Search results for: effective masses

Authors: Hanan Abufares Elkhimry

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Looking for more effective teaching and learning approaches, teaching instructors have been telling trainee teachers to decrease their talking time, but the problem is how best to do this. Doing classroom research, specifically in the area of teacher talking time (TTT), is worthwhile, as it could improve the quality of teaching languages, as the learners are the ones who should be practicing and using the language. This work hopes to ascertain if teachers consider this need in a way that provides the students with the opportunities to increase their production of language. This is a question that is worthwhile answering. As many researchers have found, TTT should be decreased to 30% of classroom talking time and STT should be increased up to 70%. Other researchers agree with this, but add that it should be with awareness of the quality of teacher talking time. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the balance between quantity and quality of teacher talking time in the EFL classroom. For this piece of research and in order to capture the amount of talking in a four classrooms. The amount of talking time was measured. A Checklist was used to assess the quality of the talking time In conclusion, In order to improve the quality of TTT, the results showed that teachers may use more or less than 30% of the classroom talking time and still produce a successful classroom learning experience. As well as, the important factors that can affect TTT is the English level of the students. This was clear in the classroom observations, where the highest TTT recorded was with the lowest English level group.

Keywords: teacher talking time TTT, learning experience, classroom research, effective teaching

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Authors: Ndibarafinia Young Tobin, Simon Burnett

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In spite of the benefits of implementing whole life costing technique as a valuable approach for comparing alternative building designs allowing operational cost benefits to be evaluated against any initial cost increases and also as part of procurement in the construction industry, its adoption has been relatively slow due to the lack of tangible evidence, ‘know-how’ skills and knowledge of the practice, i.e. the lack of professionals in many establishments with knowledge and training on the use of whole life costing technique, this situation is compounded by the absence of available data on whole life costing from relevant projects, lack of data collection mechanisms and so on. This has proved to be very challenging to those who showed some willingness to employ the technique in a construction project. The knowledge generated from a project can be considered as best practices learned on how to carry out tasks in a more efficient way, or some negative lessons learned which have led to losses and slowed down the progress of the project and performance. Knowledge management in whole life costing practice can enhance whole life costing analysis execution in a construction project, as lessons learned from one project can be carried on to future projects, resulting in continuous improvement, providing knowledge that can be used in the operation and maintenance phases of an assets life span. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report an effective approach which can be utilised in capturing knowledge in whole life costing practice in a construction project. Design/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review was first conducted on the concept of knowledge management and whole life costing. This was followed by a semi-structured interview to explore the existing and good practice knowledge management in whole life costing practice in a construction project. The data gathered from the semi-structured interview was analyzed using content analysis and used to structure an effective knowledge capturing approach. Findings: From the results obtained in the study, it shows that the practice of project review is the common method used in the capturing of knowledge and should be undertaken in an organized and accurate manner, and results should be presented in the form of instructions or in a checklist format, forming short and precise insights. The approach developed advised that irrespective of how effective the approach to knowledge capture, the absence of an environment for sharing knowledge, would render the approach ineffective. Open culture and resources are critical for providing a knowledge sharing setting, and leadership has to sustain whole life costing knowledge capture, giving full support for its implementation. The knowledge capturing approach has been evaluated by practitioners who are experts in the area of whole life costing practice. The results have indicated that the approach to knowledge capture is suitable and efficient.

Keywords: whole life costing, knowledge capture, project review, construction industry, knowledge management

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Authors: Mahmoud Hassan

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Understanding the impact of market- and non-market-based environmental policy instruments on renewable energy consumption (REC) is crucial for the design and choice of policy packages. This study aims to empirically investigate the effect of environmental policy stringency index (EPS) and its components on REC in 27 OECD countries over the period from 1990 to 2015, and then use the results to identify what the appropriate environmental policy mix should look like. By relying on the two-step system GMM estimator, we provide evidence that increasing environmental policy stringency as a whole promotes renewable energy consumption in these 27 developed economies. Moreover, policymakers are able, through the market- and non-market-based environmental policy instruments, to increase the use of renewable energy. However, not all of these instruments are effective for achieving this goal. The results indicate that R&D subsidies and trading schemes have a positive and significant impact on REC, while taxes, feed-in tariff and emission standards have not a significant effect. Furthermore, R&D subsidies are more effective than trading schemes for stimulating the use of clean energy. These findings proved to be robust across the three alternative panel techniques used.

Keywords: environmental policy stringency, renewable energy consumption, two-step system-GMM estimation, linear dynamic panel data model

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Authors: Ahmed Chouari

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Although research methods has been an integral part of the curriculum in Moroccan higher education for decades, it seems that the research methods teaching pedagogy that teachers use suffers from a serious absence of a body of literature in the field. Also, the various challenges that both teachers and students of research methods face have received little interest by researchers in comparison to other fields such as applied linguistics. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to remedy to this situation by exploring one of the major issues in teaching research methods – that is, the phenomenon of students’ dissatisfaction with the research methods course in higher education in Morocco. The aim is also to understand students’ attitudes and perceptions on how to make the research methods course more effective in the future. Three qualitative research questions were used: (1) To what extent are graduate students satisfied with the pedagogies used by the teachers of the research methods course in Moroccan higher education? (2) To what extent are graduate students satisfied with the approach used in assessing research methods in Moroccan higher education? (3) What are students’ perceptions on how to make the research methods course more effective in Moroccan higher education? In this study, a qualitative content analysis was adopted to analyze students’ views and perspectives about the major factors behind their dissatisfaction with the course at the School of Arts and Humanities – University of Moulay Ismail. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data from 14 respondents from two different Master programs. The results show that there is a general consensus among the respondents about the major factors behind the ineffectiveness of the course. These factors include theory-practice gap, heavy reliance on theoretical knowledge at the expense of procedural knowledge, and ineffectiveness of some teachers. The findings also reveal that teaching research methods in Morocco requires more time, better equipment, and more competent teachers. Above all, the findings indicate that today there is an urgent need in Morocco to shift from teacher-centered approaches to learner-centered approaches in teaching the research methods course. These findings, thus, contribute to the existing literature by unraveling the factors that impede the learning process, and by suggesting a set of strategies that can make course more effective.

Keywords: competencies, learner-centered teaching, research methods, student autonomy, pedagogy

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Authors: Sahand Golmohammadi, Sana Hosseini Shirazi

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Because the status and mechanical parameters of discontinuities in the rock mass are included in the calculations, various methods of rock engineering classification are often used as a starting point for the design of different types of structures. The Q-system is one of the most frequently used methods for stability analysis and determination of support systems of underground structures in rock, including tunnel. In this method, six main parameters of the rock mass, namely, the rock quality designation (RQD), joint set number (Jn), joint roughness number (Jr), joint alteration number (Ja), joint water parameter (Jw) and stress reduction factor (SRF) are required. In this regard, in order to achieve a reasonable and optimal design, identifying the effective parameters for the stability of the mentioned structures is one of the most important goals and the most necessary actions in rock engineering. Therefore, it is necessary to study the relationships between the parameters of a system and how they interact with each other and, ultimately, the whole system. In this research, it has attempted to determine the most effective parameters (key parameters) from the six parameters of rock mass in the Q-system using the rock engineering system (RES) method to improve the relationships between the parameters in the calculation of the Q value. The RES system is, in fact, a method by which one can determine the degree of cause and effect of a system's parameters by making an interaction matrix. In this research, the geomechanical data collected from the water conveyor tunnel of Azad Dam were used to make the interaction matrix of the Q-system. For this purpose, instead of using the conventional methods that are always accompanied by defects such as uncertainty, the Q-system interaction matrix is coded using a technique that is actually a statistical analysis of the data and determining the correlation coefficient between them. So, the effect of each parameter on the system is evaluated with greater certainty. The results of this study show that the formed interaction matrix provides a reasonable estimate of the effective parameters in the Q-system. Among the six parameters of the Q-system, the SRF and Jr parameters have the maximum and minimum impact on the system, respectively, and also the RQD and Jw parameters have the maximum and minimum impact on the system, respectively. Therefore, by developing this method, we can obtain a more accurate relation to the rock mass classification by weighting the required parameters in the Q-system.

Keywords: Q-system, rock engineering system, statistical analysis, rock mass, tunnel

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Authors: Nikoo Soleimani

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Background: Reducing torque during bone drilling is one of the effective factors in reaching to an optimal drilling process. Methods: 15 bovine femurs were drilled in vitro with a drill bit with a diameter of 4 mm using two methods of torsional ultrasonic assisted drilling (T-UAD) and convent conventional drilling (CD) and the effects of changing the feed rate and rotational speed on the torque were compared in both methods. Results: There was no significant difference in the thrust force measured in both methods due to the direction of vibrations. Results showed that using T-UAD method for bone drilling at feed rates of 0.16, 0.24 and 0.32 mm/rev led for all rotational speeds to a decrease of at least 16.3% in torque compared to the CD method. Further, using T-UAD at rotational speeds of 355~1000 rpm with various feed rates resulted in a torque reduction of 16.3~50.5% compared to CD method. Conclusions: Reducing the feed rate and increasing the rotational speed, except for the rotational speed of 500 rpm and a feed rate of 0.32 mm/rev, resulted generally in torque reduction in both methods. However, T-UAD is a more effective and desirable option for bone drilling considering its significant torque reduction.

Keywords: torsional ultrasonic assisted drilling, torque, bone drilling, rotational speed, feed rate

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Authors: Mathew Saxon A, Aneeh Rajan, Sajeev P

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Many fluid flow applications employ different types of orifices to control the flow rate or to reduce the pressure. Discharge coefficients generally vary from 0.6 to 0.95 depending on the type of the orifice. The tabulated value of discharge coefficients of various types of orifices available can be used in most common applications. The upstream and downstream flow condition of an orifice is hardly considered while choosing the discharge coefficient of an orifice. But literature shows that the discharge coefficient can be affected by the presence of cross flow. Cross flow is defined as the condition wherein; a fluid is injected nearly perpendicular to a flowing fluid. Most researchers have worked on water being injected into a cross-flow of water. The present work deals with water to gas systems in which water is injected in a normal direction into a flowing stream of gas. The test article used in the current work is called thermal regulator, which is used in a liquid rocket engine to reduce the temperature of hot gas tapped from the gas generator by injecting water into the hot gas so that a cooler gas can be supplied to the turbine. In a thermal regulator, water is injected through an orifice in a normal direction into the hot gas stream. But the injection orifice had been calibrated under backpressure by maintaining a stagnant gas medium at the downstream. The motivation of the present study aroused due to the observation of a lower Cd of the orifice in flight compared to the calibrated Cd. A systematic experimental investigation is carried out in this paper to study the effect of cross-flow on the discharge coefficient of an orifice in water to a gas system. The study reveals that there is an appreciable reduction in the discharge coefficient with cross flow compared to that without cross flow. It is found that the discharge coefficient greatly depends on the ratio of momentum of water injected to the momentum of the gas cross flow. The effective discharge coefficient of different orifices was normalized using the discharge coefficient without cross-flow and it is observed that normalized curves of effective discharge coefficient of different orifices with momentum ratio collapsing into a single curve. Further, an equation is formulated using the test data to predict the effective discharge coefficient with cross flow using the calibrated Cd value without cross flow.

Keywords: cross flow, discharge coefficient, orifice, momentum ratio

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Authors: Florence Ibeh, David Oyewmi Oyekunle, David Boohene

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The continuous advancement of information technology has completely transformed how businesses and organizations operate on a global scale. The widespread availability of virtual communication tools enables individuals to opt for remote work. While remote employment offers various benefits, such as facilitating corporate growth and enhancing customer support, it also presents distinct challenges. Therefore, investigating the intricacies of virtual team morale is crucial for ensuring the achievement of project objectives. For this study, content analysis of pre-existing secondary data was employed to examine the phenomenon. Essential elements vital for improving the success of projects within virtual teams were identified. These factors include technology adoption, creating a distraction-free work environment, effective leadership, trust-building, clear communication channels, well-defined task allocation, active team participation, and motivation. Furthermore, the study established a substantial correlation between morale levels and the participation and productivity of virtual team members. Higher levels of morale were associated with optimal performance among virtual teams. The study determined that the key factors for enhancing project performance in virtual teams are the adoption of technology, a focused environment, effective leadership, trust, communication, well-defined tasks, collaborative teamwork, and motivation. Additionally, the study discovered that modifying the optimal strategies employed by in-office teams can enhance the diminished morale prevalent in remote teams to sustain a high level of team morale for virtual teams. The findings of this study are highly significant in the dynamic field of project management. Currently, there is limited information regarding strategies that address challenges arising from external factors in virtual teams, such as ambient noise and disruptions caused by family members. The findings underscore the significance of selecting appropriate communication technologies, delineating distinct roles and responsibilities for virtual team members, and nurturing a culture of accountability and trust. Promoting seamless collaboration and instilling motivation among virtual team members are deemed highly effective in augmenting employee engagement and performance within virtual team setting.

Keywords: virtual teams, morale, project performance, distract-free environment, technology adaptation

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Authors: Ashish Dhamaniya, Vineet Jain, Rajesh Chouhan

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Traffic management is one of the gigantic issue in most of the urban roads in al-most all metropolitan cities in India. Speed is one of the critical traffic parameters for effective Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) implementation as it decides the arrival rate of vehicles on an intersection which are majorly the point of con-gestions. The study aimed to leverage Machine Learning (ML) models to produce precise predictions of speed on urban roadway links. The research objective was to assess how categorized traffic volume and road width, serving as variables, in-fluence speed prediction. Four tree-based regression models namely: Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Extra Tree (ET), and Extreme Gradient Boost (XGB)are employed for this purpose. The models' performances were validated using test data, and the results demonstrate that Random Forest surpasses other machine learning techniques and a conventional utility theory-based model in speed prediction. The study is useful for managing the urban roadway network performance under mixed traffic conditions and effective implementation of ITS.

Keywords: stream speed, urban roads, machine learning, traffic flow

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Authors: Heng Yang, Tao Luo, Yakun Zhang, Kai Wang, Wei Qin, Liang Xie, Ye Yan, Erwei Yin

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Recent years have seen that audio-visual recognition has shown great potential in a strong noise environment. The existing method of audio-visual recognition has explored methods with ResNet and feature fusion. However, on the one hand, ResNet always occupies a large amount of memory resources, restricting the application in engineering. On the other hand, the feature merging also brings some interferences in a high noise environment. In order to solve the problems, we proposed an effective framework with bidirectional distillation. At first, in consideration of the good performance in extracting of features, we chose the light model, Efficientnet as our extractor of spatial features. Secondly, self-distillation was applied to learn more information from raw data. Finally, we proposed a bidirectional distillation in decision-level fusion. In more detail, our experimental results are based on a multi-model dataset from 24 volunteers. Eventually, the lipreading accuracy of our framework was increased by 2.3% compared with existing systems, and our framework made progress in audio-visual fusion in a high noise environment compared with the system of audio recognition without visual.

Keywords: lipreading, audio-visual, Efficientnet, distillation

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Authors: Yong-Heng Shi, Peng Hao, Bai-Chen Xie

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Solar prosumers are playing increasingly prominent roles in the power system. However, its uncertainty affects the outcomes and functions of the power market, especially in the asymmetric information environment. Therefore, an important issue is how to take effective measures to reduce the impact of uncertainty on market equilibrium. We propose a two-level stochastic differential game model to explore the Cournot decision problem of prosumers. In particular, we study the impact of punishment and cooperation mechanisms on the efficiency of the Cournot game in which prosumers face uncertainty. The results show that under the penalty mechanism of fixed and variable rates, producers and consumers tend to take conservative actions to hedge risks, and the variable rates mechanism is more reasonable. Compared with non-cooperative situations, prosumers can improve the efficiency of the game through cooperation, which we attribute to the superposition of market power and uncertainty reduction. In addition, the market environment of asymmetric information intensifies the role of uncertainty. It reduces social welfare but increases the income of prosumers. For regulators, promoting alliances is an effective measure to realize the integration, optimization, and stable grid connection of producers and consumers.

Keywords: Cournot games, power market, uncertainty, prosumer cooperation

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Authors: Mohammed Shaath

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Aims Technological advancements in teaching and learning have made significant improvements over the past decade and have been incorporated in institutions to aid the learner’s experience. This review aims to assess whether Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) pedagogy is more effective at improving students’ attitude and knowledge retention in orthodontic training than traditional methods. Methodology The searches comprised Systematic Reviews (SRs) related to the comparison of TEL and traditional teaching methods from the following databases: PubMed, SCOPUS, Medline, and Embase. One researcher performed the screening, data extraction, and analysis and assessed the risk of bias and quality using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2). Kirkpatrick’s 4-level evaluation model was used to evaluate the educational values. Results A sum of 34 SRs was identified after the removal of duplications and irrelevant SRs; 4 fit the inclusion criteria. On Level 1, students showed positivity to TEL methods, although acknowledging that the harder the platforms to use, the less favourable. Nonetheless, the students still showed high levels of acceptability. Level 2 showed there is no significant overall advantage of increased knowledge when it comes to TEL methods. One SR showed that certain aspects of study within orthodontics deliver a statistical improvement with TEL. Level 3 was the least reported on. Results showed that if left without time restrictions, TEL methods may be advantageous. Level 4 shows that both methods are equally as effective, but TEL has the potential to overtake traditional methods in the future as a form of active, student-centered approach. Conclusion TEL has a high level of acceptability and potential to improve learning in orthodontics. Current reviews have potential to be improved, but the biggest aspect that needs to be addressed is the primary study, which shows a lower level of evidence and heterogeneity in their results. As it stands, the replacement of traditional methods with TEL cannot be fully supported in an evidence-based manner. The potential of TEL methods has been recognized and is already starting to show some evidence of the ability to be more effective in some aspects of learning to cater for a more technology savvy generation.

Keywords: TEL, orthodontic, teaching, traditional

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Authors: Heerak Banerjee, Sourov Roy

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Supersymmetry, one of the most celebrated fields of study for explaining experimental observations where the standard model (SM) falls short, is reeling from the lack of experimental vindication. At the same time, the idea of additional gauge symmetry, in particular, the gauged Lμ-Lτ symmetric models have also generated significant interest. They have been extensively proposed in order to explain the tantalizing discrepancy in the predicted and measured value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment alongside several other issues plaguing the SM. While very little parameter space within these models remain unconstrained, this work finds that the γ + Missing Energy (ME) signal at the Belle-II detector will be a smoking gun for supersymmetry (SUSY) in the presence of a gauged U(1)Lμ-Lτ symmetry. A remarkable consequence of breaking the enhanced symmetry appearing in the limit of degenerate (s)leptons is the nondecoupling of the radiative contribution of heavy charged sleptons to the γ-Z΄ kinetic mixing. The signal process, e⁺e⁻ →γZ΄→γ+ME, is an outcome of this ubiquitous feature. Taking the severe constraints on gauged Lμ-Lτ models by several low energy observables into account, it is shown that any significant excess in all but the highest photon energy bin would be an undeniable signature of such heavy scalar fields in SUSY coupling to the additional gauge boson Z΄. The number of signal events depends crucially on the logarithm of the ratio of stau to smuon mass in the presence of SUSY. In addition, the number is also inversely proportional to the e⁺e⁻ collision energy, making a low-energy, high-luminosity collider like Belle-II an ideal testing ground for this channel. This process can probe large swathes of the hitherto free slepton mass ratio vs. additional gauge coupling (gₓ) parameter space. More importantly, it can explore the narrow slice of Z΄ mass (MZ΄) vs. gₓ parameter space still allowed in gauged U(1)Lμ-Lτ models for superheavy sparticles. The spectacular finding that the signal significance is independent of individual slepton masses is an exciting prospect indeed. Further, the prospect that signatures of even superheavy SUSY particles that may have escaped detection at the LHC may show up at the Belle-II detector is an invigorating revelation.

Keywords: additional gauge symmetry, electron-positron collider, kinetic mixing, nondecoupling radiative effect, supersymmetry

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Authors: Volkan Altintas, Burcu Oksuz

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Tourism industry essentially requires effective crisis management and crisis communication skills, as it is extremely vulnerable to crises. In terms of destinations, tourism crises cause dramatic decreases in the number of inbound tourists, impairment in the destination’s image, and decline in the level of preferability of the destination not only in the short but also in the long term. Therefore, any destination should be well prepared for crisis situation that may arise for various reasons. Currently, the advancement in communication technologies enables and facilitates information and experience to spread rapidly, and negative information and experiences tend to be shared to a further extent. Destinations are broadly exposed to the impacts of such communication stream. Turkey is almost continuously exposed to crises and their adverse impacts as a tourism destination, and thus requires effective crisis communication activities to be maintained. Hence, the approaches of tourism managers toward crisis communication and their proposals for addressing issues in question are important. This study intends to set forth the considerations of the managers serving in the tourism industry about crisis communication at destinations. The theoretical part of the study describes and explains crisis management and crisis communication at destinations; following which are provided the outcomes of the thorough in-depth interviews and discussions conducted for the establishment of the considerations of tourism managers. Managers indicated the role and importance of crisis communications in destinations.

Keywords: crisis communication, crisis management, destination, tourism managers

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Authors: Kazuo Kiguchi, Kouta Ikegami

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In the case of physically weak persons, not only motor abilities, but also sensory abilities are sometimes deteriorated. The concept of perception-assist has been proposed to assist the sensory ability of the physically weak persons with a power-assist robot. Since upper-limb motion is very important in daily living, perception-assist for upper-limb motion has been proposed to assist upper-limb motion in daily living. A virtual tunnel was applied to modify the user’s upper-limb motion if it was necessary. In this paper, effective shape of the virtual tunnel which is applied in the perception-assist for upper-limb motion is proposed. Not only the position of the grasped tool but also the angle of the grasped tool are modified if it is necessary. Therefore, the upper-limb motion in daily living can be effectively modified to realize certain proper daily motion. The effectiveness of the proposed virtual tunnel was evaluated by performing the experiments.

Keywords: motion modification, power-assist robots, perception-assist, upper-limb motion

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Authors: Karmela Palma Samson

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In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the implementation of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks in private organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing global environmental concerns have further highlighted the importance of ESG practices in businesses. To be effective, the development and sustainability of ESG implementation require specific organizational functions. One such function is Organization Development (OD). This study aims to identify the roles of OD in the development, monitoring, and evaluation of ESG in private organizations. The role of OD in sustaining ESG implementation in private organizations was analyzed in this study. Qualitative research was conducted, which included interviews with OD practitioners to understand their role and challenges in maintaining ESG programs and initiatives. The study found that OD practitioners have low participation in managing ESG programs, initiatives, and indicators. However, the study also revealed that the OD function is crucial for the development, monitoring, and evaluation of ESG implementation in private organizations. In essence, the study highlights the importance of the OD function in ensuring the success of ESG implementation in private organizations. With their expertise in organizational development, OD practitioners can contribute significantly to the development, implementation, and evaluation of ESG initiatives. Therefore, private organizations should involve their OD departments in ESG implementation to ensure that they are sustainable, effective, and aligned with their organizational goals.

Keywords: ESG, organization development, private sector, sustainability

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Authors: Pallab Das, Nabam Zomleen

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Effective dissipation of lateral loads that are coming due to seismic force determines the strength, durability and safety concern of the structure. Masonry infill has high stiffness and strength capabilities which can be put into an effective utilization for lateral load dissipation by incorporating it into building construction, but masonry behaves in highly nonlinear manner, so it is highly important to find out generalized, yet a rational approach to determine its nonlinear behavior and failure mode and it’s response when it is incorporated into building. But most of the countries do not specify the procedure for design of masonry infill wall. Whereas, there are many analytical modeling method available in literature, e.g. equivalent diagonal strut method, finite element modeling etc. In this paper the masonry infill is modeled and 6-storey bare framed building and building with masonry infill is analyzed using SAP-200014 in order to find out inter-storey drift by time-history analysis and capacity curve by Pushover analysis. The analysis shows that, while, the structure is well within CP performance level for both the case, whereas, there is considerable reduction of inter-storey drift of about 28%, when the building is analyzed with masonry infill wall.

Keywords: capacity curve, masonry infill, nonlinear analysis, time history analysis

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Authors: Fedil Jemal Ahmed

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This conference abstract paper presents a study that aimed to explore the impact of talent management and business skills on performance improvement in mini markets located in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Mini markets are small retail stores that play a crucial role in providing essential goods and services to communities. However, due to their small size, they often face significant challenges in terms of resources and management. The study conducted interviews with mini market owners and managers in Johannesburg and Cape Town to understand their approach to talent management, business skills, and their impact on business performance. The results showed that effective talent management practices, including recruitment, training, and retention, along with strong business skills, had a significant positive impact on business performance in mini markets. Furthermore, the study found that the use of technology, such as point of sale systems and inventory management software, can also contribute to business performance improvement in mini markets. The results suggest that mini market owners and managers should prioritize talent management, business skills, and invest in technology to improve their business performance. Comparing the improvements made by mini markets in Johannesburg and Cape Town to those made by others, the study found that the adoption of effective talent management practices and strong business skills were key factors in driving performance improvement. Mini market owners and managers who invested in these areas were better equipped to manage their resources, enhance their customer service, and increase their profitability. When comparing the personal experiences of the fedil jemal who improved their business performance from a small market to a large one, they found that effective talent management practices and strong business skills were crucial in achieving success. Through the adoption of effective talent management practices, the fedil was able to attract and retain top talent, ensuring that the business was managed effectively. Furthermore, the fedil invested in improving their business skills, such as financial management, marketing, and customer service, which helped to increase their revenue and profitability. In terms of technology adoption, the author found that the use of point-of-sale systems and inventory management software were essential in managing their inventory and improving their customer service. By investing in technology, the fedil was able to streamline their operations and enhance their overall business performance. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the importance of talent management, business skills, and technology adoption in improving business performance in mini markets. It highlights the need for mini market owners and managers to prioritize these areas and invest in them to enhance their business performance. The findings of this study have practical implications for mini market owners and managers who are looking to improve their business performance and compete in a highly competitive market. By adopting effective talent management practices, developing strong business skills, and investing in technology, mini market owners and managers can improve their operations and increase their profitability.

Keywords: talent management, business skills, technology adoption, mini markets

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Authors: C. A. Roberts, J. G. Andrae, S. R. Smith, M. H. Poore, C. A. Young, D. W. Hancock, G. J. Pent

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To the author’s best knowledge, there are no published reports of effective methods for teaching fescue toxicosis and grass endophyte technology in the USA. To address this need, a group of university scientists, industry representatives, government agents, and livestock producers formed an organization called the Alliance for Grassland Renewal. One goal of the Alliance was to develop a teaching method that could be employed across all regions in the USA and all sectors of the agricultural community. The first step in developing this method was identification of experts who were familiar with the science and management of fescue toxicosis. The second step was curriculum development. Experts wrote a curriculum that addressed all aspects of toxicosis and management, including toxicology, animal nutrition, pasture management, economics, and mycology. The curriculum was created for presentation in lectures, laboratories, and in the field. The curriculum was in that it could be delivered across state lines, regardless of peculiar, in-state recommendations. The curriculum was also unique as it was unanimously supported by private companies otherwise in competition with each other. The final step in developing this teaching method was formulating a delivery plan. All experts, including university, industry, government, and production, volunteered to travel from any state in the USA, converge in one location, teach a 1-day workshop, then travel to the next location. The results of this teaching method indicate widespread success. Since 2012, experts across the entire USA have converged to teach Alliance workshops in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, with ongoing workshops in Arkansas and Tennessee. Data from post-workshop surveys indicate that instruction has been effective, as at least 50% of the participants stated their intention to adopt the endophyte technology presented in these workshops. The teaching method developed by the Alliance for Grassland Renewal has proved to be effective, and the Alliance continues to expand across the USA.

Keywords: endophyte, Epichloe coenophiala, ergot alkaloids, fescue toxicosis, tall fescue

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Authors: Mingjun Xu, Man Pun Wan

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This study proposed an effective smoke control strategy for the large flat space with a low ceiling to achieve the requirement of perpetual tenability. For the large flat space with a low ceiling, the depth of the smoke reservoir is very shallow, and it is difficult to perpetually constrain the smoke within a limited space. A series of numerical tests were conducted to determine the smoke strategy. A zonal design i.e., the fire zone and two adjacent zones was proposed and validated to be effective in controlling smoke. Once a fire happens in a compartment space, the Engineered Smoke Control (ESC) system will be activated in three zones i.e., the fire zone, in which the fire happened, and two adjacent zones. The smoke can be perpetually constrained within the three smoke zones. To further improve the extraction efficiency, sequential activation of the ESC system within the 3 zones turned out to be more efficient than simultaneous activation. Additionally, the proposed zonal and sequential extraction design can reduce the mechanical extraction flow rate by up to 40.7 % as compared to the conventional method, which is much more economical than that of the conventional method.

Keywords: performance-based design, perpetual tenability, smoke control, fire plume

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Authors: Jian Zheng

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Three-dimensional (3D) network structure has been recognized as an effective approach to enhance the mechanical and thermal conductive properties of polymeric composites. However, it has not been applied in energetic materials. In this work, a fluoropolymer based composite with vertically oriented and interconnected 3D graphite network was fabricated for polymer bonded explosives (PBXs). Here, the graphite and graphene oxide platelets were mixed, and self-assembled via rapid freezing and using crystallized ice as the template. The 3D structure was finally obtained by freezing-dry and infiltrating with the polymer. With the increasing of filler fraction and cooling rate, the thermal conductivity of the polymer composite was significantly improved to 2.15 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ by 1094% than that of pure polymer. Moreover, the mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and elastic modulus, were enhanced by 82% and 310%, respectively, when the highly ordered structure was embedded in the polymer. We attribute the increased thermal and mechanical properties to this 3D network, which is beneficial to the effective heat conduction and force transfer. This study supports a desirable way to fabricate the strong and thermal conductive fluoropolymer composites used for the high-performance polymer bonded explosives (PBXs).

Keywords: mechanical properties, oriented network, graphite polymer composite, thermal conductivity

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Authors: Sleman Yahya Rasul

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Due to their transparency, various types of glass are utilized in numerous applications where clear visibility is essential. One such application involves environments where radiography, radiotherapy, and X-ray devices are used, all of which involve exposure to radiation. As is well-known, radiation can be lethal to humans. Consequently, there is a need for glass that can absorb and block these harmful rays in such settings. Effective protection from radiation typically requires materials with high atomic numbers and densities. Currently, lead oxide-infused glasses are commonly used for this purpose, but due to the toxicity of lead oxide, there is a demand for safer alternatives. HfO2 has been selected as an additive for boro-tellurite (M1-M2-M3) glasses intended for radiation shielding because it has a high atomic number, high density, and is non-toxic. In this study, new glasses will be developed as alternatives to leaded glasses by incorporating x mol% HfO2 into the boro-tellurite glass structure. The glass compositions will be melted and quenched using the traditional method in an alumina crucible at temperatures between 900–1100°C. The resulting glasses will be evaluated for their elastic properties (including elastic modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus, and Poisson ratio), density, hardness, and fracture toughness. X-ray diffraction (XRD) will be used to examine the amorphous nature of the glasses, while Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) will provide thermal analysis. Optical properties will be assessed through UV-Vis and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy, and structural properties will be studied using Raman spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. Additionally, the radiation shielding capabilities will be investigated by measuring parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient, half-value thickness, mean free path, effective atomic number (Z_eff), and effective electron density (N_e). The aim of this study is to develop new, lead-free glasses with excellent optical properties and high mechanical strength to replace the leaded glasses currently used for radiation shielding.

Keywords: boro-tellurite glasses, hfo2, radiation shielding, mechanical properties, elastic properties, optical properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 32

Authors: Vasantha Gouri Prathapagiri

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Innovations in ICT sector facilitate qualitative life style for citizens across the globe. Countries that facilitate usage of new techniques in ICT, i.e., big data analytics find it easier to fulfil the needs of their citizens. Big data is characterised by its volume, variety, and speed. Analytics involves its processing in a cost effective way in order to draw conclusion for their useful application. Big data also involves into the field of machine learning, artificial intelligence all leading to accuracy in data presentation useful for public policy making. Hence using data analytics in public policy making is a proper way to march towards all round development of any country. The data driven insights can help the government to take important strategic decisions with regard to socio-economic development of her country. Developed nations like UK and USA are already far ahead on the path of digitization with the support of Big Data analytics. India is a huge country and is currently on the path of massive digitization being realised through Digital India Mission. Internet connection per household is on the rise every year. This transforms into a massive data set that has the potential to improvise the public services delivery system into an effective service mechanism for Indian citizens. In fact, when compared to developed nations, this capacity is being underutilized in India. This is particularly true for administrative system in rural areas. The present paper focuses on the need for big data analytics adaptation in Indian rural administration and its contribution towards development of the country on a faster pace. Results of the research focussed on the need for increasing awareness and serious capacity building of the government personnel working for rural development with regard to big data analytics and its utility for development of the country. Multiple public policies are framed and implemented for rural development yet the results are not as effective as they should be. Big data has a major role to play in this context as can assist in improving both policy making and implementation aiming at all round development of the country.

Keywords: Digital India Mission, public service delivery system, public policy, Indian administration

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Robert L. Williamson

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A 'token economy' refers to a method of positive behaviour support whereby ‘tokens’ are delivered to students as a reward for exhibiting specific behaviours. Students later exchange tokens to ‘purchase’ items of interest. Unfortunately, implementation fidelity can be problematic as some find physical delivery of tokens while teaching difficult. This project developed and tested a prototype, iPad-based tool that enabled teachers to deliver and track tokens electronically. Using an alternating treatment design, any differences in on-task individual and/or group behaviours between the virtual versus physical token delivery systems were examined. Results indicated that while students and teachers preferred iPad-based implementation, no significant difference was found concerning on-task behaviours of students between the two methodologies. Perhaps more interesting was that the teacher found implementation of both methods problematic and suggested a second person was most effective in implementing a token economy method. This would represent a significant cost to the effective use of such a method. Further research should focus on the use of a lay volunteer regarding method implementation fidelity and associated outcomes of the method.

Keywords: positive behaviour support, inclusion, token economy, applied behaviour analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Muhammad Fajar Suardi, Fathimatufzzahra, Dela Isnaini Sendra

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Learning is an activity that has been used to do, especially for a student or academics. But a handful of people have not been using and maximizing their brains work and some also do not know a good brain work time in capturing the lessons, so that knowledge is absorbed is also less than the maximum. Indonesia Memory Sports Council (IMSC) is an institution which is engaged in the performance of the brain and the development of effective learning methods by using several techniques that can be used in considering the lessons and knowledge to grasp well, including: loci method, substitution method, and chain method. This study aims to determine the techniques and benefits of using the method given in learning and memorization by applying memory techniques taught by Indonesia Memory Sports Council (IMSC) to students and the difference if not using this method. This research uses quantitative research with survey method addressed to students of Indonesian Memory Sports Council (IMSC). The results of this study indicate that learn, understand and remember the lesson using the techniques of memory which is taught in Indonesia Memory Sport Council is very effective and faster to absorb the lesson than learning without using the techniques of memory, and this affects the academic achievement of students in each educational institution.

Keywords: chain method, Indonesia memory sports council, loci method, substitution method

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Phillipa Denise Peart

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Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people are more at risk of developing mental health disorders because they are more exposed to unfavorable social, economic, and environmental circumstances. These include housing, education, employment, community development, stigma, and discrimination. However, the majority of BAME mental health intervention studies focus on treatment with therapeutically effective drugs and use basic economic methods to evaluate their effectiveness; as a result, little is invested in the economic assessment of psychosocial interventions in BAME mental health. The UK government’s austerity programme and reduced funds for mental health services, has increased the need for the evaluation and assessment of initiatives to focus on value for money. The No Health without Mental Health policy (2011) provides practice guidance to practitioners, but there is little or no mention of the need to provide mental health initiatives targeted at BAME communities that are effective in terms of their impact and the cost-effectiveness. This, therefore, appears to contradict with and is at odds with the wider political discourse, which suggests there should be an increasing focus on health economic evaluation. As a consequence, it could be argued that whilst such policies provide direction to organisations to provide mental health services to the BAME community, by not requesting effective governance, assurance, and evaluation processes, they are merely paying lip service to address these problems and not helping advance knowledge and practice through evidence-based approaches. As a result, BAME communities suffer due to lack of efficient resources that can aid in the recovery process. This research study explores the mental health initiatives targeted at BAME communities, and analyses the techniques used when examining the cost effectiveness of mental health initiatives for BAME mental health communities. Using critical discourse analysis as an approach and method, mental health services will be selected as case studies, and their evaluations will be examined, alongside the political drivers that frame, shape, and direct their work. In doing so, it will analyse what the mental health policies initiatives are, how the initiatives are directed and demonstrate how economic models of evaluation are used in mental health programmes and how the value for money impacts and outcomes are articulated by mental health programme staff. It is anticipated that this study will further our understanding in order to provide adequate mental health resources and will deliver creative, supportive research to ensure evaluation is effective for the government to provide and maintain high quality and efficient mental health initiatives targeted at BAME communities.

Keywords: black, Asian and ethnic minority, economic models, mental health, health policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Elahe Memari, Ahmad Aslizadeh, Ahmad Memari

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Today strategic planning is counted as the most important duties of senior directors in each organization. Strategic planning allows the organizations to implement compiled strategies and reach higher competitive benefits than their competitors. The present research work tries to prepare and rank the strategies form effective factors on strategic planning in fulfillment of the State Road Management and Transportation Organization in order to indicate the role of organizational factors in efficiency of the process to organization managers. Connection between six main factors in fulfillment of State Road Management and Transportation Organization were studied here, including Improvement of Strategic Thinking in senior managers, improvement of the organization business process, rationalization of resources allocation in different parts of the organization, coordination and conformity of strategic plan with organization needs, adjustment of organization activities with environmental changes, reinforcement of organizational culture. All said factors approved by implemented tests and then ranked using fuzzy multivariate decision-making technique.

Keywords: Fuzzy TOPSIS, improvement of organization business process, multivariate decision-making, strategic planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 411

Authors: Amrit Vasdev, Edwin Rho, Gurinder Vasdev

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Robotic surgery has enabled a new spectrum of minimally invasive breast reconstruction by improving visualization, surgeon posturing, and improved patient outcomes.1 The DaVinci robot system can be utilized in nipple sparing mastectomies and reconstructions. The process involves the insufflation of the subglandular space and a dissection of the mammary gland with a combination of cautery and blunt dissection. This case outlines a 35-year-old woman who has a long-standing family history of breast cancer and a diagnosis of a deleterious BRCA2 genetic mutation. She has decided to proceed with bilateral nipple sparing mastectomies with implants. Her perioperative mammogram and MRI were negative for masses, however, her left internal mammary lymph node was enlarged. She has taken oral contraceptive pills for 3-5 years and denies DES exposure, radiation therapy, human replacement therapy, or prior breast surgery. She does not smoke and rarely consumes alcohol. During the procedure, the patient received a standardized anesthetic for out-patient surgery of propofol infusion, succinylcholine, sevoflurane, and fentanyl. Aprepitant was given as an antiemetic and preoperative Tylenol and gabapentin for pain management. Concerns for the patient during the procedure included CO2 insufflation into the subcutaneous space. With CO2 insufflation, there is a potential for rapid uptake leading to severe acidosis, embolism, and subcutaneous emphysema.2To mitigate this, it is important to hyperventilate the patient and reduce both the insufflation pressure and the CO2 flow rate to the minimal acceptable by the surgeon. For intraoperative monitoring during this 6-9 hour long procedure, it has been suggested to utilize an Arterial-Line for end-tidal CO2 monitoring. However, in this case, it was not necessary as the patient had excellent cardiovascular reserve, and end-tidal CO2 was within normal limits for the duration of the procedure. A BIS monitor was also utilized to reduce anesthesia burden and to facilitate a prompt discharge from the PACU. Minimal Invasive Robotic Surgery will continue to evolve, and anesthesiologists need to be prepared for the new challenges ahead. Based on our limit number of patients, robotic mastectomy appears to be a safe alternative to open surgery with the promise of clearer tissue demarcation and better cosmetic results.

Keywords: anesthesia, mastectomies, robotic, hypercarbia

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Amir Ashraf

Abstract:

Homoeopathy is an alternative system of medicine discovered by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. It has been used by several people for various health conditions globally for more than last 200 years. In India, homoeopathy is considered as a major system of alternative medicine. Homoeopathy is found effective in various medical conditions including Pyuria. Pyuria is the condition in which pus cells are found in urine. Homoeopathy is very useful for reducing pus cells, and homeopathically potentized Conium Mac (Hemlock) is an important remedy commonly used for reducing pyuria. Aim: To reduce the amount pus cells found in urine using Conium Mac 200C. Methods: Design. Small N Design. Samples: Purposive Sampling with 5 cases diagnosed as pyuria. Tools: Personal Data Schedule and ICD-10 Criteria for Pyuria. Techniques: Potentized homoeopathic medicine, Conium Mac 200th potency is used. Statistical Analysis: The statistical analyses were done using non-parametric tests. Results: There is significant pre/post difference has been identified. Conclusion: Homoeopathic potency, Conium Mac 200 C is effective in reducing the increased level of pus cells found in urine samples.

Keywords: homoeopathy, alternative medicine, Pyuria, Conim Mac, small N design, non-parametric tests, homeopathic physician, Ashirvad Hospital, Kannur

Procedia PDF Downloads 325

Authors: M. S. Deshpande, Snehal D. Bomble

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Tuberculosis (TB) is a deadly contagious disease that is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. More than sixty years ago, the introduction of the first anti-TB drugs for the treatment of TB (streptomycin (STR), p-aminosalcylic acid (PAS), isoniazid (INH), and then later ethambutol (EMB) and rifampicin (RIF)) gave optimism to the medical community, and it was believed that the disease would be completely eradicated soon. Worldwide, the number of TB cases has continued to increase, but the incidence rate has decreased since 2003. Recently, highly drug-resistant forms of TB have emerged worldwide. The prolonged use of classical drugs developed a growing resistance and these drugs have gradually become less effective and incapable to meet the challenges, especially those of multi drug resistant (MDR)-TB, extensively drug resistant (XDR)-TB, and HIV-TB co-infections. There is an unmet medical need to discover newer synthetic molecules and new generation of potent drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis which will shorten the time of treatment, be potent and safe while effective facing resistant strains and non-replicative, latent forms, reduce adverse side effect and not interfere in the antiretroviral therapy. This paper attempts to bring out the review of anti-TB drugs, and presents a novel method of synthesizing new anti-tuberculosis drugs and potential compounds to overcome the bacterial resistance and combat the re-emergence of tuberculosis.

Keywords: tuberculosis, mycobacterium, multi-drug resistant (MDR)-TB, extensively drug resistant (XDR)-TB

Procedia PDF Downloads 369