Search results for: share pricing

Authors: M. Qamarul Islam, Ergun Dogan, Mehmet Yazici

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There is a growing body of evidence that non-normal data is more prevalent in nature than the normal one. Examples can be quoted from, but not restricted to, the areas of Economics, Finance and Actuarial Science. The non-normality considered here is expressed in terms of fat-tailedness and asymmetry of the relevant distribution. In this study a skew t distribution that can be used to model a data that exhibit inherent non-normal behavior is considered. This distribution has tails fatter than a normal distribution and it also exhibits skewness. Although maximum likelihood estimates can be obtained by solving iteratively the likelihood equations that are non-linear in form, this can be problematic in terms of convergence and in many other respects as well. Therefore, it is preferred to use the method of modified maximum likelihood in which the likelihood estimates are derived by expressing the intractable non-linear likelihood equations in terms of standardized ordered variates and replacing the intractable terms by their linear approximations obtained from the first two terms of a Taylor series expansion about the quantiles of the distribution. These estimates, called modified maximum likelihood estimates, are obtained in closed form. Hence, they are easy to compute and to manipulate analytically. In fact the modified maximum likelihood estimates are equivalent to maximum likelihood estimates, asymptotically. Even in small samples the modified maximum likelihood estimates are found to be approximately the same as maximum likelihood estimates that are obtained iteratively. It is shown in this study that the modified maximum likelihood estimates are not only unbiased but substantially more efficient than the commonly used moment estimates or the least square estimates that are known to be biased and inefficient in such cases. Furthermore, in conventional regression analysis, it is assumed that the error terms are distributed normally and, hence, the well-known least square method is considered to be a suitable and preferred method for making the relevant statistical inferences. However, a number of empirical researches have shown that non-normal errors are more prevalent. Even transforming and/or filtering techniques may not produce normally distributed residuals. Here, a study is done for multiple linear regression models with random error having non-normal pattern. Through an extensive simulation it is shown that the modified maximum likelihood estimates of regression parameters are plausibly robust to the distributional assumptions and to various data anomalies as compared to the widely used least square estimates. Relevant tests of hypothesis are developed and are explored for desirable properties in terms of their size and power. The tests based upon modified maximum likelihood estimates are found to be substantially more powerful than the tests based upon least square estimates. Several examples are provided from the areas of Economics and Finance where such distributions are interpretable in terms of efficient market hypothesis with respect to asset pricing, portfolio selection, risk measurement and capital allocation, etc.

Keywords: least square estimates, linear regression, maximum likelihood estimates, modified maximum likelihood method, non-normality, robustness

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Authors: Ebrahim Rahmani, Siyamak Moazeni

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According to the Iraq's first constitutional law (approved 2005), Iraq is an independent with sovereignty and its governmental structure is parliamentary democratic republic and federal. Even in reforms in 2009, this article of law did not changed at all. But considering the existence of this emphasis and clarity which is mentioned in the law, different and sometimes contradictory interpretations and positions are expressed about federalism in the way that we can say, considering the importance of the matter, federalism is a focus point to create and expansion of the cold war among leaders of different groups of the country. Iraq's today political and security position has granted the suitable opportunity to Iraq's Kurdistan in appearing of the recent security crisis to increase its share from the central political power or to achieve to its independent dream. The federalism the weakest point of Iraq's territorial integrity in a way that if different groups do not come to a consensus about it and do not think about a mechanism which is accepted by all of them, this can effect on and Iraq's political stability and security. Iraq's Kurdistan follows the option of disintegration and separation under the shadow of political and security changes, even with existence of some Iraqi groups' hopes regarding the improvement of situation after parliament election and also considering Masoud Barezani's power will for separation from Iraq as well as regarding special international changes and disintegration of Karime from Ukraine and ISIS crises; concerns have been created among regional and international powers and interior players. In this article, a paradox due constitutional law about federalism, Iraq's central government view and its politicians to the matter and the regional effect of this action on region's geopolitics are reviewed as well.

Keywords: constitutional law, federalism, decomposition, Iraq's Kurdistan

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Authors: Sukaina Al-Nasrawi, Maysoun Ibrahim

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Information and communication technologies (ICT) have affected recent public administration and governance. Electronic Government (e-government) services were developed to simplify government procedures and improve interaction with citizens on one hand and to create new governance models to empower citizens and involve them in the decision-making process while increasing transparency on another hand. It is worth noting that efficient governance models enable sustainable development at the social and economic levels. Currently, the status of e-government national strategies and implementation programs vary from one country to another. This variance in the development levels of e-government initiatives and applications noted the digital divide between countries of the same region, thereby highlighting the difficulty to reach regional integration. Many Arab countries realized the need for a well-articulated e-government strategy and launched national e-government initiatives. In selected Arab countries, the focus of e-government initiatives and programs shifted from the provision of services to advanced concepts such as open data initiatives. This paper aims at over viewing the e-government achievements of Arab countries and areas for enhancement, and share best practices in the area.of the best e-government programmes from the Arab region the world. It will also shed the light on the impact of the information society in general and e-government, in specific, on the social and economic development in the Arab region.

Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), services, e-government, development, Arab region, digital divide, citizens

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Authors: Zwalnan Selfa Johnson, Caleb Nanchen Nimyel, Gideon Duvuna Ayuba

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Air conditioning accounts for a significant share of the overall energy consumed in residential buildings. Solar thermal gains in buildings account for a significant component of the air conditioning load in buildings. This study compares the solar thermal gain and air conditioning load of a proposed building design with a typical conventional building in the climatic conditions of Jos, Nigeria, using a combined experimental and computational method using TRNSYS software. According to the findings of this study, the proposed design building's annual average solar thermal gains are lower compared to the reference building's average solar heat gains. The study case building's decreased solar heat gain is mostly attributable to the lower temperature of the building zones because of the greater building volume and lower fenestration ratio (ratio external opening area to the area of the external walls). This result shows that the proposed building design adjusts to the local climate better than the standard conventional construction in Jos to maintain a suitable temperature within the building. This finding means that the air-conditioning electrical energy consumption per volume of the proposed building design will be lower than that of a conventional building design.

Keywords: solar heat gain, building zone, cooling energy, air conditioning, zone temperature

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Authors: Sarvada Nand

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Teacher quality is directly proportional to the achievement level of students. Recent researches reveal that the teacher learning communities enhance the quality of teacher. It is a proven fact that community does help in enhancing teachers’ self-esteem as professionals, their teaching skills and enhancing classroom transaction that results in the higher achievement of students. The purpose of this study is to develop TLC and provide them platform where they share their views and ideas on various academic issues. The study examines how teachers conceptualize TLCs, up to what extent TLC help in developing professionalism among teachers and how they prepare themselves for the days to come. In this study, pre-test in five subjects, Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies was conducted and a questionnaire was designed to judge the teachers' attitude towards teaching practice. After completion of the project duration of three and a half-month, an exercise of post-test was conducted in all the above subjects. The post tests show tremendous improvements in achievement level of those students who were regular in their classes and were attended through this new method. A visible shift in teacher’s attitude is seen for the better. They were able to realize their own potentials. There was a group of Facilitators formed to perform continuously supervision and monitor in regular intervals so that they could easily handle the challenges, and factors much important for the attainment towards the fulfillment of the objectives.

Keywords: teacher learning communities, best practice, teacher professionalism, student achievement

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Authors: Uliana Morozovskaia

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Immigrants in any country undergo an acculturation process which, in other words, means adaptation to other cultures. It can be divided into four strategies: integration (when an immigrant support home and host culture and language), assimilation (supporting only host culture and language), separation (supporting only home culture and language), and marginalization (an immigrant has no interest in supporting none of the cultures or languages). Canada has experienced a rise in the number of Russian speakers who are immigrating to Canada in the last couple of years. Although there are some studies on Russian-speaking immigrants, a small percentage of them have been focusing on their immigration experience in Canada. This is why the present study aimed to analyze the acculturation experience that Russian-speaking immigrants have when they move to Canada. One hundred participants have been surveyed on SurveyMonkey. They have been asked to share their life experience and opinion about their adaptation process, self-identity in terms of language use and cultural feelings, language preferences, and others. The results showed that Russian-speaking immigrants can successfully adapt to Canadian culture and society, and many of them feel at home being in their host country. Interestingly, such feelings have appeared after they spent some years in Canada. The study also found out that after the immigration, participants were more likely to focus on Canada’s official languages (English and/or French). However, when they became comfortable with the lifestyle and the language, they switched their attention to Russian language maintenance and home culture preservation.

Keywords: acculturation, Russian-speaking immigrants, adaptation, Canada, immigration, mother tongue preservation

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Authors: Anastasia Sorokina

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Graduate language loss or attrition has been well documented in individuals who migrate and become emersed in a different language environment. This phenomenon of first language (L1) attrition is an example of non-pathological (not due to trauma) and can manifest itself in frequent pauses, search for words, or grammatical errors. While the widely experienced loss of one’s first language might seem harmless, there is convincing evidence from the disciplines of Developmental Psychology, Bilingual Studies, and even Psychotherapy that language plays a crucial role in the memory of self. In fact, we remember, store, and share personal memories with the help of language. Dual-Coding Theory suggests that language memory code deterioration could lead to forgetting. Yet, no one has investigated a possible connection between language loss and memory. The present study aims to address this research gap by examining a corpus of 1,495 memories of Russian-English bilinguals who are on a continuum of L1 (first language) attrition. Since phenomenological properties capture how well a memory is remembered, the following descriptors were selected - vividness, ease of recall, emotional valence, personal significance, and confidence in the event. A series of linear regression statistical analyses were run to examine the possible negative effects of L1 attrition on autobiographical memory. The results revealed that L1 attrition might compromise perceived vividness and confidence in the event, which is indicative of memory deterioration. These findings suggest the importance of heritage language maintenance in immigrant communities who might be forced to assimilate as language loss might negatively affect the memory of self.

Keywords: L1 attrition, autobiographical memory, language loss, memory phenomenology, dual coding

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Authors: Christopher Baiyegunhi, Oswald Gwavava

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The location/source of the Beattie magnetic anomaly (BMA) and interconnectivity of geologic structures at depth have been a topic of investigation for over 30 years. Up to now, no relationship between geological structures (interconnectivity of dolerite intrusions) at depth has been established. Therefore, the environmental impact of fracking the Karoo for shale gas could not be assessed despite the fact that dolerite dykes are groundwater localizers in the Karoo. In this paper, we shed more light to the unanswered questions concerning the possible location of the source of the BMA, the connectivity of geologic structures like dolerite dykes and sills at depth and this relationship needs to be established before the tectonic evolution of the Karoo basin can be fully understood and related to fracking of the Karoo for shale gas. The result of the magnetic investigation and modelling of four gravity profiles that crosses the BMA in the study area reveals that the anomaly, which is part of the Beattie magnetic anomaly tends to divide into two anomalies and continue to trend in an NE-SW direction, the dominant gravity signatures is of long wavelength that is due to a deep source/interface inland and shallows towards the coast, the average depth to the top of the shallow and deep magnetic sources was estimated to be approximately 0.6 km and 15 km, respectively. The BMA become stronger with depth which could be an indication that the source(s) is deep possibly a buried body in the basement. The bean-shaped anomaly also behaves in a similar manner like the BMA thus it could possibly share the same source(s) with the BMA.

Keywords: Beattie magnetic anomaly, magnetic sources, modelling, Karoo Basin

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Authors: Pavel Kotin, Sergey Dotofeev, Daniil Kozlov, Alexey Garshev

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We propose the investigation of CdSe quantum dots which were synthesized in the presence of silver halides. To understand a process of nanoparticle formation in more detail, we varied the silver halide amount in the synthesis and proposed a sampling during colloidal growth. The attempts were focused on the investigation of shape, structure and optical properties of nanoparticles. We used the colloidal method of synthesis. Cadmium oleate, tri-n-octylphosphine selenide (TOPSe) and AgHal in TOP were precursors of cadmium, selenium and silver halides correspondingly. The molar Ag/Cd ratio in synthesis was varied from 1/16 to 1/1. The sampling was basically realized in 20 sec, 5 min, and 30 min after the beginning of quantum dots nucleation. To investigate nanoparticles we used transmission electron microscopy (including high resolution one), X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy. It was established that silver halides lead to obtaining tetrapods with different leg length and large ellipsoidal nanoparticles possessing an intensive near IR photoluminescence. The change of the amount of silver halide in synthesis and the selection of an optimal growth time allows controlling the shape and the share of tetrapods or ellipsoidal nanoparticles in the product. Our main attempts were focused on a detailed investigation of the quantum dots structure and shape evolution and, finally, on mechanisms of such nanoparticle formation.

Keywords: colloidal quantum dots, shape evolution, silver doping, tetrapods

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Authors: Noha Desouky Aly, Maged Makram Habib

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Given the imperative role educational institutions have in the creation of a motivational learning community that develops and engages their students, the influence of evoking the same environment for their teachers needs to be examined. Teachers and their role lie at the core of the efficiency of the learning experience. One exigent aspect in the process of providing professional development to teachers is to involve them in this process, and the best manner would be through creating a learning community in which they are directly engaged and responsible for their own learning. An educational institution that thinks first of its teachers learning and growth would achieve its goals in providing an effective education for its students. The purpose of this research paper is to examine the effect of engaging teachers in a learning community in which they are responsible for their own learning through conducting and providing the material required for the training on their self efficacy, engagement, and perceived autonomy. The sample includes twenty instructors at the German University in Cairo teaching Academic skills at the Department of English and Scientific Methods. The courses taught at the department include Academic skills, writing argumentative essays, critical thinking, communication and presentation skills, and research paper writing. Procedures for the duration of eight weeks will entail pre-post measures to include The Teachers Self Efficacy Scale and an interview. During the weekly departmental meeting, teachers are to share resources and experiences or research and present a topic of their choice that contributes to their professional development. Results are yet to be found.

Keywords: learning community, self- efficacy, teachers, learning experience

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Authors: Nurul Nadhirah Anuar, Muhammad Fauzi Abdul Ghani

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Scheduled waste management is very important in environmental and health aspects. Despite it is very important, the research study on schedule waste management is very little in the highway industry even though there is a rapid growth of highway operation in the Asian region. It should be noted that there are many unnoticeable wastes in highway industry that should be managed properly. This paper aims to define the scheduled waste, to provide a conceptual framework of the scheduled waste management in highway industry, to highlight the effect of improper management of scheduled waste and to encourage future researchers to identify and share the present practice of scheduled management in their country. The understanding on effective management of scheduled waste will help the operators of highway industry, the academicians, future researchers, and encourage a friendly environment around the world. The study on scheduled waste management in highway industry is very crucial as compared to factories in which the factories are located on specified areas whereas, highway transverse and run along kilometers crossing the various type of environment, residential and schools. Using Environmental Quality (Scheduled Waste) Regulations, 2005 as a guide, this conceptual paper highlight several scheduled wastes produced by highway industry in Malaysia and provide a conceptual framework of scheduled waste management that focused on the highway industry. Understanding on schedule waste management is vital in order to preserve the environment. Besides that, the waste substances are hazardous to human being. Many diseases have been associated with the improper management of scheduled waste such as cancer, throat irritation and respiration problem.

Keywords: Asia region, environment, highway industry, scheduled waste

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Authors: Jun Gao

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This paper combines the corpus-based and contrastive approaches, seeking to provide a systematic account of cataphora in English and Chinese natural conversations. Based on spoken corpus data, the first part of the paper examines a range of characteristics of cataphora in the two languages, including frequency of occurrence, patterns, and syntactic features. On the basis of this exploration, cataphora in the two languages are contrasted in a structured way. The analysis shows that English and Chinese share a similar distribution of cataphora in natural conversations in terms of frequency of occurrence, with repeat identification cataphora higher than first mention cataphora and intra-sentential cataphora much higher than inter-sentential cataphora. In terms of patterns, three types are identified in English, i.e. P+N, Ø+N, and it+Clause, while in Chinese, two types are identified, i.e., P+N and Ø+N. English and Chinese are similar in terms of syntactic features, i.e., cataphor and postcedent in the intra-sentential cataphora mainly occur in the initial subject position of the same clause, with postcedent immediately followed or delayed, and cataphor and postcedent are mostly in adjacent sentences in inter-sentential cataphora. In the second part of the paper, the motivations of cataphora are investigated. It is found that cataphora is primarily motivated by the speaker and hearer’s different knowledge states with regard to the referent. Other factors are also involved, such as interference, word search, and the tension between the principles of Economy and Clarity.

Keywords: cataphora, contrastive study, motivation, pattern, syntactic features

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Authors: Sai Rajeev Reddy, Ishita Roy, M. Anji Reddy

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The paper describes the importance of preventive measures and immediate Emergency logistics during accidents and unfortunate Disasters for the Hyderabad Metro Rails in their various stages of construction. This is the need of the modern generation where accidents, explosions, attacks and sudden crisis are frequent casualties which take huge tolls of life in the present world. The paper utilizes the workflow and application of Geographical information System (GIS) to provide information about problems and crisis structures for efficient Metro Transportation in the city. The study analyzes the difficulties and problems which cause accidents during operation and maintenance stages of the Metro Rail. The paper focuses upon the intermediate and firsthand information of Crisis with the help of GIS technology to share Disaster data for effective measures by the Cyber Police stations, Emergency Responders, Hospitals and First Aid Centre to act immediately and save lives. The results and conclusions have nevertheless proved very informative and useful for the safety board authorities of the Hyderabad Metro Rail. The operation and Maintenance are integral stages in the development of any Multipurpose transportation Projects and are usually prone to various Disasters and tragedies. Hence, the GIS technologies help in distribution of information among the masses with the web Technologies and advanced software developed to prevent and manage crisis widely and in a cost-benefits manner.

Keywords: Geographical Information System, emergency assessment, accident zones, surveillance

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Authors: Jummalla Aashrith, N. L. Shiva Sai, K. Bhavya Sri

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The swift progress of web technology has not only amassed a vast reservoir of internet data but also triggered a substantial surge in data generation. The internet has metamorphosed into one of the dynamic hubs for online education, idea dissemination, as well as opinion-sharing. Notably, the widely utilized social networking platform Twitter is experiencing considerable expansion, providing users with the ability to share viewpoints, participate in discussions spanning diverse communities, and broadcast messages on a global scale. The upswing in online engagement has sparked a significant curiosity in subjective analysis, particularly when it comes to Twitter data. This research is committed to delving into sentiment analysis, focusing specifically on the realm of Twitter. It aims to offer valuable insights into deciphering information within tweets, where opinions manifest in a highly unstructured and diverse manner, spanning a spectrum from positivity to negativity, occasionally punctuated by neutrality expressions. Within this document, we offer a comprehensive exploration and comparative assessment of modern approaches to opinion mining. Employing a range of machine learning algorithms such as Naive Bayes and Logistic Regression, our investigation plunges into the domain of Twitter data streams. We delve into overarching challenges and applications inherent in the realm of subjectivity analysis over Twitter.

Keywords: machine learning, sentiment analysis, visualisation, python

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Authors: Zheng DianXun, Cheng Bo, Lin Hetong

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This paper focuses on the orbit avoidance strategies of optical remote sensing satellite. The optical remote sensing satellite, moving along the Sun-synchronous orbit, is equipped with laser warning equipment to alert CCD camera from laser attacks. There are three ways to protect the CCD camera: closing the camera cover, satellite attitude maneuver and satellite orbit avoidance. In order to enhance the safety of optical remote sensing satellite in orbit, this paper explores the strategy of satellite avoidance. The avoidance strategy is expressed as the evasion of pre-determined target points in the orbital coordinates of virtual satellite. The so-called virtual satellite is a passive vehicle which superposes the satellite at the initial stage of avoidance. The target points share the consistent cycle time and the same semi-major axis with the virtual satellite, which ensures the properties of the satellite’s Sun-synchronous orbit remain unchanged. Moreover, to further strengthen the avoidance capability of satellite, it can perform multi-target-points avoid maneuvers. On occasions of fulfilling the satellite orbit tasks, the orbit can be restored back to virtual satellite through orbit maneuvers. Thereinto, the avoid maneuvers adopts pulse guidance. And the fuel consumption is also optimized. The avoidance strategy discussed in this article is applicable to optical remote sensing satellite when it is encountered with hostile attack of space-based laser anti-satellite.

Keywords: optical remote sensing satellite, satellite avoidance, virtual satellite, avoid target-point, avoid maneuver

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Authors: Tijjani Bashir Musa

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The recent global crisis which suddenly results to Nigerian stock market crash revealed some peculiarities of Nigerian firms. Some firms in Nigeria are performing but their stock prices are not increasing while some firms are at the brink of collapse but their stock prices are increasing. Thus, this study examines the relationship between firm performance and stock price in Nigeria. The study covered the period of 2005 to 2009. This period is the period of stock boom and also marked the period of stock market crash as a result of global financial meltdown. The study is a panel study. A total of 140 firms were sampled from 216 firms listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Data were collected from secondary source. These data were divided into four strata comprising the most performing stock, the least performing stock, most performing firms and the least performing firms. Each stratum contains 35 firms with characteristic of most performing stock, most performing firms, least performing stock and least performing firms. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyse the data while statistical/econometrics package of Stata 11.0 version was used to run the data. The study found that, relationship exists between selected firm performance parameters (operating efficiency, firm profit, earning per share and working capital) and stock price. As such firm performance gave sufficient information or has predictive power on stock prices movements in Nigeria for all the years under study.. The study recommends among others that Managers of firms in Nigeria should formulate policies and exert effort geared towards improving firm performance that will enhance stock prices movements.

Keywords: firm, Nigeria, performance, stock price

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Authors: Olatunbosun Samuel Adekogbe

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This paper addresses the question of musical signification, revolving around nature and its natural divides; the paper tends to examine the roles of the dispositional apparatus of listeners to react to sounding environments through music as coordinated sound that focuses on the powerful strain between vibrational occurrences of sound and potentials of being structured. This paper sets out to examine music as a simple conventional design that does not allude to something beyond music and sound as a vehicle to communicate through production, perception, translation, and reaction with regard to melodic and semiotic functions of sounds. This paper adopts the application of questionnaire and evolutionary approach methods to probe musical adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behavioural responses to musical sense-making beyond the above-sketched dichotomies, with a major focus on the transition from acoustic-emotional sensibilities to musical meaning in the selected soundscapes. It was observed that music has emancipated itself from the level of mere acoustic processing of sounds to a functional description in terms of allowing music users to share experiences and interact with the soundscaping environment. The paper, therefore, concludes that the audience as music participants and listeners in the selected soundscapes have been conceived as adaptive devices in the paradigm shift, which can build up new semiotic linkages with the sounding environments in southwestern Nigeria.

Keywords: semiotics, sound, music, soundscape, environment

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Authors: X. Laurent, M. A. Estevez, P. Mari-Beffa

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A focus of recent research is to understand the role of our own response goals in the selection of information that will be encoded in episodic memory. For example, if we respond to a target in the presence of distractors, an important aspect under study is whether the distractor and the target share a common response (compatible) or not (incompatible). Some studies have found that compatible objects tend to be groups together and stored in episodic memory, whereas others found that targets in the presence of incompatible distractors are remembered better. Our current research seems to support both views. We used a Tulving-based definition of episodic memory to differentiate memory from episodic and non-episodic traces. In this task, participants first had to classify a blue object as human or animal (target) which appeared in the presence of a green one (distractor) that could belong to the same category of the target (compatible), to the opposite (incompatible) or to an irrelevant one (neutral). Later they had to report the identity (What), location (Where) and time (When) of both target objects (which had been previously responded to) and distractors (which had been ignored). Episodic memory was inferred when the three scene properties (identity, location and time) were correct. The measure of non-episodic memory consisted of those trials in which the identity was correctly remembered, but not the location or time. Our results showed that episodic memory for compatible stimuli is significantly superior to incompatible ones. In sharp contrast, non-episodic measures found superior memory for targets in the presence of incompatible distractors. Our results demonstrate that response compatibility affects the encoding of episodic and non-episodic memory traces in different ways.

Keywords: episodic memory, action systems, compatible response, what-where-when task

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Authors: Hanieh Sadat Jannesari, Hoori Jannesar, Alireza Hajian HosseinAbadi

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In general, buildings are responsible for a considerable share of consumed energy and carbon emissions worldwide and play a significant role in formulating sustainable development strategies. Therefore, a lot of effort is put into the design and construction of zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) to help eliminate the problems associated with the reduction of energy resources and environmental degradation. Two strategies are significant in designing ZEBs: minimizing the need for energy utilization in buildings (particularly for cooling and heating) through highly energy-efficient designs and using renewable energies and other technologies to meet the remaining energy needs. This paper reviews the works related to these two strategies concerning sustainable energy-saving solutions using renewable energy technologies and the Internet of Things in ZEBs. Drawing on the theories and recently implemented projects of energy engineers in ZEBs, we have reported the required technologies within the framework of this paper’s objectives. Overall, solutions based on renewable and sustainable technologies such as photovoltaic (PV) modules, thermal collectors, Phase Change Material (PCM) techniques, etc., are used in active and passive systems designed for various applications in such buildings as cooling, heating, lighting, cooking, etc. The results obtained from examining these projects show that it is possible to minimize the amount of energy required to be produced for and consumed by these buildings.

Keywords: active and passive renewable energy systems, internet of things, storage, zero energy buildings

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Authors: Mati Ullah, Shams Ur Rahman

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The purpose of this research study is to investigate the effect of macroeconomic and bank-specific factors on credit risk in Islamic banking in Pakistan. The future of financial institutions largely depends on how well they manage risks. Credit risk is an important type of risk affecting the banking sector. The current study has taken quarterly data for the period of 6 years, from 1st July 2014 to 30 Jun 2020. The data set consisted of secondary data. Data was extracted from the websites of the State Bank and World Bank and from the financial statements of the concerned banks. In this study, the Ordinary least square model was used for the analysis of the data. The results supported the hypothesis that macroeconomic factors and bank-specific factors have a significant effect on credit risk. Macroeconomic variables, Inflation and exchange rates have positive significant effects on credit risk. However, gross domestic product has a negative significant relationship with credit risk. Moreover, the corporate rate has no significant relation with credit risk. Internal variables, size, management efficiency, net profit share income and capital adequacy have been proven to influence positively and significantly the credit risk. However, loan to deposit-has a negative insignificance relationship with credit risk. The contribution of this article is that similar conclusions have been made regarding the influence of banking factors on credit risk.

Keywords: credit risk, Islamic banks, macroeconomic variables, banks specific variable

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Authors: Idil Kanter Otcu

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Nowadays, due to the growing problems of energy supply and the drastic reduction of natural non-renewable resources, the development of new applications in the energy sector and steps towards greater efficiency in energy consumption are required. Since buildings account for a large share of energy consumption, increasing the structural density of buildings causes an increase in energy consumption. This increase in energy consumption means that energy efficiency approaches to building design and the integration of new systems using emerging technologies become necessary in order to curb this consumption. As new systems for productive usage of generated energy are developed, buildings that require less energy to operate, with rational use of resources, need to be developed. One solution for reducing the energy requirements of buildings is through landscape planning, design and application. Requirements such as heating, cooling and lighting can be met with lower energy consumption through planting design, which can help to achieve more efficient and rational use of resources. Within this context, rather than a planting design which considers only the ecological and aesthetic features of plants, these considerations should also extend to spatial organization whereby the relationship between the site and open spaces in the context of climatic elements and planting designs are taken into account. In this way, the planting design can serve an additional purpose. In this study, a landscape design which takes into consideration location, local climate morphology and solar angle will be illustrated on a sample building project.

Keywords: energy efficiency, landscape design, plant design, xeriscape landscape

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Authors: Vivien Chee Pei Wei

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Today we live in a scenario in which letters share space with images on screens that vary in size, shape, and style. The popularization of television, then the computer and now the e-readers, tablets, and smartphones made the electronic assume the role that previously was restricted to printed materials. Since the extensive use of new technologies to produce, disseminate, collect and access electronic publications began, the changes to reading has been intensified. To be able to read online, it involves more than just utilizing specific skills, strategies, and practices, but also in negotiating multiple information sources. In this study, different perspectives of digital reading are being explored in order to define the key aspects of the term. The focus is to explore how new technologies affect how undergraduates’ reading behavior, which in turn, gives readers different reading levels and engagement with the text and other support materials in the same media. There is also the importance of the relationship between reading platforms, reading levels and formats of electronic publications. The study looks at the online reading practices of about 100 undergraduates from a local university. The data collected using the survey and interviews with the respondents are analyzed thematically. Findings from this study found that both digital and traditional reading are interrelated, and should not be viewed as separate, but complementary to each other. However, reading online complicates some of the skills required by traditional reading. Consequently, in order to successfully read and comprehend multiple sources of information online, undergraduates need regular opportunities to practice and develop their skills as part of their natural reading practices.

Keywords: concepts, digital reading, literacy, traditional reading

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Authors: Norhan El Dallal

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The MENA region is a challenging, rapid urbanizing region, with a special profile; culturally, socially, economically and environmentally. Despite the diversity between different countries of the MENA region they all share similar urban challenges where extensive interventions are crucial. A climate sensitive region as the MENA region requires special attention for development, adaptation and mitigation. Integrating climatic and environmental parameters into the planning process to create a responsive urban form is the aim of this research in which “Parametric Urbanism” as a trend serves as a tool to reach a more sustainable urban morphology. An attempt to parameterize the relation between the climate and the urban form in a detailed manner is the main objective of the thesis. The aim is relating the different passive approaches suitable for the MENA region with the design guidelines of each and every part of the planning phase. Various conceptual scenarios for the network pattern and block subdivision generation based on computational models are the next steps after the parameterization. These theoretical models could be applied on different climatic zones of the dense communities of the MENA region to achieve an energy efficient neighborhood or city with respect to the urban form, morphology, and urban planning pattern. A final criticism of the theoretical model is to be conducted showing the feasibility of the proposed solutions economically. Finally some push and pull policies are to be proposed to help integrate these solutions into the planning process.

Keywords: parametric urbanism, climate responsive, urban form, urban and regional studies

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Authors: Peng-Shao Chen, Yen-Jong Chen

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In recent years, global warming, the dramatic change in energy prices and the exhaustion of natural resources illustrated that energy-related topic cannot be ignored. Despite the relationship between the cities and CO₂ emissions has been extensively studied in recent years, little attention has been paid to differences in the geographical location of the city. However, the geographical climate has a great impact on lifestyle from city to city, such as the type of buildings, the major industry of the city, etc. Therefore, the paper instigates empirically the effects of kinds of urban factors and CO₂ emissions with consideration of the different geographic, climatic zones which cities are located. Using the regression model and a dataset of urban agglomeration in East Asia cities with over one million population, including 2005, 2010, and 2015 three years, the findings suggest that the impact of urban factors on CO₂ emissions vary with the latitude of the cities. Surprisingly, all kinds of urban factors, including the urban population, the share of GDP in service industry, per capita income, and others, have different level of impact on the cities locate in the tropical climate zone and temperate climate zone. The results of the study analyze the impact of different urban factors on CO₂ emissions in urban area with different geographical climate zones. These findings will be helpful for the formulation of relevant policies for urban planners and policy makers in different regions.

Keywords: carbon emissions, urban agglomeration, urban factor, urban geography

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Authors: Zubair Ahmad

Abstract:

Drawing from social exchange theory, this study proposes to explore the association between corporate social responsibility as external CSR and Internal CSR with employees' green behavior. Furthermore, the author also analyzed the moderating role of organizational trust among the aforementioned associations. The target respondents for this descriptive study were employees working hotel industry of Pakistan. An online questionnaire link was sent to hotel managers and is requested to share the questionnaire link with employees. The respondents for this study were selected through the convenience sampling technique. The collected data from participants is analyzed through AMOS and SPSS. The findings show that both internal corporate social responsibility and external corporate social responsibility exert a positive and significant influence on employees' green behavior. Thus it is concluded that the key driver behind the green behavior of hotel employees is the social setting of their workplace. Findings also revealed that organizational trust plays a positive role in enhancing the green behavior of hotel employees. This study extends the literature on corporate social responsibility by exploring the boundary role of organizational trust between internal and external corporate social responsibility and employees' green behavior in hotels. Moreover, CSR activities should be performed for attaining a competitive edge and maintaining a balance between progress and sustainability of the environment.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, internal corporate social responsibility, external corporate social responsibility, social exchange theory, employee green behavior, organizational trust

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Authors: R. Kenova, K. Anguelov, R. Nikolova

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The human factor plays a major role in boosting the competitive capacity of logistic enterprises. This is of particular importance when it comes to logistic companies. On the one hand they should be strictly compliant with legislation; on the other hand, they should be competitive in terms of pricing and of delivery timelines. Moreover, their policies should allow them to be as flexible as possible. All these circumstances are reason for very serious challenges for the qualification, motivation and experience of the human resources, working in logistic companies or in logistic departments of trade and industrial enterprises. The geographic place of Bulgaria puts it in position of a country with some specific competitive advantages in the goods transport from Europe to Asia and back. Along with it, there is a number of logistic companies, that operate in this sphere in Bulgaria. In the current paper, the authors aim to establish the condition of the administrative capacity and human resources in the logistic companies and logistic departments of trade and industrial companies in Bulgaria in order to propose some guidelines for improving of their effectiveness. Due to independent empirical research, conducted in Bulgarian logistic, trade and industrial enterprises, the authors investigate both the impact degree and the interdependence of various factors that characterize the administrative capacity. The study is conducted with a prepared questionnaire, in format of direct interview with the respondents. The volume of the poll is 50 respondents, representatives of: general managers of industrial or trade enterprises; logistic managers of industrial or trade enterprises; general managers of forwarding companies – either with own or with hired transport; experts from Bulgarian association of logistics; logistic lobbyist and scientists of the relevant area. The data are gathered for 3 months, then arranged by a specialized software program and analyzed by preset criteria. Based on the results of this methodological toolbox, it can be claimed that there is a correlation between the individual criteria. Also, a commitment between the administrative capacity and other factors that determine the competitiveness of the studied companies is established. In this paper, the authors present results of the empirical research that concerns the number and the workload in the logistic departments of the enterprises. Also, what is commented is the experience, related to logistic processes management and human resources competence. Moreover, the overload level of the logistic specialists is analyzed as one of the main threats for making mistakes and losing clients. The paper stands behind the thesis that there is indispensability of forming an effective and efficient administrative capacity, based on the number, qualification, experience and motivation of the staff in the logistic companies. The paper ends with recommendations about the qualification and experience of the specialists in logistic departments; providing effective and efficient administrative capacity in the logistic departments; interdependence of the human factor and the other factors that influence the enterprise competitiveness.

Keywords: administrative capacity, human resources, logistic competitiveness, staff qualification

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Authors: L. Bendifallah, S. Doumandji, K. Louadi, S. Iserbyt, F. Acheuk

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Due to their ecological key position and diversity, plant-bee relationships constitute excellent models to understand the processes of food specialisation. The purpose of this study is to define and identify the most important species of bees foraging broadbean flowers, we estimated morphological, phonological and behavioural features. We discuss the results by considering the food specialisation level of the visitor. In the studied populations (Algiers, Algeria), visiting bees belong to four different genus: Apis, Andrena, Eucera and Xylocopa. Eucera is foraging broad beans flowers during months of April, May. The genus Andrena and Xylocopa were found on weeds after the flowering period of beans. The two species have not a preferred type of vegetation compared to Eucera. The main pollinators were generalist bees such as Apis mellifera L. and Xylocopa pubescens Spinola (Apidae), and specialist bees such Eucera numida Lep. (Apidae). The results show that no one of the studied species, neither the specialist, nor the generalist ones, share adaptative morphological or behavioural features that may improve foraging on Vicia faba. However, there is a narrow synchronisation between the daily and yearly phenologies of Eucera numida and those of V. faba. This could be an adaptation of the specialist bee to its host plant. Thus, the food specialisation of Eucera numida, as for most specialist bees, would be more linked to its adapted phenology than to an adapted morphology.

Keywords: Vicia faba, bees, pollinators, Algeria

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Authors: Mahdi Naeemi Nooghabi, Mohammad Tofiqu Arif

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Gas Insulated Switchgears by using an insulation material named SF6 (Sulphur Hexafluoride) and its significant dielectric properties have been the only choice in urban areas and other polluted industries. However, the initial investment of GIS is more than conventional AIS substation, its total life cycle costs caused to reach huge amounts of electrical market share. SF6 environmental impacts on global warming, atmosphere depletion, and decomposing to toxic gases in high temperature situation, and highest rate in Global Warming Potential (GWP) with 23900 times of CO2e and a 3200-year period lifetime was the only undeniable concern of GIS substation. Efforts of international environmental institute and their politic supports have been able to lead SF6 emission reduction legislation. This research targeted to find an appropriate alternative for GIS substations to meet all advantages in land occupation area and to improve SF6 environmental impacts due to its leakage and emission. An innovative new conceptual design named Multi-Storey prepared a new AIS design similar in land occupation, extremely low Sf6 emission, and maximum greenhouse gas emission reduction. Surprisingly, by considering economic benefits due to carbon price saving, it can earn more than $675 million during the 30-year life cycle by replacing of just 25% of total annual worldly additional GIS switchgears.

Keywords: AIS substation, GIS substation, SF6, greenhouse gas, global warming potential, carbon price, emission

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Selfa Johnson Zwalnan, Nanchen Nimyel Caleb, Gideon Duvuna Ayuba

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Air conditioning accounts for a significant share of the overall energy consumed in residential buildings. Solar thermal gains in buildings account for a significant component of the air conditioning load in buildings. This study compares the solar thermal gain and air conditioning load of a proposed building design with a typical conventional building in the climatic conditions of Jos, Nigeria, using a combined experimental and computational method using TRNSYS software. According to the findings of this study, the proposed design building's annual average solar thermal gains are lower compared to the reference building's average solar heat gains. The study case building's decreased solar heat gain is mostly attributable to the somewhat lower temperature of the building zones because of the greater building volume and lower fenestration ratio (ratio of external opening area to the area of the external walls). This result shows that the innovative building design adjusts to the local climate better than the standard conventional construction in Jos to maintain a suitable temperature within the building. This finding means that the air-conditioning electrical energy consumption per volume of the proposed building design will be lower than that of a conventional building design.

Keywords: building simulation, solar gain, comfort temperature, temperature, carbon foot print

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Authors: Josiel Delgadillo, Johnson Kinyua, Charles Mutigwe

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The purpose of sentiment analysis is to determine the sentiment strength (e.g., positive, negative, neutral) from a textual source for good decision-making. Natural language processing in domains such as financial markets requires knowledge of domain ontology, and pre-trained language models, such as BERT, have made significant breakthroughs in various NLP tasks by training on large-scale un-labeled generic corpora such as Wikipedia. However, sentiment analysis is a strong domain-dependent task. The rapid growth of social media has given users a platform to share their experiences and views about products, services, and processes, including financial markets. StockTwits and Twitter are social networks that allow the public to express their sentiments in real time. Hence, leveraging the success of unsupervised pre-training and a large amount of financial text available on social media platforms could potentially benefit a wide range of financial applications. This work is focused on sentiment analysis using social media text on platforms such as StockTwits and Twitter. To meet this need, SkyBERT, a domain-specific language model pre-trained and fine-tuned on financial corpora, has been developed. The results show that SkyBERT outperforms current state-of-the-art models in financial sentiment analysis. Extensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of SkyBERT.

Keywords: BERT, financial markets, Twitter, sentiment analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 154