Search results for: metro influence zone

Authors: Jeewantha Ranawaka, Gunawardane Kapila, Wijethunaga Mudiyanselage B. G. Jayathilake

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Introduction: Sweeping of the membranes is a fairly simple technique that may positively influence the shift from maintenance of pregnancy to the beginning of labor. Objective: To assess the effectiveness and acceptability of twice versus once-only membrane sweeping in uncomplicated primi gravid at 40 weeks of gestational age in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka. Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was done in Ward 05 of Teaching Hospital, Kandy. The participants were primi-gravida with a singleton live fetus who was at 40 weeks of gestation with intact fetal membranes and with a Modified Bishop’s score <5. After randomization both groups received membrane sweeping at 40 weeks of gestation and the experimental group received membrane sweeping after 48 hours (40+2 days). The modified Bishop Score was assessed at 40+5 days. In two groups who did not go into natural labor at 40+5 days were managed according to the ward policy of cervical ripening and with labor induction at 40+5 days. Two different methods were used to assess discomfort and pain. Patient acceptability was assessed using recommendation to another patient and acceptance during next pregnancy. Perinatal, maternal and labour outcomes were assessed. Results: A change of the Bishops score was 67.3% (n= 31 of 46) in experimental group whereas in control group it was 57.5% (n= 38 of 66). (p = 0.21, OR-1.52, CI = 0.6 -3.34). Mean (SD) of Modified Bishop score was 6.36 (1.94) in experimental group and 6.03 (.84) in control group (p = 0.354). The probability of having the spontaneous onset of labour in experimental group was 61.6% (n=74 of 120) whereas in control group it was 45% (n= 54 of 120) (p=0.01, OR-1.966, CI = 1.17 – 3.28 NNT = 5.99). Recommending the method to another among experimental group was 75% (n= 90 of 120) whereas in control group it was 79.2% (n= 95 of 120) (p= 0.443). Accepting membrane Sweeping for subsequent pregnancy among experimental was 72.5% (n=87 of 120) whereas in control group was 72.5% (n=87 of 120) (p= 1.00) Need of formal induction of labour at 40+ 5 days in experimental group was 38.4% (n=46 of 120) whereas in control group was 61.6% (n=66 of 120) (p=0.01, OR=0.5, CI= 0.3 – 0.8, NNT=6). Neonatal outcome, labour outcome such as Cesarean -section rate, need for augmentation and maternal complications such as fever, Premature rupture of membrane, bleeding were comparable in two groups. Conclusions and Recommendations: It can be concluded that twice sweeping of membrane was effective to reduce the need of formal induction of labour and increase the chances of having spontaneous onset of labour (SOL) at 40+5 days without increasing maternal or fetal morbidity. Acceptability of twice sweeping is not different from sweeping once. Hence we recommend consideration of multiple membranes sweeping as first line for women at 40 weeks of gestation.

Keywords: acceptability, induction, labour, membrane sweeping

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Authors: Nadia E. Christiana, Azzahra A. N. Ginting, Ardhito Nurcahya, Havisa P. Novira

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One of the quickest ways to do a short trip in urban areas is by walking, either individually, in couple or groups. Walkability nowadays becomes one of the parameters to measure the quality of an urban neighborhood. As a Central Business District and public transport transit hub, Dukuh Atas area becomes one of the highest numbers of commuters that pass by the area and interchange between transportation modes daily. Thus, as a public transport hub, a lot of investment should be focused to speed up the development of the area that would support urban transit activity between transportation modes, one of them is revitalizing pedestrian walkways. The purpose of this research is to formulate the visual design concept of 'Walkable City' based on the results of the observation and a series of rankings. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to accomplish several stages of the research that consists of (1) Identifying the system of pedestrian paths in Dukuh Atas area using descriptive qualitative method (2) Analyzing the sidewalk walkability rate according to the perception and the walkability satisfaction rate using the characteristics of pedestrians and non-pedestrians in Dukuh Atas area by using Global Walkability Index analysis and Multicriteria Satisfaction Analysis (3) Analyzing the factors that determine the integration of pedestrian walkways in Dukuh Atas area using descriptive qualitative method. The results achieved in this study is that the walkability level of Dukuh Atas corridor area is 44.45 where the value is included in the classification of 25-49, which is a bit of facility that can be reached by foot. Furthermore, based on the questionnaire, satisfaction rate of pedestrian walkway in Dukuh Atas area reached a number of 64%. It is concluded that commuters have not been fully satisfied with the condition of the sidewalk. Besides, the factors that influence the integration in Dukuh Atas area have been reasonable as it is supported by the utilization of land and modes such as KRL, Busway, and MRT. From the results of all analyzes conducted, the visual design and the application of the concept of walkable city along the pathway pedestrian corridor of Dukuh Atas area are formulated. Achievement of the results of this study amounted to 80% which needs to be done further review of the results of the analysis. The work of this research is expected to be a recommendation or input for the government in the development of pedestrian paths in maximizing the use of public transportation modes.

Keywords: design, global walkability index, mass rapid transit, walkable city

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Authors: Dalia Feiziene, Virginijus Feiza, Agne Putramentaite, Jonas Volungevicius, Kristina Amaleviciute, Sarunas Antanaitis

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The investigations on soil conservation are one of the most important topics in modern agronomy. Soil management practices have great influence on soil physico-chemical quality and GHG emission. Research objective: To reveal the sensitivity and vitality of soils with different texture to long-term antropogenisation on Cambisol in Central Lithuania and to compare them with not antropogenised soil resources. Methods: Two long-term field experiments (loam on loam; sandy loam on loam) with different management intensity were estimated. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from 5-10, 15-20 and 30-35 cm depths. Soil available P and K contents were determined by ammonium lactate extraction, total N by the dry combustion method, SOC content by Tyurin titrimetric (classical) method, texture by pipette method. In undisturbed core samples soil pore volume distribution, plant available water (PAW) content were determined. A closed chamber method was applied to quantify soil respiration (SR). Results: Long-term resources management changed soil quality. In soil with loam texture, within 0-10, 10-20 and 30-35 cm soil layers, significantly higher PAW, SOC and mesoporosity (MsP) were under no-tillage (NT) than under conventional tillage (CT). However, total porosity (TP) under NT was significantly higher only in 0-10 cm layer. MsP acted as dominant factor for N, P and K accumulation in adequate layers. P content in all soil layers was higher under NT than in CT. N and K contents were significantly higher than under CT only in 0-10 cm layer. In soil with sandy loam texture, significant increase in SOC, PAW, MsP, N, P and K under NT was only in 0-10 cm layer. TP under NT was significantly lower in all layers. PAW acted as strong dominant factor for N, P, K accumulation. The higher PAW the higher NPK contents were determined. NT did not secure chemical quality within deeper layers than CT. Long-term application of mineral fertilisers significantly increased SOC and soil NPK contents primarily in top-soil. Enlarged fertilization determined the significantly higher leaching of nutrients to deeper soil layers (CT) and increased hazards of top-soil pollution. Straw returning significantly increased SOC and NPK accumulation in top-soil. The SR on sandy loam was significantly higher than on loam. At dry weather conditions, on loam SR was higher in NT than in CT, on sandy loam SR was higher in CT than in NT. NPK fertilizers promoted significantly higher SR in both dry and wet year, but suppressed SR on sandy loam during usual year. Not antropogenised soil had similar SOC and NPK distribution within 0-35 cm layer and depended on genesis of soil profile horizons.

Keywords: fertilizers, long-term experiments, soil texture, soil tillage, straw

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Authors: Henrie Yunianto, Dermawan Wibisono

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PT. XYZ is a family business (private company) in Indonesia that provide an educational program and consultation services. Since its establishment in 2011, the company has run without any strategic management system implemented. Though the company could survive until now. The management of PT. XYZ sees the business opportunity for such product is huge, even though the targeted market is very specific (niche), the volume is large (due to large population of Indonesia) and numbers of competitors are low (now). It can be said if the product life cycle is in between ‘Introduction stage’ and ‘growth’ stage. It is observed that nowadays the new entrants (competitors) are increasing, thus PT. XYZ consider reacting in facing the intense business rivalry by conducting the business in an appropriate manner. A Performance Management System is important to be implemented in accordance with the business sustainability and growth. The framework of Performance Management System chosen is Integrated Performance Management System (IPMS). IPMS framework has the advantages of its simplicity, linkage between its business variables and indicators where the company can see the connections between all factors measured. IPMS framework consists of perspectives: (1) Business Result, (2) Internal Processes, (3) Resource Availability. Variables and indicators were examined through deep analysis of the business external and internal environments, Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) analysis, Porter’s five forces analysis. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis was then used to quantify the weight of each variable/indicators. AHP is needed since in this study, PT. XYZ, the data of existing performance indicator was not available. Later, where the IPMS is implemented, the real data measured can be examined to determine the weight factor of each indicators using correlation analysis (or other methods). In this study of IPMS design for PT. XYZ, the analysis shows that with current company goals, along with the AHP methodology, the critical indicators for each perspective are: (1) Business results: Customer satisfaction and Employee satisfaction, (2) Internal process: Marketing performance, Supplier quality, Production quality, Continues improvement; (3) Resources Availability: Leadership and company culture & value, Personal Competences, Productivity. Company and/or organization require performance management system to help them in achieving their vision and mission. Company strategy will be effectively defined and addressed by using performance management system. Integrated Performance Management System (IPMS) framework and AHP analysis help us in quantifying the factors which influence the business output expected.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, business strategy, differentiation strategy, integrated performance management system

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Authors: Jiaxin Shi, Kaifeng Hao, Qingfan An, Zeng Peng

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Due to a lack of data sources and data processing techniques, it has always been difficult to quantify public space quality, which includes urban construction quality and how it is perceived by people, especially in large urban areas. This study proposes a quantitative research method based on the consideration of emotional health and physical health of the built environment. It highlights the low quality of public areas in Tianjin, China, where there are many negative elements. Deep learning technology is then used to measure how effectively people perceive urban areas. First, this work suggests a deep learning model that might simulate how people can perceive the quality of urban construction. Second, we perform semantic segmentation on street images to identify visual elements influencing scene perception. Finally, this study correlated the scene perception score with the proportion of visual elements to determine the surrounding environmental elements that influence scene perception. Using a small-scale labeled Tianjin street view data set based on transfer learning, this study trains five negative spatial discriminant models in order to explore the negative space distribution and quality improvement of urban streets. Then it uses all Tianjin street-level imagery to make predictions and calculate the proportion of negative space. Visualizing the spatial distribution of negative space along the Tianjin Inner Ring Road reveals that the negative elements are mainly found close to the five key districts. The map of Tianjin was combined with the experimental data to perform the visual analysis. Based on the emotional assessment, the distribution of negative materials, and the direction of street guidelines, we suggest guidance content and design strategy points of the negative phenomena in Tianjin street space in the two dimensions of perception and substance. This work demonstrates the utilization of deep learning techniques to understand how people appreciate high-quality urban construction, and it complements both theory and practice in urban planning. It illustrates the connection between human perception and the actual physical public space environment, allowing researchers to make urban interventions.

Keywords: human perception, public space quality, deep learning, negative elements, street images

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Authors: A. Shaygani, R. Saifi, M. S. Saidi, M. Sani

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Particle size distribution, the most important characteristics of aerosols, is obtained through electrical characterization techniques. The dynamics of charged nano-particles under the influence of electric field in electrical mobility spectrometer (EMS) reveals the size distribution of these particles. The accuracy of this measurement is influenced by flow conditions, geometry, electric field and particle charging process, therefore by the transfer function (transfer matrix) of the instrument. In this work, a wire-cylinder corona charger was designed and the combined field-diffusion charging process of injected poly-disperse aerosol particles was numerically simulated as a prerequisite for the study of a multi-channel EMS. The result, a cloud of particles with non-uniform charge distribution, was introduced to the EMS. The flow pattern and electric field in the EMS were simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to obtain particle trajectories in the device and therefore to calculate the reported signal by each electrometer. According to the output signals (resulted from bombardment of particles and transferring their charges as currents), we proposed a modification to the size of detecting rings (which are connected to electrometers) in order to evaluate particle size distributions more accurately. Based on the capability of the system to transfer information contents about size distribution of the injected particles, we proposed a benchmark for the assessment of optimality of the design. This method applies the concept of Von Neumann entropy and borrows the definition of entropy from information theory (Shannon entropy) to measure optimality. Entropy, according to the Shannon entropy, is the ''average amount of information contained in an event, sample or character extracted from a data stream''. Evaluating the responses (signals) which were obtained via various configurations of detecting rings, the best configuration which gave the best predictions about the size distributions of injected particles, was the modified configuration. It was also the one that had the maximum amount of entropy. A reasonable consistency was also observed between the accuracy of the predictions and the entropy content of each configuration. In this method, entropy is extracted from the transfer matrix of the instrument for each configuration. Ultimately, various clouds of particles were introduced to the simulations and predicted size distributions were compared to the exact size distributions.

Keywords: aerosol nano-particle, CFD, electrical mobility spectrometer, von neumann entropy

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Authors: Wei Ting Han, Shiann-Far Kung

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In the early time, most of the arable land is dry farming and using rainfall as water sources for irrigation in Tainan county. After the Chia-nan Irrigation System (CIS) was completed in 1930, Chia-nan Plain was more efficient allocation of limited water sources or irrigation, because of the benefit from irrigation systems, drainage systems, and land improvement projects. The problem of long-term drought, flood and salt damage in the past were also improved by CIS. The canal greatly improved the paddy field area and agricultural output, Tainan county has become one of the important agricultural producing areas in Taiwan. With the development of water conservancy facilities, affected by national policies and other factors, many agricultural communities and settlements are formed indirectly, also promoted the change of settlement patterns and internal structures. With the development of historical geographic information system (HGIS), Academia Sinica developed the WebGIS theme with the century old maps of Taiwan which is the most complete historical map of database in Taiwan. It can be used to overlay historical figures of different periods, present the timeline of the settlement change, also grasp the changes in the natural environment or social sciences and humanities, and the changes in the settlements presented by the visualized areas. This study will explore the historical development and spatial characteristics of the settlements in various areas of Tainan County. Using of large-scale areas to explore the settlement changes and spatial patterns of the entire county, through the dynamic time and space evolution from Japanese rule to the present day. Then, digitizing the settlement of different periods to perform overlay analysis by using Taiwan historical topographic maps in 1904, 1921, 1956 and 1989. Moreover, using document analysis to analyze the temporal and spatial changes of regional environment and settlement structure. In addition, the comparison analysis method is used to classify the spatial characteristics and differences between the settlements. Exploring the influence of external environments in different time and space backgrounds, such as government policies, major construction, and industrial development. This paper helps to understand the evolution of the settlement space and the internal structural changes in Tainan County.

Keywords: historical geographic information system, overlay analysis, settlement change, Tainan County

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Authors: Petra Suchovska

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The spirit of post-modernity remains chaotic and obscure. Geopolitical rivalries raging at the more extreme levels and the ability of intellectual community to explain the entropy of global affairs has been diminishing. The Western-led idea of globalisation imposed upon the world does not seem to bring the bright future for human progress anymore, and its architects lose much of global control, as the strong non-western cultural entities develop new forms of post-modern establishments. The overall growing cultural misunderstanding and mistrust are expressions of political impotence to deal with the inner contradictions within the contemporary phenomenon (capitalism, economic globalisation) that embrace global society. The drivers and effects of global restructuring must be understood in the context of systems and principles reflecting on true complexity of society. The purpose of this paper is to set out some ideas about how cybernetics can contribute to understanding international system structure and analyse possible world futures. “IS Cybernetics” would apply to system thinking and cybernetic principles in IR in order to analyse and handle the complexity of social phenomena from global perspective. “IS cybernetics” would be, for now, the subfield of IR, concerned with applying theories and methodologies from cybernetics and system sciences by offering concepts and tools for addressing problems holistically. It would bring order to the complex relations between disciplines that IR touches upon. One of its tasks would be to map, measure, tackle and find the principles of dynamics and structure of social forces that influence human behaviour and consequently cause political, technological and economic structural reordering, forming and reforming the international system. “IS cyberneticists” task would be to understand the control mechanisms that govern the operation of international society (and the sub-systems in their interconnection) and only then suggest better ways operate these mechanisms on sublevels as cultural, political, technological, religious and other. “IS cybernetics” would also strive to capture the mechanism of social-structural changes in time, which would open space for syntheses between IR and historical sociology. With the cybernetic distinction between first order studies of observed systems and the second order study of observing systems, IS cybernetics would also provide a unifying epistemological and methodological, conceptual framework for multilateralism and multiple modernities theory.

Keywords: cybernetics, historical sociology, international system, systems theory

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Authors: Hannah O'Sullivan, Esther Quinn

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Purpose: The Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has historically struggled to adapt to change. Although the ability to innovate and successfully implement organizational change has been demonstrated to be critical in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry, many AEC organizations continue to struggle when affecting organizational change. One prominent area of organizational change that presents many challenges in the industry is the adoption of new forms of technology, for example, Building Information Modelling (BIM). Certain Organisational Change Management (OCM) practices have been proven to be effective in supporting organizations to adopt change, but little research has been carried out on diverging employee attitudes to change relative to their roles within the organization. The purpose of this research study is to examine how OCM practices influence employee attitudes to change when adopting new forms of technology and to analyze the diverging employee perspectives within an organization on the importance of different OCM strategies. Methodology: Adopting an interview-based approach, a case study was carried out on a large-sized, prominent Irish construction organization who are currently adopting a new technology platform for its projects. Qualitative methods were used to gain insight into differing perspectives on the utilization of various OCM practices and their efficacy when adopting a new form of technology on projects. Change agents implementing the organizational change gave insight into their intentions with the technology rollout strategy, while other employees were interviewed to understand how this rollout strategy was received and the challenges that were encountered. Findings: The results of this research study are currently being finalized. However, it is expected that employees in different roles will value different OCM practices above others. Findings and conclusions will be determined within the coming weeks. Value: This study will contribute to the body of knowledge relating to the introduction of new technologies, including BIM, to AEC organizations. It will also contribute to the field of organizational change management, providing insight into methods of introducing change that will be most effective for different employees based on their roles and levels of experience within the industry. The focus of this study steers away from traditional studies of the barriers to adopting BIM in its first instance at an organizational level and centers on the direct effect on employees when a company changes the technology platform being used.

Keywords: architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, Building Information Modelling, case study, challenges, employee perspectives, organisational change management.

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Authors: Hoa Pham

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The literature on language teaching and second language acquisition has been largely driven by monolingual ideology with a common assumption that a second language (L2) is best taught and learned in the L2 only. The current study challenges this assumption by reporting learners' positive perceptions of tertiary level teachers' code switching practices in Vietnam. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of code switching practices in language classrooms from a learners' perspective. Data were collected from student participants who were working towards a Bachelor degree in English within the English for Business Communication stream through the use of focus group interviews. The literature has documented that this method of interviewing has a number of distinct advantages over individual student interviews. For instance, group interactions generated by focus groups create a more natural environment than that of an individual interview because they include a range of communicative processes in which each individual may influence or be influenced by others - as they are in their real life. The process of interaction provides the opportunity to obtain the meanings and answers to a problem that are "socially constructed rather than individually created" leading to the capture of real-life data. The distinct feature of group interaction offered by this technique makes it a powerful means of obtaining deeper and richer data than those from individual interviews. The data generated through this study were analysed using a constant comparative approach. Overall, the students expressed positive views of this practice indicating that it is a useful teaching strategy. Teacher code switching was seen as a learning resource and a source supporting language output. This practice was perceived to promote student comprehension and to aid the learning of content and target language knowledge. This practice was also believed to scaffold the students' language production in different contexts. However, the students indicated their preference for teacher code switching to be constrained, as extensive use was believed to negatively impact on their L2 learning and trigger cognitive reliance on the L1 for L2 learning. The students also perceived that when the L1 was used to a great extent, their ability to develop as autonomous learners was negatively impacted. This study found that teacher code switching was supported in certain contexts by learners, thus suggesting that there is a need for the widespread assumption about the monolingual teaching approach to be re-considered.

Keywords: codeswitching, L1 use, L2 teaching, learners’ perception

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Authors: G. Dottavio, M. F. Andrade, F. Renard, V. Cheutet, A.-L. Ladier, S. Vercraene, P. Hoang, S. Briet, R. Dachicourt, Y. Baizet

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An important number of technological equipment and high-skilled workers over long periods of time have to be mobilized during nuclear decommissioning processes. The related operations generate complex flows of waste and high inventory levels, associated to information flows of heterogeneous types. Taking into account that more than 10 decommissioning operations are on-going in France and about 50 are expected toward 2025: A big challenge is addressed today. The management of decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear installations represents an important part of the nuclear-based energy lifecycle, since it has an environmental impact as well as an important influence on the electricity cost and therefore the price for end-users. Bringing new technologies and new solutions into decommissioning methodologies is thus mandatory to improve the quality, cost and delay efficiency of these operations. The purpose of our project is to improve decommissioning management efficiency by developing a decision-support framework dedicated to plan nuclear facility decommissioning operations and to optimize waste evacuation by means of a logistic approach. The target is to create an easy-to-handle tool capable of i) predicting waste flows and proposing the best decommissioning logistics scenario and ii) managing information during all the steps of the process and following the progress: planning, resources, delays, authorizations, saturation zones, waste volume, etc. In this article we present our results from waste nuclear flows simulation during decommissioning process, including discrete-event simulation supported by FLEXSIM 3-D software. This approach was successfully tested and our works confirms its ability to improve this type of industrial process by identifying the critical points of the chain and optimizing it by identifying improvement actions. This type of simulation, executed before the start of the process operations on the basis of a first conception, allow ‘what-if’ process evaluation and help to ensure quality of the process in an uncertain context. The simulation of nuclear waste flows before evacuation from the site will help reducing the cost and duration of the decommissioning process by optimizing the planning and the use of resources, transitional storage and expensive radioactive waste containers. Additional benefits are expected for the governance system of the waste evacuation since it will enable a shared responsibility of the waste flows.

Keywords: nuclear decommissioning, logistical optimization, decision-support framework, waste management

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Authors: Vicente Espinola, Luis Torres, Christhian Gonzalez

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Entrepreneurship is a topic of current interest in Mexico and the World, which has been fostered through public policies with great impact on its generation. The strategies used in Mexico have not been successful, being motivational strategies aimed at the masses with the intention that someone in the process generates a venture. The strategies used for its development have been "picking of winners" favoring those who have already overcome the initial stages of undertaking without effective support. This situation shows a disarticulation that appears even more in social entrepreneurship; due to this, it is relevant to research on those elements that could develop them and thus integrate a model of entrepreneurship and social innovation for Mexico. Social entrepreneurship should be generating social innovation, which is translated into business models in order to make the benefits reach the population. These models are proposed putting the social impact before the economic impact, without forgetting its sustainability in the medium and long term. In this work, we present a simple model of innovation and social entrepreneurship for Guanajuato, Mexico. This algorithm was based on how social innovation could be generated in a systemic way for Mexico through different institutions that promote innovation. In this case, the technological parks of the state of Guanajuato were studied because these are considered one of the areas of Mexico where its main objectives are to make technology transfer to companies but overlooking the social sector and entrepreneurs. An experimental design of n = 60 was carried out with potential entrepreneurs to identify their perception of the social approach that the enterprises should have, the skills they consider required to create a venture, as well as their interest in generating ventures that solve social problems. This experiment had a 2K design, the value of k = 3 and the computational simulation was performed in R statistical language. A simple model of interconnected variables is proposed, which allows us to identify where it is necessary to increase efforts for the generation of social enterprises. The 96.67% of potential entrepreneurs expressed interest in ventures that solve social problems. In the analysis of the variables interaction, it was identified that the isolated development of entrepreneurial skills would only replicate the generation of traditional ventures. The variable of social approach presented positive interactions, which may influence the generation of social entrepreneurship if this variable was strengthened and permeated in the processes of training and development of entrepreneurs. In the future, it will be necessary to analyze the institutional actors that are present in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, in order to analyze the interaction necessary to strengt the innovation and social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Keywords: social innovation, model, entrepreneurship, technological parks

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Authors: Usha Dinakaran, Richa Ganguly

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Gastronomic tourism has evolved into a prominent niche within the travel industry, with tourists increasingly seeking unique culinary experiences as a primary motivation for their journeys. This research explores the intricate relationship between gastronomic tourism and its profound influence on the overall image of travel destinations. It delves into the multifaceted aspects of culinary experiences, tourists' perceptions, and the preservation of cultural identity, all of which play pivotal roles in shaping a destination's image. The primary aim of this study is to comprehensively examine the interplay between gastronomy and tourism, specifically focusing on its impact on destination image. The research seeks to achieve the following objectives: (1) Investigate how tourists perceive and engage with gastronomic tourism experiences. (2) Understand the significance of food in shaping the tourism image. (3.) Explore the connection between gastronomy and the destination's cultural identity Quantify the relationship between tourists' engagement in co-creation activities related to gastronomic tourism and their overall satisfaction with the quality of their culinary experiences. To achieve these objectives, a mixed-method research approach will be employed, including surveys, interviews, and content analysis. Data will be collected from tourists visiting diverse destinations known for their culinary offerings. This research anticipates uncovering valuable insights into the nexus between gastronomic tourism and destination image. It is expected to shed light on how tourists' perceptions of culinary experiences impact their overall perception of a destination. Additionally, the study aims to identify factors influencing tourist satisfaction and how cultural identity is preserved and promoted through gastronomic tourism. The findings of this research hold practical implications for destination marketers and stakeholders. Understanding the symbiotic relationship between gastronomy and tourism can guide the development of more targeted marketing strategies. Furthermore, promoting co-creation activities can enhance tourists' culinary experiences and contribute to the positive image of destinations.This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge regarding gastronomic tourism by consolidating insights from various studies and offering a comprehensive perspective on its impact on destination image. It offers a platform for future research in this domain and underscores the importance of culinary experiences in contemporary travel. In conclusion, this research endeavors to illuminate the dynamic interplay between gastronomic tourism and destination image, providing valuable insights for both academia and industry stakeholders in the field of tourism and hospitality.

Keywords: gastronomy, tourism, destination image, culinary

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Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari; Ayman Al Yaari; Adham Al Yaari; Montaha Al Yaari; Aayah Al Yaari; Sajedah Al Yaari

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Background: Validation of communication activities of daily living-second edition (CADL-2) and assessment of language-related functional activities (ALFA) tests is a critical investment decision, and activities related to language impairments often are underestimated. Literature indicates that age factors, and gender differences may affect the performance of the aphasics. Thus, understanding these influential factors is highly important to neuropsycholinguists and speech language pathologists (SLPs). Purpose: The goal of this study is twofold: (1) to in/validate CADL-2 and ALFA tests, and (2) to investigate whether or not the two assessment tests are reliable. Design: A comparative study is made between the results obtained from the analyses of the Arabic versions of CADL-2 and ALFA tests. Participants: The communication activities of daily-living and language-related functional activities were assessed from the obtained results of 100 adult aphasics (50 males, 50 females; ages 16 to 65). Procedures: Firstly, the two translated and standardized Arabic versions of CADL-2 and ALFA tests were introduced to the Arab aphasics under investigation. Armed with the new two versions of the tests, one of the researchers assessed the language-related functional communication and activities. Outcomes drawn from the obtained analysis of the comparative studies were then qualitatively and statistically analyzed. Main outcomes and Results: Regarding the validity of CADL-2 and ALFA, it is found that …. Is more valid in both pre-and posttests. Concerning the reliability of the two tests, it is found that ….is more reliable in both pre-and-posttests which undoubtedly means that …..is more trustable. Nor must we forget to indicate here that the relationship between age and gender was very weak due to that no remarkable gender differences between the two in both CADL-2 and ALFA pre-and-posttests. Conclusions & Implications: CADL-2 and ALFA tests were found to be valid and reliable tests. In contrast to previous studies, age and gender were not significantly associated with the results of validity and reliability of the two assessment tests. In clearer terms, age and gender patterns do not affect the validation of these two tests. Future studies might focus on complex questions including the use of CADL-2 and ALFA functionally; how gender and puberty influence the results in case the sample is large; the effects of each type of aphasia on the final outcomes, and measurements’ results of imaging techniques.

Keywords: CADL-2, ALFA, comparison, language test, arab aphasics, validity, reliability, neuropsycholinguistics, comparison

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Authors: Yei Mian Adrian Yap

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How we idealize the regular schools to be inclusive as much as possible hinges on mainstream teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the regular schools. This research studies the Japanese and Singaporean mainstream teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy towards the inclusion of students with special needs in the regular classrooms by investigating what key variables influence their attitudes and teaching-efficacy and how they strategize to address their challenges to include their students with special needs in their regular classrooms. In order to understand the nature of teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy towards the inclusive education, a mixed-method research methodology was carried out in Japan and Singapore; it involved an explanatory sequential method of employing quantitative research first before qualitative research. In the quantitative research, 189 Japanese and 183 Singaporean teachers were invited to participate in the questionnaires and out of these participants, 38 Japanese and 15 Singaporean teachers shared their views during their semi-structured interviews. Based on the empirical findings, Japanese teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy were more likely to be influenced by their experiences in teaching students with special needs, knowledge about disability legislation, presence of their disabled family members and level of confidence to teach students with special needs. On the other hand, Singaporean teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy were affected by gender, educational level, received trainings in special needs education, knowledge about disability legislation and level of confidence to teach students with special needs. Both country results also demonstrated that there was a positive correlation between their teaching-efficacy and attitude. Narrative findings further expanded the reasons behind these quantitative factors that shaped teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy. Also it discussed the various problems faced by Japanese and Singaporean teachers and how they identified their coping strategies to circumvent their challenges in including their students with special needs in their regular classrooms. The significance of this research manifests in necessary educational reforms in both countries especially in the context of inclusive education. These findings may not be as definitive as expected but it is believed that it could provide useful information on the current situation about teachers’ concerns towards the inclusive education. In conclusion, this research could potentially make its positive contribution to the body of literature on teachers’ attitudes and teaching-efficacy in the context of Asian developed countries and these findings could posit that regular teachers’ positive attitudes and strong sense of teaching self-efficacy could directly improve the success rate of inclusion of students with special needs in the regular classrooms.

Keywords: attitudes, inclusive education, special education, teaching-efficacy

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Authors: Jiancheng Zheng

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When metals are released into water from mining activities, they undergo changes chemically, physically and biologically and then may become more mobile and transportable along the waterway from their original sites. Natural colloids, including both organic and inorganic entities, are naturally occurring in any aquatic environment with sizes in the nanometer range. Natural colloids in a water system play an important role, quite often a key role, in binding and transporting compounds. When assessing and evaluating metals in natural waters, their sources, mobility, fate, and distribution patterns in the system are the major concerns from the point of view of assessing environmental contamination and pollution during resource development. There are a few ways to quantify colloids and accordingly study how metals distribute on different sizes of colloids. Current research results show that the presence of colloids can enhance the transport of some heavy metals in water, while heavy metals may also have an influence on the transport of colloids when cations in the water system change colloids and/or the ion strength of the water system changes. Therefore, studies into the relationship between different sizes of colloids and different metals in a water system are necessary and needed as natural colloids in water systems are complex mixtures of both organic and inorganic as well as biological materials. Their stability could be sensitive to changes in their shapes, phases, hardness and functionalities due to coagulation and deposition et al. and chemical, physical, and biological reactions. Because metal contaminants’ adsorption on surfaces of colloids is closely related to colloid properties, it is desired to fraction water samples as soon as possible after a sample is taken in the natural environment in order to avoid changes to water samples during transportation and storage. For this reason, this study carried out groundwater sample processing in the field, using Prep/Scale tangential flow filtration systems with 3-level cartridges (1 kDa, 10 kDa and 100 kDa). Groundwater samples from seven sites at Fort MacMurray, Alberta, Canada, were fractionated during the 2015 field sampling season. All samples were processed within 3 hours after samples were taken. Preliminary results show that although the distribution pattern of metals on colloids may vary with different samples taken from different sites, some elements often tend to larger colloids (such as Fe and Re), some to finer colloids (such as Sb and Zn), while some of them mainly in the dissolved form (such as Mo and Be). This information is useful to evaluate and project the fate and mobility of different metals in the groundwaters and possibly in environmental water systems.

Keywords: metal, colloid, groundwater, mobility, fractionation, sorption

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Authors: Lev Chernyshev, Ekaterina Lieshout, Natalia Kabaliuk

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Sit-skis enable individuals with limited lower limb or core movement to ski unassisted confidently. The rise in popularity of the Winter Paralympics has seen an influx of engineering innovation, especially for the Downhill and Super-Giant Slalom events, where the athletes achieve speeds as high as 160km/h. The growth in the sport has inspired recent research into sit-ski aerodynamics. Crosswinds are expected in mountain climates and, therefore, can greatly impact a skier's maneuverability and aerodynamics. This research investigates the impact of crosswinds on the drag force of a Paralympic sit-ski using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A Paralympic sit-ski with a model of a skier, a leg cover, a bucket seat, and a simplified suspension system was used for CFD analysis in ANSYS Fluent. The hybrid initialisation tool and the SST k–ω turbulence model were used with two tetrahedral mesh bodies of influence. The crosswinds (10, 30, and 50 km/h) acting perpendicular to the sit-ski's direction of travel were simulated, corresponding to the straight-line skiing speeds of 60, 80, and 100km/h. Following the initialisation, 150 iterations for both first and second order steady-state solvers were used, before switching to a transient solver with a computational time of 1.5s and a time step of 0.02s, to allow the solution to converge. CFD results were validated against wind tunnel data. The results suggested that for all crosswind and sit-ski speeds, on average, 64% of the total drag on the ski was due to the athlete's torso. The suspension was associated with the second largest overall sit-ski drag force contribution, averaging at 27%, followed by the leg cover at 10%. While the seat contributed a negligible 0.5% of the total drag force, averaging at 1.2N across the conditions studied. The effect of the crosswind increased the total drag force across all skiing speed studies, with the drag on the athlete's torso and suspension being the most sensitive to the changes in the crosswind magnitude. The effect of the crosswind on the ski drag reduced as the simulated skiing speed increased: for skiing at 60km/h, the drag force on the torso increased by 154% with the increase of the crosswind from 10km/h to 50km/h; whereas, at 100km/h the corresponding drag force increase was halved (75%). The analysis of the flow and pressure field characteristics for a sit-ski in crosswind conditions indicated the flow separation localisation and wake size correlated with the magnitude and directionality of the crosswind relative to straight-line skiing. The findings can inform aerodynamic improvements in sit-ski design and increase skiers' medalling chances.

Keywords: sit-ski, aerodynamics, CFD, crosswind effects

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Authors: Irfan Ahmed Rind

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Science education has recently become the top priority of government of Pakistan. Number of schemes has been initiated for the improvement of science teaching and learning at primary and secondary levels of education, most importantly training in-service science teachers on inquiry based teaching and learning to empower students and encourage creativity, critical thinking, and innovation among them. Therefore, this approach has been promoted in the recent continuous professional development trainings for the in-service teachers. However, the follow ups on trained science teachers and educators suggest that these teachers fail to implement the inquiry based teaching and learning in their classes. In addition, these trainings also fail to bring any significant change in students’ science content knowledge and understanding as per the annual national level surveys conducted by government and independent agencies. Research suggests that science has been taught using scientific positivism, which supports objectivity based on experiments and mathematics. In contrary, the inquiry based teaching and learning are based on constructivism, which conflicts with the positivist epistemology of science teachers. It was, therefore, assumed that science teachers struggle to implement the inquiry based teaching approach as it conflicts with their basic epistemological beliefs. With this assumption, this research aimed to (i) understand how science teachers conceptualize the nature of science, and how this influence their understanding of learning, learners, their own roles as teachers and their teaching strategies, (ii) identify the conflict of science teachers’ epistemological beliefs with the inquiry based teaching approach, and (iii) find the ways in which science teachers epistemological beliefs may be developed from positivism to constructivism, so that they may effectively use the inquiry based teaching approach in teaching science. Using qualitative case study approach, thirty six secondary and higher secondary science teachers (21 male and 15 female) were selected. Data was collected using interviewed, participatory observations (sixty lessons were observed), and twenty interviews from students for verifications of teachers’ responses. The findings suggest that most of the science teacher were positivist in defining the nature of science. Most of them limit themselves to one fix answer that is provided in the books and that there is only one 'right' way to teach science. There is no room for students’ or teachers’ own opinion or bias when it comes to scientific concepts. Inquiry based teaching seems 'no right' to them. They find it difficult to allow students to think out of the box. However, some interesting exercises were found to be very effective in bringing the change in teachers’ epistemological beliefs. These will be discussed in detail in the paper. The findings have major implications for the teachers, educators, and policymakers.

Keywords: science teachers, epistemology, metacognition, inquiry based teaching

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Authors: Sungeun Hyun, Sooin Lee, Gyewan Moon

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Work-Family Conflict has been an active research area for the past decades. Work-Family Conflict harms individuals and organizations, it is ultimately expected to bring the cost of losses to the company in the long run. WFC has mainly focused on effects of organizational effectiveness and job attitude such as Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, and Turnover Intention variables. This study is different from consequence variable with previous research. For this purpose, we selected the positive job attitude 'Work Engagement' as a consequence of WFC. This research has its primary research purpose in identifying the negative effects of the Work-Family Conflict, and started out from the recognition of the problem that the research on the direct relationship on the influence of the WFC on Work Engagement is lacking. Based on the COR(Conservation of resource theory) and JD-R(Job Demand- Resource model), the empirical study model to examine the negative effects of WFC with Emotional Exhaustion as the link between WFC and Work Engagement was suggested and validated. Also, it was analyzed how much Positive Psychological Capital may buffer the negative effects arising from WFC within this relationship, and the Mediated Moderation model controlling the indirect effect influencing the Work Engagement by the Positive Psychological Capital mediated by the WFC and Emotional Exhaustion was verified. Data was collected by using questionnaires distributed to 500 employees engaged manufacturing, services, finance, IT industry, education services, and other sectors, of which 389 were used in the statistical analysis. The data are analyzed by statistical package, SPSS 21.0, SPSS macro and AMOS 21.0. The hierarchical regression analysis, SPSS PROCESS macro and Bootstrapping method for hypothesis testing were conducted. Results showed that all hypotheses are supported. First, WFC showed a negative effect on Work Engagement. Specifically, WIF appeared to be on more negative effects than FIW. Second, Emotional exhaustion found to mediate the relationship between WFC and Work Engagement. Third, Positive Psychological Capital showed to moderate the relationship between WFC and Emotional Exhaustion. Fourth, the effect of mediated moderation through the integration verification, Positive Psychological Capital demonstrated to buffer the relationship among WFC, Emotional Exhastion, and Work Engagement. Also, WIF showed a more negative effects than FIW through verification of all hypotheses. Finally, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications on research and management of the WFC, and proposed limitations and future research directions of research.

Keywords: emotional exhaustion, positive psychological capital, work engagement, work-family conflict

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Authors: E. Njuguna, S. Ilovi, P. Muiruri, K. Mutai, J. Kinuthia, P. Njoroge

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Introduction: Cervical cancer is the commonest cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality among women in developing countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Screening for cervical cancer in all women regardless of HIV status is crucial for the early detection of cancer of the cervix when treatment is most effective in curing the disease. It is particularly more important to screen HIV infected women as they are more at risk of developing the disease and progressing faster once infected with HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). We aimed to determine the factors affecting the utilization of cervical cancer screenings among HIV infected women above 18 years of age at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) Comprehensive Care Center (CCC). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional mixed quantitative and qualitative study involving randomly and purposefully selected HIV positive female respectively was conducted. Qualitative data collection involved 4 focus group discussions of eligible female participants while quantitative data were acquired by one to one interviewer administered structured questionnaires. The outcome variable was the utilization of cervical cancer screening. Data were entered into Access data base and analyzed using Stata version 11.1. Qualitative data were analyzed after coding for significant clauses and transcribing to determine themes arising. Results: We enrolled a total of 387 patients, mean age (IQ range) 40 years (36-44). Cervical cancer screening utilization was 46% despite a health care provider recommendation of 85%. The screening results were reported as normal in 72 of 81 (88.9%) and abnormal 7 of 81(8.6%) of the cases. Those who did not know their result were 2 of 81(2.5%). Patients were less likely to utilize the service with increasing number of years attending the clinic (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.86-0.99, p-value 0.02), but more likely to utilize the service if recommendation by a staff was made (OR 10, 95% CI 4.2-23.9, p<0.001), and if cervical screening had been done before joining KNH CCC (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.7-4.9, p < 0.001). Similarly, they were more likely to rate the services on cervical cancer screening as good (OR 5.0, 95% CI 1.7-3.4, p <0.001) and very good (OR 8.1, 95% CI 2.5-6.1, p<0.001) if they had utilized the service. The main barrier themes emerging from qualitative data included fear of screening due to excessive pain or bleeding, lack of proper communication on screening procedures and increased waiting time. Conclusions: Utilization of cervical cancer screening services was low despite health care recommendation. Patient socio-demographic characteristics did not influence whether or not they utilized the services, indicating the important role of the health care provider in the referral and provision of the service.

Keywords: cervical, cancer, HIV, women, comprehensive care center

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Authors: Jung Lee

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The last decade has witnessed more people than ever before using social media and broadening their social circles. Social media users connect not only with their friends but also with professional acquaintances, primarily coworkers, and clients; personal and professional social circles are mixed within the same social media platform. Considering the positive aspect of social media in facilitating communication and mutual understanding between individuals, we infer that social media interactions with co-workers could indeed benefit one’s professional life. However, given privacy issues, sharing all personal details with one’s co-workers is not necessarily the best practice. Should one connect with coworkers via social media? Will social media connections with coworkers eventually benefit one’s long-term career? Will the benefit differ across cultures? To answer, this study examines how social media can contribute to organizational communication by tracing the foundation of user motivation based on social capital theory, leader-member exchange (LMX) theory and expectancy theory of motivation. Although social media was originally designed for personal communication, users have shown intentions to extend social media use for professional communication, especially when the proper incentive is expected. To articulate the user motivation and the mechanism of the incentive expectation scheme, this study applies those three theories and identify six antecedents and three moderators of social media use motivation including social network flaunt, shared interest, perceived social inclusion. It also hypothesizes that the moderating effects of those constructs would significantly differ based on the relationship hierarchy among the workers. To validate, this study conducted a survey of 329 active social media users with acceptable levels of job experiences. The analysis result confirms the specific roles of the three moderators in social media adoption for organizational communication. The present study contributes to the literature by developing a theoretical modeling of ambivalent employee perceptions about establishing social media connections with co-workers. This framework shows not only how both positive and negative expectations of social media connections with co-workers are formed based on expectancy theory of motivation, but also how such expectations lead to behavioral intentions using career success model. It also enhances understanding of how various relationships among employees can be influenced through social media use and such usage can potentially affect both performance and careers. Finally, it shows how cultural factors induced by social media use can influence relations among the coworkers.

Keywords: the social network, workplace, social capital, motivation

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Authors: Alina Murtishcheva

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The development of an effective system of administrative supervision is a prerequisite for the functioning of local self-government on the basis of the rule of law. Administrative supervision of local self-government is of particular importance in the EU countries due to the influence of integration processes. The central authorities act on the international level; however, subnational authorities also have to implement European legislation in order to strengthen integration. Therefore, the central authority, being the connecting link between supranational and subnational authorities, should bear responsibility, including financial responsibility, for possible mistakes of subnational authorities. Consequently, the state should have sufficient mechanisms of control over local and regional authorities in order to correct their mistakes. At the same time, the control mechanisms do not deny the autonomy of local self-government. The paper analyses models of administrative supervision of local self-government in Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, and France. The research methods used in this paper are theoretical methods of analysis of scientific literature, constitutions, legal acts, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe reports, and constitutional court decisions, as well as comparative and logical analysis. The legislative basis of administrative supervision was scrutinized, and the models of administrative supervision were classified, including a priori control and ex-post control or their combination. The advantages and disadvantages of these models of administrative supervision are analysed. Compliance with Article 8 of the European Charter of Local Self-Government is of great importance for countries achieving common goals and sharing common values. However, countries under study have problems and, in some cases, demonstrate non-compliance with provisions of Article 8. Such non-conformity as the endorsement of a mayor by the Flemish Government in Belgium, supervision with a view to expediency in Great Britain, and the tendency to overuse supervisory power in Poland are analysed. On the basis of research, the tendencies of administrative supervision of local authorities’ activities in selected European countries are described. Several recommendations for Ukraine as a country that had been granted the EU candidate status are formulated. Having emphasised its willingness to become a member of the European community, Ukraine should not only follow the best European practices but also avoid the mistakes of countries that have long-term experience in developing the local self-government institution. This project has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement № P-PD-22-194

Keywords: administrative supervision, decentralisation, legality, local authorities, local self-government

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Authors: Karen V. Lee

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The background and significance of this study involves an autoethnographic story that shares research results about how music and movies influence the suicide of a new music teacher working in a public school. The performative narrative duet demonstrates how music and movies highlight social issues when the new teacher cannot cope with allegations surrounding professional issues. Both university advisors are drawn into deep reflection about the wider political issues that arise around the transition from the student-teacher internship process to the teaching career with the stark reality of teaching profession in the 21st century. This performance of story and music creates a transformative composition of reading, hearing, feeling while provoking visceral and emotional responses. Sometimes, young teachers are forced to take a leave of absence to reflect upon their practice with adolescents. In this extreme circumstance, the outcome was suicide. The qualitative research method involves an autoethnographic story as the author is methodologist, theoretician, and participant. Sub-themes surround film, music education and how movie resources have influenced his tragic misguided decision regarding social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and practical strategies to cope with the allegations. Major findings from this story demonstrate how lived experiences can resonate the importance of providing more education and resources to new teachers. The research provides substantive contribution, aesthetic merit, as the impact of movies and music influences the suicide. The reflexive account of storied sensory experiences situated in culture settings becomes a way to describe and seek verisimilitude by evoking lifelike and believable feelings from others. Sadly, the circumstance surrounding the story involving the allegations of a teacher sexually harassing a student is not uncommon in society. However, the young teacher never received counseling to cope with the allegations but instead was influenced by music and movies and opted for suicide. In conclusion, stories share the implications for film and media studies as music and movies can encourage a moral mission to empower individuals with despair and emotional impairment to embrace professional support to assist with emotional and legal challenges encountered in the field of teaching. It is from media studies that education and awareness surrounding suicide can disseminate information about the tragic outcome.

Keywords: music, movies, suicide, narrative, autoethnography

Procedia PDF Downloads 216

Authors: Daniel Osorio, Andreas Klenk, Stefan Weihe, Andreas Kopp, Frank Rödiger

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Future power plants currently face high design requirements due to worsening climate change and environmental restrictions, which demand high operational flexibility, superior thermal performance, minimal emissions, and higher cyclic capability. The aim of the paper is, therefore, to investigate the creep and thermo-mechanical material behavior of improved materials experimentally and welded joints at component scale under near-to-service operating conditions, which are promising for application in highly efficient and flexible future power plants. These materials promise an increase in flexibility and a reduction in manufacturing costs by providing enhanced creep strength and, therefore, the possibility for wall thickness reduction. At the temperature range between 550°C and 625°C, the investigation focuses on the in-phase thermo-mechanical fatigue behavior of dissimilar welded joints of conventional materials (ferritic and martensitic material T24 and T92) to nickel-based alloys (A617B and HR6W) by means of membrane test panels. The temperature and external load are varied in phase during the test, while the internal pressure remains constant. At the temperature range between 650°C and 750°C, it focuses on the creep behavior under multiaxial stress loading of similar and dissimilar welded joints of high temperature resistant nickel-based alloys (A740H, A617B, and HR6W) by means of a thick-walled-component test. In this case, the temperature, the external axial load, and the internal pressure remain constant during testing. Numerical simulations are used for the estimation of the axial component load in order to induce a meaningful damage evolution without causing a total component failure. Metallographic investigations after testing will provide support for understanding the damage mechanism and the influence of the thermo-mechanical load and multiaxiality on the microstructure change and on the creep and TMF- strength.

Keywords: creep, creep-fatigue, component behaviour, weld joints, high temperature material behaviour, nickel-alloys, high temperature resistant steels

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Authors: Olga Mironiuk, Małgorzata Kossowska

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of Situational Attribution Training on reducing automatic in-group stereotyping in females. The experiment was conducted with the control of age and level of prejudice. 90 female participants were randomly assigned to two conditions: experimental and control group (each group was also divided into younger- and older-aged condition). Participants from the experimental condition were subjected to more extensive training. In the first part of the experiment, the experimental group took part in the first session of Situational Attribution Training while the control group participated in the Grammatical Training Control. In the second part of the research both groups took part in the Situational Attribution Training (which was considered as the second training session for the experimental group and the first one for the control condition). The training procedure was based on the descriptions of ambiguous situations which could be explained using situational or dispositional attributions. The participant’s task was to choose the situational explanation from two alternatives, out of which the second one presented the explanation based on neutral or stereotypically associated with women traits. Moreover, the experimental group took part in the third training session after two- day time delay, in order to check the persistence of the training effect. The main hypothesis stated that among participants taking part in the more extensive training, the automatic in-group stereotyping would be less frequent after having finished training sessions. The effectiveness of the training was tested by measuring the response time and the correctness of answers: the longer response time for the examples where one of two possible answers was based on the stereotype trait and higher correctness of answers was considered to be a proof of the training effectiveness. As the participants’ level of prejudice was controlled (using the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory), it was also assumed that the training effect would be weaker for participants revealing a higher level of prejudice. The obtained results did not confirm the hypothesis based on the response time: participants from the experimental group responded faster in case of situations where one of the possible explanations was based on stereotype trait. However, an interesting observation was made during the analysis of the answers’ correctness: regardless the condition and age group affiliation, participants made more mistakes while choosing the situational explanations when the alternative was based on stereotypical trait associated with the dimension of warmth. What is more, the correctness of answers was higher in the third training session for the experimental group in case when the alternative of situational explanation was based on the stereotype trait associated with the dimension of competence. The obtained results partially confirm the effectiveness of the training.

Keywords: female, in-group stereotyping, prejudice, situational attribution training

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Authors: Sai Snehitha Yadavalli, K. Sruthi, Swati Ghosh Acharyya

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Heavy metal ions are toxic to humans and all living species when exposed in large quantities or for long durations. Though Fe acts as a nutrient, when intake is in large quantities, it becomes toxic. These toxic heavy metal ions, when consumed through water, will cause many disorders and are harmful to all flora and fauna through biomagnification. Specifically, humans are prone to innumerable diseases ranging from skin to gastrointestinal, neurological, etc. In higher quantities, they even cause cancer in humans. Detection of these toxic heavy metal ions in water is thus important. Traditionally, the detection of heavy metal ions in water has been done by techniques like Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICPMS) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Though these methods offer accurate quantitative analysis, they require expensive equipment and cannot be used for on-site measurements. Anodic Stripping Voltammetry is a good alternative as the equipment is affordable, and measurements can be made at the river basins or lakes. In the current study, Square Wave Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (SWASV) was used to detect the heavy metal ions in water. Literature reports various electrodes on which deposition of heavy metal ions was carried out like Bismuth, Polymers, etc. The working electrode used in this study is a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Ag/AgCl reference electrode and Platinum counter electrode were used. Biologic Potentiostat SP 300 was used for conducting the experiments. Through this work of simultaneous detection, four heavy metal ions were successfully detected at a time. The influence of modifying GCE with PVC was studied in comparison with unmodified GCE. The simultaneous detection of Cd⁺², Fe⁺², Co⁺², Pb⁺² heavy metal ions was done using PVC modified GCE by drop casting 1 wt.% of PVC dissolved in Tetra Hydro Furan (THF) solvent onto GCE. The concentration of all heavy metal ions was 0.2 mg/L, as shown in the figure. The scan rate was 0.1 V/s. Detection parameters like pH, scan rate, temperature, time of deposition, etc., were optimized. It was clearly understood that PVC helped in increasing the sensitivity and selectivity of detection as the current values are higher for PVC-modified GCE compared to unmodified GCE. The peaks were well defined when PVC-modified GCE was used.

Keywords: cadmium, cobalt, electrochemical sensing, glassy carbon electrodes, heavy metal Ions, Iron, lead, polyvinyl chloride, potentiostat, square wave anodic stripping voltammetry

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Authors: Hamideh Sadat Zekri, Seyed Mojtaba Hosseinalipour, Mohammadreza Hafezi

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Nowadays, an organization cannot usually overcome all tasks singly due to the increasing complexity and vast expanse of projects, increment in uncertainty of activities, fast advances in technology, advent and influence of various factors in decision-making and implication of projects, and competitive atmosphere of different affairs. Thus, firms proceed to outsource the tasks to subcontractors. Nevertheless, large Iranian contracting companies suffer from extra consumed costs and time owing to conflicts between the activities of suppliers and subcontractors. The paucity of coordination in planning and execution, scarcity of coordination among suppliers, subcontractors, and the main contractor during the implementation of construction activities and also the lack of proper management of the aforesaid situation result in the growth of contradictions, number of claims, and legal issues in a project and consequently impose enormous expenses on those companies. Regarding the prosperity of supply chain management in other industries, its importance is increasingly getting appreciated in the field of construction. The ultimate aim of supply chain management is an effective delivery of the best value for customers, which is achievable by encouraging the members to interact and collaborate. In the present research, there was an effort to obtain a set of relevant challenges in the managing of subcontractors by identifying the main contractors and subcontractors and their role in the execution of projects and the supply chain management in the construction industry. Then, some of those challenges were selected in accordance with the views of industry professionals and academic experts. In the next step, a questionnaire was prepared and completed based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the challenges were prioritized. When it comes to subcontractors, the findings of the research demonstrate that difficulties in timely payments, alterations in approved drawings and the lack of rectification of job after completion by the subcontractor, paucity of a predetermined and legal process for qualifications of subcontractors, neglecting the supply chain processes in material procurement from producers, and delays in delivery of works by a subcontractor are the most significant problems. Finally, some solutions for encountering, eradicating, or reducing of mentioned problems are presented in accordance with previous studies and a survey from specialists.

Keywords: main contractors, subcontractors, supply chain management, construction supply chain, analytic hierarchy process, solution

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Lina Lauciene, Vaida Andruleviciute, Ingrida Sinkeviciene, Mindaugas Malakauskas, Loreta Serniene

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Dairy product manufacturers constantly are looking for new markets for their production. And in most cases, the problem of product compliance with the composition requirements of foreign products is highlighted. This is especially true of the composition of milk fat in dairy products. It is well known that there are many factors such as feeding ratio, season, cow breed, stage of lactation that affect the fatty acid composition in milk. However, there is less evidence on the impact of the technological process on the composition of fatty acids in raw milk and products made from it. In this study the influence of the technological process on fat composition in 82% fat butter, 15% fat curd, 3.6% fat yogurt and 2.5% fat UHT milk was determined. The samples were collected at each stage of production, starting with raw milk and ending with the final product in the Lithuanian milk-processing company. Fatty acids methyl esters were quantified using a GC (Clarus 680, Perkin Elmer) equipped with flame ionization detector (FID) and a capillary column SP-2560, 100 m x 0.25 mm id x 0.20 µm. Fatty acids peaks were identified using Supelco® 37 Component FAME Mix. The concentration of each fatty acid was expressed in percent of the total fatty acid amount. In the case of UHT milk production, it was compared raw milk, cream, milk mixture, and UHT milk but significant differences were not estimated between these stages. Analyzing stages of the yogurt production (raw milk, pasteurized milk, and milk with a starter culture and yogurt), no significant changes were detected between stages as well. A slight difference was observed with C4:0 - a percentage of this fatty acid was less (p=0.053) in the final stage than in milk with the starter culture. During butter production, the composition of fatty acids in raw cream, buttermilk, and butter did not change significantly. Only C14:0 decreased in the butter then compared to buttermilk. The curd fatty acid analysis showed the increase of C6:0, C8:0, C10:0, C11:0, C12:0 C14:0 and C17:0 at the final stage when compared to raw milk, cream, milk mixture, and whey. Meantime the increase of C18:1n9c (in comparison with milk mixture and curd) and C18:2n6c (in comparison with raw milk, milk mixture, and curd) was estimated in cream. The results of this study suggest that the technological process did not affect the composition of fatty acids in UHT milk, yogurt, butter, and curd but had the impact on the concentration of individual fatty acids. In general, all of the fatty acids from the raw milk were converted into the final product, only some of them slightly changed the concentration. Therefore, in order to ensure an appropriate composition of certain fatty acids in the final product, producers must carefully choose the raw milk. Acknowledgment: This research was funded by Lithuanian Ministry of Agriculture (No. MT-17-13).

Keywords: dairy products, fat composition, fatty acids, technological process

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Authors: Tzu-Ling Hsieh

Abstract:

When the Taiwan Ministry of Education implemented a new university multiple entrance policy in 2002, most colleges and universities still use testing scores as mainly admission criteria. With forthcoming 12 basic-year education curriculum, the Ministry of Education provides a new college admission policy, which will be implemented in 2021. The new college admission policy will highlight the importance of holistic education by more emphases on the learning process of senior high school, except only on the outcome of academic testing. However, the development of college admission criteria doesn’t have a thoughtful process. Universities and colleges don’t have an idea about how to make suitable multi-admission criteria. Although there are lots of studies in other countries which have implemented multi-college admission criteria for years, these studies still cannot represent Taiwanese students. Also, these studies are limited without the comparison of two different academic fields. Therefore, this study investigated multiple admission criteria and its relationship with college success. This study analyzed the Taiwan Higher Education Database with 12,747 samples from 156 universities and tested a conceptual framework that examines factors by structural equation model (SEM). The conceptual framework of this study was adapted from Pascarella's general causal model and focused on how different admission criteria predict students’ college success. It discussed the relationship between admission criteria and college success, also the relationship how motivation (one of admission standard) influence college success through engagement behaviors of student effort and interactions with agents of socialization. After processing missing value, reliability and validity analysis, the study found three indicators can significantly predict students’ college success which was defined as average grade of last semester. These three indicators are the Chinese language scores at college entrance exam, high school class rank, and quality of student academic engagement. In addition, motivation can significantly predict quality of student academic engagement and interactions with agents of socialization. However, the multi-group SEM analysis showed that there is no difference to predict college success between the students from liberal arts and science. Finally, this study provided some suggestions for universities and colleges to develop multi-admission criteria through the empirical research of Taiwanese higher education students.

Keywords: college admission, admission criteria, structural equation modeling, higher education, education policy

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Authors: A. Gazdzinska, P. Jagielski, E. Kaniewska, S. P. Gazdzinski, M. Wylezol

Abstract:

Background: In the multi-factor etiology of obesity, an increasing degree of importance is attributed to behavioral factors. Lifestyle and health-oriented behaviors heavily influence the treatment of multiple diseases, including obesity. However, only a few studies evaluated health-related behaviors exhibited by patients qualified for bariatric surgery. None of them was performed in Polish population. Aim: Assessment of health behaviors of obese patients according to the degree of mood disorders. Method: The study involved 93 patients (66 females) who were qualified for bariatric surgery in the Department of Surgery of the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine in Warsaw. Diagnostic instrument was the Juczynski’s Inventory of Health Behavior (HBI), which evaluates health behavior in four categories, i.e. proper nutrition habits (PNH), preventive behavior (PH), health practices (HP) and positive mental attitude (PMA). The average HBI falls in the range between 24 and 120 points, for each category of health behaviors fall between 1 and 5 (higher score means higher severity declared healthy behaviors). The depressive symptoms in patients were assessed with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). All analyses were conducted using STATISTICA 12. Results: The average age was 44.2 ± 11.5 years, mean BMI was 44.3 ± 10.5 kg/m2 and 46.8 ± 7.6 kg/m2, in females and males respectively. According to BDI, 32% patients had mild level of depression, 10% moderate and 14% severe depression. BDI scores were not different between females and males. Low results with regard to the health behaviors declared were obtained by 35.5 % of patients, medium by 44.0%, while high ones by only 20.5%. On average, patients gained 3.28 points in PNH, 3.37 points in PH, 3.29 points in HP, while 3.42 in the PMA category, showing average intensity of these behaviors. These health behaviors were practiced significantly more often by women (p = 0.04). The average HBI was 80.2; with average score of 81.5 for females and 76.6 for males, respectively (p = 0.03). Women were better in the PNH category (p = 0.02). A positive correlation was found between age and all categories of health behaviors, in particular PNH (R = 0.38; p = 0.001), PH (R = 0.26; p = 0.01), HP (R = 0.27; p = 0.01) and PMA (R = 0.24; p = 0.02), independent of gender. The severity of depression had a significant impact only on the behaviors associated with proper eating habits, which saw a negative correlation between BDI scores and the PNH (R = -0.21; p = 0.04). Conclusions: Majority of morbidly obese patients qualified for bariatric surgery obtained low to average scores in health behavior questionnaire. However, these results are similar in comparison with the Polish adult population. In accordance to these results, it seems that healthy behaviors, among them eating behaviors, do not appear to be a cause of obesity epidemic or they might be acquired when the disease is already underway. Female gender and age had a positive effect, and depression had a negative effect on the level of health behaviors among patients qualified for bariatric surgery.

Keywords: depression, habits, health behaviours, obesity

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