Search results for: technology readiness index

Authors: Dolapo Adeyemo

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Technology can be designed specifically for geriatrics and persons with disabilities or ICT accessibility solutions. Both solutions stand to benefit from advances in Artificial intelligence, which are computer systems that perform tasks that require human intelligence. Tasks such as decision making, visual perception, speech recognition, and even language translation are useful in both situation and will provide significant benefits to people with temporarily or permanent disabilities. This research’s goal is to review innovations focused on the use of artificial intelligence that bridges the accessibility gap in technology from a user-centered perspective. A mixed method approach that utilized a comprehensive review of academic literature on the subject combined with semi structure interviews of users, developers, and technology product owners. The internet of things and artificial intelligence technology is creating new opportunities in the assistive technology space and proving accessibility to existing technology. Device now more adaptable to the needs of the user by learning the behavior of users as they interact with the internet. Accessibility to devices have witnessed significant enhancements that continue to benefit people with disabilities. Examples of other advances identified are prosthetic limbs like robotic arms supported by artificial intelligence, route planning software for the visually impaired, and decision support tools for people with disabilities and even clinicians that provide care.

Keywords: ICT, IOT, accessibility solutions, universal design

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Authors: Agah Tugrul Korucu, Mustafa Mucahit Gundogdu, Tarık Gencturk, Ahmet Yucel

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Countries are developing big projects and supplying financial resource for developing technological substructure and integrating technology into the education. In Turkey, the Ministry of Education, with the aim of integrating ICT into learning and teaching processes, created a project named increasing occasions and normalizing the technology movement. FATIH Project with this project, the aim is to create teaching environments which are enriched with technology. In orientating people with the technology and integrating technology into the education, teacher and teacher candidates have a big responsibility. While teachers are using technology in lesson, the devices in class and the methods developed are important factors. The aim of this research is to examine awareness, and foresight about FATIH Project in different aspects. This study was conducted during the practice period of the second semester in the 2014-2015 academic years. The working group of the research was created from 209 teacher candidates which are from different teaching departments in the Ahmet Kelesoglu Education Faculty of Necmettin Erbakan University. Scanning model was used in this research. In research, as a getting data tool evaluation of “opinion about FATIH Project: awareness, foresight and expectation scale” which was developed by Karal et. al.; personal information form which was developed by researchers were used. Cronbach coefficient which is the reliability of the scale is 0.91. In analyzing the data, statistical package program average, standard deviation, percentage, correlation, t-test and variance analysis test were used.

Keywords: Fatih Project, information and communication technologies, information technology integration, views on the Fatih Project, technology integration in education

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Authors: Hřebíčková Sylva, Grasgruber Pavel, Ondráček Jan, Cacek Jan, Kalina Tomáš

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The aim of this study was to describe typical changes in several parameters of body composition – the amount of skeletal muscle mass (SMM), % body fat (BF) and body mass index (BMI) - in selected age categories (30+ years) of men and women in the Czech Republic, depending on the degree of sports activity. Study (n = 823, M = 343, F = 480) monitored differences in BF, SM and BMI in five age groups (from 30-39 years to 70+ years). Physically inactive individuals have (p < 0.05) higher % BF in comparison with physically active individuals (29.5 ± 0.59 vs. 27 ± 0.38%), higher BMI (27.3 ± 0.32 vs. 26.1 ± 0.20 kg/m2), but lower SM (39.0 ± 0.33 vs. 40.4 ± 0.21%). The results indicate that with an increasing age, there is a trend towards increasing values of BMI and % BF, and decreasing values of SMM.

Keywords: body composition, body fat, physical activity, skeletal muscle

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Authors: Charles Atkins

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Anakainosis-desmios is the experience of spiritual renewal during incarceration. "Anakainosis” is a Greek word for “renovation or renewal" that has taken on profound meaning in Christocentric theology where it is defined as the phenomenon of spiritual renewal or a change of heart that is achieved by God’s power. “Desmios” is another Greek word found in the Bible which stands for “one who is bound or a prisoner. Anakainosis-desmios occurs when a person, while residing in an environment of surveillance and coercion, has his consciousness renewed in such a way that he generates unexpected emancipatory and hospitable attitudes. They expressed an awareness of the prison environment and a willingness to engage that environment through their transformed relationships with time, space, matter, and people. By the end of the 20th century, Open Theism, gained the attention of many American evangelicals and theologians. Open Theism was born out of the concerns people had about those scriptures which demonstrate a dynamic God who has unparalled wisdom instead of omniscience; liberating power instead of omnipotence; and abiding faithfulness instead of immutability—all of these attributes being aspects of God’s love for humanity. Scriptural exegesis is one of the primary factors that informed the creation of the open view of God and many who hold this view claim that the divine attributes of omniscience, omnipotence and immutability are not necessarily Scriptural but rather philosophical attempts to define the nature of God. Scriptures that do not support such divine attributes have been a source of distress for many. Some would say that open theists have created lenses that enable a Bible student to gain comfort from those scriptures which seem to show God demonstrating repentance, disappointment and a readiness to learn. This paper will bring Open Theism into conversation with anakainosis-desmios. For open theists the reading of Scripture is an important part of the foundation of their perspectives. Open theists focus on certain Scriptures which demonstrate God showing repentance, disappointment and a readiness to learn. This focus led to their questioning of the systematic theologies that have been created and the biblical hermeneutics that have been used historically as lenses for interpreting such Scriptures. The perspective of anakainosis-desmios is also significantly influenced by the reading of Scripture. Spiritual renewal while incarcerated can occur largely through the religious practice of Bible study. Studying Scriptures during incarceration has supported many people who are seeking to develop new renderings of reality that empower them to flourish in some way despite the hostile environment of prisons. A conversation between the two points of view on the God of the Bible will lead to an expansion of both and to a deepening of a person's experience of Scripture Study.

Keywords: open theism, anakainosis-desmios, religion in prison, open theology, practical theology, Bible, scripture, openness of God, incarceration, prison

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Authors: Vida Dones-Jimenez

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The main purpose of this study is to determine the preschool teachers’ technology and 21st-century skills and its relation to teachers’ performance. The participants were 94 preschool teachers and 59 school administrators from the CDAPS member schools. The data were collected by using 21st Century Skill, developed by ISSA (2009), Technology Skills of Teachers Survey (2013) and Teacher Performance Evaluation Criteria and Descriptors (200) was modified by the current researcher to suit the needs of her study and was administered personally by her. The surveys were designed to measure the participants’ 21st-century skills, technology skills and teaching performance. The result of the study indicates that the majority of the preschool teachers are the college graduate. Most of them are in the teaching profession for 0 to 10 years. It also indicated that the majority of the school administrators are masters’ degree holder. The preschool teachers are outstanding in their teaching performance as rated by the school administrators. The preschool teachers are skillful in using technology, and they are very skillful in executing the 21st-century skills in teaching. It was further determined that no significant difference between preschool teachers 21st-century skill in regards to educational attainment same as with the number of years in teaching, likewise with their technology skills. Furthermore, the study has shown that there is a very weak relationship between technology and 21st-century skills of preschool teachers, a weak relationship between technology skills and teaching performance and a very weak relationship between 21st-century skills and teaching performance were also established. The study recommends that the preschool teachers should be encouraged to enroll in master degree programs. School administrators should support the implementation of newly adopted technologies and support faculty members at various levels of use and experience. It is also recommended that regular review of the professional development plan be undertaken to upgrade 21st-century teaching and learning skills of preschool teachers.

Keywords: preschool teacher, teaching performance, technology, 21st century skills

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Authors: Tebikew Yeneabat, Tefera Belachew, Muluneh Haile

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Background: Exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) is the practice of feeding only breast milk (including expressed breast milk) during the first six months and no other liquids and solid foods except medications. The time to cessation of exclusive breast-feeding, however, is different in different countries depending on different factors. Studies showed the risk of diarrhea morbidity and mortality is higher among none exclusive breast-feeding infants, common during starting other foods. However, there is no study that evaluated the time to cessation of exclusive breast-feeding in the study area. The aim of this study was to show time to cessation of EBF and its predictors among mothers of index infants less than twelve months old. Methods: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study from February 13 to March 3, 2012 using both quantitative and qualitative methods. This study included a total of 592 mothers of index infant using multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected by using interviewer administered structured questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed. Results: Cessation of exclusive breast-feeding occurred in 392 (69.63%) cases. Among these, 224 (57.1%) happened before six months, while 145 (37.0%) and 23 (5.9%) occurred at six months and after six months of age of the index infant respectively. The median time for infants to stay on exclusive breast-feeding was 6.36 months in rural and 5.13 months in urban, and this difference was statistically significant on a Log rank (Cox-mantel) test. Maternal and paternal occupation, place of residence, postnatal counseling on exclusive breast-feeding, mode of delivery, and birth order of the index infant were significant predictors of cessation of exclusive breast-feeding. Conclusion: Providing postnatal care counseling on EBF, routine follow-up and support of those mothers having infants stressing for working mothers can bring about implementation of national strategy on infant and young child feeding.

Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, cessation, median duration, Ankesha Guagusa Woreda

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Authors: Adewale Olabisi

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The society has bastion of people with diverse kinds of special needs which invariably affect the kind of education that is provided to this category of children. Most schools for pupils with intellectual disabilities seem not to be achieving the objectives it was set out to achieve. Hence, there is the need to provide transformative education for these children with intellectual disabilities which can only be achieved in an inclusive educational setting. However, achieving this has been a great challenge in Nigeria. This paper, however, dealt with the urgent need for transformative teaching for persons with intellectual disabilities in readiness for them to be accepted in the society and also enhance their self-concept and perception which in turn will make a way for their self-sustenance. Suggestions and recommendations that will better enhance the full implementation of transformative teaching for pupils with intellectual disabilities in an inclusive environment were also made.

Keywords: inclusive education, transformative education, intellectual disabilities, Oyo state, Nigeria

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Authors: Christos Karolemeas, Avgi Vassi, Georgia Christodoulopoulou

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Although the past decades, planning a cycle network became an inseparable part of all transportation plans, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the way planning is made, in order to create safe and direct cycling networks that gather the parameters that positively influence one's decision to cycle. The aim of this article is to study, evaluate and visualize the bikeability of cities. This term is often used as the 'the ability of a person to bike' but this study, however, adopts the term in the sense of bikeability as 'the ability of the urban landscape to be biked'. The methodology used included assessing cities' accessibility by cycling, based on international literature and corresponding walkability methods and the creation of a 'bikeability index'. Initially, a literature review was made to identify the factors that positively affect the use of bicycle infrastructure. Those factors were used in order to create the spatial index and quantitatively compare the city network. Finally, the bikeability index was applied in two case studies: two Greek municipalities that, although, they have similarities in terms of land uses, population density and traffic congestion, they are totally different in terms of geomorphology. The factors suggested by international literature were (a) safety, (b) directness, (c) comfort and (d) the quality of the urban environment. Those factors were quantified through the following parameters: slope, junction density, traffic density, traffic speed, natural environment, built environment, activities coverage, centrality and accessibility to public transport stations. Each road section was graded for the above-mentioned parameters, and the overall grade shows the level of bicycle accessibility (low, medium, high). Each parameter, as well as the overall accessibility levels, were analyzed and visualized through Geographic Information Systems. This paper presents the bikeability index, its' results, the problems that have arisen and the conclusions from its' implementation through Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats analysis. The purpose of this index is to make it easy for researchers, practitioners, politicians, and stakeholders to quantify, visualize and understand which parts of the urban fabric are suitable for cycling.

Keywords: accessibility, cycling, green spaces, spatial data, urban environment

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Authors: Kapil Pandey, Vishnu Goyal

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Spatial and temporal data analysis is very well known in the field of satellite image processing. When spatial data are correlated with time, series analysis it gives the significant results in change detection studies. In this paper the GIS and Remote sensing techniques has been used to find the change detection using time series satellite imagery of Uttarakhand state during the years of 1990-2010. Natural vegetation, urban area, forest cover etc. were chosen as main landuse classes to study. Landuse/ landcover classes within several years were prepared using satellite images. Maximum likelihood supervised classification technique was adopted in this work and finally landuse change index has been generated and graphical models were used to present the changes.

Keywords: GIS, landuse/landcover, spatial and temporal data, remote sensing

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Authors: Bernard Kumi-Boateng, Joseph Edem Vigbedor, Irene Asante Sakyi

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Globally, especially in developing nations, governments persistently prioritize poverty alleviation and eradication as key objectives. Numerous international organizations also acknowledge the urgent need to reduce poverty levels over the next decade, making poverty reduction a critical global issue. During the past three decades, the government of Ghana has developed and subsequently implemented several development policy frameworks as part of its poverty reduction programmes. In order to reduce and alleviate poverty, one of the parameters that play a key role is statistics on poverty. However, in many developing countries such as Ghana such statistics do not exist thus it makes poverty alleviation intervention a bit scattered and untargeted. Due to this, there exist a major problem presently; that is reaching the poor to address their specific needs. In response to this challenge, there is therefore the need to produce poverty map to assist policy makers. This research therefore sought to use GIS to map out poverty endemic areas by displaying the spatial dimensions of poverty and identify the poverty pockets across the country adopting a Multidimensional (Non-Monetary) Poverty Index approach. Ten indicators which were categories under three dimensions were used. Results of the study showed that across Ghana, a considerable percentage of household are deprived in several non-monetary poverty indicators. Analysis of these indicators revealed wide disparities by region. Generally, wide disparities exist between the proportion of households deprived in the three northern regions and their counterparts in southern Ghana.

Keywords: GIS, multidimensional poverty index, indicator, dimension, poverty

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Authors: Ramiz Kuliev, Fuad Kuliev-Smirnov

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The 'Shadow Sparring' training exercise is widely used in the training of boxers and martial artists. The main disadvantage of the usual shadow sparring is that the trainer cannot fully control such training and evaluate its results. During the competition, the athlete, preparing for the upcoming fight, imagines the Shadow (upcoming opponent) in accordance with his own imagination. A ‘Smart-Shadow Sparring’ (SSS) is an innovative version of the ‘Shadow Sparring’. During SSS, the fighter will see the Shadow (virtual opponent that moves, defends, and punches) and understand when he misses the punches from the Shadow. The task of a real athlete is to spar with a virtual one, move around, punch in the direction of unprotected areas of the Shadow and dodge his punches. Moves and punches of Shadow are set up before each training. The system will give the coach full information about virtual sparring: (i) how many and what type of punches has the fighter landed, (ii) accuracy of these punches, (iii) how many and what type of virtual punches (punches of Smart-Shadow) has the fighter missed, etc. SSS will be recorded as animated fighting of two fighters and will help the coach to analyze past training. SSS can be configured to fit the physical and technical characteristics of the next real opponent (size, techniques, speed, missed and landed punches, etc.). This will allow to simulate and rehearse the upcoming fight and improve readiness for the next opponent. For amateur fighters, SSS will be reconfigured several times during a tournament, when the real opponent becomes known. SSS can be used in three versions: (1) Digital Shadow: the athlete will see a Shadow on a monitor (2) VR-Shadow: the athlete will see a Shadow in a VR-glasses (3) Smart Shadow: a Shadow will be controlled by artificial intelligence. These technologies are based on the ‘semi-real simulation’ method. The technology allows coaches to train athletes remotely. Simulation of different opponents will help the athletes better prepare for competition. Repeat rehearsals of the upcoming fight will help improve results. SSS can improve results in Boxing, Taekwondo, Karate, and Fencing. 41 sets of medals will be awarded in these sports at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Keywords: boxing, combat sports, fight simulation, shadow sparring

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Authors: Nareemarn Neelapaichit, Sookfong Wongsathapat, Noppawan Piaseu

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Body image plays an important role in adolescents. Thai adolescents put high concern on their body image result in unsatisfied their body shapes. Therefore, inappropriate weight management methods have been used. This study examined the body image perception and the nutritional status of Thai adolescents. Body mass index screening was done on 181 nursing students of Ramathibodi School of Nursing to categorized obesity, overweight, normal weight and underweight respondents by using recommended body-mass index (BMI) cut-off points for Asian populations. Self report questionnaire on demographics and body image perception were completed. Results showed that the respondents were mainly female (93.4%) and their mean age were 19.2 years. The prevalence of obesity, overweight, normal weight and underweight of the nursing students were 5.5%, 7.2%, 55.2% and 32.0%, respectively. Of all the respondents, 57.5% correctly perceived themselves, with 37.0% overestimating and 5.5% underestimating their weight status. Of those in the obesity category, 20.0% correctly perceived themselves and 80.0% perceived themselves as overweight. For overweight category, total respondents correctly perceived themselves. Fifty two percent of the normal weight respondents perceived themselves as overweight and 2.0% perceived themselves as obesity. Of the underweight respondents, 77.6% correctly perceived themselves and 20.7% perceived themselves as normal weight. These findings show high occurrence of body image misperception among Thai adolescents. Being concerned with this situation can promote adolescents for healthy weight and practice appropriate weight management methods.

Keywords: nutritional status, body image perception, Thai adolescents, body-mass index (BMI)

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Authors: Abdulrahman Al Lily

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This article spans the domains of education, technology and geo-politics. It uses as an instance the Arab scholarship of education and technology, viewing its scholarly community through the geographical lens of regionalism. It enquires into the power relations among scholars in the Arab region and between scholars in the Arab region and their fellows from outside the region. It addresses the research question: to what extent have region-informed factors affected the scholarly community of education and technology in the Arab region? This question was answered by both qualitative and numerical enquiry, analysing documents, interviews and a survey of native Arabic-speaking scholars. Having analysed the data using the grounded theory approach, two categories of power relations among scholars were identified: power relations within a particular region and power relations across regions. Considering these two categories, a theoretical proposition could be posited that there could be power relationships among scholars that exist on a regional basis. The recommendation is therefore that research should further shed light upon the regionalistic (and thus geographically informed political) dynamics of scholarly communities.

Keywords: education, technology, politics, geography, regionalism, Arab

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Authors: Yang Zhuo

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This study explores the integration of MIDI technology as one of the important digital technologies in music teaching, from the perspective of teaching practice, into the process of cultivating students' teaching skills. At the same time, the framework elements of the learning environment for music education students are divided into four aspects: digital technology supported learning space, new knowledge learning, teaching methods, and teaching evaluation. In teaching activities, more attention should be paid to students' subjectivity and interaction between them so as to enhance their emotional experience in teaching practice simulation. In the process of independent exploration and cooperative interaction, problems should be discovered and solved, and basic knowledge of music and teaching methods should be exercised in practice.

Keywords: music education, educational technology, MIDI, teacher training

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Authors: Silvija ŠIljeg, Ante ŠIljeg, Ivan Marić

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Measuring housing quality is being done on objective and subjective level using different indicators. During the research 5 urban and housing indicators formed according to 58 variables from different housing, domains were used. The aims of the research were to measure housing quality based on GIS approach and to detect critical points of housing in the example of Croatian coastal Town Zadar. The purposes of GIS in the research are to generate models of housing quality indexes by standardisation and aggregation of variables and to examine accuracy model of housing quality index. Analysis of accuracy has been done on the example of variable referring to educational objects availability. By defining weighted coefficients and using different GIS methods high, middle and low housing quality zones were determined. Obtained results can be of use to town planners, spatial planners and town authorities in the process of generating decisions, guidelines, and spatial interventions.

Keywords: housing quality, GIS, housing quality index, indicators, models of housing quality

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Authors: S. Zidani, A. Benakmoum, A. Mansouri, A. Ammouche

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In this research paper, we studied the oxidative stability of table margarine and soya/sunflower oils rich in lycopene with tomato peel powder (TPP). For this 1%, 2%, and 3% (w/w) of TPP was added to oil used in margarine manufacture. Chromatic characteristics of margarine and soya/sunflower oil have been studied using 'Tristimulus Colorimetry' method. The main point of the research was to determine the antioxidant activity and the oxidative resistance of soya/sunflower and margarine with TPP (peroxide index, TBA index, and rancimat test). The sensory and textural properties, overall acceptability of margarine and oil were good, indicating that TPP could be added to oil to produce a margarine enriched in lycopene with excellent stability oxidative.

Keywords: tomato peel powder, lycopene, table margarine, soya/sunflower oils, antioxidant activity, stability oxidative

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Authors: Shahzad Hassan, Kamran Saeed

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People are always in search of Wi-Fi hotspots because Internet is a major demand nowadays. But like all other technologies, there is still room for improvement in the Wi-Fi technology with regards to the speed and quality of connectivity. In order to address these aspects, Harald Haas, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, proposed what we know as the Li-Fi (Light Fidelity). Li-Fi is a new technology in the field of wireless communication to provide connectivity within a network environment. It is a two-way mode of wireless communication using light. Basically, the data is transmitted through Light Emitting Diodes which can vary the intensity of light very fast, even faster than the blink of an eye. From the research and experiments conducted so far, it can be said that Li-Fi can increase the speed and reliability of the transfer of data. This paper pays particular attention on the assessment of the performance of this technology. In other words, it is a 5G technology which uses LED as the medium of data transfer. For coverage within the buildings, Wi-Fi is good but Li-Fi can be considered favorable in situations where large amounts of data are to be transferred in areas with electromagnetic interferences. It brings a lot of data related qualities such as efficiency, security as well as large throughputs to the table of wireless communication. All in all, it can be said that Li-Fi is going to be a future phenomenon where the presence of light will mean access to the Internet as well as speedy data transfer.

Keywords: communication, LED, Li-Fi, Wi-Fi

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Authors: Muhammad Nasar-u-Minallah, Dagmar Haase, Salman Qureshi

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In a rapidly growing developing country cities are becoming more urbanized leading to modifications in urban climate. Rapid urbanization, especially unplanned urban land expansion, together with climate change has a profound impact on the urban settlement and urban thermal environment. Cities, particularly Pakistan are facing remarkably environmental issues and uneven development, and thus it is important to strengthen the investigation of urban environmental pressure brought by land-use changes and urbanization. The present study investigated the long term modification of the urban environment by urbanization utilizing Spatio-temporal dynamics of land-use change, urban population data, urban heat islands, monthly maximum, and minimum temperature of thirty years, multi remote sensing imageries, and spectral indices such as Normalized Difference Built-up Index and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. The results indicate rapid growth in an urban built-up area and a reduction in vegetation cover in the last three decades (1990-2020). A positive correlation between urban heat islands and Normalized Difference Built-up Index, whereas a negative correlation between urban heat islands and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index clearly shows how urbanization is affecting the local environment. The increase in air and land surface temperature temperatures is dangerous to human comfort. Practical approaches, such as increasing the urban green spaces and proper planning of the cities, have been suggested to help prevent further modification of the urban thermal environment by urbanization. The findings of this work are thus important for multi-sectorial use in the cities of Pakistan. By taking into consideration these results, the urban planners, decision-makers, and local government can make different policies to mitigate the urban land use impacts on the urban thermal environment in Pakistan.

Keywords: land use, urban environment, local climate, Lahore

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Authors: Akindele Ojo, Olanike Ojo, Agatha Oseghale

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The empirical study examined the allocative efficiency of small holder tuber crop farmers in North central, Nigeria. Data used for the study were obtained from primary source using a multi-stage sampling technique with structured questionnaires administered to 300 randomly selected tuber crop farmers from the study area. Descriptive statistics, data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression model were used to analyze the data. The DEA result on the classification of the farmers into efficient and inefficient farmers showed that 17.67% of the sampled tuber crop farmers in the study area were operating at frontier and optimum level of production with mean allocative efficiency of 1.00. This shows that 82.33% of the farmers in the study area can still improve on their level of efficiency through better utilization of available resources, given the current state of technology. The results of the Tobit model for factors influencing allocative inefficiency in the study area showed that as the year of farming experience, level of education, cooperative society membership, extension contacts, credit access and farm size increased in the study area, the allocative inefficiency of the farmers decreased. The results on effects of the significant determinants of allocative inefficiency at various distribution levels revealed that allocative efficiency increased from 22% to 34% as the farmer acquired more farming experience. The allocative efficiency index of farmers that belonged to cooperative society was 0.23 while their counterparts without cooperative society had index value of 0.21. The result also showed that allocative efficiency increased from 0.43 as farmer acquired high formal education and decreased to 0.16 with farmers with non-formal education. The efficiency level in the allocation of resources increased with more contact with extension services as the allocative efficeincy index increased from 0.16 to 0.31 with frequency of extension contact increasing from zero contact to maximum of twenty contacts per annum. These results confirm that increase in year of farming experience, level of education, cooperative society membership, extension contacts, credit access and farm size leads to increases efficiency. The results further show that the age of the farmers had 32% input to the efficiency but reduces to an average of 15%, as the farmer grows old. It is therefore recommended that enhanced research, extension delivery and farm advisory services should be put in place for farmers who did not attain optimum frontier level to learn how to attain the remaining 74.39% level of allocative efficiency through a better production practices from the robustly efficient farms. This will go a long way to increase the efficiency level of the farmers in the study area.

Keywords: allocative efficiency, DEA, Tobit regression, tuber crop

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Authors: Farhad Reyazat, Richard Werner

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This paper contributes to the existent literature by developing a framework that explains how to monitor potential threats to banking sector stability. The study explores structural vulnerabilities at the country level, but also look at bilateral exposures within a network context. The study contributes in analysing of the European banking systemic risk at aggregated level, which integrates the characteristics of bank size, and interconnectedness relative to the size of the economy which ultimate risk belong to, taking to account the concentration ratio of the banking industry within the whole economy. The nature of the systemic risk depends on the interplay of the network topology with the nature of financial transactions over the network, assets and buffer stemming from bank size, correlations, and the nature of the shocks to the financial system. The study’s results illustrate the contribution of banks’ size, size of economy and concentration of counterparty exposures to a given country’s banks in explaining its systemic importance, how much the banking network depends on a few traditional hubs activities and the changes of this dependencies over the last 9 years. The role of few of traditional hubs such as Swiss banks and British Banks and also Irish banks- where the financial sector is fairly new and grew strongly between 1990s till 2008- take the fourth position on 2014 reducing the relative size since 2006 where they had the first position. In-degree concentration index analysis in the study shows concentration index of banking network was not changed since financial crisis 2007-8. In-degree concentration index on first quarter of 2014 indicates that US, UK and Germany together, getting over 70% of the network exposures. The result of comparing the in-degree concentration index with 2007-4Q, shows the same group having over 70% of the network exposure, however the UK getting more important role in the hub and the market share of US and Germany are slightly diminished.

Keywords: systemic risk, counterparty risk, financial stability, interconnectedness, banking concentration, european banks risk, network effect on systemic risk, concentration risk

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Authors: A. Elbyed

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Nowadays, ontologies are used for achieving a common understanding within a user community and for sharing domain knowledge. However, the de-centralized nature of the web makes indeed inevitable that small communities will use their own ontologies to describe their data and to index their own resources. Certainly, accessing to resources from various ontologies created independently is an important challenge for answering end user queries. Ontology mapping is thus required for combining ontologies. However, mapping complete ontologies at run time is a computationally expensive task. This paper proposes a system in which mappings between concepts may be generated dynamically as the concepts are encountered during user queries. In this way, the interaction itself defines the context in which small and relevant portions of ontologies are mapped. We illustrate application of the proposed system in the context of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) where learners need to access to learning resources covering specific concepts.

Keywords: resources query, ontologies, ontology mapping, similarity measures, semantic web, e-learning

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Authors: Antoni Wibowo, Harry Pujianto, Dewi Retno Sari Saputro

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The stock market can provide huge profits in a relatively short time in financial sector; however, it also has a high risk for investors and traders if they are not careful to look the factors that affect the stock market. Therefore, they should give attention to the dynamic fluctuations and movements of the stock market to optimize profits from their investment. In this paper, we present a nonlinear autoregressive exogenous model (NARX) to predict the movements of stock market; especially, the movements of the closing price index. As case study, we consider to predict the movement of the closing price in Indonesia composite index (IHSG) and choose the best structures of NARX for IHSG’s prediction.

Keywords: NARX (Nonlinear Autoregressive Exogenous Model), prediction, stock market, time series

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Authors: Ki Hwa Lee, Eunsu Kang, Jae Hong Park

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Background: Interventional neuroradiology (INR) has been a rapidly growing and evolving neurosurgical part during the past few decades. Sevoflurane and propofol are both suitable anesthetics for INR procedure. Monitoring of depth of anesthesia is being used very widely. SEDLine™ monitor, a 4-channel processed EEG monitor, uses a proprietary algorithm to analyze the raw EEG signal and displays the Patient State Index (PSI) values. There are only a fewer studies examining the PSI in the neuro-anesthesia. We aimed to investigate the difference of PSI values and hemodynamic variables between sevoflurane and propofol anesthesia during INR procedure. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients who scheduled to undergo embolization of non-ruptured intracranial aneurysm by a single operator from May 2013 to December 2014, retrospectively. Sixty-five patients were categorized into two groups; sevoflurane (n = 33) vs propofol (n = 32) group. The PSI values, hemodynamic variables, and the use of hemodynamic drugs were analyzed. Results: Significant differences were seen between PSI values obtained during different perioperative stages in both two groups (P < 0.0001). The PSI values of propofol group were lower than that of sevoflurane group during INR procedure (P < 0.01). The patients in propofol group had more prolonged time of extubation and more phenylephrine requirement than sevoflurane group (p < 0.05). Anti-hypertensive drug was more administered to the patients during extubation in sevoflurane group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The PSI can detect depth of anesthesia and changes of concentration of anesthetics during INR procedure. Extubation was faster in sevoflurane group, but smooth recovery was shown in propofol group.

Keywords: interventional neuroradiology, patient state index, propofol, sevoflurane

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Authors: Marko Čular

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to raise general awareness of transparency importance for audit firms and for audit services’ users. This paper analyses transparency of audit firms that audited financial statements of listed companies, for year 2011 and 2012. We use this two years because in the meantime Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants has been adopted. This paper investigates whether transparency reports of audit firms are in accordance with the Croatian Audit Act and whether there is a difference on transparency in observed years. For this paper, quality index of transparency report and financial indicators of audit firms are used to get conclusion about condition of audit firms transparency reporting. Results of our study indicate that audit firms are not fully transparent, looking for both years. Transparency of audit firms in 2012 has improved significantly, compared with transparency in 2011.

Keywords: transparency report, index quality of transparency report, Croatian audit act, code of ethics for professional accountants

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Authors: Mehdi Mohebodini, Iman Khalili-Baseri, Mehdi Behnamian, Sara Dezhsetan

Abstract:

Diversity analysis at the molecular level using PCR-based markers is the efficient and rapid method of identifying the relationships and differences among the genotypes. In the present study, genetic diversity and relationships among 20 collected purslane accessions were evaluated using ISSR markers. The genotyping data were used to understand the relationships among the collected accessions and identify genetically diverse purslane accessions. The 25 primers gave a total of 92 bands, of which 62 were polymorphic (67.4%). The genetic diversity as estimated by Shannon’s information index was 0.55, revealing a quite high level of genetic diversity in the germplasm. The average number of an observed allele, effective allele, polymorphic information content (PIC) and Nei’s index were 2, 1.65, 0.37 and 0.37, respectively.

Keywords: Portulaca oleracea L., genetic diversity, ISSR, germplasm

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Authors: Ahmed Abdulghani Taha, Mohammad Abdulghani Taha

Abstract:

This study aims at being acquainted with the using the body fat percentage (%BF) with body Mass Index (BMI) as input parameters in fuzzy logic decision support system to predict properly the lifted weight for students at weightlifting class lift according to his abilities instead of traditional manner. The sample included 53 male students (age = 21.38 ± 0.71 yrs, height (Hgt) = 173.17 ± 5.28 cm, body weight (BW) = 70.34 ± 7.87.6 kg, Body mass index (BMI) 23.42 ± 2.06 kg.m-2, fat mass (FM) = 9.96 ± 3.15 kg and fat percentage (% BF) = 13.98 ± 3.51 %.) experienced the weightlifting class as a credit and has variance at BW, Hgt and BMI and FM. BMI and % BF were taken as input parameters in FUZZY logic whereas the output parameter was the lifted weight (LW). There were statistical differences between LW values before and after using fuzzy logic (Diff 3.55± 2.21, P > 0.001). The percentages of the LW categories proposed by fuzzy logic were 3.77% of students to lift 1.0 fold of their bodies; 50.94% of students to lift 0.95 fold of their bodies; 33.96% of students to lift 0.9 fold of their bodies; 3.77% of students to lift 0.85 fold of their bodies and 7.55% of students to lift 0.8 fold of their bodies. The study concluded that the characteristic changes in body composition experienced by students when undergoing weightlifting could be utilized side by side with the Fuzzy logic decision support system to determine the proper workloads consistent with the abilities of students.

Keywords: fuzzy logic, body mass index, body fat percentage, weightlifting

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Authors: Peter Winzer, Erik Massarczyk

Abstract:

Experts, enterprises and operators expect that the bandwidth request will increase up to rates of 100 to 1,000 Mbps within several years. Therefore the most important question is, which technology shall satisfy the future consumer broadband demands. Currently the consensus is, that the fiber technology has the best technical characteristics to achieve such the high bandwidth rates. But fiber technology is so far very cost-intensive and resource consuming. To avoid these investments, operators are concentrating to upgrade the existing copper and hybrid fiber coax infrastructures. This work presents a comparison of the copper and fiber technologies including an overview about the current German broadband market. Both technologies are reviewed in the terms of demand, willingness to pay and economic efficiency in connection with the technical characteristics.

Keywords: broadband customer demand, fiber development, g.fast, vectoring, willingness to pay for broadband services

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Authors: Elaheh Ezami, Behzad Mohammadian, Elham Aznab

Abstract:

Health service design will need to change due to bringing in new digital health tools. This highlights the importance of innovation in adopting Health Information Technology (HIT). It can be argued that innovation in the health sector correlates with entrepreneurship. Various reasons exist for health entrepreneurs to advocate increased investment in HIT to compensate for shortcomings in the health sector and improve the quality of healthcare. Furthermore, every innovative program presents challenges and motivations for entrepreneurs that may distract or encourage the adoption of technology. Our study used a systematic literature review to identify relevant articles that defined the frustrations and promotions of using health information technology in organizations or enterprises. A meta-analysis of the articles was conducted to identify the factors driving or pulling entrepreneurs to use HIT.

Keywords: health information technology, health entrepreneurship, health enterprise, health entrepreneurs' innovation

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Authors: Hari Pulapaka

Abstract:

This paper defines and develops the notion of a traceability index for food and may be used by any consumer (restaurant, distributor, average consumer etc.). The concept is then extended to a region's food system as a way to measure how well a regional food system utilizes its own bounty or at least, is connected to its food sources. With increasing emphases on the sustainability of aspects of regional and ultimately, the global food system, it is reasonable to accept that if we know how close (in relative terms) an end-user of a set of ingredients (as they traverse through the maze of supply chains) is from the sources, we may be better equipped to evaluate the quality of the set as measured by any number of qualitative and quantitative criteria. We propose a mathematical model which may be adapted to a number of contexts and sizes. Two hypothetical cases of different scope are presented which highlight how the model works as an evaluator of steps between an end-user and the source(s) of the ingredients they consume. The variables in the model are flexible enough to be adapted to other applications beyond food systems.

Keywords: food, traceability, supply chain, mathematical model

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Authors: Phornchanok Motantasut, Torkamol Hunsawong, Lugkana Mato, Wanida Donpunha

Abstract:

Identifying abnormal foot posture is important for prescribing appropriate management in patients with lower limb disorders and chronic non-specific low back pain. The normalized navicular height truncated (NNHt) and the foot posture index-6 (FPI-6) have been recommended as the common, simple, valid, and reliable static measures for clinical application. The NNHt is a single plane measure while the FPI-6 is a triple plane measure. At present, there is inadequate information about the correlation between the NNHt and the FPI-6 for categorizing foot posture that leads to a difficulty of choosing the appropriate assessment. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the correlation between the NNHt and the FPI-6 measures in adult participants with asymptomatic feet. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 47 asymptomatic individuals (23 males and 24 females) aged 28.89 ± 7.67 years with body mass index 21.73 ± 1.76 kg/m². The right foot was measured twice by the experienced rater using the NNHt and the FPI-6. A sequence of the measures was randomly arranged for each participant with a 10-minute rest between the tests. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the relationship between the measures. Results: The mean NNHt score was 0.23 ± 0.04 (ranged from 0.15 to 0.36) and the mean FPI-6 score was 4.42 ± 4.36 (ranged from -6 to +11). The Pearson’s correlation coefficient among the NNHt score and the FPI-6 score was -0.872 (p < 0.01). Conclusion: The present finding demonstrates the strong correlation between the NNHt and FPI-6 in adult feet and implies that both measures could be substituted for each other in identifying foot posture.

Keywords: foot posture index, foot type, measurement of foot posture, navicular height

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