Search results for: retention challenges in project management

Authors: H. Maita

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This paper addresses the issue of the speaking challenges that the Algerian PhD students experience during their studies abroad, particularly in UK territory; more specifically, this study describes how these students may deal with such challenges and whether the cultural differences is one core reason in such dilemma or not. To this end, an understanding and interpretation of what actually encompasses both linguistic interference and cultural differences are required. Throughout the paper there is an attempt to explain the theoretical basis of the interpretive research and to theoretically discuss the pivotal use of the interview, as a data collection tool, in interpretive research. Thus, the central issue of this study is to frame the theoretical perspective of the interpretive research through the discussion of PhD Algerian’s communication and interaction challenges in the EFL context. This study is a corner stone for other research studies to further investigate the issue related to communication challenges because no specific findings will be pointed out in this research.

Keywords: communication, EFL, interaction, linguistic interference

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Authors: Allmin Susaiyah, Aki Härmä, Milan Petković

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Automatic generation of insights from data using insight mining systems (IMS) is useful in many applications, such as personal health tracking, patient monitoring, and business process management. Existing IMS face challenges in controlling insight extraction, scaling to large databases, and generalising to unseen domains. In this work, we propose a hybrid approach consisting of rule-based and neural components for generating insights from data while overcoming the aforementioned challenges. Firstly, a rule-based data 2CNL component is used to extract statistically significant insights from data and represent them in a controlled natural language (CNL). Secondly, a BERTSum-based CNL2NL component is used to convert these CNLs into natural language texts. We improve the model using task-specific and domain-specific fine-tuning. Our approach has been evaluated using statistical techniques and standard evaluation metrics. We overcame the aforementioned challenges and observed significant improvement with domain-specific fine-tuning.

Keywords: data mining, insight mining, natural language generation, pre-trained language models

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Authors: Anita D. Adamu, Winston M. W. Shakantu

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Maintenance management is no longer a stand-alone activity. It has now assumed a strategic position in many organisations that have recognised its importance in achieving primary goals and a key aspect of effective management of facilities. This paper aims at providing an understanding of the role and function of strategic management in creating and sustaining an effective maintenance management system in an organisation. The background provides an articulated concept and principles of strategic management. The theoretical concepts paved way for a conceptual framework for which strategic management can be integrated into the maintenance management system of an organisation to improve effectiveness in the maintenance of facilities.

Keywords: facilities, maintenance management, organisations, strategic management

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Authors: Gampel Alexander, Mazzuchi Thomas, Sarkani Shahram

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The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, and organizations must adapt to the changing threat environment to protect their assets. The implementation of the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) has become critical in ensuring the security and safety of industrial control and automation systems. However, cybersecurity professionals are facing challenges in implementing RMF, leading to systems operating without authorization and being non-compliant with regulations. The current approach to RMF implementation based on business practices is limited and insufficient, leaving organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks resulting in the loss of personal consumer data and critical infrastructure details. To address these challenges, this research proposes a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach to implementing cybersecurity controls and assessing risk through the RMF process. The study emphasizes the need to shift to a modeling approach, which can streamline the RMF process and eliminate bloated structures that make it difficult to receive an Authorization-To-Operate (ATO). The study focuses on the practical application of MBSE in industrial control and automation systems to improve the security and safety of operations. It is concluded that MBSE can be used to solve the implementation challenges of the NIST RMF process and improve the security of industrial control and automation systems. The research suggests that MBSE provides a more effective and efficient method for implementing cybersecurity controls and assessing risk through the RMF process. The future work for this research involves exploring the broader applicability of MBSE in different industries and domains. The study suggests that the MBSE approach can be applied to other domains beyond industrial control and automation systems.

Keywords: authorization-to-operate (ATO), industrial control systems (ICS), model-based system’s engineering (MBSE), risk management framework (RMF)

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Authors: L. Piñeiro, N. Cobas, L. Gómez-Limia, S. Martínez, I. Franco

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The swordfish (Xiphias gladius) is a large oceanic fish of high commercial value, which is widely distributed in waters of the world’s oceans. They are considered to be an important source of high quality proteins, vitamins and essential fatty acids, although only half of the population follows the recommendation of nutritionists to consume fish at least twice a week. Swordfish is consumed worldwide because of its low fat content and high protein content. It is generally sold as fresh, frozen, and as pieces or slices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of salting and frying on the composition of the water-soluble vitamins (B₂, B₃, B₉ and B₁₂) and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, and E) of swordfish. Three loins of swordfish from Pacific Ocean were analyzed. All the fishes had a weight between 50 and 70 kg and were transported to the laboratory frozen (-18 ºC). Before the processing, they were defrosted at 4 ºC. Each loin was sliced and salted in brine. After cleaning the slices, they were divided into portions (10×2 cm) and fried in olive oil. The identification and quantification of vitamins were carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), using methanol and 0.010% trifluoroacetic acid as mobile phases at a flow-rate of 0.7 mL min^-1. The UV-Vis detector was used for the detection of the water- and fat-soluble vitamins (A and D), as well as the fluorescence detector for the detection of the vitamin E. During salting, water and fat-soluble vitamin contents remained constant, observing an evident decrease in the values of vitamin B₂. The diffusion of salt into the interior of the pieces and the loss of constitution water that occur during this stage would be related to this significant decrease. In general, after frying water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins showed a great thermolability with high percentages of retention with values among 50–100%. Vitamin B₃ is the one that exhibited higher percentages of retention with values close to 100%. However, vitamin B₉ presented the highest losses with a percentage of retention of less than 20%.

Keywords: frying, HPLC, salting, swordfish, vitamins

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Authors: Alan Walsh, Peter Walker, Michael Ellis

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There is a real danger that both practitioners and researchers considering risks associated with megaprojects ignore or underestimate the impacts of cultural risk. The paper investigates the potential impacts of a failure to achieve cultural unity between the principal actors executing a megaproject. The principle relationships include the relationships between the principle Contractors and the project stakeholders or the project stakeholders and their principle advisors, Western Consultants. This study confirms that cultural dissonance between these parties can delay or disrupt the megaproject execution and examines why cultural issues should be prioritized as a significant risk factor in megaproject delivery. This paper addresses the practical impacts and potential mitigation measures, which may reduce cultural dissonance for a megaproject's delivery. This information is retrieved from on-going case studies in live infrastructure megaprojects in Europe and the Middle East's GCC states, from Western Consultants' perspective. The collaborating researchers each have at least 30 years of construction experience and are engaged in architecture, project management and contracts management, dealing with megaprojects in Europe or the GCC. After examining the cultural interfaces they have observed during the execution of megaprojects, they conclude that globally, culture significantly influences their efficient delivery. The study finds that cultural risk is ever-present, where different nationalities co-manage megaprojects and that cultural conflict poses a real threat to the timely delivery of megaprojects. The study indicates that the higher the cultural distance between the principal actors, the more pronounced the risk, with the risk of cultural dissonance more prominent in GCC megaprojects. The findings support a more culturally aware and cohesive team approach and recommend cross-cultural training to mitigate the effects of cultural disparity.

Keywords: cultural risk underestimation, cultural distance, megaproject characteristics, megaproject execution

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Authors: Rezvani Aghdam Ali, Aleemrani Nejad Seyed Mohammad Hossein

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Introduction: Dryed Garlic has plentiful health and medicinal value and is used in industrial food the forms of flakes or powders. Many health and medicinal properties of Garlic are attributed to allicin. This substance is produced enzymatically after crushing. Since temperature affected on enzymatic action, then is important factor on pirovic acid and allicin retention. Materials and Methods: This study investigated the effects of temperature on qualitative characteristics such as color of powder and pirovic acid and alicin retention in a convective hot-air dryer. For this reason, half cloves of Shushtar Garlics (Allium sativum L.) were dried at air temperatures of 50 and 70°C. Results: Results showed that increasing temperature was resulted changing color. Pirovic acid increased when half cloves Garlic were dried at 70°C. Allicin of half cloves also increased with increasing temperature. Conclusions: According to findings of this research, half cloves which dried in 70 degree centigrade can be introduced the best conditions for producing Garlic powder.

Keywords: garlic, drying, pirovic acid, allicin

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Authors: Sherine S. Aly, Fahd A. Hemeida, Mohamed A. Elshamy

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In the face of rapid urbanization and the myriad challenges posed by climate change, population growth, and socio-economic disparities, fostering urban resilience has become paramount. This abstract offers a comprehensive overview of the study on "Urban Resilience Challenges," exploring the background, methodologies, major findings, and concluding insights. The paper unveils a spectrum of challenges encompassing environmental stressors and deep-seated socio-economic issues, such as unequal access to resources and opportunities. Emphasizing their interconnected nature, the study underscores the imperative for holistic and integrated approaches to urban resilience, recognizing the intricate web of factors shaping the urban landscape. Urbanization has witnessed an unprecedented surge, transforming cities into dynamic and complex entities. With this growth, however, comes an array of challenges that threaten the sustainability and resilience of urban environments. This study seeks to unravel the multifaceted urban resilience challenges, exploring their origins and implications for contemporary cities. Cities serve as hubs of economic, social, and cultural activities, attracting diverse populations seeking opportunities and a higher quality of life. However, the urban fabric is increasingly strained by climate-related events, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and social inequalities. Understanding the nuances of these challenges is crucial for developing strategies that enhance urban resilience and ensure the longevity of cities as vibrant and adaptive entities. This paper endeavors to discern strategic guidelines for enhancing urban resilience amidst the dynamic challenges posed by rapid urbanization. The study aims to distill actionable insights that can inform strategic approaches. Guiding the formulation of effective strategies to fortify cities against multifaceted pressures. The study employs a multifaceted approach to dissect urban resilience challenges. A qualitative method will be employed, including comprehensive literature reviews and data analysis of urban vulnerabilities that provided valuable insights into the lived experiences of resilience challenges in diverse urban settings. In conclusion, this study underscores the urgency of addressing urban resilience challenges to ensure the sustained vitality of cities worldwide. The interconnected nature of these challenges necessitates a paradigm shift in urban planning and governance. By adopting holistic strategies that integrate environmental, social, and economic considerations, cities can navigate the complexities of the 21st century. The findings provide a roadmap for policymakers, planners, and communities to collaboratively forge resilient urban futures that withstand the challenges of an ever-evolving urban landscape.

Keywords: resilient principles, risk management, sustainable cities, urban resilience

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Authors: Krongthong Khairiree

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The purpose of this research study is to explore mathematics project-based learning approach and the use of technology in the context of school mathematics in Thailand. Data of the study were collected from 6 sample secondary schools and the students were 6-14 years old. Research findings show that through mathematics project-based learning approach and the use of GSP, students were able to make mathematics learning fun and challenging. Based on the students’ interviews they revealed that, with GSP, they were able to visualize and create graphical representations, which will enable them to develop their mathematical thinking skills, concepts and understanding. The students had fun in creating variety of graphs of functions which they can not do by drawing on graph paper. In addition, there are evidences to show the students’ abilities in connecting mathematics to real life outside the classroom and commercial products, such as weaving, patterning of broomstick, and ceramics design.

Keywords: mathematics, project-based learning, Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP), commercial products

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Authors: Mary Hanhoun, Jilla Bamarni, Anne-Sophie Bougard

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INSPIR’ECO is a 18-month research and innovation project that aims to specify and develop a tool to offer new services for industrials and territorial planners/managers based on Industrial Ecology Principles. This project is carried out on the territory of Salaise Sablons and the services are designed to be deployed on other territories. Salaise-Sablons area is located in the limit of 5 departments on a major European economic axis multimodal traffic (river, rail and road). The perimeter of 330 ha includes 90 hectares occupied by 20 companies, with a total of 900 jobs, and represents a significant potential basin of development. The project involves five multi-disciplinary partners (Syndicat Mixte INSPIRA, ENGIE, IDEEL, IDEAs Laboratory and TREDI). INSPIR’ECO project is based on the principles that local stakeholders need services to pool, share their activities/equipment/purchases/materials. These services aims to : 1. initiate and promote exchanges between existing companies and 2. identify synergies between pre-existing industries and future companies that could be implemented in INSPIRA. These eco-industrial synergies can be related to: the recovery / exchange of industrial flows (industrial wastewater, waste, by-products, etc.); the pooling of business services (collective waste management, stormwater collection and reuse, transport, etc.); the sharing of equipments (boiler, steam production, wastewater treatment unit, etc.) or resources (splitting jobs cost, etc.); and the creation of new activities (interface activities necessary for by-product recovery, development of products or services from a newly identified resource, etc.). These services are based on IT tool used by the interested local stakeholders that intends to allow local stakeholders to take decisions. Thus, this IT tool: - include an economic and environmental assessment of each implantation or pooling/sharing scenarios for existing or further industries; - is meant for industrial and territorial manager/planners - is designed to be used for each new industrial project. - The specification of the IT tool is made through an agile process all along INSPIR’ECO project fed with: - Users expectations thanks to workshop sessions where mock-up interfaces are displayed; - Data availability based on local and industrial data inventory. These input allow to specify the tool not only with technical and methodological constraints (notably the ones from economic and environmental assessments) but also with data availability and users expectations. A feedback on innovative resource management initiatives in port areas has been realized in the beginning of the project to feed the designing services step.

Keywords: development opportunities, INSPIR’ECO, INSPIRA, industrial ecology, planification, synergy identification

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Authors: Aisha Tarek Noour, Nick Hubbard

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Blended e-Learning (BL) is proving to be an effective pedagogical tool in many areas of business and management education, but there remains a number of barriers to overcome before its implementation. This paper seeks to analyse the views of lecturers towards BL according to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and identifies the opportunities and challenges for using BL in Logistics Education in an Egyptian higher education establishment. SDT is approached from a different perspective and the relationship between intrinsic motivation (IM), extrinsic motivation (EM), and amotivation (AM) is analysed and related to the opportunities and challenges of the BL method. The case study methodology comprises of a series of interviews with lecturers employed at three Colleges of International Transport and Logistics (CITLs) at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, Maritime and Transport (AAST&MT) in Egypt. A structured face-to-face interview was undertaken with 61 interviewees across all faculty positions: Deans, Associate Professors, Assistant Professor, Department Heads, Part-time instructors, Teaching Assistants, and Graduate Teaching Assistants. The findings were based on "content analysis" of the interview transcripts and use of the NVivo10 software program. The research contributes to the application of SDT within the field of BL through an analysis of the views of lecturers towards the opportunities and challenges that BL offers to logistics educators in Egypt.

Keywords: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amotivation, autonomy, competence, relatedness, self-determination theory and blended e-learning

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Authors: Keerthi Katam, Abhinav B. Tirunaghari, Vinod Vadithya, Toshiyuki Shimizu, Satoshi Soda, Debraj Bhattacharyya

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Researchers worldwide are increasingly focusing on the removal of carbon and nutrient from wastewater using algal-bacterial hybrid systems. Algae produce oxygen during photosynthesis, which is taken up by heterotrophic bacteria for mineralizing organic carbon to carbon dioxide. This phenomenon reduces the net mechanical aeration requirement of aerobic biological wastewater treatment processes. Consequently, the treatment cost is also reduced. Microalgae also participate in the treatment process by taking up nutrient (N, P) from wastewater. Algal biomass, if harvested, can generate value-added by-products. The aim of the present study was to compare the performance of two systems - System A (mixed microalgae and bacteria) and System B (diatoms and bacteria) in treating kitchen wastewater (KWW). The test reactors were operated at five different solid retention times (SRTs) -2, 4, 6, 8, and 10-days in draw-and-fill mode. The KWW was collected daily from the dining hall-kitchen area of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. The influent and effluent samples were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) using TOC-L analyzer. A colorimetric method was used to analyze anionic surfactant. Phosphorus (P) and chlorophyll were measured by following standard methods. The TOC, TN, and P of KWW were in the range of 113.5 to 740 mg/L, 2 to 22.8 mg/L, and 1 to 4.5 mg/L, respectively. Both the systems gave similar results with 85% of TOC removal and 60% of TN removal at 10-d SRT. However, the anionic surfactant removal in System A was 99% and 60% in System B. The chlorophyll concentration increased with an increase in SRT in both the systems. At 2-d SRT, no chlorophyll was observed in System B, whereas 0.5 mg/L was observed in System A. At 10-d SRT, the chlorophyll concentration in System A was 7.5 mg/L, whereas it was 4.5 mg/L in System B. Although both the systems showed similar performance in treatment, the increase in chlorophyll concentration suggests that System A demonstrated a better algal-bacterial symbiotic relationship in treating KWW than System B.

Keywords: diatoms, microalgae, retention time, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Omar Farshad Jeelani, Makaire Njie, Viktoriia M. Korzhuk

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Recently, the application of AI-powered algorithms in healthcare continues to flourish. Particularly, access to healthcare information, including patient health history, diagnostic data, and PII (Personally Identifiable Information) is paramount in the delivery of efficient patient outcomes. However, as the exchange of healthcare information between patients and healthcare providers through AI-powered solutions increases, protecting a person’s information and their privacy has become even more important. Arguably, the increased adoption of healthcare AI has resulted in a significant concentration on the security risks and protection measures to the security and privacy of healthcare data, leading to escalated analyses and enforcement. Since these challenges are brought by the use of AI-based healthcare solutions to manage healthcare data, AI-based data protection measures are used to resolve the underlying problems. Consequently, this project proposes AI-powered safeguards and policies/laws to protect the privacy of healthcare data. The project presents the best-in-school techniques used to preserve the data privacy of AI-powered healthcare applications. Popular privacy-protecting methods like Federated learning, cryptographic techniques, differential privacy methods, and hybrid methods are discussed together with potential cyber threats, data security concerns, and prospects. Also, the project discusses some of the relevant data security acts/laws that govern the collection, storage, and processing of healthcare data to guarantee owners’ privacy is preserved. This inquiry discusses various gaps and uncertainties associated with healthcare AI data collection procedures and identifies potential correction/mitigation measures.

Keywords: data privacy, artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare AI, data sharing, healthcare organizations (HCOs)

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Authors: Somchai Buaroong

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This research aims to investigating strong points and challenges in application of an online learning management system to an English course. Data were collected from observation, learners’ oral and written reports, and the teacher’s journals. A questionnaire was utilized as a tool to collect data. Statistics utilized in this research included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings show that the system was an additional channel to enhance English language learning through written class assignments that were digitally accessible by any group members, and through communication between the teacher and learners and among learners themselves. Thus, the learning management system could be a promising tool for foreign language teachers. Also revealed in the study were difficulties in its use. The article ends with discussions of findings of the system for foreign language classes in association to pedagogy are also included and in the level of signification.

Keywords: english course, foreign language system, online learning management system, teacher’s journals

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Authors: Lilian Ogechi Iheukwumere-Esotu, Akilu Yunusa-Kaltungo, Paul Chan

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Industrial assets are prone to degradation and eventual failures due to repetitive loads and harsh environments in which they operate. These failures often lead to costly downtimes, which may involve loss of critical assets and/or human lives. The rising pressures from stakeholders for optimized systems’ outputs have further placed strains on business organizations. Traditional means of combating such failures are by adopting strategies capable of predicting, controlling, and/or reducing the likelihood of systems’ failures. Turnarounds, shutdowns, and outages (TSOs) projects are popular maintenance management activities conducted over a certain period of time. However, despite the critical and significant cost implications of TSOs, the management of the interface of knowledge between academia and industry to our best knowledge has not been fully explored in comparison to other aspects of industrial operations. This is perhaps one of the reasons for the limited knowledge transfer between academia and industry, which has affected the outcomes of most TSOs. Prior to now, the study of knowledge development trends as a failure analysis tool in the management of TSOs projects have not gained the required level of attention. Hence, this review provides useful references and their implications for future studies in this field. This study aims to harmonize the existing research trends of TSOs through a systematic review of more than 3,000 research articles published over 7 decades (1940- till date) which were extracted using very specific research criteria and later streamlined using nominated inclusion and exclusion parameters. The information obtained from the analysis were then synthesized and coded into 8 parameters, thereby allowing for a transformation into actionable outputs. The study revealed a variety of information, but the most critical findings can be classified into 4 folds: (1) Empirical validation of available conceptual frameworks and models is still a far cry in practice, (2) traditional project management views for managing uncertainties are still dominant, (3) Inconsistent approaches towards the adoption and promotion of knowledge management systems which supports creation, transfer and application of knowledge within and outside the project organization and, (4) exploration of social practices in industrial maintenance project environments are under-represented within the existing body of knowledge. Thus, the intention of this study is to depict the usefulness of a framework which incorporates fact findings emanating from careful analysis and illustrations of evidence based results as a suitable approach which can tackle reoccurring failures in industrial maintenance projects.

Keywords: industrial maintenance, knowledge management, maintenance projects, systematic review, TSOs

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Authors: Nor Kalsum M. Isa, Mohd Yazid M. Yunos, Anuar Alias, Mazdi Marzuki, Kamarul Ismail, Mohd H. Ibrahim

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Green building is an emerging concept with the ultimate target to achieve sustainable development by integrating sustainability goals and principles into project development. Basically, a green building is a building that is designed, constructed and operated to boost environmental, economic, health and productivity performance over conventional buildings. The buildings have been proven to be successful in contributing towards sustainability and project success. The purpose of this study was to determine the benefits of sustainability application in building projects, looking towards project success from the perspective of Malaysian key project stakeholders. The study also aimed to explore the establishment of sustainability goals in the green building projects in Malaysia. The Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Concept of Sustainability was used as the foundation theoretical framework. Surveys, interviews and multiple case study methods were employed. A sample of 188 Malaysian building project stakeholders was selected for questionnaire surveys, and 15 stakeholders from three award-winning green building projects in Malaysia were involved in the interviews. The study found that the majority of the respondents were less aware that the sustainability integration in the building project can significantly affect cost reduction, schedule effectiveness and stakeholders’ satisfaction with the performance of buildings as at the same level as the quality performance. Of the four sustainability goals, the environmental aspect was given more priority than others in the development of the green building projects.

Keywords: green building, sustainability, project stakeholders, Malaysia

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Authors: Prabhakar Venugopal G.

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Complex environments triggered by globalization have necessitated new paradigms of leadership – complexity leadership that encompasses multiple roles that leaders need to take upon. The success of higher education institutions depends on how well leaders can provide adaptive, administrative and enabling leadership. Complexity leadership seems all the more relevant for institutions that are knowledge-driven and thrive on knowledge creation, knowledge storage and retrieval, knowledge sharing and knowledge applications. In this paper are the elements of globalization, the opportunities and challenges that are brought forth by globalization are discussed. The complexity leadership paradigm in a knowledge-based economy and the need for such a paradigm shift for higher education institutions is presented. Further, the paper also discusses the support the leader requires in a knowledge-driven economy through knowledge management initiatives.

Keywords: globalization, complexity leadership, knowledge management

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Authors: Giacomo Barbieri

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In soilless culture, the management of the nutrient solution is the most important aspect for crop growing. Fertigation dose, frequency and nutrient concentration must be planned with the objective of reaching an optimal crop growth by limiting the utilized resources and the associated costs. The definition of efficient fertigation strategies is a complex problem since fertigation requirements vary on the basis of different factors, and crops are sensitive to small variations on fertigation parameters. To the best of author knowledge, a small-scale test bench that is flexible for both nutrient solution preparation and precise irrigation is currently missing, limiting the investigations in standard practices for soilless culture. Starting from the analysis of the state of the art, this paper proposes a small-scale system that is potentially able to concurrently test different fertigation strategies. The system will be designed and implemented throughout a three year project started on August 2018. However, due to the importance of the topic within current challenges as food security and climate change, this work is spread considering that may inspire other universities and organizations.

Keywords: soilless culture, fertigation, test bench, small-scale, automation

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Authors: Chukwuka Justus Iwegbu

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Background: A major concern facing the world is providing senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups with high-quality care. This issue is more serious in Nigeria's North Eastern area, where the burden of disease and disability is heavy, and access to care is constrained. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the roles, challenges and support needs of caregivers, care home management, funding and administration in challenged communities in North Eastern Nigeria. The study will also provide a comprehensive understanding of the current situation and identify opportunities for improving the quality of care and support for caregivers and care recipients in these communities. Methods: A mixed-methods design, including both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, will be used, and it will be guided by the stress process model of caregiving. The qualitative stage approach will comprise a survey, In-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussion and the quantitative analysis will be used in order to comprehend the variations between caregiver's roles and care home management. A review of relevant documents, such as care home policies and funding reports, would be used to gather quantitative data on the administrative and financial aspects of care. The data collected will be analyzed using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. A sample size of around 200-300 participants, including caregivers, care recipients, care home managers and administrators, policymakers and health care providers, would be recruited. Findings: The study revealed that caregivers in challenged communities in North Eastern Nigeria face significant challenges, including lack of training and support, limited access to funding and resources, and high levels of burnout. Care home management and administration were also found to be inadequate, with a lack of clear policies and procedures and limited oversight and accountability. Conclusion: There is a need for increased investment in training and support for caregivers, as well as a need for improved care home management and administration in challenged communities in North Eastern Nigeria. It also highlights the importance of involving community members in decision-making and planning processes related to care homes and services. The study would contribute to the existing body of knowledge by providing a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by caregivers, care home managers and administrators.

Keywords: caregivers, care home management, funding, administration, challenge communities, North Eastern Nigeria

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Authors: Brian Bilich

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A typical global learning program is a two-week project based, culturally immersive and academically relevant experience built around a project with purpose and catered to student and business groups. Global Learning in Continuing Education at Austin Community College promotes global readiness through projects with purpose with special attention given to balancing learning, hospitality and travel. A recent project involved CommunityFirst! Village; a 51-acre planned community which provides affordable, permanent housing for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness. Global Learning students collaborated with residents and staff at the Community First! Village on a project to produce two-dimensional remodeling plans of residents’ tiny homes with a focus on but not limited to design improvements on elements related to accessibility, increased usability of living and storage space and esthetic upgrades to boost psychological and emotional appeal. The goal of project-based learning in the context of global learning in Continuing Educaiton at Austin Community Collegen general is two fold. One, in rapid fashion we develop a project which gives the learner a hands-on opportunity to exercise soft and technical skills, like creativity and communication and analytical thinking. Two, by basing projects on global social conflict issues, the project of purpose promotes the development of empathy for other people and fosters a sense of corporate social responsibility in future generations of business leadership. In the example provide above the project informed the student group on the topic of chronic homelessness and promoted awareness and empathy for this underserved segment of the community. Project-based global learning based on projects with purpose has the potential to cultivate global readiness by developing empathy and strengthening emotional intelligence for future generations.

Keywords: project-based learning, global learning, global readiness, globalization, international exchange, collaboration

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Authors: Emma Louise McKinney

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There is a global move to integrate children who are Deaf and Hearing Impaired into regular classrooms with their hearing peers with an inclusive education framework. This paper examines the current education situation for children who are Deaf and Hearing Impaired in South Africa, Madagascar, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Qualitative data for this paper was obtained from the author’s experiences working as the Southern African Education Advisor for an international organization funding disability projects. It examines some of the challenges facing these children and their teachers relating to education. Challenges include cultural stigma relating to disability and deafness, a lack of hearing screening and early identification of deafness, schools in rural areas, special schools, specialist teacher training, equipment, understanding of how to implement policy, support, appropriate teaching methodologies, and sign language training and proficiency. On the other hand, in spite of the challenges some teachers are able to provide quality education to children who are Deaf and Hearing Impaired. This paper examines both the challenges as well as what teachers are doing to overcome these.

Keywords: education of children who are deaf and hearing impaired, Southern African experiences, challenges, triumphs

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Authors: Supranee Wattanasin

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The purpose of this research was to enhance student’s media literacy. The process was divided into 4 periods: the first phase was to hold the meeting for 100 representatives from various institutions in Thailand; the second phase allowed them to design activities to be used in their institutions; the third implemented activities to reach other target groups; and the last phase was to summarize results. It was found that the participants had clear understanding on media literacy. They knew well about the media. In other words, they knew the difference between creative media and bad ones. Students could use analytical process when searching for information. Thus, the project enabled the students to use analytical thinking skills in designing new activities. Therefore, they could creatively integrate Thai folk song with short movies and cartoons. To increase students’ media literacy, there should be chances for them to gain first-hand experience.

Keywords: media literacy, mechanism development, youth, project radio-television

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Authors: Elisa Silva, Rui Lança, Fátima Farinha, Miguel José Oliveira, Manuel Duarte Pinheiro, Cátia Miguel

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Tourism is one of the global engines of development. With good planning and management, it can be a positive force, bringing benefits to touristic destinations around the world. However, without constrains, boundaries well established and constant survey, tourism can be very harmful and induce destination’s degradation. In the interest of the tourism sector and the community it is important to develop the destination maintaining its sustainability. The OBSERVE project is an instrument for monitoring and evaluating the sustainability of the region of Algarve. Its main priority is to provide environmental, economic, social-cultural and institutional indicators to support the decision-making process towards a sustainable growth. In the pursuit of the objectives, it is being developed a digital platform where the significant indicators will be continuously updated. It is known that the successful development of a touristic region depends from the careful planning with the commitment of central and regional government, industry, services and community stakeholders. Understand the different perspectives of stakeholders is essential to engage them in the development planning. However, actual stakeholders’ engagement process is complex and not easy to accomplish. To create a consistent system of indicators designed to monitor and evaluate the sustainability performance of a touristic region it is necessary to access the local data and the consideration of the full range of values and uncertainties. This paper presents the OBSERVE project and describes the stakeholders´ engagement process highlighting the contributions, ambitions and constraints.

Keywords: sustainable tourism, stakeholders' engagement, OBSERVE project, Algarve region

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Authors: Aishath Shakeela

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At a global level, water stewardship, water stress and water security are crucial factors in tourism planning and development considerations. Challenges associated with water is of particular concern to the Maldives as there is limited availability of freshwater, high dependency on desalinated water, and high unit cost associated with desalinating water. While the Maldives is promoted as an example of sustainable tourism, a key sustainability challenge facing tourism dependent communities is the efficient use and management of available water resources. A water crisis event in the capital island of Maldives highlighted how precarious water related issues are in this tourism dependent destination. Applying netnography, the focus of this working paper is to present community perceptions of how government policies addressed Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) water crisis event.

Keywords: crisis management, government policies, Maldives, tourism, water

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Authors: Soheila Sadeghi

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Construction projects are complex and often subject to significant cost overruns due to the multifaceted nature of the activities involved. Accurate cost estimation is crucial for effective budget planning and resource allocation. Traditional methods for predicting overruns often rely on expert judgment or analysis of historical data, which can be time-consuming, subjective, and may fail to consider important factors. However, with the increasing availability of data from construction projects, machine learning techniques can be leveraged to improve the accuracy of overrun predictions. This study applied machine learning algorithms to enhance the prediction of cost overruns in a case study of a construction project. The methodology involved the development and evaluation of two machine learning models: Random Forest and Neural Networks. Random Forest can handle high-dimensional data, capture complex relationships, and provide feature importance estimates. Neural Networks, particularly Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), are capable of automatically learning and modeling complex, non-linear relationships between input features and the target variable. These models can adapt to new data, reduce human bias, and uncover hidden patterns in the dataset. The findings of this study demonstrate that both Random Forest and Neural Networks can significantly improve the accuracy of cost overrun predictions compared to traditional methods. The Random Forest model also identified key cost drivers and risk factors, such as changes in the scope of work and delays in material delivery, which can inform better project risk management. However, the study acknowledges several limitations. First, the findings are based on a single construction project, which may limit the generalizability of the results to other projects or contexts. Second, the dataset, although comprehensive, may not capture all relevant factors influencing cost overruns, such as external economic conditions or political factors. Third, the study focuses primarily on cost overruns, while schedule overruns are not explicitly addressed. Future research should explore the application of machine learning techniques to a broader range of projects, incorporate additional data sources, and investigate the prediction of both cost and schedule overruns simultaneously.

Keywords: resource allocation, machine learning, optimization, data-driven decision-making, project management

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Authors: Qamar Ul Haq, Talat Hussain, Mufti Fahad Ahmed Qureshi

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From the Islamic perspective, managing human resource meets various challenges, especially in the modern organizations. The adoption of Western practices in various aspects of management have caused gaps in justice, trustworthy, responsibility and other values of workers in Muslim countries. Thus, the interference of Islamic principles in human resource management (HRM) can be considered as a great solution for treating employees fairly and justly. This research aims to examine the level of Islamic practices in HRM, in which includes recruitment and selection, training and development, career development, performance management and rewards. The paper will analyze the relationships between HRM practices and organizational justice which focus on three elements, which are distributive justice, procedure justice and interactional justice. The data will be collected from selected Malaysian Government-Linked Company (GLC). Convenience sampling will be used to select the respondents for completing questionnaires. This conceptual paper essentially provides organizations with effective ways of understanding and implementing HRM by using Islamic principles. It also can be used as guidance for decision-making and day-today HR activities and will help organization to face uncertainties in the business world as well.

Keywords: human resource management, organizational justice, Islam, Islamic banking

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Authors: Anita Lazurko, Laszlo Pinter, Jeremy Richardson

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Uncertain climate projections, multiple possible development futures, and a financing gap create challenges for water infrastructure decision making. In contrast to conventional predict-plan-act methods, an emerging decision paradigm that enables social-ecological resilience supports decisions that are appropriate for uncertainty and leverage social, ecological, and economic multifunctionality. Concurrently, water infrastructure project finance plays a powerful role in sustainable infrastructure development but remains disconnected from discourse in socio-ecological resilience. At the time of research, a project to transfer water from Lesotho to Botswana through South Africa in the Orange-Senqu River Basin was at the pre-feasibility stage. This case was analysed through documents and interviews to investigate how uncertainty and multifunctionality are conceptualised and considered in decisions for the resilience of water infrastructure and to explore bridging concepts that might allow project finance to better enable socio-ecological resilience. Interviewees conceptualised uncertainty as risk, ambiguity and ignorance, and multifunctionality as politically-motivated shared benefits. Numerous efforts to adopt emerging decision methods that consider these terms were in use but required compromises to accommodate the persistent, conventional decision paradigm, though a range of future opportunities was identified. Bridging these findings to finance revealed opportunities to consider a more comprehensive scope of risk, to leverage risk mitigation measures, to diffuse risks and benefits over space, time and to diverse actor groups, and to clarify roles to achieve multiple objectives for resilience. In addition to insights into how multiple decision paradigms interact in real-world decision contexts, the research highlights untapped potential at the juncture between socio-ecological resilience and project finance.

Keywords: socio-ecological resilience, finance, multifunctionality, uncertainty

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Authors: Daniela Velichová

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Plenty of ideas on how to adopt active learning methods in education are available nowadays. Mathematics is a subject where the active involvement of students is required in particular in order to achieve desirable results regarding sustainable knowledge and deep understanding. The present article is based on the outcomes of an Erasmus+ project DrIVE-MATH, that was aimed at developing a novel and integrated framework to teach maths classes in engineering courses at the university level. It is fundamental for students from the early years of their academic life to have agile minds. They must be prepared to adapt to their future working environments, where enterprises’ views are always evolving, where all collaborate in teams, and relations between peers are thought for the well-being of the whole - workers and company profit. This reality imposes new requirements on higher education in terms of adaptation of different pedagogical methods, such as project-based and active-learning methods used within the course curricula. Active learning methodologies are regarded as an effective way to prepare students to meet the challenges posed by enterprises and to help them in building critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and insight to the solved complex problems from different perspectives. Fostering learning-by-doing activities in the pedagogical process can help students to achieve learning independence, as they could acquire deeper conceptual understanding by experimenting with the abstract concept in a more interesting, useful, and meaningful way. Clear information about learning outcomes and goals might help students to take more responsibility for their learning results. Active learning methods implemented by the project team members in their teaching practice, eduScrum and Jigsaw in particular, proved to provide better scientific and soft skills support to students than classical teaching methods. EduScrum method enables teachers to generate a working environment that stimulates students' working habits and self-initiative as they become aware of their responsibilities within the team, their own acquired knowledge, and their abilities to solve problems independently, though in collaboration with other team members. This method enhances collaborative learning, as students are working in teams towards a common goal - knowledge acquisition, while they are interacting with each other and evaluated individually. Teams consisting of 4-5 students work together on a list of problems - sprint; each member is responsible for solving one of them, while the group leader – a master, is responsible for the whole team. A similar principle is behind the Jigsaw technique, where the classroom activity makes students dependent on each other to succeed. Students are divided into groups, and assignments are split into pieces, which need to be assembled by the whole group to complete the (Jigsaw) puzzle. In this paper, analysis of students’ perceptions concerning the achievement of deeper conceptual understanding in mathematics and the development of soft skills, such as self-motivation, critical thinking, flexibility, leadership, responsibility, teamwork, negotiation, and conflict management, is presented. Some new challenges are discussed as brought by introducing active learning methods in the basic mathematics courses. A few examples of sprints developed and used in teaching basic maths courses at technical universities are presented in addition.

Keywords: active learning methods, collaborative learning, conceptual understanding, eduScrum, Jigsaw, soft skills

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Authors: Jeffrey R. Mueller

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This paper expands on the role of the professor by detailing the origins of the profession, adding some of the unique contributions of North American Universities, as well as some of the best practice recommendations, to the unique tripartite role of the professor. It describes current challenges to the profession including the ever-controversial student rating of professors. It continues with the significance of empowerment to the role of the professor. It concludes with a predictive prescription for the future of the professoriate and the role of the university-level educational administrator toward that end.

Keywords: professoriate history, tripartite role, challenges, empowerment, shared governance, administratization

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Authors: M. D. Antoine

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Despite the widespread use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for autistic children, little is known about the communication flow between the different parties involved in autism care (e.g., parents/caregivers, conventional providers, alternative practitioners). This study aimed to describe how communication occurs through the first year following an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis to identify challenges and potential barriers to communication within the healthcare system in Ottawa, Canada. From an ecological perspective, we collected qualitative data through 12 semi-structured interviews with six parents/caregivers, three conventional providers (e.g., family doctor, neurodevelopmental pediatrician, psychologist), and three alternative practitioners (e.g., naturopath, occupational therapist, speech and language pathologist) operating in Ottawa. We interpreted the data using thematic analysis. Findings revealed communication challenges between the parents/caregivers and conventional providers while they experience better communication flow with fewer challenges in alternative care settings. However, parents/caregivers are the only links between the health professionals of both streams. From the five contexts examined: organizational, interpersonal, media, cultural, and political-legal, we found four themes (provider knowledge, care integration, flexible care, and time constraints) underlining specific barriers to communication flow between the parties involved in the care of autistic children. The increasing interest in alternative medicine is forcing changes in the healthcare system. Communications occur outside the norms making openings for better communication and information-sharing increasingly essential. Within the identified themes in the current study, the necessity for better communication between all parties involved in the care of autistic children is evident. More ASD and CAM-related training for providers would support effective parent/caregiver-provider communication. The findings of the current study contribute to a better understanding of the role of communication in the care management of autism, which has implications for effective autism care.

Keywords: alternative medicine, autism care management, autism spectrum disorder, conventional medicine, parent-provider communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 175