Search results for: Employed Mothers

Authors: Mkpoikanke Sunday Otu

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Introduction: Career anxiety is a common issue among university students, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. This anxiety can significantly impact students' academic performance, overall well-being, and future career prospects. Therefore, it is crucial to explore effective interventions that can alleviate career anxiety among university students. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention in reducing career anxiety among Nigerian university students. The study employed a group randomized trial research design to further analyze the impact on career anxiety. Methodology: A total of 306 university students from various universities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, were recruited for this study. The participants were purposively selected to ensure diversity and represent a range of academic disciplines. A group randomized trial research design was employed, with participants randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the control group. The treatment group received a comprehensive psychosocial intervention, while the control group served as a comparison group. The Career Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ) was used to assess career anxiety levels among the participants. The CAQ is a validated and reliable tool that assesses various aspects of career-related anxiety, including uncertainty, fear, and self-doubt. It was administered to the participants at baseline (before the intervention), immediately after the intervention, and at follow-up (after the intervention). Results: Data analysis was conducted using statistical techniques, including analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results demonstrated that the treatment group showed a significantly lower mean score of career anxiety compared to the control group (p-value<0.05). This finding suggests that the psychosocial intervention was effective in reducing the career anxiety levels of the participants at post-test and follow-up. Conclusion: The findings of this study provide compelling evidence that psychosocial interventions have a significant impact on the reduction of career anxiety among Nigerian university students. The treatment group demonstrated a significant reduction in career anxiety scores, indicating the effectiveness of this intervention. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of addressing the career anxiety challenges faced by university students. By implementing targeted interventions, educational institutions can play a vital role in supporting the overall well-being and success of their students, both academically and professionally.

Keywords: psychosocial intervention, career anxiety, psychoeducation, university students

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Authors: Rabbya Ashrafi, Mohammad Tarikul Islam , Al-Amin Bhuiyan, Aminur Rahman

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Injury is the leading killer of children in Bangladesh. Anchal (community crèche) is an effective intervention to prevent injuries among children under 5. Through the SoLiD project, 1,600 Anchals are in place in three sub-districts in Bangladesh. The objectives of the Anchal are to provide supervision and early childhood development stimulations (ECD) to the children. A locally trained caregiver supervises 20-25 children, 9 to 59 months old, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., six days a week. Although it was found effective, during its implementation phase several challenges were noticed. To identify challenges and means to overcome those to improve the Anchal activities. In-depth interviews were conducted with Anchal caregivers, their supervisors, and trainers. Focus group discussions were conducted with the mothers of the Anchal children. The study was conducted in the Manohardi sub-district in November 2015. Decay of knowledge and skills after 2-3 months of training, lack of formal certification and inappropriate selection of women as Anchal caregivers, and enrollment of small children (less than 12 months) were the important challenges. The reluctance of parents to send children to the Anchal at the proper time, failure to engage children in various ECD activities, ineffective conduction of parents and community leaders meeting by the Anchal caregivers, insufficient accommodation, and poor supply of logistics for children were also the important challenges. The suggestion for improvement was to recruit caregivers as per standard criteria, provide them refreshers training at three months intervals, train them on effective conduction of parents and community leaders meetings, provide a formal certificate, and ensure regular supply of logistics. The identified challenges are needed to be addressed by utilizing the suggestions obtained from the IDIs and FGDs to make the Anchal intervention more effective in preventing childhood injuries.

Keywords: comunity crech, earlychildhood development, measures for improvement, childhood injury

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Authors: Zellagui Redouane, Bellaouar Ahmed, Lachi Mohammed

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The railway axles are the essential parts in the bogie of train, and its failure creates a big problem in the railway transport; during the work of this parts we noticed a premature deterioration. The aim has been presented a predictive model allowing the identification of the probable causes that are the cause of these premature deterioration. The results are employed for predicting fatigue crack growth in the railway axle, Also we want to present the variation value of stress intensity factor in different positions of elliptical crack tip. The modeling of axle in performed by the SOLID WORKS software and imported into ANSYS.

Keywords: crack growth, static load, railway axle, lifetime

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Authors: Messaouda Belaid, Salima Kebbouche-Gana, Djamila Benaziza

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Our study focuses on determining the antibacterial activity of some honeys from northern Algeria. To test this activity, the agar well diffusion methods was employed. The bacterial strains tested were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeroginosae. The results showed that all the microbes tested were inhibited by all honey used in this study but Those bacteria that appear to be more sensitive to all honey tested are Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeroginosae.

Keywords: honey, antibacterial activity, Northern Algeria, Staphylococcus aureus

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Authors: Sait Ali Uymaz, Gülay Tezel

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This paper presents the comparison results on the performance of the Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithm for constrained optimization problems. For constraint handling, CS algorithm uses penalty method. CS algorithm is tested on thirteen well-known test problems and the results obtained are compared to Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. Mean, best, median and worst values were employed for the analyses of performance.

Keywords: cuckoo search, particle swarm optimization, constrained optimization problems, penalty method

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Authors: Zuzanna Miodonska, Michal Krecichwost, Pawel Badura

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Sigmatism (lisping) is a speech disorder in which sibilant consonants are mispronounced. The diagnosis of this phenomenon is usually based on the auditory assessment. However, the progress in speech analysis techniques creates a possibility of developing computer-aided sigmatism diagnosis tools. The aim of the study is to statistically verify whether specific acoustic features of sibilant sounds may be related to pronunciation correctness. Such knowledge can be of great importance while implementing classifiers and designing novel tools for automatic sibilants pronunciation evaluation. The study covers analysis of various speech signal measures, including features proposed in the literature for the description of normative sibilants realization. Amplitudes and frequencies of three fricative formants (FF) are extracted based on local spectral maxima of the friction noise. Skewness, kurtosis, four normalized spectral moments (SM) and 13 mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) with their 1st and 2nd derivatives (13 Delta and 13 Delta-Delta MFCC) are included in the analysis as well. The resulting feature vector contains 51 measures. The experiments are performed on the speech corpus containing words with selected sibilant sounds (/ʃ, ʒ/) pronounced by 60 preschool children with proper pronunciation or with natural pathologies. In total, 224 /ʃ/ segments and 191 /ʒ/ segments are employed in the study. The Mann-Whitney U test is employed for the analysis of stigmatism and normative pronunciation. Statistically, significant differences are obtained in most of the proposed features in children divided into these two groups at p < 0.05. All spectral moments and fricative formants appear to be distinctive between pathology and proper pronunciation. These metrics describe the friction noise characteristic for sibilants, which makes them particularly promising for the use in sibilants evaluation tools. Correspondences found between phoneme feature values and an expert evaluation of the pronunciation correctness encourage to involve speech analysis tools in diagnosis and therapy of sigmatism. Proposed feature extraction methods could be used in a computer-assisted stigmatism diagnosis or therapy systems.

Keywords: computer-aided pronunciation evaluation, sigmatism diagnosis, speech signal analysis, statistical verification

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Authors: Mohammadreza DaqiqShirazi, Rouhollah Torabi, Alireza Riasi, Ahmad Nourbakhsh

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In this paper, the flow in a sidewall gap of an impeller which belongs to a centrifugal pump is studied using numerical method. The flow in sidewall gap forms internal leakage and is the source of “disk friction loss” which is the most important cause of reduced efficiency in low specific speed centrifugal pumps. Simulation is done using CFX software and a high quality mesh, therefore the modeling error has been reduced. Navier-Stokes equations have been solved for this domain. In order to predict the turbulence effects the SST model has been employed.

Keywords: numerical study, centrifugal pumps, disk friction loss, sidewall gap

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Authors: A.R. Eskandari, M.R. Eskandari

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A 2D complete identification algorithm for dielectric and multiple objects immersed in air is presented. The employed technique consists of initially retrieving the shape and position of the scattering object using a linear sampling method and then determining the electric permittivity and conductivity of the scatterer using adjoint sensitivity analysis. This inversion algorithm results in high computational speed and efficiency, and it can be generalized for any scatterer structure. Also, this method is robust with respect to noise. The numerical results clearly show that this hybrid approach provides accurate reconstructions of various objects.

Keywords: inverse scattering, microwave imaging, two-dimensional objects, Linear Sampling Method (LSM)

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Authors: Ali Karimi, Shabnam Karimifam, Amirhosein Karimi, Farahnaz Pournavvab

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Researches have emphasis on the important role of psychosocial support and appropriate interventions for individuals that involved in serious physical and psychological problems . Patients with AIDS are often discussed in studies, but sometimes the psychological conditions of the people who live with them are ignored. In the present study, while paying attention to the spouses of AIDS patients, the role of supportive interventions has been investigated. the other word , Researchers Show that life skills training causes significant improvement in the mean scores of mothers physical health , mental health, social relationship and ultimately quality of life in the experimental group . The purpose of this study is determine of mental health of Twenty-one wives of patients with HIV+ In Shiraz ( city in sought of Iran) and effects of life skills on promotion of their mental health . Sampling was systematic randomize . These women were selected and invited to the training program based on their husbands' file numbers, who were selected to the counseling center for people with AIDS. first , they filled out GHQ questionnaires . Then , the life skills training for 8 sessions were taught for these women . Results indicated that Psychological condition of wife of patients with HIV+ was not appropriate . Scores of most them were above of cut of point of questionnaires .T test was done . worse scores were Assigned to anxiety and weakness in social functions . In the other hand , life skills have been effective significantly only in social functions of women . Scores of research’s participants in anxiety , depression and total test score were enhanced , but have not been significant . In the main of article , researchers have discussed why life skills training does not have much effect on some emotional problems .Despite the fact that life skills training had a positive effect on these spouses, but due to the stress of women with AIDS spouses, life skills training did not show much effectiveness, and for outstanding effects, there is a need for individual psychological treatments and broader social support.

Keywords: Hiv, aids, social suport, life skills

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Authors: Dolhadi Bin Zainudin

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The study attempts to predict the relationship between influencing factors in the adoption of ISO 9000:2008 and to identify which how these factors play the main role in achieving ISO 9000 standard. A survey using structured questionnaire was employed. A total of 255 respondents from 255 small and medium enterprises participated in this study. With regards to influencing factors, a discriminant analysis was conducted and the results showed that three out of nine critical success factors is statistically significant between ISO 9000:2008 and non-ISO 9000 certified companies which are communication for quality, information and analysis and organizational culture.

Keywords: ISO 9000, quality management, factors, small and medium enterprise, Malaysia, influencing factors

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Authors: Agnieszka Nowogrodzka

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Objectives: ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which symptoms are most prominent throughout childhood. In the longer term, these symptoms, as well as the behaviour of the child, the experiences arising from the response of the community to the child's symptoms, as well as the functioning of the community itself, all contribute to the onset of secondary symptoms and subsequent outcomes of the disorder, such as crime or mental disorders. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of ADHD among Polish convicts serving a prison sentence. To that end, the study will focus on the relationship between the severity of ADHD and early childhood trauma, family relations, maladaptive cognitive schemas, as well as mental disorders. It is an attempt to assess the interdependence between ADHD, childhood experiences, and secondary outcomes. Methods: The study enrolled two groups of first-time convicts and repeat offenders aged between 21 and 65 –each of the study groups comprised 120 participants; 240 participants in total took part in the study. Participants were recruited in semi-open penal institutions in Poland (Poznań Custody Suite, Wronki Penal Institution, Iława Penal Institution). The control group comprised 110 men without criminal records aged 21 to 65. The DIVA 5.0 questionnaire was employed to identify the severity of ADHD symptoms. Other questionnaires employed in the course of the study included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale IV (FACES-IV), Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30). Results: The findings of the study in question are currently still being compiled and will be shared during the conference. The findings of a pilot study involving two cohorts of convicts (each numbering 20 men) and a control group (20 men with no criminal records) indicate a significant correlation between ADHD and the experience of early childhood trauma. The severity of ADHD also shows a correlation with the assessment of the functioning of the family, with the subjects assessing the relationships in their families more negatively than the control group. Furthermore, the severity of ADHD is also correlated with maladaptive emotional schemas manifesting in the participants. The findings also show a correlation between selected dimensions and the severity of offenses.

Keywords: ADHD, social impairments, mental disorders, early childhood traumas, criminality

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Authors: Sireetorn Kuharat, Anwar Beg

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In this study, multi-mode heat transfer characteristics of spacecraft solar collectors are investigated computationally. Two-dimensional steady-state incompressible laminar Newtonian viscous convection-radiative heat transfer in a rectangular solar collector geometry. The ANSYS FLUENT finite volume code (version 17.2) is employed to simulate the thermo-fluid characteristics. Several radiative transfer models are employed which are available in the ANSYS workbench, including the classical Rosseland flux model and the more elegant P1 flux model. Mesh-independence tests are conducted. Validation of the simulations is conducted with a computational Harlow-Welch MAC (Marker and Cell) finite difference method and excellent correlation. The influence of aspect ratio, Prandtl number (Pr), Rayleigh number (Ra) and radiative flux model on temperature, isotherms, velocity, the pressure is evaluated and visualized in color plots. Additionally, the local convective heat flux is computed and solutions are compared with the MAC solver for various buoyancy effects (e.g. Ra = 10,000,000) achieving excellent agreement. The P1 model is shown to better predict the actual influence of solar radiative flux on thermal fluid behavior compared with the limited Rosseland model. With increasing Rayleigh numbers the hot zone emanating from the base of the collector is found to penetrate deeper into the collector and rises symmetrically dividing into two vortex regions with very high buoyancy effect (Ra >100,000). With increasing Prandtl number (three gas cases are examined respectively hydrogen gas mixture, air and ammonia gas) there is also a progressive incursion of the hot zone at the solar collector base higher into the solar collector space and simultaneously a greater asymmetric behavior of the dual isothermal zones. With increasing aspect ratio (wider base relative to the height of the solar collector geometry) there is a greater thermal convection pattern around the whole geometry, higher temperatures and the elimination of the cold upper zone associated with lower aspect ratio.

Keywords: thermal convection, radiative heat transfer, solar collector, Rayleigh number

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Authors: Dipti Raj, Himanshu Mishra

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Wetting of a solid surface by a liquid is an extremely common yet subtle phenomenon in natural and applied sciences. A clear understanding of both short and long-term wetting behaviors of surfaces is essential for creating robust anti-biofouling coatings, non-wetting textiles, non-fogging mirrors, and preventive linings against dirt and icing. In this study, silica beads (diameter, D ≈ 100 μm) functionalized using different silane reagents were employed to modify the wetting characteristics of smooth polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces. Resulting composite surfaces were found to be super-hydrophobic, i.e. contact angle of water,

Keywords: contact angle, Cassie-Baxter, PDMS, silica, texture, wetting

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Authors: S. Mousavian, D. Ashouri, F. Mousavian, V. Nikkhah Rashidabad, N. Ghazinia

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PH, temperature, and time of extraction of each stage, agitation speed, and delay time between stages effect on efficiency of zinc extraction from concentrate. In this research, efficiency of zinc extraction was predicted as a function of mentioned variable by artificial neural networks (ANN). ANN with different layer was employed and the result show that the networks with 8 neurons in hidden layer has good agreement with experimental data.

Keywords: zinc extraction, efficiency, neural networks, operating condition

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Authors: Raoudane Bouziyan, Kawser Mohammad Tawhid

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Microstrip antennas are low in profile, light in weight, conformable in structure and are now developed for many applications. The main difficulty of the microstrip antenna is its narrow bandwidth. Several modern applications like satellite communications, remote sensing, and multi-function radar systems will find it useful if there is dual-band antenna operating from a single aperture. Some applications require covering both transmitting and receiving frequency bands which are spaced apart. Providing multiple antennas to handle multiple frequencies and polarizations becomes especially difficult if the available space is limited as with airborne platforms and submarine periscopes. Dual band operation can be realized from a single feed using slot loaded or stacked microstrip antenna or two separately fed antennas sharing a common aperture. The former design, when used in arrays, has certain limitations like complicated beam forming or diplexing network and difficulty to realize good radiation patterns at both the bands. The second technique provides more flexibility with separate feed system as beams in each frequency band can be controlled independently. Another desirable feature of a dual band antenna is easy adjustability of upper and lower frequency bands. This thesis presents investigation of a new dual-band antenna, which is a hybrid of microstrip and waveguide radiating elements. The low band radiator is a Shorted Annular Ring (SAR) microstrip antenna and the high band radiator is an aperture antenna. The hybrid antenna is realized by forming a waveguide radiator in the shorted region of the SAR microstrip antenna. It is shown that the upper to lower frequency ratio can be controlled by the proper choice of various dimensions and dielectric material. Operation in both linear and circular polarization is possible in either band. Moreover, both broadside and conical beams can be generated in either band from this antenna element. Finite Element Method based software, HFSS and Method of Moments based software, FEKO were employed to perform parametric studies of the proposed dual-band antenna. The antenna was not tested physically. Therefore, in most cases, both HFSS and FEKO were employed to corroborate the simulation results.

Keywords: FEKO, HFSS, dual band, shorted annular ring patch

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Authors: Fazli Idris, Jihad Mohammad

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The study aims to determine the impact of technology and service operations flexibility, which is divided into external flexibility and internal robustness, on operations costs. A mediation model is proposed that links technology to operations costs via operation flexibility. Drawing on a sample of 475 of operations managers of various service sectors in Malaysia and South Africa, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the relationship using Smart-PLS procedures. It was found that a significant relationship was established between technologies to operations costs via both operations flexibility dimensions. Theoretical and managerial implications are offered to explain the results.

Keywords: Operations flexibility, technology, costs, mediation

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Authors: Nadjette Belhamra, Abdelouahed Chala, Ibrahim Guasmi

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Titanium nitride coatings have been extensively used in industry, such as in cutting tools. TiN coating were deposited by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) on carbide insert at a temperature between 850°C and 1100°C, which often exceeds the hardening treatment temperature of the metals. The objective of this work is to realize, to characterize of TiN coating and to apply it in the turning of steel 42CrMo4 under lubrification. Various experimental techniques were employed for the microstructural characterization of the coatings, e. g., X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) model JOEL JSM-5900 LV, equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The results show that TiN-coated demonstrate a good wear resistance.

Keywords: hard coating TiN, carbide inserts, machining, turning, wear

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Authors: Smriti Pahwa, Karishma Vats, Aditi Macwan, Jija Dutt, Sumukhi Vaid

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Age approporiate complementary feeding has been stressed upon for sound young child nutrition and appropriate growth. National Infant and Young Child Feeding guidelines, policies and programs indicate cognizance of the issue taken by the country’s government, policy makers and technical experts. However, it is important that ordinary people, the caregivers of young children too understand the importance of appropriate feeding. For this, an interface might be required where ordinary people could participate in assessing the gaps in IYCF as a first step to take subsequent action. In this context an attempt was made to extrapolate a citizen led learning level survey that has been involving around 25000 ordinary citizens to reach out to 600,000 children annually for over a decade in India. Based on this philosophy of involving ordinary people in simple assessments to produce understandable actionable evidence, a rapid diet assessment tool was developed and collected from caregivers of 90 < 3year children from two urban clusters in Ahmedabad and Baroda, Gujarat. Target sample for pilot was selected after cluster census. Around half the mothers reported that they had not yet introduced water or other fluids to their < 6 month babies. However, about a third were already feeding them food other than mother’s milk. Although complementary feeding was initiated in almost all (95%) children more than 6 months old, frequency was suboptimal in 60%; in 80% cases no measure was taken to either improve energy or nutrient density; only 33% were fed protective foods; Green Leafy Vegetables consumption was negligible (1.4%). Anganwadi food was not consumed. By engaging ordinary people to generate evidence and understand the gaps, such assessments have the potential to be used to generate useful evidence for action at scale as well as locally.

Keywords: citizen led, grass root engagement, IYCF (Infant and Young Child Feeding), rapid diet assessment, under nutrition

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Authors: Yi Huang

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Background: For the development of children, it is important for parents to encourage children not only on academic competence but also on children’s social competence. In the western cultural context, parents emphasize more heavily on female children’s social-behavioral development. However, whether the conclusion is correct in eastern culture and whether the parent’s gender affects such an emphasis remains unclear. And, more valuably, from the perspective of intervention, except for the nature factors - child’s gender and parent’s gender, it is also worth to probe whether the improvable factors, such as parent’s perspective taking, influence parent’s emphasis on child’s social competence. Aim: This study was aimed to investigate the impact of parent’s gender, child’s gender, and parent’s perspective-taking on parent’s attitudes of encouragement of the child’s social competence under the Chinese cultural context. Method: 461 Chinese parents whose children were in the first year of middle school during the research time participated in this study. Among all participants, there were 155 fathers and 306 mothers. The research adopted the self-report of perspective-taking, which is the sub-scale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the self-report of the encouragement on a child’s social communication, which is the sub-scale of the Chinese version of The Children Rearing Practice Report. In this study, 291 parents reported regarding male children, and 170 parents reported regarding female children. Results: Contrary to the traditional western theory, which usually suggests parent puts more attention on social development and competence to girl the instead of the boy, in the Chinese context, parent emphasizes social competence more on the male child. Analogically, in China, compared to mother, father underscores the child’s social competence more heavily. By constructing the hierarchical regression model, the result indicated that after controlling the variables of the gender of child and the gender of parent, parent’s perspective-taking still explains for the variance of parent’s encouragement on child’s social competence, which means, parent’s perspective-taking predicts parent’s encouragement on child’s social competence after excluding the impact of the gender of parent and child. Conclusion: For Chinese parents, the ability of perspective-taking is beneficial to enhance their awareness of encouraging children’s social competence.

Keywords: parent; child, gender differences, perspective-taking, social development

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Authors: Coskun Serefoglu

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The study aims to analyse how a traditional sector such as agri-food could be mobilized through regional innovation strategies. A principal component analysis as well as qualitative information, such as in-depth interviews, focus group and surveys, were employed to find the priority sectors. An agri-food model was developed which includes both a linear model and interactive model. The model consists of two main components, one of which is technological integration and the other one is agricultural extension which is based on Land-grant university approach of U.S. which is not a common practice in Turkey.

Keywords: regional innovation strategy, interactive model, agri-food sector, local development, planning, regional development

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Authors: Morteza Rahbar Taramsari, Arya Mahdavi Baramchi, Mercedeh Enshaei, Ghazaleh Keshavarzi Baramchi

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Introduction: Malingering is one of the most challenging issues in the forensic psychology and imposes a heavy financial burden on health care and legal systems. It seems that some mental and personality abnormalities might have a crucial role in developing this condition. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess 100 malingering clients of Gilan province general office of forensic medicine, all filled the related questionnaires. The data about some psychometric characteristics were collected through the 71-items version- short form- of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) questionnaire and the personality traits were assessed by NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) - including 240 items- as a reliable and accurate measure of the five domains of personality. Results: The 100 malingering clients (55 males and 45 females) ranged from 23 to 45 (32+/- 5.6) years old. Regarding marital status, 36% were single, 57% were married and 7% were divorced. Almost two-thirds of the participants (64%) were unemployed, 21% were self-employed and the rest of them were employed. The data of MMPI clinical scales revealed that the mean (SD) T score of Hypochondrias (Hs) was 67(9.2), Depression (D) was 87(7.9), Hysteria (Hy) was 74(5.8), Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) was 62(8.5), Masculinity-Feminity (MF) was 76(8.4), Paranoia (Pa) was 62(4.5), Psychasthenia (Pt) was 80(7.9), Schizophrenia (Sc) was 69(6.8), Hypomania (Ma) was 64(5.9)and Social Introversion (Si) was 58(4.3). NEO PI-R test showed five domains of personality. The mean (SD) T score of Neuroticism was 65(9.2), Extraversion was 51(7.9), Openness was 43(5.8), Agreeableness was 35(3.4) and Conscientiousness was 42(4.9). Conclusion: According to MMPI test in our malingering clients, Hypochondriasis (Hs), depression (D), Hysteria (Hy), Muscularity-Feminity (MF), Psychasthenia (Pt) and Schizophrenia (Sc) had high scores (T >= 65) which means pathological range and psychological significance. Based on NEO PI-R test Neuroticism was in high range, on the other hand, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were in low range. Extroversion was in average range. So it seems that malingerers require basic evaluations of different psychological fields. Additional research in this area is needed to provide stronger evidence of the possible positive effects of the mentioned factors on malingering.

Keywords: malingerers, mental profile, MMPI, NEO PI-R, personality profile

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Authors: Eveline Muika Kabongo, Peter Delobelle, Ferdinand Mukumbang, Edward Nicol

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Introduction: Studies have been conducted to establish the effect of the MomConnect program in South Africa, but these studies did not focus on the stakeholders' and implementers' perspectives and the underlying program theory of the MomConnect initiative program. We strived to obtain stakeholders’ perspectives and assumptions on the MomConnect program and develop an initial program theory (IPT) of how the MomConnect initiative was expected to work. Methods: A realist-informed explanatory design used. The interviewer was performed with 10 key informants selected purposively among MomConnect key informants at the a national level of NDoH South Africa. The interview was done via zoom and lasted for 30 to 60 minutes. Introduction and abduction inferencing approaches were applied. The deductive and inductive approaches were performed during the analysis. ICAMO hereustic framework was used to analysed the data in order to get key informants expectations on how the MomConnect will work or not. Results: We developed three folk’s theories illustrating how the key informants’ expected the MomConnect to work. These theories showed that the MomConnect intended to provide users with health information and education that will empower and motivate them with knowledge which will allow the improvement of health services delivery among HCPs and improvement of the uptake of MCH services among pregnant women and mothers and decrease the rate of maternal and child mortality in the country. The lack of an updated mechanism to link women to the outcome was an issue. Another problem enlightened was the introduction of the WhatsApp program instead of SMS messaging, which was free of charge to women. Conclusion: The Folk’s theory developed from this study provided an insight into how the MomConnect was expected to work and what did not work. The folk’s theory will be merged with information from candidate theories on synthesis review and document review to develop our initial program theory of the MomConnect initiative.

Keywords: mHealth, MomConnect program, realist evaluation, maternal and child health, maternal and child health services, introduction, theory-driven

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Authors: Allen A. Espinosa, Arlyne C. Marasigan, Janir T. Datukan

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The study explored how students visualize the states and classifications of matter using scientific models. It also identified misconceptions of students in using scientific models. In general, high percentage of students was able to use scientific models correctly and only a little misconception was identified. From the result of the study, a teaching framework was formulated wherein scientific models should be employed in classroom instruction to visualize abstract concepts in chemistry and for better conceptual understanding.

Keywords: visual conception, scientific models, mental models, states of matter, classification of matter

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Authors: Asowata Osamede

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Optimized gain in respect to output power of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems is one of the major focus of PV in recent times. This is evident to its low carbon emission and efficiency. Power failure or outage from commercial providers in general does not promote development to the public and private sector, these basically limit the development of industries. The need for a well-structured PV system is of importance for an efficient and cost-effective monitoring system. The purpose of this paper is to validate the maximum power point of an off-grid PV system taking into consideration the most effective tilt and orientation angles for PV's in the southern hemisphere. This paper is based on analyzing the system using a solar charger with MPPT from a pulse width modulation (PWM) perspective. The power conditioning device chosen is a solar charger with MPPT. The practical setup consists of a PV panel that is set to an orientation angle of 0o north, with a corresponding tilt angle of 36 o, 26o and 16o. The load employed in this set-up are three Lead Acid Batteries (LAB). The percentage fully charged, charging and not charging conditions are observed for all three batteries. The results obtained in this research is used to draw the conclusion that would provide a benchmark for researchers and scientist worldwide. This is done so as to have an idea of the best tilt and orientation angles for maximum power point in a basic off-grid PV system. A quantitative analysis would be employed in this research. Quantitative research tends to focus on measurement and proof. Inferential statistics are frequently used to generalize what is found about the study sample to the population as a whole. This would involve: selecting and defining the research question, deciding on a study type, deciding on the data collection tools, selecting the sample and its size, analyzing, interpreting and validating findings Preliminary results which include regression analysis (normal probability plot and residual plot using polynomial 6) showed the maximum power point in the system. The best tilt angle for maximum power point tracking proves that the 36o tilt angle provided the best average on time which in turns put the system into a pulse width modulation stage.

Keywords: power-conversion, meteonorm, PV panels, DC-DC converters

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Authors: A. Gagat-Matuła

Abstract:

There is a definite lack – in Poland, as well as around the world – of empirical studies of families raising handicapped child, in which one parent migrates. In diagnostics of the functioning of such families emphasis should be placed not only on the difficulties, but most of all it should be indicated what possibilities are there for the family and how it overcomes the difficulties. Migration of a parent on the one hand is a chance to improve the family’s material situation. In certain circumstances this may only be an “escape” into work from the issues associated with the upbringing and rehabilitation of a handicapped child. The aim of the study was to learn the functioning of a temporarily single parent family system as a result of migration of a parent from the perspective of adolescents with cerebral palsy. The study was conducted in the year 2013 in the area of Eastern Poland. It involved an analysis of 70 persons (with cerebral palsy in an intellectual capacity) from families in which at least one of the parents migrates. The study incorporated the diagnostic survey method. These tools were used: Family Evaluation Scales (SOR) adapted for Poland by Andrzej Margasiński. The explorations in this study indicate, that 47% of studied temporarily single parent families are balanced models. This is evidence of the resources at the disposal of the family which, despite the disability of the child and temporary separation, is able to function properly. The conducted studies show, that 37% of temporarily single parent families are imbalanced models in the perception of adolescents with cerebral palsy. These families experience functional difficulties and require psychological and pedagogical support. There is a need for building skills related to effective coping with family stress. Especially considering, that families of an imbalanced type do not use the internal and external resources of the family system. Such a situation may deepen the disarrangement of family life. In intermediate families (16%) there are also temporary difficulties in functioning. Separation anxiety experienced by mothers may disrupt relations and introduce additional stress factors. For that reason it is important to provide support for women with difficulties coping with the emotions associated with raising handicapped adolescents and migratory separation.

Keywords: child with cerebral palsy, family, migration, parents

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Authors: E. Kaygan, A. Gatto

Abstract:

An investigation of adaptable winglets for morphing aircraft control and performance is described in this paper. The concepts investigated consist of various winglet configurations fundamentally centred on a baseline swept wing. The impetus for the work was to identify and optimize winglets to enhance controllability and the aerodynamic efficiency of a small unmanned aerial vehicle. All computations were performed with Athena Vortex Lattice modelling with varying degrees of twist, swept, and dihedral angle considered. The results from this work indicate that if adaptable winglets were employed on small scale UAV’s improvements in both aircraft control and performance could be achieved.

Keywords: aircraft, rolling, wing, winglet

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Authors: Beatrice Adeoye

Abstract:

Background: One of the health challenges developing countries face is air pollution from indoor and outdoor activities. Smoke as a result of cooking, burning wastes and power generators litter the air space on a continual basis due to poverty and governance challenges. The short and long term implications of these actions are enormous and studies have attributed smoke as one of the leading preventable risk factors contributing to global burden of respiratory infections. Design/Methods: The issue at hand therefore includes an exploration of the existing policy frameworks regarding smoke, adherence to international conventions and practices, and more importantly the activities of the government in addressing these issues. Aside this, an understanding of the implications of smoke on peoples’ health and well-being also become crucial. Consequently, this article seeks to interrogate the effect of smoke on the health and well-being of Nigerians and the activities of the policy makers in addressing these challenges. Results (Main Argument): This study reviewed both primary and secondary data on poverty, smoke emission and attendant health risks coupled with existing policies on smoke and air pollution in the country. For instance, over 69% of Nigerians are poor, ranking third in the world; 2.9 billion people live in homes using wood, coal or dung as their primary cooking fuel; equally, 50.6% of Nigerians has no access to regular electricity supply. Further, sustainable policy regarding smoke emission is lacking in the country. This work further submitted that continued low standard of living as a result of governance challenges coupled with a lack of sustainable policy have aggravated the health risks related to smoke in the country. Conclusions: The implication on the health of the children, mothers and vulnerable groups for the future of the country is enormous and may continue if not addressed. Urgent attention therefore needs to be focused on this area considering what this portends for the nation now and in the future.

Keywords: air pollution, indoor, outdoor, respiratory infections

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Authors: H. S. Kang

Abstract:

Coupled electrical and optical model for conversion of electrical energy into coherent optical energy for transmitter-receiver link by solid state device is presented. Probability distribution for travelling laser beam switching time intervals and the number of switchings in the time interval is obtained. Selector function mapping is employed to regulate optical data transmission speed. It is established that regulated laser transmission from PhotoActive Laser transmitter follows principal of invariance. This considerably simplifies design of PhotoActive Laser Transmission networks.

Keywords: computational mathematics, finite difference Markov chain methods, sequence spaces, singularly perturbed differential equations

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Authors: Nadeem A. Kizilbash

Abstract:

The study aimed to compare the histopathological characterization of prostate cancer using the conventional and 2005 ISUP modified Gleason system. It employed samples from 40 prostate cancer patients employing resection, biopsies and RP. The majority of cases (95%) comprised adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The results showed that there is migration or upgrading of scores to higher values on using the 2005 ISUP modified Gleason system and an increase in a score of 7 in more than 45% of the cases.

Keywords: prostate cancer, conventional gleason grading, 2005 ISUP modified gleason system, histopathology

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Authors: Ahmet Yonetken, Ayhan Erol

Abstract:

Aluminum matrix composites containing 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15% BN has been fabricated by conventional microwave sintering at 550°C temperature. Compounds formation between Al and BN powders is observed after sintering under Ar shroud. XRD, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), mechanical testing and measurements were employed to characterize the properties of Al + BN composite. Experimental results suggest that the best properties as hardness 42,62 HV were obtained for Al+12% BN composite. In this study, the powder metallurgy method was used. It is aimed to produce a light composite with Al matrix BN powders. It has been increased in strength and hardness besides its lightness. Ceramic powders are added to improve mechanical properties.

Keywords: ceramic-metal composites, proporties, powder metallurgy, sintering

Procedia PDF Downloads 193