Search results for: effect of media on people and society

Authors: Adji Achmad Rinaldo Fernandes

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Path analysis tests the relationship between variables through cause and effect. Before conducting further tests on path analysis, the assumption of linearity must be met. If the shape of the relationship is not linear and the shape of the curve is unknown, then use a nonparametric approach, one of which is a truncated spline. The purpose of this study is to estimate the function and get the best model on the nonparametric truncated spline path of linear, quadratic, and cubic orders with 1 and 2-knot points and determine the significance of the best function estimator in modeling farmer loyalty through the jackknife resampling method. This study uses secondary data through questionnaires to farmers in Sumbawa Regency who use SP-36 subsidized fertilizer products as many as 100 respondents. Based on the results of the analysis, it is known that the best-truncated spline nonparametric path model is the quadratic order of 2 knots with a coefficient of determination of 85.50%; the significance of the best-truncated spline nonparametric path estimator shows that all exogenous variables have a significant effect on endogenous variables.

Keywords: nonparametric path analysis, farmer loyalty, jackknife resampling, truncated spline

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Asmiaty Sahur, Ambo Ala, Baharuddin Patanjengi, Elkawakib Syam'un

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This study aimed to isolate and characterize the indigenous Rhizosphere bacteria producing Gibberellin Acid as plant growth isolated from local soybean of three different areas in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Several soil samples of soybean plants were collected from the Rhizosphere of local soybeans in three different areas of South Sulawesi such as Soppeng, Bone and Takalar. There were 56 isolates of bacteria were isolated and grouped into gram-positive bacteria and gram negative bacteria .There are 35 isolates produce a thick slime or slimy when cultured on media Natrium Broth and the remaining of those produced spores. The results showed that of potential bacterial isolated produced Gibberellin Acid in high concentration. The best isolate of Rhizosphere bacteria for the production of Gibberellin Acid is with concentration 2%. There are 4 isolates that had higher concentration are AKB 19 (4.67 mg/ml) followed by RKS 17 (3.80 mg/ml), RKS 25 (3.70 mg / ml) and RKS 24 (3.29 mg/ml) respectively.

Keywords: rhizosphere, bacteria, gibberellin acid, soybeans

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Mohammad Ibrahim Alladin

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The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire was first published in 1970. Since its publication it has become one of most cited book in the social sciences. Over a million copies have been sold worldwide. The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire was published in 1970 (New York: Herder and Herder), The book has caused a “revolution” in the education world and his theory has been examined and analysed. It has influenced educational policy, curriculum development and teacher education. The revolution started half a century ago. “Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed develops a theory of education fitted to the needs of the disenfranchised and marginalized members of capitalist societies. Combining educational and political philosophy, the book offers an analysis of oppression and a theory of liberation. Freire believes that traditional education serves to support the dominance of the powerful within society and thereby maintain the powerful’s social, political, and economic status quo. To overcome the oppression endemic to an exploitative society, education must be remade to inspire and enable the oppressed in their struggle for liberation. This new approach to education focuses on consciousness-raising, dialogue, and collaboration between teacher and student in the effort to achieve greater humanization for all. For Freire, education is political and functions either to preserve the current social order or to transform it. The theories of education and revolutionary action he offers in Pedagogy of the Oppressed are addressed educators committed to the struggle for liberation from oppression. Freire’s own commitment to this struggle developed through years of teaching literacy to Brazilian and Chilean peasants and laborers. His efforts at educational and political reform resulted in a brief period of imprisonment followed exile from his native Brazil for fifteen years. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed begins Freire asserts the importance of consciousness-raising, or conscientização, as the means enabling the oppressed to recognize their oppression and commit to the effort to overcome it, taking full responsibility for themselves in the struggle for liberation. He addresses the “fear of freedom,” which inhibits the oppressed from assuming this responsibility. He also cautions against the dangers of sectarianism, which can undermine the revolutionary purpose as well as serve as a refuge for the committed conservative. Freire provides an alternative view of education by attacking tradition education and knowledge. He is highly critical of how is imparted and how knowledge is structured that limits the learner’s thinking. Hence, education becomes oppressive and school functions as an institution of social control. Since its publication, education has gone through a series of reforms and in some areas total transformation. This paper addresses the following: The role of education in social transformation The teacher/learner relationship :Critical thinking The paper essentially examines what happened in the last fifty years since Freire’s book. It seeks to explain what happened to Freire’s education revolution, and what is the status of the movement that started almost fifty years ago.

Keywords: pedagogy, reform, curriculum, teacher education

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: F. Villaret, I. Jacot, Y. Shen, Z. Kong, T. XU, Y. Wang, D. Lu

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Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) allows the rapid production of large, homogeneous parts with complex geometry. However, in the nuclear field, parts can reach dimensions of ten to a hundred tons. In this case, the usual WAAM TIG or CMT processes do not have sufficient deposition rates to consider the manufacture of parts of such dimensions within a reasonable time. The submerged arc welding process (SAW, Submerged Arc Welding) allows much higher deposition rates. Although there are very few references to this process for additive manufacturing in the literature, it has been used for a long time for the welding and coating of nuclear power plant vessels, so this process is well-known and mastered as a welding process. This study proposes to evaluate the SAW process as an additive manufacturing technique by taking as an example a low-alloy steel of type 16MND5. In the first step, a parametric study allowed the evaluation of the effect of the different parameters and the deposition rate on the geometry of the beads and their microstructure. Larger parts were also fabricated and characterized by metallography and mechanical tests (tensile, impact, toughness). The effect of different heat treatments on the microstructure is also studied.

Keywords: WAAM, low alloy steel, submerged arc, caracterization

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Authors: A. Kourou, M. Panoutsopoulou

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Nowadays, disaster risk reduction requires innovative ways of working collaboratively, monitoring tools, management methods, risk communication, and knowledge, as key factors for decision-making actors. Experience has shown that the assessment of seismic risk and its effective management is still an important challenge. In Greece, Ionian Islands region is characterized as the most seismic area of the country and one of the most active worldwide. It is well known that in case of a disastrous earthquake the local authorities need to assess the situation in the affected area and coordinate the disaster response. In particular, the main outcomes of 'Telemachus' project are the development of an innovative operational system that hosts the needed data of seismic risk management in the Ionian Islands and the implementation of educational actions for the involved target groups. This project is funded in the Priority Axis 'Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development' of Operational Plan 'Ionian Islands 2014-2020'. EPPO is one of the partners of the project and it is responsible, among others, for the development of proper training material. This paper presents the training material of 'Telemachus' and its usage as a helpful, managerial tool in case of earthquake emergency. This material is addressed to different target groups, such as civil protection staff, people that involved with the tourism industry, educators of disabled people, etc. Very positive aspect of the project is the involvement of end-users that should evaluate the training products; test standards; clarify the personnel’s roles and responsibilities; improve interagency coordination; identify gaps in resources; improve individual performance; and identify opportunities for improvement. It is worth mentioning that even though the abovementioned material developed is useful for the training of specific target groups on emergency management issues within Ionian Islands Region, it could be used throughout Greece and other countries too.

Keywords: education of civil protection staff, Ionian Islands Region of Greece, seismic risk, training material

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Siamak Ghorbani, Nikolay Ivanovich Polushin

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Chatter vibrations, occurring during cutting process, cause vibration between the cutting tool and workpiece, which deteriorates surface roughness and reduces tool life. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of cutting parameters and tool construction on surface roughness and vibration in turning of aluminum alloy AA2024. A new design of cutting tool is proposed, which is filled up with epoxy granite in order to improve damping capacity of the tool. Experiments were performed at the lathe using carbide cutting insert coated with TiC and two different cutting tools made of AISI 5140 steel. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was applied to design of experiment and to optimize cutting conditions. By the help of signal-to-noise ratio and analysis of variance the optimal cutting condition and the effect of the cutting parameters on surface roughness and vibration were determined. Effectiveness of Taguchi method was verified by confirmation test. It was revealed that new cutting tool with epoxy granite has reduced vibration and surface roughness due to high damping properties of epoxy granite in toolholder.

Keywords: ANOVA, damping capacity, surface roughness, Taguchi method, vibration

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Authors: N. Demirsoy, N. Uçar, A. Önen, N. Kızıldağ, Ö. F. Vurur, O. Eren, İ. Karacan

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Polymer composite nano-fibers including (1, 3 wt %) silver nano-particles have been produced by electrospinning method. Polyacrylonitrile/N,N-dimethylformamide (PAN/DMF) solution has been prepared and the amount of silver nitrate has been adjusted to PAN weight. Silver nano-particles were obtained from reduction of silver ions into silver nano-particles by chemical reduction by hydrazine hydroxide (N2H5OH). The different amount of silver salt was loaded into polymer matrix to obtain polyacrylonitrile composite nano-fiber containing silver nano-particles. The effect of the amount of silver nano-particles on the properties of composite nano-fiber web was investigated. Electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, thermal properties were examined by Microtest LCR Meter 6370 (0.01 mΩ-100 MΩ), tensile tester, differential scanning calorimeter DSC (Q10) and SEM, respectively. Also, antimicrobial efficiency test (ASTM E2149-10) was done against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. It has been seen that breaking strength, conductivity, antimicrobial effect, enthalpy during cyclization increase by use of silver nano-particles while the diameter of nano-fiber decreases.

Keywords: composite polyacrylonitrile nanofiber, electrical conductivity, electrospinning, mechanical properties, thermal properties, silver nanoparticles

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Authors: Yulia Hastuti, Ratna Dewi, Muhammad Sandi

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Many methods of soil stabilization that can be done such as by mixing chemicals. In this research, stabilization by mixing the soil using two types of chemical admixture, those are gypsum with a variation of 5%, 10%, and 15% and Soil binder with a concentration of 20 gr / lot of water, 25 gr / lot of water, and 30 gr / lot of water aimed to determine the effect on the soil plasticity index values and comparing the value of shear strength parameters of the mixture with the original soil conditions using a Triaxial UU test. Based on research done shows that with increasing variations in the mix, then the value of plasticity index decreased, which was originally 42% (very high degree of swelling) becomes worth 11.24% (lower Swelling degree) when a mixture of gypsum 15% and 30 gr / Lt water soil binder. As for the value shear, strength parameters increased in all variations of mixture. Admixture with the highest shear strength parameter's value is at 15% the mixture of gypsum and 20 gr / litre of water of soil binder with the 14 day treatment period, which has enhanced the cohesion value of 559.01%, the friction angle by 1157.14%. And a shear strength value of 568.49%. It can be concluded that the admixture of gypsum and soil binder correctly, can increase the value of shear strength parameters significantly and decrease the value of plasticity index of the soil.

Keywords: expansive soil, gypsum, soil binder, shear strength

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Authors: Matteo Mazzucato, Elena Faccio, Antonio Iudici

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Prison is a social reality constructed by everyday interactions between an inmate, other social actors (cellmates, prison officers, educationalists and psychologists or other detainees) and the external world which participates in this complex construction through the social discourses on prison reality and its problems. Being a detainee means performing a self dealing with processes of stereotypization, attribution of a social role and prejudices assigned by various interlocutors and depending on what kind of crime one has been convicted of. Among all inmates, sex offenders are the ones who risk more to be socially condemned beyond a legal sentence since they have committed one of the most hated and disapproved crime. Regarding this, prison has to be considered as a critical context in which all community expectations and beliefs are converged: for common sense, rapists and child molesters are dangerous people who have to be stigmatized, punished and isolated. Furthermore, other detainees share a code of conduct by which the ‘sex offender’ is collocated at the lowest level of the social hierarchy of the prison. The penitentiary administration too defines this kind of detainee as a ‘vulnerable person to protect’ while prison staff considers him as a particular inmate who has to be treated and definitely changed. Considering all the complexities connected with being imprisoned as a sex offender, our research aimed at exploring how people convicted of sex crimes are called upon to manage all these hetero-narrations about their selves. Set this goal, textual data retrieved from this qualitative research show that sex offenders tend to not face the stigma assigned to them. They are rather used to minimize the story telling about their selves and costruct alternative biographies to be shared with other inmates. Managing narrations about their selves in this way permits to distance them from all the threats perceived living together with other detainees but it blocks sex offenders’ ri-signification of their offences during prison treatment. Given these results, prison administration should develop activities in order to create fields of interaction between detainees where experiencing new versions of their selves spendable even in external social situations. Regarding this it’s important to re-consider prison as part of the community and the sex offenders as a member of it.

Keywords: interactions, qualitative research, prison reality, sex offender

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Authors: Lina Sinevičienė

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Arising problems of countries’ public finances, social and demographic changes motivate scientific and policy debates on public spending size, structure and efficiency in order to meet the changing needs of society and business. The concept of sustainable development poses new challenges for scientists and policy-makers in the field of public finance. This paper focuses on the investigation of the relationship between government expenditure and country’s economic development in the context of sustainable development. Empirical analysis focuses on the data of the European Union (except Croatia and Luxemburg) countries. The study covers 2003 – 2012 years, using annual cross-sectional data. Summarizing the research results, it can be stated that governments should pay more attention to the needs that ensure sustainable development in the long-run when formulating public expenditure policy, particularly in the field of environment protection.

Keywords: economic development, economic growth, government expenditure, sustainable development

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Authors: Rihab Hentati, Younes Boujelbene

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Nowadays we realize more and more than the value of a company is not only a function of its means of production but depends essentially on the managerial aptitude and orientation to implement the material and human means for generating profitability. Indeed, a productive R&D activity, a good strategy, and innovation are originally supplementary benefits that increase the value of the business. Is this ‘value-added’ closely linked to innovation? The purpose of our research is to Meta-analyze the results of 56 empirical studies in order to explain the overall effect of innovation on performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. In order to justify the differences in the results, we look for the moderating factors that may affect the innovation-performance relationship. We find a positive and significant relationship between innovation and performance in small and medium-sized enterprises. The results also note a positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, research and development (R&D), and performance in SMEs. In addition, innovation has a strong impact on performance measured both with accounting and market index. The originality of the article is based on a rigorous synthesis, based on several statistical tools, of an important subject of research in finance.

Keywords: innovation, performance, entrepreneurial orientation, meta-analysis, moderator variables

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Authors: Selamat Muliadi

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This study aimed to explain conceptual the role of Zakat on sustainable economic development by Rumah Zakat. Rumah Zakat is a philanthropic institution that manages zakat and other social funds through community empowerment programs. In running the program, including economic empowerment and socio health services are designed for these recipients. Rumah Zakat's connection with the establisment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is to help impoverished recipients economically and socially. It’s an important agenda that the government input into national development, even the region. The primary goal of Zakat on sustainable economic development, not only limited to economic variables but based on Islamic principles, has comprehensive characteristics. The characteristics include moral, material, spiritual, and social aspects. In other words, sustainable economic development is closely related to improving people’s living standard (Mustahiq). The findings provide empiricial evidence regarding the positive contribution and effectiveness of zakat targeting in reducing poverty and improve the welfare of people related with the management of zakat. The purpose of this study was to identify the role of Zakat on sustainable economic development, which was applied by Rumah Zakat. This study used descriptive method and qualitative analysis. The data source was secondary data collected from documents and texts related to the research topic, be it books, articles, newspapers, journals, or others. The results showed that the role of zakat on sustainable economic development by Rumah Zakat has been quite good and in accordance with the principle of Islamic economics. Rumah Zakat programs are adapted to support intended development. The contribution of the productive program implementation has been aligned with four goals in the Sustainable Development Goals, i.e., Senyum Juara (Quality Education), Senyum Lestari (Clean Water and Sanitation), Senyum Mandiri (Entrepreneur Program) and Senyum Sehat (Free Maternity Clinic). The performance of zakat in the sustainable economic empowerment community at Rumah Zakat is taking into account dimensions such as input, process, output, and outcome.

Keywords: Zakat, social welfare, sustainable economic development, charity

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Myriam Rousseau, Suzie McKinnon, Mathieu Mireault, Anaïs V. Berthiaume, Marie-Hélène Poulin, Jacinthe Bourassa, Louis-Simon Maltais

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The increasing presence of young people with autism is forcing schools to adapt to this new situation and to offer services that meet the needs of this clientele. However, school staff often feels unqualified to support these students, lacking the preparation, skills and training to meet their needs. Continuing education for these staff is therefore essential to ensure that they can meet the needs of these students. As a result, the Government of Quebec has developed a bilingual (French and English) online training on autism specific to the needs of school staff. Therefore, adequate training for all school staff is likely to provide quality learning opportunities for these students. The research project focuses on the participants' appreciation, contributions, and social validity of the training. More specifically, it aims to: 1) evaluate the knowledge and self-efficacy of the participants, 2) evaluate the social validity and 3) document the evaluation of the ergonomics of the platform hosting the training. The evaluation carried out as part of this descriptive study uses a quantitative method. Data are collected using questionnaires completed online. The analysis of preliminary data reveals that participants' knowledge of autism and their sense of self-efficacy increased significantly. They value the training positively and consider it to be acceptable, appropriate, and suitable. The participants find it important for school staff to take this training. Almost all the items measuring the ergonomics of the platform have averages above 4.57/5. In general, the study shows that the training allows participating of the trainee school staff to improve their knowledge of autism and their sense of self-efficacy with young people with autism. In addition, participants recognize that the training has good social validity and appreciate the online modality. However, these results should be interpreted with caution given the limited number of participants who completed the research project. It is therefore important to continue the research with a larger number of participants to allow an adequate and general representativeness of the social validity, the feeling of competence and the appreciation of the platform.

Keywords: autism, online training, school staff, social validity

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Authors: Jong-Bae Lee, Seongsoo Lee

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This paper proposes an adaptive discharge time control method to balance cell voltages in alternating battery cell discharging method. In the alternating battery cell discharging method, battery cells are periodically discharged in turn. Recovery effect increases battery output voltage while the given battery cell rests without discharging, thus battery operation time of target system increases. However, voltage mismatch between cells leads two problems. First, voltage difference between cells induces inter-cell current with wasted power. Second, it degrades battery operation time, since system stops when any cell reaches to the minimum system operation voltage. To solve this problem, the proposed method adaptively controls cell discharge time to equalize both cell voltages. In the proposed method, battery operation time increases about 19%, while alternating battery cell discharging method shows about 7% improvement.

Keywords: battery, recovery effect, low-power, alternating battery cell discharging, adaptive discharge time control

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Authors: Cristina Rodriguez, Abed Alaswad, Zaki El-Hassan, Abdul G. Olabi

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This study investigates the effect on methane production from the waste paper when co-digested with macroalgal biomass as a source of nitrogen. Both feedstocks were previously mechanically pretreated in order to reduce their particle size. Methane potential assays were carried out at laboratory scale in batch mode for 28 days. The study was planned according to two factors: the feedstock to inoculum (F/I) ratio and the waste paper to macroalgae (WP/MA) ratio. The F/I ratios checked were 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 and the WP/MA ratios were 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25 and 100:0. The highest methane yield (608 ml/g of volatile solids (VS)) was achieved at an F/I ratio of 0.2 and a WP/MA ratio of 50:50. The methane yield at a ratio WP/MA of 50:50 is higher than for single compound, while for ratios WP/MA of 25:75 and 75:25 the methane yield decreases compared to biomass mono-digestion. This behavior is observed for the three levels of F/I ratio being more noticeable at F/I ratio of 0.3. A synergistic effect was found for the WP/MA ratio of 50:50 and all F/I ratios and for WP/MA=50:50 and F/I=0.2. A maximum increase of methane yield of 49.58% was found for a co-digestion ratio of 50:50 and an F/I ratio of 0.4. It was concluded that methane production from waste paper improves significantly when co-digested with macroalgae biomass. The methane yields from co-digestion were also found higher that from macroalgae mono-digestion.

Keywords: anaerobic co-digestion, biogas, macroalgae, waste paper

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: Abigail Qian Zhou

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In today's China, the well-educated middle class, with stable jobs and above-average income, are the driving force behind its Internet society. Through the analysis of data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey and 50 interviewees, this study investigates the current situation of this group’s specific internet usage. The findings of this study demonstrate that daily life among the members of this socioeconomic group is closely tied to the Internet. For Chinese middle class, the Internet is used to socialize and entertain self and others. It is also used to search for and share information as well as to build their identities. The empirical results of this study will provide a reference, supported by factual data, for enterprises seeking to target the Chinese middle class through online marketing efforts.

Keywords: middle class, Internet use, network behaviour, online marketing, China

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Authors: Leandro Moura da Silva

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The international community has strived to create legal mechanisms to protect their biodiversity, but this can represent, sometimes, particularly in the case of regulatory regime on access to genetic resources, an excessive nationalism which transforms itself into a significant obstacle to scientific progress causing damages to the country and to local farmers. Although it has been poorly publicized in the media, the international legal system was marked, in 2014, by the entry into force of the Nagoya Protocol, which regulates the access and benefit sharing of genetic resources of the States Party to that legal instrument. However, it’s not reasonable to think of regulating access to genetic resources without reflecting on the links of this important subject with other related issues, such as family farming and agribusiness, food safety, food security, intellectual property rights (on seeds, genetic material, new plant varieties, etc.), environmental sustainability, biodiversity, and biosafety.

Keywords: international law, regulation on agriculture, agronomy techniques, sustainability, genetic resources and new crop varieties, CBD, Nagoya Protocol, ITPGRFA

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Authors: Ilaria Coppola, Davide Lacqua, Nadia Ranìa

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Over the past two decades, migration has gained central importance in the global landscape. Europe hosts the largest number of migrants, totaling 92.9 million people, approximately 37.4 million of whom are regular residents within the European Union's borders. Reception services and different modes of management have received increasing attention precisely because of the complexity of the phenomenon, which necessarily impacts the wider community. Indeed, opening a reception center in an area entails major challenges for that context, for the community that inhabits it, and for the people who use that service. Questioning the strategies needed to offer a functional reception service means listening to the different actors involved who daily face the difficulties involved in working in the field. Recognizing the importance of the professional figures who work closely with migrant people, each with their own specific experiences has led researchers to study and analyze the different types of reception centers and their management. This has led to the development of intervention models and best practices in various countries. However, research from this perspective is still limited, especially in Italy. From this theoretical framework, this study aims to bring out an innovative qualitative tool, such as the world café, the work experiences of 29 social workers working in shelters in the Italian context. Most of the participants were female and lived in the Northwest regions of Italy. Through this tool, the aim was to bring out and share reflections on the critical issues encountered in working in reception centers, with a view to identifying possible solutions for better management of services. The World café represents a tool used in participatory action research that promotes dialogue among participants through the sharing of reflections and ideas. In fact, from critical reflections, participants are invited to identify and share possible solutions to provide a more functional service with benefits to the entire community. Therefore, this research, through the innovative technique of the World café, aims to promote critical thinking processes that can help participants find solutions that can be introduced into their work contexts or proposed to decision-makers. Specifically, the findings shed light on several issues, including complex bureaucratic procedures, insufficient project planning, and inefficiencies in the services provided to migrants. These concerns collectively contribute to what participants perceive as a disorganized and uncoordinated system. In addition, the study explores potential solutions that promote more efficient networking practices, coordinated project management, and a more positive approach to cultural diversity. The main results obtained will be discussed with a focus on critical reflections and possible solutions identified.

Keywords: participatory action research, world café method, reception services, migration contexts, social workers, Italy

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Authors: Eitidal Albassam

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Cooling towers (CTs) in arid zone countries, used for heat rejection in water-cooled (WC) systems, consume a large quantity of water. Universally, water conservation is an issue because of the scarcity of fresh water and natural resources. Therefore, many studies have aimed to conserve fresh water and limit the water wasted. Nonetheless, all these methods are not related to improving the weather conditions around the entering air to CT. In Kuwait and other arid-zone countries, the dry bulb temperature (DBT) during the summer season is significantly greater than the incoming hot water temperature, and the air undergoes sensible cooling. This high DBT leads to extra heat transfer from air to water, demanding high water vaporization to achieve the required cooling of water. Thus, any reduction in ambient air temperature around the CT will minimize water consumption. This paper aims to discuss theoretically the effect of reducing the DBT around the cooling tower when considering the sun-shading barrier. The theoretical simulation model results show that if the DBT reduces by 2.8 °C approximately, the percentage of water evaporation savings in gallon per minute (GPM) starts from 6.48% when DBT reaches 51.67 °C till 9.80% for 37.78 °C. Moreover, the performance of the cooling tower will be improved when considering the appropriate shading barriers, which will not affect the existing wet-bulb temperature.

Keywords: dry-bulb temperature, entering air, water consumption, water vaporization

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Authors: Anubhav Thakur, Karam Chand Dhiman

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Storage experiment was conducted to study the effect of polymer, fungicides and insecticide on seed quality parameters and storability in wheat. The experimental material consisted of carry over wheat seeds (variety HPW- 155) of rabi 2017 - 18. The observations were recorded bimonthly on parameters viz; germination (%), seedling length (cm), dry weight (g), vigour index - I, vigour - II, speed of germination, field emergence (%), 100 seed weight (g) for 12 months of storage. All parameters declined with the advancement in storage period. The results showed that seeds treated with polymer + vitavax 200 @ 2 g/kg of seed recorded higher germination percentage (95.00 %), seedling length (17.58 cm), seedling dry weight (0.0138 g), vigour index - I (1670) & vigour - II (1.311), speed of germination (19.98), 100 seed weight (5.54 g) and field emergence (87.33 %) which was at par with vitavax 200 @ 2 g/kg of seed, over untreated control (T1). So it can be concluded that for maintain seed quality and enhancing storability, seed of wheat can either be treated with polymer @ 3 ml/kg of seed + vitavax 200 @ 2 g/kg of seed or vitavax 200 @ 2 g/kg of seed.

Keywords: wheat, seed treatment, storability, seed quality

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Authors: Angel Villabona-Ortíz, Candelaria Tejada-Tovar, Andrea Viera-Devoz

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Wastewater treatment is an issue of vital importance in these times where the impacts of human activities are most evident, which have become essential tasks for the normal functioning of society. However, they put entire ecosystems at risk by time destroying the possibility of sustainable development. Various conventional technologies are used to remove pollutants from water. Agroindustrial waste is the product with the potential to be used as a renewable raw material for the production of energy and chemical products, and their use is beneficial since products with added value are generated from materials that were not used before. Considering the benefits that the use of residual biomass brings, this project proposes the use of agro-industrial residues from corn crops for the production of natural adsorbents whose purpose is aimed at the remediation of contaminated water bodies with large loads of nutrients. The adsorption capacity of two biomaterials obtained from the processing of corn stalks was evaluated by batch system tests. Biochar impregnated with sulfuric acid and thermally activated was synthesized. On the other hand, the cellulose was extracted from the corn stalks and chemically modified with cetyltrimethylammonium chloride in order to quaternize the surface of the adsorbent. The adsorbents obtained were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectrometry with Fourier Transform (FTIR), analysis by Brunauer, Emmett and Teller method (BET) and X-ray Diffraction analysis ( XRD), which showed favorable characteristics for the cellulose extraction process. Higher adsorption capacities of the nutrients were obtained with the use of biochar, with phosphate being the anion with the best removal percentages. The effect of the initial adsorbate concentration was evaluated, with which it was shown that the Freundlich isotherm better describes the adsorption process in most systems. The adsorbent-phosphate / nitrate systems fit better to the Pseudo Primer Order kinetic model, while the adsorbent-sulfate systems showed a better fit to the Pseudo second-order model, which indicates that there are both physical and chemical interactions in the process. Multicomponent adsorption tests revealed that phosphate anions have a higher affinity for both adsorbents. On the other hand, the thermodynamic parameters standard enthalpy (ΔH °) and standard entropy (ΔS °) with negative results indicate the exothermic nature of the process, whereas the ascending values of standard Gibbs free energy (ΔG °). The adsorption process of anions with biocarbon and modified cellulose is spontaneous and exothermic. The use of the evaluated biomateriles is recommended for the treatment of industrial effluents contaminated with sulfate, nitrate and phosphate anions.

Keywords: adsorption, biochar, modified cellulose, corn stalks

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Authors: S. Ananthakrishnan, U. H. Acharya

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Whether shopping in a retail location or via the internet, consumers expect to receive their products intact. When products arrive damaged or over-packaged, the result can be customer dissatisfaction and increased cost for retailers and manufacturers. The packaging performance depends on both the transport situation and the packaging design. During transportation, the packaged products are subjected to the variation in vibration levels from transport vehicles that vary in frequency and acceleration while moving to their destinations. Spirits manufactured by this Company were being transported to various parts of the country by road. There were instances of package breaking and customer complaints. The vibration experienced on a straight road at some speed may not be same as the vibration experienced by the same vehicle on a curve at the same speed. This vibration may negatively affect the product or packing. Hence, it was necessary to conduct a physical road test to understand the effect of vibration in the packaged products. The field transit trial has to be done before the transportations, which results in high investment. The company management was interested in developing an in-house test environment which would adequately represent the transit conditions. With the objective to develop an in-house test condition that can accurately simulate the mechanical loading scenario prevailing during the storage, handling and transportation of the products a brainstorming was done with the concerned people to identify the critical factors affecting vibration rate. Position of corrugated box, the position of bottle and speed of vehicle were identified as factors affecting the vibration rate. Several packing scenarios were identified by Design of Experiment methodology and simulated in the in-house test facility. Each condition was observed for 30 minutes, which was equivalent to 1000 km. The achieved vibration level was considered as the response. The average achieved in the simulated experiments was near to the third quartile (Q3) of the actual data. Thus, we were able to address around three-fourth of the actual phenomenon. Most of the cases in transit could be reproduced. The recommended test condition could generate a vibration level ranging from 9g to 15g as against a maximum of only 7g that was being generated earlier. Thus, the Company was able to test the packaged cartons satisfactorily in the house itself before transporting to the destinations, assuring itself that the breakages of the bottles will not happen.

Keywords: ANOVA, Corrugated box, DOE, Quartile

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Authors: Benkherbache Souad

Abstract:

This work presents the numerical results of the mixed convective heat transfer of a three-dimensional flow around a radial heat sink composed of horizontal circular base fitted with rectangular fins. The governing equations of mass, momentum, and energy equation are solved by the finite volume method using the commercially available CFD software Fluent 6.3.26. The circular base of the heat sink is subjected to uniform heat generation; the flow enters through the sides of the heat sink around the fins then the heat is transmitted from the base to the fins afterwards the fluid. In this study two fluids are utilized, in the first case, the air for the following Reynolds numbers Re=600,900,1200 and a Grashof number Gr=3.7x10⁶, in the second case a water based nano fluid for which two types of nano particles (Cu and Al₂O₃) are carried out for Re=25 and a Richardson number Ri=2.7(Ri=Gr/Re²). The effect of the number of the fins of the heat sink as well as the type and the volume fraction of nano particles of the nano fluid were investigated. Results have been presented for N=15 and N=20 fins. The effect of the nano particles concentrations and the number of fins on the temperature in the heat sink and the Nusselt number has been studied.

Keywords: heat sink, mixed convection, nano fluid, volumetric heat generation

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Authors: Jagbir Singh Kadyan, C. A. Suman Kadyan

Abstract:

The researchers attempts to establish whether a relationship exists between the social activities undertaken & the funds that has been spent by the selected corporate organisations. Corporate listed on the (NSE) National Stock Exchange of India, under different categories shall be selected as a sample for the purpose of this study. The researches shall also study the dynamics of corporate social responsibility funding, financing & management of corporate social responsibility funds by the above selected organisations in the Indian context. The rationale behind selecting & undertaking specific corporate social responsibility activities shall be analysed & interpreted to discover the real drivers of corporate social responsibility. Besides above, an attempt shall further make an effort to understand & analyse the nature of impact on the selected corporate organisations on its overall performances due to the activities undertaken under their specific corporate social responsibility programs.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, organisational performance, national stock exchange, sustainability, society, health, education, sanitation, environment

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Authors: S. Benessam, T. H. Debieche, S. Amiour, A. Chine, S. Khelili

Abstract:

The metallic trace elements (MTE) are present in water and sediments of the rivers with weak concentrations. Several physicochemical parameters (Eh, pH and oxygen dissolved) and chemical processes (adsorption, absorption, complexation and precipitation) as well as nature of the sediments control their mobility. In order to determine the effect of these factors on the mobility of some MTE (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn) in water of the rivers, a two-monthly monitoring of the physicochemical parameters and chemistry of water and sediments of the Nil wadi (Algeria) was carried out during the period from November 2013 to January 2015. The results show that each MTE has its own conditions of mobility and generally are very influence by the variations of the pH and Eh. Under the natural conditions, neutral pH with basic and medium oxidizing, only the lead presented in water with raised values, indicating its solubility in water and its salting out of the sediments. The other MTE present raised concentrations in the sediments, indicating their trapping by adsorption and/or chemical precipitation. The chemical form of each ETM was given by Eh-pH diagrams. The spatio-temporal monitoring of these ETM shows the effect of the rains, the dry periods and the rejects in the variation of their concentrations.

Keywords: chemistry, metallic trace elements, sediment, water

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Mary T. McKinley

Abstract:

As socio-economic globalization impacts education and turns knowledge into a commodity, institutions of higher education are becoming more intentional about infusing a global and intercultural perspective into education via the recruitment of international students. Coming from dissimilar cultures, many of these students are evaluated and held accountable to Euro-American values of independence, self-reliance, and autonomy. Not surprisingly, these students often experience culture shock with deleterious effects on their mental health and academic functioning. Thus, it is critical to understand the experiences of international students with the hope that such knowledge will keep the field of psychology from promulgating Eurocentric ideals and values and prevent the training of these students as good-enough White therapists. Using a critical narrative inquiry framework, this study elicits stories about the challenges encountered by international students as they navigate their clinical training in the presence of acculturative stress and potentially different worldviews. With its emphasis on story-telling as meaning making, narrative research design is hinged on the assumption that people are interpretive beings who make meaning of themselves and their world through the language of stories. Also, dominant socially-constructed narratives play a central role in creating and maintaining hegemonic structures that privilege certain individuals and ideologies at the expense of others. On this premise, narrative inquiry begins with an exploration of the experiences of participants in their lived stories. Bounded narrative segments were read, interpreted, and analyzed using a critical events approach. Throughout the process, issues of reliability and researcher bias were addressed by keeping a reflective analytic memo, as well as triangulating the data using peer-reviewers and check-ins with participants. The findings situate culture at the epicenter of international students’ acculturation challenges as well as their resiliency in psychology doctoral programs. It was not uncommon for these international students to experience ethical dilemmas inherent in learning content that conflicted with their cultural beliefs and values. Issues of cultural incongruence appear to be further exacerbated by visible markers for differences like speech accent and clothing attire. These stories also link the acculturative stress reported by international students to the experiences of perceived racial discrimination and lack of support from the faculty, administration, peers, and the society at large. Beyond the impact on the international students themselves, there are implications for internationalization in psychology with the goal of equipping doctoral programs to be better prepared to meet the needs of their international students. More than ever before, programs need to liaise with international students’ services and work in tandem to meet the unique needs of this population of students. Also, there exists a need for multiculturally competent supervisors working with international students with varying degrees of acculturation. In addition to making social justice and advocacy salient in students’ multicultural training, it may be helpful for psychology doctoral programs to be more intentional about infusing cross-cultural theories, indigenous psychotherapies, and/or when practical, the possibility for geographically cross-cultural practicum experiences in the home countries of international students while taking into consideration the ethical issues for virtual supervision.

Keywords: decolonizing pedagogies, international students, multiculturalism, psychology doctoral programs

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Authors: Ahmed K. Youssef, Shawkat M. B. Aly

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The interaction between ciprofloxacin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated by UV-Visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The influence of Cu²⁺ Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, and Fe³⁺ on the Cip-BSA interaction was investigated. The quenching of the BSA fluorescence emission in presence of ciprofloxacin as well as the influence of metal ions on the interaction was analyzed using the Stern-Volmer equation. The Stern-Volmer quenching constant, Kₛᵥ was calculated in presence and absence of the metal ions at the physiological pH of 7.4 using phosphate buffer. The experimental results showed that interaction mainly static in nature and quenching rate constant is decreased in presence of the studied metal ions with exception of Cu²⁺ ions. The decrease observed in the Kₛᵥ values in presence of Co²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Fe³⁺ can be understood on basis of competition between these metal and Cip when both of them existed in the BSA solution. Cu²⁺ induces interaction between Cip and BSA at faster quenching rates as inferred from the observed increase in the Kₛᵥ value. This allowed us to propose that copper (II) ions are directly involved in the process of Cip binding to BSA. The binding constant for Cip on BSA was determined and the metal ions effect on it was examined as well and their values were in line with the Kₛᵥ values.

Keywords: bovine serum albumin, ciprofloxacin, fluorescence, metal ions effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Suwimon Saneewong Na Ayuttaya, Chainarong Chaktranond, Phadungsak Rattanadecho

Abstract:

This study numerically investigates the effects of Electrohydrodynamic on flow patterns and heat transfer enhancement within a cavity which is on the lower wall of channel. In this simulation, effects of using ground wire and ground plate on the flow patterns are compared. Moreover, the positions of electrode wire respecting with ground are tested in the range of angles θ = 0 - 180°. High electrical voltage exposes to air is 20 kV. Bulk mean velocity and temperature of inlet air are controlled at 0.1 m/s and 60°C, respectively. The result shows when electric field is applied, swirling flow is appeared in the channel. In addition, swirling flow patterns in the main flow of using ground plate are widely spreader than that of using ground wire. Moreover, direction of swirling flow also affects the flow pattern and heat transfer in a cavity. These cause the using ground wire to give the maximum temperature and heat transfer higher than using ground plate. Furthermore, when the angle is at θ = 60°, high shear flow effect is obtained. This results show high strength of swirling flow and effective heat transfer enhancement.

Keywords: swirling flow, heat transfer, electrohydrodynamic, numerical analysis

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Authors: Amylyn F. Labasano, M. S. Econ

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The study predicts the impact of collective bargaining agreement and its related factors on employees’ perceived productivity in terms of union-management relation’s climate, income, fringe benefits, and job satisfaction of the employees. It also determines whether there are significant differences in the employees’ perceived productivity based on the demographic characteristics of the respondents. The results revealed that the relationship climate which exists between the union and the management is found to have significant adverse effect on the average unpaid hours spent by employees working within the college. On the other hand, the total monthly wage earnings of employees have negative effect on the average hours an employee spent in bringing his work home while job satisfaction positively influences the overall productivity level of employees. The result further shows significant differences in the productivity level of employees across civil status and current designation.

Keywords: perceived productivity, collective bargaining agreement, union, union-management relations climate, income, fringe benefits, job satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Abel Mahowe

Abstract:

Furrow erosion is the major problem menacing sustainability of irrigation in Malawi and polluting water bodies resulting in death of many aquatic animals. Many rivers in Malawi are drying due to some poor practices that are being practiced around these water bodies, furrow erosion is one of the cause of sedimentation in these rivers although it has gradual effect on deteriorating of these rivers hence neglected, but has got long term disastrous effect on water bodies. Many aquatic animals also suffer when these sediments are taken into these water bodies. An assessment of effect of manure treatment on furrow erosion was carried out in Sagawika irrigation scheme located in Kasungu District north part of Malawi. The soil on the field was clay loam and had just been tilled. The average furrow slope of 0.2% and was divided into two blocks, A and B. Each block had 20V-shaped furrow having a length of 10 m. Three different manure were used to construct these furrows by mixing it with soil which was moderately moist and 5 furrows from each block were constructed without manure. In each block 5furrow were made using a specific type of manure, and one set of five furrows in each block was made without manure treatment. The types of manure that were used were goat manure, pig manure, and manure from crop residuals. The manure application late was 5 kg/m. The furrow was constructed at a spacing of 0.6 m. Tomato was planted in the two blocks at spacing of 0.15 m between rows and 0.15 m between planting stations. Irrigation water was led from feeder canal into the irrigation furrows using siphons. The siphons discharge into each furrow was set at 1.86 L/S. The ¾ rule was used to determine the cut-off time for the irrigation cycles in order to reduce the run-off at the tail end. During each irrigation cycle, samples of the runoff water were collected at one-minute intervals and analyzed for total sediment concentration for use in estimating the total soil sediment loss. The results of the study have shown that a significant amount of soil is lost in soils without many organic matters, there was a low level of erosion in furrows that were constructed using manure treatment within the blocks. In addition, the results have shown that manure also differs in their ability to control erosion since pig manure proved to have greater abilities in binding the soil together than other manure since they were reduction in the amount of sediments at the tail end of furrows constructed by this type of manure. The results prove that manure contains organic matters which helps soil particles to bind together hence resisting the erosive force of water. The use of manure when constructing furrows in soil with less organic matter can highly reduce erosion hence reducing also pollution of water bodies and improve the conditions of aquatic animals.

Keywords: aquatic, erosion, furrow, soil

Procedia PDF Downloads 282