Search results for: Philippine folk literature

Authors: Liliane Ventura, Mauro Masili

Abstract:

Ultraviolet (UV) protection is critical for sunglasses, and mydriasis, as well as miosis, are relevant parameters to consider. The literature reports that for sunglasses, ultraviolet protection is critical because sunglasses can cause the opposite effect if the lenses do not provide adequate UV protection due to the greater dilation of the pupil when wearing sunglasses. However, the scientific literature does not properly quantify to support this rationale. The reasoning may be misleading by ignoring not only the inherent absorption of UV by the sunglass lens materials but also by ignoring the absorption of the anterior structures of the eye, i.e., the cornea and aqueous humor. Therefore, we estimate the pupil diameter and calculate the solar ultraviolet influx through the pupil of the human eye for two situations of an individual wearing and not wearing sunglasses. We quantify the dilation of the pupil as a function of the luminance of the surrounding. Therefore, we calculate the influx of solar UV through the pupil of the eye for two situations for an individual wearing sunglass and for the eyes free of shade. A typical boundary condition for the calculation is an individual in an upright position wearing sunglasses, staring at the horizon as if the sun is in the zenith. The calculation was done for the latitude of the geographic center of the state of São Paulo (-22º04'11.8'' S) from sunrise to sunset. A model from the literature is used for determining the sky luminance. The initial approach is to obtain pupil diameter as a function of luminance. Therefore, as a preliminary result, we calculate the pupil diameter as a function of the time of day, as the sun moves, for a particular day of the year. The working range for luminance is daylight (10⁻⁴ – 10⁵ cd/m²). We are able to show how the pupil adjusts to brightness change (~2 - ~7.8 mm). At noon, with the sun higher, the direct incidence of light on the pupil is lower if compared to mid-morning or mid-afternoon, when the sun strikes more directly into the eye. Thus, the pupil is larger at midday. As expected, the two situations have opposite behaviors since higher luminance implies a smaller pupil. With these results, we can progress in the short term to obtain the transmittance spectra of sunglasses samples and quantify how light attenuation provided by the spectacles affects pupil diameter.

Keywords: sunglasses, UV protection, pupil diameter, solar irradiance, luminance

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Zixuan Yang

Abstract:

This paper presents an analysis of the necessary consideration culture in distributed design through a thorough literature review and case study. The literature review has identified that the need for understanding cultural differences in product design and user evaluations is highlighted by analyzing cross-cultural influences; culture plays a significant role in distributed work, particularly in establishing team cohesion, trust, and credibility early in the project. By applying approaches of Geert Hofstede's dimensions and Fukuyama's trust analysis, a case study of a global design project, i.e., multicultural distributed teamwork solving the problem in terms of reducing the risk of deep vein thrombosis, showcases cultural dynamics, emphasizing trust-building and decision-making. The lessons learned emphasized the importance of cultural awareness, adaptability, and the utilization of scientific theories to enable effective cross-cultural collaborations in global design, providing valuable insights into navigating cultural diversity within design practices.

Keywords: culture, distributed design, global design, Geert Hofstede's dimensions, Fukuyama's trust analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Ruijuan Bi

Abstract:

Discrimination in insurance pricing is a topic of increasing concern, particularly in the context of the rapid development of big data and artificial intelligence. There is a need to explore the various forms of discrimination, such as direct and indirect discrimination, proxy discrimination, algorithmic discrimination, and unfair discrimination, and understand their implications in insurance pricing models. This paper aims to analyze and interpret the definitions of discrimination in insurance pricing and explore measures to reduce discrimination. It utilizes a textual analysis methodology, which involves gathering qualitative data from relevant literature on definitions of discrimination. The research methodology focuses on exploring the various forms of discrimination and their implications in insurance pricing models. Through textual analysis, this paper identifies the specific characteristics and implications of each form of discrimination in the general insurance industry. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of discrimination in insurance pricing. By analyzing and interpreting relevant literature, this paper provides insights into the definitions of discrimination and the laws and regulations surrounding it. This theoretical foundation can inform future empirical research on discrimination in insurance pricing using relevant theories of probability theory.

Keywords: algorithmic discrimination, direct and indirect discrimination, proxy discrimination, unfair discrimination, insurance pricing

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Tracey Jean Boisseau

Abstract:

Recently, the rise of concerted right-wing and authoritarian movements has put feminists as well as women, queer, trans, and non-binary folk, immigrants, refugees, the global poor, and people of color in their crosshairs. The U.S. is seeing unprecedented attacks on liberal democratic institutions, escalating “culture wars,” and increased anti-intellectual vitriol specifically targeting feminist and anti-racist educators and scholars. Such vitriol has fueled new legislation curtailing or outright banning of “gender studies” for its ideological commitment to theorizing gender identity as a cultural construct and an inherently political project rather than a “natural” binary that can not be contested or interrogated. At the same time, across the globe—in Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, France, Haiti, Hungary, Kenya, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere—emergent anti-feminist, nativist, and white-supremacist political parties, as well as established autocratic and authoritarian regimes, have instituted blatantly misogynistic, anti-queer, and anti-trans legislation, often accompanied by governmental and extra-governmental policies explicitly intended to marginalize, erase, suppress, or extinguish gender studies as a legitimate academic discipline, topic of research, and teaching field. This paper considers the origins and effects of such legislation -as well as the strategies exhibited by practitioners of gender studies to counter these effects and resist erasure- from a cross-cultural perspective. The research underpinning this paper’s conclusions includes a survey of nearly 2000 gender studies programs in the U.S. and interviews with dozens of gender studies scholars and administrative leaders of gender-studies programs located worldwide. The goal of this paper is to illuminate distinctions, continuities, and global connections between anti-gender studies legislation that emanates from within national borders but arises from rightwing movements that supercede those borders, and that, ultimately, require globalist responses.

Keywords: anti-feminist, anti-LGBTQ, legislation, criminalization, authoritarianism, globalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Jordan Putra Cahyono, Tiara Ayu Kusumaningtyas, Mohtar Rasyid

Abstract:

This article aims to map the potential and strategy of digital economy develop-ment in Indonesia by using literature study and secondary data analysis. In the Indonesian context, the digital economy is attracting attention, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought substantial changes in economic activi-ties. This research aims to provide new insights into the potential and develop-ment strategies of the digital economy in Indonesia. This article also evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of digital economic development strategies imple-mented in Indonesia. A literature review concluded that Indonesia has great po-tential to develop the digital economy with favorable conditions, including a large population, improved ICT infrastructure, and relatively liberalized regulations. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, this research covers the subject of the potential and strategies for developing a digital economy in Indonesia. This article presents the research results, which are then discussed in the context of the potential and strategy of digital economy development in Indonesia. This article is expected to contribute to understanding Indonesia's digital economy and stimulate further discussion to formulate a robust development strategy and appropriate regulatory framework.

Keywords: indonesia's digital economy, ICT infrastructure, development strategy, potential

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Thitima Chaiyakul

Abstract:

The number of previous literature regarding to the effect of asset growth and equity returns is small. Furthermore, those literature are mainly focus in the developed markets. According to my knowledge, there is no published paper examining the effect of asset growth and equity returns in the Stock Exchange of Thailand in different industry groups. The main objective in this research is the testing the effect of asset growth to equity returns in different industry groups. This study employs the data of the listed companies in the Stock Exchange of Thailand during January 1996 and December 2014. The data of financial industry are exclude from this study due to the different meaning of accounting terms. The results show the supported evidence that the asset growth positively affects the equity returns at a statistically significance level of at least 5% in Agro& Food Industry, Industrials, and Services Industry Groups. These results are inconsistent with the previous research testing in developed markets. Nevertheless, the statistically significances of the effect of asset growth to equity returns appear in some cases. In summary, the asset growth is a non-systematic risk and it is a mispricing factor.

Keywords: asset growth, asset pricing, equity returns, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 352

Authors: Mahesh Balan U, Rohith Srinivaas Mohanakrishnan, Venkat Subramanian

Abstract:

Positive and unlabeled learning (PU) has gained more attention in both academic and industry research literature recently because of its relevance to existing business problems today. Yet, there still seems to be some existing challenges in terms of validating the performance of PU learning, as the actual truth of unlabeled data points is still unknown in contrast to a binary classification where we know the truth. In this study, we propose a novel PU learning technique based on the Pseudo-F measure, where we address this research gap. In this approach, we train the PU model to discriminate the probability distribution of the positive and unlabeled in the validation and spy data. The predicted probabilities of the PU model have a two-fold validation – (a) the predicted probabilities of reliable positives and predicted positives should be from the same distribution; (b) the predicted probabilities of predicted positives and predicted unlabeled should be from a different distribution. We experimented with this approach on a credit marketing case study in one of the world’s biggest fintech platforms and found evidence for benchmarking performance and backtested using historical data. This study contributes to the existing literature on semi-supervised learning.

Keywords: PU learning, semi-supervised learning, pseudo f measure, classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Isabel Jones

Abstract:

As adolescence is a formative time, experiences during adolescence often affect the rest of one’s life. Therefore, dating, specifically violence in dating, can have lasting effects on the rest of one’s life. In order to find sources, searches were conducted on PsycINFO, specifically EBSCO, and narrowed down under the criteria that the source contained information about adolescent dating violence rather than adult, and focused on causes, effects, or prevention methods. This literature review examines research regarding the effects and causes of TDV, and then what methods are effective in the prevention of TDV development. This will allow for a clear image of how these prevention methods are effective and why they are important. Effects of TDV extend beyond the physical, including psychological and sexual long-lasting effects. These are caused by a number of concepts, including learned behavior, inhibitory issues/substance abuse, and cultural factors. When both of these are taken into account, preventative measures such as school-based interventions, parental/adult monitoring, and the presence of positive family examples are more clear as to their effectiveness. This literature review may provide further awareness to this public health crisis and give the public a view of how adolescents are affected by TDV on their path from child to adult.

Keywords: adolescence, dating violence, risk factors, predictors, relationship

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Cimen Ozburak

Abstract:

Pollution and the consumption of natural resources are significant global concerns. These problems have to be resolved in order to create a cleaner environment for the world. It is believed that sustainable building designs may reduce environmental problems throughout the world. It is known that if children receive environmental education in early childhood, they will be more likely to construct sustainable living systems and environment when they are older. School buildings can be used as educational material for teaching the natural and artificial environment in environmental education. In this study, the effect of school buildings on environmental education is examined by using the literature review method along with various examples. The selected examples in the study were analyzed according to 4 main criteria of LEED green building certification systems. These are the use of sustainable utilization of land, efficient utilization of water, efficient utilization of energy and efficient utilization of materials. According to the literature review, children who are educated in buildings designed according to these criteria, they will be environmentally sensitive individuals when they are older.

Keywords: clean future, educational sustainable pre-schools, environmental education, sustainable systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Hadi O. Tohme

Abstract:

This study is a review on the effectiveness of new physiotherapy techniques with external sensory stimulus compared to standard physiotherapy in the daily activities of patients with Parkinson's disease. Twenty studies from 1996 to 2015 were analyzed and discussed in this review, using the rehabilitation strategy with external sensory stimulus evaluating walking, freezing episodes, balance, transfers, and daily activities of parkinsonian patients. The study highlights the effectiveness of the variety of rehabilitation with cueing strategy used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Based on the literature review completed, there is a need for more specific trials with better treatment strategies to support the most appropriate choice of physiotherapy intervention using external sensory stimulus to the type and frequency of this stimulus. In addition, no trials examined the long-term benefits of the physiotherapy intervention with the external sensory stimulus. In order to determine if, or how long the improvements due to the external sensory stimulus physiotherapy intervention can last, long-term follow-up should be performed.

Keywords: cueing strategy, external sensory stimulus, parkinson disease, rehabilitation for parkinson, sensory attention focused exercises, sensory strategy reeducation

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: Ali Abdullah Albezaghi

Abstract:

This article aims to introduce a conceptual framework that can facilitate investigations concerning the role of risk management practices in the relationship between construction risks and the construction project's performance. This article is structured based on the extant literature; it reviews theoretical perspectives, highlights the gaps, and illustrates the significance of developing a framework of suggested relationships. Despite growing interest in the role of risks in construction project performance, previous studies have paid little attention to investigating the moderating role of risk management practices on the risk-performance link. This has left researchers and construction project managers with minimal information to explain the conditions under which risk management practices can reduce the impact of project-related risks and improve performance. In this context, this article suggests a viable research model with propositions that assess risk-performance relationships and discusses the potential moderating effects on the domain relationship. This paper adds to the risk management literature by focusing on risk variables that directly impact performance. Further, it also considers the moderating role of risk management practices in such relationships.

Keywords: risk management practices, external risks, internal risks, project risks, project performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Nicole Marella G. Tan, Al Joseph R. Molina, Raisa Celine R. Rosete, Soraya Elisse E. Escandor, Blythe N. Ke, Veronica Marie E. Ramos, Apolinario Ericson B. Berberabe, Jose Jonas D. del Rosario, Regina Pascua-Berba, Eileen Liesl A. Cubillan, Winlove P. Mojica

Abstract:

Emergency risk and health communications play a vital role in any pandemic response. However, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) lacked a system of information delivery that could effectively fulfill the hospital’s communication needs as a COVID-19 referral hospital. This study aimed to describe the establishment of a communication framework for information dissemination within a tertiary government hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluated the perceived usefulness of its outputs. This is a mixed quantitative-qualitative study with two phases. Phase 1 documented the formation and responsibilities of the Information Education Communication (IEC) Committee. Phase 2 evaluated its output and outcomes through a hospital-wide survey of 528 healthcare workers (HCWs) using a pre-tested questionnaire. In-depth explanations were obtained from five focused group discussions (FGD) amongst various HCW subgroups. Descriptive analysis was done using STATA 16 while qualitative data were synthesized thematically. Communication practices in PGH were loosely structured at the beginning of the pandemic until the establishment of the IEC Committee. The IEC Committee was well-represented by concerned stakeholders. Nine types of infographics tackled different aspects of the hospital’s health operations after thorough inputs from concerned offices. Internal and external feedback mechanisms ensured accurate infographics. Majority of the survey respondents (98.67%) perceived these as useful in their work or daily lives. FGD participants cited the relevance of infographics to their occupations, suggested improvements, and hoped that these efforts would be continued in the future. Sustainability and comprehensive reach were the main concerns in this undertaking. The PGH COVID-19 IEC framework was developed through trial and testing as there were no existing formal structures to communicate health risks and to properly direct the HCWs in the chaotic time of a pandemic. It is a continuously evolving framework which is perceived as useful by HCWs and is hoped to be sustained in the future.

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, health communication, infographics, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Murray Anderson, Galina Freed, Karli Jahn

Abstract:

Trauma is increasingly recognized as an important construct that has health implications for those who struggle with various mental health issues. For those individuals who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of hoarding disorder (HD), many have experienced some form of trauma. Further, some of the therapeutic interventions for those with HD can further perpetuate or magnify the experience of trauma. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to identify and document the nature and extent of research evidence related to trauma as it connects with HD. This review was guided by the questions, ‘How can our understanding of the trauma cycle help us to better appreciate the experiences of individuals who hoard, and how will a trauma informed lens inform the interventions for hoarding disorder? A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify original studies that contained the words “hoarding” and “trauma.” PsychINFO”,''EBSCO host,” “CINAHL” and “PubMed” were searched between January 2005 and April 2021. Articles were screened by three reviewers. Data extracted included publication date, demographics, study design, type of analysis, and noted connections between hoarding and trauma. Of the 329 articles, all duplicates, articles on hoardings of animals, articles not in English, and those without full-text availability were removed. Five categories were found in the remaining 45 articles, including (a) traumatic and stressful life events; (b) the link between posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and hoarding; (c) the relationships between different comorbidities, trauma, and hoarding; (d) the lack of early emotional expression and other forms of parental deprivation; and (e) the role of attachment. Lastly, the literature explains how the links between hoarding and trauma are difficult to study due to the highly stigmatized identities with this population. The review provided strong support for the connections between the experience of trauma and HD. What is missing from the literature is the use of a trauma-informed lens to better account for the ways in which hoarding disorder is understood. Other missing pieces in the literature are the potential uses of a trauma-informed lens to enhance the therapeutic process, to understand and reduce treatment attrition, and to improve treatment outcomes. The application of a trauma informed lens could improve our understanding of effective interactions among clients, families, and communities and improve the education around hoarding-related matters. Exploring the connections between trauma and HD can improve therapeutic delivery and destigmatize the experience of dealing with clutter and hoarding concerns. This awareness can also provide health care professionals with both the language and skills to liberate them from a reductionist view on HD.

Keywords: hoarding, attachment, parental deprivation, trauma

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Okay Gunes

Abstract:

Unsatisfactory experiences due to an information shortage regarding the future pay-offs of actual choices, yield satisficing decision-making. This research will examine, for the first time in the literature, the motivation behind suboptimal decisions due to uncertainty by subjecting Adam Smith’s and Jeremy Bentham’s assumptions about the nature of the actions that lead to satisficing behavior, in order to clarify the theoretical background of a “consumption-based satisfactory time” concept. The contribution of this paper with respect to the existing literature is threefold: Firstly, it is showed in this paper that Adam Smith’s uncertainty is related to the problem of the constancy of ideas and not related directly to beliefs. Secondly, possessions, as in Jeremy Bentham’s oeuvre, are assumed to be just as pleasing, as protecting and improving the actual or expected quality of life, so long as they reduce any displeasure due to the undesired outcomes of uncertainty. Finally, each consumption decision incurs its own satisfactory time period, owed to not feeling hungry, being healthy, not having transportation…etc. This reveals that the level of satisfaction is indeed a behavioral phenomenon where its value would depend on the simultaneous satisfaction derived from all activities.

Keywords: decision-making, idea and belief, satisficing, uncertainty

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Y. Kong, I. Masud, M. H. Nyaso

Abstract:

This paper seeks to examine consumers’ intention to adopt and use mobile payment method in Ghana. A conceptual framework was adopted from the extant literature using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) as the theoretical bases. Data for the study was obtained from a sample of 425 respondents through online and direct surveys using structured questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyse the data through SPSS v.22 and SmartPLS v.3. Findings with regards to the determinants of mobile payment system adoption indicate that subjective norm, perceived ease of use, attitude, and perceived usefulness play active roles in consumers’ decision to adopt mobile payment system in Ghana. Also, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a significant and positive influence on consumers’ attitude towards mobile payment adoption in Ghana. Further, subjective norm was found to influence perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of mobile payment adoption in Ghana. The study contributes to literature on mobile payment system from developing country context. The study proffered some recommendations.

Keywords: consumer behaviour, mobile payment, subjective norm, theory of planned behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Abida Zanib

Abstract:

Social entrepreneurship is an attention-grabbing area to meet social needs. Stakeholders in the social sector of Pakistan, particularly investors, development activists and policy makers are considering it as an engine to economic growth and powerful tool to address social issues in inventive ways. However, absence of specific policy and legitimacy issues create hurdles in the way of success for emerging start-ups. The review of the literature reveals that research in this emerging phenomenon particularly in the case of Pakistan is inadequate. To fill this gap in the literature, this study aims to scrutinize characteristics of nascent social enterprises. The study collects data from 65-emerging social enterprises using questionnaire. The results of factor analysis highlight optimistic and driving qualities of Pakistani social entrepreneurs, which help them to survive and grow in the business world. Moreover, the study identifies several areas for improvements such as information disclosure, networking, corporate governance, mentorship programs, and trainings. The study notes that despite the absence of specific policy, dynamic entrepreneurial culture is fostering in Pakistan and recommends re-framing the education policy to support the development of social entrepreneurship.

Keywords: emerging, entrepreneurs, Pakistan, social, start-ups

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Nudrat Kamal

Abstract:

Scholarship exploring the development of the literary tradition of feminist utopias, especially in the sociopolitical context of Europe and North America, has been important and meaningful, but it is, in large part, still restricted to Euro-American texts. This paper will explore Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s feminist utopia Herland (1915) with another feminist utopia written just a decade before, but in a widely different sociopolitical context: Bengali feminist writer Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s English short story Sultana’s Dream (1905). The paper will argue that both texts, despite being written in such different cultural and historical contexts, utilize and subvert the public versus private/domestic sphere dichotomy and the restricted gender roles associated with each sphere in order to conceive of specific formulations of feminist modernities that reflect the sociopolitical contexts and feminist movements both writers were writing within. By bringing Gilman’s Herland into conversation with Hossain’s Sultana’s Dream, the paper hopes to illuminate the new meanings that might emerge if the scholarship on Western feminist utopias was to open itself up to the feminist utopias written elsewhere.

Keywords: comparative literature, feminist utopias, modernity, South Asian literature, utopias

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Magdalena Kostova-Panayotova, Neda-Maria Panayotova

Abstract:

The article is focused on a problem that tends to be extremely characteristic and essential to European literature – the relations between the Balkan Peninsula and Europe and the stereotypes the Balkans evoke – a melting pot, a powder keg, a bridge, a crossroads, along with other negative definitions. The stereotypes and visions are examined as the layered images of a particular nation. The work deals with the Balkan writers’ way of confronting stereotypes by reversing the image of the ‘dark’ Balkans and the ‘bright’ Europe and thus establishing the Balkans as a place of beauty, music, and poetry. In many aspects, the European image of the Balkans (the so-called Balkanism) is comparable to the European attitude to the Orient (the so-called Orientalism). On the basis of the analysis of specific texts by Balkan authors, the article proves that the identity of the person of the late 20th and early 21st century is something individual and much more complicated than a patriotic self-definition because the identity of the contemporary person is multilayered. It is not flattering to be a bridge, a crossroads or a corner. However, a person is a creature of transition. Our idea demonstrates that the state of transition always brings both weakness and strength – it is the Balkans that connect Europe to the world.

Keywords: image, Slavs, Balkans, identity of the modern Balkan person

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Seraphina Bakta

Abstract:

On many occasions, the link between human rights and culture in Africa is tainted with speculations that African traditions and culture impede human rights. Seemingly also, literature from Africa highly supports the approach of cultural relativism instead of the universalism approach to human rights. This approach has been regarded by many as an unwillingness to accept human rights as universal. While it has to be appreciated that in different communities, there are positive and negative elements of culture, including in Africa, the positive aspect is hardly seen in African culture. This paper, employed documentary review and interviews to collect data. Various documents were reviewed including international and domestic legal materials and literature. Data from documentary review were verified through interviews in Morogoro and Shinyanga regions in Tanzania. Qualitative approach was used to analyse such data where a thematic content analysis was used. The study found that there are positive aspects of African tradition and culture including those promoting child work (as opposed to child labour); some aspects on child protection which should be embraced. However, still some aspects such as child marriage and inconsistent with child rights. It is pivotal that therefore that measures are be adopted to address them.

Keywords: child rights, customs, tradition, Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 32

Authors: Lilian Kishimbo

Abstract:

This study aims to examine Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of local large firms of East Africa region. In this study CSR is defined as all actions that go beyond obeying minimum legal requirements as espoused by other authors. Despite the increase of CSR literature empirical evidence clearly demonstrate an imbalance of CSR studies in the developing countries . Moreover, it is evident that most of the research on CSR in developing economies emerges from large fast-growing economies or BRICS members (i.e. Brazil, India, China and South Africa), and Indonesia and Malaysia and a further call for more research in Africa is particularly advocated. Taking Africa as an example, there are scanty researches on CSR practices, and the few available studies are mainly from Nigeria and South Africa leaving other parts of Africa for example East Africa underrepresented. Furthermore, in the face of globalization, experience shows that literature has focused mostly on multinational companies (MNCs) operating in either North-North or North-South and less on South-South indigenous local firms. Thus the existing literature in Africa shows more studies of MNCs and little is known about CSR of local indigenous firms operating in the South particularly in the East Africa region. Accordingly, this paper explores CSR practices of indigenous local large firms of East Africa region particularly Kenya and Tanzania with the aim of testing the hypothesis that do local firms of East Africa region engage in similar CSR practices as firms in other parts of the world?. To answer this question only listed local large firms were considered based on the assumption that they are large enough to engage. Newspapers were the main source of data and information collected was supplemented by business Annual Reports for the period 2010-2012. The research finding revealed that local firms of East Africa engage in CSR practices. However, there are some differences in the set of activities these firms prefers to engage in compared to findings from previous studies. As such some CSR that were given priority by firms in East Africa were less prioritized in the other part of the world including Indonesia. This paper will add knowledge to the body of CSR and experience of CSR practices of South-South indigenous firms where is evidenced to have a relative dearth of literature on CSR. Finally, the paper concludes that local firms of East Africa region engage in similar activities like other firms globally. But firms give more priority to some activities such education and health related activities. Finally, the study intends to assist policy makers at firm’s levels to plan for long lasting projects related to CSR for their stakeholders.

Keywords: Africa, corporate social responsibility, developing countries, indigenous firms, Kenya, Tanzania

Procedia PDF Downloads 418

Authors: Suzanne L. Stewart, Sarah J. Ponton, Mikaela D. Gabriel, Roy Strebel, Xinyi Lu

Abstract:

Indigenous Peoples have faced unique barriers to accessing and receiving culturally safe and appropriate mental health care while also facing daunting rates of mental health diagnoses and comorbidities. Indigenous researchers and clinicians have well established the connection of the current mental health issues in Indigenous communities as a direct result of colonization by way of intergenerational trauma throughout Canada’s colonial history. Such mental health barriers and challenges have become exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, access to mental health, cultural, ceremonial, and community services were severely impacted and restricted; however, it is these same cultural activities and community resources that are key to supporting Indigenous mental health from a traditional and community-based perspective. This research employed a unique combination of a thorough, analytical scoping review of the existent mental health literature of Indigenous mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside narrative interviews employing an oral storytelling tradition methodology with key community informants that provide comprehensive cultural services to the Indigenous community of Toronto, as well as across Canada. These key informant interviews provided a wealth of insights into virtual transitions of Indigenous care and mental health support; intersections of historical underfunding and current financial navigation in technology infrastructure; accessibility and connection with Indigenous youth in remote locations; as well as maintaining community involvement and traditional practices in a current pandemic. Both the scoping review and narrative interviews were meticulously analyzed for overarching narrative themes to best explore the extent of the literature on Indigenous mental health and services during COVID-19; identify gaps in this literature; identify barriers and supports for the Indigenous community, and explore the intersection of community and cultural impacts to mental health. Themes of the scoping review included: Historical Context; Challenges in Culturally-Based Services; and Strengths in Culturally-Based Services. Meta themes across narrative interviews included: Virtual Transitions; Financial Support for Indigenous Services; Health Service Delivery & Wellbeing; and Culture & Community Connection. The results of this scoping review and narrative interviews provide wide application and contribution to the mental health literature, as well as recommendations for policy, service provision, autonomy in Indigenous health and wellbeing, and crucial insights into the present and enduring mental health needs of Indigenous Peoples throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: indigenous community services, indigenous mental health, indigenous scoping review, indigenous peoples and Covid-19

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Ibrahim Elshaer, Samar Kamel

Abstract:

Organizational politics (OP) has received a great deal of attention in the management literature due to its popularity, mystery, and potential advantages for those how can use it. It involves the use of power and social networks within an organization to promote interests and gain potential benefits. Its implication for human resource (HR) management decisions is heretofore one of its least studied aspects, and awaits further investigation. Therefore, it is our intention to investigate certain relations between organizational politics and the validity of HR decisions in addition to the expected dysfunctional consequences. The study is undertaken on two HR management practices- Performance appraisal (measured by the distributive justice scale) and downsizing- depending on data gathered from the hotel industry in Egypt; a developing Non-Western country, in which Political practices of HR management are common in public and private organizations. Data was obtained from a survey of 600 employees in the Egyptian hotel industry. A total of 500 responses were attained. 100 uncompleted questionnaires were excluded leaving 400 usable with response rate of around 80%. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the causal relationship between the research variables. The analysis of the current study data reveals that organizational politics is negatively linked to the perception of distributive justice of performance appraisal, additionally, the perception of distributive justice in performance appraisal is positively linked to the perception of validity in the downsizing decisions and finally the perception of OP is negatively linked to the perception of downsizing decisions validity. This study makes three important contributions. First although there have been several studies on OP, the majority of these studies have focused on examining its effect on employees’ attitudes in workplace. This empirical study helps in identifying the influence of OP on the effectiveness and success of HR decisions and accordingly the organizational system. Second, it draws attention to OP as an important phenomenon that influence HR management in hospitality industry, since empirical evidences concerning OP in the hospitality management literature are meager. Third, this study contributes to the existing downsizing literature by examining OP and low distributive justice as challenges of the effectiveness of the downsizing process. Finally, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no empirical study in the tourism and hospitality management literature has examined the effect of OP and distributive justice on the workplace using data gathered from the hotel industry in Egypt; a developing non-Western setting.

Keywords: organizational politics, performance appraisal, downsizing, structural equation modeling, hotel industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 409

Authors: Mauro Masili, Liliane Ventura

Abstract:

It is still controversial in the literature the ultraviolet (UV) radiation effects on the ocular media, but the World Health Organization has established safe limits on the exposure of eyes to UV radiation based on reports in literature. Sunglasses play an important role in providing safety, and their lenses should provide adequate UV filters. Regarding UV protection for ocular media, the resistance-to-irradiance test for sunglasses under many national standards requires irradiating lenses for 50 uninterrupted hours with a 450 W solar simulator. This artificial aging test may provide a corresponding evaluation of exposure to the sun. Calculating the direct and diffuse solar irradiance at a vertical surface and the corresponding radiant exposure for the entire year, we compare the latter with the 50-hour radiant exposure of a 450 W xenon arc lamp from a solar simulator required by national standards. Our calculations indicate that this stress test is ineffective in its present form. We provide evidence of the need to re-evaluate the parameters of the tests to establish appropriate safe limits against UV radiation. This work is potentially significant for scientists and legislators in the field of sunglasses standards to improve the requirements of sunglasses quality and safety.

Keywords: ISO 12312-1, solar simulator, sunglasses standards, UV protection

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Frista Dearetha Marasabessy, Usep Suhud, Mohammad Rizan

Abstract:

The study objective was to compare influencing factors on customer retention of two brands – SimPATI and IM3 – of telecommunication services owned by Telkomsel and Indosat, two giant mobile telecommunication providers in Indonesia. The authors applied predictor variables including perceived tariff, perceived quality, switching barriers, and customer satisfaction. These variables were used after reviewing literature in quantitative studies on consumer behaviour relating to telecommunication services. This study used indicators adopted and adapted from literature. The quantitative data were gathered in Jakarta, involving 205 subscribers of SimPATI and 202 subscribers of IM3. The authors selected respondents purposively. Data were analysed using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Two fitted models were developed confirming factors that were involved in customer retention as stated on the proposed model: perceived tariff, perceived quality, switching barriers, and customer satisfaction. However, parts of the hypotheses were rejected.

Keywords: customer retention, switching barriers, telecommunication providers, structural equation model, SimPATI, IM3, Indonesia

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Nike Jacobs, Elizelle Juanee Cilliers

Abstract:

In recent decades there has been an increasing strive towards broader sustainable planning practices. A wide range of literature suggests that nature-based solutions (including Green Infrastructure planning) may lead towards socio-economically and environmentally sustainable urban communities. Such research is however mainly based on practices from the Global North with very little reference to the Global South. This study argues that there is a need for Global North knowledge to be translated to Global South context, and interpreted within this unique environment, acknowledging historical and cultural differences between Global North and Global South, and ultimately providing unique solutions for the unique urban reality. This research primarily focuses on nature-based solutions for sustainable urban communities and considers a broad literature review on Global North knowledge regarding such, substantiated by an analysis of purposefully selected case studies. The investigation identifies best practices which could be translated and place such in the context of current Global South perspectives.

Keywords: global south, green infrastructure planning, nature-based solutions, sustainable urbanism, urban sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Georg Brunnthaller, Sandra Stein, Wilfried Sihn

Abstract:

Transportation service providers are facing increasing volatility concerning future transport demand. Short-term planning horizons and planning uncertainties lead to reduced capacity utilization and increasing empty mileage. To overcome these challenges, a model is proposed to continuously pre-plan future transportation capacity in order to redesign and adjust the intermodal fleet accordingly. It is expected that the model will enable logistics service providers to organize more economically and ecologically sustainable transport chains in a more flexible way. To further describe these planning aspects, this paper gives an overview on transportation planning problems in a structured way. The focus is on strategic and tactical planning levels, comprising relevant fleet-sizing, service-network-design and choice-of-carriers-problems. Models and their developed solution techniques are presented, and the literature review is concluded with an outlook to our future research directions.

Keywords: freight transportation planning, multimodal, fleet-sizing, service network design, choice of transportation mode, review

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Edemealem Desalegn Kingawa, Kafte Tasew Timkete, Mekashaw Girmaw Abebe, Terefe Feyisa, Abiyot Bitew Mihretie, Senait Teklemarkos Haile

Abstract:

Currently, hate speech is a growing challenge for society, individuals, policymakers, and researchers, as social media platforms make it easy to anonymously create and grow online friends and followers and provide an online forum for debate about specific issues of community life, culture, politics, and others. Despite this, research on identifying and detecting hate speech is not satisfactory performance, and this is why future research on this issue is constantly called for. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature in this field, with a focus on approaches like word embedding techniques, machine learning, deep learning technologies, hate speech terminology, and other state-of-the-art technologies with challenges. In this paper, we have made a systematic review of the last six years of literature from Research Gate and Google Scholar. Furthermore, limitations, along with algorithm selection and use challenges, data collection, and cleaning challenges, and future research directions, are discussed in detail.

Keywords: Amharic hate speech, deep learning approach, hate speech detection review, Afaan Oromo hate speech detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Maria Consuelo Doble

Abstract:

For decades, basic public education in the Philippines has been beleaguered by a governance scenario of multi-layered decision-making and the lack of collaboration between sectors in addressing issues on poor access to schools, high dropout rates, low survival rates, and poor student performance. These chronic problems persisted despite multiple efforts making it appear that the education system is incapable of reforming itself. In the mountainous rural towns of La Trinidad and Tuba, in the province of Benguet in Northern Philippines, collaborative education governance was catalyzed by the intervention of Synergeia Foundation, a coalition made up of individuals, institutions and organizations that aim to improve the quality of education in the Philippines. Its major thrust is to empower the major stakeholders at the community level to make education work by building the capacities of School Governing Councils (SGCs). Although mandated by the Department of Education in 2006, the SGCs in Philippine public elementary schools remained dysfunctional. After one year of capacity-building by Synergeia Foundation, some SGCs are already exhibiting active community-based multi-sectoral collaboration, while there are many that are not. With the myriad of factors hindering collaboration, Synergeia Foundation is now confronted with the pressing question: What are the factors that promote collaborative governance in the SGCs so that they can address the education-related issues that they are facing? Using Emerson’s (2011) framework on collaborative governance, this study analyzes the application of collaborative governance by highly-functioning SGCs in the public elementary schools of Tuba and La Trinidad. Findings of this action research indicate how the dynamics of collaboration composed of three interactive and iterative components – principled engagement, shared motivation and capacity for joint action – have resulted in meaningful short-term impact such as stakeholder engagement and decreased a number of dropouts. The change in the behavior of stakeholders is indicative of adaptation to a more collaborative approach in governing education in Benguet highland settings such as Tuba and La Trinidad.

Keywords: basic public education, Benguet highlands, collaborative governance, School Governing Council

Procedia PDF Downloads 290

Authors: Kayne Uriel K. Rodrigo, Jerriane Hillary Heart S. Marcial, Samuel C. Brillo

Abstract:

Rice leaf diseases significantly impact yield production in rice-dependent countries, affecting their agricultural sectors. As part of precision agriculture, early and accurate detection of these diseases is crucial for effective mitigation practices and minimizing crop losses. Hence, this study proposes an enhancement to the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), a widely-used method for Rice Leaf Disease Image Classification, by incorporating MobileViTV2—a recently advanced architecture that combines CNN and Vision Transformer models while maintaining fewer parameters, making it suitable for broader deployment on edge devices. Our methodology utilizes a publicly available rice disease image dataset from Kaggle, which was validated by a university structural biologist following the guidelines provided by the Philippine Rice Institute (PhilRice). Modifications to the dataset include renaming certain disease categories and augmenting the rice leaf image data through rotation, scaling, and flipping. The enhanced dataset was then used to train the MobileViTV2 model using the Timm library. The results of our approach are as follows: the model achieved notable performance, with 98% accuracy in both training and validation, 6% training and validation loss, and a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve ranging from 95% to 100% for each label. Additionally, the F1 score was 97%. These metrics demonstrate a significant improvement compared to a conventional CNN-based approach, which, in a previous 2022 study, achieved only 78% accuracy after using 5 convolutional layers and 2 dense layers. Thus, it can be concluded that MobileViTV2, with its fewer parameters, outperforms traditional CNN models, particularly when applied to Rice Leaf Disease Image Identification. For future work, we recommend extending this model to include datasets validated by international rice experts and broadening the scope to accommodate biotic factors such as rice pest classification, as well as abiotic stressors such as climate, soil quality, and geographic information, which could improve the accuracy of disease prediction.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, MobileViTV2, rice leaf disease, precision agriculture, image classification, vision transformer

Procedia PDF Downloads 25

Authors: Lori Timmis

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated significant organizational change in employee turnover, retirements, and burnout exacerbated by enrollment declines in higher education, especially community colleges. To counter this downturn, community college leaders must thoughtfully examine meaningful work opportunities to retain an engaged and productive workforce. Higher education led fully remote teams during the pandemic, which highlighted the benefits and weaknesses of building and leading remote teams. Hybrid remote teams offer possibility to reimagine community college structures, though leading remote teams requires specific e-leadership competencies. This paper examines the literature of studies on e-leadership conducted during the pandemic and from several higher education studies, pre-pandemic, against an e-leadership competency framework. The e-leadership studies conducted pre-pandemic and from the pandemic complement the e-leadership competency framework, comprising six e-leadership competencies performed via information technology communications, which provides community college (and higher education) leaders to consider hybrid remote team structures and the necessary leadership skills to lead hybrid remote teams.

Keywords: community college, e-leadership, great resignation, hybrid remote teams

Procedia PDF Downloads 100