumi Khamari

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This abstract presents an ecolinguistic investigation of the role of language in cultivating environmental consciousness within the Algerian context. Grounded in the field of applied linguistics, this study aims to explore how language shapes perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors related to the environment in Algeria. By examining linguistic practices and discourse patterns, this research sheds light on the potential for language to inspire ecological sustainability and foster environmental awareness. Employing a qualitative research design, the study incorporates discourse analysis and ethnographic methods to analyze language use and its environmental implications. Drawing from Algerian linguistic and cultural contexts, we investigate the unique ways in which language reflects and influences environmental consciousness among Algerian individuals and communities. This research explores the impact of linguistic features, metaphors, and narratives on environmental perceptions, addressing the complex interplay between language, culture, and the natural world. Previous studies have emphasized the significance of language in shaping environmental ideologies and worldviews. In the Algerian context, linguistic representations of nature, such as traditional proverbs and indigenous knowledge, hold immense potential in cultivating a harmonious relationship between humans and the environment. This research delves into the multifaceted connections between language, cultural heritage, and ecological sustainability, aiming to identify linguistic practices that promote environmental stewardship and conservation in Algeria. Furthermore, the study investigates the effectiveness of ecolinguistic interventions tailored to the Algerian context. By examining the impact of eco-education programs, eco-literature, and language-based environmental campaigns, we aim to uncover the potential of language as a catalyst for transformative environmental change. These interventions seek to engage Algerian individuals and communities in dialogue, empowering them to take active roles in environmental advocacy and decision-making processes. Through this research, we contribute to the field of ecolinguistics by shedding light on the Algerian perspective and its implications for environmental consciousness. By understanding the linguistic dynamics at play and leveraging Algeria's rich linguistic heritage, we can foster environmental awareness, encourage sustainable practices, and nurture a deeper appreciation for Algeria's unique ecological landscapes. Ultimately, this research seeks to inspire a collective commitment to environmental stewardship and contribute to the global discourse on language, culture, and the environment.

Keywords: eco-linguistics, environmental consciousness, language and culture, Algeria and North Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Kumar Divyendra

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Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs) have wide applications in areas such as water quality monitoring, marine wildlife management etc. A typical UWSN system consists of a set of sensors deployed randomly underwater which communicate with each other using acoustic links. RF communication doesn't work underwater, and GPS too isn't available underwater. Additionally Automated Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are deployed to collect data from some special nodes called Cluster Heads (CHs). These CHs aggregate data from their neighboring nodes and forward them to the AUVs using optical links when an AUV is in range. This helps reduce the number of hops covered by data packets and helps conserve energy. We consider the three-dimensional model of the UWSN. Nodes are initially deployed randomly underwater. They attach themselves to the surface using a rod and can only move upwards or downwards using a pump and bladder mechanism. We use graph theory concepts to maximize the coverage volume while every node maintaining connectivity with at least one surface node. We treat the surface nodes as landmarks and each node finds out its hop distance from every surface node. We treat these hop-distances as coordinates and use them for AUV navigation. An AUV intending to move closer to a node with given coordinates moves hop by hop through nodes that are closest to it in terms of these coordinates. In absence of GPS, multiple different approaches like Inertial Navigation System (INS), Doppler Velocity Log (DVL), computer vision-based navigation, etc., have been proposed. These systems have their own drawbacks. INS accumulates error with time, vision techniques require prior information about the environment. We propose a method that makes use of the earth's magnetic field values for navigation and combines it with other methods that simultaneously increase the coverage volume under the UWSN. The AUVs are fitted with magnetometers that measure the magnetic intensity (I), horizontal inclination (H), and Declination (D). The International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) is a mathematical model of the earth's magnetic field, which provides the field values for the geographical coordinateson earth. Researchers have developed an inverse deep learning model that takes the magnetic field values and predicts the location coordinates. We make use of this model within our work. We combine this with with the hop-by-hop movement described earlier so that the AUVs move in such a sequence that the deep learning predictor gets trained as quickly and precisely as possible We run simulations in MATLAB to prove the effectiveness of our model with respect to other methods described in the literature.

Keywords: clustering, deep learning, network backbone, parallel computing

Procedia PDF Downloads 83

Authors: Muhammad Younas, Sidra Sawati, M. Razzaq Athar

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Organizational development history reveals that it has ever been a challenge to identify and fathom the role of talent management, career development and compensation management towards employees’ retention and organizational performance. Organizations strive hard to measure the impact of all those factors which affect employee retention and organizational performance. Researchers have worked in great deal in order to know the relationship of independent variables i.e. Talent Management, Career Development and Compensation Management on dependent variables i.e. Employee Retention and Organizational Performance. Employees adorned with latest skills with long lasting loyalty play a significant role towards successful achievement of short term as well as long term goals of the organizations. Retention of valuable and resourceful employees for a longer time is equally essential for meeting the set goals. The organizations which spend reasonable chunk of their resources for taking such measures that help to retain their employees through talent management and satisfactory career development always enjoy a competitive edge over their competitors. Human resource is regarded as one of the most precious and difficult resource to management. It has its own needs and requirement. It becomes an easy prey to monotony when lacks career development. Wants and aspirations of this resource are seldom met completely but can be managed through career development and compensation management. In this era of competition, organizations have to take viable steps to management their resources especially human resource. Top management and Managers keep on working for an amenable solution in order to address the challenges relating career development and compensation management as their ultimate goal is to ensure the organizational performance on optimum level. The current study was conducted to examine the impact of Talent Management, Career Development and Compensation Management towards Employees Retention and Organizational Performance with mediating effect of Employees Motivation in Service Sector of Pakistan. The current study is based on Resource Based View (RBV) and Ability Motivation Opportunity (AMO) theories. It explains that by increasing internal resources we can manage employee talent, career development through compensation management and employee motivation more effectively. It will result in effective execution of HRM practices for employee retention enabling an organization to achieve and sustain competitive advantage through optimal performance. Data collection was made through a structured questionnaire which was based upon adopted instruments after testing reliability and validity. A total 300 employees of 30 firms in service sector of Pakistan were sampled through non-probability sampling technique. Regression analysis revealed that talent management, career development and compensation management have significant positive impact on employee retention and perceived organizational performance. The results further showed that employee motivation have a significant mediating effect on employee retention and organizational performance. The interpretation of the findings and limitations, theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Keywords: career development, compensation management, employee retention, organizational performance, talent management

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh, Bhabani Prasad Mukhopadhyay

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The increasing demand for environmentally friendly energy solutions highlights the need to optimize solar energy systems. This study compares two types of solar energy systems: ground-mounted solar panels for drought-prone locations and rooftop solar PV installations measuring 300 sq. ft. (approx. 28 sq. m.). The electricity output of 4730 kWh/year saves ₹ 14191/year. As a clean and sustainable energy source, solar power is pivotal in reducing greenhouse gas CO2 emissions reduction by 85 tonnes in 25 years and combating climate change. This effort, "PM Suryadaya Ghar-Muft Bijli Yojana," seeks to empower Indian homes by giving free access to solar energy. The initiative is part of the Indian government's larger attempt to encourage clean and renewable energy sources while reducing reliance on traditional fossil fuels. This report reviews various installations and government reports to analyse the performance and impact of both ground-mounted and rooftop solar systems. Besides, effectiveness of government subsidy programs for residential on-grid solar systems, including the ₹78,000 incentive for systems above 3 kW. The study also looks into the subsidy schemes available for domestic agricultural grid use. Systems up to 3 kW receive ₹43,764, while systems over 10 kW receive a fixed subsidy of ₹94,822. Households can save a substantial amount of energy and minimize their reliance on grid electricity by installing the proper solar plant capacity. In terms of monthly consumption at home, the acceptable Rooftop Solar Plant capacity for households is 0-150 units (1-2 kW), 150-300 units (2-3 kW), and >300 units (above 3 kW). Ground-mounted panels, particularly in arid regions, offer benefits such as scalability and optimal orientation but face challenges like land use conflicts and environmental impact, particularly in drought-prone regions. By evaluating the distinct advantages and challenges of each system, this study aims to provide insights into their optimal applications, guiding stakeholders in making informed decisions to enhance solar energy efficiency and sustainability within regulatory constraints. This research also explores the implications of regulations, such as Italy's ban on ground-mounted solar panels on productive agricultural land, on solar energy strategies.

Keywords: sustainability, solar energy, subsidy, rooftop solar energy, renewable energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 22

Authors: Jane-Francis A. Abongdia, Thandiswa Mpiti

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There is an international concern to develop children’s literacy skills. In many parts of the world, the need to become fluent in a second language is essential for gaining meaningful access to education, the labour market and broader social functioning. In spite of these efforts, the problem still continues. The level of English language proficiency is far from satisfactory and these goals are unattainable by others. The issue is more complex in South Africa as learners are immersed in a second language (L2) curriculum. South Africa is a prime example of a country facing the dilemma of how to effectively equip a majority of its population with English as a second language or first additional language (FAL). Given the multilingual nature of South Africa with eleven official languages, and the position and power of English, the study investigates teachers’ and learners’ experiences on isiXhosa and Afrikaans background learners’ writing in English First Additional Language (EFAL). Moreover, possible causes of writing difficulties and teacher’s practices for writing are explored. The theoretical and conceptual framework for the study is provided by studies on constructivist theories and sociocultural theories. In exploring these issues, a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis were adopted. This data is analysed by critical discourse analysis (CDA). The study identified a weak correlation between teachers’ beliefs and their actual teaching practices. Although the teachers believe that writing is as important as listening, speaking, reading, grammar and vocabulary, and that it needs regular practice, the data reveal that they fail to put their beliefs into practice. Moreover, the data revealed that learners were disturbed by their home language because when they do not know a word they would write either the isiXhosa or the Afrikaans equivalent. Code-switching seems to have instilled a sense of “dependence on translations” where some learners would not even try to answer English questions but would wait for the teacher to translate the questions into isiXhosa or Afrikaans before they could attempt to give answers. The findings of the study show a marked improvement in the writing performance of learners who used the process approach in writing. These findings demonstrate the need for assisting teachers to shift away from focusing only on learners’ performance (testing and grading) towards a stronger emphasis on the process of writing. The study concludes that the process approach to writing could enable teachers to focus on the various parts of the writing process which can give more freedom to learners to experiment their language proficiency. It would require that teachers develop a deeper understanding of the process/genre approaches to teaching writing advocated by CAPS. All in all, the study shows that both learners and teachers face numerous challenges relating to writing. This means that more work still needs to be done in this area. The present study argues that teachers teaching EFAL learners should approach writing as a critical and core aspect of learners’ education. Learners should be exposed to intensive writing activities throughout their school years.

Keywords: constructivism, English second language, language of learning and teaching, writing

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Umedov Mekhroz, Griaznova Svetlana

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In connection with the growth of oncological diseases, the design of centers for diagnostics and the production of radiopharmaceuticals is the most relevant area of healthcare facilities. The design of new nuclear medicine centers should be carried out from the standpoint of solving the following tasks: the availability of medical care, functionality, environmental friendliness, sustainable development, improving the safety of drugs, the use of which requires special care, reducing the rate of environmental pollution, ensuring comfortable conditions for the internal microclimate, adaptability. The purpose of this article is to substantiate architectural and planning solutions, formulate recommendations and principles for the design of nuclear medicine centers and determine the connections between the production and medical functions of a building. The advantages of combining the production of radiopharmaceuticals and the department of medical care: less radiation activity is accumulated, the cost of the final product is lower, and there is no need to hire a transport company with a special license for transportation. A medical imaging department is a structural unit of a medical institution in which diagnostic procedures are carried out in order to gain an idea of the internal structure of various organs of the body for clinical analysis. Depending on the needs of a particular institution, the department may include various rooms that provide medical imaging using radiography, ultrasound diagnostics, and the phenomenon of nuclear magnetic resonance. The production of radiopharmaceuticals is an object intended for the production of a pharmaceutical substance containing a radionuclide and intended for introduction into the human body or laboratory animal for the purpose of diagnosis, evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment, or for biomedical research. The research methodology includes the following subjects: study and generalization of international experience in scientific research, literature, standards, teaching aids, and design materials on the topic of research; An integrated approach to the study of existing international experience of PET / CT scan centers and the production of radiopharmaceuticals; Elaboration of graphical analysis and diagrams based on the system analysis of the processed information; Identification of methods and principles of functional zoning of nuclear medicine centers. The result of the research is the identification of the design principles of nuclear medicine centers with the functions of the production of radiopharmaceuticals and the department of medical imaging. This research will be applied to the design and construction of healthcare facilities in the field of nuclear medicine.

Keywords: architectural planning solutions, functional zoning, nuclear medicine, PET/CT scan, production of radiopharmaceuticals, radiotherapy

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Ahlad Neti, Elisa Arch, Martha Hall

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Studies have shown that individuals who use Ankle-Foot-Orthoses (AFOs) have a high level of dissatisfaction regarding their current AFOs. Studies point to the focus on technical design with little attention given to the user perspective as a source of AFO designs that leave users dissatisfied. To design a new AFO that satisfies users and thereby improves their quality of life, the reasons for their dissatisfaction and their wants and needs for an improved AFO design must be identified. There has been little research into the user perspective on AFO use and desired improvements, so the relationship between AFO design and satisfaction in daily use must be assessed to develop appropriate metrics and constraints prior to designing a novel AFO. To assess the user perspective on AFO design, structured interviews were conducted with 7 individuals (average age of 64.29±8.81 years) who use AFOs. All interviews were transcribed and coded to identify common themes using Grounded Theory Method in NVivo 12. Qualitative analysis of these results identified sources of user dissatisfaction such as heaviness, bulk, and uncomfortable material and overall needs and wants for an AFO. Beyond the user perspective, certain objective factors must be considered in the construction of metrics and constraints to ensure that the AFO fulfills its medical purpose. These more objective metrics are rooted in a common medical device market and technical standards. Given the large body of research concerning these standards, these objective metrics and constraints were derived through a literature review. Through these two methods, a comprehensive list of metrics and constraints accounting for both the user perspective on AFO design and the AFO’s medical purpose was compiled. These metrics and constraints will establish the framework for designing a new AFO that carries out its medical purpose while also improving the user experience. The metrics can be categorized into several overarching areas for AFO improvement. Categories of user perspective related metrics include comfort, discreteness, aesthetics, ease of use, and compatibility with clothing. Categories of medical purpose related metrics include biomechanical functionality, durability, and affordability. These metrics were used to guide an iterative prototyping process. Six concepts were ideated and compared using system-level analysis. From these six concepts, two concepts – the piano wire model and the segmented model – were selected to move forward into prototyping. Evaluation of non-functional prototypes of the piano wire and segmented models determined that the piano wire model better fulfilled the metrics by offering increased stability, longer durability, fewer points for failure, and a strong enough core component to allow a sock to cover over the AFO while maintaining the overall structure. As such, the piano wire AFO has moved forward into the functional prototyping phase, and healthy subject testing is being designed and recruited to conduct design validation and verification.

Keywords: ankle-foot orthotic, assistive technology, human centered design, medical devices

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Adejoke Omowumi Adediran

Abstract:

The commitment of African states to liberalise civil aviation in Africa through the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 was reiterated in 2015 at the African Union Assembly meeting. A declaration was made by African Heads of government at the meeting to ensure the immediate implementation of the decision towards the establishment of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) by 2017. A SAATM will imply among others, a removal of all commercial restrictions for African airlines in Africa; access to any route in Africa by African airlines without any required permit or authorisation; and a common set of regulations for airlines in African member states. As the envisioned 2017 date for launching the SAATM could not be met, a new date of January 2018 has been set. The lack of political will by African States, however, remains a prominent challenge to the realisation of the SAATM. As at June 2017, only twenty-one states had signed the commitment to actualise the decision creating the SAATM. In actualisation of the SAATM, a regulatory framework has been established to efficiently manage the new African airline industry, and regulatory texts have been adopted as part of the legal regime. This legal regime is to regulate both interstate and domestic operations. Airlines in Nigeria are currently faced with certain challenges which ultimately affect their effectiveness and passengers as well do not enjoy utmost customer satisfaction with services rendered by the airlines. Although Nigeria has demonstrated support for the SAATM since 2015, as Nigeria alongside ten other states, signed the initial commitment, whether or not SAATM will eventually be beneficial to airlines and passengers has become an issue in the light of the challenges of the Nigerian airline industry. Remarkably, the benefit of the SAATM is to a large extent ultimately determined by its legal framework. Using doctrinal research, this paper examines the legal implications of the SAATM on airlines and passengers in Nigeria. This paper analyses the legal framework of SAATM and juxtaposes this with the particular issues affecting airlines and passengers in Nigeria such as financial difficulties on the part of airlines and consumer protection as regards passengers. Among others, it can be asserted that the legal regime affords an opportunity for business expansion and creates a fair environment for competition. This is beneficial not only to the airlines but to passengers as well. In addition, in the interest of passengers, consumer rights are prescribed, and the regulations also cater for situations where airlines interrupt their services, as losses arising from these situations will be mitigated. There is indeed no doubt that the SAATM will be of great utility to both airlines and passengers in Nigeria.

Keywords: airlines, civil aviation, competition, consumer protection, passengers, single African air transport market, yamoussoukro decision

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Authors: Doreen Chemutai

Abstract:

While women's parliamentary representation has increased over the years, most women contest the affirmative action seat (A.A). There is a lack of knowledge on why women prefer the affirmative seat vis- a- vis the open seat. This study argues that comparing women's path on the reserved and open seat to parliamentary representation enables us to pass judgment on why this trend continues. This paper provides a narrative analysis of women members of parliament's (MPs) trajectory in the open seat and Affirmative Action seat to parliamentary representation. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from the Northern Uganda districts of Kitgum, Pader, Oyam, Agago, and Gulu. The eight women MPs chosen for the study completed in-depth interviews exploring their qualifications, careers, and experiences before joining the political office, their party affiliation, and the kind of seat they currently occupy in the 10th parliament. Findings revealed similarities between women on the open and reserved to include; women generally irrespective of the seat they choose to contest for find it difficult to win elections because voters doubt women's effectiveness as leaders. All women as incumbents find it difficult to be re-elected because their evaluation is harsher than that for men. Findings also revealed that women representatives are motivated by their personal lived experiences, community work, educational leadership, and local leadership. The study establishes that the popularity of the party in a given geographical location and the opponents' quality will determine the success of the parliamentary candidate in question irrespective of whether one is contesting on the open or Affirmative seat. However, the study revealed differences between MPs' experiences in the quest for the parliamentary seat, females on the open seat are subjected to gender discrimination in elections by party leadership, stereotyped, and are victims of propaganda in the initial contesting stages. Women who win elections in the open seat have to be superior to their male opponents. In other circumstances where a woman emerges successful, she may be voted for due to other reasons beyond capability, such as physical appearance or sociability. On the other hand, MPs' revelations on affirmative action seats show that the political terrain is smoother despite larger constituencies. Findings show that women on the Affirmative Action seat do not move to the open seat because of the comfort associated with the seat and maintain consistency, since the constituencies doubt the motives of representatives who change from one seat to another. The study concludes that women MPs who contest on the open seat are likely to suffer structural barriers such as gender discrimination and political recruitment bias instead of women on the affirmative seat. This explains why the majority of women contest on the affirmative seat.

Keywords: affirmative action seats, open seats, parliamentary representation, pathways

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Keping Zuo, Jia Yin Chia, Gideon Praveen Kumar Vijayakumar, Foad Kabinejadian, Fangsen Cui, Pei Ho, Hwa Liang Leo

Abstract:

Carotid artery is the major vessel supplying blood to the brain. Carotid artery stenosis is one of the three major causes of stroke and the stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and the first leading cause of disability in most developed countries. Although there is an increasing interest in carotid artery stenting for treatment of cervical carotid artery bifurcation therosclerotic disease, currently available bare metal stents cannot provide an adequate protection against the detachment of the plaque fragments over diseased carotid artery, which could result in the formation of micro-emboli and subsequent stroke. Our research group has recently developed a novel preferential covered-stent for carotid artery aims to prevent friable fragments of atherosclerotic plaques from flowing into the cerebral circulation, and yet retaining the ability to preserve the flow of the external carotid artery. The preliminary animal studies have demonstrated the potential of this novel covered-stent design for the treatment of carotid therosclerotic stenosis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the biomechanical property of PU membrane of different concentration configurations in order to refine the stent coating technique and enhance the clinical performance of our novel carotid covered stent. Results from this study also provide necessary material property information crucial for accurate simulation analysis for our stents. Method: Medical grade Polyurethane (ChronoFlex AR) was used to prepare PU membrane specimens. Different PU membrane configurations were subjected to uniaxial test: 22%, 16%, and 11% PU solution were made by mixing the original solution with proper amount of the Dimethylacetamide (DMAC). The specimens were then immersed in physiological saline solution for 24 hours before test. All specimens were moistened with saline solution before mounting and subsequent uniaxial testing. The specimens were preconditioned by loading the PU membrane sample to a peak stress of 5.5 Mpa for 10 consecutive cycles at a rate of 50 mm/min. The specimens were then stretched to failure at the same loading rate. Result: The results showed that the stress-strain response curves of all PU membrane samples exhibited nonlinear characteristic. For the ultimate failure stress, 22% PU membrane was significantly higher than 16% (p<0.05). In general, our preliminary results showed that lower concentration PU membrane is stiffer than the higher concentration one. From the perspective of mechanical properties, 22% PU membrane is a better choice for the covered stent. Interestingly, the hyperelastic Ogden model is able to accurately capture the nonlinear, isotropic stress-strain behavior of PU membrane with R2 of 0.9977 ± 0.00172. This result will be useful for future biomechanical analysis of our stent designs and will play an important role for computational modeling of our covered stent fatigue study.

Keywords: carotid artery, covered stent, nonlinear, hyperelastic, stress, strain

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Ernest Tambo, Ghislaine Madjou, Jeanne Y. Ngogang, Shenglan Tang, Zhou XiaoNong

Abstract:

Implementing national to community-based 'One Health' surveillance approach for human, animal and environmental consequences mitigation offers great opportunities and value-added in sustainable development and wellbeing. 'One Health' surveillance approach global partnerships, policy commitment and financial investment are much needed in addressing the evolving threats and epidemics crises mitigation in African countries. The paper provides insights onto how China-Africa health development cooperation in promoting “One Health” surveillance approach in response advocacy and mitigation. China-Africa health development initiatives provide new prospects in guiding and moving forward appropriate and evidence-based advocacy and mitigation management approaches and strategies in attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Early and continuous quality and timely surveillance data collection and coordinated information sharing practices in malaria and other diseases are demonstrated in Comoros, Zanzibar, Ghana and Cameroon. Improvements of variety of access to contextual sources and network of data sharing platforms are needed in guiding evidence-based and tailored detection and response to unusual hazardous events. Moreover, understanding threats and diseases trends, frontline or point of care response delivery is crucial to promote integrated and sustainable targeted local, national “One Health” surveillance and response approach needs implementation. Importantly, operational guidelines are vital in increasing coherent financing and national workforce capacity development mechanisms. Strengthening participatory partnerships, collaboration and monitoring strategies in achieving global health agenda effectiveness in Africa. At the same enhancing surveillance data information streams reporting and dissemination usefulness in informing policies decisions, health systems programming and financial mobilization and prioritized allocation pre, during and post threats and epidemics crises programs strengths and weaknesses. Thus, capitalizing on “One Health” surveillance and response approach advocacy and mitigation implementation is timely in consolidating Africa Union 2063 agenda and Africa renaissance capabilities and expectations.

Keywords: Africa, one health approach, surveillance, response

Procedia PDF Downloads 409