Search results for: theory of resources and capabilities

Authors: Harsimran Kaur Chadha, Preeti Onkar

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Tourism has grown into one of the world’s largest industries in the last two decades all over the world. It is an important sector of Indian economy as it contributes substantially to the foreign exchange earnings of the country. The tourism policies of India aim to position tourism as a major engine of economic growth. These policies work towards utilizing tourism’s direct and multiplier effect on employment and poverty eradication in a sustainable manner. India is blessed with a great ancient and living civilization that gave rise to four of the world’s great religions and philosophies. Diverse religions, castes, languages, culture of India build a tremendous potential for religious tourism in India. Religious Tourism facilitates development of basic infrastructural facilities, generates income for the local community as well as the government, balances regional development, and fosters peace and socio-cultural harmony. However, tourism development needs to be regulated to prevent the negative impacts. The main challenge towards Sustainable Tourism development is to balance limits and usage of natural resources. The uncontrollable growth of tourism should not lead to resource degradation. Since tourism growth is inevitable, the challenge is to manage it sustainably within environmental, social and economic constraints. This paper tries to explore both the benefits and costs of Religious Tourism Development, using the example of Simhasth Kumbh Mahaparv at Ujjain. Finally it concludes by putting forth the notion that heavy investments for temporary infrastructure development incurred during these large spiritual gatherings need to be sustainable in the long run.

Keywords: challenges, religious, sustainable, tourism

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Authors: Oriyomi M. Okeyinka, David A. Oloke, Jamal M. Khatib

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Large quantities of solid wastes being generated worldwide from sources such as household, domestic, industrial, commercial and construction demolition activities, leads to environmental concerns. Utilization of these wastes in making building construction materials can reduce the magnitude of the associated problems. When these waste products are used in place of other conventional materials, natural resources and energy are preserved and expensive and/or potentially harmful waste disposal is avoided. Recycling which is regarded as the third most preferred waste disposal option, with its numerous environmental benefits, stand as a viable option to offset the environmental impact associated with the construction industry. This paper reviews the results of laboratory tests and important research findings, and the potential of using these wastes in building construction materials with focus on sustainable development. Research gaps, which includes; the need to develop standard mix design for solid waste based building materials; the need to develop energy efficient method of processing solid waste use in concrete; the need to study the actual behavior or performance of such building materials in practical application and the limited real life application of such building materials have also been identified. Therefore a research is being proposed to develop an environmentally friendly, lightweight building block from recycled waste paper, without the use of cement, and with properties suitable for use as walling unit. This proposed research intends to incorporate, laboratory experimentation and modeling to address the identified research gaps.

Keywords: recycling, solid wastes, construction, building materials

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Authors: Abbas Sedighinejad, Hossein Khoshrang, Mohammad Haghighi, Ali Ashraf, Mostafa Saeedinia, Gelareh Biazar, Zahra Atrkarroushan, Mahdi Ajdadi

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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as an alarming attack broke out in China and spread rapidly worldwide. Objectives: Based on a theory indicating the correlation between some viral diseases and blood types, we investigated the relationship between blood groups and coronavirus infection risk in Guilan Province, Iran. Methods: Retrospectively, all the files of the admitted patients with suspected COVID-19, in peak conditions of the disease between March 1 and May 30, 2020, were reviewed using the Census method. The required data, including epidemiological and clinical information and outcomes, were obtained from electronic records. Results: A total of 249 cases were analyzed, of whom 109 were collected from governmental centers, and the rest were collected from private hospitals. The most common co-morbidity was diabetes with 71 (37.6%) cases and the main symptom at the admission time was dyspnea with 170 (24.5%) cases. Of the total patients, 155 (62.2%) were discharged, and the rest died. The most common blood group among our patients was O Rh-positive with 91 (36.5%) cases. No meaningful correlation was found between outcomes and blood groups in terms of ABO types (P = 0.89) or Rh factor (P = 0.456). The Rh-positive proportion was significantly higher in the COVID-19 cases than in the general population (P = 0.038). Conclusions: We found that the Rh-positive proportion was significantly higher in the COVID-19 cases than in the healthy individuals. However, no correlation was observed between the groups regarding ABO typing.

Keywords: ABO blood group, COVID 19, association, personal protection

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Authors: Khalil Aryanfar, Shahrzad Sanjari, Pariya Gholipor, Elmira Hafez

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The present study aimed to investigate and compare the characteristics of entrepreneurship among students in senior secondary schools in the academic year 2008-2009 in Tabriz city. Research employed survey method respectively. The study population consisted of all students in the senior branch of theoretical, technical, professional and vocational (1033 patients) were included. Sample size of 493 was calculated according to Morgan table. Sampling method was random cluster and stratified sampling. Data collected by researcher made questionnaire based on the theory of MC clleland (1963) and Brvkhavs (1980). These tools would indicators be for achievement, Independence, disposition, creativity, risk-taking, self-control, tolerance for ambiguity, team work approach in the future. To determine the psychometric properties of the questionnaire, content validity of the survey was approved by relevant experts. In addition, to estimate the internal consistency of Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for 84% of total inventory. Collected data Using mean, standard deviation and were analyzed by ANOVA. The results showed that there is a significant difference between students' entrepreneurial potential fields of theoretical, technical, professional and vocational level (0/01).

Keywords: entrepreneurship, achievement motivation, risk taking, creativity, self-control, independence, tolerance of ambiguity, foresight

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Authors: Blair D. Macdonald

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After nearly one hundred years of its origin, foundational quantum mechanics remains one of the greatest unexplained mysteries in physicists today. Within this time, chaos theory and its geometry, the fractal, has developed. In this paper, the propagation behaviour with an iteration of a simple fractal, the Koch Snowflake, was described and analysed. From an arbitrary observation point within the fractal set, the fractal propagates forward by oscillation—the focus of this study and retrospectively behind by exponential growth from a point beginning. It propagates a potentially infinite exponential oscillating sinusoidal wave of discrete triangle bits sharing many characteristics of light and quantum entities. The model's wave speed is potentially constant, offering insights into the perception and a direction of time where, to an observer, when travelling at the frontier of propagation, time may slow to a stop. In isolation, the fractal is a superposition of component bits where position and scale present a problem of location. In reality, this problem is experienced within fractal landscapes or fields where 'position' is only 'known' by the addition of information or markers. The quantum' measurement problem', 'uncertainty principle,' 'entanglement,' and the classical-quantum interface are addressed; these are a problem of scale invariance associated with isolated fractality. Dual forward and retrospective perspectives of the fractal model offer the opportunity for unification between quantum mechanics and cosmological mathematics, observations, and conjectures. Quantum and cosmological problems may be different aspects of the one fractal geometry.

Keywords: measurement problem, observer, entanglement, unification

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Authors: Claude Alavoine, Ferkan Kaplanseren

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Negotiation is a specific form of interaction based on communication in which the parties enter into deliberately, each with clear but different interests or goals and a mutual dependency towards a decision due to be taken at the end of the confrontation. Consequently, negotiation is a complex activity involving many different disciplines from the strategic aspects and the decision making process to the evaluation of alternatives or outcomes and the exchange of information. While gender differences can be considered as one of the most researched topic within negotiation studies, empirical works and theory present many conflicting evidences and results about the role of gender in the process or the outcome. Furthermore, little interest has been shown over gender differences in the definition of what is negotiation, its essence or fundamental elements. Or, as differences exist in practices, it might be essential to study if the starting point of these discrepancies does not come from different considerations about what is negotiation and what will encourage the participants in their strategic decisions. Some recent and promising experiments made with diverse groups show that male and female participants in a common and shared situation barely consider the same way the concepts of power, trust or stakes which are largely considered as the usual driving forces of any negotiation. Furthermore, results from Human Resource self-assessment tests display and confirm considerable differences between individuals regarding essential behavioral dimensions like capacity to improvise and to achieve, aptitude to conciliate or to compete and orientation towards power and group domination which are also part of negotiation skills. Our intention in this paper is to confront these dimensions with negotiation’s usual driving forces in order to build up new paths for further research.

Keywords: negotiation, gender, trust, power, stakes, strategies

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Authors: Helen Pushkarskaya, David Tolin, Lital Ruderman, Ariel Kirshenbaum, J. MacLaren Kelly, Christopher Pittenger, Ifat Levy

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) produces profound morbidity. Difficulties with decision making and intolerance of uncertainty are prominent clinical features of OCD. The nature and etiology of these deficits are poorly understood. We used a well-validated choice task, grounded in behavioral economic theory, to investigate differences in valuation and value-based choice during decision making under uncertainty in 20 unmedicated participants with OCD and 20 matched healthy controls. Participants’ choices were used to assess individual decision-making characteristics. Compared to controls, individuals with OCD were less consistent in their choices and less able to identify options that were unambiguously preferable. These differences correlated with symptom severity. OCD participants did not differ from controls in how they valued uncertain options when outcome probabilities were known (risk) but were more likely than controls to avoid uncertain options when these probabilities were imprecisely specified (ambiguity). These results suggest that the underlying neural mechanisms of valuation and value-based choices during decision-making are abnormal in OCD. Individuals with OCD show elevated intolerance of uncertainty, but only when outcome probabilities are themselves uncertain. Future research focused on the neural valuation network, which is implicated in value-based computations, may provide new neurocognitive insights into the pathophysiology of OCD. Deficits in decision-making processes may represent a target for therapeutic intervention.

Keywords: obsessive compulsive disorder, decision-making, uncertainty intolerance, risk aversion, ambiguity aversion, valuation

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Authors: Bohsiu Wu

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Among serious crimes, child homicide is a rather rare event. However, the killing of children stirs up a special type of emotion in society that pales other criminal acts. This study examines the relevancy of three possible community-level explanations for child homicide: social deprivation, female empowerment, and social isolation. The social deprivation hypothesis posits that child homicide results from lack of resources in communities. The female empowerment hypothesis argues that a higher female status translates into a higher level of capability to prevent child homicide. Finally, the social isolation hypothesis regards child homicide as a result of lack of social connectivity. Child homicide data, aggregated by US postal ZIP codes in California from 1990 to 1999, were analyzed with a negative binomial regression. The results of the negative binomial analysis demonstrate that social deprivation is the most salient and consistent predictor among all other factors in explaining child homicide victimization at the ZIP-code level. Both social isolation and female labor force participation are weak predictors of child homicide victimization across communities. Further, results from the negative binomial regression show that it is the communities with a higher, not lower, degree of female labor force participation that are associated with a higher count of child homicide. It is possible that poor communities with a higher level of female employment have a lesser capacity to provide the necessary care and protection for the children. Policies aiming at reducing social deprivation and strengthening female empowerment possess the potential to reduce child homicide in the community.

Keywords: child homicide, deprivation, empowerment, isolation

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Authors: Kristian Bautista, Ruben A. Idoy

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A bio-inspired metaheuristic algorithm inspired by the theory of collective animal behavior (CAB) was integrated to density-based clustering modeled as multimodal optimization problem. The algorithm was tested on synthetic, Iris, Glass, Pima and Thyroid data sets in order to measure its effectiveness relative to CDE-based Clustering algorithm. Upon preliminary testing, it was found out that one of the parameter settings used was ineffective in performing clustering when applied to the algorithm prompting the researcher to do an investigation. It was revealed that fine tuning distance δ3 that determines the extent to which a given data point will be clustered helped improve the quality of cluster output. Even though the modification of distance δ3 significantly improved the solution quality and cluster output of the algorithm, results suggest that there is no difference between the population mean of the solutions obtained using the original and modified parameter setting for all data sets. This implies that using either the original or modified parameter setting will not have any effect towards obtaining the best global and local animal positions. Results also suggest that CDE-based clustering algorithm is better than CAB-density clustering algorithm for all data sets. Nevertheless, CAB-density clustering algorithm is still a good clustering algorithm because it has correctly identified the number of classes of some data sets more frequently in a thirty trial run with a much smaller standard deviation, a potential in clustering high dimensional data sets. Thus, the researcher recommends further investigation in the post-processing stage of the algorithm.

Keywords: clustering, metaheuristics, collective animal behavior algorithm, density-based clustering, multimodal optimization

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Authors: Larry Audet

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Creativity is suddenly and fortunately a new educational focus in the United Arab Emirates and around the world. Yet still today many leaders of creativity are not sure how to introduce it to their teachers. It is impossible to simultaneously introduce every aspect of creativity into a work climate and reach any degree of organizational coherence. The number of alternatives to explore is so great; the information teachers need to learn is so vast, that even an approximation to including every concept and theory of creativity into the school organization is hard to conceive. Effective leaders of creativity need evidence-based and practical guidance for introducing and stimulating creativity in others. Machine learning models reveal new findings from KEYS Survey© data about teacher perceptions of stimulants and barriers to their individual and collective creativity. Findings from predictive and causal models provide leaders with a rational for decision-making when introducing creativity into their organization. Leaders should focus on management practices first. Analyses reveal that creative outcomes are more likely to occur when teachers perceive supportive management practices: providing teachers with challenging work that calls for their best efforts; allowing freedom and autonomy in their practice of work; allowing teachers to form creative work-groups; and, recognizing them for their efforts. Once management practices are in place, leaders should focus their efforts on modeling risk-taking, providing optimal amounts of preparation time, and evaluating teachers fairly.

Keywords: creativity, leadership, KEYS survey, teaching, work climate

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Authors: Abdiwahab Guled

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that emanates from a broad range of conditions, which affect the communication skills, social skills. It causes restrictive and repetitive behaviors to individuals. The number of children with ASD is an increasing prevalence around the world. Virtual reality (VR) is an assistive technology, which puts the learner in an immersive learning environment. It allows the learner to interact with that environment in a seemingly real or physical way using special electronic equipment, such as headsets. This exploratory study examines the potential benefits that VR may provide to improving the communication skills of children with ASD. Educating a child with ASD is challenging because access to services, resources, and support for autistic children is inadequate. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the challenges of teaching children with ASD and how VR might help teachers to improve the communication skills of these children with ASD. Online research and literature review were used as a method to gather previously published studies to identify the research gap and provide the groundwork for future studies. Results show that VR offers potential benefits to improving the communication skills of children with ASD but there is a gap in our understanding of the functionalities of all the features of VR technology and how we can utilize it to improve the communication skills of children with ASD. Communication is a broad subject and it is impossible for one study to evidently define the speech challenges of autistic children and provide an irrefutable solution. Therefore, this study proposes further research to dissect how can VR be used to improve the different communication challenges that impede the everyday functioning of autistic children.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autistic, Asperger, Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), virtual reality (VR).

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Authors: Ihsan Orsan Oglah Elrabbaei

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This research stems from the philosophy of education notion, as it is a fundamental pillar within or component of the philosophy of education. It is the general framework that society takes towards the future in order to build its integrated educational system amid the variables that surround it, in order to prepare its members in all aspects of cognitive, skill, and behavioral life, so that there is a clear concept of the system of productive values, according to the vision of philosophy that defines its future roles, which can be found in the system of productive values. With the resignation, everything changes. As a result, the philosophy of education is anticipated to evolve in response to perceived changes in society in terms of the nature of its human and material resources. The study will answer the following questions: Has the philosophy of education changed to accommodate this change? Alternatively, is the change that occurs because of natural growth without education having a role in directing this change and being aware of it in order to fit with national, regional, and global changes? Were the national educational goals and curricula and their programs viewed through the lenses of interest? On the other hand, do things happen without realizing that the philosophy of education has changed and that it proceeds according to the natural rolling of the invisible impulse? The study concluded that we must reconsider the philosophy of education and redefine who is an educated person. In addition, to recognize all the values of the roles that the individual can play in his society, according to his abilities, and with respect. Moreover, building a new philosophy of education based on what society can look at and what it wants from a flexible future takes the concept of changing life values, their contents, diversity, and the roles of each individual in them.

Keywords: higher education system, jordan, philosophy, premises preparation.

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Authors: Aarushi Agarwal, Tara Singh, I.L Singh, Anju Lata Singh, Trayambak Tiwari

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Simple discrimination in near absence of attention has been widely observed. Dual-task studies with natural scenes studies have been claimed as being preattentive in nature that facilitated categorization simultaneously with the attentional demanding task. So in this study, multiple images at the periphery are presented, initiating parallel processing in near absence of attention. For the central demanding task rotated letters were presented in both conditions, while in periphery natural and animal images were presented. To understand the breakpoint of ability to perform in near absence of attention one, two and three peripheral images were presented simultaneously with central task and subjects had to respond when all belong to the same category. Individual participant performance did not show a significant difference in both conditions central and peripheral task when the single peripheral image was shown. In case of two images high-level parallel processing could take place with little attentional resources. The eye tracking results supports the evidence as no major saccade was made in a large number of trials. Three image presentations proved to be a breaking point of the capacities to perform outside attentional assistance as participants showed a confused eye gaze pattern which failed to make the natural and animal image discriminations. Thus, we can conclude attention and awareness being independent mechanisms having limited capacities.

Keywords: attention, dual task pardigm, parallel processing, break point, saccade

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Authors: Charles Poleni Mukumba, Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu

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Purpose: Principles of public procurement are the foundation of good public procurement, representing best practices in delivering public services by the government and its organs. They provide guidance in the public procurement cycle to achieve the best value for public resources. Tendering stage in the procurement cycle is the most critical, as tendering information is made available to bidders. The paper evaluates the implementation of public procurement principles at the tendering stage. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research was conducted by using qualitative methods with 18 SME contractors in Lusaka as the sample. The samples are business owners and managers of purposively selected SME contractors. The collected data was analysed using thematic and content analysis. Findings: The findings indicate inconsistency in accessing information critical for tendering success by bidders. Further, the findings suggest that adjustments to technical specifications are made to suit certain preferred bidders by procuring officials. Research Limitations/Implications: The interviews were limited to SME contractors registered with the national council for construction and involved in public sector construction works in Lusaka, Zambia. Practical Implications: Implementing principles of public procurement at the tendering stage creates equal, open, and fair competition for the bidders in cost terms to deliver standardised and quality works to the public sector. Original/Value: The findings reveal how principles of public procurement play a critical role in enhancing the efficient performance of the procurement cycle at the tendering stage.

Keywords: evaluating, implementation, public procurement principles, tendering stage, SME contractors

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Authors: Caroline Correia, Stefani Perna, John Gaughan, Elizabeth Cerceo

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Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to how hospitals function on a daily basis. Increased personal protective equipment (PPE) usage and measures to pre-package, separate, and decontaminate have the potential to increase the waste load. However, limiting non-essential surgeries drastically reduces operating room (OR) waste, and restricting visitation policies to contain outbreaks may help conserve resources. The impact of these policy changes with increased disposable PPE usage on hospital production of waste is unknown. Methods: Waste produced in pounds (lbs) was measured for January through June during both 2019 and 2020 through Stericycle in Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. This timeframe was selected since the pandemic began in January 2020 in the US. The total waste produced during this time was 328,623 lbs in 2019 and 306,454 lbs in 2020. Using Poisson counts (α=.05), less waste was produced in 2020 (p < 0.001). The amount of sharps and regulated medical waste (grossly bloody items) were both significantly decreased as well (p < 0.0001, p=0.0002), and these account for 10-15% of the total waste produced. Discussion: Despite the increased usage of disposable PPE, overall hospital waste was decreased during the pandemic as compared to prior. As surgeries are estimated to be responsible for up to one-half of waste produced by hospitals, it is possible that constraint on elective procedures contributed to the decreased waste in all three categories; estimates of a 35% decrease in surgical volume would be expected to impact waste production. The effects of the pandemic on waste production should continue to be monitored to understand the environmental impact as health systems resume backlogged surgeries at a higher volume.

Keywords: COVID-19, hospital, surgery, waste

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Authors: Zhang Rui

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Multinational corporations have significantly increased their investment in China due to their strong economic strength and advanced production technology. On the one hand, this has promoted the development of China's economy, created a large amount of tax revenue for China's finance, and brought huge economic benefits to China's economic development. On the other hand, it has also consumed huge resources in China and even caused serious environmental damage, which has attracted widespread attention from all sectors of society to the environmental violations committed by multinational corporations in China. Due to the incomplete legal regulation of environmental responsibility of multinational corporations in China, there are legal gaps that provide convenient conditions for them to transfer pollution. These multinational corporations in China will take advantage of the loopholes in Chinese laws and even achieve "zero pollution" in their home country's environmental protection, but their branches in China only meet the minimum standards stipulated by Chinese environmental protection laws. Therefore, the differential treatment of environmental protection by multinational corporations urgently needs to be regulated from a legal perspective in China to promote the balance and harmony between ecological environment protection and economic development. At present, the environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations in China has received widespread attention from Chinese scholars. Through research on the environmental pollution and legal aspects of multinational corporations in China, it not only helps to enrich the theoretical research results of environmental pollution and legal regulation of multinational corporations in China, but also promotes the continuous improvement of the relevant legal system for environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations in China, so as to effectively regulate the environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations in China in practice, and provide legal basis for the governance of environmental violations.

Keywords: international law, environmental law, multinational corporations, jurisdiction

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Authors: Xue Junwei

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In the global economy, multinational corporations face challenges due to cultural differences impacting consumer behavior. Understanding these influences is vital for effective business decisions in the Chinese market. This study aims to analyze how cultural differences affect consumer behavior when multinational corporations enter the Chinese market, using cultural dimensions theory to derive marketing mix strategies. The study employs statistical analysis of cultural dimensions to investigate the impact on consumer behavior and derive marketing strategies for multinational corporations entering the Chinese market. Furthermore, this study enhances the study by incorporating qualitative data to complement the statistical analysis, providing a more comprehensive understanding of cultural impacts on consumer behavior. The study reveals significant implications of cultural differences on consumer behavior and provides insights into tailored marketing mix strategies for multinational corporations in the Chinese market. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of how cultural dimensions influence consumer behavior and provides practical implications for multinational corporations entering the Chinese market. Data on cultural dimensions are collected and analyzed statistically and qualitatively to understand their impact on consumer behavior and derive effective marketing strategies. This study concludes that cultural differences have a profound impact on consumer behavior in the Chinese market, and understanding these nuances is crucial for the success of multinational corporations. Tailored marketing strategies are essential for navigating these cultural challenges.

Keywords: marketing, multinational company, globalization, cultural differences

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Authors: Yusuf Jundi Sado

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Changes in land use are mostly credited to human actions that result in negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. This study aims to analyze the dynamics of land use and land cover changes for sustainable natural resources planning and management. Chilalo-Galama Mountain Range, Ethiopia. This study used Thematic Mapper 05 (TM) for 1986, 2001 and Landsat 8 (OLI) data 2017. Additionally, data from the Central Statistics Agency on human population growth were analyzed. Semi-Automatic classification plugin (SCP) in QGIS 3.2.3 software was used for image classification. Global positioning system, field observations and focus group discussions were used for ground verification. Land Use Land Cover (LU/LC) change analysis was using maximum likelihood supervised classification and changes were calculated for the 1986–2001 and the 2001–2017 and 1986-2017 periods. The results show that agricultural land increased from 27.85% (1986) to 44.43% and 51.32% in 2001 and 2017, respectively with the overall accuracies of 92% (1986), 90.36% (2001), and 88% (2017). On the other hand, forests decreased from 8.51% (1986) to 7.64 (2001) and 4.46% (2017), and grassland decreased from 37.47% (1986) to 15.22%, and 15.01% in 2001 and 2017, respectively. It indicates for the years 1986–2017 the largest area cover gain of agricultural land was obtained from grassland. The matrix also shows that shrubland gained land from agricultural land, afro-alpine, and forest land. Population dynamics is found to be one of the major driving forces for the LU/LU changes in the study area.

Keywords: Landsat, LU/LC change, Semi-Automatic classification plugin, population dynamics, Ethiopia

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Authors: Masica Jordan Alston, Angela N. Bullock, Angela S. Henderson, Stephanie Strianse, Sade Dunn, Joseph Hackett, Alaysia Black Hackett, Marcus Mason

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The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief was created in 2018. The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief utilizes historic models of grief stage theories. The innovative model is additionally unique due to its focus on cultural responsiveness. The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief helps to train practitioners who work with clients dealing with grief and loss. This paper assists in introducing the world to this innovative model and exploring how this model positively impacted a convenience sample of 140 practitioners and individuals experiencing grief and loss. Respondents participated in Webinars provided by the National Grief and Loss Center of America (NGLCA). Participants in this cross-sectional research design study completed one of three Grief and Loss Surveys created by the Grief and Loss Centers of America. Data analysis for this study was conducted via SPSS and Survey Hero to examine survey results for respondents. Results indicate that the Energy Model of Cumulative Grief was an effective resource for participants in addressing grief and loss. The majority of participants found the Webinars to be helpful and a conduit to providing them with higher levels of hope. The findings suggest that using The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief is effective in providing culturally responsive grief and loss resources to practitioners and clients. There are far reaching implications with the use of technology to provide hope to those suffering from grief and loss worldwide through The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief.

Keywords: grief, loss, grief energy, grieving brain

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Authors: Save Kumwenda, Khumbo Kalulu, Kondwani Chidziwisano, Limbani Kalumbi, Vincent Doyle, Bagrey Ngwira

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Introduction: The Malawi Government in partnership with Non-Governmental Organizations adopted Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in 2008 as an approach in sanitation and hygiene promotion with an aim of declaring Malawi Open Defeacation Free (ODF) by 2015. While there is a significant body of research into CLTS available in public domain, there is little research done on challenges faced in implementing CLTS in Malawi. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study was carried out in three districts of Ntcheu, Balaka, and Phalombe. Data was collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key informant interviews (KII) and analysed manually. Results: In total, 96 people took part in FGDs and 9 people in KII. It was shown that choice of leaders after triggering was commonly done by chiefs, facilitators, and VHC without following CLTS principles as opposed to identifying individuals who showed leadership skills. Despite capacity building initiatives involving District Coordinating Teams, lack of resources to undertake follow-ups contributed to failure to sustain ODF in the community. It was also found that while most respondents appreciating the need for no subsidies, the elderly and those with disabilities felt the need for external support because do not have money for buying strong logs, slabs for durable toilet floor and also to hire people to build latrines for them. Conclusion: Effective implementation of CLTS requires comprehensive consideration of various issues that may affect its success.

Keywords: open defecation, community-led, sanitation, faecal matter, hygiene, Malawi

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Authors: A. Swetha

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This study aims to prioritize and explore critical risks in construction project assessment, employing the Weighted Average Index method and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Through extensive literature review and expert interviews, project assessment risk factors were identified across Budget and Cost Management Risk, Schedule and Time Management Risk, Scope and Planning Risk, Safety and Regulatory Compliance Risk, Resource Management Risk, Communication and Stakeholder Management Risk, and Environmental and Sustainability Risk domains. A questionnaire was distributed to stakeholders involved in construction activities in Hyderabad, India, with 180 completed responses analyzed using the Weighted Average Index method to prioritize risk factors. Subsequently, PCA was used to understand relationships between these factors and uncover underlying patterns. Results highlighted dependencies on critical resources, inadequate risk assessment, cash flow constraints, and safety concerns as top priorities, while factors like currency exchange rate fluctuations and delayed information dissemination ranked lower but remained significant. These insights offer valuable guidance for stakeholders to mitigate risks effectively and enhance project outcomes. By adopting systematic risk assessment and management approaches, construction projects in Hyderabad and beyond can navigate challenges more efficiently, ensuring long-term viability and resilience.

Keywords: construction project assessment risk factor, risk prioritization, weighted average index, principal component analysis, project risk factors

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Authors: Ruolan Zhang, Ryo Imai, Naoko Senda, Tomoyuki Sakai

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Enzymes have attracted increasing attentions in industrial manufacturing for their applicability in catalyzing complex chemical reactions under mild conditions. Directed evolution has become a powerful approach to optimize enzymes and exploit their full potentials under the circumstance of insufficient structure-function knowledge. With the incorporation of cell-free synthetic biotechnology, rapid enzyme synthesis can be realized because no cloning procedure such as transfection is needed. Its open environment also enables direct enzyme measurement. These properties of cell-free biotechnology lead to excellent throughput of enzymes generation. However, the capabilities of current screening methods have limitations. Fluorescence-based assay needs applicable fluorescent label, and the reliability of acquired enzymatic activity is influenced by fluorescent label’s binding affinity and photostability. To acquire the natural activity of an enzyme, another method is to combine pre-screening step and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) measurement. But its throughput is limited by necessary time investment. Hundreds of variants are selected from libraries, and their enzymatic activities are then identified one by one by HPLC. The turn-around-time is 30 minutes for one sample by HPLC, which limits the acquirable enzyme improvement within reasonable time. To achieve the real high-throughput enzyme screening, i.e., obtain reliable enzyme improvement within reasonable time, a widely applicable high-throughput measurement of enzymatic reactions is highly demanded. Here, a high-throughput screening method using broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) was proposed. CARS is one of coherent Raman spectroscopy, which can identify label-free chemical components specifically from their inherent molecular vibration. These characteristic vibrational signals are generated from different vibrational modes of chemical bonds. With the broadband CARS, chemicals in one sample can be identified from their signals in one broadband CARS spectrum. Moreover, it can magnify the signal levels to several orders of magnitude greater than spontaneous Raman systems, and therefore has the potential to evaluate chemical's concentration rapidly. As a demonstration of screening with CARS, alcohol dehydrogenase, which converts ethanol and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidized form (NAD+) to acetaldehyde and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide reduced form (NADH), was used. The signal of NADH at 1660 cm⁻¹, which is generated from nicotinamide in NADH, was utilized to measure the concentration of it. The evaluation time for CARS signal of NADH was determined to be as short as 0.33 seconds while having a system sensitivity of 2.5 mM. The time course of alcohol dehydrogenase reaction was successfully measured from increasing signal intensity of NADH. This measurement result of CARS was consistent with the result of a conventional method, UV-Vis. CARS is expected to have application in high-throughput enzyme screening and realize more reliable enzyme improvement within reasonable time.

Keywords: Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy, CARS, directed evolution, enzyme screening, Raman spectroscopy

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Authors: Jeyarajan Sivapathasundram

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Knowledge management has been recognised as an emerging factor for being competitive among institutions and performances in firms. As such, being recognised as knowledge rich institution, higher education institutes have to be recognised knowledge management based resources for achieving competitive advantages. Present research picked result out of postgraduate research conducted in knowledge management at non-state higher educational institutes of Sri Lanka. Besides, the present research aimed to discover knowledge management for competition and firm performances of higher educational institutes out of the result produced by the postgraduate study. Besides, the results are found in a pair that developed out of knowledge management practices and the reason behind the existence of the practices. As such, the present research has developed a filter to pick the pairs that satisfy its condition of competition and performance of the firm. As such, the pair, such as benchmarking is practised to be ethically competing through conducting courses. As the postgraduate research tested results of foreign researches in a qualitative paradigm, the finding of the present research are generalise fact for knowledge management for competitiveness and performances in higher educational institutes. Further, the presented research method used attributes which explain competition and performance in its filter to discover the pairs relevant to competition and performances. As such, the fact in regards to knowledge management for competition and performances in higher educational institutes are presented in the publication that the presentation is out of the generalised result. Therefore, knowledge management for competition and performance in higher educational institutes are generalised.

Keywords: competition in and among higher educational institutes, performances of higher educational institutes, noun based filtering, production out of generalisation of a research

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Authors: Mukhtiar Singh, Sumeet Nagar

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Vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a combinatorial optimization and nonlinear programming problem aiming to optimize decisions regarding given set of routes for a fleet of vehicles in order to provide cost-effective and efficient delivery of both services and goods to the intended customers. This paper proposes the application of integrated particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic optimization algorithm (GA) to address the Vehicle routing problem in sugarcane industry in India. Suger industry is very prominent agro-based industry in India due to its impacts on rural livelihood and estimated to be employing around 5 lakhs workers directly in sugar mills. Due to various inadequacies, inefficiencies and inappropriateness associated with the current vehicle routing model it costs huge money loss to the industry which needs to be addressed in proper context. The proposed algorithm utilizes the crossover operation that originally appears in genetic algorithm (GA) to improve its flexibility and manipulation more readily and avoid being trapped in local optimum, and simultaneously for improving the convergence speed of the algorithm, level set theory is also added to it. We employ the hybrid approach to an example of VRP and compare its result with those generated by PSO, GA, and parallel PSO algorithms. The experimental comparison results indicate that the performance of hybrid algorithm is superior to others, and it will become an effective approach for solving discrete combinatory problems.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, vehicle routing problem

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Authors: Yanga Lusanda Praiseworth Majola

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The small town of Umzimkhulu is situated in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and was once the Bantustan of Transkei. Citizens of Umzimkulu are called amaBhaca because they speak isiBhaca, which is a non-standard language but is mutually intelligible to three standard official languages, isiXhosa, isiZulu, and siSwati. Since Umzimkhulu was under the Eastern Cape Province prior to 2006, isiXhosa is used for official purposes, particularly in schools, then isiZulu is used in other sectors; this is despite the fact that the majority of Umzimkhulu citizens regard themselves as amaBhaca. This poses a threat to both isiBhaca as a language and the identity of amaBhaca because Umzimkhulu is situated in KZN, where isiZulu is the dominant language spoken by the majority in the province. The primary objective of this study is to unveil, using the language dominance theory, how dominant languages pose a threat to minority and developing languages or dialects. The study employed a mixed-methods approach. Data was obtained from key community members and leaders who were identified as amaBhaca, who have lived in Umzimkhulu their whole lives. The main findings of the study are that although isiBhaca is classified as a dialect of isiXhosa, linguistically, it is closer to isiZulu, and thus isiZulu poses much threat to the existence of isiBhaca since it becomes easy for amaBhaca to switch from isiBhaca to isiZulu and end up not having an interest in isiBhaca. Respondents revealed that in their view, isiBhaca is a language of its own, and the continuous use and empowerment of isiZulu in Umzimkhulu, particularly in the professional settings, is detrimental to isiBhaca, and this subsequently has the potential of endangering the existence of isiBhaca and might lead to its attrition.

Keywords: language dominance, dominant languages, minority languages, language attrition

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Authors: Sana Dridi, Jalel Aouissi, Rafla Attia, Taoufik Hermassi, Thouraya Sahli

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Soil erosion is an increasing issue in Mediterranean countries. In Tunisia, the capacity of dam reservoirs continues to decrease as a consequence of soil erosion. This study aims to predict sediment yield to enrich soil management practices using Soil and Water Assessment Tools model (SWAT) in the Siliana watershed (1041.6 km²), located in the northwest of Tunisia. A database was constructed using remote sensing and Geographical Information System. Climatic and flow data were collected from water resources directorates in Tunisia. The SWAT model was built to simulate hydrological processes and sediment transport. A sensitivity analysis, calibration, and validation were performed using SWAT-CUP software. The model calibration of stream flow simulations shows a good performance with NSE and R² values of 0.77 and 0.79, respectively. The model validation shows a very good performance with values of NSE and R² for 0.8 and 0.88, respectively. After calibration and validation of stream flow simulation, the model was used to simulate the soil erosion and sediment load transport. The spatial distributions of soil loss rate for determining the critical sediment source areas show that 63 % of the study area has a low soil loss rate less than 7 t ha⁻¹y⁻¹. The annual average soil loss rate simulated with the SWAT model in the Siliana watershed is 4.62 t ha⁻¹y⁻¹.

Keywords: water erosion, SWAT model, streamflow, SWATCUP, sediment yield

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Authors: Grzegorz Mazurek, Michal Kucia

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The following study of a preliminary character, presents a first step of multifaceted study on the usage of social media in HEIs. It examines a significance, potential, and managerial implications of social media marketing and blogs usage in HEIs – namely in the sphere of business schools. Social media – particularly: blogging and virtual platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram have been covered at length in publications of both theoretical and practical nature as of late. Still, the amount of information related to the framework of application of social media in HEIs is rather limited. A pre-designed observation matrix has been used to collect primary data found at websites of different HEIs and to include blog observations. Additionally, a pilot study based on on-line questionnaires with marketing officers of HEI schools has been conducted. The main aim of the study was to identify and elaborate on matters like the scope of social media usage (and blogs in particular) in practice, recognition of the functions fulfilled by social media and blogs, or the anticipated potential of social media for HEIs. The study reveals that the majority of business schools highly ranked in Financial Times rankings use social media and interactive functionalities of their web sites, however, mostly for promotional reasons, and they are targeted at new students. The usage of blogs, though, is not so common and in most cases, blogs are independent platforms, not managed but supported by organizations. Managers and specialists point to lack of resources, insufficient users’ engagement and lack of strategic approach to social media as the main reasons of not advancing in the usage of blogs and social media platforms.

Keywords: blogs, social media marketing, higher education institutions, business schools, value co-creation

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Authors: Sana Abusin

Abstract:

Food security in Qatar is a research priority of Qatar University (2021-2025) and all national strategies, including the Qatar National Vision 2030 and food security strategy (2018-2023). Achieving food security requires three actions: 1) transforming surplus food to those who are insecure; 2) reducing food loss and waste by recycling food into valuable resources such as compost (“green fertilizer”) that can be used in growing food; and, finally, 3) establishing strong enforcement agencies to protect consumers from outdated food and promote healthy food. Currently, these objectives are approached separately and not in a sustainable fashion. Food security in Qatar is a research priority of Qatar University (2021-2025) and all national strategies, including the Qatar National Vision 2030 and food security strategy (2018-2023). The study aims to develop an innovative mobile application that supports a sustainable solution to food insecurity and food waste in Qatar. The application will provide a common solution for many different users. For producers, it will facilitate easy disposal of excess food. For charities, it will notify them about surplus food ready for redistribution. The application will also benefit the second layer of end-users in the form of food recycling companies, who will receive information about available food waste that is unable to be consumed. We will use self-exoplanetary diagrams and digital pictures to show all the steps to the final stage. The aim is to motivate the young generation toward innovation and creation, and to encourage public-private collaboration in this sector.

Keywords: food security, innovative technology, sustainability, food waste, Qatar

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Authors: Shaza Melies, Abeer Refky, Nihad Mansoor

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Multimodality involves the communication between verbal and visual components in various discourses. A painting represents a form of communication between the artist and the viewer in terms of colors, shades, objects, and the title. This paper aims to present how multimodality can be used to decode the verbal and visual dimensions a painting holds. For that purpose, this study uses Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar for the analysis of the multimodal semiotic resources of selected paintings of Salvador Dali. This study investigates the visual decoding of the selected paintings of Salvador Dali and analyzing their social and political meanings using Kress and van Leeuwen’s framework of visual grammar. The paper attempts to answer the following questions: 1. How far can multimodality decode the verbal and non-verbal meanings of surrealistic art? 2. How can Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar be applied to analyze Dali’s paintings? 3. To what extent is Kress and van Leeuwen’s theoretical framework of visual grammar apt to deliver political and social messages of Dali? The paper reached the following findings: the framework’s descriptive tools (representational, interactive, and compositional meanings) can be used to analyze the paintings’ title and their visual elements. Social and political messages were delivered by appropriate usage of color, gesture, vectors, modality, and the way social actors were represented.

Keywords: multimodal analysis, painting analysis, Salvador Dali, visual grammar

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Authors: G. Erkomaishvili, M. Kobalava, T. Lazariashvili, N. Damenia

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Current state of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia is analyzed and evaluated in the paper, the existing legislative background for regulating investments and stimulating policies to attract investments are shown. It is noted that in developing countries encouragement of investment activity, support and implementation are of the most important tasks, implying a consistent investment policy, investor-friendly tax regime and the legal system, reducing administrative barriers and restrictions, fare competitive conditions and business development infrastructure. The work deals with the determining factor of FDIs and the main directions of stimulation, as well as prospective industries where new investments are needed. Contributing and hindering factors and stimulating measures are analyzed. As a result of the research, the direct and indirect factors attracting FDI have been identified. Facilitating factors to FDI inflow are as follows: simplicity of starting business, geopolitical location, low taxes, access to credit, ease of ownership registration, natural resources, low burden of regulations, low level of corruption and low crime rates. Hindering factors to FDI inflow are as follows: small market, lack of policy for attracting investments, low qualification of the workforce (despite the large number of unemployed people it is difficult to find workers with necessary special skills and qualifications), high interest rates, instability of national currency exchange rate, presence of conflict zones within the country and so forth.

Keywords: foreign direct investment, investor, investment attracting marketing policies, reinvestment

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