Search results for: expected utility theory

Authors: Emmanuel Iyamuremye, Edouard Singirankabo, Alexis Habineza, Yunvirusaba Nelson

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Temperature is one of the most important climatic factors for crop production. However, severe temperatures cause drought, feverish and cold spells that have various consequences for human life, agriculture, and the environment in general. It is necessary to provide reliable information related to the incidents and the probability of such extreme events occurring. In the 21st century, the world faces a huge number of threats, especially from climate change, due to global warming and environmental degradation. The rise in temperature has a direct effect on the decrease in rainfall. This has an impact on crop growth and development, which in turn decreases crop yield and quality. Countries that are heavily dependent on agriculture use to suffer a lot and need to take preventive steps to overcome these challenges. The main objective of this study is to model the statistical behaviour of extreme maximum temperature values in Rwanda. To achieve such an objective, the daily temperature data spanned the period from January 2000 to December 2017 recorded at nine weather stations collected from the Rwanda Meteorological Agency were used. The two methods, namely the block maxima (BM) method and the Peaks Over Threshold (POT), were applied to model and analyse extreme temperature. Model parameters were estimated, while the extreme temperature return periods and confidence intervals were predicted. The model fit suggests Gumbel and Beta distributions to be the most appropriate models for the annual maximum of daily temperature. The results show that the temperature will continue to increase, as shown by estimated return levels.

Keywords: climate change, global warming, extreme value theory, rwanda, temperature, generalised extreme value distribution, generalised pareto distribution

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Authors: Qi Wang

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In the classroom, teachers have been trained to complete the target task within the limited lecture time, meanwhile learners need to receive a lot of new knowledge, however, most of the time the learners come without the proper pre-class preparation to efficiently take in the contents taught in class. Under this circumstance, teachers do have no time to check whether the learners fully understand the content or not, how the learners communicate in the different contexts, until teachers see the results when the learners are tested. In the past decade, the teaching of Chinese has taken a trend. Teaching focuses less on the use of proper grammatical terms/punctuation and is now placing a heavier focus on the materials from real life contexts. As a result, it has become a greater challenge to teachers, as this requires teachers to fully understand/prepare what they teach and explain the content with simple and understandable words to learners. On the other hand, the same challenge also applies to the learners, who come from different countries. As they have to use what they learnt, based on their personal understanding of the material to effectively communicate with others in the classroom, even in the contexts of a day to day communication. To reach this win-win stage, Feynman’s Technique plays a very important role. This practical report presents you how the Feynman’s Technique is applied into Chinese courses, both writing & oral, to motivate the learners to practice more on writing, reading and speaking in the past few years. Part 1, analysis of different teaching styles and different types of learners, to find the most efficient way to both teachers and learners. Part 2, based on the theory of Feynman’s Technique, how to let learners build the knowledge from knowing the name of something to knowing something, via different designed target tasks. Part 3. The outcomes show that Feynman’s Technique is the interaction of learning style and teaching style, the double-edged sword of Teaching & Learning Chinese as a Second Language.

Keywords: Chinese, Feynman’s technique, learners, teachers

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Authors: Marita Heyns

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Job insecurity is a distressing phenomenon which has far reaching consequences for both employees and their organizations. Previously, much attention has been given to the link between job insecurity and individual level performance outcomes, while less is known about how subjectively perceived job insecurity might transfer beyond the individual level to affect performance of the organization on an aggregated level. Research focusing on how employees’ fear of job loss might affect the organization’s ability to respond proactively to volatility and drastic change through applying its capabilities of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring, appears to be practically non-existent. Equally little is known about the potential underlying mechanisms through which job insecurity might affect the dynamic capabilities of an organization. This study examines how job insecurity might affect dynamic organizational capability through trust as an underling process. More specifically, it considered the simultaneous roles of trust at an impersonal (organizational) level as well as trust at an interpersonal level (in leaders and co-workers) as potential underlying mechanisms through which job insecurity might affect the organization’s dynamic capability to respond to opportunities and imminent, drastic change. A quantitative research approach and a stratified random sampling technique enabled the collection of data among 314 managers at four different plant sites of a large South African steel manufacturing organization undergoing dramatic changes. To assess the study hypotheses, the following statistical procedures were employed: Structural equation modelling was performed in Mplus to evaluate the measurement and structural models. The Chi-square values test for absolute fit as well as alternative fit indexes such as the Comparative Fit Index and the Tucker-Lewis Index, the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation and the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual were used as indicators of model fit. Composite reliabilities were calculated to evaluate the reliability of the factors. Finally, interaction effects were tested by using PROCESS and the construction of two-sided 95% confidence intervals. The findings indicate that job insecurity had a lower-than-expected detrimental effect on evaluations of the organization’s dynamic capability through the conducive buffering effects of trust in the organization and in its leaders respectively. In contrast, trust in colleagues did not seem to have any noticeable facilitative effect. The study proposes that both job insecurity and dynamic capability can be managed more effectively by also paying attention to factors that could promote trust in the organization and its leaders; some practical recommendations are given in this regard.

Keywords: dynamic organizational capability, impersonal trust, interpersonal trust, job insecurity

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Authors: Sayantan Saha, Sambit Supriya Dash, Vinayak Malhotra

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Efficient propulsive systems development is an area of major interest and concern in aerospace industry. Combustion forms the most reliable and basic form of propulsion for ground and space applications. The generation of large amount of energy from a small volume relates mostly to the flaming combustion. This study deals with instabilities associated with flaming combustion. Combustion is always accompanied by acoustics be it external or internal. Chemical propulsion oriented rockets and space systems are well known to encounter acoustic instabilities. Acoustic brings in changes in inter-energy conversion and alter the reaction rates. The modified heat fluxes, owing to wall temperature, reaction rates, and non-linear heat transfer are observed. The thermoacoustic instabilities significantly result in reduced combustion efficiency leading to uncontrolled liquid rocket engine performance, serious hazards to systems, assisted testing facilities, enormous loss of resources and every year a substantial amount of money is spent to prevent them. Present work attempts to fundamentally understand the mechanisms governing the thermoacoustic combustion in liquid rocket engine using a simplified experimental setup comprising a butane cylinder and an impinging acoustic source. Rocket engine produces sound pressure level in excess of 153 Db. The RL-10 engine generates noise of 180 Db at its base. Systematic studies are carried out for varying fuel flow rates, acoustic levels and observations are made on the flames. The work is expected to yield a good physical insight into the development of acoustic devices that when coupled with the present propulsive devices could effectively enhance combustion efficiency leading to better and safer missions. The results would be utilized to develop impinging acoustic devices that impinge sound on the combustion chambers leading to stable combustion thus, improving specific fuel consumption, specific impulse, reducing emissions, enhanced performance and fire safety. The results can be effectively applied to terrestrial and space application.

Keywords: combustion instability, fire safety, improved performance, liquid rocket engines, thermoacoustics

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Authors: Claudio Calosi, Damiano Costa, Paolo Natali

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Determination is the relation that holds between certain kinds of properties, determinables – such as “being colored”, and others, determinates – such as “being red”. Subordination is the relation that holds between genus properties – such as “being an animal”, and others, species properties – such as “being human”'. It is widely held that Determination and Subordination share important similarities, yet also crucial differences. But what grounds such similarities and differences? This question is hardly ever addressed. The present paper provides the first step towards filling this gap in the literature. It argues that a locational theory of instantiation, roughly the view that to have a property is to occupy a location in quality space, holds the key for such an answer. More precisely, it argues that both principles of Determination and Subordination are just examples of more general principles of location. Consider Determination. The principle that everything that has a determinate has a determinable boils down to the claim that everything that has a precise location in quality space is in quality space – an eminently reasonable principle. The principle that nothing can have two determinates (at the same level of determination) boils down to the principle that nothing can be “multilocated” in quality space. In effect, the following provides a “translation table” between principles of location and determination: LOCATION DETERMINATION Functionality At Most One Determination Focus At Most One Determination & Requisite Determination* Exactness Requisite Determination* Super-Exactness Requisite Determination Exactitude Requisite Determination Converse-Exactness Determinable Inehritance This grounds the similarity between Determination and Subordination. What about the differences? The paper argues that the differences boil down to the mereological structure of the regions that are occupied in quality space, in particular whether they are simple or complex. The key technical detail is that Determination and Subordination induce a “set-theoretic rooted tree” structure over the domain of properties. Interestingly, the analysis also provides a possible justification for the Aristotelian claim that being is not a genus property – an argument that the paper develops in some detail.

Keywords: determinables/determinates, genus/species, location, Aristotle on being is not a genus

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Authors: Hossein Panahi, Firouz Fallahi, Sima Nasibparast

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Background & Aim: Unnecessary growth in health expenditures of developing countries in recent decades, and also the importance of physicians’ behavior in health market, have made the theory of physician-induced demand (PID) as one of the most important issues in health economics. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the hypothesis of induced demand among mental patients who receive services from either psychologists or psychiatrists in East Azerbaijan province. Methods: Using data from questionnaires in 2020 and employing the theoretical model of Jaegher and Jegers (2000) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), this study examines the PID hypothesis of selected psychologists and psychiatrists. The sample size of the study, after removing the questionnaires with missing data, is 45 psychologists and 203 people of their patients, as well as 30 psychiatrists and 160 people of their patients. Results: The results show that, although psychiatrists are ‘profit-oriented physicians’, there is no evidence of inducing unnecessary demand by them (PID), and the difference between the behavior of employers and employee doctors is due to differences in practice style. However, with regard to psychologists, the results indicate that they are ‘profit-oriented’, and there is a PID effect in this sector. Conclusion: According to the results, it is suggested that in order to reduce competition and eliminate the PID effect, the admission of students in the field of psychology should be reduced, patient information on mental illness should be increased, and government monitoring and control over the national health system must be increased.

Keywords: physician-induced demand, national health system, hierarchical linear modeling methods, multilevel modela

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Authors: Mirriam M. Moleko, Sekanse A. Ntsala

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Language in mathematics instruction enables the teacher to communicate mathematical knowledge to the learners with precision. It also enables the learner to deal with mathematical activities effectively. This scholarly piece was motivated by the fact that mathematics performance in the South African primary classrooms has not been satisfactory, and English, which is a Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) for the majority of the learners, has been singled out as one of the major impediments. This is not only on the part of the learners, but also on the part of the teachers as well. The study thus focused on the lack of competency in English among the primary school teachers as one of the possible causes of poor performance in mathematics in primary classrooms. The qualitative processes, which were premised on the social interaction theory as a lens, sourced the narratives of 10 newly qualified primary school mathematics teachers from the disadvantaged schools on the matter. This was achieved through the use of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The data, which were analyzed thematically, highlighted the actuality that the challenges cut across the pre-service stage to the in-service stage. The findings revealed that the undergraduate mathematics courses in the number of the institutions neglect the importance of language. The study further revealed that the in-service mathematics teachers lack adequate linguistic command, thereby finding it difficult to successfully teach some mathematical concepts, or even to outline instructions clearly. The study thus suggests the need for training institutions to focus on improving the teachers’ English language competency. The need for intensive in-service training targeting the problem areas was also highlighted. The study thus contributes to the body of knowledge by providing suggestions on how the mathematics teachers’ language incompetency can be mitigated.

Keywords: Competency, English language proficiency, language of learning and teaching, primary mathematics teachers

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Authors: Leigh Ann Wilson, Melanie Borrego

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The purpose of institutional learning outcomes (ILOs) is to assess what students across the university know and what they do not. The issue is gathering this information in a systematic and usable way. This presentation will explain how one institution has engineered this process for both student success and maximum faculty curriculum and course design input. At Brandman University, there are three levels of learning outcomes: course, program, and institutional. Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) are mapped to specific courses. Faculty course developers write the signature assignments (SAs) in alignment with the Institutional Learning Outcomes for each course. These SAs use a specific rubric that is applied consistently by every section and every instructor. Each year, the 12-member General Education Team (GET), as a part of their work, conducts the calibration and assessment of the university-wide SAs and the related rubrics for one or two of the five ILOs. GET members, who are senior faculty and administrators who represent each of the university's schools, lead the calibration meetings. Specifically, calibration is a process designed to ensure the accuracy and reliability of evaluating signature assignments by working with peer faculty to interpret rubrics and compare scoring. These calibration meetings include the full time and adjunct faculty members who teach the course to ensure consensus on the application of the rubric. Each calibration session is chaired by a GET representative as well as the course custodian/contact where the ILO signature assignment resides. The overall calibration process GET follows includes multiple steps, such as: contacting and inviting relevant faculty members to participate; organizing and hosting calibration sessions; and reviewing and discussing at least 10 samples of student work from class sections during the previous academic year, for each applicable signature assignment. Conversely, the commitment for calibration teams consist of attending two virtual meetings lasting up to three hours in duration. The first meeting focuses on interpreting the rubric, and the second meeting involves comparing scores for sample work and sharing feedback about the rubric and assignment. Next, participants are expected to follow all directions provided and participate actively, and respond to scheduling requests and other emails within 72 hours. The virtual meetings are recorded for future institutional use. Adjunct faculty are paid a small stipend after participating in both calibration meetings. Full time faculty can use this work on their annual faculty report for "internal service" credit.

Keywords: assessment, assurance of learning, course design, institutional learning outcomes, rubrics, signature assignments

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Authors: Limor Gadot, Orly Sarid

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Integration of young adults with disabilities (YAWD) into workplaces provides an opportunity for social and occupational mobility, enabling them to financial independence. To enhance integration, it is important to understand their occupational preferences as well as the factors that influencing it such as demographic variables, self-assessed health, beliefs about work, subjective norms, and self-efficacy. Planned behavior theory was chosen as a basis for this study. A cross-sectional study, based on preliminary sample of 37 YAWD who have been recognized by the National Insurance Institute and are engaged in a year of national service. The finding shows that most of the participants were single (97%) women (60%); average age was 22(+ 2) years, approximately half were secular. Most of the participants had disabilities resulting from CP (96%). Self-assessed health was correlated positively and significantly with behavioral intentions to work in the free market (r = .33, p = .05), and significant negative correlation with behavioral intentions to work in supported settings (r =.-40, p = .01), and sheltered settings (r =-.36, p = .03): individuals who perceived themselves as having more severe disabilities showed a greater tendency to choose a workplace with more rehabilitative inputs. Furthermore, women showed a greater tendency than men to perceive their disability as impairing their future intention to work: t (36) = 2.23, p < .05. Beliefs about work were positively associated with normative beliefs (r = .308, p = .06). The findings indicate that, especially with women, perceptions of health are related to occupational preferences. Moreover, the findings indicate that the relationship between subjective norms about work and normative beliefs about integrating in a workplace that prevail in the individual's environment affects occupational preferences. The contribution of the study lies in the development of new responses and interventions to encourage adults with disabilities to work.

Keywords: young adults, disabilities, work preferences, occupational preferences

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Authors: Christine Redmond

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This paper contributes to research on gendered, digital identities by exploring how selfies offer scope for disrupting and moving through gendered and racial ideals of feminine beauty. The selfie involves self-presentation, filters, captions, hashtags, online publishing, likes and more, constituting the relationship between subjectivity, practice and social use of selfies a complex process. Employing qualitative research methods on youth selfies in the UK, the author investigates interdisciplinary entangling between studies of social media and fields within gender, media and cultural studies, providing a material discursive treatment of the selfie as an embodied practice. Drawing on data collected from focus groups with teenage girls in East London, the study explores how girls experience and relate to selfies and snaps in their everyday lives. The author’s Deleuzean feminist approach suggests that bodies and selfies are not individual, disembodied entities between which there is a mediating inter-action. Instead, bodies and selfies are positioned as entangled to a point where it becomes unclear as to where a selfie ends and a body begins. Recognising selfies not just as images but as material and social assemblages opens up possibilities for unpacking the selfie in ways that move beyond the representational model in some studies of socially mediated digital images. The study reveals how the selfie functions to enable moments of empowerment within limiting, dominant ideologies of Euro-centrism, patriarchy and heteronormativity.

Keywords: affect theory, femininity, gender, heteronormativity, photography, selfie, snapchat

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Authors: Zavkiddin Mirtoshev, Mirabbos Mirkamalov

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We have analyzed the time series of full disk integrated soft X-ray (SXR) and hard X-ray (HXR) emission from the solar corona during 2004 January 1 to 2009 December 31, covering the descending phase of solar cycle 23. We employed the daily X-ray index (DXI) derived from X-ray observations from the Solar X-ray Spectrometer (SOXS) mission in four different energy bands: 4-5.5; 5.5-7.5 keV (SXR) and 15-20; 20-25 keV (HXR). The application of Lomb-Scargle periodogram technique to the DXI time series observed by the Silicium detector in the energy bands reveals several short and intermediate periodicities of the X-ray corona. The DXI explicitly show the periods of 13.6 days, 26.7 days, 128.5 days, 151 days, 180 days, 220 days, 270 days, 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods in SXR as well as in HXR energy bands. Although all periods are above 70% confidence level in all energy bands, they show strong power in HXR emission in comparison to SXR emission. These periods are distinctly clear in three bands but somehow not unambiguously clear in 5.5-7.5 keV band. This might be due to the presence of Ferrum and Ferrum/Niccolum line features, which frequently vary with small scale flares like micro-flares. The regular 27-day rotation and 13.5 day period of sunspots from the invisible side of the Sun are found stronger in HXR band relative to SXR band. However, flare activity Rieger periods (150 and 180 days) and near Rieger period 220 days are very strong in HXR emission which is very much expected. On the other hand, our current study reveals strong 270 day periodicity in SXR emission which may be connected with tachocline, similar to a fundamental rotation period of the Sun. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periodicities, represented from the present research work, are well observable in both SXR as well as in HXR channels. These long-term periodicities must also have connection with tachocline and should be regarded as a consequence of variation in rotational modulation over long time scales. The 1.24 year and 1.54 year periods are also found great importance and significance in the life formation and it evolution on the Earth, and therefore they also have great astro-biological importance. We gratefully acknowledge support by the Indian Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP, the Centre is affiliated to the United Nations), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) at Ahmedabad, India. This work has done under the supervision of Prof. Rajmal Jain and paper consist materials of pilot project and research part of the M. Tech program which was made during Space and Atmospheric Science Course.

Keywords: corona, flares, solar activity, X-ray emission

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Authors: Asim Abbasi, Muhammad Sufyan, Iqra, Muhammad Ibrahim Shahid, Muhammad Ashfaq

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The foundation of human life on earth relies on many ecosystem services provided by insects of which pollination owes a vital role. The pollination service offered by insects has annual worth of approximately €153 billion. The majority of the flowering plants depends on entomophiles pollination for their reproduction and formation of seeds and fruits. The quantity and quality of insect pollination have multiple implications for stable ecosystem, diverse species level, food security and climate change resilience. The rapidly mounting human population, depletion of natural resources and the global climate change forced us to enter an era of pollination crisis. Climate change not only alters the phenology, population abundance and geographic ranges of different pollinators but also hinders their pollination activities. The successful pollination process relies heavily on the synchronization of biological events of pollinators with the phenological stages of the flowering plants. However, there are possibilities that impending climatic changes may result in asynchrony between plant-pollinators interactions and also mitigate the extent of pollination. The trophic mismatch mostly occurs when pollinators and plants inhabiting the same environment use different environmental cues to regulate their biological events, as these cues are not equally affected by climate change. Synchrony has also been disrupted when one of the interacting species has migratory nature and depend on cues for migration. Moreover, irregular rainfalls and up-surging temperature also disrupts the foraging behaviour of pollinators resulting in reduced flowers visits by insect. Climate change has a direct impact on the behavior and physiology of honey bees, the best known pollinators owing to their extreme floral fidelity. Rising temperature not only alleviates the quantity and quality of floral environment but also alters the bee’s colony harvesting and development ability. Furthermore, a possible earlier decline of flowers is expected in a growing season due to this rising temperature. This may also lead to disrupt the efficiency bumblebee queen that require a constant and adequate nectar and pollen supply throughout the entire growing season for healthy colony production. Considering the role of insect pollination in our ecosystem, their associated risks regarding climate change should be addressed properly for devising a well-focused research needed for their conservation.

Keywords: climate change, phenological, pollination, synchronization

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Authors: Andrew Couch, Nicholas Loyd, Nathan Tenhundfeld

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The rapid emergence of technology observably induces disruptive effects that carry implications for internal organizational dynamics as well as external market opportunities, strategic pressures, and threats. An examination of the historical tendencies of technology innovation shows that the body of managerial knowledge for addressing such disruption is underdeveloped. Fundamentally speaking, the impacts of innovation are unique and situationally oriented. Hence, the appropriate managerial response becomes a complex function that depends on the nature of the emerging technology, the posturing of internal organizational dynamics, the rate of technological growth, and much more. This research considers a particular case of mismanagement, the BP Texas City Refinery explosion of 2005, that carries notable discrepancies on the basis of human factors principles. Moreover, this research considers the modern technological climate (shaped by Industry 4.0 technologies) and seeks to arrive at an appropriate conceptual lens by which human factors principles and Industry 4.0 may be favorably integrated. In this manner, the careful examination of these phenomena helps to better support the sustainment of human factors principles despite the disruptive impacts that are imparted by technological innovation. In essence, human factors considerations are assessed through the application of principles that stem from usability engineering, the Swiss Cheese Model of accident causation, human-automation interaction, signal detection theory, alarm design, and other factors. Notably, this stream of research supports a broader framework in seeking to guide organizations amid the uncertainties of Industry 4.0 to capture higher levels of adoption, implementation, and transparency.

Keywords: Industry 4.0, human factors engineering, management, case study

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Authors: Kefale W. Yizengaw, Delele Worku Ayele, Jyh-Chiang Jiang

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The catalytic co-conversion of CO₂ and CH₄ to value-added compounds has become one of the promising approaches to addressing global climate change by having valuable fossil fuels. Thedirect co-conversion of CO₂ and CH₄ to value-added compounds is attractive but tremendously challenging because of both molecules' thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness. In the present study, a single iridium atom doped and a single oxygen atom defect hematite (110)surface model catalyst, which can comprehend direct C–O coupling based on simultaneous activation of CO2 and CH4 was studied using density functional theory plus U (DFT + U)calculations. The presence of dual active sites on the Ir/Fe₂O₃(110)-OV surface catalyst enablesCO₂ activation on the Ir site and CH₄ activation at the defect site. The electron analysis for the theco-adsorption of CO₂ and CH₄ deals with the electron redistribution on the surface and clearly shows the synergistic effect for simultaneous CO₂ and CH₄ activation on Ir/α- Fe₂O₃(110)-OVsurface. The microkinetic analysis shows that the dissociation of CH4 to CH3 * and H* plays an excellent role in the C–O coupling. The coverage analysis for the intermediate products of the microkinetic simulation results indicates that C–O coupling is the reaction limiting step. Finally, after the CH₃O* intermediate product species is produced, the radical hydrogen species spontaneously diffuse to the CH3O* intermediate product to form methanol at around 490 [K]. The present work provides mechanistic and kinetic insights into the direct C–O coupling of CO₂and CH₄, which could help design more-efficient catalysts.

Keywords: co-conversion, C–O coupling, doping, oxygen vacancy, microkinetic

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Authors: Andrea M. Rivas-Castillo, Marlenne Gómez-Ramirez, Isela Rodríguez-Pozos, Norma G. Rojas-Avelizapa

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Spent catalysts are considered as hazardous residues of major concern, mainly due to the simultaneous presence of several metals in elevated concentrations. Although hydrometallurgical, pyrometallurgical and chelating agent methods are available to remove and recover some metals contained in spent catalysts; these procedures generate potentially hazardous wastes and the emission of harmful gases. Thus, biotechnological treatments are currently gaining importance to avoid the negative impacts of chemical technologies. To this end, diverse microorganisms have been used to assess the removal of metals from spent catalysts, comprising bacteria, archaea and fungi, whose resistance and metal uptake capabilities differ depending on the microorganism tested. Acidophilic sulfur oxidizing bacteria have been used to investigate the biotreatment and extraction of valuable metals from spent catalysts, namely Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and Acidithiobacillus ferroxidans, as they present the ability to produce leaching agents such as sulfuric acid and sulfur oxidation intermediates. In the present work, the ability of A. thiooxidans DSM 26636 for the bioleaching of metals contained in five different spent catalysts was assessed by growing the culture in modified Starkey mineral medium (with elemental sulfur at 1%, w/v), and 1% (w/v) pulp density of each residue for up to 21 days at 30 °C and 150 rpm. Sulfur-oxidizing activity was periodically evaluated by determining sulfate concentration in the supernatants according to the NMX-k-436-1977 method. The production of sulfuric acid was assessed in the supernatants as well, by a titration procedure using NaOH 0.5 M with bromothymol blue as acid-base indicator, and by measuring pH using a digital potentiometer. On the other hand, Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometry was used to analyze metal removal from the five different spent catalysts by A. thiooxidans DSM 26636. Results obtained show that, as could be expected, sulfuric acid production is directly related to the diminish of pH, and also to highest metal removal efficiencies. It was observed that Al and Fe are recurrently removed from refinery spent catalysts regardless of their origin and previous usage, although these removals may vary from 9.5 ± 2.2 to 439 ± 3.9 mg/kg for Al, and from 7.13 ± 0.31 to 368.4 ± 47.8 mg/kg for Fe, depending on the spent catalyst proven. Besides, bioleaching of metals like Mg, Ni, and Si was also obtained from automotive spent catalysts, which removals were of up to 66 ± 2.2, 6.2±0.07, and 100±2.4, respectively. Hence, the data presented here exhibit the potential of A. thiooxidans DSM 26636 for the simultaneous bioleaching of metals contained in spent catalysts from diverse provenance.

Keywords: bioleaching, metal removal, spent catalysts, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans

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Authors: Clare Flood, Shareen Forbes

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Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disorder affecting >400,000 people in the UK alone, with the global prevalence expected to double in the next decade. Islet transplant offers a minimally-invasive procedure with very low morbidity and almost no mortality, and is now as effective as whole pancreas transplant. The procedure was introduced to the UK in 2011 for patients with the most severe type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) – those with unstable blood glucose, frequently occurring episodes of severe hypoglycemia and impaired awareness of hypoglycemia (IAH). Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of islet transplantation in improving glycemic control, reducing the burden of hypoglycemia and improving awareness of hypoglycemia through a single-centre cohort study at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Glycemic control and degree of hypoglycemic awareness will be determined and monitored pre- and post-transplantation to determine effectiveness of the procedure. Methods: A retrospective analysis of data collected over three years from the 16 patients who have undergone islet transplantation in Scotland. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was measured and continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMS) were utilised to assess glycemic control, while Gold and Clarke score questionnaires tested IAH. Results: All patients had improved glycemic control following transplant, with optimal control seen visually at 3 months post-transplant. Glycemic control significantly improved, as illustrated by percentage time in hypoglycemia in the months following transplant (p=0.0211) and HbA1c (p=0.0426). Improved Clarke (p=0.0034) and Gold (p=0.0001) scores indicate improved glycemic awareness following transplant. Conclusion: While the small sample of islet transplant recipients at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh prevents definitive conclusions being drawn, it is indicated that through our retrospective, single-centre cohort study of 16 patients, islet transplant is capable of improving glycemic control, reducing the burden of hypoglycemia and IAH post-transplant. Data can be combined with similar trials at other centres to increase statistical power but from research in Edinburgh, it can be suggested that the minimally invasive procedure of islet transplantation offers selected patients with extremely unstable T1DM the incredible opportunity to regain control of their condition and improve their quality of life.

Keywords: diabetes, islet, transplant, CGMS

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Authors: Floris Burgers, Arjan Verschoor

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Poor farmers in developing countries typically do not have the resources or access to institutions to protect themselves against all kinds of income shocks, which makes their farm income highly sensitive to weather and crop price fluctuations, and various other intervening forces. Consequently, the relationship between farming effort and farming outcomes can be noisy, potentially resulting in a situation in which farmers perceive little personal control over the outcomes of their farming efforts. This perceived lack of control can result in learned helplessness in some farmers, who would then be less motivated to invest in their farm. This paper presents the results of a household survey and controlled field experiment conducted in ten villages in a farming area in eastern Uganda with a view to examining the link between learned helplessness and agricultural investment. The results show that (I) farmers with a more pessimistic attributional style for negative life events invest less in their farm, (II) an experience of uncontrollability over income in a priming task increases investment in the farm in a subsequent task if losses in the priming task are small, and decreases investment in the subsequent task if losses are moderate or big, and (III) the relationship between the number of income shocks experienced in the past two years and investment in the farm is more negative among farmers with a more pessimistic attributional style. These results are in line with the reformulated learned helplessness theory underlying this research, which leads this paper to conclude that learned helplessness can cause agricultural underinvestment in a developing country context, potentially contributing to a poverty trap.

Keywords: agricultural investment, attributional style, farmers, learned helplessness, poverty, income shocks

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Authors: Massimiliano Frezza, Sergio Bianchi, Augusto Pianese

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Introduced by Shannon in 1948 in the field of information theory as the average rate at which information is produced by a stochastic set of data, the concept of entropy has gained much attention as a measure of uncertainty and unpredictability associated with a dynamical system, eventually depicted by a stochastic process. In particular, the Shannon entropy measures the degree of order/disorder of a given signal and provides useful information about the underlying dynamical process. It has found widespread application in a variety of fields, such as, for example, cryptography, statistical physics and finance. In this regard, many contributions have employed different measures of entropy in an attempt to characterize the financial time series in terms of market efficiency, market crashes and/or financial crises. The Shannon entropy has also been considered as a measure of the risk of a portfolio or as a tool in asset pricing. This work investigates the theoretical link between the Shannon entropy and the multifractional Brownian motion (mBm), stochastic process which recently is the focus of a renewed interest in finance as a driving model of stochastic volatility. In particular, after exploring the current state of research in this area and highlighting some of the key results and open questions that remain, we show a well-defined relationship between the Shannon (log)entropy and the memory function H(t) of the mBm. In details, we allow both the length of time series and time scale to change over analysis to study how the relation modify itself. On the one hand, applications are developed after generating surrogates of mBm trajectories based on different memory functions; on the other hand, an empirical analysis of several international stock indexes, which confirms the previous results, concludes the work.

Keywords: Shannon entropy, multifractional Brownian motion, Hurst–Holder exponent, stock indexes

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Authors: B. L. Ho, L. Shi, D. F. Wang, V. C. T. Mok

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The brain’s functional connectivity while temporally non-stationary does express consistency at a macro spatial level. The study of stable resting state connectivity patterns hence provides opportunities for identification of diseases if such stability is severely perturbed. A mathematical model replicating the brain’s spatial connections will be useful for understanding brain’s representative geometry and complements the empirical model where it falls short. Empirical computations tend to involve large matrices and become infeasible with fine parcellation. However, the proposed analytical model has no such computational problems. To improve replicability, 92 subject data are obtained from two open sources. The proposed methodology, inspired by financial theory, uses multivariate regression to find relationships of every cortical region of interest (ROI) with some pre-identified hubs. These hubs acted as representatives for the entire cortical surface. A variance-covariance framework of all ROIs is then built based on these relationships to link up all the ROIs. The result is a high level of match between model and empirical correlations in the range of 0.59 to 0.66 after adjusting for sample size; an increase of almost forty percent. More significantly, the model framework provides an intuitive way to delineate between systemic drivers and idiosyncratic noise while reducing dimensions by more than 30 folds, hence, providing a way to conduct attribution analysis. Due to its analytical nature and simple structure, the model is useful as a standalone toolkit for network dependency analysis or as a module for other mathematical models.

Keywords: functional magnetic resonance imaging, multivariate regression, network hubs, resting state functional connectivity

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Authors: Gulden Aykinbaeva, Assem Umirzakova, Assel Makhadiyeva

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The problem of studying of young married couples in connection with a change of social institute of a family and marriage is represented very actual for family consultation, considering a family role in the development of modern society. Results of numerous researchs say that one of difficult in formation and stabilization of a matrimony is the period of a young family. This period is characterized by various processes of integration, adaptation and emotional compatibility of spouses. The young family in it the period endures the first standard crisis which postpones a print for the further development of the family scenario. Emergence new, earlier not existing, systems of values render a huge value on the process of formation of a young family and each of spouses separately. Possibly to solve the set family tasks at the development of the uniform system of the family relations in which socially mature persons capable to consider a family as the creativity of each other act as subjects. Due to the research objective in work the following techniques were used: a questionnaire of satisfaction with V. V. Stolin's marriage and A. N. Volkova's technique directed on detection of coherence of family values and role installations in a married couple, and also content – the analysis. Development of an internal basis of a family on mutual clearing of values is important during the work with married couples. 'The mature view' of the partner in the marriage union provides coherence between the expected and real behavior of the partner that is important for the realization of the purposes of adaptation in a family. For research of communication of the data obtained by means of A. N. Volkova's techniques, V. V. Stolina and content – the analysis, the correlation analysis, with the application of the criterion of Spirmen was used. The analysis of results of the conducted research allowed us to determine the number of consistent patterns: 1. Nature of change of satisfaction with marriage at spouses testifies that the matrimonial relations undergo high-quality changes at different stages of formation of a young family. 2. The matrimonial relations in the course of their development, formation and functioning in young marriage undergo considerable changes on psychological, social and psychological and insignificant — at the psychophysiological and sociocultural levels. The material received by us allows to plan ways of further detailed researches of the development of the matrimonial relations not only in the young marriage but also at further stages of development of a matrimony. We believe that the results received in this research can be almost applied at creation of algorithms of selection of marriage partners, at diagnostics of character and the maintenance of matrimonial disharmonies, at the forecast of stability of marriage and a family.

Keywords: married couples, formation of the young family, psychological consultation, matrimony

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Authors: Dhruvit S. Berawala, Jann R. Ursin, Obrad Slijepcevic

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Shale gas is one of the most rapidly growing forms of natural gas. Unconventional natural gas deposits are difficult to characterize overall, but in general are often lower in resource concentration and dispersed over large areas. Moreover, gas is densely packed into the matrix through adsorption which accounts for large volume of gas reserves. Gas production from tight shale deposits are made possible by extensive and deep well fracturing which contacts large fractions of the formation. The conventional reservoir modelling and production forecasting methods, which rely on fluid-flow processes dominated by viscous forces, have proved to be very pessimistic and inaccurate. This paper presents a new approach to forecast shale gas production by detailed modeling of gas desorption, diffusion and non-linear flow mechanisms in combination with statistical representation of these processes. The representation of the model involves a cube as a porous media where free gas is present and a sphere (SiC: Sphere in Cube model) inside it where gas is adsorbed on to the kerogen or organic matter. Further, the sphere is considered consisting of many layers of adsorbed gas in an onion-like structure. With pressure decline, the gas desorbs first from the outer most layer of sphere causing decrease in its molecular concentration. The new available surface area and change in concentration triggers the diffusion of gas from kerogen. The process continues until all the gas present internally diffuses out of the kerogen, gets adsorbs onto available surface area and then desorbs into the nanopores and micro-fractures in the cube. Each SiC idealizes a gas pathway and is characterized by sphere diameter and length of the cube. The diameter allows to model gas storage, diffusion and desorption; the cube length takes into account the pathway for flow in nanopores and micro-fractures. Many of these representative but general cells of the reservoir are put together and linked to a well or hydraulic fracture. The paper quantitatively describes these processes as well as clarifies the geological conditions under which a successful shale gas production could be expected. A numerical model has been derived which is then compiled on FORTRAN to develop a simulator for the production of shale gas by considering the spheres as a source term in each of the grid blocks. By applying SiC to field data, we demonstrate that the model provides an effective way to quickly access gas production rates from shale formations. We also examine the effect of model input properties on gas production.

Keywords: adsorption, diffusion, non-linear flow, shale gas production

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Authors: Mohammad Hossein Bayati Chaleshtari, Hadi Khoramishad

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Minimizing the stress concentration around triangular cutout in infinite perforated plates subjected to a uniform heat flux induces thermal stresses is an important consideration in engineering design. Furthermore, understanding the effective parameters on stress concentration and proper selection of these parameters enables the designer to achieve a reliable design. In the analysis of thermal stress, the effective parameters on stress distribution around cutout include fiber angle, flux angle, bluntness and rotation angle of the cutout for orthotropic materials. This paper was tried to examine effect of these parameters on thermal stress analysis of infinite perforated plates with central triangular cutout. In order to achieve the least amount of thermal stress around a triangular cutout using a novel swarm intelligence optimization technique called dragonfly optimizer that inspired by the life method and hunting behavior of dragonfly in nature. In this study, using the two-dimensional thermoelastic theory and based on the Likhnitskiiʼ complex variable technique, the stress analysis of orthotropic infinite plate with a circular cutout under a uniform heat flux was developed to the plate containing a quasi-triangular cutout in thermal steady state condition. To achieve this goal, a conformal mapping function was used to map an infinite plate containing a quasi- triangular cutout into the outside of a unit circle. The plate is under uniform heat flux at infinity and Neumann boundary conditions and thermal-insulated condition at the edge of the cutout were considered.

Keywords: infinite perforated plate, complex variable method, thermal stress, optimization method

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Authors: Gabriel G. Gaft, Xayvinay Xiong, Amanda Sunday

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The emergent pandemic from COVID-19 virus has forced people to adjust to major changes. These changes include all elements of family and work life and required people to engage in novel behaviors. For many people, the social norms to which they have been accustomed no longer prevail. Not surprisingly, such enormous changes in daily life have been associated with greater problems in mental health; and research regarding ways in which mental health professionals can support people is more necessary than ever before. It is often useful to assess people’s reactions through surveys and utilize quantitative data to answer questions about coping strategies etc. It is also likely, however, that a host of individual factors are going to contribute to what might be considered 'good' or 'bad' coping mechanisms to a worldwide pandemic. To this end, qualitative studies—where the individual’s subjective experience is highlighted—are likely to provide more vital information for mental health professionals interested in supporting the particular person in front of them. This study reports on qualitative data, where X participants were asked questions about social distancing, coping strategies, and general attitudes towards social changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Informal interviews were conducted during the months of June-July 2020. Data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analyses. Themes were identified first for each participant and then compared across different individual participants. Several findings emerged. First, all participants understood major health messages being imparted by governing bodies such as the CDC and WHO. The researchers feel this finding is important as it suggests health messages are at least being effectively communicated. Second, there was a clear trend for themes which highlighted the conflicting emotions participants felt about the changes they were expected to endure: positive and negative elements were identified, although a participant who had pre-existing conditions placed greater emphasis on the negative elements. One participant who was particularly interested in impression management also exclusively emphasized negative emotions. Third, participants who were able to reevaluate priorities—what Lazarus might call secondary appraisals—experienced social distancing as a positive rather than negative phenomenon. Finally, participants who were able to develop specific strategies—such as boundaries for work and self-care—reported themes of adjustment and contentment. Taken together, these findings suggest mental health practitioners can assist people to adjust more positively through specific techniques focusing on re-evaluation of life priorities and strategic coping skills.

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, phenomenology, virus

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Authors: Amir Shariffar, Haider Salman, Tanveer Siddique, Omar Manasreh

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According to the recent studies on metal-oxide memristors, researchers tend to improve the stability, endurance, and uniformity of resistive switching (RS) behavior in memristors. Specifically, the main challenge is to prevent abrupt ruptures in the memristor’s filament during the RS process. To address this problem, we are proposing a low-cost hybrid structure of metal oxide quantum dots (QDs) and thin films to control the formation of filaments in memristors. We aim to use metal oxide quantum dots because of their unique electronic properties and quantum confinement, which may improve the resistive switching behavior. QDs have discrete energy spectra due to electron confinement in three-dimensional space. Because of Coulomb repulsion between electrons, only a few free electrons are contained in a quantum dot. This fact might guide the growth direction for the conducting filaments in the metal oxide memristor. As a result, it is expected that QDs can improve the endurance and uniformity of RS behavior in memristors. Moreover, we use a hybrid structure of intrinsic n-type quantum dots and p-type thin films to introduce a potential barrier at the junction that can smooth the transition between high and low resistance states. A bottom-up approach is used for fabricating the proposed memristor using different types of metal-oxide QDs and thin films. We synthesize QDs including, zinc oxide, molybdenum trioxide, and nickel oxide combined with spin-coated thin films of titanium dioxide, copper oxide, and hafnium dioxide. We employ fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass as the substrate for deposition and bottom electrode. Then, the active layer composed of one type of quantum dots, and the opposite type of thin films is spin-coated onto the FTO. Lastly, circular gold electrodes are deposited with a shadow mask by using electron-beam (e-beam) evaporation at room temperature. The fabricated devices are characterized using a probe station with a semiconductor parameter analyzer. The current-voltage (I-V) characterization is analyzed for each device to determine the conduction mechanism. We evaluate the memristor’s performance in terms of stability, endurance, and retention time to identify the optimal memristive structure. Finally, we assess the proposed hypothesis before we proceed to the optimization process for fabricating the memristor.

Keywords: memristor, quantum dot, resistive switching, thin film

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Authors: Catrin Morgan, Atholl Johnston

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Creatine supplementation should theoretically increase total muscle creatine and so enhance the generation of intramuscular phosphocreatine and subsequent ATP formation. The use of creatine as a potential ergogenic aid in sport has been an area of significant scientific research for a number of years. However the effect of creatine supplementation and swimming performance is a relatively new area of research and is the subject of this review. In swimming creatine supplementation could help maintain maximal power output, aid recovery and increase lean body mass. After investigating the underlying theory and science behind creatine supplementation, a literature review was conducted to identify the best evidence looking at the effect of creatine supplementation on swimming performance. The search identified 27 potential studies, and of these 17 were selected for review. The studies were then categorised into single sprint performance, which involves swimming a short distance race, or repeated interval performance, which involves swimming a series of sprints with intervals of rest between them. None of the studies on the effect of creatine controlled for the multiple confounding factors associated with measurement of swimming performance. The sample size in the studies was limited and this reduced the reliability of the studies and introduced the possibility of bias. The studies reviewed provided insufficient evidence to determine if creatine supplementation is beneficial to swimming performance. However, what data there was supported the use of creatine supplementation in repeated interval swimming rather than in single sprint swimming. From a review of the studies, it was calculated on average, there was a 1.37% increase in swimming performance with the use of creatine for repeated intervals and a 0.86% increase in performance for single sprint. While this may seem minor, it should be remembered that swimming races are often won by much smaller margins. In the 2012 London Olympics the Men’s 100 metres freestyle race was won by a margin of only 0.01 of a second. Therefore any potential benefit could make a dramatic difference to the final outcome of the race. Overall more research is warranted before the benefits of creatine supplementation in swimming performance can be further clarified.

Keywords: creatine supplementation, repeated interval, single sprint, swimming performance

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Authors: Md. Moniruzzaman, Thirayoot Limanond

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Being the most visible indicator, the transport system of a city points out how developed the city is. Dhaka megacity holds a mixed composition of motorized and non-motorized modes of transport and the number of vehicle figure is escalating over times. And this obviously poses associated environmental costs like air pollution, noise etc. which is degrading the quality of life in the city. Eventually sustainable transport or more importantly green transport from environmental point of view has become a prime choice to the transport professionals in order to cope up the crisis. Currently the city authority is planning to execute such sustainable transport systems that could serve the pressing demand of the present and meet the future needs effectively. This study focuses on the selection and evaluation of green transportation systems among potential alternatives on a priority basis. In this paper, Fuzzy TOPSIS - a multi-criteria decision method is presented to find out the most prioritized alternative. In the first step, Twenty-one individual specific criteria for sustainability assessment are selected. In the following step, experts provide linguistic ratings to the potential alternatives with respect to the selected criteria. The approach is used to generate aggregate scores for sustainability assessment and selection of the best alternative. In the third step, a sensitivity analysis is performed to understand the influence of criteria weights on the decision making process. The key strength of fuzzy TOPSIS approach is its practical applicability having a generation of good quality solution even under uncertainty.

Keywords: green transport, multi-criteria decision approach, urban transportation system, sustainability assessment, fuzzy theory, uncertainty

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Authors: Mingjiang Dai, Qian Shi, Fang Hu, Songsheng Lin, Huijun Hou, Chunbei Wei

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A diamond-like carbon (DLC) is considered as a promising protective film since its high hardness and excellent tribological properties. However, DLC films are very sensitive to the environmental condition, its friction coefficient could dramatic change in high humidity, therefore, limited their further application in aerospace, the watch industry, and micro/nano-electromechanical systems. Therefore, most studies focus on the low friction coefficient of DLC films at a high humid environment. However, this is out of satisfied in practical application. An important thing was ignored is that the DLC coated components are usually used in the diversed environment, which means its friction coefficient may evidently change in different humid condition. As a result, the invalidation of DLC coated components or even sometimes disaster occurred. For example, DLC coated minisize gears were used in the watch industry, and the customer may frequently transform their locations with different weather and humidity even in one day. If friction coefficient is not stable in dry and high moisture conditions, the watch will be inaccurate. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the stable tribological behavior of DLC films in various environments. In this study, a-C:H:Si films were deposited by multi-function magnetron sputtering system, containing one ion source device and a pair of SiC dual mid-frequent targets and two direct current Ti/C targets. Hydrogenated carbon layers were manufactured by sputtering the graphite target in argon and methane gasses. The silicon was doped in DLC coatings by sputtering silicon carbide targets and the doping content were adjusted by mid-frequent sputtering current. The microstructure of the film was characterized by Raman spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy while its friction behavior under different humidity conditions was studied using a ball-on-disc tribometer. The a-C:H films with Si content from 0 to 17at.% were obtained and the influence of Si content on the structure and tribological properties under the relative humidity of 50% and 85% were investigated. Results show that the a-C:H:Si film has typical diamond-like characteristics, in which Si mainly existed in the form of Si, SiC, and SiO2. As expected, the friction coefficient of a-C:H films can be effectively changed after Si doping, from 0.302 to 0.176 in RH 50%. The further test shows that the friction coefficient value of a-C:H:Si film in RH 85% is first increase and then decrease as a function of Si content. We found that the a-C:H:Si films with a Si content of 3.75 at.% show a stable friction coefficient of 0.13 in different humidity environment. It is suggestion that the sp3/sp2 ratio of a-C:H films with 3.75 at.% Si was higher than others, which tend to form the silica-gel-like sacrificial layers during friction tests. Therefore, the films deliver stable low friction coefficient under controlled RH value of 50 and 85%.

Keywords: diamond-like carbon, Si doping, moisture environment, table low friction coefficient

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Authors: Temple Probyne Abali

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Port Harcourt, Rivers State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is bedeviled by the phenomenon of climatechange, posing threat to food security and livelihood. This study examined a 4 decadel (1980-2020) trend of climate change as well as its socio-economic impact on food security in the region. Furthermore, to achieve sustainable food security and livelihood amidst the phenomenon, the study adopted the World Bank Assisted Third National Fadama Development Programme approach. The data source for climate change involved secondary data from Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET). Consequently, the results for climate change over the 4decade period were displayed in tables, charts and maps for the expected changes. Data sources on socio-economic impact of food security and livelihood were acquired through questionnairedesign. A purposive random sampling technique was used in selecting 5 coastal communities inthe region known for viable economic potentials for agricultural development and the resultswere analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) technique of the World Bank for needs assessment wasadopted in selecting 5 agricultural sub-project proposals/activities based on groups’ commoneconomic interest from a total of 1,000 farmers each drawn from the 5 communities of differentage groups including men, women, youths and the vulnerable. Based on the farmers’ sub-projectinterests, the various groups’ Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT), Problem Listing Matrix, Skill Gap Analysis as well as EIAson their sub-project proposals/activities were analyzed with substantialMonitoring and Evaluation (M & E), using the Specific, Measurable, Attribute, Reliable and Time bound (SMART)approach. Based on the findings from the PRA technique, the farmers recorded considerableincreaseinincomeofover200%withinthe5yearprojectplan(2008-2013).Thestudyrecommends capacity building and advisory services on this PRA innovation. By so doing, there would be a sustainable increase in agricultural production and assured food security in an environmental friendly manner, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).

Keywords: climate change, food security, fadama, world bank, agriculture, sdgs

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Authors: Mokgadi Julia Ngoepe-Ntsoane

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The article aims to make a case for a legislative framework for the fire sector in South Africa. Robust legislative framework is essential for empowering those with obligatory mandate within the sector. This article contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of policy reviews particularly with regards to the legal framework. It has been observed overtime that the scholarly contributions in this field are limited. Document analysis was the methodology selected for the investigation of the various legal frameworks existing in the country. It has been established that indeed the national legislation on the fire industry does not exist in South Africa. From the documents analysed, it was revealed that the sector is dominated by cartels who are exploiting the new entrants to the market particularly SMEs. It is evident that these cartels are monopolising the system as they have long been operating in the system turning it into self- owned entities. Commitment to addressing the challenges faced by fire services and creating a framework for the evolving role that fire brigade services are expected to execute in building safer and sustainable communities is vital. Legislation for the fire sector ought to be concluded with immediate effect. The outdated national fire legislation has necessitated the monopolisation and manipulation of the system by dominating organisations which cause a painful discrimination and exploitation of smaller service providers to enter the market for trading in that occupation. The barrier to entry bears long term negative effects on national priority areas such as employment creation, poverty, and others. This monopolisation and marginalisation practices by cartels in the sector calls for urgent attention by government because if left attended, it will leave a lot of people particularly women and youth being disadvantaged and frustrated. The downcast syndrome exercised within the fire sector has wreaked havoc and is devastating. This is caused by cartels that have been within the sector for some time, who know the strengths and weaknesses of processes, shortcuts, advantages and consequences of various actions. These people take advantage of new entrants to the sector who in turn find it difficult to manoeuvre, find the market dissonant and end up giving up their good ideas and intentions. There are many pieces of legislation which are industry specific such as housing, forestry, agriculture, health, security, environmental which are used to regulate systems within the institutions involved. Other regulations exist as bi-laws for guiding the management within the municipalities.

Keywords: sustainable job creation, growth and development, transformation, risk management

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Authors: Khairani Omar, Shalinawati Ramli, Nurul Azmawati Mohamed, Zarini Ismail, Nur Syahrina Rahim, Nurul Hayati Chamhuri

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Choosing a career which matches a student’s personality traits is one of the key factors for future work satisfaction. This is because career satisfaction is at the highest when it is in line with one’s personality strength, values and attitudes. Personality traits play a major role in determining the success of a student in the medical course. In the pre-clinical years, medical theories are being emphasized, thus, conscientious students would perform better than those with lower level of this trait. As the emphasis changes in the clinical years during which patient interaction is important, personality traits which involved interpersonal values become more essential for success. The aim of this study was to determine the personality traits of students who had chosen medicine as their career. It was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Islamic Science University of Malaysia. The respondents consisted of 81 students whose age ranged between 20-21 years old. A set of personality assessment inventory index which has been validated for the local context was used to determine the students’ personality traits. The instrument assessed 15 personality traits namely: aggressive, analytical, autonomy, creativity, extrovert, intellectual, motivation, diversity, resiliency, self-criticism, control, helpful, support, structured and achievement. The scores ranged between 1-100%, and they were categorized into low (1-30%), moderate (40-60%) and high scores (70-100%). The respondents were Year 3 pre-clinical medical students and there were more female students (69%) compared to male students (31%). Majority of them were from middle-income families. Approximately 70% of both parents of the respondents had tertiary education. Majority of the students had high scores in autonomy, creativity, diversity, helpful, structured and achievement. In other words, more than 50% of them scored high (70-100%) in these traits. Scoring high in these traits was beneficial for the medical course. For aggressive trait, 54% of them had moderate scores which is compatible for medicine as this indicated an inclination to being assertive. In the analytical and intellectual components, only 40% and 25% had high scores respectively. These results contradicted the usual expectation of medical students whereby they are expected to be highly analytical and intellectual. It would be an added value if the students had high scores in being extrovert as this reflects on good interpersonal values, however, the students had approximately similar scores in all categories of this trait. Being resilient in the medical school is important as the course is difficult and demanding. The students had good scores in this component in which 46% had high scores while 39% had moderate scores. In conclusion, by understanding their personality traits, strengths and weaknesses, the students will have an opportunity to improve themselves in the areas they lack. This will help them to become better doctors in future.

Keywords: career, medical students, medicine, personality traits

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