Search results for: English learning barriers
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 9467

Search results for: English learning barriers

1577 Fast Adjustable Threshold for Uniform Neural Network Quantization

Authors: Alexander Goncharenko, Andrey Denisov, Sergey Alyamkin, Evgeny Terentev

Abstract:

The neural network quantization is highly desired procedure to perform before running neural networks on mobile devices. Quantization without fine-tuning leads to accuracy drop of the model, whereas commonly used training with quantization is done on the full set of the labeled data and therefore is both time- and resource-consuming. Real life applications require simplification and acceleration of quantization procedure that will maintain accuracy of full-precision neural network, especially for modern mobile neural network architectures like Mobilenet-v1, MobileNet-v2 and MNAS. Here we present a method to significantly optimize training with quantization procedure by introducing the trained scale factors for discretization thresholds that are separate for each filter. Using the proposed technique, we quantize the modern mobile architectures of neural networks with the set of train data of only ∼ 10% of the total ImageNet 2012 sample. Such reduction of train dataset size and small number of trainable parameters allow to fine-tune the network for several hours while maintaining the high accuracy of quantized model (accuracy drop was less than 0.5%). Ready-for-use models and code are available in the GitHub repository.

Keywords: distillation, machine learning, neural networks, quantization

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1576 Traumatic Brain Injury Neurosurgical Care Continuum Delays in Mulago Hospital in Kampala Uganda

Authors: Silvia D. Vaca, Benjamin J. Kuo, Joao Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci, Catherine A. Staton, Linda W. Xu, Michael Muhumuza, Hussein Ssenyonjo, John Mukasa, Joel Kiryabwire, Henry E. Rice, Gerald A. Grant, Michael M. Haglund

Abstract:

Background: Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can develop rapid neurological deterioration from swelling and intracranial hematomas, which can result in focal tissue ischemia, brain compression, and herniation. Moreover, delays in management increase the risk of secondary brain injury from hypoxemia and hypotension. Therefore, in TBI patients with subdural hematomas (SDHs) and epidural hematomas (EDHs), surgical intervention is both necessary and time sensitive. Significant delays are seen along the care continuum in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) largely due to limited healthcare capacity to address the disproportional rates of TBI in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). While many LMICs have subsidized systems to offset surgical costs, the burden of securing funds by the patients for medications, supplies, and CT diagnostics poses a significant challenge to timely surgical interventions. In Kampala Uganda, the challenge of obtaining timely CT scans is twofold: logistical and financial barriers. These bottlenecks contribute significantly to the care continuum delays and are associated with poor TBI outcomes. Objective: The objectives of this study are to 1) describe the temporal delays through a modified three delays model that fits the context of neurosurgical interventions for TBI patients in Kampala and 2) investigate the association between delays and mortality. Methods: Prospective data were collected for 563 TBI patients presenting to a tertiary hospital in Kampala from 1 June – 30 November 2016. Four time intervals were constructed along five time points: injury, hospital arrival, neurosurgical evaluation, CT results, and definitive surgery. Time interval differences among mild, moderate and severe TBI and their association with mortality were analyzed. Results: The mortality rate of all TBI patients presenting to MNRH was 9.6%, which ranged from 4.7% for mild and moderate TBI patients receiving surgery to 81.8% for severe TBI patients who failed to receive surgery. The duration from injury to surgery varied considerably across TBI severity with the largest gap seen between mild TBI (174 hours) and severe TBI (69 hours) patients. Further analysis revealed care continuum differences for interval 3 (neurosurgical evaluation to CT result) and 4 (CT result to surgery) between severe TBI patients (7 hours for interval 3 and 24 hours for interval 4) and mild TBI patients (19 hours for interval 3, and 96 hours for interval 4). These post-arrival delays were associated with mortality for mild (p=0.05) and moderate TBI (p=0.03) patients. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first analysis using a modified 'three delays' framework to analyze the care continuum of TBI patients in Uganda from injury to surgery. We found significant associations between delays and mortality for mild and moderate TBI patients. As it currently stands, poorer outcomes were observed for these mild and moderate TBI patients who were managed non-operatively or failed to receive surgery while surgical services were shunted to more severely ill patients. While well intentioned, high mortality rates were still observed for the severe TBI patients managed surgically. These results suggest the need for future research to optimize triage practices, understand delay contributors, and improve pre-hospital logistical referral systems.

Keywords: care continuum, global neurosurgery, Kampala Uganda, LMIC, Mulago, traumatic brain injury

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1575 Geotechnical Challenges for the Use of Sand-sludge Mixtures in Covers for the Rehabilitation of Acid-Generating Mine Sites

Authors: Mamert Mbonimpa, Ousseynou Kanteye, Élysée Tshibangu Ngabu, Rachid Amrou, Abdelkabir Maqsoud, Tikou Belem

Abstract:

The management of mine wastes (waste rocks and tailings) containing sulphide minerals such as pyrite and pyrrhotite represents the main environmental challenge for the mining industry. Indeed, acid mine drainage (AMD) can be generated when these wastes are exposed to water and air. AMD is characterized by low pH and high concentrations of heavy metals, which are toxic to plants, animals, and humans. It affects the quality of the ecosystem through water and soil pollution. Different techniques involving soil materials can be used to control AMD generation, including impermeable covers (compacted clays) and oxygen barriers. The latter group includes covers with capillary barrier effects (CCBE), a multilayered cover that include the moisture retention layer playing the role of an oxygen barrier. Once AMD is produced at a mine site, it must be treated so that the final effluent at the mine site complies with regulations and can be discharged into the environment. Active neutralization with lime is one of the treatment methods used. This treatment produces sludge that is usually stored in sedimentation ponds. Other sludge management alternatives have been examined in recent years, including sludge co-disposal with tailings or waste rocks, disposal in underground mine excavations, and storage in technical landfill sites. Considering the ability of AMD neutralization sludge to maintain an alkaline to neutral pH for decades or even centuries, due to the excess alkalinity induced by residual lime within the sludge, valorization of sludge in specific applications could be an interesting management option. If done efficiently, the reuse of sludge could free up storage ponds and thus reduce the environmental impact. It should be noted that mixtures of sludge and soils could potentially constitute usable materials in CCBE for the rehabilitation of acid-generating mine sites, while sludge alone is not suitable for this purpose. The high sludge water content (up to 300%), even after sedimentation, can, however, constitute a geotechnical challenge. Adding lime to the mixtures can reduce the water content and improve the geotechnical properties. The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of the sludge content (30, 40 and 50%) in sand-sludge mixtures (SSM) on their hydrogeotechnical properties (compaction, shrinkage behaviour, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and water retention curve). The impact of lime addition (dosages from 2% to 6%) on the moisture content, dry density after compaction and saturated hydraulic conductivity of SSM was also investigated. Results showed that sludge adding to sand significantly improves the saturated hydraulic conductivity and water retention capacity, but the shrinkage increased with sludge content. The dry density after compaction of lime-treated SSM increases with the lime dosage but remains lower than the optimal dry density of the untreated mixtures. The saturated hydraulic conductivity of lime-treated SSM after 24 hours of cure decreases by 3 orders of magnitude. Considering the hydrogeotechnical properties obtained with these mixtures, it would be possible to design CCBE whose moisture retention layer is made of SSM. Physical laboratory models confirmed the performance of such CCBE.

Keywords: mine waste, AMD neutralization sludge, sand-sludge mixture, hydrogeotechnical properties, mine site reclamation, CCBE

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1574 A Case Study on EFL Teachers’ Experience with Reflective Practice in a Professional Development Course in Kuwait

Authors: Maaly Jarrah

Abstract:

There is no doubt that reflective practice has become a stable component in continuous professional development (CPD) courses around the world for the purpose of promoting teacher development, meaningful learning, and deliberate teacher personal and professional growth. However, while there is much research on the benefits of integrating reflective practice in teacher CPD courses, not enough research explores EFL teachers’ experiences with engagement in reflective practice in the CPD from their own perspectives. This research employed a case study approach to explore the experience of 7 EFL teachers with engaging in reflective practice in a CPD course that took place in Kuwait.The participating EFL teachers engaged in collaborative dialogue reflections and completed reflection journal entries as part of the course. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically. Findings indicate that the participating teachers’ positive experience with reflective practice is associated with their engagement in collaborative dialogue reflections, while challenges and negative feelings are associated with writing their reflection journal entries. Accordingly, the study offers recommendations for CPD courses to help improve EFL teachers’ experiences with engagement in reflective practice.

Keywords: Collaborative dialogue reflections, continuous professional development, EFL teachers, reflection journals, teacher reflective practice

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1573 Ubiquitous Life People Informatics Engine (U-Life PIE): Wearable Health Promotion System

Authors: Yi-Ping Lo, Shi-Yao Wei, Chih-Chun Ma

Abstract:

Since Google launched Google Glass in 2012, numbers of commercial wearable devices were released, such as smart belt, smart band, smart shoes, smart clothes ... etc. However, most of these devices perform as sensors to show the readings of measurements and few of them provide the interactive feedback to the user. Furthermore, these devices are single task devices which are not able to communicate with each other. In this paper a new health promotion system, Ubiquitous Life People Informatics Engine (U-Life PIE), will be presented. This engine consists of People Informatics Engine (PIE) and the interactive user interface. PIE collects all the data from the compatible devices, analyzes this data comprehensively and communicates between devices via various application programming interfaces. All the data and informations are stored on the PIE unit, therefore, the user is able to view the instant and historical data on their mobile devices any time. It also provides the real-time hands-free feedback and instructions through the user interface visually, acoustically and tactilely. These feedback and instructions suggest the user to adjust their posture or habits in order to avoid the physical injuries and prevent illness.

Keywords: machine learning, wearable devices, user interface, user experience, internet of things

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1572 The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Teaching Performance at an Iranian University

Authors: Yusef Hedjazi, Saeedeh Nazari Nooghabi

Abstract:

New information and communication technologies (ICT) as one of the main needs of Faculty members in the process of teaching and learning has used in Irans higher education system since 2000.The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching performance of Agricultural and Natural Resources Faculties at University of Tehran. The statistical population of the study consisted of all 250 faculties in Agriculture and Natural Resources Colleges and a questionnaire was used to collect data. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by computing of Cronbachs Alpha coefficient at greater than .72. The study showed a significant relationship between agricultural Faculty members teaching performance and competency in using ICT. The results of the regression analysis also explained 51.7% of the variance, teaching performance. The six independent variables that accounted for the explained variance were experience in using educational websites or software, use of educational multimedia (e.g. film and CD, etc), making a presentation using PowerPoint, familiarity with online education websites, using News group to discuss on educational subjects with colleagues and students, and using Electronic communication (messengers) to solve studentsproblems.

Keywords: information and communication technologies, agricultural and natural resources, faculties, teaching performance

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1571 Exploring Managerial Approaches towards Green Manufacturing: A Thematic Analysis

Authors: Hakimeh Masoudigavgani

Abstract:

Since manufacturing firms deplete non-renewable resources and pollute air, soil, and water in greatly unsustainable manner, industrial activities or production of products are considered to be a key contributor to adverse environmental impacts. Hence, management strategies and approaches that involve an effective supply chain decision process in a manufacturing sector could be extremely significant to the application of environmental initiatives. Green manufacturing (GM) is one of these strategies which minimises negative effects on the environment through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste, and the consumption of energy and natural resources. This paper aims to explore what greening methods and mechanisms could be applied in the manufacturing supply chain and what are the outcomes of adopting these methods in terms of abating environmental burdens? The study is an interpretive research with an exploratory approach, using thematic analysis by coding text, breaking down and grouping the content of collected literature into various themes and categories. It is found that green supply chain could be attained through execution of some pre-production strategies including green building, eco-design, and green procurement as well as a number of in-production and post-production strategies involving green manufacturing and green logistics. To achieve an effective GM, the pre-production strategies are suggested to be employed. This paper defines GM as (1) the analysis of the ecological impacts generated by practices, products, production processes, and operational functions, and (2) the implementation of greening methods to reduce damaging influences of them on the natural environment. Analysis means assessing, monitoring, and auditing of practices in order to measure and pinpoint their harmful impacts. Moreover, greening methods involved within GM (arranged in order from the least to the most level of environmental compliance and techniques) consist of: •product stewardship (e.g. less use of toxic, non-renewable, and hazardous materials in the manufacture of the product; and stewardship of the environmental problems with regard to the product in all production, use, and end-of-life stages); •process stewardship (e.g. controlling carbon emission, energy and resources usage, transportation method, and disposal; reengineering polluting processes; recycling waste materials generated in production); •lean and clean production practices (e.g. elimination of waste, materials replacement, materials reduction, resource-efficient consumption, energy-efficient usage, emission reduction, managerial assessment, waste re-use); •use of eco-industrial parks (e.g. a shared warehouse, shared logistics management system, energy co-generation plant, effluent treatment). However, the focus of this paper is only on methods related to the in-production phase and needs further research on both pre-production and post-production environmental innovations. The outlined methods in this investigation may possibly be taken into account by policy/decision makers. Additionally, the proposed future research direction and identified gaps can be filled by scholars and researchers. The paper compares and contrasts a variety of viewpoints and enhances the body of knowledge by building a definition for GM through synthesising literature and categorising the strategic concept of greening methods, drivers, barriers, and successful implementing tactics.

Keywords: green manufacturing (GM), product stewardship, process stewardship, clean production, eco-industrial parks (EIPs)

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1570 Analyse of User Interface Design in Mobile Teaching Apps

Authors: Asma Ashoul

Abstract:

Nowadays, smartphones are playing a major role in our lives, by communicating with family, friends or using them to learn different things in life. Using smartphones to learn and teach today is something common to see in places like schools or colleges. Therefore, thinking about developing an app that teaches Arabic language may help some categories in society to learn a second language. For example, kids under the age of five or older would learn fast by using smartphones. The problem is based on the Arabic language, which is most like to be not used anymore. The developer assumed to develop an app that would help the younger generation on their learning the Arabic language. A research was completed about user interface design to help the developer choose appropriate layouts and designs. Developing the artefact contained different stages. First, analyzing the requirements with the client, which is needed to be developed. Secondly, designing the user interface design based on the literature review. Thirdly, developing and testing the application after it is completed contacting all the tools that have been used. Lastly, evaluation and future recommendation, which contained the overall view about the application followed by the client’s feedback. Gathering the requirements after having client meetings based on the interface design. The project was done following an agile development methodology. Therefore, this methodology helped the developer to manage to finish the work on time.

Keywords: developer, application, interface design, layout, Agile, client

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1569 Activation of Google Classroom Features to Engage Introvert Students in Comprehensible Output

Authors: Raghad Dwaik

Abstract:

It is well known in language acquisition literature that a mere understanding of a reading text is not enough to help students build proficiency in comprehension. Students should rather follow understanding by attempting to express what has been understood by pushing their competence to the limit. Learners' attempt to push their competence was given the term "comprehensible output" by Swain (1985). Teachers in large classes, however, find it sometimes difficult to give all students a chance to communicate their views or to share their ideas during the short class time. In most cases, students who are outgoing dominate class discussion and get more opportunities for practice which leads to ignoring the shy students totally while helping the good ones become better. This paper presents the idea of using Google Classroom features of posting and commenting to allow students who hesitate to participate in class discussions about a reading text to write their views on the wall of a Google Classroom and share them later after they have received feedback and comments from classmates. Such attempts lead to developing their proficiency through additional practice in comprehensible output and to enhancing their confidence in themselves and their views. It was found that virtual classroom interaction would help students maintain vocabulary, use more complex structures and focus on meaning besides form.

Keywords: learning groups, reading TESOL, Google Classroom, comprehensible output

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1568 Tiaki Moemoeā: The Dream Keeper’s Role Within the Learning Journey of Cook Island Nursing Students

Authors: Yvonne Kainuku, Wendy Trimmer

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A critical element in closing the gaps in health disparities is the presence of a culturally appropriate health workforce. This study presents one of the findings from a qualitative study that explored the lived experiences of Cook Islands peoples during their three-year nursing training within a Bachelor of Nursing Pacific (BNP) programme in Aotearoa NZ. The study utilized both qualitative and context-specific methods; these included the Tivaevae Research Model and Qualitative Inquiry. The aim of the research was to collect stories from registered nurses about their experiences of culturally responsive pedagogy and their connection to content relating to Pacific world views and Pacific ways of knowing while they were students. Further to this, the researcher sought to recognize factors that supported the participant's successful completion of becoming a registered nurse. This study will introduce the theme of Tiaki moemoeā (dream keeper), identifying essential elements that engage learners along their journey. The various features that define the theme Tiaki moemoeā (dream keeper) have the potential to contribute to transformational change in nursing education training in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Keywords: education, nursing, pacific, pedagogy

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1567 Invisible to Invaluable - How Social Media is Helping Tackle Stigma and Discrimination Against Informal Waste Pickers of Bengaluru

Authors: Varinder Kaur Gambhir, Neema Gupta, Sonal Tickoo Chaudhuri

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Bengaluru, a rapidly growing metropolis in India, with a population of 12.5 million citizens, generates 5,757 metric tonnes of solid waste per day. Despite their invaluable contribution to waste management, society and the economy, waste pickers face significant stigma, suspicion and contempt and are left with a sense of shame about their work. In this context, BBC Media Action was funded by the H&M Foundation to develop a 3-year multi-phase social media campaign to shift perceptions of waste picking and informal waste pickers amongst the Bengaluru population. Research has been used to inform project strategy and adaptation, at all stages. Formative research to inform campaign strategy used mixed methods– 14 focused group discussions followed by 406 online surveys – to explore people’s knowledge of, and attitudes towards waste pickers, and identify potential barriers and motivators to changing perceptions. Use of qualitative techniques like metaphor maps (using bank of pictures rather than direct questions to understand mindsets) helped establish the invisibility of informal waste pickers, and the quantitative research enabled audience segmentation based on attitudes towards informal waste pickers. To pretest the campaign idea, eight I-GDs (individual interaction followed by group discussions) were conducted to allow interviewees to first freely express their feelings individually, before discussing in a group. Robert Plucthik’s ‘wheel of emotions’ was used to understand audience’s emotional response to the content. A robust monitoring and evaluation is being conducted (baseline and first phase of monitoring already completed) using a rotating longitudinal panel of 1,800 social media users (exposed and unexposed to the campaign), recruited face to face and representative of the social media universe of Bengaluru city. In addition, qualitative in-depth interviews are being conducted after each phase to better understand change drivers. The research methodology and ethical protocols for impact evaluation have been independently reviewed by an Institutional Review Board. Formative research revealed that while waste on the streets is visible and is of concern to the public, informal waste pickers are virtually ‘invisible’, for most people in Bengaluru Pretesting research revealed that the creative outputs evoked emotions like acceptance and gratitude towards waste-pickers, suggesting that the content had the potential to encourage attitudinal change. After the first phase of campaign, social media analytics show that #Invaluables content reached at least 2.6 million unique people (21% of the Bengaluru population) through Facebook and Instagram. Further, impact monitoring results show significant improvements in spontaneous awareness of different segments of informal waste pickers ( such as sorters at scrap shops or dry waste collection centres -from 10% at baseline to 16% amongst exposed and no change amongst unexposed), recognition that informal waste pickers help the environment (71% at baseline to 77% among exposed and no change among unexposed) and greater discussion about informal waste pickers among those exposed (60%) as against not exposed (49%). Using the insights from this research, the planned social media intervention is designed to increase the visibility of and appreciation for the work of waste pickers in Bengaluru, supporting a more inclusive society.

Keywords: awareness, discussion, discrimination, informal waste pickers, invisibility, social media campaign, waste management

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1566 Perusing the Influence of a Visual Editor in Enabling PostgreSQL Query Learn-Ability

Authors: Manuela Nayantara Jeyaraj

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PostgreSQL is an Object-Relational Database Management System (ORDBMS) with an architecture that ensures optimal quality data management. But due to the shading growth of similar ORDBMS, PostgreSQL has not been renowned among the database user community. Despite having its features and in-built functionalities shadowed, PostgreSQL renders a vast range of utilities for data manipulation and hence calling for it to be upheld more among users. But introducing PostgreSQL in order to stimulate its advantageous features among users, mandates endorsing learn-ability as an add-on as the target groups considered consist of both amateur as well as professional PostgreSQL users. The scope of this paper deliberates providing easy contemplation of query formulations and flows through a visual editor designed according to user interface principles that standby to support every aspect of making PostgreSQL learn-able by self-operation and creation of queries within the visual editor. This paper tends to scrutinize the importance of choosing PostgreSQL as the working database environment, the visual perspectives that influence human behaviour and ultimately learning, the modes in which learn-ability can be provided via visualization and the advantages reaped by the implementation of the proposed system features.

Keywords: database, learn-ability, PostgreSQL, query, visual-editor

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1565 Exploring Syntactic and Semantic Features for Text-Based Authorship Attribution

Authors: Haiyan Wu, Ying Liu, Shaoyun Shi

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Authorship attribution is to extract features to identify authors of anonymous documents. Many previous works on authorship attribution focus on statistical style features (e.g., sentence/word length), content features (e.g., frequent words, n-grams). Modeling these features by regression or some transparent machine learning methods gives a portrait of the authors' writing style. But these methods do not capture the syntactic (e.g., dependency relationship) or semantic (e.g., topics) information. In recent years, some researchers model syntactic trees or latent semantic information by neural networks. However, few works take them together. Besides, predictions by neural networks are difficult to explain, which is vital in authorship attribution tasks. In this paper, we not only utilize the statistical style and content features but also take advantage of both syntactic and semantic features. Different from an end-to-end neural model, feature selection and prediction are two steps in our method. An attentive n-gram network is utilized to select useful features, and logistic regression is applied to give prediction and understandable representation of writing style. Experiments show that our extracted features can improve the state-of-the-art methods on three benchmark datasets.

Keywords: authorship attribution, attention mechanism, syntactic feature, feature extraction

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1564 The Perception of ‘School’ as a Positive Support Factor

Authors: Yeliz Yazıcı, Alev Erenler

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School is an institution designed to provide learning, teaching places and environments under guidance of selected teachers. School is not just a place or institution but it is a place where complex and living structures are alive and always changing. It is also an undeniable fact that schools have shaped the ideas, future, society as well as the students and their lives. While this is the situation, schools having academic excellence is considered as successful ones. Academic excellence is a composition of excellence in teachers, management and physical environment, also. This is the general perception of the authorities and parents when the excellence is the point but the school is a developing and supporting organism. In this concept, the main aim of this study is to compare student and teacher perceptions of school as a ‘positive support factor’. The study is designed as a quantitative and qualitative design and a questionnaire is applied to both teachers and students via online and face to face meetings. It is aimed to define the perceptions of the participants related to the school as a positive support factor. It means the role of school in establishing self-efficacy, shaping and acquiring the behavior etc. Gathered data is analyzed via SPSS program and the detailed discussion is carried in the frame of the related literature.

Keywords: positive support factor, education, school, student teacher perception

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1563 The Construction Women Self in Law: A Case of Medico-Legal Jurisprudence Textbooks in Rape Cases

Authors: Rahul Ranjan

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Using gender as a category to cull out historical analysis, feminist scholars have produced plethora of literature on the sexual symbolics and carnal practices of modern European empires. At a symbolic level, the penetration and conquest of faraway lands was charged with sexual significance and intrigue. The white male’s domination and possession of dark and fertile lands in Africa, Asia and the Americas offered, in Anne McClintock’s words, ‘a fantastic magic lantern of the mind onto which Europe projected its forbidden sexual desires and fears’. The politics of rape were also symbolically a question significant to the politics of empire. To the colonized subject, rape was a fearsome factor, a language that spoke of violent and voracious nature of imperial exploitation. The colonized often looked at rape as an act which colonizers used as tool of oppression. The rape as act of violence got encoded into the legal structure under the helm of Lord Macaulay in the so called ‘Age of Reform’ in 1860 under IPC (Indian penal code). Initially Lord Macaulay formed Indian Law Commission in 1837 in which he drafted a bill and defined the ‘crime of rape as sexual intercourse by a man to a woman against her will and without her consent , except in cases involving girls under nine years of age where consent was immaterial’. The modern English law of rape formulated under the colonial era introduced twofold issues to the forefront. On the one hand it deployed ‘technical experts’ who wrote textbooks of medical jurisprudence that were used as credential citation to make case more ‘objective’, while on the other hand the presumptions about barbaric subjects, the colonized women’s body that was docile which is prone to adultery reflected in cases. The untrustworthiness of native witness also remained an imperative for British jurists to put extra emphasis making ‘objective’ and ‘presumptuous’. This sort of formulation put women down on the pedestrian of justice because it disadvantaged her doubly through British legality and their thinking about the rape. The Imperial morality that acted as vanguards of women’s chastity coincided language of science propagated in the post-enlightenment which not only annulled non-conformist ideas but also made itself a hegemonic language, was often used as a tool and language in encoding of law. The medico-legal understanding of rape in the colonial India has its clear imprints in the post-colonial legality. The onus on the part of rape’s victim was dictated for the longest time and still continues does by widely referred idea that ‘there should signs, marks of resistance on the body of the victim’ otherwise it is likely to be considered consensual. Having said so, this paper looks at the textual continuity that had prolonged the colonial construct of women’s body and the self.

Keywords: body, politics, textual construct, phallocentric

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1562 The ‘Fun, Move, Play’ Project: Qualitative and Quantitative Findings from Irish Primary School Children (6-8 Years), Parents and Teachers

Authors: Jemma McGourty, Brid Delahunt, Fiona Hackett, Sharon Courtney, Richard English, Graham Russell, Sinéad O’Connor

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Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) mastery is considered essential for children’s ongoing, meaningful engagement in Physical Activity (PA). There has been a dearth of Irish research on baseline FMS and their development by means of intervention in young primary school children. In addition, as children’s participation in PA is heavily influenced by both parents and teachers, it is imperative to understand their attitudes and perceptions towards PA participation and its’ promotion in children. The ‘Fun, Move, Play’ Project investigated the effect of a 6-week play based PA intervention on primary school children’s (aged 6-8 years) FMS while also exploring the attitudes and perceptions of their parents and teachers towards PA participation. The FMS intervention utilised a pre-post quasi-experimental design to determine the effect of a 6-week play based PA intervention (devised from the iCoach Kids Programme) on 176 primary school children’s FMS (N = 176: 90 girls and 86 boys; M = 7.2 years; SD = 0.48). Objective measures of 7 FMS (run, skip, vertical jump, static balance, stationary dribble, catch, kick) were made using a combination of the TGMD2 and Get Skilled, Get Active resources. One hundred parents (87 mothers; 13 fathers; M=36 years; SD=5.45) and 90 teachers (67 females; 23 males) completed surveys investigating their attitudes and perceptions towards PA participation. In addition, 19 of these parents and 9 of these teachers participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore, in more depth, their views and perceptions of PA participation. Both the FMS data set and survey responses were analysed using SPSS version 23, using appropriate statistical analysis. A thematic analysis framework was used to analyse the qualitative findings. A significant improvement was observed in the children’s overall FMS score pre-post intervention (t = 16.67; df = 175; p < 0.001), while there were also significant improvements in each of the seven individual FMS measured in the children, pre-post intervention. Findings from the parent surveys and interviews indicated that parents had positive attitudes towards PA, viewed it as important and supported their child’s PA participation. However, a lack of knowledge regarding the amount and intensity of PA that children should participate in emerged as a recurrent finding. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between the PA levels of parents’ and their children (r = .41; n = 100; p < .001). Arising from the teachers’ surveys and interviews was a positive attitude towards PA and the impact that it has on a child’s health and well-being. They also reported feeling more confident teaching certain aspects of the PE curriculum (games and sports) compared to others (gymnastics, dance), where they appreciate working with specialist practitioners. Conclusion: A short-term PA intervention has a positive effect on children’s FMS. While parents are supportive of their child’s PA participation, there is a knowledge gap regarding National PA guidelines for children. Teachers appreciate the importance of PA in children, but face a number of challenges in its implementation and promotion.

Keywords: fundamental movement skills, parents attitudes to physical activity, short-term intervention, teachers attitudes to physical activity

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1561 Survey of Prevalence of Noise Induced Hearing Loss in Hawkers and Shopkeepers in Noisy Areas of Mumbai City

Authors: Hitesh Kshayap, Shantanu Arya, Ajay Basod, Sachin Sakhuja

Abstract:

This study was undertaken to measure the overall noise levels in different locations/zones and to estimate the prevalence of Noise induced hearing loss in Hawkers & Shopkeepers in Mumbai, India. The Hearing Test developed by American Academy Of Otolaryngology, translated from English to Hindi, and validated is used as a screening tool for hearing sensitivity was employed. The tool is having 14 items. Each item is scored on a scale 0, 1, 2 and 3. The score 6 and above indicated some difficulty or definite difficulty in hearing in daily activities and low score indicated lesser difficulty or normal hearing. The subjects who scored 6 or above or having tinnitus were made to undergo hearing evaluation by Pure tone audiometer. Further, the environmental noise levels were measured from Morning to Evening at road side at different Location/Hawking zones in Mumbai city using SLM9 Agronic 8928B & K type Digital Sound Level Meter) in dB (A). The maximum noise level of 100.0 dB (A) was recorded during evening hours from Chattrapati Shivaji Terminal to Colaba with overall noise level of 79.0 dB (A). However, the minimum noise level in this area was 72.6 dB (A) at any given point of time. Further, 54.6 dB (A) was recorded as minimum noise level during 8-9 am at Sion Circle. Further, commencement of flyovers with 2-tier traffic, sky walks, increasing number of vehicular traffic at road, high rise buildings and other commercial & urbanization activities in the Mumbai city most probably have resulted in increasing the overall environmental noise levels. Trees which acted as noise absorbers have been cut owing to rapid construction. The study involved 100 participants in the age range of 18 to 40 years of age, with the mean age of 29 years (S.D. =6.49). 46 participants having tinnitus or have obtained the score of 6 were made to undergo Pure Tone Audiometry and it was found that the prevalence rate of hearing loss in hawkers & shopkeepers is 19% (10% Hawkers and 9 % Shopkeepers). The results found indicates that 29 (42.6%) out of 64 Hawkers and 17 (47.2%) out of 36 Shopkeepers who underwent PTA had no significant difference in percentage of Noise Induced Hearing loss. The study results also reveal that participants who exhibited tinnitus 19 (41.30%) out of 46 were having mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss between 3000Hz to 6000Hz. The Pure tone Audiogram pattern revealed Hearing loss at 4000 Hz and 6000 Hz while hearing at adjacent frequencies were nearly normal. 7 hawkers and 8 shopkeepers had mild notch while 3 hawkers and 1 shopkeeper had a moderate degree of notch. It is thus inferred that tinnitus is a strong indicator for presence of hearing loss and 4/6 KHz notch is a strong marker for road/traffic/ environmental noise as an occupational hazard for hawkers and shopkeepers. Mass awareness about these occupational hazards, regular hearing check up, early intervention along with sustainable development juxtaposed with social and urban forestry can help in this regard.

Keywords: NIHL, noise, sound level meter, tinnitus

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1560 Environmental Restoration Science in New York Harbor - Community Based Restoration Science Hubs, or “STEM Hubs”

Authors: Lauren B. Birney

Abstract:

The project utilizes the Billion Oyster Project (BOP-CCERS) place-based “restoration through education” model to promote computational thinking in NYC high school teachers and their students. Key learning standards such as Next Generation Science Standards and the NYC CS4All Equity and Excellence initiative are used to develop a computer science curriculum that connects students to their Harbor through hands-on activities based on BOP field science and educational programming. Project curriculum development is grounded in BOP-CCERS restoration science activities and data collection, which are enacted by students and educators at two Restoration Science STEM Hubs or conveyed through virtual materials. New York City Public School teachers with relevant experience are recruited as consultants to provide curriculum assessment and design feedback. The completed curriculum units are then conveyed to NYC high school teachers through professional learning events held at the Pace University campus and led by BOP educators. In addition, Pace University educators execute the Summer STEM Institute, an intensive two-week computational thinking camp centered on applying data analysis tools and methods to BOP-CCERS data. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed throughout the five-year study. STEM+C – Community Based Restoration STEM Hubs. STEM Hubs are active scientific restoration sites capable of hosting school and community groups of all grade levels and professional scientists and researchers conducting long-term restoration ecology research. The STEM Hubs program has grown to include 14 STEM Hubs across all five boroughs of New York City and focuses on bringing in-field monitoring experience as well as coastal classroom experience to students. Restoration Science STEM Hubs activities resulted in: the recruitment of 11 public schools, 6 community groups, 12 teachers, and over 120 students receiving exposure to BOP activities. Field science protocols were designed exclusively around the use of the Oyster Restoration Station (ORS), a small-scale in situ experimental platforms which are suspended from a dock or pier. The ORS is intended to be used and “owned” by an individual school, teacher, class, or group of students, whereas the STEM Hub is explicitly designed as a collaborative space for large-scale community-driven restoration work and in-situ experiments. The ORS is also an essential tool in gathering Harbor data from disparate locations and instilling ownership of the research process amongst students. As such, it will continue to be used in that way. New and previously participating students will continue to deploy and monitor their own ORS, uploading data to the digital platform and conducting analysis of their own harbor-wide datasets. Programming the STEM Hub will necessitate establishing working relationships between schools and local research institutions. NYHF will provide introductions and the facilitation of initial workshops in school classrooms. However, once a particular STEM Hub has been established as a space for collaboration, each partner group, school, university, or CBO will schedule its own events at the site using the digital platform’s scheduling and registration tool. Monitoring of research collaborations will be accomplished through the platform’s research publication tool and has thus far provided valuable information on the projects’ trajectory, strategic plan, and pathway.

Keywords: environmental science, citizen science, STEM, technology

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1559 Conceptual Design of a Residential House Based on IDEA 4E - Discussion of the Process of Interdisciplinary Pre-Project Research and Optimal Design Solutions Created as Part of Project-Based Learning

Authors: Dorota Winnicka-Jasłowska, Małgorzata Jastrzębska, Jan Kaczmarczyk, Beata Łaźniewska-Piekarczyk, Piotr Skóra, Beata Kobiałko, Agata Kołodziej, Błażej Mól, Ewelina Lasyk, Karolina Brzęczek, Michał Król

Abstract:

Creating economical, comfortable, and healthy buildings which respect the environment is a necessity resulting from legal regulations, but it is also a response to the expectations of a modern investor. Developing the concept of a residential house based on the 4E and the 2+2+(1) IDEAs is a complex process that requires specialist knowledge of many trades and requires adaptation of comprehensive solutions. IDEA 4E assumes the use of energy-saving, ecological, ergonomics, and economic solutions. In addition, IDEA 2+2+(1) assuming appropriate surface and functional-spatial solutions for a family at different stages of a building's life, i.e. 2, 4, or 5 members, enforces certain flexibility of the designed building, which may change with the number and age of its users. The building should therefore be easy to rearrange or expand. The task defined in this way was carried out by an interdisciplinary team of students of the Silesian University of Technology as part of PBL. The team consisted of 6 undergraduate and graduate students representing the following faculties: 3 students of architecture, 2 civil engineering students, and 1 student of environmental engineering. The work of the team was supported by 3 academic teachers representing the above-mentioned faculties and additional experts. The project was completed in one semester. The article presents the successive stages of the project. At first pre-design studies were carried out. They allowed to define the guidelines for the project. For this purpose, the "Model house" questionnaire was developed. The questions concerned determining the utility needs of a potential family that would live in a model house - specifying the types of rooms, their size, and equipment. A total of 114 people participated in the study. The answers to the questions in the survey helped to build the functional programme of the designed house. Other research consisted in the search for optimal technological and construction solutions and the most appropriate building materials based mainly on recycling. Appropriate HVAC systems responsible for the building's microclimate were also selected, i.e. low, temperature heating, mechanical ventilation, and the use of energy from renewable sources was planned so as to obtain a nearly zero-energy building. Additionally, rainwater retention and its local use were planned. The result of the project was a design of a model residential building that meets the presented assumptions. A 3D VR spatial model of the designed building and its surroundings was also made. The final result was the organization of an exhibition for students and the academic community. Participation in the interdisciplinary project allowed the project team members to better understand the consequences of the adopted solutions for achieving the assumed effect and the need to work out a compromise. The implementation of the project made all its participants aware of the importance of cooperation as well as systematic and clear communication. The need to define milestones and their consistent enforcement is an important element guaranteeing the achievement of the intended end result. The implementation of PBL enables students to the acquire competences important in their future professional work.

Keywords: architecture and urban planning, civil engineering, environmental engineering, project-based learning, sustainable building

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1558 Innovative Schools as Birthplaces for Promoting Educational Innovations: A Case Study of Two Hungarian Schools

Authors: Khin Khin Thant Sin

Abstract:

This study is a case study which investigates successful and ongoing bottom-up innovations for school improvement initiatives in Hungary. Two innovative schools are selected in this study due to their outstanding achievement during the past ten years in Hungary. In one school, data from the personal experiences of a school principal who initiated the bottom-up innovation are included. For the second school, three interviews were carried out with two schoolteachers and one secondary school student. In addition, desk research, including the principal’s published articles, the schoolteachers’ master thesis, the school websites, and other published articles, are analysed to explore the schools’ innovative processes. This study investigates how bottom-up innovation led to major achievements in student learning, teacher professional development, networking and collaboration with other schools, and the establishment of successful partnerships with universities. The highlight of this study is how innovative schools can be the major sources promoting educational innovations as well as improving teacher education, especially in initial teacher education and continuous professional development.

Keywords: school innovation, teacher education, hungary, educational innovation, school improvement

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1557 Porul: Option Generation and Selection and Scoring Algorithms for a Tamil Flash Card Game

Authors: Anitha Narasimhan, Aarthy Anandan, Madhan Karky, C. N. Subalalitha

Abstract:

Games can be the excellent tools for teaching a language. There are few e-learning games in Indian languages like word scrabble, cross word, quiz games etc., which were developed mainly for educational purposes. This paper proposes a Tamil word game called, “Porul”, which focuses on education as well as on players’ thinking and decision-making skills. Porul is a multiple choice based quiz game, in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly from the given multiple options that are generated using a unique algorithm called the Option Selection algorithm which explores the semantics of the question in various dimensions namely, synonym, rhyme and Universal Networking Language semantic category. This kind of semantic exploration of the question not only increases the complexity of the game but also makes it more interesting. The paper also proposes a Scoring Algorithm which allots a score based on the popularity score of the question word. The proposed game has been tested using 20,000 Tamil words.

Keywords: Porul game, Tamil word game, option selection, flash card, scoring, algorithm

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1556 Human Relationships in the Virtual Classrooms as Predictors of Students Academic Resilience and Performance

Authors: Eddiebal P. Layco

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to describe students' virtual classroom relationships in terms of their relationship to their peers and teachers; academic resilience; and performance. Further, the researcher wants to examine if these virtual classroom relations predict students' resilience and performance in their academics. The data were collected from 720 junior and senior high school or grade 7 to 12 students in selected state universities and colleges (SUCs) in Region III offering online or virtual classes during S.Y. 2020-2021. Results revealed that virtual classroom relationships such as teacher-student and peer relationships predict academic resilience and performance. This implies that students' academic relations with their teachers and peers have something to do with their ability to bounce back and beat the odds amidst challenges they faced in the online or virtual learning environment. These virtual relationships significantly influence also their academic performance. Adequate teacher support and positive peer relations may lead to enhanced academic resilience, which may also promote a meaningful and fulfilled life academically. Result suggests that teachers should develop their students' academic resiliency and maintain good relationships in the classroom since these results in academic success.

Keywords: virtual classroom relationships, teacher-pupil relationship, peer-relationship, academic resilience, academic performance

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1555 Identifying the Goals of a Multicultural Curriculum for the Primary Education Course

Authors: Fatemeh Havas Beigi

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to identify the objectives of a multicultural curriculum for the primary education period from the perspective of ethnic teachers and education experts and cultural professionals. The research paradigm is interpretive, the research approach is qualitative, the research strategy is content analysis, the sampling method is purposeful and it is a snowball, and the sample of informants in the research for Iranian ethnic teachers and experts until the theoretical saturation was estimated to be 67 people. The data collection tools used were based on semi-structured interviews and individual interviews and focal interviews were used to collect information. The data format was also in audio format and the first period coding and the second coding were used to analyze the data. Based on data analysis 11 Objective: Paying attention to ethnic equality, expanding educational opportunities and justice, peaceful coexistence, anti-ethnic and racial discrimination education, paying attention to human value and dignity, accepting religious diversity, getting to know ethnicities and cultures, promoting teaching-learning, fostering self-confidence, building national unity, and developing cultural commonalities for a multicultural curriculum were identified.

Keywords: objective, multicultural curriculum, connect, elementary education period

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1554 Philosophical Foundations of Education at the Kazakh Languages by Aiding Communicative Methods

Authors: Duisenova Marzhan

Abstract:

This paper considers the looking from a philosophical point of view the interactive technology and tiered developing Kazakh language teaching primary school pupils through the method of linguistic communication, content and teaching methods formed in the education system. The values determined by the formation of new practical ways that could lead to a novel qualitative level and solving the problem. In the formation of the communicative competence of elementary school students would be to pay attention to other competencies. It helps to understand the motives and needs socialization of students, the development of their cognitive abilities and participate in language relations arising from different situations. Communicative competence is the potential of its own in pupils creative language activity. In this article, the Kazakh language teaching in primary school communicative method is presented. The purpose of learning communicative method, personal development, effective psychological development of the child, himself-education, expansion and growth of language skills and vocabulary, socialization of children, the adoption of the laws of life in the social environment, analyzed the development of vocabulary richness of the language that forms the erudition to ensure continued improvement of education of the child.

Keywords: communicative, culture, training, process, method, primary, competence

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1553 An Analysis of Uncoupled Designs in Chicken Egg

Authors: Pratap Sriram Sundar, Chandan Chowdhury, Sagar Kamarthi

Abstract:

Nature has perfected her designs over 3.5 billion years of evolution. Research fields such as biomimicry, biomimetics, bionics, bio-inspired computing, and nature-inspired designs have explored nature-made artifacts and systems to understand nature’s mechanisms and intelligence. Learning from nature, the researchers have generated sustainable designs and innovation in a variety of fields such as energy, architecture, agriculture, transportation, communication, and medicine. Axiomatic design offers a method to judge if a design is good. This paper analyzes design aspects of one of the nature’s amazing object: chicken egg. The functional requirements (FRs) of components of the object are tabulated and mapped on to nature-chosen design parameters (DPs). The ‘independence axiom’ of the axiomatic design methodology is applied to analyze couplings and to evaluate if eggs’ design is good (i.e., uncoupled design) or bad (i.e., coupled design). The analysis revealed that eggs design is a good design, i.e., uncoupled design. This approach can be applied to any nature’s artifacts to judge whether their design is a good or a bad. This methodology is valuable for biomimicry studies. This approach can also be a very useful teaching design consideration of biology and bio-inspired innovation.

Keywords: uncoupled design, axiomatic design, nature design, design evaluation

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1552 Constructing a Bayesian Network for Solar Energy in Egypt Using Life Cycle Analysis and Machine Learning Algorithms

Authors: Rawaa H. El-Bidweihy, Hisham M. Abdelsalam, Ihab A. El-Khodary

Abstract:

In an era where machines run and shape our world, the need for a stable, non-ending source of energy emerges. In this study, the focus was on the solar energy in Egypt as a renewable source, the most important factors that could affect the solar energy’s market share throughout its life cycle production were analyzed and filtered, the relationships between them were derived before structuring a Bayesian network. Also, forecasted models were built for multiple factors to predict the states in Egypt by 2035, based on historical data and patterns, to be used as the nodes’ states in the network. 37 factors were found to might have an impact on the use of solar energy and then were deducted to 12 factors that were chosen to be the most effective to the solar energy’s life cycle in Egypt, based on surveying experts and data analysis, some of the factors were found to be recurring in multiple stages. The presented Bayesian network could be used later for scenario and decision analysis of using solar energy in Egypt, as a stable renewable source for generating any type of energy needed.

Keywords: ARIMA, auto correlation, Bayesian network, forecasting models, life cycle, partial correlation, renewable energy, SARIMA, solar energy

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1551 From Oral to Written: Translating the Dawot (Epic Poem), Revitalizing Appreciation for Indigenous Literature

Authors: Genevieve Jorolan-Quintero

Abstract:

The recording as well as the preservation of indigenous literature is an important task as it deals with a significant heritage of pre-colonial culture. The beliefs and traditions of a people are reflected in their oral narratives, such as the folk epic, which must be written down to insure their preservation. The epic poem for instance, known as dawot among the Mandaya, one of the indigenous communities in the southern region of the Philippines, narrates the customs, the ways of life, and the adventures of an ancient people. Nabayra, an expert on Philippine folkloric studies, stresses that still extant after centuries of unknown origin, the dawot was handed down to the magdadawot (bard) by word of mouth, forming the greatest bulk of Mandaya oral tradition. Unhampered by modern means of communication to distract her/him, the magdadawot has a sharp memory of the intricacies of the ancient art of chanting the panayday (verses) of the epic poem. The dawot has several hullubaton (episodes), each of which takes several nights to chant . The language used in these oral traditions is archaic Mandaya, no longer spoken or clearly understood by the present generation. There is urgency to the task of recording and writing down what remain of the epic poem since the singers and storytellers who have retained the memory and the skill of chanting and narrating the dawot and other forms of oral tradition in their original forms are getting fewer. The few who are gifted and skilled to transmit these ancient arts and wisdom are old and dying. Unlike the other Philippine epics (i.e. the Darangen, the Ulahingan, the Hinilawod, etc.), the Mandaya epic is yet to be recognized and given its rightful place among the recorded epics in Philippine Folk Literature. The general aim of this study was to put together and preserve an intangible heritage, the Mandaya hullubaton (episodes of the dawot), in order to preserve and promote appreciation for the oral traditions and cultural legacy of the Mandaya. It was able to record, transcribe, and translate four hullubaton of the folk epic into two languages, Visayan and English to insure understanding of their contents and significance among non-Mandaya audiences. Evident in the contents of the episodes are the cultural practices, ideals, life values, and traditions of the ancient Mandaya. While the conquests and adventures of the Mandaya heroes Lumungtad, Dilam, and Gambong highlight heroic virtues, the role of the Mandaya matriarch in family affairs is likewise stressed. The recording and the translation of the hullubaton and the dawot into commonly spoken languages will not only promote knowledge and understanding about their culture, but will also stimulate in the members of this cultural community a sense of pride for their literature and culture. Knowledge about indigenous cultural system and philosophy derived from their oral literature will serve as a springboard to further comparative researches dealing with indigenous mores and belief systems among the different tribes in the Philippines, in Asia, in Africa, and other countries in the world.

Keywords: Dawot, epic poem, Mandaya, Philippine folk literature

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1550 Direct Integration of 3D Ultrasound Scans with Patient Educational Mobile Application

Authors: Zafar Iqbal, Eugene Chan, Fareed Ahmed, Mohamed Jama, Avez Rizvi

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Advancements in Ultrasound Technology have enabled machines to capture 3D and 4D images with intricate features of the growing fetus. Sonographers can now capture clear 3D images and 4D videos of the fetus, especially of the face. Fetal faces are often seen on the ultrasound scan of the third trimester where anatomical features become more defined. Parents often want 3D/4D images and videos of their ultrasounds, and particularly image that capture the child’s face. Sidra Medicine developed a patient education mobile app called 10 Moons to improve care and provide useful information during the length of their pregnancy. In addition to general information, we built the ability to send ultrasound images directly from the modality to the mobile application, allowing expectant mothers to easily store and share images of their baby. 10 Moons represent the length of the pregnancy on a lunar calendar, which has both cultural and religious significance in the Middle East. During the third trimester scan, sonographers can capture 3D pictures of the fetus. Ultrasound machines are connected with a local 10 Moons Server with a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) application running on it. Sonographers are able to send images directly to the DICOM server by a preprogrammed button on the ultrasound modality. Mothers can also request which pictures they would like to be available on the app. An internally built DICOM application receives the image and saves the patient information from DICOM header (for verification purpose). The application also anonymizes the image by removing all the DICOM header information and subsequently converts it into a lossless JPEG. Finally, and the application passes the image to the mobile application server. On the 10 Moons mobile app – patients enter their Medical Record Number (MRN) and Date of Birth (DOB) to receive a One Time Password (OTP) for security reasons to view the images. Patients can also share the images anonymized images with friends and family. Furthermore, patients can also request 3D printed mementos of their child through 10 Moons. 10 Moons is unique patient education and information application where expected mothers can also see 3D ultrasound images of their children. Sidra Medicine staff has the added benefit of a full content management administrative backend where updates to content can be made. The app is available on secure infrastructure with both local and public interfaces. The application is also available in both English and Arabic languages to facilitate most of the patients in the region. Innovation is at the heart of modern healthcare management. With Innovation being one of Sidra Medicine’s core values, our 10 Moons application provides expectant mothers with unique educational content as well as the ability to store and share images of their child and purchase 3D printed mementos.

Keywords: patient educational mobile application, ultrasound images, digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM), imaging informatics

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1549 Knowledge Transfer in Industrial Clusters

Authors: Ana Paula Lisboa Sohn, Filipa Dionísio Vieria, Nelson Casarotto, Idaulo José Cunha

Abstract:

This paper aims at identifying and analyzing the knowledge transmission channels in textile and clothing clusters located in Brazil and in Europe. Primary data was obtained through interviews with key individuals. The collection of primary data was carried out based on a questionnaire with ten categories of indicators of knowledge transmission. Secondary data was also collected through a literature review and through international organizations sites. Similarities related to the use of the main transmission channels of knowledge are observed in all cases. The main similarities are: influence of suppliers of machinery, equipment and raw materials; imitation of products and best practices; training promoted by technical institutions and businesses; and cluster companies being open to acquire new knowledge. The main differences lie in the relationship between companies, where in Europe the intensity of this relationship is bigger when compared to Brazil. The differences also occur in importance and frequency of the relationship with the government, with the cultural environment, and with the activities of research and development. It is also found factors that reduce the importance of geographical proximity in transmission of knowledge, and in generating trust and the establishment of collaborative behavior.

Keywords: industrial clusters, interorganizational learning, knowledge transmission channels, textile and clothing industry

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1548 Computational Approaches to Study Lineage Plasticity in Human Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Authors: Almudena Espin Perez, Tyler Risom, Carl Pelz, Isabel English, Robert M. Angelo, Rosalie Sears, Andrew J. Gentles

Abstract:

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most deadly malignancies. The role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is gaining significant attention in cancer research. Despite ongoing efforts, the nature of the interactions between tumors, immune cells, and stromal cells remains poorly understood. The cell-intrinsic properties that govern cell lineage plasticity in PDAC and extrinsic influences of immune populations require technically challenging approaches due to the inherently heterogeneous nature of PDAC. Understanding the cell lineage plasticity of PDAC will improve the development of novel strategies that could be translated to the clinic. Members of the team have demonstrated that the acquisition of ductal to neuroendocrine lineage plasticity in PDAC confers therapeutic resistance and is a biomarker of poor outcomes in patients. Our approach combines computational methods for deconvolving bulk transcriptomic cancer data using CIBERSORTx and high-throughput single-cell imaging using Multiplexed Ion Beam Imaging (MIBI) to study lineage plasticity in PDAC and its relationship to the infiltrating immune system. The CIBERSORTx algorithm uses signature matrices from immune cells and stroma from sorted and single-cell data in order to 1) infer the fractions of different immune cell types and stromal cells in bulked gene expression data and 2) impute a representative transcriptome profile for each cell type. We studied a unique set of 300 genomically well-characterized primary PDAC samples with rich clinical annotation. We deconvolved the PDAC transcriptome profiles using CIBERSORTx, leveraging publicly available single-cell RNA-seq data from normal pancreatic tissue and PDAC to estimate cell type proportions in PDAC, and digitally reconstruct cell-specific transcriptional profiles from our study dataset. We built signature matrices and optimized by simulations and comparison to ground truth data. We identified cell-type-specific transcriptional programs that contribute to cancer cell lineage plasticity, especially in the ductal compartment. We also studied cell differentiation hierarchies using CytoTRACE and predict cell lineage trajectories for acinar and ductal cells that we believe are pinpointing relevant information on PDAC progression. Collaborators (Angelo lab, Stanford University) has led the development of the Multiplexed Ion Beam Imaging (MIBI) platform for spatial proteomics. We will use in the very near future MIBI from tissue microarray of 40 PDAC samples to understand the spatial relationship between cancer cell lineage plasticity and stromal cells focused on infiltrating immune cells, using the relevant markers of PDAC plasticity identified from the RNA-seq analysis.

Keywords: deconvolution, imaging, microenvironment, PDAC

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