Search results for: digital game objectives and theoretical

Authors: Faiqa Jalal

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The purpose of the following research paper is to discuss the differentiating meanings of culture and how popular culture has maintained a great impact on intercultural and international behavior. The following discussion leads to the notion of communicating cultural impact on behavior through advertising and sub-cultural theory in advertising. Although towards the end of the research, the complexities that develop through the above discussion, lead to the solution that ‘advertising gives meaning to the otherwise meaningless and identical objects through linking them to our basic needs’. In today’s fast paced digital world, it is difficult to define culture, literally, since its meaning tends to shift through series of different perceptions such as ‘how’ and ‘why’ it should be used. This notion can be taken towards another notion of popular culture. It is dependent on ‘attitudes, ideas, images, perspectives and other phenomena within the mainstream of a given culture’. Since popular culture is influenced by mass media, it has a way of influencing an individual’s attitude towards certain topics. For example, tattoos are a form of human decorations, that have historic significance, and a huge spectrum of meanings. Advertising is one aspect of marketing that has evolved from the time when it was ‘production oriented’, up till the time it started using different mediums to make its impact more effective. However, this impact has confused us between our needs and desires. The focus in this paper is ‘we consume to acquire a sense of social identity and status, not just for the sake of consumption’. Every culture owns different expressions, which are then used by advertisers to create its impact on the behavior of people sub-culturally and globally, as culture grows through social interaction. Advertisers furthermore play a smart role in highlighting quality of life ranging from ‘survival to well-being’. Hence, this research paper concludes by highlighting that culture is considered as a ‘basic root’ of any community that also provides solution to certain problems; however, advertisers play their part in manipulating society’s literacy and beliefs by rationalizing how relevant certain products/brands are to their beliefs.

Keywords: mass media, popular culture, production oriented, sub-culture

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Authors: Sylvester S. Horvey, Jones Mensah

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The growing complexities and dynamics in the business environment have led to a new approach to risk management, known as enterprise risk management (ERM). ERM is a system and an approach to managing the risks of an organization in an integrated manner to achieve the corporate goals and strategic objectives. Regardless of the diversities in the business environment, ERM has become an essential factor in managing individual and business risks because ERM is believed to enhance shareholder value and firm growth. Despite the growing number of literature on ERM, the question about what factors drives ERM remains limited. This study provides a comprehensive literature review of the main factors that contribute to ERM implementation. Google Scholar was the leading search engine used to identify empirical literature, and the review spanned between 2000 and 2020. Articles published in Scimago journal ranking and Scopus were examined. Thirteen firm characteristics and sixteen articles were considered for the empirical review. Most empirical studies agreed that firm size, institutional ownership, industry type, auditor type, industrial diversification, earnings volatility, stock price volatility, and internal auditor had a positive relationship with ERM adoption, whereas firm size, institutional ownership, auditor type, and type of industry were mostly seen be statistically significant. Other factors such as financial leverage, profitability, asset opacity, international diversification, and firm complexity revealed an inconclusive result. The growing literature on ERM is not without limitations; hence, this study suggests that further research should examine ERM determinants within a new geographical context while considering a new and robust way of measuring ERM rather than relying on a simple proxy (dummy) for ERM measurement. Other firm characteristics such as organizational culture and context, corporate scandals and losses, and governance could be considered determinants of ERM adoption.

Keywords: enterprise risk management, determinants, ERM adoption, literature review

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Authors: Bing–Jing Zhao, Chang-Kui Liu, Hong Wang, Min Hu

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Electron beam rapid manufacturing (EBRM) or Selective laser melting is an additive manufacturing process that uses 3D CAD data as a digital information source and energy in the form of a high-power laser beam or electron beam to create three-dimensional metal parts by fusing fine metallic powders together.Object:The present study was conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties ,the phase transformation,the corrosivity and the biocompatibility of Ti-6Al-4V by EBRM,SLM and forging technique.Method: Ti-6Al-4V alloy standard test pieces were manufactured by EBRM, SLM and forging technique according to AMS4999,GB/T228 and ISO 10993.The mechanical properties were analyzed by universal test machine. The phase transformation was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The corrosivity was analyzed by electrochemical method. The biocompatibility was analyzed by co-culturing with mesenchymal stem cell and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and alkaline phosphatase assay (ALP) to evaluate cell adhesion and differentiation, respectively. Results: The mechanical properties, the phase transformation, the corrosivity and the biocompatibility of Ti-6Al-4V by EBRM、SLM were similar to forging and meet the mechanical property requirements of AMS4999 standard. a­phase microstructure for the EBM production contrast to the a’­phase microstructure of the SLM product. Mesenchymal stem cell adhesion and differentiation were well. Conclusion: The property of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy manufactured by EBRM and SLM technique can meet the medical standard from this study. But some further study should be proceeded in order to applying well in clinical practice.

Keywords: 3D printing, Electron Beam Rapid Manufacturing (EBRM), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Computer Aided Design (CAD)

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Authors: B. Sanchez, D. Zambrana-Vasquez, J. Fresner, C. Krenn, F. Morea, L. Mercatelli

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Local administrations are facing established targets on sustainable development from different disciplines at the heart of different city departments. Nevertheless, some of these targets, such as CO₂ reduction, relate to two or more disciplines, as it is the case of sustainable mobility and energy plans (SUMP & SECAP/SEAP). This opens up the possibility to efficiently cooperate among different city departments and to create and develop harmonized spatial plans by using available resources and together achieving more ambitious goals in cities. The steps of the harmonization processes developed result in the identification of areas to achieve common strategic objectives. Harmonization, in other words, helps different departments in local authorities to work together and optimize the use or resources by sharing the same vision, involving key stakeholders, and promoting common data assessment to better optimize the resources. A methodology to promote resilient city planning via the harmonization of sustainable mobility and energy plans is presented in this paper. In order to validate the proposed methodology, a representative city engaged in an innovation process in efficient spatial planning is used as a case study. The harmonization process of sustainable mobility and energy plans covers identifying matching targets between different fields, developing different spatial plans with dual benefit and common indicators guaranteeing the continuous improvement of the harmonized plans. The proposed methodology supports local administrations in consistent spatial planning, considering both energy efficiency and sustainable mobility. Thus, municipalities can use their human and economic resources efficiently. This guarantees an efficient upgrade of land use plans integrating energy and mobility aspects in order to achieve sustainability targets, as well as to improve the wellbeing of its citizens.

Keywords: integrated multi-sector planning, spatial plans harmonization, sustainable energy and climate action plan, sustainable urban mobility plan

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Authors: Jefferson Camacho Mejía, Jenny Paola Forero Pachón, Luis Carlos Gómez Flórez

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Action research is a qualitative research methodology, which leads the researcher to delve into the problems of a community in order to understand its needs in depth and finally, to propose actions that lead to a change of social paradigm. Although this methodology had its beginnings in the human sciences, it has attracted increasing interest and acceptance in the field of information systems research since the 1990s. The countless possibilities offered nowadays by the use of Information Technologies (IT) in the development of different socio-economic activities have meant a change of social paradigm and the emergence of the so-called information and knowledge society. According to this, governments, large corporations, small entrepreneurs and in general, organizations of all kinds are using IT to virtualize their processes, taking them from the physical environment to the digital environment. However, there is a potential risk for organizations related with exposing valuable information without an appropriate framework for protecting it. This paper shows progress in the development of a methodological design to manage the information security risks associated with the IT-based processes virtualization, by applying the principles of the action research methodology and it is the result of a systematic review of the scientific literature. This design consists of seven fundamental stages. These are distributed in the three stages described in the action research methodology: 1) Observe, 2) Analyze and 3) Take actions. Finally, this paper aims to offer an alternative tool to traditional information security management methodologies with a view to being applied specifically in the planning stage of IT-based process virtualization in order to foresee risks and to establish security controls before formulating IT solutions in any type of organization.

Keywords: action research, information security, information technology, methodological design, process virtualization, risk management

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Authors: Rui Wu

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In the volatile modern manufacturing environment, new orders randomly occur at any time, while the pre-emptive methods are infeasible. This leads to a real-time scheduling method that can produce a reasonably good schedule quickly. The dynamic Flexible Job Shop problem is an NP-hard scheduling problem that hybrid the dynamic Job Shop problem with the Parallel Machine problem. A Flexible Job Shop contains different work centres. Each work centre contains parallel machines that can process certain operations. Many algorithms, such as genetic algorithms or simulated annealing, have been proposed to solve the static Flexible Job Shop problems. However, the time efficiency of these methods is low, and these methods are not feasible in a dynamic scheduling problem. Therefore, a dynamic rule selection scheduling system based on the reinforcement learning method is proposed in this research, in which the dynamic Flexible Job Shop problem is divided into several parallel machine problems to decrease the complexity of the dynamic Flexible Job Shop problem. Firstly, the features of jobs, machines, work centres, and flexible job shops are selected to describe the status of the dynamic Flexible Job Shop problem at each decision point in each work centre. Secondly, a framework of reinforcement learning algorithm using a double-layer deep Q-learning network is applied to select proper composite dispatching rules based on the status of each work centre. Then, based on the selected composite dispatching rule, an available operation is selected from the waiting buffer and assigned to an available machine in each work centre. Finally, the proposed algorithm will be compared with well-known dispatching rules on objectives of mean tardiness, mean flow time, mean waiting time, or mean percentage of waiting time in the real-time Flexible Job Shop problem. The result of the simulations proved that the proposed framework has reasonable performance and time efficiency.

Keywords: dynamic scheduling problem, flexible job shop, dispatching rules, deep reinforcement learning

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Authors: Misganaw Ayele Gelaw

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This abstract presents an overview of agricultural investment in Ethiopia, with a focus on the Oromia Region. Ethiopia is a developing country that heavily relies on agriculture as a major contributor to its economic growth and employment. The Oromia Region, located in the central part of the country, is the largest region in Ethiopia and plays a significant role in the agricultural sector. The study aims to explore the current state of agricultural investment in the Oromia Region, focusing on the opportunities, challenges, and potential benefits that arise from such investments. It also highlights the key agricultural investment strategies and policies implemented by the Ethiopian government to attract domestic and foreign investors. To achieve these objectives, a comprehensive literature review and analysis of relevant reports, publications, and government policies will be conducted. The study will also incorporate qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, such as interviews, surveys, and statistical analysis, to provide a well-rounded understanding of agricultural investment dynamics in the Oromia Region. The findings of this study are expected to shed light on the impact of agricultural investments on local farmers, rural development, food security, income generation, and overall economic growth in the Oromia Region. It will also identify the key risk factors and potential mitigations associated with agricultural investment, offering recommendations to policymakers, investors, and stakeholders to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of investment efforts in the region. This abstract highlights the importance of agricultural investment in the Oromia Region and Ethiopia as a whole, as it strives to enhance productivity, increase farmers' income, and contribute to the country's long-term development goals. By understanding the challenges and opportunities associated with agricultural investment, policymakers and investors can develop targeted strategies to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth in the agricultural sector, leading to improved livelihoods and economic prosperity in the Oromia Region.

Keywords: agriculture, investment, agriculture policy, economy

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Authors: Getinet Gezahegn Gebre

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The study examined the impact of gender differences on Crop productivity in Decha woreda of southwest Kafa zone, located 140 Km from Jimma Town and 460 km southwest of Addis Ababa, between Bonga town and Omo River. The specific objectives were to assess the extent to which the agricultural production system is gender oriented, to examine access and control over productive resources, and to estimate men’s and women’s productivity in agriculture. Cross-sectional data collected from a total of 140 respondents were used in this study, whereby 65 were female-headed and 75 were male-headed households. The data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, percentage, t-test and chi-square were used to summarize and compare the information between the two groups. Moreover, Cobb-Douglas(CD) production function was used to estimate the productivity difference in agriculture between male and female-headed households. Results of the study showed that male-headed households (MHH) own more productive resources such as land, livestock, labor and other agricultural inputs as compared to female-headed households (FHH). Moreover, the estimate of CD production function shows that livestock, herbicide use, land size and male labor were statistically significant for MHH, while livestock, land size, herbicides use and female labor were significant variables for FHH. The crop productivity difference between MHH and FHH was about 68.83% in the study area. However, if FHH had equal access to the inputs as MHH, the gross value of the output would be higher by 23.58% for FHH. This might suggest that FHH would be more productive than MHH if they had equal access to inputs as MHH. Based on the results obtained, the following policy implication can be drawn: accessing FHH to inputs that increase the productivity of agriculture, such as herbicides, livestock and male labor; increasing the productivity of land; and introducing technologies that reduce the time and energy of women, especially for enset processing.

Keywords: gender difference, crop productivity, GDP, efficiency

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Authors: Kin Yan Ho

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Negative brand news (such as Volkswagen’s faulty carbon emission reports, China’s Luckin Coffee scandal, and bribery in reputable US universities) influence how people perceive a company. Germany’s citizens claimed Volkswagen’s scandal as a national embarrassment and cannot recover their psychological damages through monetary and non-monetary compensation. The main research question is to examine how consumers evaluate and respond to embarrassing brand publicity. The cognitive appraisal theory is used as a theoretical foundation. This study describes the use of scenario-based experiment. The findings suggest that consumers with different levels of embarrassment evaluate brand remedial offers from emotion-focused and task-focused restorative justice perspectives (newly derived from the well-established scales of perceived justice). When consumers face both negative and positive brand information (i.e., negative publicity news and a remedial offer), they change their appraisal criterion. The social situation in the cognitive reappraisal process influences the quality of the customer-brand relationship and the customer’s recovery from brand embarrassment. The results also depict that the components of recovery compensation cause differences in emotion recovery, relationship quality, and repurchase intentions. This study extends embarrassment literature in an embarrassing brand publicity context. The emotional components of brand remedial tactics provide insights to brand managers on how to handle different consumers’ emotions, consumer satisfaction, and foster positive future behavior.

Keywords: brand relationship quality, cognitive appraisal, crisis communications, emotion, justice, social presence

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Authors: Sara Tokhi Arab, Tariq Salari, Ryozo Noguchi, Tofael Ahamed

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Land suitability analysis is essential for table grape cultivation in order to increase its production and productivity under the dry condition of Afghanistan. In this context, the main aim of this paper was to determine the suitable locations for vineyards based on satellite remote sensing and GIS (geographical information system) in Kabul Province of Afghanistan. The Landsat8 OLI (operational land imager) and thermal infrared sensor (TIRS) and shuttle radar topography mission digital elevation model (SRTM DEM) images were processed to obtain the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference moisture index (NDMI), land surface temperature (LST), and topographic criteria (elevation, aspect, and slope). Moreover, Jaxa rainfall (mm per hour), soil properties information are also used for the physical suitability of vineyards. Besides, socio-economic criteria were collected through field surveys from Kabul Province in order to develop the socio-economic suitability map. Finally, the suitable classes were determined using weighted overly based on a reclassification of each criterion based on AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) weights. The results indicated that only 11.1% of areas were highly suitable, 24.8% were moderately suitable, 35.7% were marginally suitable and 28.4% were not physically suitable for grapes production. However, 15.7% were highly suitable, 17.6% were moderately suitable, 28.4% were marginally suitable and 38.3% were not socio-economically suitable for table grapes production in Kabul Province. This research could help decision-makers, growers, and other stakeholders with conducting precise land assessments by identifying the main limiting factors for the production of table grapes management and able to increase land productivity more precisely.

Keywords: vineyards, land physical suitability, socio-economic suitability, AHP

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Authors: Zarina Othman, Bakri Mat, Aini Fatihah Roslam

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The Burmese ethnic known as Rohingya is one of the world’s most persecuted ethnic minorities on earth. They have been massacred, discriminated, humiliated, gang-raped, trafficked, abused and neglected. More than one million Rohingyas have been displaced internally and overseas. Currently, Rohingya asylum seekers can be found in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This forced migration is unacceptable since the Rohingya are stateless although they have been part of Myanmar for more than one century. Why the Rohingyas crisis is important to be analyse from human security perspectives? Understanding the human security of the Rohingya is important because the crisis may have implication on the regional stability in South and South-East Asia. The objectives of the research are to provide an explanation to the current human security situation in Myanmar, to analyse the regional implication of the Rohingya’s crisis and to recommend the workable solution that may help to reduce the tension. To analyze and demonstrate the case, the research has adopted the BAGHUS or Bangi Human Security Approach, a Southeast Asian human security model, designed to protect the weakest and the vital core of human life across national borders. Based on a qualitative research, and a review of literature from secondary sources of books, reports and academic journals, the research has conducted interviews with 1) Rohingya respondents in Cox’s Baza in February 2017; 2) experts and scholars in the field in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia. Preliminary findings suggest that conflicts lead to displacement and migration across borders, human insecurity is an issue where the implementation of human rights is too slow to take place even in sovereign state like Myanmar. The political and economic interests of many extraregional powers have further contributed to the current crisis. Human security perspectives is suggested as the workable solution for stability and peace in the region.

Keywords: human security, migration, Myanmar, regional security, Rohingya

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Authors: J. J. Lloyd, J. S. Phillips

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Background: HIV/AIDS has made a huge impact on human development and sexual reproductive habits in this century in the world and especially in sub-Saharan Africa. It has only recently been acknowledged that HIV/AIDS has an equal if not greater effect on or threat to people with disabilities. Survivors of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) with resultant disability are incorrectly believed to be sexually inactive, unlikely to use drugs or alcohol and at less risk of violence or rape than their non-disabled peers. This group can thus be described as economically, educationally and socially disadvantaged, which in itself, suggest that they are a high-risk group for HIV infection. Objectives: Thus, the overall objective of this study was to assess the factors that exacerbate the risk and vulnerability of individuals with spinal cord injuries to HIV infection in order to develop a more effective HIV intervention. Methodology: This paper reports on the cross-sectional data gathered from individuals with a traumatic spinal cord injury in 4 conveniently selected provinces in South Africa. Data was collected by means of self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of various sections requesting for information on Demographics; HIV-Knowledge (HIV- KQ-18); Sexual behaviours; sexual communication, and negotiation skills and Self-efficacy to refuse sex. Results: The majority of the study sample was males (72.7%) with a mean age of 34.6 years. The majority reported lifetime sexual intercourse (92.4%) but only 31.8% reported condom use with last sexual intercourse. Low level of HIV knowledge, and being male were the strongest predictor of risky sexual behaviours in this sample. Conclusion: Significant numbers of individuals with spinal cord injuries are thus engaging in risky sexual behaviours pointing to a need to strengthen comprehensive sexual health education to increase access to HIV testing, promote safe sex and condom use among this group.

Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), individuals with spinal cord injuries, risky sexual behaviours, HIV risk factors, sub-saharan Africa

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Authors: Vivian W. L. Tsang, Karen Lockhart, Samuel Spiegel, Annalee Yassi

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Background: Workers in the informal economy often incur exposure to well-documented occupational health hazards. Insufficient attention has been afforded to rigorously evaluating intervention programs to reduce the risks, especially in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Objectives: This systematic review, conducted as part of the World Health Organization’s Global Plan of Action for Workers’ Health, sought to assess the state of knowledge on occupational health programs and interventions for the informal artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector, an occupation which directly employs at least 50 million people. Methods: We used a comprehensive search strategy for four well-known databases relevant to health outcomes: PubMed, Engineering Village, OVID Medline, and Web of Science, and employed the PRISMA framework for our analysis. Findings: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria of a primary study focused on assessing the impact of interventions addressing occupational health concerns in ASGM. There were no studies evaluating or even identifying comprehensive occupational health and safety programs for this sector, although target interventions addressing specific hazards exist. Major areas of intervention –education and introduction of mercury-reducing/eliminating technology were identified, and the challenges and limitations of each intervention taken into the assessment. Even for these, however, there was a lack of standardization for measuring outcome or impact, let alone long-term health outcomes for miners and mining communities. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for research on comprehensive occupational health programs addressing the array of hazards faced by artisanal and small-scale miners.

Keywords: informal economy, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, occupational health, health and safety, workplace safety

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Authors: Jamilah Syafawati Yaacob, Muhammad Aiman Ramli

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Cili padi or Capsicum frutescens is one of capsicum species from nightshade family, Solanaceae. It is famous in Malaysia and is widely used as a food ingredient. Capsicum frutescens also possess vast medicinal properties. The objectives of this study are to determine the most optimum 2,4-D hormone concentration for callus induction from stem explants C. frutescens and the effects of different 2,4-D concentrations on expression of compounds from C. frutescens. Seeds were cultured on MS media without hormones (MS basal media) to yield aseptic seedlings of this species, which were then used to supply explant source for subsequent tissue culture experiments. Stem explants were excised from aseptic seedlings and cultured on MS media supplemented with various concentrations (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mg/L) of 2,4-D to induce formation of callus. Fresh weight, dry weight and callus growth percentage in all samples were recorded. The highest mean of dry weight was observed in MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D, where 0.4499 ± 0.106 g of callus was produced. The highest percentage of callus growth (16.4%) was also observed in cultures supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D. The callus samples were also subjected to HPLC-MS to evaluate the effect of hormone concentration on expression of bio active compounds in different samples. Results showed that caffeoylferuloylquinic acids were present in all samples, but was most abundant in callus cells supplemented with 0.3 & 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D. Interestingly, there was an unknown compound observed to be highly expressed in callus cells supplemented with 0.1 mg/L 2,4-D, but its presence was less significant in callus cells supplemented with 0.3 and 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D. Furthermore, there was also a compound identified as octadecadienoic acid, which was uniquely expressed in callus supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D, but absent in callus cells supplemented with 0.1 and 0.3 mg/L 2,4-D. The results obtained in this study indicated that plant growth regulators played a role in expression of secondary metabolites in plants. The increase or decrease of these growth regulators may have triggered a change in the secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways, thus causing differential expression of compounds in this plant.

Keywords: callus, in vitro, secondary metabolite, 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

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Authors: M. Zeitoun, K. Abdallah, M. Rashwan

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Introduction: A growing body of evidence indicates that apelin, a relatively recent member of the adipokines family, has a potential anti-atherogenic effect. An association between low serum apelin state and coronary artery disease (CAD) was previously reported; however, the relationship between apelin and the atherosclerotic burden was unclear. Objectives: Our aim was to explore the correlation of serum apelin level with coronary calcium score (CCS) as a quantitative marker of coronary atherosclerosis. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study enrolled 100 consecutive subjects referred for cardiac multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) for assessment of CAD (mean age 54 ± 9.7 years, 51 male and 49 females). Clinical parameters, glycemic and lipid profile, high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), serum creatinine and complete blood count were assessed. Serum apelin levels were determined using a commercially available Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) Kit. High-resolution non-contrast CT images were acquired by a 64-raw MDCT and CCS was calculated using the Agatston scoring method. Results: Forty-three percent of the studied subjects had positive coronary artery calcification (CAC). The mean CCS was 79 ± 196.5 Agatston units. Subjects with detectable CAC had significantly higher fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, and WBCs count than subjects without detectable CAC (p < 0.05). Most importantly, subjects with detectable CAC had significantly lower serum apelin level than subjects without CAC (1.3 ± 0.4 ng/ml vs. 2.8 ± 0.6 ng/ml, p < 0.001). In addition, there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between serum apelin levels and CCS (r = 0.591, p < 0.001); on multivariate analysis this correlation was found to be independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and hs-CRP. Conclusion:To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an independent association between apelin and CCS in patients with suspected CAD. Apelin emerges as a possible novel biomarker for CAD, but this result remains to be proved prospectively.

Keywords: HbA1c, apelin, adipokines, coronary calcium score (CCS), coronary artery disease (CAD)

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Authors: M. F. Wu, F. T. Cheng, C. S. Wu, M. C. Tan

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It is a critical time to upgrade technology and increase value added with manufacturing skills developing and management strategies that will highly satisfy the customers need in the precision machinery global market. In recent years, the supply side, each precision machinery manufacturers in each country are facing the pressures of price reducing from the demand side voices that pushes the high-end precision machinery manufacturers adopts low-cost and high-quality strategy to retrieve the market. Because of the trend of the global market, the manufacturers must take price reducing strategies and upgrade technology of low-end machinery for differentiations to consolidate the market. By using six key success factors (KSFs), customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, customer service, product design, product effectiveness and machine structure quality are causal conditions to explore the impact of competitive advantage of the enterprise, such as overall profitability and product pricing power. This research uses key success paths (KSPs) approach and f/s QCA software to explore various combinations of causal relationships, so as to fully understand the performance level of KSFs and business objectives in order to achieve competitive advantage. In this study, the combination of a causal relationships, are called Key Success Paths (KSPs). The key success paths guide the enterprise to achieve the specific outcomes of business. The findings of this study indicate that there are thirteen KSPs to achieve the overall profitability, sixteen KSPs to achieve the product pricing power and seventeen KSPs to achieve both overall profitability and pricing power of the enterprise. The KSPs provide the directions of resources integration and allocation, improve utilization efficiency of limited resources to realize the continuous vision of the enterprise.

Keywords: precision machinery industry, key success factors (KSFs), key success paths (KSPs), overall profitability, product pricing power, competitive advantages

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Authors: Antonio De Lisa

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The aim of this contribution is to describe a Sufi ceremony personally observed and recorded in Istanbul. It is part of research on the semiotics of religion that has been going on for some time. Over the centuries, Sufism has produced remarkable literature, elaborated mainly in the context of Arabic literature and Persian literature, but has also found expression in many other languages (Turkish, Indian, Malayo-Indonesian, etc.). Among the genres cultivated are: devotional books (prayers, meditation, spiritual exercises, etc.); the hagiographic texts, containing the biographies and sentences of the best-known Sufis; the texts that illustrate the abodes or stations of the spiritual path; finally, the theoretical treatises on various topics, often of an apologetic nature. Another typical expression of Sufism is in the literature in verse, which includes first-rate poets of both Arabic (Ibn al-Farid, Ibn 'Arabi) and Persian (Farid al-Din al-Attar, Rumi, Hafez, Gohar Shahi) expression. To observe an authentic Sufi ceremony, we contacted the Silivrikapı Mevlana Cultural Center in Istanbul. The ceremony we will talk about is a characteristic of the brotherhood called Mevleviyye (Mawlawiyya), so called from Mawlānā ('our lord', in Turkish: Mevlānā) Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (13th century) better known as the brotherhood of the Whirling Dervishes, founded in Konya. The characteristic of the order is to pray about one's love for Allah with music and dance in a ritual that has the name of Semà. The dance is a swirling movement in a group, representing a mystical journey of the spiritual ascent of man through the mind and love for the 'perfect'. Turning towards the truth, the follower of the group ascends towards love, passing beyond the World and Nothingness. After asceticism, he returns to the common world to communicate his own experience.

Keywords: semiotics of religion, sufi, rumi, islamic philosophy

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Authors: Mara Gabrielli, Jordi Pamies Rovira

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From a theoretical and interdisciplinary approach to visual ethnography and visual anthropology, this small scale, in-depth study explores the potential of photography as a participatory ethnographic method for a deep-understanding of the socio-educational integration of young refugees and asylum-seekers in the host society as regards their daily experiences, their needs, desires, expectations, and future goals. Qualitative data is collected by the author by observing 12 young participants in the age group 12-24 years per week for 12 months. The data consists of field notes, participatory observation, in-depth interviews with professionals, and the use of visual participatory ethnographic methods. Therefore, the young participants build their stories through the implementation of two participatory photographic methods - the 'photo-diary' and the 'photo-elicitation' - that permit them to analyse and narrate their social and educational experiences from their perspectives, thus collaborating in the construction of knowledge during the different stages of the research. Preliminary findings show the high resilience and social adaptability of young refugees and asylum-seekers to achieve their goals and overcome structural and socio-cultural barriers. However, the uncertainty of their administrative situation during the asylum submission and the lack of specific resources might impact negatively on their educational pathways and the transition to the labour market. Finally, this study also highlights the benefits of participatory photographic methods in ethnographic research, which impacts positively the well-being of these young people, helps them to develop critical thinking, and it also allows them to access information more respectfully when narrating painful experiences.

Keywords: photo-diary, photo-elicitation, resilience, strategies, visual methodologies, young refugees and asylum seekers

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Authors: Xinxiu Li, Chuqian Zheng, Yanyan Qian, Hong Fan

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Objectives: In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), oncogenes are continuously and robustly transcribed due to aberrant expression of essential components of the trans-acting super-enhancers (SE) complex. Preclinical and clinical trials are now being conducted on small-molecule inhibitors that target core-transcriptional components, including as transcriptional bromodomain protein 4 (BRD4) and cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7), in a number of malignant tumors. This study aims to explore whether co-overexpression of BRD4 and CDK7 is a potential marker of worse prognosis and a combined therapeutic target in HCC. Methods: The expression pattern of BRD4 and CDK7 and their correlation with prognosis in HCC were analyzed by RNA sequencing data and survival data of HCC patients from TCGA and GEO datasets. The protein levels of BRD4 and CDK7 were determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC), and survival data of patients were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The mRNA expression levels of genes in HCC cell lines were evaluated by quantitative PCR (q-PCR). CCK-8 and colony formation assays were conducted to assess cell proliferation of HCC upon treatment with BRD4 inhibitor JQ1 or/and CDK7 inhibitor THZ1. Results: It was shown that BRD4 and CDK7 were often overexpressed in HCCs and were associated with poor prognosis of HCC by analyzing the TCGA and GEO datasets. BRD4 or CDK7 overexpression was related to a lower survival rate. It's interesting to note that co-overexpression of CDK7 and BRD4 was a worse prognostic factor in HCC. Treatment with JQ1 or THZ1 alone had an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation; however, when JQ1 and THZ1 were combined, there was a more notable suppression of cell growth. At the same time, the combined use of JQ1 and THZ1 synergistically suppresses the expression of HCC driver genes. Conclusion: Our research revealed that BRD4 and CDK7 coupled can be a useful biomarker in HCC prognosis and the combination of JQ1 and THZ1 can be a promising therapeutic therapy against HCC.

Keywords: BRD4, CDK7, cell proliferation, combined inhibition

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Authors: Md Motibur Rahman

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The present paper attempts to study the electoral politics and voting behavior of 2011 assembly election of West Bengal state in India. Electoral geography is considered as the study of geographical aspects of the organization, conduct, and result of elections. It deals with the spatial voting patterns/behaviour or the study of the spatial distribution of political phenomena of voting. Voting behavior is a form of political psychology which played a great role in political decision-making process. The voting behavior of the electorates is largely influenced by their perception that existing during the time of election. The main focus of the study will be to analyze the electoral politics of the party organizations and political profile of the electorates. The principle objectives of the present work are i) to study the spatial patterns of voting behavior in 2011 assembly election in West Bengal, ii) to analysis the result and finding of 2011 assembly election. The whole study based on the secondary source of data. The electoral data have taken from Election Commission of India, New Delhi and Centre for the study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in New Delhi. In the battle of 2011 Assembly election in West Bengal, the two major parties were Left Front and Trinamool Congress. This election witnessed the remarkable successes of Trinamool Congress and decline of 34 years longest ruler party that is Left Front. Trinamool Congress won a majority of seats that 227 out of 294 but Left Front won only 62 seats out of 294 seats. The significance of the present study is that it helps in understanding the voting pattern, voting behaviour, trends of voting and also helps for further study of electoral geography in West Bengal. The study would be highly significant and helpful to the planners, politicians, and administrators who are involved in the formulation of development plans and programmes for the people of the state.

Keywords: assembly election, electoral geography, electoral politics, voting behaviour

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Authors: Yalisa Tonsorn

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The objectives of this study are 1) to study the readiness of Thai tour operators in order to prepare for being ASEAN members, 2) to study opportunity and obstacles of the management of Thai tour operators, and 3) to find approach for developing value chain in order to enhance the management efficiency of Thai tour operators in order to support free trade within the framework of ASEAN cooperation. The research methodology is mixed between qualitative method and quantitative method. In-depth interview was done with key informants, including management supervisors, medium managers, and officers of the travel agencies. The questionnaire was conducted with 300 sampling. According to the study, it was found that the approach for developing value chain to enhance the management efficiency of Thai travel agencies in order to support free trade within the framework of ASEAN cooperation, the tour operators must give priority to the customer and deliver the service exceeding the customer’s expectation. There are 2 groups of customers: 1) external customers referring to tourist, and 2) internal customers referring to staff who deliver the service to the customers, including supervisors, colleagues, or subordinates. There are 2 issues which need to be developed: 1) human resource development in order to cultivate the working concept by focusing on importance of customers, and excellent service providing, and 2) working system development by building value and innovation in operational process including services to the company in order to deliver the highest impressive service to both internal and external customers. Moreover, the tour operators could support the increased number of tourists significantly. This could enhance the capacity of the business and affect the increase of competition capability in the economic dimension of the country.

Keywords: AEC (ASEAN Economic Eommunity), core activities, support activities, values chain

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Authors: Waqqas-ur-Rehman Butt, Martin Servin, Marion Pause

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In recent years, object detection has gained much attention and very encouraging research area in the field of computer vision. The robust object boundaries detection in an image is demanded in numerous applications of human computer interaction and automated surveillance systems. Many methods and approaches have been developed for automatic object detection in various fields, such as automotive, quality control management and environmental services. Inappropriately, to the best of our knowledge, object detection under illumination with shadow consideration has not been well solved yet. Furthermore, this problem is also one of the major hurdles to keeping an object detection method from the practical applications. This paper presents an approach to automatic object detection in images under non-standardized environmental conditions. A key challenge is how to detect the object, particularly under uneven illumination conditions. Image capturing conditions the algorithms need to consider a variety of possible environmental factors as the colour information, lightening and shadows varies from image to image. Existing methods mostly failed to produce the appropriate result due to variation in colour information, lightening effects, threshold specifications, histogram dependencies and colour ranges. To overcome these limitations we propose an object detection algorithm, with pre-processing methods, to reduce the interference caused by shadow and illumination effects without fixed parameters. We use the Y CrCb colour model without any specific colour ranges and predefined threshold values. The segmented object regions are further classified using morphological operations (Erosion and Dilation) and contours. Proposed approach applied on a large image data set acquired under various environmental conditions for wood stack detection. Experiments show the promising result of the proposed approach in comparison with existing methods.

Keywords: image processing, illumination equalization, shadow filtering, object detection

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Authors: Okwara O. S., Osunsina I. O. O., Pitan O. R., Afolabi C. G.

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Rice (Oryza sativa L.) belongs to the family poaceae and has become the most popular food. Globally, this crop is been faced with the menace of vertebrate pests, of which birds and rodents are the most implicated. The study avian and rodents’ infestations and the evaluation of attributable losses was carried out in 2020 and 2021 with the objectives of identifying the types of bird and rodent species associated with lowland rice and to determine the infestation levels, damage intensity, and the crop loss induced by these pests. The experiment was laid out in a split plot arrangement fitted into a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), with the main plots being protected and unprotected groups and the sub-plots being four rice varieties, Ofada, WITA-4, NERICA L-34, and Arica-3. Data collection was done over a 16-week period, and the data obtained were transformed using square root transformation model before Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was done at 5% probability level. The results showed the infestation levels of both birds and rodents across all the treatment means of thevarieties as not significantly different (p > 0.05) in both seasons. The damage intensity by these pests in both years were also not significantly different (p > 0.05) among the means of the varieties, which explains the diverse feeding nature of birds and rodents when it comes to infestations. The infestation level under the protected group was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the infestation level recorded under the unprotected group.Consequently, an estimated crop loss of 91.94 % and 90.75 % were recorded in 2020 and 2021, respectively, andthe identified pest birds were Ploceus melanocephalus, Ploceus cuculatus, and Spermestes cucullatus. Conclusively, vertebrates pest cause damage to lowland rice which could result to a high percentage crop loss if left uncontrolled.

Keywords: pests, infestations, evaluation, losses, rodents, avian

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Authors: Maria Ana T. Quimbo

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As the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) approaches its 50th founding anniversary. It continues to pursue its mission of strengthening the capacities of Southeast Asian leaders and institutions under its reformulated mission of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD). Guided by this mission, this study analyzed the desired and priority capacity development needs of institutions heads and key personnel toward addressing the constraints, problems, and issues related to agricultural and rural development toward achieving their institutional goals. Adopting an exploratory, descriptive research design, the study examined the competency needs at the institutional and personnel levels. A total of 35 institution heads from seven countries and 40 key personnel from eight countries served as research participants. The results showed a variety of competencies in the areas of leadership and management, agriculture, climate change, research, monitoring, and evaluation, planning, and extension or community service. While mismatch was found in a number of desired and priority competency areas as perceived by the respondents, there were also interesting concordant answers in both technical and non-technical areas. Interestingly, the competency needs both desired and prioritized were a combination of “hard” or technical skills and “soft” or interpersonal skills. Policy recommendations were forwarded on the need to continue building capacities in core competencies along ISARD; have a balance of 'hard' skills and 'soft' skills through the use of appropriate training strategies and explicit statement in training objectives, strengthen awareness on “soft” skills through its integration in workplace culture, build capacity on action research, continue partnerships encourage mentoring, prioritize competencies, and build capacity of desired and priority competency areas.

Keywords: capacity development, competency needs assessment, sustainability and development, ISARD

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Authors: Mahshid Davoodpoor, Zahra Shamohammadi Ghahsareh, Saeid Razfar, Alaleh Dabbaghi

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Nowadays, air pollution has become a topic of great concern all over the world. One of the main sources of air pollution is automobile exhaust gas, which introduces a large number of toxic gases, including CO, unburned hydrocarbons (HCs), NOx, and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), into the air. The application of three-way catalysts (TWCs) is still the most effective strategy to mitigate the emission of these pollutants. Due to the stringent environmental regulations which continuously become stricter, studies on the TWCs are ongoing despite several years of research and development. This arises from the washcoat complexity and the several numbers of parameters involved in the redox reactions. The main objectives of these studies are the optimization of washcoat formulation and the investigation of different coating modes. Perovskite (ABO₃), as a promising class of materials, has unique features that make it versatile to use as an alternative to commonly mixed oxides in washcoats. High catalytic activity for oxidation reactions and its relatively high oxygen storage capacity are important properties of perovskites in catalytic applications. Herein, La₀.₈Ba₀.₂FeO₃ perovskite material was synthesized using the co-precipitation method and characterized by XRD, ICP, and BET analysis. The effect of synthesis conditions, including B site metal (Fe and Co), metal precursor concentration, and dopant (Ba), were examined on the phase purity of the products. The selected perovskite sample was used as one of the components in the TWC formulation to evaluate its catalytic performance through Light-off, oxygen storage capacity, and emission analysis. Results showed a remarkable increment in oxygen storage capacity and also revealed that T50 and emission of CO, HC, and NOx reduced in the presence of perovskite structure which approves the enhancement of catalytic performance for the new washcoat formulation. This study shows the brilliant future of advanced oxide structures in the TWCs.

Keywords: Perovskite, three-way catalyst, PGMs, PGMs reduction

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Authors: Sara Vora (Hoxha)

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Defamation, invasion of privacy, and cyberbullying have all increased in tandem with the growth of the internet. European international private law may struggle to deal with such transgressions if they occur in many jurisdictions. The current study examines how effectively the legal system of European international private law addresses abuses of personality rights in cyberspace. The study starts by discussing how established legal frameworks are being threatened by online personality rights abuses. The article then looks into the rules and regulations of European international private law that are in place to handle overseas lawsuits. This article examines the different elements that courts evaluate when deciding which law to use in a particular case, focusing on the concepts of jurisdiction, choice of law, and recognition and execution of foreign judgements. Next, the research analyses the function of the European Union in preventing and punishing online personality rights abuses. Key pieces of law that control the collecting and processing of personal data on the Internet, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the e-Commerce Directive, are discussed. In addition, this article investigates how the ECtHR handles cases involving the infringement of personal freedoms, including privacy and speech. The article finishes with an assessment of how well the legal framework of European international private law protects individuals' right to privacy online. It draws attention to problems with the present legal structure, such as the inability to enforce international judgements, the inconsistency between national laws, and the necessity for stronger measures to safeguard people' rights online. This paper concludes that while European international private law provides a useful framework for dealing with violations of personality rights online, further harmonisation and stronger enforcement mechanisms are necessary to effectively protect individuals' rights in the digital age.

Keywords: European international private law, personality rights, internet, jurisdiction, cross-border disputes, data protection

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Authors: Badli Shah Mohd Yusoff, Khairur Rijal Jamaludin, Rozetta Dollah

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The emerging of reverse logistics and product recovery management is an important concept in reconciling economic and environmental objectives through recapturing values of the end of life product returns. End of life products contains valuable modules, parts, residues and materials that can create value if recovered efficiently. The main objective of this study is to explore and develop a model to recover as much of the economic value as reasonably possible to find the optimality of return acquisition and sorting to meet demand and maximize profits over time. In this study, the benefits that can be obtained for remanufacturer is to develop demand forecasting of used products in the future with uncertainty of returns and quality of products. Formulated based on a generic disassembly tree, the proposed model focused on three reverse logistics activity, namely refurbish, remanufacture and disposal incorporating all plausible means quality levels of the returns. While stricter sorting policy, constitute to the decrease amount of products to be refurbished or remanufactured and increases the level of discarded products. Numerical experiments carried out to investigate the characteristics and behaviour of the proposed model with mathematical programming model using Lingo 16.0 for medium-term planning of return acquisition, disassembly (refurbish or remanufacture) and disposal activities. Moreover, the model seeks an analysis a number of decisions relating to trade off management system to maximize revenue from the collection of use products reverse logistics services through refurbish and remanufacture recovery options. The results showed that full utilization in the sorting process leads the system to obtain less quantity from acquisition with minimal overall cost. Further, sensitivity analysis provides a range of possible scenarios to consider in optimizing the overall cost of refurbished and remanufactured products.

Keywords: core acquisition, end of life, reverse logistics, quality uncertainty

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Authors: Bhavna Malik

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The study is build on a theoretical framework that links characteristics of job, key attitudes and intention to leave, why faculty may be disengaging from institutional service. The literature indicates that job characteristics, key attitudes and intention to leave are very important for effective organizational functioning. In general, the literature showed that some job characteristics might be the antecedents of job satisfaction and the aggregate variable job scope was positively associated with organizational commitment, and these key attitudes predicted intention to leave negatively. The present study attempted to propose a new integrative model of the relationships among job characteristics, key attitudes, and intention to leave. The main purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of job characteristics on intention to leave. While examining the role of job characteristics, the mediating roles of key attitudes were taken into account in order to better understand how job characteristics affect the exhibition of intention to leave. The secondary purpose is to investigate the effects of job characteristics on key attitudes, and the effects of key attitudes on intention to leave. Job characteristics of remuneration, resource for professional activities, career opportunities were positively associated with the work attitude of job satisfaction. The aggregate job scope was positively associated with the work attitude of organizational commitment although no single job characteristic was significantly associated with organizational commitment. Commitment, however, did not significantly affect time spent on institutional service. Two job characteristics—time spent on research and time spent on teaching—were negatively associated with this behavior. In general, the literature showed that some job characteristics might be the antecedents of job satisfaction and the aggregate variable job scope was positively associated with organizational commitment, and these key attiudes predicted intention to leave negatively. In turn, job satisfaction and organizational commitment were negatively associated with the intention to leave. In addition to these, organizational commitment was negatively associated with the intention to leave. However, no significant direct association was found between job characteristics and intention to leave.

Keywords: Job Characteristics Model, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intention to leave

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Authors: Kubra Sultan Yuzuncuyil, Aytekin İsman, Berkay Bulus

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With the developments of information and communication technologies, the forms of molding public opinion have changed. In the presence of Internet, the notion of activism has been endowed with digital codes. Activists have engaged the use of Internet into their campaigns and the process of creating collective identity. Activist movements have been incorporating the relevance of new communication technologies for their goals and opposition. Creating and managing activism through Internet is called Online Activism. In this main, Slow Food Movement which was emerged within the philosophy of defending regional, fair and sustainable food has been engaging Internet into their activist campaign. This movement supports the idea that a new food system which allows strong connections between plate and planet is possible. In order to make their voices heard, it has utilized social networks and develop particular skills in the framework online activism. This study analyzes online activist skills of Slow Food Movement (SFM) develop and attempts to measure its effectiveness. To achieve this aim, it adopts the model proposed by Sivitandies and Shah and conduct both qualitiative and quantiative content analysis on social network use of Slow Food Movement. In this regard, the sample is chosen as the official profile and analyzed between in a three month period respectively March-May 2017. It was found that SFM develops particular techniques that appeal to the model of Sivitandies and Shah. The prominent skill in this regard was found as hyperlink abbreviation and use of multimedia elements. On the other hand, there are inadequacies in hashtag and interactivity use. The importance of this study is that it highlights and discusses how online activism can be engaged into a social movement. It also reveals current online activism skills of SFM and their effectiveness. Furthermore, it makes suggestions to enhance the related abilities and strengthen its voice on social networks.

Keywords: slow food movement, Twitter, internet, online activism

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Authors: Amna Ali Nasser Al-Saadi, Riken Homma, Kazuhisa Iki

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Need to generate objective communication between researchers, Practitioners and policy makers are top concern of sustainability. Despite the fact that many places have successes in achieving some aspects of sustainable urban development, there are no scientific facts to convince policy makers in the rest of the world to apply their guides and manuals. This is because each of them was developed to fulfill the need of specific city. The question is, how to learn the lesson from each case study? And how distinguish between the potential criteria and negative one? And how quantify their effects in the future development? Walkability has been found as a solution to achieve healthy life style as well as social, environmental and economic sustainability. Moreover, it is complicated as every aspect of sustainable development. This research is stand on quantitative- comparative methodology in order to assess pedestrian oriented development. Three Analyzed Areas (AAs) were selected. One site is located in Oman in which hypotheses as motorized oriented development, while two sites are in Japan where the development is pedestrian friendly. The study used Multi-Criteria Evaluation Method (MCEM). Initially, MCEM stands on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The later was structured into main goal (walkability), objectives (functions and layout) and attributes (the urban form criteria). Secondly, the GIS were used to evaluate the attributes in multi-criteria maps. Since each criterion has different scale of measurement, all results were standardized by z-score and used to measure the co-relations among cr iteria. Different scenario was generated from each AA. After that, MCEM (AHP- OWA) based on GIS measured the walkability score and determined the priority of criteria development in the non-walker friendly environment. As results, the comparison criteria for z-score presented a measurable distinguished orientation of development. This result has been used to prove that Oman is motorized environment while Japan is walkable. Also, it defined the powerful criteria and week criteria regardless to the AA. This result has been used to generalize the priority for walkable development.

Keywords: walkability, sustainable development, multi- criteria evaluation method, gis

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