Search results for: function of board members

Authors: Sabika Rafiq, Rubaida Mehmood, Sajid Hussain, Atia Iqbal

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Background and objectives: The pathogenesis of liver function abnormalities and cardiac dysfunction in hyperthyroid patients after I131 treatment is still unclear. This study aimed to determine the effects of radioiodine I131 on liver function parameters, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) before and after I131 therapy hyperthyroidism patients. Material & Methods: A total of 52 patients of hyperthyroidism recommended for I131were involved in this study with ages ranging from 12–65 years (mean age=38.6±14.8 & BMI=11.5±3.7). The significance of the differences between the results of 1st, 2nd and 3rd-time serum analysis was assessed by unpaired student’s t-test. Associations between the parameters were assessed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results: Significant variations were observed for thyroid profile free FT3 (p=0.04), FT4 (p=0.01), TSH (p=0.005) during the follow-up treatment. Before taking I131 (serum analyzed at 1st time), negative correlation of FT3 with AST (r=-0.458, p=0.032) and LDL (r=-0.454, p=0.039) were observed. During 2nd time (after stopping carbimazole), no correlation was assessed. Two months after the administration of I131 drops, a significant negative association of FT3 (r=-0.62, p=0.04) and FT4(r=-0.61, p=0.02) with ALB were observed. FT3(r=-0.82, p=0.00) & FT4 (r=-0.71, p=0.00) also showed negative correlation with LDL after I131 therapy. Whereas TSH showed significant positive association with ALB (r=0.61, p=0.01) and LDL (r=0.70, p=0.00) respectively. Conclusion: Current findings suggested that the association of TFTs with biochemical parameters in patients with goiter recommended for iodine therapy is an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool. The significant changes increased in transaminases and low-density lipoprotein levels after taking I131drops are alarming signs for heart and liver function abnormalities and warrant physicians' attention on an urgent basis.

Keywords: hyperthyroidism, carbimazole, radioiodine I131, liver functions, low-density lipoprotein

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Authors: Miftahuddin Khilji

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The concept of human right is not alien to Islam. The Shari‘ah requires all its followers the sense of responsibility to perform their duties first and then claim their rights. This eventually guarantees the protection of human rights and ensures a peaceful society. The ultimate goal of Shari‘ah is to preserve five basic necessities which are also known as Maqasid ul Shari‘ah or Objectives of Islamic Law. This goal ensures for the members of society their rights without harming public welfare. Despite of the fact that human rights have been fully guaranteed by Islam and their compliance is required by Allah Almighty; not by any legislative body or other sovereign such as kings etc. However, many western writers, organizations and so called liberal thinkers try to create concerns, doubts and misconceptions in minds of the society members. A number of issues are pointed out and people are misguided about the concept of human rights in Islam. This paper aims to discuss main the concept of human rights in the light of perfect and balanced system of laws and principles of Shari‘ah and address those misconceptions and doubts by analyzing them and answering to questions raised about the subject. It would be an effort to prove that human rights are much more significant to Shari‘ah more than any other national or international legislative body.

Keywords: human rights, Islamic law, law, Shariah

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Authors: H. J. Liu, Y. A. Chan, C. K. Pai, K. C. Tseng, Y. H. Chen, Y. L. Chan, T. C. Kuo

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To satisfy the mission requirement of the FORMOSAT-7 project, NSPO has initialized a self-reliant development on satellite propulsion technology. A trade-off study on different types of on-board propulsion system has been done. A green propellant, high-concentration hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 hereafter), is chosen in this research because it is ITAR-free, nontoxic and easy to produce. As the components designed for either cold gas or hydrazine propulsion system are not suitable for H2O2 propulsion system, the primary objective of the research is to develop the components compatible with H2O2. By cooperating with domestic research institutes and manufacturing vendors, several prototype components, including a diaphragm-type tank, pressure transducer, ball latching valve, and one-Newton thruster with catalyst bed, were manufactured, and the functional tests were performed successfully according to the mission requirements. The requisite environmental tests, including hot firing test, thermal vaccum test, vibration test and compatibility test, are prepared and will be to completed in the near future. To demonstrate the subsystem function, an Air-Bearing Thrust Stand (ABTS) and a real-time Data Acquisition & Control System (DACS) were implemented to assess the performance of the proposed H2O2 propulsion system. By measuring the distance that the thrust stand has traveled in a given time, the thrust force can be derived from the kinematics equation. To validate the feasibility of the approach, it is scheduled to assess the performance of a cold gas (N2) propulsion system prior to the H2O2 propulsion system.

Keywords: FORMOSAT-7, green propellant, Hydrogen peroxide, thruster

Procedia PDF Downloads 414

Authors: Wajeeha Shahid

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The study was designed to assess the impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on work motivation and organizational commitment among faculty members of universities of Punjab. 713 faculty members were selected as sample through convenient random sampling technique. Three self-constructed questionnaires namely Leadership Styles Questionnaire (LSQ), Work Motivation Questionnaire (WMQ) and Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCMQ) were used as research instruments. Major objectives of the study included assessing the effect and impact of transformational and transactional leadership styles on work motivation and organizational commitment. Theoretical frame work of the study included Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, Individualized Consideration, Contingent Rewards and Management by Exception as independent variables and Extrinsic motivation, Intrinsic motivation, Affective commitment, Continuance commitment and Normative commitment as dependent variables. SPSS Version 21 was used to analyze and tabulate data. Cronbach's Alpha reliability, Pearson Correlation and Multiple regression analysis were applied as statistical treatments for the analysis. Results revealed that Idealized Influence correlated significantly with intrinsic motivation and Affective commitment whereas Contingent rewards had a strong positive correlation with extrinsic motivation and affective commitment. Multiple regression models revealed a variance of 85% for transformational leadership style over work motivation and organizational commitment. Whereas transactional style as a predictor manifested a variance of 79% for work motivation and 76% for organizational commitment. It was suggested that changing organizational cultures are demanding more from their leadership. All organizations need to consider transformational leadership style as an important part of their equipment in leveraging both soft and hard organizational targets.

Keywords: leadership styles, work motivation, organizational commitment, faculty member

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Authors: Syed Talib Abbas Raza, Tahseen Ahmed Jilani, Saleem Abdullah

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This paper presents interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy soft sets based TOPSIS method for group decision making. The interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy soft set is a mutation of an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set and soft set. In group decision making problems IVIFSS makes the process much more algebraically elegant. We have used weighted arithmetic averaging operator for aggregating the information and define a new Hybrid Score Function as metric tool for comparison between interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy values. In an illustrative example we have applied the developed method to a criminological problem. We have developed a group decision making model for integrating the imprecise and hesitant evaluations of multiple law enforcement agencies working on target killing cases in the country.

Keywords: group decision making, interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy soft set, TOPSIS, score function, criminology

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Authors: Ceyda Sensin

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Chios Island in Greece hosts many refugees from the Middle East since the Turkey-EU Refugee Deal. Thus, it has become commonplace for non-governmental organizations (NGO) to provide help for refugees in various ways. The purpose of this research is to identify ways in which improvements can be made in the educational services offered to young adult refugees (age group 14-22) by the NGO’s. To meet this aim, an unstructured observational technique was used in this qualitative study. The data was collected as a participant observer in February 2018. According to the observations made in this study, it came out that international NGOs may utilize volunteering team members on an urgent basis since they are a free resource from all around the world. In this study, it was observed that the volunteering team members without any teaching qualifications or teaching experience have struggled with reaching refugee students with or without potential mental health problems from exposure to stress, turmoil and trauma. Therefore, this study highly recommends the use of more relevantly trained professionals, alongside the volunteer staff. Alternatively, the volunteer staffs need to have teacher training and periodical refresher training.

Keywords: ethnographic study, non-governmental organizations, refugees, qualitative research method

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Authors: Isabel Medina, Mario Duran

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Although Problem-based learning provides students with multiple opportunities for rigorous instructional experiences in which students are challenged to address problems in the community; there are still gaps in connecting community leaders to the PBL process. At a south Texas high school, community participation serves as an integral component of the PBL process. Problem-based learning (PBL) has recently gained momentum due to the increase in global communities that value collaboration and critical thinking. As an instructional approach, PBL engages high school students in meaningful learning experiences. Furthermore, PBL focuses on providing students with a connection to real-world situations that require effective peer collaboration. For PBL leaders, providing students with a meaningful process is as important as the final PBL outcome. To achieve this goal, STEM high school strategically created a space for community involvement to be woven within the PBL fabric. This study examines the impact community members had on PBL students attending a STEM high school in South Texas. At STEM High School, community members represent a support system that works through the PBL process to ensure students receive real-life mentoring from business and industry leaders situated in the community. A phenomenological study using a semi-structured approach was used to collect data about students’ perception of community involvement within the PBL process for one South Texas high school. In our proposed presentation, we will discuss how community involvement in the PBL process academically impacted the educational experience of high school students at STEM high school. We address the instructional concerns PBL critics have with the lack of direct instruction, by providing a representation of how STEM high school utilizes community members to assist in impacting the academic experience of students.

Keywords: phenomenological, STEM education, student engagement, community involvement

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Authors: Zhao Yu, Zhi-Nan Zhang

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More and more interactive devices are used in the transportation service system. Our mobile phones, on-board computers, and Head-Up Displays (HUDs) can all be used as the tools of the in-car service system. People can access smart systems with different terminals such as mobile phones, computers, pads and even their cars and watches. Different forms of terminals bring the different quality of interaction by the various human-computer Interaction modes. The new interactive devices require good ergonomics design at each stage of the whole design process. According to the theory of human factors and ergonomics, this paper compared three types of interactive devices by four driving tasks. Forty-eight drivers were chosen to experience these three interactive devices (mobile phones, on-board computers, and HUDs) by a simulate driving process. The subjects evaluated ergonomics performance and subjective workload after the process. And subjects were encouraged to support suggestions for improving the interactive device. The result shows that different interactive devices have different advantages in driving tasks, especially in non-driving tasks such as information and entertainment fields. Compared with mobile phones and onboard groups, the HUD groups had shorter response times in most tasks. The tasks of slow-up and the emergency braking are less accurate than the performance of a control group, which may because the haptic feedback of these two tasks is harder to distinguish than the visual information. Simulated driving is also helpful in improving the design of in-vehicle interactive devices. The paper summarizes the ergonomics characteristics of three in-vehicle interactive devices. And the research provides a reference for the future design of in-vehicle interactive devices through an ergonomic approach to ensure a good interaction relationship between the driver and the in-vehicle service system.

Keywords: human factors, industrial ergonomics, transportation system, usability, vehicle user interface

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Authors: Ayman Baklizi

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This paper discusses the problem of testing hypotheses about the lifetime distributions of a matched pair based on censored data. A distribution free test based on a runs statistic is proposed. Its null distribution and power function are found in a simple convenient form. Some properties of the test statistic and its power function are studied.

Keywords: censored data, distribution free, matched pair, runs statistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 267

Authors: Yasser F. Hassan

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In this paper, a proposed model of cellular automata is studied by means of fractional integral function. A cellular automaton is a decentralized computing model providing an excellent platform for performing complex computation with the help of only local information. The paper discusses how using fractional integral function for representing cellular automata memory or state. The architecture of computing and learning model will be given and the results of calibrating of approach are also given.

Keywords: fractional integral, cellular automata, memory, learning

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Authors: Juni C. Kim, Anna R. Robuck, Douglas I. Walker

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The human exposome, which includes chemical exposures over the lifetime and their effects, is now recognized as an important measure for understanding human health; however, the complexity of the data makes the identification of environmental chemicals challenging. The goal of our project was to establish a computational workflow for the improved identification of environmental pollutants containing chlorine or bromine. Using the “pattern. search” function available in the R package NonTarget, we wrote a multifunctional script that searches mass spectral clusters from untargeted gas-chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) for the presence of spectra consistent with chlorine and bromine-containing organic compounds. The “pattern. search” function was incorporated into a different function that allows the evaluation of clusters containing multiple analyte fragments, has multi-core support, and provides a simplified output identifying listing compounds containing chlorine and/or bromine. The new function was able to process 46,000 spectral clusters in under 8 seconds and identified over 150 potential halogenated spectra. We next applied our function to a deidentified dataset from patients diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and healthy controls. Twenty-two spectra corresponded to potential halogenated compounds in the PSC and PBC dataset, including six significantly different in PBC patients, while four differed in PSC patients. We have developed an improved algorithm for detecting halogenated compounds in GC-HRMS data, providing a strategy for prioritizing exposures in the study of human disease.

Keywords: exposome, metabolome, computational metabolomics, high-resolution mass spectrometry, exposure, pollutants

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Authors: Rojan Afrouz

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The main aim of this study is understanding Afghan women’s perception of domestic violence and their experience of abuse by their family members. The voice of Afghan women has not been heard much particularly in Australia. Their families and communities have silenced some of them in the name of family honour and reputation, and others have not had the opportunity to talk about the issue. Although domestic violence is an issue in every country, research suggests that this is more likely to be considered acceptable behaviour in Afghanistan than elsewhere. Given the high public visibility of initiatives which aim to tackle domestic violence in Australia, it is entirely possible that Afghan women’s perceptions and beliefs about domestic violence will have changed since their arrival in this country. Thus, their understandings, perceptions and their experience of domestic violence have been investigated to improve the Afghan women’s situation in Australia. Methods: This qualitative study has been conducted among Afghan women who have lived in Australia less than ten years. Semi-structured interviews either face to face or by phone have been used to collect data for this study. The interviews have been audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Nvivo software has been used for data analysis. Findings: Participants’ definitions of domestic violence vary. They defined domestic violence in relation to their educational levels, their personal life and experience of domestic violence. Some women tended to change the definitions to be more relevant to their own life and experience. Many women had the knowledge of different domestic violence acts that have been distinguished as violent acts in Australia or other western countries. Some of the participants stated that they had the experience of domestic violence from their partner or one of the family members. Those who have been abused, their experiences were diverse and had been perpetrated by different family members. Majority of participants revealed the story of other women in their family and community that have been abused. Conclusion: Moving to Australia helped women to be aware of the issues and recognising that they are in the abusive relationships. However, intersecting multiple identities in a complex system of oppression, domination or discrimination makes the experience of domestic violence more complicated among Afghan community in Australia that cannot be addressed easily.

Keywords: domestic violence, intersectionality, immigration, afghan women

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Authors: M. J. Geca, T. Tulwin, A. Majczak

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On-board electricity consumption in the diesel city bus during operation is an important energy source. Electricity is generated by a combustion engine-driven alternator. Increased fuel consumption to generate on-board electricity in the bus has a negative impact on the emission of toxic components and carbon dioxide. At the same time, the bus roof surface allows placing a set of lightweight photovoltaic panels with power from 1 to 1.5 kW. The article presents an experimental study of electricity consumption of a city bus with diesel engine equipped with photovoltaic installation. The stream of electricity consumed by the bus and generated by a standard alternator and PV system was recorded. Base on the experimental research carried out in central Europe; the article analyses the impact of an additional source of electricity in the form of a photovoltaic installation on fuel consumption and emissions of toxic components of vehicles located in the latitude of Sydney. In Poland, the maximum global value of horizontal irradiation GHI is 1150 kWh/m², while for Sydney 1652 kWh/m². In addition, the profile of temperature and sunshine per year is different for these two different latitudes as presented in the article. Electricity generated directly from the sun powers the bus's electrical receivers. The photovoltaic system is able to replace 23% of annual electricity consumption, which at the same time will reduce 4% of fuel consumption and CO₂ reduction. Approximately 25% of the light is lost during vehicle traffic in Sydney latitude. The temperature losses of photovoltaic panels are comparable due to the cooling during vehicle motion. Acknowledgement: The project/research was financed in the framework of the project Lublin University of Technology - Regional Excellence Initiative, funded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (contract no. 030/RID/2018/19).

Keywords: electric energy, photovoltaic system, fuel consumption, CO₂

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Khin Aye Myint, Mohd Rafii Yusop, Mohd Yusoff Abd Samad, Shairul Izan Ramlee, Mohd Din Amiruddin, Zulkifli Yaakub

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The narrow base of genetic is the main obstacle of breeding and genetic improvement in oil palm industry. In order to broaden the genetic bases, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board has been extensively collected wild germplasm from its original area of 11 African countries which are Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cameroon, Zaire, Angola, Madagascar, and Tanzania. The germplasm collections were established and maintained as a field gene bank in Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Research Station in Kluang, Johor, Malaysia to conserve a wide range of oil palm genetic resources for genetic improvement of Malaysian oil palm industry. Therefore, assessing the performance and genetic diversity of the wild materials is very important for understanding the genetic structure of natural oil palm population and to explore genetic resources. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis are very efficient multivariate tools in the evaluation of genetic variation of germplasm and have been applied in many crops. In this study, eight populations of MPOB-Senegal oil palm germplasm were studied to explore the genetic variation pattern using PCA and cluster analysis. A total of 20 yield and yield component traits were used to analyze PCA and Ward’s clustering using SAS 9.4 version software. The first four principal components which have eigenvalue >1 accounted for 93% of total variation with the value of 44%, 19%, 18% and 12% respectively for each principal component. PC1 showed highest positive correlation with fresh fruit bunch (0.315), bunch number (0.321), oil yield (0.317), kernel yield (0.326), total economic product (0.324), and total oil (0.324) while PC 2 has the largest positive association with oil to wet mesocarp (0.397) and oil to fruit (0.458). The oil palm population were grouped into four distinct clusters based on 20 evaluated traits, this imply that high genetic variation existed in among the germplasm. Cluster 1 contains two populations which are SEN 12 and SEN 10, while cluster 2 has only one population of SEN 3. Cluster 3 consists of three populations which are SEN 4, SEN 6, and SEN 7 while SEN 2 and SEN 5 were grouped in cluster 4. Cluster 4 showed the highest mean value of fresh fruit bunch, bunch number, oil yield, kernel yield, total economic product, and total oil and Cluster 1 was characterized by high oil to wet mesocarp, and oil to fruit. The desired traits that have the largest positive correlation on extracted PCs could be utilized for the improvement of oil palm breeding program. The populations from different clusters with the highest cluster means could be used for hybridization. The information from this study can be utilized for effective conservation and selection of the MPOB-Senegal oil palm germplasm for the future breeding program.

Keywords: cluster analysis, genetic variability, germplasm, oil palm, principal component analysis

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Authors: Sibylle Tellenbach, Julie Haddock-Millar, Francis Bidault

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The aim of this research is to understand the extent to which hybrid working models have influenced employee engagement in the Swiss financial sector. The context for this research is the transition out of the pandemic and the changes that have occurred between 2020 and 2023. Since the pandemic, many financial services companies have had to rethink their working model for office-based employees, as this group of employees has been able to experience a new way of working and, thus, greater freedom and flexibility. For a large number of companies, it was a huge change to shift from the traditional office-based to a new hybrid working model. A heightened focus on employee engagement has become a necessity in order to understand and respond to the challenges presented by the shift in a working model. This new way of working, partly office-based and partly virtual, has led to ambiguities about the impact on the engagement of hybrid teams. Therefore, the research question is: How hybrid working models have influenced employee engagement to what extent? The methodological approach is a narrative inquiry with four similar functional teams within four Swiss financial companies. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with managers from middle management and their individual team members. The findings will demonstrate whether this shift in the working model influenced individual team members’ engagement and to what extent. The contribution of this research is two-fold. First, the research makes a theoretical contribution, presenting evidence of the impact of hybrid working on individual team members’ engagement in a specific sector and context, enhancing current knowledge on the challenges in working model transition. Second, this research will make a practice-based contribution, recommending ways to enhance the engagement of hybrid teams in a specific context. These recommendations may be applied in wider sectors and teams.

Keywords: employee engagement, hybrid teams, hybrid working models, Swiss financial sector, team engagement

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Authors: Svetlana K. Eden

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Movies and TV shows have long become part of modern culture. We all have our preferred genre, story, actors, and actresses. However, can we objectively discern good acting from the bad? As laymen, we are probably not objective, but what about the Oscar academy members? Are their votes based on objective measures? Oscar academy members are probably also biased due to many factors, including their professional affiliations or advertisement exposure. Heavily advertised films bring more publicity to their cast and are likely to have bigger budgets. Because a bigger budget may also help earn a Best Picture (BP) nomination, we hypothesize that best actor/actress (BA) nominees from BP-nominated movies would have higher chances of winning the award than those BA nominees from non-BP-nominated films. To test this hypothesis, three Bayesian hierarchical models are proposed, and their performance is evaluated. The results from all three models largely support our hypothesis. Depending on the proportion of BP nominations among BA nominees, the odds ratios (estimated over expected) of winning the BA award conditional on BP nomination vary from 2.8 [0.8-7.0] to 4.3 [2.0, 15.8] for actors and from 1.5 [0.0, 12.2] to 5.4 [2.7, 14.2] for actresses.

Keywords: Oscar, best picture, best actor/actress, bias

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Authors: Ashish Agarwal, Vaibhav Singh

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Harmful emissions from oil and gas processing facilities have long remained a matter of concern for governments and environmentalists throughout the world. This paper analyses Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) gas processing plant in Hazira, Gujarat, India. It is the largest gas-processing complex in the country designed to process 41MMSCMD sour natural gas & associated sour condensate. The complex, sprawling over an area of approximate 705 hectares is the mother plant for almost all industries at Hazira and enroute Hazira Bijapur Jagdishpur pipeline. Various sources of pollution from each unit starting from Gas Terminal to Dew Point Depression unit and Caustic Wash unit along the processing chain were examined with the help of different emission data obtained from ONGC. Pollution discharged to the environment was classified into Water, Air, Hazardous Waste and Solid (Non-Hazardous) Waste so as to analyze each one of them efficiently. To protect air environment, Sulphur recovery unit along with automatic ambient air quality monitoring stations, automatic stack monitoring stations among numerous practices were adopted. To protect water environment different effluent treatment plants were used with due emphasis on aquaculture of the nearby area. Hazira plant has obtained the authorization for handling and disposal of five types of hazardous waste. Most of the hazardous waste were sold to authorized recyclers and the rest was given to Gujarat Pollution Control Board authorized vendors. Non-Hazardous waste was also handled with an overall objective of zero negative impact on the environment. The effect of methods adopted is evident from emission data of the plant which was found to be well under Gujarat Pollution Control Board limits.

Keywords: sulphur recovery unit, effluent treatment plant, hazardous waste, sour gas

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Authors: Amro Matyori, Fatimah Sherbeny, Askal Ali, Olayiwola Popoola

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Objectives: The study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on anxiety levels in the general population in the United States. Methods: The study used an online questionnaire. It adopted the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7) instrument. It is a self-administered scale with seven items used as a screening tool and severity measure for generalized anxiety disorder. The participants rated the frequency of anxiety symptoms in the last two weeks on a Likert scale, which ranges from 0-3. Then the item points are summed to provide the total score. Results: Thirty-two participants completed the questionnaire. Among them, 24 (83%) females and 5 (17%) males. The age range of 18-24-year-old represented the most respondents. Only one of the participants tested positive for the COVID-19, and 39% of them, one of their family members, friends, or colleagues, tested positive for the coronavirus. Moreover, 10% have lost a family member, a close friend, or a colleague because of COVID-19. Among the respondents, there were ten who scored approximately five points on the GAD-7 scale, which indicates mild anxiety. Furthermore, eight participants scored 10 to 14 points, which put them under the category of moderate anxiety, and one individual who was categorized under severe anxiety scored 15 points. Conclusions: It is identified that most of the respondents scored the points that put them under the mild anxiety category during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also noticed that severe anxiety was the lowest among the participants, and people who tested positive and/or their family members, close friends, and colleagues were more likely to experience anxiety. Additionally, participants who lost friends or family members were also at high risk of anxiety. It is obvious the COVID-19 outcomes and too much thinking about the pandemic put people under stress which led to anxiety. Therefore, continuous assessment and monitoring of psychological outcomes during pandemics will help to establish early well-informed interventions.

Keywords: anxiety and covid-19, covid-19 and mental health outcomes, influence of covid-19 on anxiety, population and covid-19 impact on mental health

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Authors: Karunambigai Mevani Govindasamy, Sathishkumar Ayyappan

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In this paper, we formulate the algorithm to find out the dominating function parameters of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Graphs(IFG). The methodology we adopted here is converting any physical problem into an IFG, and that has been transformed into Intuitionistic Fuzzy Matrix. Using Linear Program Solver software (LiPS), we found the defined parameters for the given IFG. We obtained these parameters for a path and cycle IFG. This study can be extended to other varieties of IFG. In particular, we obtain the definition of edge dominating function, minimal edge dominating function, fractional edge domination number (γ_if^') and upper fractional edge domination number (Γ_if^') of an intuitionistic fuzzy graph. Also, we formulated an algorithm which is appropriate to work on LiPS to find fractional edge domination number and upper fractional edge domination number of an IFG.

Keywords: fractional edge domination number, intuitionistic fuzzy cycle, intuitionistic fuzzy graph, intuitionistic fuzzy path

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Authors: Sonveer Singh, Sanjay Agrawal, D. V. Avasthi, Jayant Shekhar

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The aim of this paper is to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system with the help of Genetic Algorithms with multi-objective function. There are some parameters that affect the efficiency of PVT system like depth and length of the channel, velocity of flowing fluid through the channel, thickness of the tedlar and glass, temperature of inlet fluid i.e. all above parameters are considered for optimization. An attempt has been made to the model and optimizes the parameters of glazed hybrid single channel PVT module when two objective functions have been considered separately. The two objective function for optimization of PVT module is overall electrical and thermal efficiency. All equations for PVT module have been derived. Using genetic algorithms (GAs), above two objective functions of the system has been optimized separately and analysis has been carried out for two cases. Two cases are: Case-I; Improvement in electrical and thermal efficiency when overall electrical efficiency is optimized, Case-II; Improvement in electrical and thermal efficiency when overall thermal efficiency is optimized. All the parameters that are used in genetic algorithms are the parameters that could be changed, and the non-changeable parameters, like solar radiation, ambient temperature cannot be used in the algorithm. It has been observed that electrical efficiency (14.08%) and thermal efficiency (19.48%) are obtained when overall thermal efficiency was an objective function for optimization. It is observed that GA is a very efficient technique to estimate the design parameters of hybrid single channel PVT module.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, energy, exergy, PVT module, optimization

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Authors: Syed Ahmed Salman

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Ethicality is essential in our daily activities, including personal and commercial activities. This is evidenced by referring to the historical development of the corporate governance and ethical guidelines. The first corporate governance guideline, i.e. Cadbury Report from U.K. focuses the responsibility of board members towards the shareholders only. Gradually, realising the need to take care of the society and community, stakeholders are now concerns of business entities. Consequently, later codes of corporate governance started extending the responsibility to the other stakeholders in addition to the shareholders. One prevailing corporate governance theory, i.e. stakeholder theory, has been widely used in the research to explore the effects of business entities on society. In addition, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the leading organisation which promotes social care from businesses for sustainable development. Conventionally, history shows that ethics is key to the long term success of businesses. Many organisations, societies, and regulators give full attention and consideration to ethics. Several countries have introduced ethical codes of conduct to direct trade activities. Similarly, Islam and other religions prohibit the practice of interest, uncertainty, and gambling because of its unethical nature. These prohibited practices are not at all good for the society, business, and any organisation especially as it is detrimental to the well-being of society. In order to avoid unethicality in the finance industry, Shari’ah scholars come out with the idea of Islamic finance which is free from the prohibited elements from the Islamic perspective. It can also be termed ethical finance. This paper highlights how Takaful as one of the Islamic finance products offers fair and just products to the contracting parties and the society. Takaful is framed based on ethical guidelines which are extracted from Shari’ah principles and divine sources such as the Quran and Sunnah. Takaful products have been widely offered all over the world, including in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. It seems that it is gaining acceptance regardless of religion. This is evidence that Takaful is being accepted as an ethical financial product.

Keywords: ethics, insurance, Islamic finance, religion and takaful

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Authors: Azar Khodabakhshi, Elham Bolandnazar

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Agriculture as the most important food manufacturing sector is not only the energy consumer, but also is known as energy supplier. Using energy is considered as a helpful parameter for analyzing and evaluating the agricultural sustainability. In this study, the pattern of energy consumption of strawberry greenhouses of Jiroft in Kerman province of Iran was surveyed. The total input energy required in the strawberries production was calculated as 113314.71 MJ /ha. Electricity with 38.34% contribution of the total energy was considered as the most energy consumer in strawberry production. In this study, Neuro Fuzzy networks was used for function modeling in the production of strawberries. Results showed that the best model for predicting the strawberries function had a correlation coefficient, root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) equal to 0.9849, 0.0154 kg/ha and 0.11% respectively. Regards to these results, it can be said that Neuro Fuzzy method can be well predicted and modeled the strawberry crop function.

Keywords: crop yield, energy, neuro-fuzzy method, strawberry

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Authors: Loai AbdAllah, Mahmoud Kaiyal

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Missing values in real-world datasets are a common problem. Many algorithms were developed to deal with this problem, most of them replace the missing values with a fixed value that was computed based on the observed values. In our work, we used a distance function based on Bhattacharyya distance to measure the distance between objects with missing values. Bhattacharyya distance, which measures the similarity of two probability distributions. The proposed distance distinguishes between known and unknown values. Where the distance between two known values is the Mahalanobis distance. When, on the other hand, one of them is missing the distance is computed based on the distribution of the known values, for the coordinate that contains the missing value. This method was integrated with Wikaya, a digital health company developing a platform that helps to improve prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. In order for Wikaya’s recommendation system to work distance between users need to be measured. Since there are missing values in the collected data, there is a need to develop a distance function distances between incomplete users profiles. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed distance function in reflecting the actual similarity between different objects, when some of them contain missing values, we integrated it within the framework of k nearest neighbors (kNN) classifier, since its computation is based only on the similarity between objects. To validate this, we ran the algorithm over diabetes and breast cancer datasets, standard benchmark datasets from the UCI repository. Our experiments show that kNN classifier using our proposed distance function outperforms the kNN using other existing methods.

Keywords: missing values, incomplete data, distance, incomplete diabetes data

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Authors: Yu-Chen Wei

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The relationship between organizational human capital and organizational effectiveness have been a common topic of interest to organization researchers. Much of this research has concluded that higher human capital can predict greater organizational outcomes. Whereas human capital research has traditionally focused on organizations, the current study turns to the team level human capital. In addition, there are no known empirical studies assessing the effect of human capital divergence on team performance. Team human capital refers to the sum of knowledge, ability, and experience embedded in team members. Team human capital divergence is defined as the variation of human capital within a team. This study is among the first to assess the role of human capital divergence as a moderator of the effect of team human capital on team performance. From the traditional perspective, team human capital represents the collective ability to solve problems and reducing operational risk of all team members. Hence, the higher team human capital, the higher the team performance. This study further employs social learning theory to explain the relationship between team human capital and team performance. According to this theory, the individuals will look for progress by way of learning from teammates in their teams. They expect to have upper human capital, in turn, to achieve high productivity, obtain great rewards and career success eventually. Therefore, the individual can have more chances to improve his or her capability by learning from peers of the team if the team members have higher average human capital. As a consequence, all team members can develop a quick and effective learning path in their work environment, and in turn enhance their knowledge, skill, and experience, leads to higher team performance. This is the first argument of this study. Furthermore, the current study argues that human capital divergence is negative to a team development. For the individuals with lower human capital in the team, they always feel the pressure from their outstanding colleagues. Under the pressure, they cannot give full play to their own jobs and lose more and more confidence. For the smart guys in the team, they are reluctant to be colleagues with the teammates who are not as intelligent as them. Besides, they may have lower motivation to move forward because they are prominent enough compared with their teammates. Therefore, human capital divergence will moderate the relationship between team human capital and team performance. These two arguments were tested in 510 team-seasons drawn from major league baseball (1998–2014). Results demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between team human capital and team performance which is consistent with previous research. In addition, the variation of human capital within a team weakens the above relationships. That is to say, an individual working with teammates who are comparable to them can produce better performance than working with people who are either too smart or too stupid to them.

Keywords: human capital divergence, team human capital, team performance, team level research

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Authors: Claudia Koby, Merav Boaz, Meirav Zaiger Kober

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Krembo Wings is an all-inclusive youth movement which brings children and youth with any disability together with their able-bodied peers (counselors) for weekly fun and educational social activities. Krembo Wings utilizes a socio-educational framework to create and lead social change through members with and without disabilities. All the work that Krembo Wings engages in stems from its central goal of promoting inclusion and integration using social and psychological theories to develop its unique model and approach. The key to Krembo Wings' approach in promoting inclusion is active participation – each member, with and without disabilities, is enabled to participate to their fullest capacity in the youth movement and its activities. In order for this to be achieved, all activities are adjustable and are modified to fit the abilities of each member. Additionally, youth counselors – most of whom are members without disabilities – go through extensive training in order to act as 'intermediaries' for their partner with disabilities, enabling and facilitating their partner's participation in a way that allows them to be as independent and active as possible. The relationship is one of friendship and not of caretaking. There is always a nurse on-hand to tend to any caretaking needs. Two essential elements of Krembo Wings' model is the broadening of concepts – shifting and changing the understanding of certain concepts such as what it means to be 'independent' or 'able' – and the development of a unique language – creating a language which both reflects and shapes reality. These elements of Krembo Wings' model foster the development of the values of acceptance and appreciation of those who are 'different'. It instills in members and counselors a new way of perceiving the world, one in which inclusion and integration are achievable and natural. Krembo Wings is certain that implementation of this model will promote the participation and inclusion of individuals with disabilities in society while promoting diversity. This model can serve as a platform which can be replicated and adjusted to suit any environment.

Keywords: innovative model for inclusion, socio-educational movement, youth leadership, youth with and without disabilities

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Authors: Y. R. Lai, J. C. Jehng, T. T. Chang

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Team is a popular job design in the management settings. Because people on a team need to work together to complete a lot of tasks, the interaction between team members strongly influences team effectiveness. The study examines the effect of social capital and empowering leadership on team cohesion. There are three facets of social capital: structural facet, relational facet, and cognitive facet. Empowering leadership includes enhancing the meaningfulness of work, fostering participation in decision making, expressing confidence in high performance, and providing autonomy from bureaucratic constraints. Data were collected from 181 team members of 47 teams in the real estate agency industry. The results show that the relational social capital, enhancing the meaningfulness of work, and providing autonomy from bureaucratic constraints are positively related to two dimensions of team cohesion: sense of belonging and feelings of moral. Additionally, expressing confidence in high performance is negatively related to sense of belonging.

Keywords: social capital, empowering leadership, team cohesion, team effectiveness

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Authors: Gautier Girard, Marion Martiny, Sebastien Mercier, Mohamad Jrad, Mohamed-Slim Bahi, Laurent Bodin, Francois Lechleiter, David Nevo, Sophie Dareys

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Reliability of electronic devices has always been of highest interest for Aero-MIL and space applications. In any electronic device, Printed Circuit Board (PCB), providing interconnection between components, is a key for reliability. During the last decades, PCB technologies evolved to sustain and/or fulfill increased original equipment manufacturers requirements and specifications, higher densities and better performances, faster time to market and longer lifetime, newer material and mixed buildups. From the very beginning of the PCB industry up to recently, qualification, experiments and trials, and errors were the most popular methods to assess system (PCB) reliability. Nowadays OEM, PCB manufacturers and scientists are working together in a close relationship in order to develop predictive models for PCB reliability and lifetime. To achieve that goal, it is fundamental to characterize precisely base materials (laminates, electrolytic copper, …), in order to understand failure mechanisms and simulate PCB aging under environmental constraints by means of finite element method for example. The laminates are woven composites and have thus an orthotropic behaviour. The in-plane properties can be measured by combining classical uniaxial testing and digital image correlation. Nevertheless, the out-of-plane properties cannot be evaluated due to the thickness of the laminate (a few hundred of microns). It has to be noted that the knowledge of the out-of-plane properties is fundamental to investigate the lifetime of high density printed circuit boards. A homogenization method combining analytical and numerical approaches has been developed in order to obtain the complete elastic orthotropic behaviour of a woven composite from its precise 3D internal structure and its experimentally measured in-plane elastic properties. Since the mechanical properties of the resin surrounding the fibres are unknown, an inverse method is proposed to estimate it. The methodology has been applied to one laminate used in hyperfrequency spatial applications in order to get its elastic orthotropic behaviour at different temperatures in the range [-55°C; +125°C]. Next; numerical simulations of a plated through hole in a double sided PCB are performed. Results show the major importance of the out-of-plane properties and the temperature dependency of these properties on the lifetime of a printed circuit board. Acknowledgements—The support of the French ANR agency through the Labcom program ANR-14-LAB7-0003-01, support of CNES, Thales Alenia Space and Cimulec is acknowledged.

Keywords: homogenization, orthotropic behaviour, printed circuit board, woven composites

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Authors: Edna T. Bernabe, Joshua Bilolo, Sheila Mae Artillero, Catlicia Joy Caseda, Liezel Once, Donne Ynah Grace Quirante

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Internal communication is significant for an organization to function to its full extent. A strategic communication plan builds an organization’s structure and makes it more systematic. Information is a vital part of communication inside the organization as this lays every possible outcome—be it positive or negative. It is, therefore, imperative to assess the communication structure of a particular organization to secure a better and harmonious communication environment in any organization. Thus, this research was intended to identify the internal communication channels used in Polytechnic University of the Philippines-College of Communication (PUP-COC) as an organization, to identify the flow of information specifically in downward, upward, and horizontal communication, to assess the accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of its internal communication channels; and to come up with a proposed strategic communication plan of information dissemination to improve the existing communication flow in the college. The researchers formulated a framework from Input-Throughout-Output-Feedback-Goal of General System Theory and gathered data to assess the PUP-COC’s internal communication. The communication model links the objectives of the study to know the internal organization of the college. The qualitative approach and case study as the tradition of inquiry were used to gather deeper understanding of the internal organizational communication in PUP-COC, using Interview, as the primary methods for the study. This was supported with a quantitative data which were gathered through survey from the students of the college. The researchers interviewed 17 participants: the College dean, the 4 chairpersons of the college departments, the 11 faculty members and staff, and the acting Student Council president. An interview guide and a standardized questionnaire were formulated as instruments to generate the data. After a thorough analysis of the study, it was found out that two-way communication flow exists in PUP-COC. The type of communication channel the internal stakeholders use varies as to whom a particular person is communicating with. The members of the PUP-COC community also use different types of communication channels depending on the flow of communication being used. Moreover, the most common types of internal communication are the letters and memoranda for downward communication, while letters, text messages, and interpersonal communication are often used in upward communication. Various forms of social media have been found out to be of use in horizontal communication. Accuracy, consistency, and timeliness play a significant role in information dissemination within the college. However, some problems have also been found out in the communication system. The most common problem are the delay in the dissemination of memoranda and letters and the uneven distribution of information and instruction to faculty, staff, and students. This has led the researchers to formulate a strategic communication plan which aims to propose strategies that will solve the communication problems that are being experienced by the internal stakeholders.

Keywords: communication plan, downward communication, internal communication, upward communication

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Authors: M. Saeed, A. Shahidzadeh

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Interaction between teachers and learners requires applying a set of samples (examples) which helps to create coordination between the goals and methods. The main result and achievement and application of samples (examples) are that they can bring the teacher and learner to a shared understanding of the concept. mathematical concepts, and also one of the challenging issues in the discussion of the function is to find the collision points of functions of and, regarding that the example space of teachers is different in this issue, this paper aims to present an example space including several problems of the secondary school with the help of intuition and drawing various graphs of functions of and for more familiarity of teachers.

Keywords: inverse function, educational example, Mathematic example, example space

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Authors: Nicolás Rudas

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Sociologists have brought to light the fascination of contemporary societies with numbers but fall short of explaining it. In their accounts, people generally misunderstand the technical intricacies of statistical knowledge and therefore accept numbers as unassailable “facts”. It is due to such pervasive fascination, furthermore, that both old and new forms of social control find fertile ground. By focusing on the process whereby the fetishization of numbers reaches its zenith, i.e., when specific statistics become emblematic of an entire society, it is asserted that numbers primarily function as moral symbols with immense potential for galvanizing collective action. Their “facticity” is not solely a cognitive problem but one that is deeply rooted in myth and connected with social experiences of epiphany and ritual. Evidence from Colombia is used to illustrate how certain quantifications become canonical. In 2021, Colombia’s Peace Court revealed that the national army had executed 6,402 innocent civilians to later report them as members of illegal armed groups. Rapidly, “6,402” transformed into a prominent item in the country’s political landscape. This article reconstructs such a process by following the first six months of the figure’s circulation, both in traditional and social media. In doing so, it is developed a new cultural-sociological conceptualization of numbers as “fact-icons” that departs from traditional understandings of statistics as “technical” objects. Numbers are icons whose appropriation is less rational than aesthetic.

Keywords: culture, statistics, collective memory, social movements

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