Search results for: asset-building theoretical framework

Authors: Atsuko Okazaki, Jurg Ott

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Some genetic diseases (‘digenic traits’) are due to the interaction between two DNA variants. For example, certain forms of Retinitis Pigmentosa (a genetic form of blindness) occur in the presence of two mutant variants, one in the ROM1 gene and one in the RDS gene, while the occurrence of only one of these mutant variants leads to a completely normal phenotype. Detecting such digenic traits by genetic methods is difficult. A common approach to finding disease-causing variants is to compare 100,000s of variants between individuals with a trait (cases) and those without the trait (controls). Such genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been very successful but hinge on genetic effects of single variants, that is, there should be a difference in allele or genotype frequencies between cases and controls at a disease-causing variant. Frequent pattern mining (FPM) methods offer an avenue at detecting digenic traits even in the absence of single-variant effects. The idea is to enumerate pairs of genotypes (genotype patterns) with each of the two genotypes originating from different variants that may be located at very different genomic positions. What is needed is for genotype patterns to be significantly more common in cases than in controls. Let Y = 2 refer to cases and Y = 1 to controls, with X denoting a specific genotype pattern. We are seeking association rules, ‘X → Y’, with high confidence, P(Y = 2|X), significantly higher than the proportion of cases, P(Y = 2) in the study. Clearly, generally available FPM methods are very suitable for detecting disease-associated genotype patterns. We use fpgrowth as the basic FPM algorithm and built a framework around it to enumerate high-frequency digenic genotype patterns and to evaluate their statistical significance by permutation analysis. Application to a published dataset on opioid dependence furnished results that could not be found with classical GWAS methodology. There were 143 cases and 153 healthy controls, each genotyped for 82 variants in eight genes of the opioid system. The aim was to find out whether any of these variants were disease-associated. The single-variant analysis did not lead to significant results. Application of our FPM implementation resulted in one significant (p < 0.01) genotype pattern with both genotypes in the pattern being heterozygous and originating from two variants on different chromosomes. This pattern occurred in 14 cases and none of the controls. Thus, the pattern seems quite specific to this form of substance abuse and is also rather predictive of disease. An algorithm called Multifactor Dimension Reduction (MDR) was developed some 20 years ago and has been in use in human genetics ever since. This and our algorithms share some similar properties, but they are also very different in other respects. The main difference seems to be that our algorithm focuses on patterns of genotypes while the main object of inference in MDR is the 3 × 3 table of genotypes at two variants.

Keywords: digenic traits, DNA variants, epistasis, statistical genetics

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Authors: Kaddour Fellague Mohammed

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The world has seen in recent years, significant developments affected various aspects of life and influenced the different types of institutions, thus was born a new world is a world of globalization, which dominated the scientific revolution and the tremendous technological developments, and that contributed to the re-formation of human resources in contemporary organizations, and made patterns new regulatory and at the same time raised and strongly values and new ideas, the organizations have become more flexible, and faster response to consumer and environmental conditions, and exceeded the problem of time and place in the framework of communication and human interaction and use of advanced information technology and adoption mainly mechanism in running its operations , focused on performance and based strategic thinking and approach in order to achieve its strategic goals high degrees of superiority and excellence, this new reality created an increasing need for a new type of human resources, quality aims to renew and aspire to be a strategic player in managing the organization and drafting of various strategies, think globally and act locally, to accommodate local variables in the international markets, which began organizations tend to strongly as well as the ability to work under different cultures. Human resources management of the most important management functions to focus on the human element, which is considered the most valuable resource of the Department and the most influential in productivity at all, that the management and development of human resources Tattabra a cornerstone in the majority of organizations which aims to strengthen the organizational capacity, and enable companies to attract and rehabilitation of the necessary competencies and are able to keep up with current and future challenges, human resources can contribute to and strongly in achieving the objectives and profit organization, and even expand more than contribute to the creation of new jobs to alleviate unemployment and achieve full operation, administration and human resources mean short optimal use of the human element is available and expected, where he was the efficiency and capabilities, and experience of this human element, and his enthusiasm for the work stop the efficiency and success in reaching their goals, so interested administration scientists developed the principles and foundations that help to make the most of each individual benefit in the organization through human resources management, these foundations start of the planning and selection, training and incentives and evaluation, which is not separate from each other, but are integrated with each other as a system systemic order to reach the efficient functioning of the human resources management and has been the organization as a whole in the context of development sustainable.

Keywords: configuration, training, development, human resources, operating

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Authors: Aisha Zubair, Anila Kamal

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Leadership styles and practices greatly influence the organizational effectiveness and productivity. It also plays an important role in employees’ experiences of positive emotions at workplace and creative work behaviors. Authentic leadership as a newly emerging concept has been found as a significant predictor of various desirable work related outcomes. However, leadership practices and its work related outcomes, to a great extent, are determined by the very nature of the organizational structures (tall and flat). Tall organizations are characterized by multiple hierarchical layers with predominant vertical communication patterns, and narrow span of control; while flat organizations are featured by few layers of management employing both horizontal and vertical communication styles, and wide span of control. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine the work related outcomes of perceived authentic leadership; that is work related flow and creative work behavior among employees of flat and tall organizations. Moreover, it was also intended to determine the moderating role of organizational structure (flat and tall) in the relationship between perceived authentic leadership with work related flow and creative work behavior. In this regard, two types of companies have been considered; that is, banks as a form of tall organizational structure with multiple hierarchical structures while software companies have been considered as flat organizations with minimal layers of management. Respondents (N = 1180) were full time regular employees of marketing departments of banks (600) and software companies (580) including both men and women with age range of 22-52 years (M = 33.24; SD = 7.81). Confirmatory Factor Analysis yielded factor structures of measures of work related flow and creative work behavior in accordance to the theoretical models. However, model of authentic leadership exhibited variation in terms of two items which were not included in the final measure of the perceived authentic leadership. Results showed that perceived authentic leadership was positively associated with work related flow and creative work behavior. Likewise, work related flow was positively aligned with creative work behavior. Furthermore, type of organizational structure significantly moderated the relationship of perceived authentic leadership with work related flow and creative work behavior. Results of independent sample t-test showed that employees working in flat organization reflected better perceptions of authentic leadership; higher work related flow and elevated levels of creative work behavior as compared to those working in tall organizations. It was also found that employees with extended job experience and more job duration in the same organization displayed better perceptions of authentic leadership, reported more work related flow and augmented levels of creative work behavior. Findings of the present study distinctively highlighted the similarities as well as differences in the interactions of major constructs which function differentially in the context of tall (banks) and flat (software companies) organizations. Implications of the present study for employees and management as well as future recommendations were also discussed.

Keywords: creative work behavior, organizational structure, perceived authentic leadership, work related flow

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Authors: Thomas Rockstuhl, Soon Ang, Kok Yee Ng, Linn Van Dyne

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Intercultural interactions are often challenging and fraught with conflicts. To shed light on how to interact effectively across cultures, academics and practitioners alike have advanced a plethora of intercultural competence models. However, the majority of this work has emphasized distal outcomes, such as job performance and cultural adjustment, rather than proximal outcomes, such as how individuals resolve inevitable intercultural conflicts. As a consequence, the processes by which individuals negotiate challenging intercultural conflicts are not well understood. The current study advances theorizing on intercultural conflict resolution by exploring antecedents of how people resolve intercultural conflicts. To this end, we examine creativity – the generation of novel and useful ideas – in the context of resolving cultural conflicts in intercultural interactions. Based on the dual-identity theory of creativity, we propose that individuals with greater international experience will display greater creativity and that the relationship is accentuated by individual’s cultural intelligence. Two studies test these hypotheses. The first study comprises 84 senior university students, drawn from an international organizational behavior course. The second study replicates findings from the first study in a sample of 89 executives from eleven countries. Participants in both studies provided protocols of their strategies for resolving two intercultural conflicts, as depicted in two multimedia-vignettes of challenging intercultural work-related interactions. Two research assistants, trained in intercultural management but blind to the study hypotheses, coded all strategies for their novelty and usefulness following scoring procedures for creativity tasks. Participants also completed online surveys of demographic background information, including their international experience, and cultural intelligence. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that surprisingly, while international experience is positively associated with usefulness, it is unrelated to novelty. Further, a person’s cultural intelligence strengthens the positive effect of international experience on usefulness and mitigates the effect of international experience on novelty. Theoretically, our findings offer an important theoretical extension to the dual-identity theory of creativity by identifying cultural intelligence as an important individual difference moderator that qualifies the relationship between international experience and creative conflict resolution. In terms of novelty, individuals higher in cultural intelligence seem less susceptible to rigidity effects of international experiences. Perhaps they are more capable of assessing which aspects of culture are relevant and apply relevant experiences when they brainstorm novel ideas. For utility, individuals high in cultural intelligence are better able to leverage on their international experience to assess the viability of their ideas because their richer and more organized cultural knowledge structure allows them to assess possible options more efficiently and accurately. In sum, our findings suggest that cultural intelligence is an important and promising intercultural competence that fosters creative resolutions to intercultural conflicts. We hope that our findings stimulate future research on creativity and conflict resolution in intercultural contexts.

Keywords: cultural Intelligence, intercultural conflict, intercultural creativity, international experience

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Authors: Evgeniya V. Gavrilova, Sofya S. Belova

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The present study was aimed at clarifying the relationship between general intellectual abilities and efficiency in free recall and rhymed words generation task after incidental exposure to linguistic stimuli. The theoretical frameworks stress that general intellectual abilities are based on intentional mental strategies. In this context, it seems to be crucial to examine the efficiency of incidentally presented information processing in cognitive task and its relation to general intellectual abilities. The sample consisted of 32 Russian students. Participants were exposed to pairs of words. Each pair consisted of two common nouns or two city names. Participants had to decide whether a city name was presented in each pair. Thus words’ semantics was processed intentionally. The city names were considered to be focal stimuli, whereas common nouns were considered to be peripheral stimuli. Along with that each pair of words could be rhymed or not be rhymed, but this phonemic aspect of stimuli’s characteristic (rhymed and non-rhymed words) was processed incidentally. Then participants were asked to produce as many rhymes as they could to new words. The stimuli presented earlier could be used as well. After that, participants had to retrieve all words presented earlier. In the end, verbal and non-verbal abilities were measured with number of special psychometric tests. As for free recall task intentionally processed focal stimuli had an advantage in recall compared to peripheral stimuli. In addition all the rhymed stimuli were recalled more effectively than non-rhymed ones. The inverse effect was found in words generation task where participants tended to use mainly peripheral stimuli compared to focal ones. Furthermore peripheral rhymed stimuli were most popular target category of stimuli that was used in this task. Thus the information that was processed incidentally had a supplemental influence on efficiency of stimuli processing as well in free recall as in word generation task. Different patterns of correlations between intellectual abilities and efficiency in different stimuli processing in both tasks were revealed. Non-verbal reasoning ability correlated positively with free recall of peripheral rhymed stimuli, but it was not related to performance on rhymed words’ generation task. Verbal reasoning ability correlated positively with free recall of focal stimuli. As for rhymed words generation task, verbal intelligence correlated negatively with generation of focal stimuli and correlated positively with generation of all peripheral stimuli. The present findings lead to two key conclusions. First, incidentally processed stimuli had an advantage in free recall and word generation task. Thus incidental information processing appeared to be crucial for subsequent cognitive performance. Secondly, it was demonstrated that incidentally processed stimuli were recalled more frequently by participants with high nonverbal reasoning ability and were more effectively used by participants with high verbal reasoning ability in subsequent cognitive tasks. That implies that general intellectual abilities could benefit from operating by different levels of information processing while cognitive problem solving. This research was supported by the “Grant of President of RF for young PhD scientists” (contract № is 14.Z56.17.2980- MK) and the Grant № 15-36-01348a2 of Russian Foundation for Humanities.

Keywords: focal and peripheral stimuli, general intellectual abilities, incidental information processing

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Authors: Elisa Boatti, Ulisse Stefanelli, Alessandro Reali, Ferdinando Auricchio

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Thanks to their unusual properties, shape memory alloys (SMAs) are good candidates for advanced applications in a wide range of engineering fields, such as automotive, robotics, civil, biomedical, aerospace. In the last decades, the ever-growing interest for such materials has boosted several research studies aimed at modeling their complex nonlinear behavior in an effective and robust way. Since the constitutive response of SMAs is strongly thermomechanically coupled, the investigation of the non-isothermal evolution of the material must be taken into consideration. The present study considers an existing three-dimensional phenomenological model for SMAs, able to reproduce the main SMA properties while maintaining a simple user-friendly structure, and proposes a variational reformulation of the full non-isothermal version of the model. While the considered model has been thoroughly assessed in an isothermal setting, the proposed formulation allows to take into account the full nonisothermal problem. In particular, the reformulation is inspired to the GENERIC (General Equations for Non-Equilibrium Reversible-Irreversible Coupling) formalism, and is based on a generalized gradient flow of the total entropy, related to thermal and mechanical variables. Such phrasing of the model is new and allows for a discussion of the model from both a theoretical and a numerical point of view. Moreover, it directly implies the dissipativity of the flow. A semi-implicit time-discrete scheme is also presented for the fully coupled thermomechanical system, and is proven unconditionally stable and convergent. The correspondent algorithm is then implemented, under a space-homogeneous temperature field assumption, and tested under different conditions. The core of the algorithm is composed of a mechanical subproblem and a thermal subproblem. The iterative scheme is solved by a generalized Newton method. Numerous uniaxial and biaxial tests are reported to assess the performance of the model and algorithm, including variable imposed strain, strain rate, heat exchange properties, and external temperature. In particular, the heat exchange with the environment is the only source of rate-dependency in the model. The reported curves clearly display the interdependence between phase transformation strain and material temperature. The full thermomechanical coupling allows to reproduce the exothermic and endothermic effects during respectively forward and backward phase transformation. The numerical tests have thus demonstrated that the model can appropriately reproduce the coupled SMA behavior in different loading conditions and rates. Moreover, the algorithm has proved effective and robust. Further developments are being considered, such as the extension of the formulation to the finite-strain setting and the study of the boundary value problem.

Keywords: generalized gradient flow, GENERIC formalism, shape memory alloys, thermomechanical coupling

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Authors: Kamal Kithsiri Karunadasa Hewawasam Revulge

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This paper is an interpretative historical analysis of Australian migration laws that examines asylum and refugee policies and attitudes in Australia. It looks at major turning points in Australian migration history, and in doing so, the researcher reviewed relevant literature on the aspects crucial to highlighting the current trend of Australian migration policies. The data was collected using secondary data from official government sources, including annual reports, media releases on immigration, inquiry reports, statistical information, and other available literature to identify critical historical events that significantly affected the systematic developments of asylum seekers and refugee policies in Australia and to look at the historical trends of official thinking. A reliance on using these official sources is justified as those are the most convincing sources to analyse the historical events in Australia. Additional literature provides us with critical analyses of the behaviour and culture of the Australian immigration administration. The analytical framework reviewed key Australian Government immigration policies since British colonization and the settlement era of 1787–the 1850s and to the present. The fundamental basis for doing so is that past events and incidents offer us clues and lessons relevant to the present day. Therefore, providing a perspective on migration history in Australia helps analyse how current policymakers' strategies developed and changed over time. Attention is also explicitly focused on Australian asylum and refugee policy internationally, as it helped to broaden the analysis. The finding proved a link between past events and adverse current Australian government policies towards asylum seekers and refugees. It highlighted that Australia's current migration policies are part of a carefully and deliberately planned pattern that arose from the occupation of Australia by early British settlers. In this context, the remarkable point is that the historical events of taking away children from their Australian indigenous parents, widely known as the 'stolen generation' reflected a model of assimilation, or a desire to absorb other cultures into Australian society by fully adopting the settlers' language, their culture, and losing indigenous people's traditions. Current Australian policies towards migrants reflect the same attitude. Hence, it could be argued that policies and attitudes towards asylum seekers and refugees, particularly so-called 'boat people' to some extent, still reflect Australia's earlier colonial and 'white Australia' history.

Keywords: migration law, refugee law, international law, administrative law

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Authors: Lacheheb Dhia Eddine Zakaria, Ballout Amor

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Today, it is necessary to be thrifty for its planet, on one hand the space being a rare, nonrenewable resource, and on the other hand the ecological, economic and social cost of the urban sprawl. It is commonly asserted that the promotion of a more compact and dense city has a positive effect in terms of public costs of investment, functioning and costs for the citizens and the users of the city. It is clear that the modes urban development management have to evolve profoundly, in particular towards a densification favourable to the raising of the urban quality through an ideal urban density on the scale of the individual housing estate. The lot as an individual housing estate was adopted as an alternative development model to the collective housing, thought in an anthropocentric perspective to emerge as a quality model where the density plays an important role, by being included in operations of a global coherence, in an optimal organization without forgetting the main importance of the deadlines of construction and the finalization of the works. The image of eternal construction site inflicted to our cities explains the renewed interest for the application of the regulatory framework and the completion of these limited operations without global coherence, which are summed up in our case to a ground cut in plots of land, sold then built independently without being finished, and support the relevance of the essential question of the improvement of the outside aspect bound to the appearance which can be revealed as a so important factor for a better use and a better acceptance of its housing environment, that the ratio of a number of houses on a plot of land or the number of square meters by house. To demonstrate the impact of the completion degree of the subdivision dwellings, roads system and urban public utilities on the density or the densification and therefore on the urban quality, we studied two residential subdivisions, the private subdivision Sellam and the subdivision El Imane with a common situation, and a different land surface, density and cutting, being occupied by various social classes, with different needs and different household average size. The approach of this work is based on the typo morphological analysis to reveal the differences in the degrees of completions of the subdivision’s built environment and on the investigation, by a household’s survey, to demonstrate importance of the degree of completion and to reveal the conditions of qualitative densification favourable and convenient to a better subdivision’s appropriation.

Keywords: subdivision, degree of completion, densification, urban quality

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Authors: Sau Kam Adeline Chan

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World Health Organization had listed ‘Communication during Patient Care Handovers’ as one of its highest 5 patient safety initiatives. Clinical handover means transfer of accountability and responsibility of clinical information from one health professional to another. The main goal of clinical handover is to convey patient’s current condition and treatment plan accurately. Ineffective communication at point of care is globally regarded as the main cause of the sentinel event. Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation (SBAR), a communication tool, is extensively regarded as an effective communication tool in healthcare setting. Nonetheless, just by scenario-based program in nursing school or attending workshops on SBAR would not be enough for freshly graduated nurses to apply it competently in a complex clinical practice. To what extend and in-depth of information should be conveyed during handover process is not easy to learn. As such, on-site coaching is essential to upgrade their expertise on the usage of SBAR and ultimately to avoid any clinical error. On-site coaching for all freshly graduated nurses on the usage of SBAR in clinical handover was commenced in August 2014. During the preceptorship period, freshly graduated nurses were coached by the preceptor. After that, they were gradually assigned to take care of a group of patients independently. Nurse leaders would join in their shift handover process at patient’s bedside. Feedback and support were given to them accordingly. Discrepancies on their clinical handover process were shared with them and documented for further improvement work. Owing to the constraint of manpower in nurse leader, about coaching for 30 times were provided to a nurse in a year. Staff satisfaction survey was conducted to gauge their feelings about the coaching and look into areas for further improvement. Number of clinical error avoided was documented as well. The nurses reported that there was a significant improvement particularly in their confidence and knowledge in clinical handover process. In addition, the sense of empowerment was developed when liaising with senior and experienced nurses. Their proficiency in applying SBAR was enhanced and they become more alert to the critical criteria of an effective clinical handover. Most importantly, accuracy of transferring patient’s condition was improved and repetition of information was avoided. Clinical errors were prevented and quality patient care was ensured. Using SBAR as a communication tool looks simple. The tool only provides a framework to guide the handover process. Nevertheless, without on-site training, loophole on clinical handover still exists, patient’s safety will be affected and clinical error still happens.

Keywords: freshly graduated nurse, competency of clinical handover, quality, clinical error

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Authors: Taba Tath

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Arunachal Pradesh, located in the easternmost part of India, is known for its natural beauty and diverse tribal lifestyles. The state has the highest species richness and biological diversity among Northeast states in terms of flora, fauna, and tribal traditions and culture. The protection of nature and culture is a practice that is widely used by governments or nongovernmental organizations seeking to preserve the scenic beauty of landscapes and their natural resources in spaces that stand out for their natural and cultural value and have not been heavily impacted by human activity. The whole of Arunachal Pradesh comes under the purview of special permits such as the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) for domestic and foreign travellers, respectively. Due to politically vibrant areas and naturally fragile in nature, the state needs to be protected, but at the same time, the demand for tourism activities is increasing gradually due to its unique blend of nature and socio-cultural richness. There are 13 protected areas in the state which is unexplored, and there are no tourism activities in these protected areas except for Namdapha National Park. Out of 13 protected areas, the Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the well-managed protected areas located near the Assam-Arunachal border, approximately 40km away from Tezpur town, Assam. The state has great potential for wildlife and nature-based tourism development, which can also indirectly support wildlife and nature-based livelihood options for the local inhabitants living in the peripheral of the sanctuary area due to its high richness in terms of flora and fauna. To promote the richness of the state, boost tourism, and the economic, social and environmental development of the area and local communities, a proper tourism management practice and framework are very much required. The research paper has made an attempt to study the role of stakeholders in preserving and promoting the Protected Areas for tourism development in a sustainable way. This is both a primary and secondary study conducted with field visits, interaction, questionnaire and observation with the various stakeholders and also conducted with the Government reports, magazines and other published sources available. Furthermore, this study will be relevant to all stakeholders for having knowledge and processes for promoting tourism in Protected Areas in a sustainable way. The results will provide relevant information and process for the management and promotion of the protected Areas and to strengthen the sustainable tourism activities in these areas.

Keywords: protected area, inner line permit, protected area permit, management, government, nongovernmental organization, stakeholders, sustainable, natural resources

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Authors: Ayat-Allah Bouramdane

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Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) do not burn fossil fuels and, therefore, could meet the world's needs for low-carbon power generation as they do not release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as they generate electricity. The power output of the solar PV module and CSP collector is proportional to the temperature and the amount of solar radiation received by their surface. Hence, the determination of the most convenient locations of PV and CSP systems is crucial to maximizing their output power. This study aims to provide a hands-on and plausible approach to the multi-criteria evaluation of site suitability of PV and CSP plants using a combination of Geographic Referenced Information (GRI) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Applying the GRI-based AHP approach is meant to specify the criteria and sub-criteria, to identify the unsuitable areas, the low-, moderate-, high- and very high suitable areas for each layer of GRI, to perform the pairwise comparison matrix at each level of the hierarchy structure based on experts' knowledge, and calculate the weights using AHP to create the final map of solar PV and CSP plants suitability in Morocco with a particular focus on the Dakhla city. The results recognize that solar irradiation is the main decision factor for the integration of these technologies on energy policy goals of Morocco but explicitly account for other factors that cannot only limit the potential of certain locations but can even exclude the Dakhla city classified as unsuitable area. We discuss the sensitivity of the PV and CSP site suitability to different aspects, such as the methodology, the climate conditions, and the technology used in each source, and provide the final recommendations to the Moroccan energy strategy by analyzing if actual Morocco's PV and CSP installations are located within areas deemed suitable and by discussing several cases to provide mutual benefits across the Food-Energy-Water nexus. The adapted methodology and conducted suitability map could be used by researchers or engineers to provide helpful information for decision-makers in terms of sites selection, design, and planning of future solar plants, especially in areas suffering from energy shortages, such as the Dakhla city, which is now one of Africa's most promising investment hubs and it is especially attractive to investors looking to root their operations in Africa and import to European markets.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, concentrated solar power, dakhla, geographic referenced information, Morocco, multi-criteria decision-making, photovoltaic, site suitability

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Authors: L. Raczynski, P. Moskal, P. Kowalski, W. Wislicki, T. Bednarski, P. Bialas, E. Czerwinski, A. Gajos, L. Kaplon, A. Kochanowski, G. Korcyl, J. Kowal, T. Kozik, W. Krzemien, E. Kubicz, Sz. Niedzwiecki, M. Palka, Z. Rudy, O. Rundel, P. Salabura, N.G. Sharma, M. Silarski, A. Slomski, J. Smyrski, A. Strzelecki, A. Wieczorek, M. Zielinski, N. Zon

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The J-PET scanner, which allows for single bed imaging of the whole human body, is currently under development at the Jagiellonian University. The J-PET detector improves the TOF resolution due to the use of fast plastic scintillators. Since registration of the waveform of signals with duration times of few nanoseconds is not feasible, a novel front-end electronics allowing for sampling in a voltage domain at four thresholds was developed. To take fully advantage of these fast signals a novel scheme of recovery of the waveform of the signal, based on ideas from the Tikhonov regularization (TR) and Compressive Sensing methods, is presented. The prior distribution of sparse representation is evaluated based on the linear transformation of the training set of waveform of the signals by using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) decomposition. Beside the advantage of including the additional information from training signals, a further benefit of the TR approach is that the problem of signal recovery has an optimal solution which can be determined explicitly. Moreover, from the Bayes theory the properties of regularized solution, especially its covariance matrix, may be easily derived. This step is crucial to introduce and prove the formula for calculations of the signal recovery error. It has been proven that an average recovery error is approximately inversely proportional to the number of samples at voltage levels. The method is tested using signals registered by means of the single detection module of the J-PET detector built out from the 30 cm long BC-420 plastic scintillator strip. It is demonstrated that the experimental and theoretical functions describing the recovery errors in the J-PET scenario are largely consistent. The specificity and limitations of the signal recovery method in this application are discussed. It is shown that the PCA basis offers high level of information compression and an accurate recovery with just eight samples, from four voltage levels, for each signal waveform. Moreover, it is demonstrated that using the recovered waveform of the signals, instead of samples at four voltage levels alone, improves the spatial resolution of the hit position reconstruction. The experiment shows that spatial resolution evaluated based on information from four voltage levels, without a recovery of the waveform of the signal, is equal to 1.05 cm. After the application of an information from four voltage levels to the recovery of the signal waveform, the spatial resolution is improved to 0.94 cm. Moreover, the obtained result is only slightly worse than the one evaluated using the original raw-signal. The spatial resolution calculated under these conditions is equal to 0.93 cm. It is very important information since, limiting the number of threshold levels in the electronic devices to four, leads to significant reduction of the overall cost of the scanner. The developed recovery scheme is general and may be incorporated in any other investigation where a prior knowledge about the signals of interest may be utilized.

Keywords: plastic scintillators, positron emission tomography, statistical analysis, tikhonov regularization

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Authors: Vladimir Messerle, Alexandr Ustimenko, Oleg Lavrichshev

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To enhance the efficiency of solid fuels’ use, to decrease the fuel oil rate in the thermal power plants fuel balance and to minimize harmful emissions, a plasma technology of coal ignition, gasification and incineration is successfully applied. This technology is plasma thermochemical preparation of fuel for burning (PTCPF). In the framework of this concept, some portion of pulverized solid fuel (PF) is separated from the main PF flow and undergone the activation by arc plasma in a specific chamber with plasma torch – PFS. The air plasma flame is a source of heat and additional oxidation, it provides a high-temperature medium enriched with radicals, where the fuel mixture is heated, volatile components of coal are extracted, and carbon is partially gasified. This active blended fuel can ignite the main PF flow supplied into the furnace. This technology provides the boiler start-up and stabilization of PF flame and eliminates the necessity for addition of highly reactive fuel. In the report, a model of PTCPF, implemented as a program PlasmaKinTherm for the PFS calculation is described. The model combines thermodynamic and kinetic methods for describing the process of PTCPF in PFS. The numerical investigation of operational parameters of PFS depending on the electric power of the plasma generator and steam coal ash content revealed the temperature and velocity of gas and coal particles, and concentrations of PTCPF products dependences on the PFS length. Main mechanisms of PTCPF were disclosed. It was found that in the range of electric power of plasma generator from 40 to 100 kW high ash bituminous coal, having consumption 1667 kg/h is ignited stably. High level of temperature (1740 K) and concentration of combustible components (44%) at the PFS exit is a confirmation of it. Augmentation in power of plasma generator results displacement maxima temperatures and speeds of PTCPF products upstream (in the direction of the plasma source). The maximum temperature and velocity vary in a narrow range of values and practically do not depend on the power of the plasma torch. The numerical study of indicators of the process of PTCPF depending on the ash content in the range of its values 20-70% demonstrated that at the exit of PFS concentration of combustible components decreases with an increase in coal ash, the temperature of the gaseous products is increasing, and coal carbon conversion rate is increased to a maximum value when the ash content of 60%, dramatically decreasing with further increase in the ash content.

Keywords: coal, efficiency, ignition, numerical modeling, plasma generator, plasma-fuel system

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Authors: Ilona Buchem, Carolin Gellner

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The call for the support of senior learners in the development of digital literacy has become prevalent in recent years, especially in view of the aging societies paired with advances in digitalization in all spheres of life, including e-health. The goal has been to create opportunities for learning that incorporate the use of context in a reflective and dialogical way. Contextual learning has focused on developing skills through the application of authentic problems. While major research efforts in supporting senior learners in developing digital literacy have been invested so far in e-learning, focusing on knowledge acquisition and cognitive tasks, little research exists in reflective mentoring and coaching with the help of pedagogical agents and addressing the contextual dimensions of learning. This paper describes an approach to creating opportunities for senior learners to improve their digital literacy in the authentic context of the electronic health record (EHR) with the support of an intelligent virtual learning coach. The paper focuses on the design of the virtual coach as part of an e-learning system, which was developed in the EPA-Coach project founded by the German Ministry of Education and Research. The paper starts with the theoretical underpinnings of contextual learning and the related design considerations for a virtual learning coach based on previous studies. Since previous research in the area was mostly designed to cater to the needs of younger audiences, the results had to be adapted to the specific needs of senior learners. Next, the paper outlines the stages in the design of the virtual coach, which included the adaptation of the design requirements, the iterative development of the prototypes, the results of the two evaluation studies and how these results were used to improve the design of the virtual coach. The paper then presents the four prototypes of a senior-friendly virtual learning coach, which were designed to represent different preferences related to the visual appearance, the communication and social interaction styles, and the pedagogical roles. The first evaluation of the virtual coach design was an exploratory, qualitative study, which was carried out in October 2020 with eight seniors aged 64 to 78 and included a range of questions about the preferences of senior learners related to the visual design, gender, age, communication and role. Based on the results of the first evaluation, the design was adapted to the preferences of the senior learners and the new versions of prototypes were created to represent two male and two female options of the virtual coach. The second evaluation followed a quantitative approach with an online questionnaire and was conducted in May 2021 with 41 seniors aged 66 to 93 years. Following three research questions, the survey asked about (1) the intention to use, (2) the perceived characteristics, and (3) the preferred communication/interaction style of the virtual coach, i. e. task-oriented, relationship-oriented, or a mix. This paper follows with the discussion of the results of the design process and ends with conclusions and next steps in the development of the virtual coach including recommendations for further research.

Keywords: virtual learning coach, virtual mentor, pedagogical agent, senior learners, digital literacy, electronic health records

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Authors: Mayank Mishra

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Market Economy can be broadly defined as economic system where supply and demand regulate the economy and in which decisions pertaining to production, consumption, allocation of resources, price and competition are made by collective actions of individuals or organisations with limited government intervention. On the other hand Market Society is one where instead of the economy being embedded in social relations, social relations are embedded in the economy. A market economy becomes a market society when all of land, labour and capital are commodified. This transition also has effect on people’s attitude and values. Such a transition commence impacting the non-material aspect of life such as public education, public health and the like. The inception of neoliberal policies in non-market norms altered the nature of social goods like public health that raised the following questions. What impact would the transition to a market society make on people in terms of accessibility to public health? Is healthcare a commodity that can be subjected to a competitive market place? What kind of private investments are being made in public health and how do private investments alter the nature of a public good like healthcare? This research problem will employ empirical-analytical approach that includes deductive reasoning which will be using the existing concept of market economy and market society as a foundation for the analytical framework and the hypotheses to be examined. The research also intends to inculcate the naturalistic elements of qualitative methodology which refers to studying of real world situations as they unfold. The research will analyse the existing literature available on the subject. Concomitantly the research intends to access the primary literature which includes reports from the World Bank, World Health Organisation (WHO) and the different departments of respective ministries of the countries for the analysis. This paper endeavours to highlight how the issue of commodification of public health would lead to perpetual increase in its inaccessibility leading to stratification of healthcare services where one can avail the better services depending on the extent of one’s ability to pay. Since the fundamental maxim of private investments is to churn out profits, these kinds of trends would pose a detrimental effect on the society at large perpetuating the lacuna between the have and the have-nots.The increasing private investments, both, domestic and foreign, in public health sector are leading to increasing inaccessibility of public health services. Despite the increase in various public health schemes the quality and impact of government public health services are on a continuous decline.

Keywords: commodity, India and Pakistan, market society, public health

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Authors: Aysheh Maslamani, Ella Daniel, Anna Dӧring, Iyas Nasser, Ariel Knafo-Noam

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Over 250 million people globally speak Arabic, one of the most widespread languages in the world, as their first language. Yet only a minuscule fraction of developmental research studies Middle East children. As values are a core component of culture, understanding how values develop is key to understanding development across cultures. Indeed, with the advent of research on value development, significantly since the introduction of the Picture-Based Value Survey for Children, interest in cross-cultural differences in children's values is increasing. As no measure exists for Arab children, PBVS-C in Arabic developed. The online application version of the PBVS-C that can be administered on a computer, tablet, or even a smartphone to measure the 10 values whose presence has been repeatedly demonstrated across the world. The application has been developed simultaneously in Hebrew and Arabic and can easily be adapted to include additional languages. In this research, the development of the multilingual PBVS-C application version adapted for five-year-olds. The translation process discussed (including important decisions such as which dialect of Arabic, a diglossic language, is most suitable), adaptations to subgroups (e.g., Muslim, Druze and Christian Arab children), and using recorded instructions and value item captions, as well as touchscreens to enhance applicability with young children. Four hundred Palestinian and Israeli 5-12 year old children reported their values using the app (50% in Arabic, 50% in Hebrew). Confirmatory Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) analyses revealed structural patterns that closely correspond to Schwartz's theoretical structure in both languages (e.g., universalism values correlated positively with benevolence and negatively with power, whereas tradition correlated negatively with hedonism and positively with conformity). Replicating past findings, power values showed lower importance than benevolence values in both cultural groups, and there were gender differences in which girls were higher in self-transcendence values and lower in self-enhancement values than boys. Cultural value importance differences were explored and revealed that Palestinian children are significantly higher in tradition and achievement values compared to Israeli children, whereas Israeli children are significantly higher in benevolence, hedonism, self-direction, and stimulation values. Age differences in value coherence across the two groups were also studied. Exploring the cultural differences opens a window to understanding the basic motivations driving populations that were hardly studied before. This study will contribute to the developmental value research since it considers the role of critical variables such as culture and religion and tests value coherence across middle childhood. Findings will be discussed, and the potential and limitations of the computerized PBVS-C concerning future values research.

Keywords: Arab-children, culture, multilingual-application, value-development

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Authors: Satoshi Kusaka

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The term ‘competency’ is attracting considerable scholarly attention worldwide with the advance of globalization in the 21st century and with the arrival of a knowledge-based society. In the current world environment, familiarity with varied disciplines is regarded to be vital for personal success. The idea of a competency-based educational system was mooted by the ‘Definition and Selection of Competencies (DeSeCo)’ project that was conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Further, attention to this topic is not limited to developed countries; it can also be observed in developing countries. For instance, the importance of a competency-based curriculum was mentioned in the ‘2013 Harmonized Curriculum Framework for the East African Community’, which recommends key competencies that should be developed in primary schools. The introduction of such curricula and the reviews of programs are actively being executed, primarily in the East African Community but also in neighboring nations. Taking Mozambique as a case in point, the present paper examines the conception of ‘competency’ as a target of frontline education in developing countries. It also aims to discover the manner in which the syllabus, textbooks and lessons, among other things, in primary-level math education are developed and to determine the challenges faced in the process. This study employs the perspective of competency-based education design to analyze how the term ‘competency’ is defined in the primary-level math syllabus, how it is reflected in the textbooks, and how the lessons are actually developed. ‘Practical competency’ is mentioned in the syllabus, and the description of the term lays emphasis on learners' ability to interactively apply socio-cultural and technical tools, which is one of the key competencies that are advocated in OECD's ‘Definition and Selection of Competencies’ project. However, most of the content of the textbooks pertains to ‘basic academic ability’, and in actual classroom practice, teachers often impart lessons straight from the textbooks. It is clear that the aptitude of teachers and their classroom routines are greatly dependent on the cultivation of their own ‘practical competency’ as it is defined in the syllabus. In other words, there is great divergence between the ‘syllabus’, which is the intended curriculum, and the content of the ‘textbooks’. In fact, the material in the textbooks should serve as the bridge between the syllabus, which forms the guideline, and the lessons, which represent the ‘implemented curriculum’. Moreover, the results obtained from this investigation reveal that the problem can only be resolved through the cultivation of ‘practical competency’ in teachers, which is currently not sufficient.

Keywords: competency, curriculum, mathematics education, Mozambique

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Authors: Rikke Lybæk, Tyge Kjær

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The Baltic Sea is suffering from nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, which causes eutrophication of the maritime environment and hence threatens the biodiversity of the Baltic Sea area. The intensified quantity of nutrients in the water has created challenges with the growth of seaweed being discarded on beaches around the sea. The cast seaweed has led to odor problems hampering the use of beach areas around the Bay of Køge in Denmark. This is the case in, e.g., Solrød Municipality, where recreational activities have been disrupted when cast seaweed pile up on the beach. Initiatives have, however, been introduced within the municipality to remove the cast seaweed from the beach and utilize it for renewable energy production at the nearby Solrød Biogas Plant, thus being co-digested with animal manure for power and heat production. This paper investigates which type of technology application’s have been applied in the effort to optimize the collection of cast seaweed, and will further reveal, how the seaweed has been pre-treated at the biogas plant to be utilized for energy production the most efficient, hereunder the challenges connected with the content of sand. Heavy metal contents in the seaweed and how it is managed will also be addressed, which is vital as the digestate is utilized as soil fertilizer on nearby farms. Finally, the paper will outline the energy production scheme connected to the use of seaweed as feedstock for biogas production, as well as the amount of nitrogen-rich fertilizer produced. The theoretical approach adopted in the paper relies on the thinking of Circular Bio-Economy, where biological materials are cascaded and re-circulated etc., to increase and extend their value and usability. The data for this research is collected as part of the EU Interreg project “Cluster On Anaerobic digestion, environmental Services, and nuTrients removAL” (COASTAL Biogas), 2014-2020. Data gathering consists of, e.g., interviews with relevant stakeholders connected to seaweed collection and operation of the biogas plant in Solrød Municipality. It further entails studies of progress and evaluation reports from the municipality, analysis of seaweed digestion results from scholars connected to the research, as well as studies of scientific literature to supplement the above. Besides this, observations and photo documentation have been applied in the field. This paper concludes, among others, that the seaweed harvester technology currently adopted is functional in the maritime environment close to the beachfront but inadequate in collecting seaweed directly on the beach. New technology hence needs to be developed to increase the efficiency of seaweed collection. It is further concluded that the amount of sand transported to Solrød Biogas Plant with the seaweed continues to pose challenges. The seaweed is pre-treated for sand in a receiving tank with a strong stirrer, washing off the sand, which ends at the bottom of the tank where collected. The seaweed is then chopped by a macerator and mixed with the other feedstock. The wear down of the receiving tank stirrer and the chopper are, however, significant, and new methods should be adopted.

Keywords: biogas, circular bio-economy, Denmark, maritime technology, cast seaweed, solrød municipality

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Authors: Felix Schumann, Giorgia Carratta, Tobias Dauth, Liv Jaeckel

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In the last few decades, the rapid growth of the use and disposal of plastic items has led to their overaccumulation in the environment. As a result, plastic pollution has become a subject of global concern. Today plastics are used as raw materials in almost every industry. While the recognition of the ecological, social, and economic impact of plastics in academic research is on the rise, the potential role of the ‘plastic industry’ in dealing with such issues is still largely underestimated. Therefore, the literature on sustainable plastic management is still nascent and fragmented. Working towards sustainability requires a fundamental shift in the way companies employ plastics in their day-to-day business. For that reason, the applicability of the business model concept has recently gained momentum in environmental research. Business model innovation is increasingly recognized as an important driver to re-conceptualize the purpose of the firm and to readily integrate sustainability in their business. It can serve as a starting point to investigate whether and how sustainability can be realized under industry- and firm-specific circumstances. Yet, there is no comprehensive view in the plastic industry on how firms start refining their business models to embed sustainability in their operations. Our study addresses this gap, looking primarily at the industrial sectors responsible for the production of the largest amount of plastic waste today: plastic packaging, consumer goods, construction, textile, and transport. Relying on the archetypes of sustainable business models and applying them to the aforementioned sectors, we try to identify companies’ current strategies to make their business models more sustainable. Based on the thematic clustering, we can develop an integrative framework for the plastic industry. The findings are underpinned and illustrated by a variety of relevant plastic management solutions that the authors have identified through a systematic literature review and analysis of existing, empirically grounded research in this field. Using the archetypes, we can promote options for business model innovations for the most important sectors in which plastics are used. Moreover, by linking the proposed business model archetypes to the plastic industry, our research approach guides firms in exploring sustainable business opportunities. Likewise, researchers and policymakers can utilize our classification to identify best practices. The authors believe that the study advances the current knowledge on sustainable plastic management through its broad empirical industry analyses. Hence, the application of business model archetypes in the plastic industry will be useful for shaping companies’ transformation to create and deliver more sustainability and provides avenues for future research endeavors.

Keywords: business models, environmental economics, plastic management, plastic pollution, sustainability

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Authors: Ahmed O. Apampa, Yinusa A. Jimoh

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The potential economic viability and environmental benefits of using a biomass waste, such as corn cob ash (CCA) as pozzolan in stabilizing soils for road pavement construction in a sub-tropical region was investigated. Corn cob was obtained from Maya in South West Nigeria and processed to ash of characteristics similar to Class C Fly Ash pozzolan as specified in ASTM C618-12. This was then blended with ordinary Portland cement in the CCA:OPC ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 2:1. Each of these blends was then mixed with lateritic soil of ASHTO classification A-2-6(3) in varying percentages from 0 – 7.5% at 1.5% intervals. The soil-CCA-Cement mixtures were thereafter tested for geotechnical index properties including the BS Proctor Compaction, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) and the Unconfined Compression Strength Test. The tests were repeated for soil-cement mix without any CCA blending. The cost of the binder inputs and optimal blends of CCA:OPC in the stabilized soil were thereafter analyzed by developing algorithms that relate the experimental data on strength parameters (Unconfined Compression Strength, UCS and California Bearing Ratio, CBR) with the bivariate independent variables CCA and OPC content, using Matlab R2011b. An optimization problem was then set up minimizing the cost of chemical stabilization of laterite with CCA and OPC, subject to the constraints of minimum strength specifications. The Evolutionary Engine as well as the Generalized Reduced Gradient option of the Solver of MS Excel 2010 were used separately on the cells to obtain the optimal blend of CCA:OPC. The optimal blend attaining the required strength of 1800 kN/m2 was determined for the 1:2 CCA:OPC as 5.4% mix (OPC content 3.6%) compared with 4.2% for the OPC only option; and as 6.2% mix for the 1:1 blend (OPC content 3%). The 2:1 blend did not attain the required strength, though over a 100% gain in UCS value was obtained over the control sample with 0% binder. Upon the fact that 0.97 tonne of CO2 is released for every tonne of cement used (OEE, 2001), the reduced OPC requirement to attain the same result indicates the possibility of reducing the net CO2 contribution of the construction industry to the environment ranging from 14 – 28.5% if CCA:OPC blends are widely used in soil stabilization, going by the results of this study. The paper concludes by recommending that Nigeria and other developing countries in the sub-tropics with abundant stock of biomass waste should look in the direction of intensifying the use of biomass waste as fuel and the derived ash for the production of pozzolans for road-works, thereby reducing overall green house gas emissions and in compliance with the objectives of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change.

Keywords: corn cob ash, biomass waste, lateritic soil, unconfined compression strength, CO2 emission

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Authors: Amanda M. McLeroy, Tiera Tanksley

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The 2020 movement for Black Lives, ignited by anti-Black police brutality and exemplified by the public execution of George Floyd, underscored the dual potential of social media for political activism and perilous exposure to traumatic content for Black students. This study employs Critical Race Technology Theory (CRTT) to scrutinize algorithmic anti-blackness and its impact on Black youth's lives and educational experiences. The research investigates the consequences of vicarious exposure to police brutality on social media among Black adolescents through qualitative interviews and quantitative scale data. The findings reveal an unprecedented surge in exposure to viral police killings since 2020, resulting in profound physical, socioemotional, and educational effects on Black youth. CRTT forms the theoretical basis, challenging the notion of digital technologies as post-racial and neutral, aiming to dismantle systemic biases within digital systems. Black youth, averaging over 13 hours of daily social media use, face constant exposure to graphic images of Black individuals dying. The study connects this exposure to a range of physical, socioemotional, and mental health consequences, emphasizing the urgent need for understanding and support. The research proposes questions to explore the extent of police brutality exposure and its effects on Black youth. Qualitative interviews with high school and college students and quantitative scale data from undergraduates contribute to a nuanced understanding of the impact of police brutality exposure on Black youth. Themes of unprecedented exposure to viral police killings, physical and socioemotional effects, and educational consequences emerge from the analysis. The study uncovers how vicarious experiences of negative police encounters via social media lead to mistrust, fear, and psychosomatic symptoms among Black adolescents. Implications for educators and counselors are profound, emphasizing the cultivation of empathy, provision of mental health support, integration of media literacy education, and encouragement of activism. Recognizing family and community influences is crucial for comprehensive support. Professional development opportunities in culturally responsive teaching and trauma-informed approaches are recommended for educators. In conclusion, creating a supportive educational environment that addresses the emotional impact of social media exposure to police brutality is crucial for the well-being and development of Black adolescents. Counselors, through safe spaces and collaboration, play a vital role in supporting Black youth facing the distressing effects of social media exposure to police brutality.

Keywords: black youth, mental health, police brutality, social media

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Authors: Emma Avoyan

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The safety standards for flood protection in the Netherlands have been revised recently. It is expected that all major flood-protection structures will have to be reinforced to meet the new standards. The Dutch Flood Protection Programme aims at accomplishing this task through innovative integrated projects such as construction of multi-functional flood defenses. In these projects, flood safety purposes will be combined with spatial planning, nature development, emergency management or other sectoral objectives. Therefore, implementation of dike reinforcement projects requires early involvement and collaboration between public and private sectors, different governmental actors and agencies. The development and implementation of such integrated projects has been an issue in Dutch flood risk management since long. Therefore, this article analyses how cross-sector collaboration within flood risk governance in the Netherlands has evolved over time, and how this development can be explained. The integrative framework for collaborative governance is applied as an analytical tool to map external factors framing possibilities as well as constraints for cross-sector collaboration in Dutch flood risk domain. Supported by an extensive document and literature analysis, the paper offers insights on how the system context and different drivers changing over time either promoted or hindered cross-sector collaboration between flood protection sector, urban development, nature conservation or any other sector involved in flood risk governance. The system context refers to the multi-layered and interrelated suite of conditions that influence the formation and performance of complex governance systems, such as collaborative governance regimes, whereas the drivers initiate and enable the overall process of collaboration. In addition, by applying a method of process tracing we identify a causal and chronological chain of events shaping cross-sectoral interaction in Dutch flood risk management. Our results indicate that in order to evaluate the performance of complex governance systems, it is important to firstly study the system context that shapes it. Clear understanding of the system conditions and drivers for collaboration gives insight into the possibilities of and constraints for effective performance of complex governance systems. The performance of the governance system is affected by the system conditions, while at the same time the governance system can also change the system conditions. Our results show that the sequence of changes within the system conditions and drivers over time affect how cross-sector interaction in Dutch flood risk governance system happens now. Moreover, we have traced the potential of this governance system to shape and change the system context.

Keywords: collaborative governance, cross-sector interaction, flood risk management, the Netherlands

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Authors: N. Perko, N. Kavran, M. Bukljas, I. Berbic

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This paper is a result of implemented research on proposed introduced methodology for nautical ports capacity planning by introducing a multi-criteria approach of defined criteria and impacts at the Adriatic Sea. The purpose was analysing the determinants -characteristics of infrastructure and services of nautical ports capacity allocated, especially nowadays due to COVID-19 pandemic, as crucial for the successful operation of nautical ports. Giving the importance of the defined priorities for short-term and long-term planning is essential not only in terms of the development of nautical tourism but also in terms of developing the maritime system, but unfortunately, this is not always carried out. Evaluation of the use of resources should follow from a detailed analysis of all aspects of resources bearing in mind that nautical tourism used resources in a sustainable manner and generate effects in the tourism and maritime sectors. Consequently, the identified multiplier effect of nautical tourism, which should be defined and quantified in detail, should be one of the major competitive products on the Croatian Adriatic and the Mediterranean. Research of nautical tourism is necessary to quantify the effects and required planning system development. In the future, the greatest threat to the long-term sustainable development of nautical tourism can be its further uncontrolled or unlimited and undirected development, especially under pressure markedly higher demand than supply for new moorings in the Mediterranean. Results of this implemented research are applicable to nautical ports management and decision-makers of maritime transport system development. This paper will present implemented research and obtained result-developed methodology for nautical port capacity planning -port capacity planning multi-criteria decision-making. A proposed methodological approach of multi-criteria capacity planning includes four criteria (spatial - transport, cost - infrastructure, ecological and organizational criteria, and additional services). The importance of the criteria and sub-criteria is evaluated and carried out as the basis for sensitivity analysis of the importance of the criteria and sub-criteria. Based on the analysis of the identified and quantified importance of certain criteria and sub-criteria, as well as sensitivity analysis and analysis of changes of the quantified importance, scientific and applicable results will be presented. These obtained results have practical applicability by management of nautical ports in the planning of increasing capacity and further development and for the adaptation of existing nautical ports. Obtained research is applicable and replicable in other seas, and results are especially important and useful in this COVID-19 pandemic challenging maritime development framework.

Keywords: Adriatic Sea, capacity, infrastructures, maritime system, methodology, nautical ports, nautical tourism, service

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Authors: Tarek Saadawi, Rosario Gennaro, Jonathan Akeley

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There is rapidly growing demand for professionals to fill positions in Cybersecurity. This is recognized as a national priority both by government agencies and the private sector. Cybersecurity is a very wide technical area which encompasses all measures that can be taken in an electronic system to prevent criminal or unauthorized use of data and resources. This requires defending computers, servers, networks, and their users from any kind of malicious attacks. The need to address this challenge has been recognized globally but is particularly acute in the New York metropolitan area, home to some of the largest financial institutions in the world, which are prime targets of cyberattacks. In New York State alone, there are currently around 57,000 jobs in the Cybersecurity industry, with more than 23,000 unfilled positions. The Cybersecurity Program at City College is a collaboration between the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. In Fall 2020, The City College of New York matriculated its first students in theCybersecurity Master of Science program. The program was designed to fill gaps in the previous offerings and evolved out ofan established partnership with Facebook on Cybersecurity Education. City College has designed a program where courses, curricula, syllabi, materials, labs, etc., are developed in cooperation and coordination with industry whenever possible, ensuring that students graduating from the program will have the necessary background to seamlessly segue into industry jobs. The Cybersecurity Program has created multiple pathways for prospective students to obtain the necessary prerequisites to apply in order to build a more diverse student population. The program can also be pursued on a part-time basis which makes it available to working professionals. Since City College’s Cybersecurity M.S. program was established to equip students with the advanced technical skills needed to thrive in a high-demand, rapidly-evolving field, it incorporates a range of pedagogical formats. From its outset, the Cybersecurity program has sought to provide both the theoretical foundations necessary for meaningful work in the field along with labs and applied learning projects aligned with skillsets required by industry. The efforts have involved collaboration with outside organizations and with visiting professors designing new courses on topics such as Adversarial AI, Data Privacy, Secure Cloud Computing, and blockchain. Although the program was initially designed with a single asynchronous course in the curriculum with the rest of the classes designed to be offered in-person, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a move to fullyonline learning. The shift to online learning has provided lessons for future development by providing examples of some inherent advantages to the medium in addition to its drawbacks. This talk will address the structure of the newly-implemented Cybersecurity Master’s Program and discuss the innovations, challenges, and possible future directions.

Keywords: cybersecurity, new york, city college, graduate degree, master of science

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Authors: Mauro Cristeche

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This paper approaches the intervention of the American State in the social arena and the modeling of the rights system from the Argentinian experience, by observing the characteristics of its federal budgetary system, the evolution of social public spending and welfare programs in recent years, labor and poverty statistics, and the changes on the labor market structure. The analysis seeks to combine different methodologies and sources: in-depth interviews with specialists, analysis of theoretical and mass-media material, and statistical sources. Among the results, it could be mentioned that the tendency to state interventionism (what has been called ‘nationalization of social life’) is quite evident in the United States, and manifests itself in multiple forms. The bibliography consulted, and the experts interviewed pointed out this increase of the state presence in historical terms (beyond short-term setbacks) in terms of increase of public spending, fiscal pressure, public employment, protective and control mechanisms, the extension of welfare policies to the poor sectors, etc. In fact, despite the significant differences between both countries, the United States and Argentina have common patterns of behavior in terms of the aforementioned phenomena. On the other hand, dissimilarities are also important. Some of them are determined by each country's own political history. The influence of political parties on the economic model seems more decisive in the United States than in Argentina, where the tendency to state interventionism is more stable. The centrality of health spending is evident in America, while in Argentina that discussion is more concentrated in the social security system and public education. The biggest problem of the labor market in the United States is the disqualification as a consequence of the technological development while in Argentina it is a result of its weakness. Another big difference is the huge American public spending on Defense. Then, the more federal character of the American State is also a factor of differential analysis against a centralized Argentine state. American public employment (around 10%) is comparatively quite lower than the Argentinian (around 18%). The social statistics show differences, but inequality and poverty have been growing as a trend in the last decades in both countries. According to public rates, poverty represents 14% in The United States and 33% in Argentina. American public spending is important (welfare spending and total public spending represent around 12% and 34% of GDP, respectively), but a bit lower than Latin-American or European average). In both cases, the tendency to underemployment and disqualification unemployment does not assume a serious gravity. Probably one of the most important aspects of the analysis is that private initiative and public intervention are much more intertwined in the United States, which makes state intervention more ‘fuzzy’, while in Argentina the difference is clearer. Finally, the power of its accumulation of capital and, more specifically, of the industrial and services sectors in the United States, which continues to be the engine of the economy, express great differences with Argentina, supported by its agro-industrial power and its public sector.

Keywords: state intervention, welfare policies, labor market, system of rights, United States of America

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Authors: Danny Hjeij, Karine Bilodeau, Caroline Arbour

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Background: Chemotherapy infusions often lead to a cluster of co-occurring and difficult-to-treat symptoms (nausea, tingling, etc.), which may negatively impact the treatment experience at the outpatient clinic. Although several complementary approaches have shown beneficial effects for chemotherapy-induced symptom management, they are not easily implementable during chemotherapy infusion. In response to this limitation, comfort talk (CT), a simple, fast conversational method inspired by the language principles of clinical hypnosis, is known to optimize the management of symptoms related to antineoplastic treatments. However, the perception of nurses who have had to integrate this practice into their care has never been documented. Study design: A qualitative descriptive study with iterative content analysis was conducted among oncology nurses working in a chemotherapy outpatient clinic who had previous experience with CT. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by phone, using a pre-tested interview guide and a sociodemographic survey to document their perception of CT. The conceptual framework. Results: A total of six nurses (4 women, 2 men) took part in the interviews (N=6). The average age of participants was 49 years (36-61 years). Participants had an average of 24 years of experience (10-38 years) as a nurse, including 14.5 years in oncology (5-32 years). Data saturation (i.e., redundancy of words) was observed around the fifth interview. A sixth interview was conducted as confirmation. Six themes emerged: two addressing contextual and organizational obstacles at the chemotherapy outpatient clinic, and three addressing the added value of CT for oncology nursing care. Specific themes included: 1) the outpatient oncology clinic, a saturated care setting, 2) the keystones that support the integration of CT into care, 3) added value for patients, 4) a positive and rewarding experience for nurses, 5) collateral benefits, and 6) CT an approach to consider during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: For the first time, this study describes nurses' perception of the integration of CT into the care surrounding the administration of chemotherapy at the outpatient oncology clinic. In summary, contextual and organizational difficulties, as well as the lack of training, are among the main obstacles that could hinder the integration of CT in oncology. Still, the experience was reported mostly as positive. Indeed, nurses saw HC as an added value to patient care and meeting their need for holistic care. HC also appears to be beneficial for patients on several levels (for pain management in particular). Results will be used to inform future knowledge transfer activities related to CT in oncology nursing.

Keywords: cancer, chemotherapy, comfort talk, oncology nursing role

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Authors: Odenigbo Veronica Ngozi, Lorreta Chika Ukwuaba

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This study focuses on how the strengthening adult literacy program can help accelerate transformative strategies to end female genital mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria, specifically in Nsukka Local Government Area. The research delves into the definition of FGM, adult literacy programs, and how to achieve ending FGM to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030. It further discusses the practice of FGM in Nigeria and emphasizes the statement of the problem. The main aim of the study is to investigate how strengthening adult literacy programs can help accelerate transformative strategies to end FGM in Nigeria and achieve SDGs in 2030. The researchers utilized a survey research design to conduct the study in Nsukka L.G.A. The population was composed of 26 facilitators and adult learners in five adult learning centers in the area. The entire population was used as a sample, and structured questionnaires were employed to elicit information. The items on the questionnaire were face-validated by three experts, and the reliability of the instrument was verified using Cronbach Alpha Reliability Technique. The research questions were analyzed using means and standard deviation while the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of degree of significance using a t-test. The findings show that through adult literacy program acceleration of transformative strategies, the practices of FGM can be ended. Strengthening adult literacy programs is a good channel to end or stop FGM through the knowledge and skill acquired from the learning centers. The theoretical importance of the study lies in the fact that it highlights the role of adult literacy programs in accelerating transformative strategies to combat harmful cultural practices such as FGM. It further supports the importance of education and knowledge in achieving sustainable development goals by 2030. Structured questionnaires were distributed to an entire population of 26 facilitators and adult learners in five adult learning centers in Nsukka L.G.A. The questionnaire items were face–validated by three experts, and the reliability of the instrument was verified using Cronbach Alpha Reliability Technique. The research questions were analyzed using means and standard deviation, while the hypothesis was tested using a t-test at 0.05 level of degree of significance. The study addressed the question of how strengthening adult literacy programs can help accelerate transformative strategies to end FGM in Nigeria and achieve SDGs by 2030. In conclusion, the study found that adult literacy is a good tool to end FGM in Nigeria. The recommendations were that government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Community-based organizations (CBOs), and individuals should support the funding and establishment of adult literacy centers in communities so as to reach every illiterate parent or individual and acquire the knowledge and skill needed to understand the negative effect of FGM in the life of a girl child.

Keywords: adult literacy, female genital mutilation, learning centers, SDGs, strengthening

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Authors: Giulia Colonna, Jocelyn Hoye, Bart de Laat, Gelsina Stanley, Jose Key, Alaaddin Ibrahimy, Sule Tinaz, Evan D. Morris

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Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and affects approximately 1% of the world’s population. Increasing evidence suggests that aerobic physical exercise can be beneficial in mitigating both motor and non-motor symptoms of the disease. In a recent pilot study of the role of exercise on PD, we sought to confirm exercise intensity by monitoring heart rate (HR). For this purpose, we asked participants to wear a chest strap heart rate monitor (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele). The device sometimes proved uncomfortable. Looking forward to larger clinical trials, it would be convenient to employ a more comfortable and user friendly device. The Fitbit Charge 4 (Fitbit Inc) is a potentially comfortable, user-friendly solution since it is a wrist-worn heart rate monitor. Polar H10 has been used in large trials, and for our purposes, we treated it as the gold standard for the beat-to-beat period (R-R interval) assessment. In previous literature, it has been shown that Fitbit Charge 4 has comparable accuracy to Polar H10 in healthy subjects. It has yet to be determined if the Fitbit is as accurate as the Polar H10 in subjects with PD or in clinical populations, generally. Goal: To compare the Fitbit Charge 4 to the Polar H10 for monitoring HR in PD subjects engaging in an intensive exercise program. Methods: A total of 596 exercise sessions from 11 subjects (6 males) were collected simultaneously by both devices. Subjects with early-stage PD (Hoehn & Yahr <=2) were enrolled in a 6 months exercise training program designed for PD patients. Subjects participated in 3 one-hour exercise sessions per week. They wore both Fitbit and Polar H10 during each session. Sessions included rest, warm-up, intensive exercise, and cool-down periods. We calculated the bias in the HR via Fitbit under rest (5min) and intensive exercise (20min) by comparing the mean HR during each of the periods to the respective means measured by the Polar (HRFitbit – HRPolar). We also measured the sensitivity and specificity of Fitbit for detecting HRs that exceed the threshold for intensive exercise, defined as 70% of an individual’s theoretical maximum HR. Different types of correlation between the two devices were investigated. Results: The mean bias was 1.68 bpm at rest and 6.29 bpm during high intensity exercise, with an overestimation by Fitbit in both conditions. The mean bias of Fitbit across both rest and intensive exercise periods was 3.98 bpm. The sensitivity of the device in identifying high intensity exercise sessions was 97.14 %. The correlation between the two devices was non-linear, suggesting a saturation tendency of Fitbit to saturate at high values of HR. Conclusion: The performance of Fitbit Charge 4 is comparable to Polar H10 for assessing exercise intensity in a cohort of PD subjects. The device should be considered a reasonable replacement for the more cumbersome chest strap technology in future similar studies of clinical populations.

Keywords: fitbit, heart rate measurements, parkinson’s disease, wrist-wearable devices

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Authors: Dinara F. Gaynutdinova, Vladimir Ya Modorsky, Nikolay A. Shevelev

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The problem under research is that of unpredictable modes occurring in two-stage centrifugal hydraulic pump as a result of hydraulic processes caused by vibrations of structural components. Numerical, analytical and experimental approaches are considered. A hypothesis was developed that the problem of unpredictable pressure decrease at the second stage of centrifugal pumps is caused by cavitation effects occurring upon vibration. The problem has been studied experimentally and theoretically as of today. The theoretical study was conducted numerically and analytically. Hydroelastic processes in dynamic “liquid – deformed structure” system were numerically modelled and analysed. Using ANSYS CFX program engineering analysis complex and computing capacity of a supercomputer the cavitation parameters were established to depend on vibration parameters. An influence domain of amplitudes and vibration frequencies on concentration of cavitation bubbles was formulated. The obtained numerical solution was verified using CFM program package developed in PNRPU. The package is based on a differential equation system in hyperbolic and elliptic partial derivatives. The system is solved by using one of finite-difference method options – the particle-in-cell method. The method defines the problem solution algorithm. The obtained numerical solution was verified analytically by model problem calculations with the use of known analytical solutions of in-pipe piston movement and cantilever rod end face impact. An infrastructure consisting of an experimental fast hydro-dynamic processes research installation and a supercomputer connected by a high-speed network, was created to verify the obtained numerical solutions. Physical experiments included measurement, record, processing and analysis of data for fast processes research by using National Instrument signals measurement system and Lab View software. The model chamber end face oscillated during physical experiments and, thus, loaded the hydraulic volume. The loading frequency varied from 0 to 5 kHz. The length of the operating chamber varied from 0.4 to 1.0 m. Additional loads weighed from 2 to 10 kg. The liquid column varied from 0.4 to 1 m high. Liquid pressure history was registered. The experiment showed dependence of forced system oscillation amplitude on loading frequency at various values: operating chamber geometrical dimensions, liquid column height and structure weight. Maximum pressure oscillation (in the basic variant) amplitudes were discovered at loading frequencies of approximately 1,5 kHz. These results match the analytical and numerical solutions in ANSYS and CFM.

Keywords: computing experiment, hydroelasticity, physical experiment, vibration

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Authors: Bashar Mahmoud, Lee Mortimer, Michael Fairweather

Abstract:

New methods have recently been introduced to improve the thermal property values of molten nitrate salts (a binary mixture of NaNO3:KNO3in 60:40 wt. %), by doping them with minute concentration of nanoparticles in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 wt. % to form the so-called: Nano-heat-transfer-fluid, apt for thermal energy transfer and storage applications. The present study aims to assess the stability of these nanofluids using the advanced computational modelling technique, Lagrangian particle tracking. A multi-phase solid-liquid model is used, where the motion of embedded nanoparticles in the suspended fluid is treated by an Euler-Lagrange hybrid scheme with fixed time stepping. This technique enables measurements of various multi-scale forces whose characteristic (length and timescales) are quite different. Two systems are considered, both consisting of 50 nm Al2O3 ceramic nanoparticles suspended in fluids of different density ratios. This includes both water (5 to 95 °C) and molten nitrate salt (220 to 500 °C) at various volume fractions ranging between 1% to 5%. Dynamic properties of both phases are coupled to the ambient temperature of the fluid suspension. The three-dimensional computational region consists of a 1μm cube and particles are homogeneously distributed across the domain. Periodic boundary conditions are enforced. The particle equations of motion are integrated using the fourth order Runge-Kutta algorithm with a very small time-step, Δts, set at 10-11 s. The implemented technique demonstrates the key dynamics of aggregated nanoparticles and this involves: Brownian motion, soft-sphere particle-particle collisions, and Derjaguin, Landau, Vervey, and Overbeek (DLVO) forces. These mechanisms are responsible for the predictive model of aggregation of nano-suspensions. An energy transport-based method of predicting the thermal conductivity of the nanofluids is also used to determine thermal properties of the suspension. The simulation results confirms the effectiveness of the technique. The values are in excellent agreement with the theoretical and experimental data obtained from similar studies. The predictions indicates the role of Brownian motion and DLVO force (represented by both the repulsive electric double layer and an attractive Van der Waals) and its influence in the level of nanoparticles agglomeration. As to the nano-aggregates formed that was found to play a key role in governing the thermal behavior of nanofluids at various particle concentration. The presentation will include a quantitative assessment of these forces and mechanisms, which would lead to conclusions about nanofluids, heat transfer performance and thermal characteristics and its potential application in solar thermal energy plants.

Keywords: thermal energy storage, molten salt, nano-fluids, multi-scale computational modelling

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