Search results for: quality of urban life of disadvantaged people

Authors: Tanutpong Phriwanrat

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This research investigated the properties of Rhizophora charcoal for product design on 3 aspects: electrical conductor, impurity absorption, and fresh fruit shelf life. After the study, the properties of Rhizophora charcoal were applied to produce local product model at Ban Yisarn, Ampawa District, Samudsongkram Province which can add value to the Rhizophora charcoal as one of the OTOP (One-Tambon-One product). The results showed that the Rhizophora charcoal is not an electrical conductor but good liquid impurity absorber and it can extend fresh fruit shelf life.

Keywords: design, product design, properties of rhizophora, rhizophora charcoal

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Authors: Dalia Antiniene, Rosita Lekaviciene

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The qualitative methodology based study is designed to reveal a connection between emotional intelligence (EI) and locus of control (LC) within the population of Lithuanian youth. In the context of emotional problems, the locus of control reflects how one estimates the causes of his/her emotions: internals (internal locus of control) associate their emotions with their manner of thinking, whereas externals (external locus of control) consider emotions to be evoked by external circumstances. On the other hand, there is little empirical data about this connection, and the results in disposition are often contradictory. In the conducted study 1430 young people, aged 17 to 27, from various regions of Lithuania were surveyed. The subjects were selected by quota sampling, maintaining natural proportions of the general Lithuanian youth population. To assess emotional intelligence the EI-DARL test (i.e. self-report questionnaire consisting of 75 items) was implemented. The emotional intelligence test, created applying exploratory factor analysis, reveals four main dimensions of EI: understanding of one’s own emotions, regulation of one’s own emotions, understanding other’s emotions, and regulation of other’s emotions (subscale reliability coefficients fluctuate between 0,84 and 0,91). An original 16-item internality/externality scale was used to examine the locus of control (internal consistency of the Externality subscale - 0,75; Internality subscale - 0,65). The study has determined that the youth understands and regulates other people’s emotions better than their own. Using the K-mean cluster analysis method, it was established that there are three groups of subjects according to their EI level – people with low, medium and high EI. After comparing means of subjects’ favorability of statements on the Internality/Externality scale, a predominance of internal locus of control in the young population was established. The multiple regression models has shown that a rather strong statistically significant correlation exists between total EI, EI subscales and LC. People who tend to attribute responsibility for the outcome of their actions to their own abilities and efforts have higher EI and, conversely, the tendency to attribute responsibility to external forces is related more with lower EI. While pursuing their goals, young people with high internality have a predisposition to analyze perceived emotions and, therefore, gain emotional experience: they learn to control their natural reactions and to act adequately in a situation at hand. Thus the study unfolds, that a person’s locus of control and emotional intelligence are related phenomena and allows us to draw a conclusion, that a person’s internality/externality is a reliable predictor of total EI and its components.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, externality, internality, locus of control

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Authors: Farnaz Dehkhoda

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This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of active and receptive music-therapy on anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. 184 young adult patients, who were diagnosed with early stage cancer and were undergoing treatment, were divided into three groups. Two groups received music therapy as a parallel treatment and the third group was control group. In active music-therapy, a music specialist helped the patients to play guitar and sing. In the receptive music-therapy, patients preferred pre-recorded music played by MP3 player. The level of anxiety was measured by the Beck Anxiety Inventory as pre-test and post-test. ANCOVA revealed that both types of music-therapy reduced anxiety level of patients and the active music-therapy intervention found to be more effective. The results suggest that music-therapy can be applied as an intervention method contemporary with cancer medical treatment, for improving quality of life in cancer patients by reducing their anxiety.

Keywords: Anxiety, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Music-therapy

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Authors: Nicholas Fieseler

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The nature of religion implicit in popular culture is relevant both in and out of the university. The traditional rules-based conception of religion and the ethical systems that emerge from them do not necessarily convey the behavior of daily life as it exists apart from spaces deemed sacred. This paper proposes to examine the religion implicit in the popular culture phenomenon of professional wrestling and how that affects the understanding of popular religion. Pro wrestling, while frequently dismissed, offers a unique manner through which to re-examine religion in popular culture. A global phenomenon, pro wrestling occupies a distinct space in numerous countries and presents a legitimate reflection of human behavior cross-culturally on a scale few other phenomena can equal. Given its global viewership of millions, it should be recognized as a significant means of interpreting the human attraction to violence and its association with religion in general. Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theory of Theodrama will be used to interrogate the inchoate religion within pro wrestling. While Balthasar developed theodrama within the confines of Christian theology; theodrama contains remarkable versatility in its potential utility. Since theodrama re-envisions reality as drama, the actions of every human actor on the stage contributes to the play’s development, and all action contains some transcendent value. It is in this sense that even the “low brow” activity of pro wrestling may be understood in religious terms. Moreover, a pro wrestling storyline acts as a play within a play: the struggles in a pro wrestling match reflect the human attitudes toward life as it exists in the sacred and profane realms. The indistinct lines separating traditionally good (face) from traditionally bad (heel)wrestlers mirror the moral ambiguity in which many people interpret life. This blurred distinction between good and bad, and large segments of an audience’s embrace of the heel wrestlers, reveal ethical constraints that guide the everyday values of pro wrestling spectators, a moral ambivalence that is often overlooked by traditional religious systems, and which has hitherto been neglected in the academic literature on pro wrestling. The significance of interpreting the religion implicit in pro wrestling through a the dramatic lens extends beyond pro wrestling specifically and can examine the religion implicit in popular culture in general. The use of theodrama mitigates the rigid separation often ascribed to areas deemed sacred/ profane, ortranscendent / immanent, enabling a re-evaluation of religion and ethical systems as practiced in popular culture. The use of theodrama will be expressed by utilizing the pro wrestling match as a literary text that reflects the society from which it emerges. This analysis will also reveal the complex nature of religion in popular culture and provides new directions for the academic study of religion. This project consciously bridges the academic and popular realms. The goal of the research is not to add only to the academic literature on implicit religion in popular culture but to publish it in a form which speaks to those outside the standard academic audiences for such work.

Keywords: ethics, popular religion, professional wrestling, theodrama

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Authors: Megan Weisbart

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Background/Significance: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) environment contributes to nurse burnout. Burnout costs include decreased employee compassion, missed workdays, worse patient outcomes, diminished job performance, high turnover, and higher organizational cost. Meaningful recognition, nurturing of interpersonal connections, and mindfulness-based interventions are associated with decreased burnout. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to decrease Neonatal ICU (NICU) nurse burnout using a Wellness Bundle that fosters meaningful recognition, interpersonal connections and includes mindfulness-based interventions. Methods: The Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 (ProQOL5) was used to measure burnout before Wellness Bundle implementation, after six months, and will be given yearly for three years. Meaningful recognition bundle items include Online submission and posting of staff shoutouts, recognition events, Nurses Week and Unit Practice Council member gifts, and an employee recognition program. Fostering of interpersonal connections bundle items include: Monthly staff games with prizes, social events, raffle fundraisers, unit blog, unit wellness basket, and a wellness resource sheet. Quick coherence techniques were implemented at staff meetings and huddles as a mindfulness-based intervention. Findings: The mean baseline burnout score of 14 NICU nurses was 20.71 (low burnout). The baseline range was 13-28, with 11 nurses experiencing low burnout, three nurses experiencing moderate burnout, and zero nurses experiencing high burnout. After six months of the Wellness Bundle Implementation, the mean burnout score of 39 NICU nurses was 22.28 (low burnout). The range was 14-31, with 22 nurses experiencing low burnout, 17 nurses experiencing moderate burnout, and zero nurses experiencing high burnout. Conclusion: A NICU Wellness Bundle that incorporated meaningful recognition, fostering of interpersonal connections, and mindfulness-based activities was implemented to improve work environments and decrease nurse burnout. Participation bias and low baseline response rate may have affected the reliability of the data and necessitate another comparative measure of burnout in one year.

Keywords: burnout, NICU, nurse, wellness

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Authors: Zulhisyam Salleh, Fizatul Aini Patakor, Rosilah Wahab, Awangku Khairul Ridzwan Awangku Jaya

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Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. Most of these children have difficulty with fine motor skills which typically struggle with handwriting and fine activities in their routine life such as getting dressed and controlled use of the everyday tool. Because fine motor activities encompass so many routine functions, a fine motor delay can have a measurable negative impact on a person's ability to handle daily practical tasks. This project proposed a simple fine motor exercise aid plus the game (exergame) for autistic children who discover from fine motor difficulties. The proposed exergame will be blinking randomly and user needs to bend their finger accordingly. It will notify the user, whether they bend the right finger or not. The system is realized using Arduino, which is programmed to control all the operated circuit. The feasibility studies with six autistic children were conducted and found the child interested in using exergame and could quickly get used to it. This study provides important guidance for future investigations of the exergame potential for accessing and improving fine motor skill among autistic children.

Keywords: autism children, Arduino project, fine motor skill, finger exergame

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Authors: Chantouch Wannathanom

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Research The study of elders’ needs in Bangkok metropolis for the options of health tourism. The objective is to study of elders’ needs in Bangkok Metropolis for the options of health tourism. The research her collected data using a questionnaire. The samples used in this research is elderly people living in the Dusit area. Of 400 people found the majority were female than male. Accounted for18 percent aged between 50-55 years, mostly undergraduate degree. Moreover, most seniors do not have underlying disease. The study found that 1. Elders’ needs in Bangkok Metropolis for the options of health tourism; 2. Tourism activity patterns that fit elderly was divided into 5 categories, including massage, massage, and herbal sauna. Practicing meditation and ascetic. The results showed that selection of elderly tourist activities by choosing healthy eating are the first. The hypothesis testing period: Elders’ needs in Bangkok Metropolis for the options of health tourism is different. The level of statistical significance .05 level.

Keywords: needs, elder, health tourism, Bangkok

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Authors: Denis Özdemir, Max Senges

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There are many examples of AI-supported apps for better health and wellbeing. Generally, these applications help people to achieve their goals based on scientific research and input data. Still, they do not always explain how those three are related, e.g. by making implicit assumptions about goals that hold for many but not for all. We present a seven-step method for designing health and wellbeing AIs considering goal setting, measurable results, real-time indicators, analytics, visual representations, communication, and feedback. It can help engineers as guidance in developing apps, recommendation algorithms, and interfaces that support humans in their decision-making without patronization. To illustrate the method, we create a recommender AI for tiny wellbeing habits and run a small case study, including a survey. From the results, we infer how people perceive the relationship between them and the AI and to what extent it helps them to achieve their goals. We review our seven-step engineering method and suggest modifications for the next iteration.

Keywords: recommender systems, natural language processing, health apps, engineering methods

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Authors: Haggag H. Mohamed, Ghatass F. Zekry, Shalaby A. Elsayed

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Most sources of air pollution in Egypt are of anthropogenic origin. Alexandria Governorate is located at north of Egypt. The main contributing sectors of air pollution in Alexandria are industry, transportation and area source due to human activities. Alexandria includes more than 40% of the industrial activities in Egypt. Cement manufacture contributes a significant amount to the particulate pollution load. Alexandria Portland Cement Company (APCC) surrounding was selected to be the study area. APCC main kiln stack Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) continuous monitoring data was collected for assessment of dust emission control technology. Electro Static Precipitator (ESP) was fixed on the cement kiln since 2002. The collected data of TSP for first quarter of 2012 was compared to that one in first quarter of 2013 after installation of new bag house filter. In the present study, based on these monitoring data and metrological data a detailed air dispersion modeling investigation was carried out using the Industrial Source Complex Short Term model (ISC3-ST) to find out the impact of applying new bag house filter control technology on the neighborhood ambient air quality. The model results show a drastic reduction of the ambient TSP hourly average concentration from 44.94μg/m3 to 5.78μg/m3 which assures the huge positive impact on the ambient air quality by applying bag house filter technology on APCC cement kiln

Keywords: air pollution modeling, ambient air quality, baghouse filter, cement industry

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Authors: Qianjia Cheng, Hongquan Jiang

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Crowdsourcing solves the problems that computers can't handle by integrating computers and the Internet. Its extensive knowledge sources, high efficiency and high quality, make crowdsourcing attract wide attention in industry and academia in recent years. The development of online crowdsourcing platforms such as Clickworker and Amazon Mechanical Turk(Mturk) tend to mature gradually. This paper sorts out the concept of crowdsourcing, sorts out the workflow of competitive crowdsourcing, summarizes the related technologies of crowdsourcing based on the workflow, quality control, cost control and delay control, introduces the typical crowdsourcing platform. Finally, we highlight some open problems of the current crowdsourcing and present some future research direction in this area.

Keywords: application, crowdsourcing, crowdsourcing platform, system architecture

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Authors: Maria Ezziani, Rabie Zine, Amine Amar, Ilhame Kissani

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This paper introduces a predictive model for urban transportation engineering, which is vital for efficient traffic management. Utilizing comprehensive datasets and advanced statistical techniques, the model accurately forecasts travel times by considering temporal variations and traffic dynamics. Machine learning algorithms, including regression trees and neural networks, are employed to capture sequential dependencies. Results indicate significant improvements in predictive accuracy, particularly during peak hours and holidays, with the incorporation of traffic flow and speed variables. Future enhancements may integrate weather conditions and traffic incidents. The model's applications range from adaptive traffic management systems to route optimization algorithms, facilitating congestion reduction and enhancing journey reliability. Overall, this research extends beyond travel time estimation, offering insights into broader transportation planning and policy-making realms, empowering stakeholders to optimize infrastructure utilization and improve network efficiency.

Keywords: predictive analytics, traffic flow, travel time estimation, urban transportation, machine learning, traffic management

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Authors: J. B. Athavale, Sean Clarke

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Introduction According to ancient Indian scriptures, a person’s consciousness includes the physical body, the vital energy sheath (Pranshakti), the mental body (which includes one’s feelings and emotions), the intellectual body (which refers to one’s decision-making ability), and the Soul (which is the God Principle that resides in every person). Apart from the physical body, all the other aspects are subtle in nature. In today’s world, much attention is given to one’s physical appearance and intellectual prowess. While there have been improvements in the attention given to mental health, its complete nature is not understood, and in many cultures, mental ill health is considered taboo and looked down upon. Regarding the spiritual well-being of a person, our spiritual research has shown that people’s understanding and efforts are mostly lacking and superficial as they do not conform to Universal Spiritual Principles. Also, true well-being occurs only when all the bodies are healthy. Methodology The spiritual research team at the University has found that the spiritual aspect of a person’s life affects all the physical, psychological, and intellectual bodies of a person resulting in ill health. Cleansing these bodies at a spiritual level is essential to regain well-being. Using Aura and Energy Scanners and advanced sixth sense, we studied what causes spiritual impurity in various bodies and how to cleanse them. We measured the spiritual vibrations of a person and how they get affected due to various daily activities. For example, we studied the difference in a person’s aura before and after applying chemical-based makeup vs. natural makeup. Key Findings From the various spiritual research experiments we conducted, we found that: • All our actions and our thoughts affect our various bodies and have the potential to change the aura for the better or worse. • When there is an increase in negative vibrations around a person, negative energies from the subtle dimension are more likely to affect a person. • As the person’s spiritual level increases, the positivity in their aura also increases, and it is much easier to cleanse the various bodies spiritually. • Spiritual practice is like a general spiritual tonic that increases the positivity in one’s aura. The benefits of this are that it leads to mental stability and intellectual clarity. • Spiritual healing remedies augment any spiritual practice to obtain a faster healing effect. Conclusion Taking care of oneself spiritually has a positive halo effect on all one’s bodies. Spiritual cleansing is required regularly if one wants to attain a state of well-being. Spiritual practice and spiritual healing lead to spiritual growth, stability of mind, and less stress and reactions. Spiritually purer people affect the environment positively, and there is less unrest and more harmony between man and nature.

Keywords: body, spirituality, cleansing, consciousness

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Authors: Matjaz Prek

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Impact of three different combinations of cooling and ventilation systems on the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has been studied. Comparison of chilled ceiling cooling in combination with displacement ventilation, cooling with fan coil unit and cooling with flat wall displacement outlets was performed. All three combinations were evaluated from the standpoint of whole-body and local thermal comfort criteria as well as from the standpoint of ventilation effectiveness. The comparison was made on the basis of numerical simulation with DesignBuilder and Fluent. Numerical simulations were carried out in two steps. Firstly the DesignBuilder software environment was used to model the buildings thermal performance and evaluation of the interaction between the environment and the building. Heat gains of the building and of the individual space, as well as the heat loss on the boundary surfaces in the room, were calculated. In the second step Fluent software environment was used to simulate the response of the indoor environment, evaluating the interaction between building and human, using the simulation results obtained in the first step. Among the systems presented, the ceiling cooling system in combination with displacement ventilation was found to be the most suitable as it offers a high level of thermal comfort with adequate ventilation efficiency. Fan coil cooling has proved inadequate from the standpoint of thermal comfort whereas flat wall displacement outlets were inadequate from the standpoint of ventilation effectiveness. The study showed the need in evaluating indoor environment not solely from the energy use point of view, but from the point of view of indoor environmental quality as well.

Keywords: cooling, ventilation, thermal comfort, ventilation effectiveness, indoor environmental quality, IEQ, computational fluid dynamics

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Authors: Sasiwan Tassana-iem, Sumattana Glangkarn

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Diabetic nephropathy is a major complication in diabetic patients whom as the glomerular filtration rate falls. The affects their quality of life and results in loss of money for kidney replacement therapy costs. There is an existing intervention, but the prevalence remains high, thus this research aims to study lessons learned in implementing programs to delay diabetic nephropathy management in primary health care. Method: The target settings are, 24 sub-district health promoting hospital in Sakon Nakhon province. Participants included the health care professionals, head of the sub-district health promoting hospital and the person responsible for managing diabetic nephropathy in each hospital (n= 50). There are 400 patients with diabetes mellitus in an area. Data were collected using questionnaires, patient records data, interviews and focus groups and analyzed by statistics and content analysis. Result: Reflection of participants that the interventions to delay diabetic nephropathy management in each area, the Ministry of Public Health has a policy to screen and manage this disease. The implementing programs aimed to provide health education, innovative teaching media used in communication to educate. Patients and caregivers had misunderstanding about the actual causes and prevention of this disease and how to apply knowledge suitable for daily life. Conclusion: The obstacles to the success of the implementing programs to delay diabetic nephropathy management in primary health care were most importantly, the patient needs self-care and should be evaluated for health literacy. This is crucial to promote health literacy; to access and understand health information as well to decide their health-related choices based on health information which will promote and maintain a good health. This preliminary research confirms that situation of diabetic nephropathy still exists. The results of this study will lead to the development of delay in diabetic nephropathy implementation among patients in the province studied.

Keywords: diabetic nephropathy, chronic kidney disease, primary health care, implementation

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Authors: Julide Yildirim, Nadir Ocal

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Even though there are many studies investigating the extent and determinants of poverty, there is paucity of research investigating the issue of energy poverty in Turkey. The aim of this paper is threefold: First to investigate the extend of energy poverty in Turkey by using Household Budget Survey datasets belonging to 2005 - 2016 period. Second, to examine the risk factors for energy poverty. Finally, to assess the impact of social assistance program participation on energy poverty. Existing literature employs alternative methods to measure energy poverty. In this study energy poverty is measured by employing expenditure approach, where people are considered as energy poor if they disburse more than 10 per cent of their income to meet their energy requirements. Empirical results indicate that energy poverty rate is around 20 per cent during the time period under consideration. Since Household Budget Survey panel data is not available for 2005 - 2016 period, a pseudo panel has been constructed. Panel logistic regression method is utilized to determine the risk factors for energy poverty. The empirical results demonstrate that there is a statistically significant impact of work status and education level on energy poverty likelihood. In the final part of the paper the impact of social transfers on energy poverty has been examined by utilizing panel biprobit model, where social transfer participation and energy poverty incidences are jointly modeled. The empirical findings indicate that social transfer program participation reduces energy poverty. The negative association between energy poverty and social transfer program participation is more pronounced in urban areas compared with the rural areas.

Keywords: energy poverty, social transfers, panel data models, Turkey

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Authors: Emmanuel Okechukwu Nwafor, Folake Olubunmi Akintayo, Denis Alcides Rezende

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Decision tree models are versatile and interpretable machine learning algorithms widely used for both classification and regression tasks, which can be related to cities, whether physical or digital. The aim of this research is to assess how well decision tree algorithms can predict trip purposes in Makurdi, Nigeria, while also exploring their connection to the strategic digital city initiative. The research methodology involves formalizing household demographic and trips information datasets obtained from extensive survey process. Modelling and Prediction were achieved using Python Programming Language and the evaluation metrics like R-squared and mean absolute error were used to assess the decision tree algorithm's performance. The results indicate that the model performed well, with accuracies of 84% and 68%, and low MAE values of 0.188 and 0.314, on training and validation data, respectively. This suggests the model can be relied upon for future prediction. The conclusion reiterates that This model will assist decision-makers, including urban planners, transportation engineers, government officials, and commuters, in making informed decisions on transportation planning and management within the framework of a strategic digital city. Its application will enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and overall quality of transportation services in Makurdi, Nigeria.

Keywords: decision tree algorithm, trip purpose, intelligent transport, strategic digital city, travel pattern, sustainable transport

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Authors: Sapfo A. Mortaki

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From the early 1960s and until the middle of the next decade, the lack of favorable conditions for the development of art along with the imposition of the 1967 military dictatorship resulted in a great flow of Greek artists abroad. The fall of the dictatorship and the change of the political scene after 1974 constitute crucial milestones in the cultural life of the country. In the field of visual arts significant changes are attempted in the state's effort to formulate a national cultural policy. This article examines the presence of Greek migrant artists (painters and sculptors) in Paris during the 1970s. Since the mid-1970s, and particularly in the early 1980s, Modern Greek Diaspora undergoes a new transition phase, when the concept of immigration changes. The aim of this study is to record and give prominence to the presence of the Greek artists -through archival research in the daily and periodical press- as well as present the impact of their artistic activity on French intellectual life and on the country’s society during this period. Furthermore, the presence and work of these artists are discussed in an environment of cultural coexistence which, to a certain extent, can be regarded as the result of the social phenomenon of their migration in the era of postmodernity. Finally, their contribution to the development of the cultural life of Greece, inside and outside its borders, is also being examined.

Keywords: art and society, cultural policy, Greek artists, postmodernity

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Authors: Johanna Sagner, María José Sandoval

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At the early stages of adolescence, young people, regardless of a disability or not, start to establish closer friendship ties. Unlike previous developmental phases, these ties are rather reciprocal, more committed, and require more time. Friendship ties during adolescence allow the development of social and personal skills, specifically the skills to start constructing identity. In an inclusive context that incorporates young people with a disability, friendship among peers also takes place. Nonetheless, the relation is shaped, among others, by the alterity construction about the other with disability. Research about peers’ relation between young people with and without disability in an inclusive context has shown that the relation tends to become a helper-helpee relation, where those with a disability are seen as people in need. Prejudices about the others’ condition or distancing from the other because of his/hers disability are common. In this sense, the helper-helpee relation, as a non-reciprocal and protective relation, will not promote friendship between classmates, but a rather asymmetric alterity. Our research is an explorative case study that wants to know how the relation between peers is shaped within a different inclusive program, were also the integrated group has special educational needs. Therefore, we analyze from a qualitative and quantitative approach the data of an inverted inclusive program. This is a unique case of a special public school for visual disability in Germany that includes young people from a mainstream school who had learning difficulties. For the research, we analyze data from interviews, focal interviews and open-ended questions with an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. The questionnaires include a five point Likert scale, for which we calculate the acceptance rate. The findings show that the alterity relation between pupils is less asymmetrical and represents a rather horizontal alterity. The helper-helpee relation is marked by exchange, since both groups have special educational needs and therefore, those with visual disability and those with learning difficulties help each other indistinctly. Friendship is more present among classmates. The horizontal alterity peers’ relation is influenced by a sort of tie, where none of the groups need more or less help than other groups. Both groups identify that they themselves and the other have special needs. The axiological axe of alterity is not of superiority or inferiority, recognizing each other’s differences and otherness. Another influential factor relates with the amount of time they spend together, since the program does not have a resource room or a teacher who teaches parallel lessons. Two probable causes for that rather equal peer relation might be the constellation of fewer pupils per classroom and the differentiated lessons taught by teachers with a special educational formation.

Keywords: alterity, disability, inverted inclusion, peers’ relation

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Authors: Nidhi Kaushal, Sanjit Mishra

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Narrative writings in literature are ample source of knowledge and easily understandable. In every old tradition, we found that people learn ethics from oral tales. They had their leaders and lessons of leadership in their stories. In India, we have sufficient amount of stories of leaders. Whether the story is of an ordinary person or a corporate leader of large firm, it always has a unique message of motivation. The objective of this paper is to elaborate the story lines in literature and get the leadership lessons from them, so that we can set up a new concept of leadership based on scholarship of literature. This is our hypothesis that leadership lessons can be learned from the study of literary writings and it can also act an innovative way of learning the management skills through literature. The role of the leader can be familiarly communicated in the form of the tales. Describing a positive psychological narrative from the text is the best way to manifesting an idea into the minds of people. We accomplished this paper that leadership as an attribute can be learned from the folk psychological literary writings.

Keywords: leadership, literature, management, psychology

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Authors: Jessica Gladden

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Anxiety remains one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Many university students report having a high level of anxiety, with additional life stressors that might include being away from home for the first time, being around unfamiliar people, having new expectations placed on them, and often have financial struggles. Universities have the ability and opportunity to form programs that can involve students with activities that reduce stress and teach coping skills. This research includes one example of using a somatic based group format of yoga to teach these skills and assist students in applying these strategies to their daily lives. This study compared a group of 17 students participating in weekly yoga classes to 34 students who did not attend the program. The students who attended the program reported a larger reduction of anxiety on both the BAI and GAD-7 than the control group, and verbally reported additional benefits in relaxation and coping skills. This presentation will review the results of the program as well as detailing the steps taken in creating a yoga program for university students with stress and anxiety. This will include a discussion on the components of trauma-sensitive yoga and the concerns and strategies to consider when developing a program for students.

Keywords: yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga, anxiety, students

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Authors: Bih-O Lee, Hsiu-Wan Hsieh, Hsiu-Chen Liu, Mer Yu Pan

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Background: Illness perceptions are developed when people face health-threatening situations. Previous research suggests that understanding discrepancies between illness perceptions of patients and caregivers may need to improve quality of health care. Objective: This study examined the differences between illness perceptions of injured patients and those of their caregivers. Methods: Comparative study design was used. The study setting was the surgical wards of a teaching hospital in Taiwan. Participants were 127 pairs of injured patients and their caregivers. The participants completed socio-demographic data and completed the Chinese Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised-Trauma, which comprises eight subscales. Clinical data of the injured patients was obtained from medical records. Results: This study found that injured patients were more pessimistic than their caregivers about the injury. There were significant differences between patients and caregivers insofar as patients perceived more physical symptoms, scored higher in terms of reasons for their injury, had more negative emotions and experienced more consequences than caregivers. Elderly caregivers and caregivers for patients who were over 65, severely injured and admitted to an ICU perceived more negative perceptions about the injury. Conclusions: This study indicated that patients and caregivers had negative illness representations several months after injury although the intensity of their perceptions was different. The interventions should highlight the need to assist patients and caregivers after injury.

Keywords: illness representations, injury, caregivers, comparative study

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Authors: Rendong Cai, Bei Peng, Yanping Dong

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In risk decision making, individuals are found to be susceptible to 'frames': people tend to be risk averse when the choice is described in terms of potential 'gains' (gain frame), whereas they tend to be risk seeking when the same choice is described in terms of potential 'losses' (loss frame); this effect is termed the framing effect. The framing effect has been well documented and some studies even find a developmental reversal in the framing effect: The more experience an individual has in a certain field, the easier for him to be influenced by the frame relevant to the field, resulting in greater decision inconsistency. Recent studies reported that using a foreign language can reduce the framing effect. However, it is not clear whether foreign language use can overcome the developmental reversal in the framing effect. The present study investigated three potential factors that may influence the developmental reversal in the framing effect: specialized knowledge of the participants, the language in which the problem is presented, and the types of problems. The present study examined the decision making behavior of 188 Chinese-English bilinguals who majored in Finance, with a group of 277 English majors as the control group. They were asked to solve a financial problem (experimental condition) and a life problem (control condition). Each problem was presented in one of the following four versions: native language-gain frame, foreign language-gain frame, native language-loss frame, and foreign language-loss frame. Results revealed that for the life problem, under the native condition, both groups were affected by the frame; but under the foreign condition, this framing effect disappeared for the financial majors. This confirmed that foreign language use modulates framing effects in general decision making, which served as an effective baseline. For the financial problem, under the native condition, only the financial major was observed to be influenced by the frame, which was a developmental reversal; under the foreign condition, however, this framing effect disappeared. The results provide further empirical evidence for the universal of the developmental reversal in risky decision making. More importantly, the results suggest that using a foreign language can overcome such reversal, which has implications for the reduction of decision biases in professionals. The findings also shed new light on the complex interaction between general decision-making and bilingualism.

Keywords: the foreign language effect, developmental reversals, the framing effect, bilingualism

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Authors: Asma Ben Abdallah

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Language has a powerful influence over people and their actions. The language of advertising has a very great impact on the consumer. It makes use of different features from the linguistic continuum. The present paper attempts to apply the theories of stylistics to the analysis of advertising texts. In order to decipher the stylistic features of the advertising discourse, 30 advertising text samples designed by MA Business students have been selected. These samples have been analyzed at the level of design and content. The study brings insights into the use of stylistic devices in advertising, and it reveals that both linguistic and non-linguistic features of advertisements are frequently employed to develop a well-thought-out design and content. The practical significance of the study is to highlight the specificities of the advertising genre so that people interested in the language of advertising (Business students and ESP teachers) will have a better understanding of the nature of the language used and the techniques of writing and designing ads. Similarly, those working in the advertising sphere (ad designers) will appreciate the specificities of the advertising discourse.

Keywords: the language of advertising, advertising discourse, ad design, stylistic features

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Authors: Ubaka Chukwuemeka Michael, Ukwe Chinwe Victoria

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Background: The use of antipsychotic monotherapy remains the standard for schizophrenic disorders so also a prescription switch from older typical to newer atypical classes of antipsychotics on the basis of better efficacy and tolerability. However, surveys on the quality of antipsychotic drug use and substitution in developing countries are very scarce. This study was intended to evaluate quality and factors that drive the prescription and substitution of antipsychotic drugs among schizophrenic patients visiting a regional psychiatric hospital. Methods: Case files of patients visiting a federal government funded Neuropsychiatric Hospital between July 2012 and July 2014 were systematically retrieved. Patient demographic characteristics, clinical details and drug management data were collected and subjected to descriptive and inferential data analysis to determine quality and predictors of utilization. Results: Of the 600 case files used, there were more male patients (55.3%) with an overall mean age of 33.7±14.4 years. Typical antipsychotic agents accounted for over 85% of prescriptions, with majority of the patients receiving more than 2 drugs in at least a visit (80.9%). Fluphenazine (25.2%) and Haloperidol (18.8%) were mostly given as antipsychotics for treatment initiation while Olazenpine (23.0%) and Benzhexol (18.3%) were the most currently prescribed antipsychotics. Nearly half (42%, 252/600) of these patients were switched from one class to another, with 34.5% (207/600) of them switched from typical to atypical drug classes. No demographic or clinical factors influenced drug substitutions but a younger age and being married influenced being prescribed a polypharmacy regimen (more than 2 drugs) and an injectable antipsychotic agent. Conclusion: The prevalence of antipsychotic polypharmacy and use of typical agents among these patients was high. However, only age and marital status affected the quality of antipsychotic prescriptions among these patients.

Keywords: antipsychotics, drug substitution, pharmacoepidemiology, polypharmacy

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Authors: Mohammad Amjad, Muhammad Iqbal Zafar, Ashfaq Ahmed Maan, Muhammad Tayyab Kashif

Abstract:

Obesity is an abnormal physical condition where an increased and undesirable fat accumulates in the human body. Obesity is an international phenomenon. In the present study, 12 schools were randomly selected from each district considering the areas i.e. Elite Private Schools in the private sector, Government schools in urban areas and Government schools in rural areas. Interviews were conducted with male students studying in grade 5 to grade 9 in each school. The sample size was 600 students; 300 from Faisalabad district and 300 from Rawalpindi district in Pakistan. A well-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The calibrated scales were used to attain the heights and weights of the respondents. Obesity of school-going children depends on family types, family size, family history, junk food consumption, mother’s education, weekly time spent in walking, and sports facility at school levels. Academic performance, physical health and psychological health of school going children are affected with obesity. Concrete steps and policies could minimize the incidence of obesity in children in Pakistan.

Keywords: body mass index, cardiovascular disease, fast food, morbidity, overweight

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Authors: E. Oskoueian, E. Maroufyan, Y. M. Goh, E. Ramezani-Fard, M. Ebrahimi

Abstract:

The fish meat plays an important role in the human health as it contains high quality protein. The tilapia fish considered as the third largest group of farmed fish. The oxidative deterioration of fish meat may occur during the cooking process. The proper cooking process and using natural antioxidant to prevent oxidation and enhance the quality of the tilapia fish fillet is necessary. Hence, this research was carried out to evaluate the potential of clove essential oil to prevent lipid peroxidation and enhance the antioxidant activity of tilapia fish fillet cooked using microwave and griller. The results showed that cooking using microwave significantly (p < 0.05) increased the lipid peroxidation and decreased the DPPH and ferric reducing activity power of the fish fillet as compared to grilling. The fortification of fish fillet using clove essential oil prevented from lipid peroxidation and enhanced the antioxidant activity of the fish fillet significantly (p < 0.05). Consequently, fortification of tilapia fish fillet using clove essential oil followed by cooking using griller to have high quality cooked fish meat is recommended.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, fillet, fish, fortification, lipid peroxidation

Procedia PDF Downloads 457

Authors: Jaroslav Masek, Juraj Camaj, Eva Nedeliakova

Abstract:

The paper is focused on the operational model for transport the single wagon consignments on railway network by using two different models of train formation. The paper gives an overview of possibilities of improving the quality of transport services. Paper deals with two models used in problematic of train formatting - time continuously and time discrete. By applying these models in practice, the transport company can guarantee a higher quality of service and expect increasing of transport performance. The models are also applicable into others transport networks. The models supplement a theoretical problem of train formation by new ways of looking to affecting the organization of wagon flows.

Keywords: train formation, wagon flows, marshalling yard, railway technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Zhou Yang, Heli Sun, Jianbin Huang, Jizhong Zhao, Shaojie Qiao

Abstract:

Traffic prediction is essential in a multitude of ways in modern urban life. The researchers of earlier work in this domain carry out the investigation chiefly with two major focuses: (1) the accurate forecast of future values in multiple time series and (2) knowledge extraction from spatial-temporal correlations. However, two key considerations for traffic prediction are often missed: the completeness of raw data and the full context of the prediction timestamp. Concentrating on the two drawbacks of earlier work, we devise an approach that can address these issues in a two-phase framework. First, we utilize the raw trajectories to a greater extent through building a VLA table and data compression. We obtain the intra-trajectory features with graph-based encoding and the intertrajectory ones with a grid-based model and the technique of back projection that restore their surrounding high-resolution spatial-temporal environment. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to study direct feature extraction from raw trajectories for traffic prediction and attempt the use of raw data with the least degree of reduction. In the prediction phase, we provide a broader context for the prediction timestamp by taking into account the information that are around it in the training dataset. Extensive experiments on several well-known datasets have verified the effectiveness of our solution that combines the strength of raw trajectory data and prediction context. In terms of performance, our approach surpasses several state-of-the-art methods for traffic prediction.

Keywords: traffic prediction, raw data utilization, context building, data reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Almas Mukhametov, Dina Dautkanova, Moldir Yerbulekova, Gulim Tuyakova, Raziya Zhakudaeva, Makpal Seisenaly, Asemay Kazhymurat

Abstract:

The composition of samples of mixtures of vegetable oils of Kazakhstan origin, consisting of sunflower, safflower and linseed oils, has been experimentally substantiated. With an approximate optimal ratio of w-6:w-3 fatty acids in 80:15:05 triacylglycerols, providing its therapeutic and prophylactic properties. The resulting mixture can be used in the development of functional products. The result was also identified and evaluated by physical and chemical quality indicators, the content of vitamin E, and the concentration of ions of copper (Cu), iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), nickel (Ni), as well as mercury (Hg).

Keywords: vegetable oil, sunflower, safflower, linseed, mixture, fatty acid composition, heavy metals

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Adineh Tajmousavilangerudi, Ali Zein Alabiden Tlais, Raffaella Di Cagno

Abstract:

The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has exposed our vulnerability to new illnesses and novel viruses that attack our immune systems, particularly in the elderly. The vaccine is being gradually introduced over the world, but new strains of the virus and COVID-19 will emerge and continue to cause illness. Aging is associated with significant changes in intestinal physiology, which increases the production of inflammatory products, alters the gut microbiota, and consequently establish inadequate immune response to minimize symptoms and disease development. In this context, older people who followed a Mediterranean-style diet, rich in polyphenols and dietary fiber, performed better physically and mentally (1,2). This demonstrates the importance of the human gut microbiome in transforming complex dietary macromolecules into the most biologically available and active nutrients, which in turn help to regulate metabolism and both intestinal and systemic immune function (3,4). The role of lactic acid fermentation is prominent also as a powerful tool for improving the nutritional quality of the human diet by releasing nutrients and boosting the complex bioactive compounds and vitamin content. the PhD project aims to design fermented and functional foods/beverages capable of modulating human immune function via the gut microbiome.

Keywords: functional bevarage, fermented beverage, gut microbiota functionality, immun system

Procedia PDF Downloads 114