Search results for: measuring policy effect

Authors: Taoufik Djennane

Abstract:

Algeria is characterized by a fragmented language education policy. While pre-university education is entirely conducted in Arabic, higher education remains linguistically divided, with some fields offered in Arabic and others exclusively based on French. Within this linguistic policy, English remains far behind French. However, there has been a significant shift in the state’s linguistic orientation since the social riot of March 2019, known as El-Hirak, which ousted away the ex-president. Since then, social calls were voiced to get rid of French, and English started to receive an unprecedented political push. The historical decision only came at the beginning of the academic year 2023-2024 when the ministry of higher education imposed English as medium of instruction (hereafter EMI), especially in scientific and technological fields. As such, this paper considered this abrupt switch in the medium of instruction and its effects on the community of teachers. Building on a socio-psychological approach, teachers’ attitudes towards EMI were measured. Data were collected using classroom observation, semi-structured interviews and a survey. The results showed that a clear majority of teachers hold negative attitudes towards EMI. The point is that they are linguistically incompetent, and they are not ready yet to deliver content subjects in a language they have no, or little, command of. The study showed the importance of considering attitudes in the ‘policy-formation’ stage before the ‘implementation’ stage. The findings also proved that teachers are not passive bystanders; they can rather be the final arbiters imposing themselves as policy-makers resisting ministerial instructions through their linguistic practices inside the classroom which only acknowledge French. The study showed the necessity to avoid sudden switch and opt for gradual change, without putting aside those who are directly concerned with political/pedagogical measures (teachers, learners, etc).

Keywords: micro planning, EMI, language education policy, agency

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Cesar Ferreira Amorim, Tamotsu Hirata, Runer Augusto Marson

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of strength ramp isometric contraction on changes in surface electromyography (sEMG) signal characteristics of the hamstrings muscles. All measurements were obtained from 20 healthy well trained healthy adults (age 19.5 ± 0.8 yrs, body mass 63.4 ± 1.5 kg, height: 1.65 ± 0.05 m). Subjects had to perform isometric ramp contractions in knee flexion with the force gradually increasing from 0 to 40% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) in a 20s period. The root mean square (RMS) amplitude of sEMG signals obtained from the biceps femoris (caput longum) were calculated at four different strength levels (10, 20, 30, and 40% MVC) from the ramp isometric contractions (5s during the 20s task %MVC). The main results were a more pronounced increase non-linear in sEMG-RMS amplitude for the muscles. The protocol described here may provide a useful index for measuring of strength neuromuscular fatigue.

Keywords: biosignal, surface electromyography, ramp contractions, strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 484

Authors: Daniel Silander

Abstract:

This article explores the EU Initiated European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) towards Ukraine. It also explores Russian geopolitics in the region. We argue that Ukraine is sandwiched between two regional powers in the EU and Russia. By analyzing EU democracy promotion towards Ukraine and neighbors, we assess a weak EU normative capacity. Instead of building a “ring of friends”, as argued by the EU Commission, in an enlarged democratic community, the EU has achieved poor democratic records in Ukraine which opened for a revival of Russia in the region and causes the international crisis over Crime of 2014.

Keywords: regional neighborhood policy, European Union, Russia, Ukraine, domestic elites

Procedia PDF Downloads 524

Authors: Elizabeth Spink

Abstract:

Providing safe and affordable drinking water to low-income households in developing countries remains a challenge. Policy goals of increasing household piped-water access and cost recovery for utility providers are often at odds. Nonpayment of utility bills is frequently cited as a constraint to improving the quality of utility service. However, nonpayment is widely tolerated, and households often accumulate significant debt to the utility provider. This study examines the effect of enforcement of water bill payment through supply disconnections in Livingstone, Zambia. This research uses a dynamic model of household monthly payments and accumulation of arrears, which determine the probability of disconnection, and simulates the effect of exogenous changes in enforcement levels. This model is empirically tested using an event-study framework of exogenous increases in enforcement capacity that occur during administrative rezoning events, which reduce the number of households that one enforcement agent is responsible for. The results show that households are five percentage points more likely to make a payment in the months following a rezoning event, but disconnections for low-income households increase as well, resulting in little change in revenue collected by the water utility. The results suggest that high enforcement of water bill payments toward credit-constrained households may be ineffective and lead to reduced piped-water access.

Keywords: enforcement, nonpayment, piped-water access, water utilities

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Alexandra P. Alexandropoulou, Andreas Fousteris, Eleni Didaskalou, Dimitrios A. Georgakellos

Abstract:

As urbanization is becoming a major stress factor not only for the urban environment but also for the wellbeing of city dwellers, incorporating the issues of urban health in strategic city planning and policy-making has never been more relevant. The impact of urbanization can vary from low to severe and relates to all non-communicable diseases caused by the different functions of cities. Air pollution, noise pollution, water and soil pollution, availability of open green spaces, and urban heat island are the major factors that can compromise citizens' health. Urban health describes the effects of the social environment, the physical environment, and the availability and accessibility to health and social services. To assess the quality of urban wellbeing, all urban characteristics that might have an effect on citizens' health must be considered, evaluated, and introduced in integrated local planning. A series of indices and indicators can be used to better describe these effects and set the target values in policy making. Local strategic planning is one of the most valuable development tools a local city administration can possess; thus, it has become mandatory under Greek law for all municipalities. It involves a two-stage procedure; the first aims to collect, analyse and evaluate data on the current situation of the city (administrative data, population data, environmental data, social data, swot analysis), while the second aims to introduce a policy vision described and supported by distinct (nevertheless integrated) actions, plans and measures to be implemented with the aim of city development and citizen wellbeing. In this procedure, the element of health is often neglected or under-evaluated. A relative survey was conducted among all Greek local authorities in order to shed light on the current situation. Evidence shows that the rate of incorporation of health in strategic planning is lacking behind. The survey also highlights key hindrances and concerns raised by local officials and suggests a path for the way forward.

Keywords: urban health, strategic planning, local authorities, integrated development

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Bishwa Nath Oli

Abstract:

Nepal is highly impacted by climate change and adaptation has been a major focus. This paper investigates the gaps and coherence in national policies across water, forestry, local development and agriculture sectors, identifies their links to climate change adaptation and national development plans and analyzes the effectiveness of climate change policy on adaptation. The study was based on a content analysis of relevant policy documents on the level of attention given to adaptation and key informant interviews. Findings show that sectoral policies have differing degrees of cross thematic coherence, often with mismatched priorities and differing the paths towards achieving climate change goal. They are somewhat coherent in addressing immediate disaster management issues rather than in climate adaptation. In some cases, they are too broad and complicated and the implementation suffers from barriers and limits due to lack of capacity, investment, research and knowledge needed for evidence-based policy process. They do not adequately provide operational guidance in supporting communities in adapting to climate change. The study recommends to a) embrace longer-term cross-sectoral planning within government structures to foster greater policy coherence and integrated adaptation planning, b) increase awareness and flow of information on the potential role of communities in climate change, c) review the existing development sectors from the climate change perspectives, and d) formulate a comprehensive climate change legislation based on the need to implement the new Constitution.

Keywords: agriculture, climate change adaptation, forestry, policies

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: M. A. N. Masrom, M. H. I. A. Rahim, G. K. Chen, S. Mohamed

Abstract:

Large infrastructure project is one of significant category in the development of Malaysian construction industry. This type of project has been recognized as a high complexity project with numerous construction risks, large cost involvement, highly technical requirements and divers of resources. Besides, the development of large infrastructure such as highway, railway, Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and airport are also needed a large investment of public and private sector. To accomplish the development successfully, several challenges has to be determined prior the project commencement. To date, a comprehensive assessment of key success criteria particularly for large infrastructure in developing country such as Malaysia, is still not systematically defined and therefore, it needs further investigation. This paper aims to explore the potential success criteria that would be useful in gauging overall performance of large infrastructure implementation particularly in developing country. Previous successful criteria studies were used to develop a conceptual framework that possibly suitable for measuring large infrastructure performance. The findings show that successful criteria of infrastructure projects implementation could be grouped according to several key elements as it seems significant to the participants in prioritizing project challenges more systematically.

Keywords: successful criteria, performance, large infrastructure, Malaysia

Procedia PDF Downloads 411

Authors: Abdulsalam Mas’ud

Abstract:

Though Nigerian Biofuel Policy and Incentive was introduced in 2007, however, little if any is known about the impact of such policy for biodiesel development in Nigeria. It can be argued that lack of raw materials is one of the important factors that hinder the proper implementation of the policy. In line with this argument, this study aims to explore the determinants of smallholder farmers’ intention to adopt Jatropha as raw materials for biodiesel development in northern Nigeria, with Jigawa State as area of study. The determinants proposed for investigation covers personal factors, physical factors, institutional factors, economic factors, risk and uncertainty factors as well as social factors. The validation of the proposed model will have the implication of guiding policymakers towards enhancement of farmers’ participation in the Jatropha project for biodiesel raw materials production. The eventual byproducts of the proposed model validation and implementation will be employment generation, poverty reduction, combating dessert encroachment, economic diversification to renewable energy sources and electricity generation.

Keywords: adoption, biodiesel, factors, jatropha

Procedia PDF Downloads 310

Authors: Fariba Ebrahimi, Mehdi Ghorbani

Abstract:

Achieving to integrated Water management fundamentally needs to effective relation, coordination, collaboration and synergy among various actors who have common but different responsibilities. In this sense, the foundation of comprehensive and integrated management is not compatible with centralization and top-down strategies. The aim of this paper is analysis institutional network of water relevant stakeholders and water policy monitoring in Shemiranat. In this study collaboration networks between informal and formal institutions co-management process have been investigated. Stakeholder network analysis as a quantitative method has been implicated in this research. The results of this study indicate that institutional cohesion is medium; sustainability of institutional network is about 40 percent (medium). Additionally the core-periphery index has measured in this study according to reciprocity index. Institutional capacities for integrated natural resource management in regional level are measured in this study. Furthermore, the necessity of centrality reduction and promote stakeholders relations and cohesion are emphasized to establish a collaborative natural resource governance.

Keywords: policy monitoring, water management, social network, stakeholder, shemiranat

Procedia PDF Downloads 275

Authors: Lucie Hayashi

Abstract:

This paper offers a view on a different approach towards a dancer´s career in two very dissimilar countries: on one hand Japan, an economic predator at the end of last century, but suffering under economic crisis from the beginning of the new century; and the Czech Republic, a post-communist country, caught up in capitalist fever from the 1990s on the other. The government’s approach towards culture and dance in these two countries not only has a different history and nature, but also presents a different take on the ideal future development in its respective dance scenes. The level of support from the state budget echoes in all the fields of a professional dance career, dance art and the education of the public towards dance. The message of the statistic data is clear: the production of an enormous number of well trained and expensively educated dancers with no jobs for them in Japan, and a lack of good dancers ready to fill state supported theatre companies in the Czech Republic (that gladly employs Japanese dancers). The paradigm leaves a big exclamation mark on the huge influence the policy has on dance in society, and a question mark on the ideal situation.

Keywords: culture policy, dance, education, employment, Czech Republic, Japan

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Tomasz Borowski, Dawid Sołoducha, Rafał Rakoczy, Marian Kordas

Abstract:

The application of magnetic field is essential for a wide range of technologies or processes (i.e., magnetic hyperthermia, bioprocessing). From the practical point of view, bioprocess control is often limited to the regulation of temperature at constant values favourable to microbial growth. The main aim of this study is to determine the effect of various types of electromagnetic fields (i.e., static or alternating) on the heat transfer in a self-designed magnetically assisted reactor. The experimental set-up is equipped with a measuring instrument which controlled the temperature of the liquid inside the container and supervised the real-time acquisition of all the experimental data coming from the sensors. Temperature signals are also sampled from generator of magnetic field. The obtained temperature profiles were mathematically described and analyzed. The parameters characterizing the response to a step input of a first-order dynamic system were obtained and discussed. For example, the higher values of the time constant means slow signal (in this case, temperature) increase. After the period equal to about five-time constants, the sample temperature nearly reached the asymptotic value. This dynamical analysis allowed us to understand the heating effect under the action of various types of electromagnetic fields. Moreover, the proposed mathematical description can be used to compare the influence of different types of magnetic fields on heat transfer operations.

Keywords: heat transfer, magnetically assisted reactor, dynamical analysis, transient function

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Mehdi Saeidmanesh, Razali Ismail

Abstract:

Recently, Graphene Nanoribbon Field Effect Transistors (GNR FETs) attract a great deal of attention due to their better performance in comparison with conventional devices. In this paper, channel length Modulation (CLM) effect on the electrical characteristics of GNR FETs is analytically studied and modeled. To this end, the special distribution of the electric potential along the channel and current-voltage characteristic of the device is modeled. The obtained results of analytical model are compared to the experimental data of published works. As a result, it is observable that considering the effect of CLM, the current-voltage response of GNR FET is more realistic.

Keywords: graphene nanoribbon, field effect transistors, short channel effects, channel length modulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 404

Authors: Nellija Titova

Abstract:

Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, as Baltic Countries, have gone throughout transformational changes since 90s leading to the high level of economic development. As countries departing Soviet Union with industrialization policy moved to service economies, the issues of intangibles, human capital, structural capital, and innovation capital have gained impetus. Following the growing demand of practitioners and later academia, intellectual capital as a discipline, which appeared in 90s, became fundamental nowadays. Aim of the paper is to analyze the Baltic companies entering stock markets at Nasdaq Baltic from the perspective of Intellectual Capital. Methodology of the research is based on a longitudinal analysis of the companies using composite ratios of Intellectual Capital and Business performance in the period 2012-2019. Data for 2020 as COVID year) were excluded from the analysis. Findings allow concluding there is a pattern of influence and companies clearly experience the systemic impact of IC on business performance, identifying also time effect investing in intangibles.

Keywords: intellectual capital, impact analysis, longitudinal effect, composite ratios

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Himanshu Pavagadhi, Maunik Jani, S. M. Vyas, Jaymin Ray, Vimal Patel, Piyush Patel, Jignesh P. Raval

Abstract:

The preparation of pure and Sn-doped cadmium sulfide (CdS) pellets was carried out using a compression technique with a pelletizer. The energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis is used to confirm the purity and stoichiometric ratio of Cd, S, and Sn in the prepared pellets. The surface morphology of the pellets was examined using a scanning electron microscope. Both XRD and Raman scattering spectrum analysis confirmed the doping effect in the CdS pellets. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the hexagonal structure and revealed that the grain size decreases with increasing Sn dopant concentration in the parent CdS pellet. The optical properties of the pellets were evaluated by measuring diffuse reflectance using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The analysis indicated that as the Sn concentration increases in the parent CdS pellet, the optical band gap decreases. This implies that the optical properties of the CdS material are also affected by the Sn dopant.

Keywords: CdS, Sn dopant, UV-Spetrophotometer, XRD

Procedia PDF Downloads 33

Authors: Tigist Mekonnen Melesse

Abstract:

Since rural households are basically entitled to food through own production, improving productivity might lead to enhance the welfare of rural population through higher food availability at the household level and lowering the price of agricultural products. Increasing agricultural productivity through the use of improved technology is one of the desired outcomes from sensible food security and agricultural policy. The ultimate objective of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of improved agricultural technology adoption on smallholders’ crop productivity and welfare. The study is conducted in Ethiopia covering 1500 rural households drawn from four regions and 15 rural villages based on data collected by Ethiopian Rural Household Survey. Endogenous treatment effect model is employed in order to account for the selection bias on adoption decision that is expected from the self-selection of households in technology adoption. The treatment indicator, technology adoption is a binary variable indicating whether the household used improved seeds and chemical fertilizer or not. The outcome variables were cereal crop productivity, measured in real value of production and welfare of households, measured in real per capita consumption expenditure. Results of the analysis indicate that there is positive and significant effect of improved technology use on rural households’ crop productivity and welfare in Ethiopia. Adoption of improved seeds and chemical fertilizer alone will increase the crop productivity by 7.38 and 6.32 percent per year of each. Adoption of such technologies is also found to improve households’ welfare by 1.17 and 0.25 percent per month of each. The combined effect of both technologies when adopted jointly is increasing crop productivity by 5.82 percent and improving welfare by 0.42 percent. Besides, educational level of household head, farm size, labor use, participation in extension program, expenditure for input and number of oxen positively affect crop productivity and household welfare, while large household size negatively affect welfare of households. In our estimation, the average treatment effect of technology adoption (average treatment effect on the treated, ATET) is the same as the average treatment effect (ATE). This implies that the average predicted outcome for the treatment group is similar to the average predicted outcome for the whole population.

Keywords: Endogenous treatment effect, technologies, productivity, welfare, Ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 656

Authors: Leila Jafari, Viliam Makis, G. B. Akram Khaleghei

Abstract:

In this paper, we present a maintenance model of a two-unit series system with economic dependence. Unit#1, which is considered to be more expensive and more important, is subject to condition monitoring (CM) at equidistant, discrete time epochs and unit#2, which is not subject to CM, has a general lifetime distribution. The multivariate observation vectors obtained through condition monitoring carry partial information about the hidden state of unit#1, which can be in a healthy or a warning state while operating. Only the failure state is assumed to be observable for both units. The objective is to find an optimal opportunistic maintenance policy minimizing the long-run expected average cost per unit time. The problem is formulated and solved in the partially observable semi-Markov decision process framework. An effective computational algorithm for finding the optimal policy and the minimum average cost is developed and illustrated by a numerical example.

Keywords: condition-based maintenance, semi-Markov decision process, multivariate Bayesian control chart, partially observable system, two-unit system

Procedia PDF Downloads 461

Authors: Mzamani Aaron Mabasa

Abstract:

The research study examines the reality that the Language Services Directorate can be considered a language repository hub. The study postulates that multilingual education guided by language policy implementation can improve student performance and pass rate. Various documents in the form of style guides, glossaries and tutorial letters may be used to enable students to understand complex words, sentences, phrases and paragraphs when technical vocabularies are used. This paper addresses the way in which quality assurance can transform South African official languages, including Sign Language, as mandated by the Language Policy for Higher Education. The paper further emphasizes that Language Services is unique in the sense that it involves all South African officials as tools for student support and facilitation of learning. This is in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the Unisa Language Policy of 2023, which declares the status, parity and esteem of these official languages regarding usage in formal function domains, namely education, economy, social and politics. The aim of this paper is to ensure that quality assurance is ultimately accomplished in terms of teaching and learning standards. Eventually, all South African languages can be used for official domains to achieve functional multilingualism. This paper furthermore points out that content analysis as a research instrument as far as a qualitative approach is concerned may be used as a data collection technique.

Keywords: repository, multilingualism, policy, education

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Ellen Holtmaat

Abstract:

With an ever increasing influence of international organizations (IOs) on national policies and with the expectation that IOs are the transmission belts of world ideologies it is interesting to see to what extent IOs express a specific ideology and what determines the dominance of this ideology. This thesis looks at the OECD as IO and higher education as a field of policy. Evidence is found that the OECD promotes neoliberal developments in higher education and that its position is influenced by business, dominant countries and the dominant beliefs that are carried by the people working for the OECD that form an epistemic community. These results can possibly be extrapolated to other IOs.

Keywords: higher education, international organizations, neoliberal, OECD

Procedia PDF Downloads 373

Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Nassr Almaflehi, Ayman Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari

Abstract:

Background: Measuring hearing functional capabilities by Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABR) may contribute to better treatment and possible differences in this process may have important clinical implications. Objectives: To measure the validity and reliability of ABR through screening, estimating, and intraoperative monitoring of auditory capabilities of Arab infants and children and the degree of their seriousness. Design: Pre-and-posttest was administered to measure the validity and reliability of ABR. Participants: The subjects of the present study are sixty (60) individuals. The study classified them into two groups: Infants (N=30, ages range between 0-40 weeks) and children (N=30, ages range between 10 months and -3 years) diagnosed with auditory problems. Procedures: The ABR pre- and posttest measurement was administered over two weeks. The outcomes were neuropsycholinguistically and statistically analyzed. Results: The results of the pre-and-posttest for both infants and children did not vary significantly. Also consistent with expectations, higher scores were not registered for the infants’ measurements due to age factors. The findings from this study largely indicate that ABR is valid and reliable.

Keywords: auditory, brainstem, response, children, measurement, function, experimental study

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Karim Ahmed

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate how factoring the impact of natural disasters beyond flooding would affect managed retreat policy eligibility in the United States. For the study design, a correlation analysis method compared weighted measures of flooding and other natural disasters (e.g., wildfires, tornadoes, heatwaves, etc.) to CBSA Populated areas, the prevalence of cropland, and relative poverty on a county level. The study found that the vast majority of CBSAs eligible for managed retreat programs under a policy inclusive of non-flooding events would have already been covered by flood-only managed retreat policies. However, it is noteworthy that a majority of those counties that are not covered by a flood-only managed retreat policy have high rates of poverty and are either heavily populated and/or agriculturally active. The correlation is particularly strong between counties that are subject to multiple natural hazards and those that have both high rates of relative poverty and cropland prevalence. There is currently no managed retreat policy for agricultural land in the United States despite the environmental implications and food supply chain vulnerabilities related to at-risk cropland. The findings of this study suggest both that such a policy should be created and, when it is, that special attention should be paid to non-flood natural disasters affecting agricultural areas. These findings also reveal that, while current flood-based policies in the United States serve many areas that do need access to managed retreat funding and implementation, other vulnerable areas are overlooked by this approach. These areas are often deeply impoverished and are therefore particularly vulnerable to natural disaster; if and when those disasters do occur, these areas are often less financially prepared to recover or retreat from the disaster’s advance and, due to the limitations of the current policies discussed above, are less able to take the precautionary measures necessary to mitigate their risk.

Keywords: flood, hazard, land use, managed retreat, wildfire

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Kirill Neverov

Abstract:

In the paper is considered issues of civic participation in context of changing political landscape of Argentina. Last two years, this South American country faced a drastic change of political course. Pro-peronist, left-oriented administration of Christina Fernandez de Kirchner were replaced by right of center Mauricio Macri's one. The study is focused on inclusive policy in conditions of political transformations. We use network analysis to figure out which actors are involved in participation and to describe connections between them. As a resuflt, we plan to receive map of transactions which form inclusive policy in Argentina.

Keywords: civic participation, Argentina, political transformation, network analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: Mengna Hu

Abstract:

This paper examines the impact of an anti-speculation tax policy on the trading activities and home price movements in the housing market in Hong Kong. The study focuses on the secondary residential property market where transactions dominate. The policy intervention substantially raised the transaction cost to speculators as well as genuine homeowners who dispose their homes within a certain period. Through the demonstration of structural breaks, our empirical results show that the rise in transaction cost effectively reduced speculative trading activities. However, it accelerated price increase in the small-sized segment by vastly demotivating existing homeowners from trading up to better homes, causing congestion in the lower-end market where the demand from first-time buyers is still strong. Apart from that, by employing regime switching approach, we further show that the unintended consequences are likely to be persistent due to this policy together with other strengthened cooling measures.

Keywords: transaction costs, housing market, structural breaks, regime switching

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Alam Zeb, Glen W. Armstrong, Muhammad Qasim

Abstract:

Loss of forest cover is one of the most important land cover changes and has been of great concern to policy makers. This study quantified forest cover changes over pre logging ban (1973-1993) and post logging ban (1993-2015) to examine the role of geophysical factors and spatial attributes of land in the two periods. We show that despite a complete ban on green felling, forest cover decreased by 28% and mostly converted to rangeland. Nevertheless, the logging ban was completely effective in controlling agriculture expansion. The binary logistic regression revealed that the south facing aspects at low elevation witnessed more deforestation in the pre-ban period compared to post-ban. Opposite to deforestation, forest degradation was more prominent on the northern aspects at higher elevation during the policy period. Agriculture expansion was widespread in the low elevation flat areas with gentle slope, while during the policy period agriculture contraction in the form of regeneration was observed on the low elevation areas of north facing slopes. All proximity variables, except distance to administrative boundary, showed a similar trend across the two periods and were important explanatory variables in understanding forest and agriculture expansion. The changes in determinants of forest and agriculture expansion and contraction over the two periods might be attributed to the influence of policy and a general decrease in resource availability.

Keywords: forest conservation , wood harvesting ban, logistic regression, deforestation, forest degradation, agriculture expansion, Chitral, Pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Bakari Mohammed

Abstract:

Sports performance and achievements have been the avenue through which great nations of the world exhibit their supremacy over others through sports development strategy. Effective sports development, therefore, requires variables like sports policy, sports funding, sports programme, sports facilities and sponsorship. The extent to what these variables are met shall no doubt affects the effectiveness of any sports development. Two distinguishing features of the Nigerian sports system are its central organization and its employment for specific socio-political objectives, it is against this backdrop that this paper will x-ray the politicization of sports which parallels sports development in the enhanced role of sports and in contrast with developed nations system and management.

Keywords: sport development, sport policy, personnel, program, facilities, funding, sponsorship

Procedia PDF Downloads 524

Authors: Beril Tuğrul

Abstract:

Electrical energy is the most important form of energy and electrical power plants have highest impact factor in energy policy. This study is in relation with evaluation of various power plants including fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable energy based power plants. The power plants evaluated with regard to their overall impact that considered for establishing of the plants. Both positive and negative impacts of power plant operation are compared view of different arguments. Then calculate the impact factor by using variation linear extrapolation for each argument. With this study, power plants assessed with the different point of view and clarified objectively.

Keywords:

Procedia PDF Downloads 524

Authors: Ikram Metalsi

Abstract:

English as a Medium of Instruction known as (EMI) is expanding rapidly in the world. A growing volume of research has been dedicated to investigating its implementation. However, considerably less attention has been given to understanding EMI in a context where its implementation has been discussed but not yet put into practice. One such context is Algeria, where talks about a possible implementation of EMI have been going on for some time. The present study examines the current discourses and university lecturers’ attitudes towards the potential implementation of EMI as well as investigating the current implicit and explicit language policies in scientific courses in Algerian state universities. The focus is specifically on Engineering departments, as this field has gained worldwide importance in EMI research (Macaro et al. 2018), and, traditionally, French has been the MOI for Engineering in Algerian universities. Using the ROADMAPPING framework (Dafouz and Smit 2016) and the mixed method research approach, the present work explores the language in education policy (LEP) and planning situation in Algeria, the current media of instruction as well as the status and use of the English language in the scientific courses of the tertiary sector. Finally, the current study explores the perceived challenges and benefits of the implementation of EMI programmes from teachers’ perspectives with a particular focus on agency and how this potential policy implementation and teachers’ perceptions of agency around it may reflexively influence their professional identity.

Keywords: media of instruction, language in education policy, lecturers attitudes, teacher agency, professional identity

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Gurkirandeep Kaur, Rana Pratap Yadav

Abstract:

This experimental study is aimed to examine the radiation characteristics of different plasma structures of a surface wave-driven plasma antenna by an automated measuring system. In this study, a 30 cm long plasma column of argon gas with a diameter of 3 cm is excited by surface wave discharge mechanism operating at 13.56 MHz with RF power level up to 100 Watts and gas pressure between 0.01 to 0.05 mb. The study reveals that a single structured plasma monopole can be modified into an array of plasma antenna elements by forming multiple striations or plasma blobs inside the discharge tube by altering the values of plasma properties such as working pressure, operating frequency, input RF power, discharge tube dimensions, i.e., length, radius, and thickness. It is also reported that plasma length, electron density, and conductivity are functions of operating plasma parameters and controlled by changing working pressure and input power. To investigate the antenna radiation efficiency for the far-field region, an automation-based radiation measuring system has been fabricated and presented in detail. This developed automated system involves a combined setup of controller, dc servo motors, vector network analyzer, and computing device to evaluate the radiation intensity, directivity, gain and efficiency of plasma antenna. In this system, the controller is connected to multiple motors for moving aluminum shafts in both elevation and azimuthal plane whereas radiation from plasma monopole antenna is measured by a Vector Network Analyser (VNA) which is further wired up with the computing device to display radiations in polar plot forms. Here, the radiation characteristics of both continuous and array plasma monopole antenna have been studied for various working plasma parameters. The experimental results clearly indicate that the plasma antenna is as efficient as a metallic antenna. The radiation from plasma monopole antenna is significantly influenced by plasma properties which provides a wider range in radiation pattern where desired radiation parameters like beam-width, the direction of radiation, radiation intensity, antenna efficiency, etc. can be achieved in a single monopole. Due to its wide range of selectivity in radiation pattern; this can meet the demands of wider bandwidth to get high data speed in communication systems. Moreover, this developed system provides an efficient and cost-effective solution for measuring the radiation pattern in far-field zone for any kind of antenna system.

Keywords: antenna radiation characteristics, dynamically reconfigurable, plasma antenna, plasma column, plasma striations, surface wave

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Omolade Adeleke, Jonathan Olusegun Famoroti

Abstract:

This study empirically examined the monetary policy and economic growth in the classical cycles in 8 member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), using the Markov switching model for the Two-phase Regime, covering the period 1980Q1 to 2020Q4. Our estimates suggest that these countries demonstrate to have similar business cycles, and the economies stay more in an expansion regime than a recession regime. The result further shows that the union has an average duration period of 3.1 and 15.9 quarters for contraction and expansion periods, respectively. The business cycle duration, on average, suggests 19 quarters, varying from country to country. Therefore, the formulation of policies that can enhance aggregate demand by member countries in the union is an antidote for recession and is necessary to drive the economy into equilibrium. Also, a low-interest rate and reduced inflation rate would ginger long-run economic growth.

Keywords: monetary policy, business cycle, economic growth, Markov switching

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Migena Mana, Ahmed Khalid Syed, Abdul Malik, Nikhil Cherian

Abstract:

In recent years, advancements in deep learning enabled researchers to tackle the problem of self-driving cars. Car companies use huge datasets to train their deep learning models to make autonomous cars a reality. However, this approach has certain drawbacks in that the state space of possible actions for a car is so huge that there cannot be a dataset for every possible road scenario. To overcome this problem, the concept of reinforcement learning (RL) is being investigated in this research. Since the problem of autonomous driving can be modeled in a simulation, it lends itself naturally to the domain of reinforcement learning. The advantage of this approach is that we can model different and complex road scenarios in a simulation without having to deploy in the real world. The autonomous agent can learn to drive by finding the optimal policy. This learned model can then be easily deployed in a real-world setting. In this project, we focus on three RL algorithms: Q-learning, Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG), and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). To model the environment, we have used TORCS (The Open Racing Car Simulator), which provides us with a strong foundation to test our model. The inputs to the algorithms are the sensor data provided by the simulator such as velocity, distance from side pavement, etc. The outcome of this research project is a comparative analysis of these algorithms. Based on the comparison, the PPO algorithm gives the best results. When using PPO algorithm, the reward is greater, and the acceleration, steering angle and braking are more stable compared to the other algorithms, which means that the agent learns to drive in a better and more efficient way in this case. Additionally, we have come up with a dataset taken from the training of the agent with DDPG and PPO algorithms. It contains all the steps of the agent during one full training in the form: (all input values, acceleration, steering angle, break, loss, reward). This study can serve as a base for further complex road scenarios. Furthermore, it can be enlarged in the field of computer vision, using the images to find the best policy.

Keywords: autonomous driving, DDPG (deep deterministic policy gradient), PPO (proximal policy optimization), reinforcement learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Alaa Eldien Sarhaan, Rania A. Galil, Yasmina Youssef

Abstract:

Vital streets transfer a totally different message from the lifeless streets; vitality is considered as the mobility dynamism for the city’s streets. The quality of a street is integral to the vitality. However, most efforts have focused on the requirements of cars resulting in the loss many qualities. A successful street is related to the needs and expectations of pedestrians. The amount of activity held in a place is one of the measures of vitality; hence the meaning of a vital street may be the result of a number of people engaged in various activities meeting their needs and expectations. Consequently, it varies from one city to another. This research focuses on vitality in commercial streets. It studies commercial streets in the Egyptian context, which have developed into a chaotic environment due to inefficiency and high-density activities. The first part identifies the meaning of vitality in the frame of its physical, social and economic dimensions, then determines the methods used in measuring vitality across commercial streets. Secondly, an application on one of the most important commercial streets in Alexandria ‘El-Attareen’ street is chosen as a case study to measure its vitality. The study contributes to a greater understanding of how theories on vital urban life contribute to the development of vital commercial streets in the Egyptian and similar contexts.

Keywords: footfall measurement, vitality, urban commercial streets, yield factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 262