Search results for: commercial banks in Jordan

Authors: Ibrahim Bashayreh Al-Bashtawy Mohammed, Al-Azzam Manar Ahmad Rawashda, Abdul-Monim Batiha Mohammad Sulaiman

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Background: Workplace violence against emergency department staff (EDS) is considered one of the most common and widespread phenomena of violence. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to determine the incidence rates of workplace violence and the predicting factors of violent behaviors among emergency departments’ staff in Jordanian hospitals. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to investigate workplace violence towards a convenience sample of 355 emergency staff departments from 8 governmental and 4 private Jordanian hospitals. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire that was developed for the purpose of this study. Results: 72% of workers in emergency departments within Jordanian hospitals are exposed to violent acts, and that patients and their relatives are the main source of workplace violence. The contributing factors as reported by the participants were related to overcrowding, lack of resources, staff shortages, and the absence of effective antiviolence policies. Conclusions/implications for Practice: Policies and legislation regarding violence should be instituted and developed, and emergency department staff should be given training on how to deal with violent incidents, as well as on violence-management policies.

Keywords: Jordan, emergency staff department, workplace violence, community health

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Authors: Ryan B. Escorial, Elmer A. Maravillas, Chris Jordan G. Aliac

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This study presents a small-scale water pumping system utilizing a fuzzy logic inference system attached to a renewable energy source. The fuzzy logic controller was designed and simulated in MATLAB fuzzy logic toolbox to examine the properties and characteristics of the input and output variables. The result of the simulation was implemented in a microcontroller, together with sensors, modules, and photovoltaic cells. The study used a grand rapid variety of lettuce, organic substrates, and foliar for observation of the capability of the device to irrigate crops. Two plant boxes intended for manual and automated irrigation were prepared with each box having 48 heads of lettuce. The observation of the system took 22-31 days, which is one harvest period of the crop. Results showed a 22.55% increase in agricultural productivity compared to manual irrigation. Aside from reducing human effort, and time, the smart irrigation system could help lessen some of the shortcomings of manual irrigations. It could facilitate the economical utilization of water, reducing consumption by 25%. The use of renewable energy could also help farmers reduce the cost of production by minimizing the use of diesel and gasoline.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, intelligent system, precision agriculture, renewable energy

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Authors: Sahar Essa, Hussain A. Safar, Raj Raghupathy

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Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) continues to be a source of severe complications in immunologically immature and immunocompromised hosts. Effective CMV vaccines that help diminish CMV disease in transplant patients and avoid congenital infection are of great importance. Though the exact roles of defense mechanisms are unidentified, viral-specific antibodies and cytokine responses are known to be involved in controlling CMV infections. CMV envelope glycoprotein B (UL55/gB), matrix proteins (UL83/pp65, UL99/pp28, UL32/pp150), and assembly protein UL80a/pp38 are known to be targets of antiviral immune responses. We immunized mice intraperitoneally with these five CMV-related proteins (commercial) for their ability to induce specific antibody responses (in-house immunoassay) and cytokine production (commercial assay) in a mouse model. We observed a significant CMV-antigen-specific antibody response to pp38 and pp65 (E/C ˃2.0, p˂0.001). Mice immunized with pp38 had significantly higher concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-α, IL-2 IL-4, IL-5, and IL-17A (p˂0.05). Mice immunized with pp65 showed significantly higher concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-2 IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, and TNF-α. Th1 to Th2 cytokines ratios revealed a Th1 cytokine bias in mice immunized with pp38, pp65, pp150, and gB. We suggest that stimulation with multiple CMV-related proteins, which include pp38, pp65, and gB antigens, will allow both humoral and cellular immune responses to be efficiently activated, thus serving as appropriate CMV antigens for future vaccines.

Keywords: cytomegalovirus, UL99/pp28, UL80a/pp38, UL83/pp65, UL32/pp150, UL55/gB, CMV-antigen-specific antibody, CMV antigen-specific cytokine responses

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Authors: Safa’ Abdelkarim Hammad

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The electrical power system is one of the main parts of the nation's infrastructure, and the availability and cost of electricity are critical factors in industrial competitiveness and strategy. Restructuring of the electricity supply industries is a very complex exercise based on national energy strategies and policies, macroeconomic developments, and national conditions, and its application varies from country to country. Electricity regulation of natural monopolies is a challenging task. Regulators face the problem of providing appropriate incentives for improvement of efficiency. Incentive regulation is often considered as an efficient regulatory tool to handle the problem, and it is widely applied in several countries. However, the exact regulation methodologies differ from one country to another. Network quantitative reliability evaluation is an essential factor with regard to the quality of supply. The main factors used to judge the reliability of supply is measured by the number and duration of interruptions experienced by customers. Several indicators are used to evaluate reliability in distribution networks. This paper addresses the impact of incentive regulation and performance benchmarking in the field of electricity distribution in Jordan. The theory of efficiency measurement and the most common models; NCSQS and DEA models are presented.

Keywords: incentive regulations, reliability, restructuring, Tarrif

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Authors: Louati Salma, Louhichi Awatef, Boujelbene Younes

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Analysis of the trade-off between competition and financial stability has been at the center of academic and policy debate for over two decades and especially since the 2007-2008 global financial crises. We use information on 10 OIC countries from 2005 to 2014 to investigate the influence of bank competition on individual bank stability and risk-taking. Alternatively, we explore whether the quality of prudential regulation may affect the nexus between competition and banking stability/risk-taking. We provide a particular attention to the Islamic banking system which principally involves with the Riba-free instruments as compared to the conventional interest-based system. We first run a dynamic panel regression (GMM), and then we apply a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) methodology to compare both banking business models.

Keywords: Lerner index, Islamic banks, non-performing loans, prudential regulations, z-score

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Authors: Aparna Saha, Tuhin Ahmed

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West Bengal has a number of important rivers, each with its distinctive character and a story. Traditionally, cities have ‘divulged’ to rivers at the river edges and rivers have been an inseparable part of the urban experience. Considering the research aspect, the area is taken in Barrackpore, a small but important outgrowth of Kolkata Municipal Association, West Bengal. Barrackpore, at present, has ample inadequate public open spaces at the neighborhood level where people of different socio-cultural, economic, and religious backgrounds can come together and engage in various leisure activities, but there is no opportunity either, where people can learn about and explore the rich history of the settlement. Pertaining to these issues forms the backdrop of this research paper which has been conceptualized as a place from space that will bring people back to the river and increase community interactions and will also celebrate and commemorate towards the historical importance of the river and its edges. The entire precinct bordering the river represents the transition from pre-independence (Raj era) to Sepoy phase (Swaraj era), finally culminating into the Gandhian philosophy which is being projected into the already existing Gandhi Ghat. The ultimate aim of the paper entitled ‘Utsadhara- Rejuvenating the dead river edge into an urban activity space along the banks of river Hooghly’ is to create a socio-cultural space keeping the heritage identity intact through judicious use of the water body. Also, a balance is kept between the natural ecosystem and the cosmetic development of the surrounding open spaces. It can be duly achieved by the aforementioned methodology provided in the document, but mainly it would focus into preserving the historic ethnicity of the place by holding its character through various facts and figures as well as features. Most importantly the natural topography of the place is left intact. The second priority is given in terms of hierarchy of well connected public plazas, podiums where people from different socio-economic backgrounds irrespective of age and sex could socialize and reach towards venturing into a cordial relationship with one another. The third priority is to provide a platform for the common mass for showcasing their skills and talent through different art and craft forms which in turn would enhance their individual self and also the community as a whole through economic rise. Apart from this here some spaces are created in accordance to different age groups or class of people. The paper intends to see the river as a major multifunctional public space to attract people for different activities and re-establish the relationship of the river with the settlement. Hence, it is apprehended that the paper is not only intended to a simple riverfront conservation project but unlike others it is a place which is created for the people, by the people and of the people towards a holistic community development through a sustainable approach.

Keywords: holistic community development, public activity space, river-urban precinct, urban dead space

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Authors: Thomas Chinwe Urama, Patrick Oseloka Ezepue, Peters Chimezie Nnanwa

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This paper investigates the universal financial dynamics in two dominant stock markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, through an in-depth analysis of the cross-correlation matrix of price returns in Nigerian Stock Market (NSM) and Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), for the period 2009 to 2013. The strength of correlations between stocks is known to be higher in JSE than that of the NSM. Particularly important for modelling Nigerian derivatives in the future, the interactions of other stocks with the oil sector are weak, whereas the banking sector has strong positive interactions with the other sectors in the stock exchange. For the JSE, it is the oil sector and beverages that have greater sectorial correlations, instead of the banks which have the weaker correlation with other sectors in the stock exchange.

Keywords: random matrix theory, cross-correlations, emerging markets, option pricing, eigenvalues eigenvectors, inverse participation ratios and implied volatility

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Authors: Motoki Seguchi, Fumiko Harada, Hiromitsu Shimakawa

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There have been many local companies in countryside that carefully produce and sell products, which include crafts and foods produced with traditional methods. These companies are likely to use commercials to advertise their products. However, it is difficult for companies to judge whether the commercials they create are having an impact on consumers. Therefore, to create effective commercials, this study researches what kind of gimmicks in commercials affect what kind of consumers. This study proposes a method for extracting psychological change points from the physiological characteristics of consumers while they are watching commercials and estimating the gimmicks in the commercial that affect consumer engagement. In this method, change point detection is applied to pupil size for estimating gimmicks that affect consumers’ emotional engagement, and to EDA for estimating gimmicks that affect cognitive engagement. A questionnaire is also used to estimate the commercials that influence behavioral engagement. As a result of estimating the gimmicks that influence consumer engagement using this method, it was found that there are some common features among the gimmicks. To influence cognitive engagement, it was found that it was useful to include flashback scenes, messages to be appealed to, the company’s name, and the company’s logos as gimmicks. It was also found that flashback scenes and story climaxes were useful in influencing emotional engagement. Furthermore, it was found that the use of storytelling commercials may or may not be useful, depending on which consumers are desired to take which behaviors. It also estimated the gimmicks that influence consumers for each target and found that the useful gimmicks are slightly different for students and working adults. By using this method, it can understand which gimmicks in the commercial affect which engagement of the consumers. Therefore, the results of this study can be used as a reference for the gimmicks that should be included in commercials when companies create their commercials in the future.

Keywords: change point detection, estimating engagement, physiological characteristics, psychological changes, watching commercials

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Authors: Mahmoud Nassar

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This paper was designed for interviews with companies that had implemented Management Accounting Innovations (MAIs) within Jordanian Industrial Sector in full. Each company in this paper was examined as an entity to obtain an understanding of the process of MAIs adoption and implementation as well as the respondents’ opinions and perspectives of each individual company as to what are considered to be the important factors in the company. By firstly using within-case analysis has the potential to aid in-depth views of the issues and their impact on each particular company. Then, cross-case analysis was used to analyse the similarities and differences of the six companies. The study concludes that, the six companies interviewed gradually moved to using MAIs over the last ten years. The length of time required to implement the MAIs varied across the companies. Interviewees revealed several factors from both the demand and supply side that influence implementation of MAIs within the Jordanian industrial companies. Respondents mentioned and emphasised the important effect of the following factors: top management support, education about ABC concept and benefits, training programmes, shortcoming of existing cost system, competition, size of company, professional accounting bodies, management accounting journals, management accounting research and PhD degrees, and cooperation between universities and companies.

Keywords: industrial sector, innovations, Jordan, management accounting

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Authors: Anna Rogozińska-Pawełczyk

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A psychological contract is an agreement between the employer and an employee that covers the parties’ informal and frequently non-verbalized obligations and expectations towards each other. The contract is a cognitive pattern-governing employee’s behaviour in the organization. A gap between employee’s expectations and the organizational reality may lead to difficult-to-solve conflicts or cause the employee to modify their behaviour towards organizational values and goals, if they are willing and ready to verbalize their expectations. The article discusses psychological contracts in the financial institutions in Poland. Its theoretical part outlines the types of psychological contracts in organizations (relational, transactional, and balanced) and shows the process of their verbalization. The purpose of the article is to present how the type of the psychological contract relates to employee’s readiness to verbalize it. The article ends with conclusions arising from the study.

Keywords: customer contact staff in banks, employee expectations, financial institutions, mutual expectations, psychological contract, verbalization of the psychological contract

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Authors: Nina Ivanova

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More than one third of the population and animals are infected with parasitic helminths. It is especially difficult to cure the larval forms of parasites. The larvae of Hymenolepis nana invade the villi of the intestinal mucosa. Toxocara larvae can live in the liver, heart, lungs, brain, eyes, and pancreas. Commercial antiparasitic drugs cannot guarantee a 100% cure after a single course of treatment, because parasite larvae invade the villi of the intestinal mucosa and the anthelmintics do not reach and kill cestode larvae. The aim of this work was to conduct a study of liposomal antihelminthics on the laboratory animals under the certification received from the Committee on Bioethics and Deontology. It has been checked: 1) anthelmintic activity of the liposomal form of fenasal in experimental hymenolepidosis of white mice (larval stage - Hymenolepis nana). 2) anthelmintic activity of the liposomal form of albendazole in experimental toxocariasis of white mice (in the lungs at the stage of larval migration). Since some helminths cause hemolysis of erythrocytes as we used a mixture of polar lipids developed by us with antihemolytic activity to obtain liposomes Fenasal and albendazole were included in the liposome membrane in the ratio of anthelmintic: lipids 1:10. . The average size of liposomes was 180 nm, and the concentration of lipids in liposomes was 1%. The researches were carried out on white male mice who were infected with Hymenolepis Nana invasional eggs in a peroral way with a doze of 100 eggs per animal. On the 5th day after infection, a liposomal fenasal and commercial fenasal were administered orally for comparison. The animals were observed for 15 days. Before the introduction of liposomes and on the 3rd, 5th, 15th day after the administration of the drug, studies were carried out on the presence of helminths in the organs of animals. The liposomal fenasal, when administered orally, had an anthelmintic effect on Hymenolepis Nana cysticercoids at a dose of 25 mg/kg. The percentage of efficiency was 90.06, 91.36 96.85% on days 3, 5, 15, respectively. For comparison, the commercial activity was at a dose of 200 mg/ml, which is 8 times higher than the dose of liposomal fenasal. To evaluate the anthelmintic effect of the liposomal form of albendazole in experimental toxocariasis of white mice (toxascaris in the lungs at the stage of larval migration), studies were also carried out on white mice. The animals were infected with invasive eggs of Toxocara canis, orally, at a dose of 100 eggs per animal. On the 5th day after infection, the liposomal albendazole was administered orally. The efficacy of the study dosage form was determined by counting Larva mirgans larvae in the lungs. The results obtained showed that the liposomal albendazole had the greatest anthelmintic effect on Toxocara larvae at a dose of 2.0 mg/kg, which was 3.75 times less than the therapeutic one. At the same time, the percentage of efficiency was 93.75% on the 3rd day, and 98.66% on the 5th day.

Keywords: hymenolepis, Toxocara, larvae, liposomes

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Authors: Raed Hanandeh

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This empirical study examines how knowledge sharing behaviors mediate the effect Technology-driven strategy on virtual organization success in Jordanian tourism sector firms. The results reveal that Social network ties are positively related to web knowledge seeking, web knowledge contributing and interactive system, but negatively related to accidental knowledge leakage. Furthermore, all types of knowledge sharing behavior are positively related to virtual organization success. Data collected from 23 firms. The total number of questionnaires mailed, 250 questionnaires were delivered. 214 were considered valid out of 241 Responses were received. The findings provide evidence that knowledge sharing behavior play a mediating role between Social network ties and virtual organization success and show that, web knowledge seeking, web knowledge contributing and interactive system playing an important impact on virtual organization success through knowledge sharing behaviors.

Keywords: social network ties, virtual organization success, knowledge sharing behaviors, web knowledge

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Authors: Jordan Deliversky

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Unlike all conventional forms of migration, migration crisis and migratory processes provide pressure to governments and are being expressed as different phenomenon in relation to nature and forms. The objective of this paper is to present the migration and refugee crisis as revealing numerous challenges faced by authorities responsible for the social and economic stability in Bulgaria as well as those providing conditions for reinforcement of the high level of national security in Bulgaria. The analysis is focused on exploring the multiple origins of factors influencing migration processes in Europe, in the light of the measures provided by the Bulgarian state authorities. The main results show that the society itself is facing the challenge of integrating refugees and migrants, so to be able to comply with the principles and values associated with tolerance to social, religious and cultural differences, and not allowing migrants to become marginalized community. Migration pressure creates a number of risks and threats to the Bulgarian national security. Our country has the capacity and resources to meet these potential threats, as a main factor for minimizing the risks to national security is the improvement of coordination and coherence of actions between various actors serving to the security sector.

Keywords: legislation, migrants, refugees, security, terrorism

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Authors: Noor Us Saher

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Oceans and Marine areas have a great importance, mainly regarding food resources, fishery products and reliance of livelihood. Aquatic pollution is common due to the incorporation of various chemicals mainly entering from urbanization, industrial and commercial facilities, such as oil and chemical spills. Many hazardous wastes and industrial effluents contaminate the nearby areas and initiate to affect the marine environment. These contaminated conditions may become worse in those aquatic environments situated besides the world’s largest cities, which are hubs of various commercial activities. Heavy metal contamination is one of the most important predicaments for marine environments and during past decades this problem has intensified due to an increase in urbanization and industrialization. Coastal regions of Pakistan are facing severe threats from various organic and inorganic pollutants, especially the estuarine and coastal areas of Karachi city, the most populated and industrialized city situated along the coastline. Metal contamination causes severe toxicity in biota resulting the degradation of Marine environments and depletion of fishery resources and sustainability. There are several abiotic (air, water and sediment) and biotic (fauna and flora) indicators that indicate metal contamination. However, all these indicators have certain limitations and complexities, which delay their implementation for rehabilitation and conservation in the marine environment. The inadequate evidences have presented on this significant topic till the time and this study discussed metal pollution and its consequences along the marine environment of Pakistan. This study further helps in identification of possible hazards for the ecological system and allied resources for management strategies and decision making for sustainable approaches.

Keywords: coastal and estuarine environment, heavy metals pollution, pollution indicators, Pakistan

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Authors: Carolina V. Viegas, Monique Gonçalves, Gisel Chenard Diaz, Yordanka Reyes Cruz, Donato Alexandre Gomes Aranda

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To develop the massive cultivation of microalgae, it is necessary to isolate and characterize the species, improving genetic tools in search of specific characteristics. Therefore, the detection, identification and quantification of the compounds that compose the Scenedesmus sp. were prerequisites to verify the potential of these microalgae. The main objective of this work was to carry out the characterization of Scenedesmus sp. as to the content of ash, carbohydrates, proteins and lipids as well as the determination of the composition of their lipid classes and main fatty acids. The biomass of Scenedesmus sp, showed 15,29 ± 0,23 % of ash and CaO (36,17 %) was the main component of this fraction, The total protein and carbohydrate content of the biomass was 40,74 ± 1,01 % and 23,37 ± 0,95 %, respectively, proving to be a potential source of proteins as well as carbohydrates for the production of ethanol via fermentation, The lipid contents extracted via Bligh & Dyer and in situ saponification were 8,18 ± 0,13 % and 4,11 ± 0,11 %, respectively. In the lipid extracts obtained via Bligh & Dyer, approximately 50 % of the composition of this fraction consists of fatty compounds, while the other half is composed of an unsaponifiable fraction composed mainly of chlorophylls, phytosterols and carotenes. From the lowest yield, it was possible to obtain a selectivity of 92,14 % for fatty components (fatty acids and fatty esters) confirmed through the infrared spectroscopy technique. The presence of polyunsaturated acids (~45 %) in the lipid extracts indicated the potential of this fraction as a source of nutraceuticals. The results indicate that the biomass of Scenedesmus sp, can become a promising potential source for obtaining polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids and proteins as well as the simultaneous obtainment of different compounds of high commercial value.

Keywords: microalgae, Desmodesmus, lipid classes, fatty acid profile, proteins, carbohydrates

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Authors: Meltem Gurunlu

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One of the central problems in corporate finance is the allocation of funds. This usually takes two forms: allocation of funds across firms in an economy or allocation of funds across projects or business units within a firm. The first one is typically related to the external markets (the bond market, the stock market, banks and finance companies) whereas the second form of the capital allocation is related to the internal capital markets in which corporate headquarters allocate capital to their business units. (within-group transfers, within-group credit markets, and within-group equity market). The main aim of this study is to investigate the nature of capital allocation dynamics by comparing the relevant studies carried out on external and internal capital markets with paying special significance to the business groups.

Keywords: internal capital markets, external capital markets, capital structure, capital allocation, business groups, corporate finance

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Authors: Muath Awadalla, Maen Awadallah

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Banking sector covers different activities including lending money to customers. However, it is commonly known that customers pay money they have borrowed including an added amount called interest. Compound interest rate is an approach used in determining the interest to be paid. The instant compounded amount to be paid by a debtor is obtained through a differential equation whose main parameters are the rate and the time. The rate used by banks in a country is often defined by the government of the said country. In Switzerland, for instance, a negative rate was once applied. In this work, a new approach of modeling the compound interest is proposed using Hadamard fractional derivative. As a result, it appears that depending on the fraction value used in derivative the amount to be paid by a debtor might either be higher or lesser than the amount determined using the classical approach.

Keywords: compound interest, fractional differential equation, hadamard fractional derivative, optimization

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Authors: S. C. Sharma, Ankit Gambhir, Rajeev Arya

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In today’s era data security is an important concern and most demanding issues because it is essential for people using online banking, e-shopping, reservations etc. The two major techniques that are used for secure communication are Cryptography and Steganography. Cryptographic algorithms scramble the data so that intruder will not able to retrieve it; however steganography covers that data in some cover file so that presence of communication is hidden. This paper presents the implementation of Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman (RSA) Algorithm with Image and Audio Steganography and Data Encryption Standard (DES) Algorithm with Image and Audio Steganography. The coding for both the algorithms have been done using MATLAB and its observed that these techniques performed better than individual techniques. The risk of unauthorized access is alleviated up to a certain extent by using these techniques. These techniques could be used in Banks, RAW agencies etc, where highly confidential data is transferred. Finally, the comparisons of such two techniques are also given in tabular forms.

Keywords: audio steganography, data security, DES, image steganography, intruder, RSA, steganography

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Authors: Adesola O. Orimoloye, Mohammed N. Kajama, Edward Gobina

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Gas permeation of Oxygen [O2] and Nitrogen [N2] were investigated at room temperature using 15 and 6000nm pore diameter tubular commercial alumina ceramic membranes with pressure values ranging 1.00 to 2.50 bar. The flow rates of up to 2.59 and 2.77 l/min were achieved for O2 and N2 respectively. The ratio of O2/N2 flow rates were used to compute the O2/N2 selectivity. The experimental O2/N2 selectivity obtained for 15 nm was 1.05 while the 6000 nm indicated 0.95.

Keywords: gas separation, nitrogen, oxygen, selectivity

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Authors: Zhao Pengcheng, Yin Siyuan

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Fintech is the new hot topic of the 21st century, a discipline that combines financial theory with computer modelling. It can provide both digital analysis methods for investment banks and investment decisions for users. Given the variety of services available, it is necessary to provide a superior method of requirements elicitation to ensure that users' needs are addressed in the software development process. The accuracy of traditional software requirements elicitation methods is not sufficient, so this study attempts to use a multi-perspective based requirements heuristic framework. Methods such as interview and questionnaire combination, card sorting, and model driven are proposed. The collection results from PCA show that the new methods can better help with requirements elicitation. However, the method has some limitations and, there are some efficiency issues. However, the research in this paper provides a good theoretical extension that can provide researchers with some new research methods and perspectives viewpoints.

Keywords: requirement elicitation, FinTech, mobile application, survey, interview, model-driven

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Authors: Evrim Buyukaslan, Simona Jevsnik, Fatma Kalaoglu

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Simulation of fabrics is more difficult than any other simulation due to complex mechanics of fabrics. Most of the virtual garment simulation software use mass-spring model and incorporate fabric mechanics into simulation models. The accuracy and fidelity of these virtual garment simulation software is a question mark. Drape is a subjective phenomenon and evaluation of drape has been studied since 1950’s. On the other hand, fabric and garment simulation is relatively new. Understanding drape perception of subjects when looking at fabric simulations is critical as virtual try-on becomes more of an issue by enhanced online apparel sales. Projected future of online apparel retailing is that users may view their avatars and try-on the garment on their avatars in the virtual environment. It is a well-known fact that users will not be eager to accept this innovative technology unless it is realistic enough. Therefore, it is essential to understand what users see when they are displaying fabrics in a virtual environment. Are they able to distinguish the differences between various fabrics in virtual environment? The purpose of this study is to investigate human perception when looking at a virtual fabric and determine the most visually noticeable drape parameter. To this end, five different fabrics are mechanically tested, and their drape simulations are generated by commercial garment simulation software (Optitex®). The simulation images are processed by an image analysis software to calculate drape parameters namely; drape coefficient, node severity, and peak angles. A questionnaire is developed to evaluate drape properties subjectively in a virtual environment. Drape simulation images are shown to 27 subjects and asked to rank the samples according to their questioned drape property. The answers are compared to the calculated drape parameters. The results show that subjects are quite sensitive to drape coefficient changes while they are not very sensitive to changes in node dimensions and node distributions.

Keywords: drape simulation, drape evaluation, fabric mechanics, virtual fabric

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Authors: George Vernon Byrd, Bhim Bahadur Ghaley, Eri Hayashi

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In urban farming, research and innovation are taking place at an unprecedented pace, and soilless growing technologies are emerging at different rates motivated by different objectives in various parts of the world. Local food production is ultimately a main objective everywhere, but adoption rates and expressions vary with socio-economic drivers. Herein, the status of hydroponics and aquaponics is summarized for four countries with diverse socio-economic settings: Europe (Denmark), Asia (Japan and Nepal) and North America (US). In Denmark, with a strong environmental ethic, soilless growing is increasing in urban agriculture because it is considered environmentally friendly. In Japan, soil-based farming is being replaced with commercial plant factories using advanced technology such as complete environmental control and computer monitoring. In Nepal, where rapid loss of agriculture land is occurring near cities, dozens of hydroponics and aquaponics systems have been built in the past decade, particularly in “non-traditional” sites such as roof tops to supplement family food. In the US, where there is also strong interest in locally grown fresh food, backyard and commercial systems have proliferated. Nevertheless, soilless growing is still in the research and development and early adopter stages, and the broad contribution of hydroponics and aquaponics to food security is yet to be fully determined. Nevertheless, current adoption of these technologies in diverse environments in different socio-economic settings highlights the potential contribution to food security with social and environmental benefits which contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: aquaponics, hydroponics, soilless agriculture, urban agriculture

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Authors: Deng Qiaoshan

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With the rise of feminism in the global film industry, feminist expressions in Chinese films have also evolved, reflecting societal focus on gender issues. This article focuses on young Chinese female directors such as Yang Lina, Teng Congcong, and Yang Mingming. Their films now present richer female perspectives and consciously incorporate unique female life experiences. They highlight women's real-life struggles, portraying ’struggling’ female identities—characters facing professional failures and desire identity issues, ultimately returning to family roles. These films commonly explore the ‘mother-daughter relationship’, with some using genre storytelling for commercial appeal and others deconstructing the ‘myth of motherhood’ to reflect reality, rewriting traditional maternal roles. The ‘struggling’ female identity in these directors' films shows an aesthetic of ‘pseudo-reality’, blending realistic situations with poetic, lyrical elements, reflecting their creative traits and internal conflicts. These contradictions are closely related to the unique creative context of Chinese cinema in which they operate. Emerging under China's strict film censorship system, film industrialization, consumerist culture, and internet environment, new-generation directors face multiple demands. How to ‘survive’ amidst complex commercial requirements while creating films with a clear feminist consciousness is the fundamental dilemma faced by young Chinese female directors.

Keywords: female directors, feminism film, female dilemma, film censorship system

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Authors: Elena C. Tamaş, Grațiela M. Țârlea, Gianni Flamaropol, Dragoș Hera

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This article is referring to a comparative study regarding the electrical energy consumption for lighting on diverse types of big sizes commercial buildings built in Romania after 2007, having 3, 4, 5 versus 8, 9, 10 operational years. Some buildings have installed building management systems (BMS) to monitor also the lighting performances starting with the opening days till the present days but some have chosen only local meters to implement. Firstly, for each analyzed building, the total required energy power and the energy power consumption for lighting were calculated depending on the lamps number, the unit power and the average daily running hours. All objects and installations were chosen depending on the destination/location of the lighting (exterior parking or access, interior or covering parking, building interior and building perimeter). Secondly, to all lighting objects and installations, mechanical counters were installed, and to the ones linked to BMS there were installed the digital meters as well for a better monitoring. Some efficient solutions are proposed to improve the power consumption, for example the 1/3 lighting functioning for the covered and exterior parking lighting to those buildings if can be done. This type of lighting share can be performed on each level, especially on the night shifts. Another example is to use the dimmers to reduce the light level, depending on the executed work in the respective area, and a 30% power energy saving can be achieved. Using the right BMS to monitor, the energy consumption depending on the average operational daily hours and changing the non-performant unit lights with the ones having LED technology or economical ones might increase significantly the energy performances and reduce the energy consumption of the buildings.

Keywords: commercial buildings, energy performances, lightning consumption, maintenance

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Authors: S. Alfalah, J. Falah, T. Alfalah, M. Elfalah, O. Falah

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The field of education is an ever-evolving area constantly enriched by newly discovered techniques provided by active research in all areas of technologies. The recent years have witnessed the introduction of a number of promising technologies and applications to enhance the teaching and learning experience. Virtual Reality (VR) applications are considered one of the evolving methods that have contributed to enhancing education in many fields. VR creates an artificial environment, using computer hardware and software, which is similar to the real world. This simulation provides a solution to improve the delivery of materials, which facilitates the teaching process by providing a useful aid to instructors, and enhances the learning experience by providing a beneficial learning aid. In order to assure future utilization of such systems, students’ perceptions were examined toward utilizing VR as an educational tool in the Faculty of Information Technology (IT) in The University of Jordan. A questionnaire was administered to IT undergraduates investigating students’ opinions about the potential opportunities that VR technology could offer and its implications as learning and teaching aid. The results confirmed the end users’ willingness to adopt VR systems as a learning aid. The result of this research forms a solid base for investing in a VR system for IT education.

Keywords: information, technology, virtual reality, education

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Authors: Adrián Esteban Ortiz-Valera, Angélica Lozano

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In developing countries, informal trade is relevant, but it has been little studied in urban freight transport (UFT) context, although it is a challenge due to the non- contemplated demand it produces and the operational limitations it imposes. Hence, UFT operational improvements (initiatives) and freight attraction models must consider informal trade for developing countries. Afour phasesapproach for characterizing the commercial areas in developing countries (considering both formal and informal establishments) is proposed and applied to ten areas in Mexico City. This characterization is required to calculate real freight trip attraction and then select and/or adapt suitable initiatives. Phase 1 aims the delimitation of the study area. The following information is obtained for each establishment of a potential area: location or geographic coordinates, industrial sector, industrial subsector, and number of employees. Phase 2 characterizes the study area and proposes a set of indicators. This allows a broad view of the operations and constraints of UFT in the study area. Phase 3 classifies the study area according to seven indicators. Each indicator represents a level of conflict in the area due to the presence of formal (registered) and informal establishments on the sidewalks and streets, affecting urban freight transport (and other activities). Phase 4 determines preliminary initiatives which could be implemented in the study area to improve the operation of UFT. The indicators and initiatives relation allows a preliminary initiatives selection. This relation requires to know the following: a) the problems in the area (congested streets, lack of parking space for freight vehicles, etc.); b) the factors which limit initiatives due to informal establishments (reduced streets for freight vehicles; mobility and parking inability during a period, among others), c) the problems in the area due to its physical characteristics; and d) the factors which limit initiatives due to regulations of the area. Several differences in the study areas were observed. As the indicators increases, the areas tend to be less ordered, and the limitations for the initiatives become higher, causing a smaller number of susceptible initiatives. In ordered areas (similar to the commercial areas of developed countries), the current techniquesfor estimating freight trip attraction (FTA) can bedirectly applied, however, in the areas where the level of order is lower due to the presence of informal trade, this is not recommended because the real FTA would not be estimated. Therefore, a technique, which consider the characteristics of the areas in developing countries to obtain data and to estimate FTA, is required. This estimation can be the base for proposing feasible initiatives to such zones. The proposed approach provides a wide view of the needs of the commercial areas of developing countries. The knowledge of these needs would allow UFT´s operation to be improved and its negative impacts to be minimized.

Keywords: freight initiatives, freight trip attraction, informal trade, urban freight transport

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Authors: Auwal Abubakar, Ahmed Ahidjo, Shazril Imran Shaukat, Noor Khairiah A. Karim, Gokula Kumar Appalanaido, Hafiz Mohd Zin

Abstract:

Background: The use of optical surface imaging systems (OSISs) is increasingly becoming popular in radiotherapy practice, especially during breast cancer treatment. This study reviews the accuracy of the available commercial OSISs for breast radiotherapy. Method: A literature search was conducted and identified the available commercial OSISs from different manufacturers that are integrated into radiotherapy practice for setup verification during breast radiotherapy. Studies that evaluated the accuracy of the OSISs during breast radiotherapy using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) as a reference were retrieved and analyzed. The physics and working principles of the systems from each manufacturer were discussed together with their respective strength and limitations. Results: A total of five (5) different commercially available OSISs from four (4) manufacturers were identified, each with a different working principle. Six (6) studies were found to evaluate the accuracy of the systems during breast radiotherapy in conjunction with CBCT as a goal standard. The studies revealed that the accuracy of the system in terms of mean difference ranges from 0.1 to 2.1 mm. The correlation between CBCT and OSIS ranges between 0.4 and 0.9. The limit of agreements obtained using bland Altman analysis in the studies was also within an acceptable range. Conclusion: The OSISs have an acceptable level of accuracy and could be used safely during breast radiotherapy. The systems are non-invasive, ionizing radiation-free, and provide real-time imaging of the target surface at no extra concomitant imaging dose. However, the system should only be used to complement rather than replace x-ray-based image guidance techniques such as CBCT.

Keywords: optical surface imaging system, Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), surface guided radiotherapy, Breast radiotherapy

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Authors: Nahla Khatib

Abstract:

This study investigated several learning difficulties that affected the classroom learning experience of preservice students who are studying general science and methods of teaching science students at Faculty of Educational Studies at the Arab Open University (AOU) in Amman, Jordan. The focus questions for this study were to find answers for the following: 1. What are the main areas of learning difficulty among preservice students towards science education? 2. What are the main aspects of reducing obstacles towards success in science education? To achieve this goal, the researcher prepared a questionnaire which included 30 items to point out the learning difficulties among preservice students towards science education. The questionnaire was distributed among students enrolled in the general science courses 1&2 and methods of teaching science courses at the beginning of the spring semester of year (2013-2014). After collecting the filled questionnaire a descriptive statistical analysis was carried out (means and standard deviation) for the items of the questionnaire. After analyzing the data statistically our findings showed that student control–factors as well as course controlled factor, factors related to the nature of science, and factors related to the role of instructor affected student success toward science education. The study was concluded with a number of recommendations.

Keywords: nature of science, preservice teachers, science education, learning difficulties

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: M. Khordadmehr, V. R. Ranjbar, R. Norouzi, M. Zeinoddin

Abstract:

Coccidiosis is recognized as a serious parasitic disease problem limiting quail industry recently. But the data on incidence, clinical signs, species of coccidia and pathological changes in Japanese quail are rare, especially in Iran in spite of the significant improvement of commercial quail breeding in this country in recent decades. Therefore, in the present paper was studied natural infection of quail coccidiosis in three commercial rearing farms with 80% morbidity and 3% mortality rate. For this purpose, fecal sample, oocyst examination, and morphological study were performed beside necropsy, histopathology, and PCR to confirm the diagnosis. In the affected birds, clinical signs included brown diarrhea, weakness, and pale face. In the fecal examination, three species of the genus Eimeria were identified including E. uzura, E. bateri, and E. tsunodai. At necropsy, the main gross lesions were edema, congestion and small blood spots in the small intestine. In histopathologic examination, endogenous stages of the parasites associated with hyperplasia of the intestinal glands, mild congestion, infiltration of mononuclear cells, and edema were observed in the intestine. The molecular study using BSEF and BSER specific primers confirmed the presence of the genus Eimeria in the affected birds. Interestingly, phylogenetic analysis showed relatively high bootstrap values in Japanese quail Eimeria with E. acervuline and E. maxima strains in the chicken. The present study is the first phylogenetic findings on Eimeria of quail which could be valuable for further research on Japanese quail coccidiosis.

Keywords: coccidiosis, Japanese Quail, pathomorphology, phylogenetic analysis

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Authors: Fahad Ahmed Qureshi

Abstract:

Is it essential for a Muslim businessperson and employees of Islamic financial institutions not only in Islamic Banks to perform his/her actions ethically in a universally, competing habitat? The answer is an emphatic NO! in Islam, ethics conduct all departments of life. The orders for eternal success or falah in Islam are the same for all Muslims–whether in managing their business activities or in carrying out their routine affairs. Without designating any circumstantial ambience, Allah specify people who achieve success as those who are “inviting to all that is good (Khayr), enjoining what is right (Ma'ruf) and forbidding what is wrong (Munkar).” Within a business context, however, what sole axioms of regimen should a company follow? What is a Muslim businessperson’s encumbrance to internal and external stakeholders? Although an organization’s top executives may display sterling ethical behavior, how can middle- and lower-level managers be enthusiastic to perform in a correspondingly ethical manner? What are some protocols that would clinch persistent ethical behavior in a Muslim business?

Keywords: business, ethics, finance, Islam

Procedia PDF Downloads 391