Search results for: qualitative approach
16416 The Analogy of Visual Arts and Visual Literacy
Authors: Lindelwa Pepu
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Visual Arts and Visual Literacy are defined with distinction from one another. Visual Arts are known for art forms such as drawing, painting, and photography, just to name a few. At the same time, Visual Literacy is known for learning through images. The Visual Literacy phenomenon may be attributed to the use of images was first established for creating memories and enjoyment. As time evolved, images became the center and essential means of making contact between people. Gradually, images became a means for interpreting and understanding words through visuals, that being Visual Arts. The purpose of this study is to present the analogy of the two terms Visual Arts and Visual Literacy, which are defined and compared through early practicing visual artists as well as relevant researchers to reveal how they interrelate with one another. This is a qualitative study that uses an interpretive approach as it seeks to understand and explain the interest of the study. The results reveal correspondence of the analogy between the two terms through various writers of early and recent years. This study recommends the significance of the two terms and the role they play in relation to other fields of study.Keywords: visual arts, visual literacy, pictures, images
Procedia PDF Downloads 16616415 Perception, Knowledge and Practices on Balanced Diet among Adolescents, Their Parents and Frontline Functionaries in Rural Sites of Banda, Varanasi and Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh,India
Authors: Gunjan Razdan, Priyanka Sreenath, Jagannath Behera, S. K. Mishra, Sunil Mehra
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Uttar Pradesh is one of the poor performing states with high Malnutrition and Anaemia among adolescent girls resulting in high MMR, IMR and low birth weight rate. The rate of anaemia among adolescent girls has doubled in the past decade. Adolescents gain around 15-20% of their optimum height, 25-50% of the ideal adult weight and 45% of the skeletal mass by the age of 19. Poor intake of energy, protein and other nutrients is one of the factors for malnutrition and anaemia. METHODS: The cross-sectional survey using a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) was adopted in this study. The respondents (adolescents, parents and frontline health workers) were selected randomly from 30 villages and surveyed through a semi-structured questionnaire for qualitative information and FGDs and IDIs for qualitative information. A 24 hours dietary recall method was adopted to estimate their dietary practices. A total of 1069 adolescent girls, 1067 boys, 1774 parents and 69 frontline functionaries were covered under the study. Percentages and mean were calculated for quantitative variable, and content analysis was carried out for qualitative data. RESULTS: Over 80 % of parents provided assertions that they understood the term balanced diet and strongly felt that their children were having balanced diet. However, only negligible 1.5 % of parents could correctly recount essential eight food groups and 22% could tell about four groups which was the minimum response expected to say respondents had fair knowledge on a balanced diet. Only 10 percent of parents could tell that balanced diet helps in physical and mental growth and only 2% said it has a protective role. Besides, qualitative data shows that the perception regarding balanced diet is having costly food items like nuts and fruits. The dietary intake of adolescents is very low despite the increased iron needs associated with physical growth and puberty.The consumption of green leafy vegetables (less than 35 %) and citrus fruits (less than 50%) was found to be low. CONCLUSIONS: The assertions on an understanding of term balanced diet are contradictory to the actual knowledge and practices. Knowledge on essential food groups and nutrients is crucial to inculcate healthy eating practices among adolescents. This calls for comprehensive communication efforts to improve the knowledge and dietary practices among adolescents.Keywords: anemia, knowledge, malnutrition, perceptions
Procedia PDF Downloads 40016414 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Innovation Systems: An Appraisal of Literature
Authors: Jose Carlos Rodriguez, Mario Gomez
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In the last years, the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems has gained popularity. It reveals the importance of a supportive community and adequate economic environment for entrepreneurial activity, and thus the possibility of developing a different perspective on the innovation system. On the other hand, the (regional/technology) innovation system approach lacks in its analyses the presence of an entrepreneur as a key actor that develops innovations. In this regard, this paper examines the foundations of both theoretical approaches (the entrepreneurial ecosystems and the regional/technology systems of innovation) and their contributions to understand entrepreneurial activity at different levels of analyses, namely national, regional or local. The paper makes a literature review on both perspectives of innovation stressing the role played by entrepreneurs in these theoretical approaches. It concludes remarking that the regional/technology innovation systems approach and the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach have established themselves in their own right, but the regional/technology innovation system approach is a predecessor of the entrepreneurial ecosystem approach.Keywords: entrepreneurial ecosystems, innovation systems, entrepreneurial activity, comparative analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 18616413 A Psychosocial Approach to Community Development, Lessons from the Transition Town Movement in Italy
Authors: Anna Zoli
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In recent years, we have been witnessing a surge of locally-sustained communities committed to promoting new ethical economies while fostering the full participation of socially excluded groups and individuals into the labor market. This article explores the practices of a particular community development model, Transition Towns, as implemented in Monteveglio, Italy. Data were gathered throughout two years long ethnography, using multiple qualitative techniques, namely participant observation, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed triangulating from multiple sources of evidence and using hybrid thematic analysis. Major findings show that Transition Town movement works on two main axes, vertical and horizontal. Vertical transition involves interactions with an overreaching political, economic, and social structure which is not transitioning, and therefore poses structural resistances to the transformative social change fostered by the TT. Conversely, horizontal transition involves intragroup dynamics within the communal relational and geographical spaces and therefore poses process resistances between 'self and others' to the interpersonal communication between TT members. The study concludes that a psychosocial approach to community development is essential in order to conflate macro-social dynamics and psychological processes that may obstacle grassroots social movements to thrive. Skills from psychosocial disciplines are a unique set that could facilitate communication and relational processes for community development, and ultimately enabling social change.Keywords: community development, grassroots social movements, psychosocial approaches, Transition Towns
Procedia PDF Downloads 12016412 The Death Philosophy of Taiwanese Aerial Acrobats
Authors: Tien-Mei Hu
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Death is not only a physical event and a fact of life ending but also one of the ultimate issues of philosophy. The aerial acrobats’ dangerous nature and protective rope culture have kept the concept of death in this profession. This study aims to interpret the Taiwanese aerialists’ view of death through the philosophy of death, starting from the archetype of traditional Eastern body practices (aerial acrobatics). Five Taiwanese acrobats (two male and three female) were interviewed through a snowball approach. After the interviews, ATLAS.ti, a qualitative analysis software, was used to analyze the verbatim transcripts, photographs, and documents. The following three conclusions were drawn from this study: every performance by Taiwanese aerial acrobats is a life-threatening performance; Taiwanese aerialists’ perception of death changes with different life stages; Taiwanese aerialists’ philosophy of death is based on the heritage foundation of the "acrobatics" profession, which has created the phenomenon of not using safety equipment unique to Taiwanese aerialists.Keywords: acrobatics, body culture, circus, tightrope walker
Procedia PDF Downloads 10016411 Social Space or the Art of Belonging: The Socio-Spatial Approach in the Field of Residential Facilities for Persons with Disabilities
Authors: Sarah Reker
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The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides the basis of this study. For all countries which have ratified the convention since its entry into force in 2007, the effective implementation of the requirements often leads to considerable challenges. Furthermore, missing indicators make it difficult to measure progress. Therefore, the aim of the research project is to contribute to analyze the consequences of the implementation process on the inclusion and exclusion conditions for people with disabilities in Germany. Disabled People’s Organisations and other associations consider the social space to be relevant for the successful implementation of the CRPD. Against this background, the research project wants to focus on the relationship between a barrier-free access to the social space and the “full and effective participation and inclusion” (Art. 3) of persons with disabilities. The theoretical basis of the study is the sociological theory of social space (“Sozialraumtheorie”).Keywords: decentralisation, qualitative research, residential facilities, social space
Procedia PDF Downloads 36416410 Quantitative, Preservative Methodology for Review of Interview Transcripts Using Natural Language Processing
Authors: Rowan P. Martnishn
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During the execution of a National Endowment of the Arts grant, approximately 55 interviews were collected from professionals across various fields. These interviews were used to create deliverables – historical connections for creations that began as art and evolved entirely into computing technology. With dozens of hours’ worth of transcripts to be analyzed by qualitative coders, a quantitative methodology was created to sift through the documents. The initial step was to both clean and format all the data. First, a basic spelling and grammar check was applied, as well as a Python script for normalized formatting which used an open-source grammatical formatter to make the data as coherent as possible. 10 documents were randomly selected to manually review, where words often incorrectly translated during the transcription were recorded and replaced throughout all other documents. Then, to remove all banter and side comments, the transcripts were spliced into paragraphs (separated by change in speaker) and all paragraphs with less than 300 characters were removed. Secondly, a keyword extractor, a form of natural language processing where significant words in a document are selected, was run on each paragraph for all interviews. Every proper noun was put into a data structure corresponding to that respective interview. From there, a Bidirectional and Auto-Regressive Transformer (B.A.R.T.) summary model was then applied to each paragraph that included any of the proper nouns selected from the interview. At this stage the information to review had been sent from about 60 hours’ worth of data to 20. The data was further processed through light, manual observation – any summaries which proved to fit the criteria of the proposed deliverable were selected, as well their locations within the document. This narrowed that data down to about 5 hours’ worth of processing. The qualitative researchers were then able to find 8 more connections in addition to our previous 4, exceeding our minimum quota of 3 to satisfy the grant. Major findings of the study and subsequent curation of this methodology raised a conceptual finding crucial to working with qualitative data of this magnitude. In the use of artificial intelligence there is a general trade off in a model between breadth of knowledge and specificity. If the model has too much knowledge, the user risks leaving out important data (too general). If the tool is too specific, it has not seen enough data to be useful. Thus, this methodology proposes a solution to this tradeoff. The data is never altered outside of grammatical and spelling checks. Instead, the important information is marked, creating an indicator of where the significant data is without compromising the purity of it. Secondly, the data is chunked into smaller paragraphs, giving specificity, and then cross-referenced with the keywords (allowing generalization over the whole document). This way, no data is harmed, and qualitative experts can go over the raw data instead of using highly manipulated results. Given the success in deliverable creation as well as the circumvention of this tradeoff, this methodology should stand as a model for synthesizing qualitative data while maintaining its original form.Keywords: B.A.R.T.model, keyword extractor, natural language processing, qualitative coding
Procedia PDF Downloads 2916409 A Worldwide Assessment of Geothermal Energy Policy: Systematic, Qualitative and Critical Literature Review
Authors: Diego Moya, Juan Paredes, Clay Aldas, Ramiro Tite, Prasad Kaparaju
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Globally, energy policy for geothermal development is addressed in different forms, depending on the economy, resources, country-development, environment aspects and technology access. Although some countries have established strong regulations and standards for geothermal exploration, exploitation and sustainable use at the policy level (government departments and institutions), others have discussed geothermal laws at legal levels (congress – a national legislative body of a country). Appropriate regulations are needed not only to meet local and international funding requirements but also to avoid speculation in the use of the geothermal resource. In this regards, this paper presents the results of a systematic, qualitative and critical literature review of geothermal energy policy worldwide addressing two scenarios: policy and legal levels. At first, literature is collected and classified from scientific and government sources regarding geothermal energy policy of the most advanced geothermal producing countries, including Iceland, New Zealand, Mexico, the USA, Central America, Italy, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Kenia, and Australia. This is followed by a systematic review of the literature aiming to know the best geothermal practices and what remains uncertain regarding geothermal policy implementation. This analysis is made considering the stages of geothermal production. Furthermore, a qualitative analysis is conducted comparing the findings across geothermal policies in the countries mentioned above. Then, a critical review aims to identify significant items in the field to be applied in countries with geothermal potential but with no or weak geothermal policies. Finally, patterns and relationships are detected, and conclusions are drawn.Keywords: assessment, geothermal, energy policy, worldwide
Procedia PDF Downloads 38616408 Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Educational Supervision and Leadership Style in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Jawaher Bakheet Almudarra
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An Educational Supervisor assists teachers to develop their competence and skills in teaching, solving educational problems, and to improve the teaching methods to suit the educational process. They evaluate their teachers and write reports based on their assessments. In 1957, the Saudi Ministry of Education instituted Educational Supervision to facilitate effective management of schools, however, there have been concerns that the Educational Supervision has not been effective in executing its mandate. Studies depicted that Educational supervision has not been effective because it has been marred by poor and autocratic leadership practices such as stringent inspection, commanding and judging. Therefore, there is need to consider some of the ways in which school outcomes can be enhanced through the improvement of Educational supervision practices. Emotional intelligence is a relatively new concept that can be integrated into the Saudi education system that is yet to be examined in-depth and embraced particularly in the realm of educational leadership. Its recognition and adoption may improve leadership practices among Educational supervisors. This study employed a qualitative interpretive approach that will focus on decoding, describing and interpreting the connection between emotional intelligence and leadership. The study also took into account the social constructions that include consciousness, language and shared meanings. The data collection took place in the Office of Educational Supervisors in Riyadh and involved 4 Educational supervisors and 20 teachers from both genders- male and female. The data collection process encompasses three methods namely; qualitative emotional intelligence self-assessment questionnaires, reflective semi-structured interviews, and open workshops. The questionnaires would explore whether the Educational supervisors understand the meaning of emotional intelligence and its significance in enhancing the quality of education system in Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, reflective semi-structured interviews were carried out with the Educational supervisors to explore the connection between their leadership styles and the way they conceptualise their emotionality. The open workshops will include discussions on emotional aspects of Educational supervisors’ practices and how Educational supervisors make use of the emotional intelligence discourse in their leadership and supervisory relationships.Keywords: directors of educational supervision, emotional intelligence, educational leadership, education management
Procedia PDF Downloads 42916407 Teachers’ Perception of Implementing a Norm Critical Pedagogical Perspective – A Case Study of a Swedish Behavioural Science Programme
Authors: Sophia Yakhlef
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Norm-critical pedagogy is an approach originating from intersectional gender pedagogy, feminist pedagogy, queer pedagogy, and critical pedagogy. In the Swedish context, the norm critical approach is rising in popularity, and norms that are highlighted or challenged are, for example, various dimensions of power such as ’whiteness norm’, discourses of ’Swedishness’, ’middle class norm’, heteronormativity, and body functionality. Instead of seeing students as a homogenous group, intersectional pedagogy focuses on the consequences of differences and on critically paying attention to differences. The perspective encourages teachers to assess their teaching methods, material, and the course literature provided in their education. The classical sociological literature that most students encounter when studying behaviour science or sociology has, in recent years, been referred to as the sociological canon. The sociological perspectives of the classical scholars included in the canon have, in many ways, shaped how we perceive the history of sociology and theories of the modern world in general. The sociological canon has, in recent decades, been challenged by, amongst others, feminist, post-colonial, and queer theorists. This urges us to further investigate the implications that this might have on sociological and behavioural science education, as well as on pedagogical considerations and teaching methods. This qualitative case study focuses on the experiences of implementing a norm critical pedagogical perspective in an online behavioural science programme at Kristianstad University in Sweden. Interviews and informal conversations were conducted in 2022 with teachers regarding their experiences of teaching online, of implementing a student-centred learning approach, and their experiences of implementing a norm critical perspective in sociology and criminology courses. The study demonstrates the inclusion aspect of online education, the benefits of adopting a norm critical perspective, the challenges that arise when updating course literature, and the urgent need for guidance and education for teachers regarding inclusion and paying attention to power asymmetry.Keywords: norm critical pedagogy, online-education, sociological canon, sweden
Procedia PDF Downloads 7816406 A Qualitative Study Investigating the Relationship Between External Context and the Mechanism of Change for the Implementation of Goal-oriented Primary Care
Authors: Ine Huybrechts, Anja Declercq, Emily Verté, Peter Raeymaeckers, Sibyl Anthierens
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Goal-oriented care is a concept gaining increased interest as an approach to go towards more coordinated and integrated primary care. It places patients’ personal life goals at the core of health care support, hereby shifting the focus from “what’s the matter with this patient” to “what matters to this patient.” In Flanders/Belgium, various primary care providers, health and social care organizations and governmental bodies have picked up this concept and have initiated actions to facilitate this approach. The implementation of goal-oriented care not only happens on the micro-level, but it also requires efforts on the meso- and macro-level. Within implementation research, there is a growing recognition that the context in which an intervention takes place strongly relates to its implementation outcomes. However, when investigating contextual variables, the external context and its impact on implementation processes is often overlooked. This study aims to explore how we can better identify and understand the external context and how it relates to the mechanism of change within the implementation process of goal-oriented care in Flanders/Belgium. Results can be used to support and guide initiatives to introduce innovative approaches such as goal-oriented care inside an organization or in the broader primary care landscape. We have conducted qualitative research, performing in-depth interviews with n=23 respondents who have affinity with the implementation of goal-oriented care within their professional function. This lead to in-depth insights from a wide range of actors, with meso-level and/or macro-level perspectives on the implementation of goal-oriented care. This means that we have interviewed actors that are not only involved with initiatives to implement goal-oriented care, but also actors that actively give form to the external context in which goal-oriented care is implemented. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide, audio recorded, and analyzed first inductively and then deductively using various theories and concepts that derive from organizational research. Our preliminary findings suggest t Our findings can contribute to further define actions needed for sustainable implementation of goal-oriented primary care. It gives insights in the dynamics between contextual variables and implementation efforts, hereby indicating towards those contextual variables that can be further shaped to facilitate the implementation of an innovation such as goal-oriented care. hat organizational theories can help understand the mechanism of change of implementation processes with a macro-level perspective. Institutional theories, contingency theories, resources dependency theories and others can expose the mechanism of change for an innovation such as goal-oriented care. Our findings can contribute to further define actions needed for sustainable implementation of goal-oriented primary care. It gives insights in the dynamics between contextual variables and implementation efforts, hereby indicating towards those contextual variables that can be further shaped to facilitate the implementation of an innovation such as goal-oriented care.Keywords: goal-oriented care, implementation processes, organizational theories, person-centered care, implementation research
Procedia PDF Downloads 8116405 Strengthening Legal Protection of Personal Data through Technical Protection Regulation in Line with Human Rights
Authors: Tomy Prihananto, Damar Apri Sudarmadi
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Indonesia recognizes the right to privacy as a human right. Indonesia provides legal protection against data management activities because the protection of personal data is a part of human rights. This paper aims to describe the arrangement of data management and data management in Indonesia. This paper is a descriptive research with qualitative approach and collecting data from literature study. Results of this paper are comprehensive arrangement of data that have been set up as a technical requirement of data protection by encryption methods. Arrangements on encryption and protection of personal data are mutually reinforcing arrangements in the protection of personal data. Indonesia has two important and immediately enacted laws that provide protection for the privacy of information that is part of human rights.Keywords: Indonesia, protection, personal data, privacy, human rights, encryption
Procedia PDF Downloads 18316404 The Exploration of Persuasive Skills and Participants Characteristics in Pyramid-Sale: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Xing Yan Fan, Xing Lin Xu, Man Yuan Chen, Pei Tzu Lee, Yu Ting Wang, Yi Xiao Cao, Rui Yao
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Pyramid sales have been a widespread issue in China. Victims who are defrauded not only lose money but damage interpersonal relationship. A deeper understanding of pyramid-sale models can be beneficial to prevent potential victims from fraud and improve the property security. The goals of this study were to detect psychological characteristics of pyramid-sale sellers, and analyse persuasive skills in pyramid organizations. A qualitative study was conducted in this study. Participants (n=6) recruited by 'snowball' sampling from present pyramid-sale sellers (n=3) and imprisoned pyramid-sale sellers (n=3). All participants accepted semi-structured interview for collecting data. Content analysis was adopted for data coding and analysis. The results indicate that pyramid organizations are used to utilize their appearance packaging and celebrity effect to strengthen the positions in participants’ mind. The status gap between pyramid-sale sellers in same organization, as well as rewards to increase reputation, are used to motivate participants in pyramid. The most significant common characteristics among all participants are that they tend to possess a high sense of belongingness within the firm. Moreover, the expression of pyramid-sale sellers on gambling mentality is expected to growth as constantly losing money. Findings suggest that the psychological characteristics of pyramid-sale sellers in accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, persuasive skills of pyramid organization confront to 'attitude-behaviour change model'. These findings have implication on 'immune education' that providing guidance for victims out of stuck and protecting ordinary people from the jeopardizing of pyramid sales.Keywords: pyramid sales, characteristics, persuasive skills, qualitative study
Procedia PDF Downloads 25516403 Causes and Consequences of Unauthorized Use of Books: Readers, Authors, and Publishers' Perspective
Authors: Arūnas Gudinavičius, Vincas Grigas
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Purpose: The current study aims to identify and explore causes and consequences of unauthorized use of books from readers’, publishers’, and authors’ points of view. The case of Lithuania also assessed, especially historical background (banned alphabet, book smuggling, theft as the social norm in Soviet times) of the country. Design/methodology/approach: Aiming for more understanding why readers, authors and publishers are using or not using technology for unauthorized access of books, technology acceptance model approach was used, a total of 30 respondents (publishers, authors and readers) were interviewed in semi-structured face-to-face interviews and thematic analysis of collected qualitative data was conducted. Interviews were coded in English with coding software for further analysis. Findings: Findings indicate that the main cause for the unauthorized use of books is a lack of legal e-book titles and acquisition options. This mainly points at publishers, however, instead of using unauthorized sources as opportunities for author promotion or marketing, they rather concentrate on the causes of unauthorized use of books which they are not in control of, including access to unauthorized sources, habits, and economic causes. Some publishers believe that the lack of legal e-book titles is the consequence of unauthorized use of book rather than its cause. Originality: This research contributed to the body of knowledge by investigating unauthorized use of books from readers’, publishers’, and authors’ points of view which renders to have a better understanding of the causes and consequences of such behavior, as well as differences between these roles. We suggest that these causes lead to the intention to use and actual use of technology which is easier to use and which gives more perceived advantages – technology for unauthorized downloading and reading of books vs legal e-book acquisition options.Keywords: digital piracy, unauthorized access, publishing industry, book reader, intellectual property rights
Procedia PDF Downloads 17216402 The Dilemma of Translanguaging Pedagogy in a Multilingual University in South Africa
Authors: Zakhile Somlata
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In the context of international linguistic and cultural diversity, all languages can be used for all purposes. Africa in general and South Africa, in particular, is not an exception to multilingual and multicultural society. The multilingual and multicultural nature of South African society has a direct bearing to the heterogeneity of South African Universities in general. Universities as the centers of research, innovation, and transformation of the entire society should be at the forefront in leading multilingualism. The universities in South Africa had been using English and to a certain extent Afrikaans as the only academic languages during colonialism and apartheid regime. The democratic breakthrough of 1994 brought linguistic relief in South Africa. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa recognizes 11 official languages that should enjoy parity of esteem for the realization of multilingualism. The elevation of the nine previously marginalized indigenous African languages as academic languages in higher education is central to multilingualism. It is high time that Afrocentric model instead of Eurocentric model should be the one which underpins education system in South Africa at all levels. Almost all South African universities have their language policies that seek to promote access and success of students through multilingualism, but the main dilemma is the implementation of language policies. This study is significant to respond to two objectives: (i) To evaluate how selected institutions use language policies for accessibility and success of students. (ii) To study how selected universities integrate African languages for both academic and administrative purposes. This paper reflects the language policy practices in one selected University of Technology (UoT) in South Africa. The UoT has its own language policy which depicts linguistic diversity of the institution and its commitment to promote multilingualism. Translanguaging pedagogy which accommodates minority languages' usage in the teaching and learning process plays a pivotal role in promoting multilingualism. This research paper employs mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative research) approach. Qualitative data has been collected from the key informants (insiders and experts), while quantitative data has been collected from a cohort of third-year students. A mixed methods approach with its convergent parallel design allows the data to be collected separately, analysed separately but with the comparison of the results. Language development initiatives have been discussed within the framework of language policy and policy implementation strategies. Theoretically, this paper is rooted in language as a problem, language as a right and language as a resource. The findings demonstrate that despite being a multilingual institution, there is a perpetuation of marginalization of African languages to be used as academic languages. Findings further display the hegemony of English. The promotion of status quo compromises the promotion of multilingualism, Africanization of Higher Education and intellectualization of indigenous African languages in South Africa under a democratic dispensation.Keywords: afro-centric model, hegemony of English, language as a resource, translanguaging pedagogy
Procedia PDF Downloads 19316401 A Bundled Approach to Explaining Technological Change: The Case of E-Estonia
Authors: Andrew Adjah Sai, Portia Opoku Boadi
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Explaining change is an abstract endeavor. Many management scholars have adopted metaphors to explain change. In this paper, we deal with the drivers of technological change. We use a historical and theoretical approach to review and elaborate on the concepts and context about a specific case. We discuss the limitations of each approach proffered and the implications as a consequence on technological change. We present plurality and multiplicity of perspectives using a socio-technical approach to explain technological change contextually on an organizational level. We show by using our model how technology absorption and diffusion can be accelerated through artefactual institutions to enable social change. The multiplicity of perspectives and plurality of our arguments creates a fine explanation of the e-Estonia case as an example.Keywords: artefactual institutions, e-Estonia, social change, technological trajectories
Procedia PDF Downloads 44816400 Knowledge Transfer from Experts to Novice: An Empirical Study on Online Communities
Authors: Firmansyah David
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This paper aims to investigate factors that drive individuals to transfer their knowledge in the context of online communities. By revisiting tacit-to-explicit knowledge creation, this research attempts to contribute empirically using three online forums (1) Software Engineering; (2) Aerospace Simulator; (3) Health Insurance System. A qualitative approach was deployed to map and recognize the pattern of users ‘Knowledge Transfer (KT), particularly from expert to novice. The findings suggest a common form on how experts give their effort to formulate ‘explicit’ knowledge and how novices ‘understand’ such knowledge. This research underlines that skill; intuition, judgment; value and belief are the prominent factors, both for experts and novice. Further, this research has recognized the groups of expert and novice by their ability to transfer and to ‘adopt’ new knowledge. Future research infers to triangulate the method in which the quantitative study is needed to measure the level of adoption of (new) knowledge by individuals.Keywords: explicit, expert, knowledge, online community
Procedia PDF Downloads 26816399 Analyzing the Characteristics and Shifting Patterns of Creative Hubs in Bandung
Authors: Fajar Ajie Setiawan, Ratu Azima Mayangsari, Bunga Aprilia
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The emergence of creative hubs around the world, including in Bandung, was primarily driven by the needs of collaborative-innovative spaces for creative industry activities such as the Maker Movement and the Coworking Movement. These activities pose challenges for identification and formulation of sets of indicators for modeling creative hubs in Bandung to help stakeholders in formulating strategies. This study intends to identify their characteristics. This research was conducted using a qualitative approach comparing three concepts of creative hub categorization and integrating them into a single instrument to analyze 12 selected creative hubs. Our results showed three new functions of creative hubs in Bandung: (1) cultural, (2) retail business, and (3) community network. Results also suggest that creative hubs in Bandung are commonly established for networking and community activities. Another result shows that there was a shifting pattern of creative hubs before the 2000s and after the 2000s, which also creates a hybrid group of creative hubs.Keywords: creative industry, creative hubs, Ngariung, Bandung
Procedia PDF Downloads 17716398 'You Block Yourself from the Emotion': A Qualitative Inquiry into Teacher's Use of Discordant Emotional Labor Strategies in Student Aggression
Authors: Michal Levy
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Despite the emotional impact students' misbehavior and aggression has on teacher's emotional wellbeing, teachers frequently use suppressive strategies in the classroom, which maintain a discordance between felt and expressed emotions. The current study sought to gain a deeper insight into teachers' utilization of discordant emotional labor strategies (i.e., expressive suppression, surface acting and emotional dissonance) and their motives to using these strategies in student aggression. A qualitative study was conducted on 16 special education Jewish Israeli teachers. Thematic analysis of the in-depth semi-structured interviews revealed novice teachers were inclined to use expressive suppression, while experienced teachers used emotional dissonance. The teacher's motives for using discordant emotional labor strategies included both instrumental and hedonic goals. Implications for policymakers and professionals in practice are discussed to improve teachers' emotional wellbeing.Keywords: discordant strategies, emotional labor, student aggression, teachers
Procedia PDF Downloads 26116397 Nalanda ‘School of Joy’: Teaching Learning Strategies and Support System, for Implementing Child-Friendly Education in Bangladesh
Authors: Sufia Ferdousi
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Child-friendly education (CFE) is very important for the children, especially the early year’s students, because it fosters the holistic development of a child. Teacher plays a key role in creating child-friendly education. This study intends to learn about child-friendly education in Bangladesh. The purpose of the study is to explore how CFE is being practiced in Bangladesh. The study attempted to fulfill the purpose through case study investigation. One school, named Nalanda, was selected for the study as it claims to run the school through CFE approach. The objective of the study was to identify, how this school is different from the other schools in Bangladesh, to explore overall teaching learning system like, curriculum, teaching strategies, assessments and to investigate the support system for Child Friendly Education provided to the teachers through training or mentoring. The nature of the case study was qualitative method to get maximum information from the students, parents, teachers and school authorities. The findings were based on 3 classroom observations, interviews with 1 teacher, 1 head teacher and 1 trainer, FGD with 10 students and 6 parents, were used to collect the data. It has been found that Nalanda is different than the other schools in Bangladesh in terms of, parents’ motivation about school curriculum, and sufficiency of teachers’ knowledge on joyful learning/child-friendly learning. The students took part in the extracurricular activities alongside the national curriculum. Teachers showed particular strength in the teaching learning strategies, using materials and assessment. And Nalanda gives strong support for teacher’s training. In conclusion, The Nalanda School in Dhaka was found appropriate for the requirements of Child-friendly education.Keywords: child friendly education, overall teaching learning system, the requirements of child-friendly education, the alternative education approach
Procedia PDF Downloads 24716396 Non-Destructive Visual-Statistical Approach to Detect Leaks in Water Mains
Authors: Alaa Al Hawari, Mohammad Khader, Tarek Zayed, Osama Moselhi
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In this paper, an effective non-destructive, non-invasive approach for leak detection was proposed. The process relies on analyzing thermal images collected by an IR viewer device that captures thermo-grams. In this study a statistical analysis of the collected thermal images of the ground surface along the expected leak location followed by a visual inspection of the thermo-grams was performed in order to locate the leak. In order to verify the applicability of the proposed approach the predicted leak location from the developed approach was compared with the real leak location. The results showed that the expected leak location was successfully identified with an accuracy of more than 95%.Keywords: thermography, leakage, water pipelines, thermograms
Procedia PDF Downloads 35516395 Decision Making about the Environmental Management Implementation: Incentives and Expectations
Authors: Eva Štěpánková
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Environmental management implementation is presently one of the ways of organization success and value improvement. Increasing an organization motivation to environmental measures introduction is caused primarily by the rising pressure of the society that generates various incentives to endeavor for the environmental performance improvement. The aim of the paper is to identify and characterize the key incentives and expectations leading organizations to the environmental management implementation. The author focuses on five businesses of different size and field, operating in the Czech Republic. The qualitative approach and grounded theory procedure are used in research. The results point out that the significant incentives for environmental management implementation represent primarily demands of customers, the opportunity to declare the environmental commitment and image improvement. The researched enterprises less commonly expect the economical contribution, competitive advantage increase or export rate improvement. The results show that marketing contributions are primarily expected from the environmental management implementation.Keywords: environmental management, environmental management system, ISO 14001, Czech Republic
Procedia PDF Downloads 38516394 Subject Teachers’ Perception of the Changing Role of Language in the Curriculum of Secondary Education
Authors: Moldir Makenova
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Alongside the implementation of trilingual education in schools, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan innovated the school curriculum in 2013 to include a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach. In this regard, some transition issues have arisen, such as unprepared teachers, a need for more awareness of the CLIL approach, and teaching resources. Some teachers view it as a challenge due to its combination of both content and language. This often creates anxiety among teachers who are knowledgeable about their subject areas in Kazakh or Russian but are deficient in delivering the subject’s content in English. Thus, with this new teaching approach, teachers encounter to choose the role of language and answer how language works in the CLIL classroom. This study aimed to explore how teachers experience the changing role of language in the curriculum and to find out what challenges teachers face related to CLIL implementation and how their language proficiency influences their teaching practices. A qualitative comparative case study was conducted in an X Lyceum and a mainstream school piloting CLIL. Data collection procedures were conducted via semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. Eight content teachers were chosen from these two schools as the target group of this study. Subject teachers, rather than language teachers, were chosen as the target group to grasp how the language-related issues in the new curriculum are interpreted by educators who do not necessarily identify themselves as language experts at the outset. The findings showed that mainstream teachers prioritize content over language because, as content teachers, the knowledge of content is more essential for them rather than the language. In contrast, most X Lyceum teachers balance language and content and additionally showed their preferences to support the ‘English language only' policy among 10-11 graders. Moreover, due to the low-level English proficiency, mainstream teachers did highlight the necessity of CLIL training and further collaboration with language teachers. This study will be beneficial for teachers and policy-makers to enable them to solve the issues mentioned above related to the implementation of CLIL. Larger-scale research conducted in the future would further inform its successful deployment country-wide.Keywords: role of language, trilingual education, updated curriculum, teacher practices
Procedia PDF Downloads 7116393 The Influence of National Culture on Business Negotiations: An Exploratory Study of Venezuelan and British Managers
Authors: Mohamed Haffar, Loredana Perez
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Significant attention has recently been paid to the cross-cultural negotiations due to the growth of international businesses. Despite the substantial body of literature examining the influence of national culture (NC) dimensions on negotiations, there is a lack of studies comparing the influence of NC in Latin America with a Western European countries, In particular, an extensive review of the literature revealed that a contribution to knowledge would be derived from the comparison of the influence of NC dimensions on negotiations in UK and Venezuela. The primary data was collected through qualitative interviews, to obtain an insight about the perceptions and beliefs of Venezuelan and British business managers about their negotiating styles. The findings of this study indicated that NC has a great influence on the negotiating styles. In particular, Venezuelan and British managers demonstrated to have opposed negotiating styles, affecting the way they communicate, approach people and their willingness to take risks.Keywords: national culture, negotiation, international business, Venezula, UK
Procedia PDF Downloads 47016392 The Effect of Engineering Construction in Online Consultancy
Authors: Mariam Wagih Nagib Eskandar
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The engineering design process is the activities formulation, to help an engineer raising a plan with a specified goal and performance. The engineering design process is a multi-stage course of action including the conceptualization, research, feasibility studies, establishment of design parameters, preliminary and finally the detailed design. It is a progression from the abstract to the concrete; starting with probably abstract ideas about need, and thereafter elaborating detailed specifications of the object that would satisfy the needs, identified. Engineering design issues, problems, and solutions are discussed in this paper using qualitative approach from an information structure perspective. The objective is to identify the problems, to analyze them and propose solutions by integrating; innovation, practical experience, time and resource management, communications skills, isolating the problem in coordination with all stakeholders. Consequently, this would be beneficial for the engineering community to improve the Engineering design practices.Keywords: education, engineering, math, performanceengineering design, architectural engineering, team-based learning, construction safetyrequirement engineering, models, practices, organizations
Procedia PDF Downloads 8016391 Spiritual Causes of Unusual Happenings in Life: An Analytical Study in Religious Perspective
Authors: Muhammad Samiullah
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Unquestionably, Human life has been complex from the beginning. In the modern era, with all advancements in science and technology, this complexity is increasing day by day, and human life is becoming more and more difficult its survive. The world has become more mysterious than before. Human beings are facing unusual happenings and blockages in their lives in the form of illnesses, diseases, relationship problems, and hurdles in the economy with all their advanced knowledge, information, and exposure to the universe and themselves as well. This paper will discuss and analyze the underlying spiritual causes and their effects on human life and also suggests their remedies from an Islamic perspective, i.e., in the light of Theology and Islamic literature. Hermeneutics, narrative, and case study approach are adopted within the qualitative methodology in our findings throughout the research. In our outcomes, we will see that Islam eloquently and adequately describes the spiritual causes and factors regarding the unusual foundations and their effects on human life and also provides the remedies and cures to overcome these blockages.Keywords: religious psychology, spiritual theology, Islam and spirituality, unusual happenings
Procedia PDF Downloads 9616390 Belonging without Believing: Life Narratives of Six Social Generations of Members of the Apostolic Society
Authors: Frederique A. Demeijer
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This article addresses the religious beliefs of members of the Apostolic Society –a Dutch religious community wherein the oldest living members were raised with very different beliefs than those upheld today. Currently, the Apostolic Society is the largest liberal religious community of the Netherlands, consisting of roughly 15,000 members. It is characterized by its close-knit community life and the importance of its apostle: the spiritual leader who writes a weekly letter around which the Sunday morning service is centered. The society sees itself as ‘religious-humanistic’, inspired by its Judeo-Christian roots without being dogmatic. Only a century earlier, the beliefs of the religious community revolved more strongly around the Bible, the apostle is a link to Christ. Also, the community believed in the return of the Lord, resonating with the millenarian roots of community in 1830. Thus, the oldest living members have experienced fundamental changes in beliefs and rituals, yet remained members. This article reveals how members experience(d) their religious beliefs and feelings of belonging to the community, how these may or may not have changed over time, and what role the Apostolic Society played in their lives. The article presents a qualitative research approach based on two main pillars. First, life narrative interviews were conducted, to work inductively and allow different interview topics to emerge. Second, it uses generational theory, in three ways: 1) to select respondents; 2) to guide the interview methodology –by being sensitive to differences in socio-historical context and events experienced during formative years of interviewees of different social generations, and 3) to analyze and contextualize the qualitative interview data. The data were gathered from 27 respondents, belonging to six social generations. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed, using the Atlas.ti software program. First, the elder generations talk about growing up with the Apostolic Society being absolutely central in their daily and spiritual lives. They spent most of their time with fellow members and dedicated their free time to Apostolic activities. The central beliefs of the Apostolic Society were clear and strongly upheld, and they experienced strong belonging. Although they now see the set of central beliefs to be more individually interpretable and are relieved to not have to spend all that time to Apostolic activities anymore, they still regularly attend services and speak longingly of the past with its strong belief and belonging. Second, the younger generations speak of growing up in a non-dogmatic, religious-humanist set of beliefs, but still with a very strong belonging to the religious community. They now go irregularly to services, and talk about belonging, but not as strong as the elderly generations do. Third, across the generations, members spend more time outside of the Apostolic Society than within. The way they speak about their religious beliefs is fluid and differs as much within generations as between: for example, there is no central view on what God is. It seems the experience of members of the Apostolic Society across different generations can now be characterized as belonging without believing.Keywords: generational theory, individual religious experiences, life narrative history interviews, qualitative research design
Procedia PDF Downloads 11116389 The Impact of Cloud Accounting on Boards of Directors in the Middle East and North African (MENA) Countries
Authors: Ahmad Alqatan
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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze how the adoption of cloud accounting systems influences the governance practices and performance of boards of directors in MENA countries. The research aims to identify the benefits and challenges associated with cloud accounting and its role in improving board efficiency and oversight. Methodology: This research employs a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with board members and financial officers from a diverse range of companies in the MENA region. The quantitative data is analyzed to determine patterns and correlations, while qualitative insights provide a deeper understanding of the contextual factors influencing cloud accounting adoption and its impacts. Findings: The findings indicate that cloud accounting significantly enhances the decision-making capabilities of boards by providing real-time financial information and facilitating better communication among board members. Companies using cloud accounting reports improved financial oversight and more timely and accurate financial reporting. However, the research also identifies challenges such as cybersecurity concerns, resistance to change, and the need for ongoing training and support. Practical Implications: The study suggests that MENA companies can benefit from investing in cloud accounting technologies to improve board governance and strategic decision-making. It highlights the importance of addressing cybersecurity issues and providing adequate training for board members to maximize the advantages of cloud accounting. Originality: This research contributes to the limited literature on cloud accounting in the MENA region, offering valuable insights for policymakers, business leaders, and academics. It underscores the transformative potential of cloud accounting for enhancing board performance and corporate governance in emerging markets.Keywords: cloud accounting, board of directors, MENA region, corporate governance, financial transparency, real-time data, decision-making, cybersecurity, technology adoption
Procedia PDF Downloads 3016388 Optimization of Switched Reluctance Motor for Drive System in Automotive Applications
Authors: A. Peniak, J. Makarovič, P. Rafajdus, P. Dúbravka
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The purpose of this work is to optimize a Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) for an automotive application, specifically for a fully electric car. A new optimization approach is proposed. This unique approach transforms automotive customer requirements into an optimization problem, based on sound knowledge of a SRM theory. The approach combines an analytical and a finite element analysis of the motor to quantify static nonlinear and dynamic performance parameters, as phase currents and motor torque maps, an output power and power losses in order to find the optimal motor as close to the reality as possible, within reasonable time. The new approach yields the optimal motor which is competitive with other types of already proposed motors for automotive applications. This distinctive approach can also be used to optimize other types of electrical motors, when parts specifically related to the SRM are adjusted accordingly.Keywords: automotive, drive system, electric car, finite element method, hybrid car, optimization, switched reluctance motor
Procedia PDF Downloads 52116387 A Methodology for the Identification of Technological Gaps and the Measurement of the Level of Technological Acceptance in the Rural Sector in Colombia
Authors: Anyi Katherine Garzon Robles, Luis Carlos Gomez Florez
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Since the advent of the Internet, the use of Information Technologies (IT) has increased exponentially. The field of informatics and telecommunications has put on the table countless possibilities for the development of different socio-economic activities, promoting a change of social paradigm and the emergence of the so-called information and knowledge society. For more than a decade, the Colombian government has been working on the incorporation of IT into the public sector through an e-government strategy. However, to date, many technological gaps has not yet been identified in the country to our knowledge, especially in rural areas and far from large cities, where factors such as low investment and the expansion of the armed conflict have led to economic and technological stagnation. This paper presents the research results obtained from the execution of a research project, which was approach from a qualitative approach and a methodological design of a participatory action research type. This design consists of nine fundamental stages divided into four work cycles. For which different strategies for data collection and analysis were established. From which, a methodology was obtained for the identification of technological gaps and the measurement of the level of technological acceptance in the rural sector, based on the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) model, as a previous activity to the development of IT solutions framed in the e-government strategy in Colombia. The result of this research work represents a contribution from academia for the improvement of the country's technological development and a guide for the proper planning of IT solutions aimed at promoting a close relationship between government and citizens.Keywords: E-government, knowledge society, level of technological acceptance, technological gaps, technology acceptance model
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