Search results for: level of service estimation

Authors: Nicholas Anderson, Steven Petersen, Tom Bates, Val Anderson

Abstract:

Under the multiple-use management regime established in the United States for federally owned lands, government agencies have come under pressure from commercial apiaries to grant permits for the summer pasturing of honeybees on government lands. Federal agencies have struggled to integrate honeybees into their management plans and have little information to make regulations that resolve how many colonies should be allowed in a single location and at what distance sets of hives should be placed. Many conservation groups have voiced their concerns regarding the introduction of honeybees to these natural lands, as they may outcompete and displace native pollinating species. Assessing the quality of an area in regard to its floral resources, pollen, and nectar can be important when attempting to create regulations for the integration of commercial honeybee operations into a native ecosystem. Areas with greater floral resources may be able to support larger numbers of honeybee colonies, while poorer resource areas may be less resilient to introduced disturbances. Attempts are made in this study to determine flower cover using high resolution drone imagery to help assess the floral resource availability to pollinators in high elevation, tall forb communities. This knowledge will help in determining the potential that different areas may have for honeybee pasturing and honey production. Roughly 700 images were captured at 23m above ground level using a drone equipped with a Sony QX1 RGB 20-megapixel camera. These images were stitched together using Pix4D, resulting in a 60m diameter high-resolution mosaic of a tall forb meadow. Using the program ENVI, a supervised maximum likelihood classification was conducted to calculate the percentage of total flower cover and flower cover by color (blue, white, and yellow). A complete vegetation inventory was taken on site, and the major flowers contributing to each color class were noted. An accuracy assessment was performed on the classification yielding an 89% overall accuracy and a Kappa Statistic of 0.855. With this level of accuracy, drones provide an affordable and time efficient method for the assessment of floral cover in large areas. The proximal step of this project will now be to determine the average pollen and nectar loads carried by each flower species. The addition of this knowledge will result in a quantifiable method of measuring pollen and nectar resources of entire landscapes. This information will not only help land managers determine stocking rates for honeybees on public lands but also has applications in the agricultural setting, aiding producers in the determination of the number of honeybee colonies necessary for proper pollination of fruit and nut crops.

Keywords: honeybee, flower, pollinator, remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Fatemeh Noughani, Seyd Mehdi Sadat

Abstract:

Violence against women as a global problem is not confined to any geographical and cultural area. The thoughts and opinions propagating the violence are seen in many cultural beliefs of societies. However, the shape, type and nature of it is different in different cultures. Also, many Iranian women have experienced different dimensions of domestic violence in their lives. This experience may vary with the family economic situation and poverty. Therefore, this research had studied the effects of family economic situation (poverty) on the increase of domestic violence against women. The sample of this study includes 126 married women older than 8 years old and they were selected by stratified and quota sampling method. The results showed that there is a direct and significant between the family economic situation and employment situation of women and domestic violence against women. More precisely, having economic capital, financial ability, affects the couple’s relationship and will solve their many social problems and perhaps, it seem that in terms of economic violence, the men who have higher economic capital, exert the lowest level of economic violence against their wives.

Keywords: economic situation , domestic violence, poverty, Iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: Ozlem Kaya

Abstract:

21st-century learners are energetic and tech-savvy, and the skills and the knowledge required in this century are complex and challenging. Therefore, teachers need to find new ways to appeal to the needs and interests of their students and meet the demands of the 21st century at the same time. One way to do so in English language learning has been to incorporate various technology tools into classroom practices. Although teachers think these practices are effective and their students enjoy them, students may have different perceptions. To find out what students think about the use of technology tools in terms of developing 21st-century skills and knowledge, this study was conducted at Anadolu University School of Foreign Languages. A questionnaire was administered to 40 students at elementary level. Afterward, semi-structured interviews were held with 8 students to provide deeper insight into their perceptions. The details of the findings of the study will be presented and discussed during the presentation.

Keywords: 21st century skills, technology tools, perception, English Language Learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Quoc Khanh Dang, Thomas Bourdeaud’huy, Khaled Mesghouni, Armand Toguy´eni

Abstract:

This paper studies a train routing and scheduling problem for busy railway stations. Our objective is to allow trains to be routed in dense areas that are reaching saturation. Unlike traditional methods that allocate all resources to setup a route for a train and until the route is freed, our work focuses on the use of resources as trains progress through the railway node. This technique allows a larger number of trains to be routed simultaneously in a railway node and thus reduces their current saturation. To deal with this problem, this study proposes an abstract model and a mixed-integer linear programming formulation to solve it. The applicability of our method is illustrated on a didactic example.

Keywords: busy railway stations, mixed-integer linear programming, offline railway station management, train platforming, train routing, train scheduling

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: Uraib Sharaha, Ahmad Salman, Eladio Rodriguez-Diaz, Elad Shufan, Klaris Riesenberg, Irving J. Bigio, Mahmoud Huleihel

Abstract:

Antimicrobial drugs have played an indispensable role in controlling illness and death associated with infectious diseases in animals and humans. However, the increasing resistance of bacteria to a broad spectrum of commonly used antibiotics has become a global healthcare problem. Many antibiotics had lost their effectiveness since the beginning of the antibiotic era because many bacteria have adapted defenses against these antibiotics. Rapid determination of antimicrobial susceptibility of a clinical isolate is often crucial for the optimal antimicrobial therapy of infected patients and in many cases can save lives. The conventional methods for susceptibility testing require the isolation of the pathogen from a clinical specimen by culturing on the appropriate media (this culturing stage lasts 24 h-first culturing). Then, chosen colonies are grown on media containing antibiotic(s), using micro-diffusion discs (second culturing time is also 24 h) in order to determine its bacterial susceptibility. Other methods, genotyping methods, E-test and automated methods were also developed for testing antimicrobial susceptibility. Most of these methods are expensive and time-consuming. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy is rapid, safe, effective and low cost method that was widely and successfully used in different studies for the identification of various biological samples including bacteria; nonetheless, its true potential in routine clinical diagnosis has not yet been established. The new modern infrared (IR) spectrometers with high spectral resolution enable measuring unprecedented biochemical information from cells at the molecular level. Moreover, the development of new bioinformatics analyses combined with IR spectroscopy becomes a powerful technique, which enables the detection of structural changes associated with resistivity. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the potential of the FTIR microscopy in tandem with machine learning algorithms for rapid and reliable identification of bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics in time span of few minutes. The UTI E.coli bacterial samples, which were identified at the species level by MALDI-TOF and examined for their susceptibility by the routine assay (micro-diffusion discs), are obtained from the bacteriology laboratories in Soroka University Medical Center (SUMC). These samples were examined by FTIR microscopy and analyzed by advanced statistical methods. Our results, based on 700 E.coli samples, were promising and showed that by using infrared spectroscopic technique together with multivariate analysis, it is possible to classify the tested bacteria into sensitive and resistant with success rate higher than 90% for eight different antibiotics. Based on these preliminary results, it is worthwhile to continue developing the FTIR microscopy technique as a rapid and reliable method for identification antibiotic susceptibility.

Keywords: antibiotics, E.coli, FTIR, multivariate analysis, susceptibility, UTI

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Hasan Basri Jumin

Abstract:

Using the slaughterhouse waste combined to suitable dose of nitrogen fertilizer to Apium glaviolen gives the significant effect to mean relative growth rate. The same pattern also showed significantly in net assimilation rate. The net assimilation rate increased significantly during 42 days old plants. Combination of treatment of 100 ml/l animal slaughterhouse waste and 0.1 g/kg nitrogen fertilizer/kg soil increased the vegetative growth of Apium glaviolens. The biomass of plant and mean relative growth rate of Apium glaviolens were rapidly increased in 4 weeks after planting and gradually decreased after 35 days at the harvest time. Combination of 100 ml/l slaughterhouse waste and applied 0.1 g/kg nitrogen fertilizer has increased all parameters. The highest vegetative growth, biomass, mean relative growth rate and net assimilation rate were received from 0.56 mg-l.m-2.days-1.

Keywords: Apium glaviolent, nitrogen, pollutant, slaughterhouse, waste

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Chen Xi, LIU Xuebin, Kuan Sinman, LI Haofeng, Huang Hongming, Zeng Chengyu, Lao Xuerui

Abstract:

Stray animals are on the rise in mainland China's cities. There are legal reasons for this, namely the lack of protection for domestic pets in mainland China, where only wildlife protection laws exist. At a social level, the ease with which families adopt pets and the lack of a social view of animal nature have led to the frequent abandonment and loss of stray animals. If left unmanaged, conflicts between humans and stray animals can also increase. This project provides an inexpensive and widely applicable management tool for urban management by collecting videos and pictures of stray animals captured by surveillance or transmitted by humans and using artificial intelligence technology (mainly using Yolov5 recognition technology) and recording and managing them in a database.

Keywords: urban planning, urban governance, artificial intelligence, convolutional neural network, machine vision

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Stephanie K. Douglas, Gordon R. Haley

Abstract:

Organizations face increasing disruptions, changes, and uncertainties through the rapid shifts in the economy and business environment. A capacity for resilience is necessary for organizations to survive and thrive in such adverse conditions. Learning is an essential component of an organization's capability for building resilience. Strategic human resource management is a principal component of learning and organizational resilience. To achieve organizational resilience, human resource management strategies must support individual knowledge, skills, and ability development through organizational learning. This study aimed to contribute to the comprehensive knowledge of the relationship between strategic human resource management and organizational learning to build organizational resilience. The organizational learning dimensions of knowledge acquisition, knowledge distribution, knowledge interpretation, and organizational memory can be fostered through human resource management strategies and then aggregated to the organizational level to build resilience.

Keywords: human resource development, human resource management, organizational learning, organizational resilience

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: S. Odabasi Cimer, A. Cimer

Abstract:

Recently, the poor quality of education, low achieving students, low international exam performances and little or no effect of the education reforms on the teaching in the classrooms are the main problems of education discussed in Turkey. Research showed that the quality of an education system can not exceed the quality of its teachers and teaching. Therefore, in-service training (INSET) courses are important to improve teacher quality, thereby, the quality of education. However, according to the research conducted on the evaluation of the INSET courses in Turkey, they are not effective in improving the quality of teaching in the classroom. The main reason for this result is because INSET courses are conducted and delivered in limited time and presented theoretically, which does not meet the needs of teachers and as a result, the knowledge and skills taught are not used in the classrooms. Recently, developed countries have been using Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) successfully for the purpose of school-based training of teachers. CFGs are the learning groups which contain 6-10 teachers aimed at fostering their capacities to undertake instructional and personal improvement and schoolwide reform. CFGs have been recognized as a critical feature in school reform, improving teaching practice and improving student achievement. In addition, in the USA, teachers have named CFGs one of the most powerful professional development activities in which they have ever participated. Whereas, in Turkey, the concept is new. This study aimed to investigate the implications of application, evaluation, and promotion of CFGs which has the potential to contribute to teacher development and student learning in schools in Turkey. For this purpose, the study employed a qualitative approach and case study methodology to implement the model in high schools. The research was conducted in two schools and 13 teachers working in these schools participated. The study lasted two years and the data were collected through various data collection tools including interviews, meeting transcripts, questionnaires, portfolios, and diaries. The results of the study showed that CFGs contributed professional development of teachers and their students’ learning. It also contributed to a culture of collaborative work in schools. A number of barriers and challenges which prevent effective implementation were also determined.

Keywords: critical friends group, education reform, science learning, teacher education

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: J. Nesleha, H. Florianova

Abstract:

The goal of the study is to provide results of a conducted study devoted to financial literacy in the Czech Republic and to introduce a project related to financial education in the Czech Republic. Financial education has become an important part of education in the country, yet it is still neglected on the lowest level of formal education–primary schools. The project is based on investigation of financial literacy on primary schools in the Czech Republic. Consequently, the authors aim to formulate possible amendments related to this type of education. The gained dataset is intended to be used for analysis concerning financial education in the Czech Republic. With regard to used methods, the most important one is regression analysis for disclosure of predictors causing different levels of financial literacy. Furthermore, comparison of different groups is planned, for which t-tests are intended to be used. The study also employs descriptive statistics to introduce basic relationship in the data file.

Keywords: Czech Republic, financial education, financial literacy, primary school

Procedia PDF Downloads 330

Authors: Azzouzi Fadoua

Abstract:

This study focuses on the diagnosis of the dynamics of natural resources in a semi-arid mountainous weakened by natural vulnerability and anthropogenic action. This is evident in the forms of hydraulic erosion and degradation of agricultural land. The rate of this damaged land is 53%, with a strong presence of concentrated erosion; this shows that balanced and semi-balanced environments are less apparent to the Watershed, representing 47%. The results revealed the crucial role of the slopes and the density of the hydraulic networks to facilitate the transport of fine elements, at the level of the slopes with low vegetation intensity, to the lake of the dam. Something that endangers the siltation of the latter. After the study of natural and anthropogenic elements, it turned out that natural vulnerability is an integral part of the current dynamic, especially when it coincides with the overexploitation of natural resources, in this case, the exploitation of steep slopes for the cultivation of cereals and overgrazing. This causes the soil to pile up and increase the rate of runoff.

Keywords: watershed, erosion, natural vulnerability, anthropogenic

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Sumita Srivastava

Abstract:

Despite several measures taken by the Government of India, entrepreneurship is still not perceived as a viable career option by the young generation. Although the rate of startups has improved a little after the penetration of e portals as business platforms, still the numbers are not very significant. It is also important to note that entrepreneurial initiatives are mostly taken up by graduates of premier institutions of India like Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). The scenario is not very satisfactory amongst the masses graduating from mainstream universities of the country. Indian youth at large are not attracted towards entrepreneurship as a career choice. The reason probably lies in the social fabric of the country and inappropriate education system which does not support the entrepreneurship at large amongst youth in the country. Education is critical to the development of an economy from the poverty level to the level of self-sustenance and development. The current curriculum in the majority of business schools in India prepares the average graduate to become employed by the available firms or business owners in society. For graduates in other streams, employment opportunities are very limited. The aim of this study was to identify and design entrepreneurship education contents to encourage undergraduates to pursue entrepreneurship as a career choice. This comprehensive study was conducted in multiple stages. Extensive research was conducted at each stage with an appropriate methodology. These stages of the project study were interconnected with each other, and each preceding stage provided inputs for the following stage of the study. In the first stage of the study, an empirical analysis was conducted to understand the current state of entrepreneurial intentions of undergraduates of Agra city. Various stakeholders were contacted at the stage, including students (n = 500), entrepreneurs (n = 20) and academicians and field experts (n = 10). At the second stage of the project study, a systems science technique, Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to identify the critical elements of entrepreneurship education in India based upon the findings of stage 1. The application of the Nominal Group Technique involved a workshop format; 15 domain experts participated in the workshop. Throughout the process, a democratic process was followed to avoid individual dominance and premature focusing on a single idea. The study obtained 63 responses from experts for effective entrepreneurship education in India. The responses were reduced to seven elements after a few thematic iterations. These elements were then segregated into content (knowledge, skills and attitude) and learning interaction on the basis of experts’ responses. After identifying critical elements of entrepreneurship education in the previous stage, the course was designed and validated at stage 3 of the project. Scientific methods were used at this stage to validate the curriculum contents and training interventions experimentally. The educational and training interventions designed through this study would not only help in developing entrepreneurial intentions but also creating skills relevant to the local entrepreneurial opportunities in the vicinity.

Keywords: curriculum design, entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneuship education, nominal group technique

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Chinwe Okpoko, Vivian Atasie

Abstract:

One of the leading causes of death amongst women of child-bearing age in southeast Nigeria is pregnancy. Women in the reproductive age group die at a higher rate than men of the same age bracket. Furthermore, most maternal deaths occur among poor women who live in rural communities, and who generally fall within the low socio-economic group in society. Failure of policy makers and the media to create the strategic awareness and communication that conform with the sensibilities of this group account, in part, for the persistence of this malaise. Family planning (FP) is an essential component of safe motherhood, which is designed to ensure that women receive high-quality care to achieve an optimum level of health of mother and infant. The aim is to control the number of children a woman can give birth to and prevent maternal and child mortality and morbidity. This is what sustainable development goal (SDG) health target of World Health Organization (WHO) also strives to achieve. FP programmes reduce exposure to the risks of child-bearing. Indeed, most maternal deaths in the developing world can be prevented by fully investing simultaneously in FP and maternal and new-born care. Given the intrinsic value of communication in health care delivery, it is vital to adopt the most efficacious means of awareness creation and communication amongst rural women in FP. In a country where over 50% of her population resides in rural areas with attendant low-level profile standard of living, the need to communicate health information like FP through indigenous channels becomes pertinent. Interpersonal communication amongst family, friends, religious groups and other associations, is an efficacious means of communicating social issues in rural Africa. Communication in informal settings identifies with the values and social context of the recipients. This study therefore sought to determine the place of interpersonal communication on the knowledge of rural women on FP and how it influences uptake of FP. Descriptive survey design was used in the study, with interviewer administered questionnaire constituting the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was administered on 385 women from rural communities in southeast Nigeria. The results show that majority (58.5%) of the respondents agreed that interpersonal communication helps women understand how to plan their family size. Many rural women (82%) prefer the short term natural method to the more effective modern contraceptive methods (38.1%). Husbands’ approval of FP, as indicated in the Mean response of 2.56, is a major factor that accounts for the adoption of FP messages among rural women. Socio-demographic data also reveal that educational attainment and/or exposure influenced women’s acceptance or otherwise of FP messages. The study, therefore, recommends amongst others, the targeting of husbands in subsequent FP communication interventions, since they play major role on contraceptive usage.

Keywords: family planning, interpersonal communication, interpersonal interaction, traditional communication

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Dominik Halstrup, Marlene Schriever

Abstract:

The industry, as one of the main energy consumer, is of critical importance along the way of transforming the energy system to Renewable Energies. The distributed character of the Energy Transition demands for further flexibility being introduced to the grid. In order to shed further light on the acceptance of Electric Energy Storage (ESS) from an industrial point of view, this study therefore examines the German manufacturing industry. The analysis in this paper uses data composed of a survey amongst 101 manufacturing companies in Germany. Being part of a two-stage research design, both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. Based on a literature review an acceptance concept was developed in the paper and four user-types identified: (Dedicated) User, Impeded User, Forced User and (Dedicated) Non-User and incorporated in the questionnaire. Both descriptive and bivariate analysis is deployed to identify the level of acceptance in the different organizations. After a factor analysis has been conducted, variables were grouped to form independent acceptance factors. Out of the 22 organizations that do show a positive attitude towards ESS, 5 have already implemented ESS and show a positive attitude towards ESS. They can be therefore considered ‘Dedicated Users’. The remaining 17 organizations have a positive attitude but have not implemented ESS yet. The results suggest that profitability plays an important role as well as load-management systems that are already in place. Surprisingly, 2 organizations have implemented ESS even though they have a negative attitude towards it. This is an example for a ‘Forced User’ where reasons of overriding importance or supporters with overriding authority might have forced the company to implement ESS. By far the biggest subset of the sample shows (critical) distance and can therefore be considered ‘(Dedicated) Non-Users’. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents have not thought ESS in their own organization through yet. For the majority of the sample one can therefore not speak of critical distance but rather a distance due to insufficient information and the perceived unprofitability. This paper identifies the relative state of acceptance of ESS in the manufacturing industry as well as current reasons for hindrance and perspectives for future growth of ESS in an industrial setting from a policy level. The interest that is currently generated by the media could be channeled and taken into a more substantial and individual discussion about ESS in an industrial setting. If the current perception of profitability could be addressed and communicated accordingly, ESS and their use in for instance cooperative business models could become a topic for more organizations in Germany and other parts of the world. As price mechanisms tend to favor existing technologies, policy makers need to further access the use of ESS and acknowledge the positive effects when integrated in an energy system. The subfields of generation, transmission and distribution become increasingly intertwined. New technologies and business models, such as ESS or cooperative arrangements entering the market, increase the number of stakeholders. Organizations need to find their place within this array of stakeholders.

Keywords: acceptance, energy storage solutions, German energy transition, manufacturing industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Chien-Ho Lin, Ho-Ching Yang, Barbara Knowlton, Shin-Leh Huang, Ming-Chang Chiang

Abstract:

Practicing motor tasks arranged in an interleaved order (interleaved practice, or IP) generally leads to better learning than practicing tasks in a repetitive order (repetitive practice, or RP), an example of how desirable difficulty during practice benefits learning. Greater difficulty during practice, e.g. IP, is associated with greater brain activity measured by higher blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the sensorimotor areas of the brain. In this study resting-state fMRI was applied to investigate whether increase in resting-state brain connectivity immediately after practice predicts the benefit of desirable difficulty to motor learning. 26 healthy adults (11M/15F, age = 23.3±1.3 years) practiced two sets of three sequences arranged in a repetitive or an interleaved order over 2 days, followed by a retention test on Day 5 to evaluate learning. On each practice day, fMRI data were acquired in a resting state after practice. The resting-state fMRI data was decomposed using a group-level spatial independent component analysis (ICA), yielding 9 independent components (IC) matched to the precuneus network, primary visual networks (two ICs, denoted by I and II respectively), sensorimotor networks (two ICs, denoted by I and II respectively), the right and the left frontoparietal networks, occipito-temporal network, and the frontal network. A weighted resting-state functional connectivity (wRSFC) was then defined to incorporate information from within- and between-network brain connectivity. The within-network functional connectivity between a voxel and an IC was gauged by a z-score derived from the Fisher transformation of the IC map. The between-network connectivity was derived from the cross-correlation of time courses across all possible pairs of ICs, leading to a symmetric nc x nc matrix of cross-correlation coefficients, denoted by C = (pᵢⱼ). Here pᵢⱼ is the extremum of cross-correlation between ICs i and j; nc = 9 is the number of ICs. This component-wise cross-correlation matrix C was then projected to the voxel space, with the weights for each voxel set to the z-score that represents the above within-network functional connectivity. The wRSFC map incorporates the global characteristics of brain networks measured by the between-network connectivity, and the spatial information contained in the IC maps measured by the within-network connectivity. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that greater IP-minus-RP difference in wRSFC was positively correlated with the RP-minus-IP difference in the response time on Day 5, particularly in brain regions crucial for motor learning, such as the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the right premotor and supplementary motor cortices. This indicates that enhanced resting brain connectivity during the early phase of memory consolidation is associated with enhanced learning following interleaved practice, and as such wRSFC could be applied as a biomarker that measures the beneficial effects of desirable difficulty on motor sequence learning.

Keywords: desirable difficulty, functional magnetic resonance imaging, independent component analysis, resting-state networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Zhou Congling

Abstract:

The integration of private tutoring has emerged as an indispensable facet in the acquisition of language proficiency beyond formal educational settings. Notably, there has been a discernible surge in the demand for private English tutoring, specifically geared towards the preparation for internationally recognized gatekeeping examinations, such as IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE. This trajectory has engendered an escalating need for English Language Teaching Assistants (ELTAs) operating within the realm of Private Tutoring Schools (PTSs). The objective of this study is to unravel the intricate process by which these ELTAs formulate their professional identities in the nascent stages of their careers as English educators, as well as to delineate their perceptions regarding their professional trajectories. The construct of language teacher identity is inherently multifaceted, shaped by an amalgamation of individual, societal, and cultural determinants, exerting a profound influence on how language educators navigate their professional responsibilities. This investigation seeks to scrutinize the experiential and influential factors that mold the identities of ELTAs in PTSs, particularly post the culmination of their language-oriented academic programs. Employing a qualitative narrative inquiry approach, this study aims to delve into the nuanced understanding of how ELTAs conceptualize their professional identities and envision their future roles. The research methodology involves purposeful sampling and the conduct of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ten participants. Data analysis will be conducted utilizing Barkhuizen’s Short Story Analysis, a method designed to explore a three-dimensional narrative space, elucidating the intricate interplay of personal experiences and societal contexts in shaping the identities of ELTAs. The anticipated outcomes of this study are poised to contribute substantively to a holistic comprehension of ELTA identity formation, holding practical implications for diverse stakeholders within the private tutoring sector. This research endeavors to furnish insights into strategies for the retention of ELTAs and the enhancement of overall service quality within PTSs.

Keywords: China, English language teacher, narrative inquiry, private tutoring school, teacher identity

Procedia PDF Downloads 39

Authors: Adel Elomri

Abstract:

The notion of carbon footprinting is ever more widespread as companies are becoming increasingly aware that tackling carbon emissions and being seen to do so is a key issue to face governments, customers and other stakeholders’ pressures towards delivering environmentally friendly services and activities. In this contest, many firms are taking self-initiatives to reduce their own carbon emissions while some other are constrained to obey to different regulations/policies (e.g. carbon tax or carbon Cap) designed by higher authorities targeting a low-carbon environment. Using buyer-vendor framework, this paper provides some insights on how effective are these self-initiatives and regulatory policies when only concerning firms at the individual level and not the whole supply chain they are part of. We show that when firms individually engage in reducing their direct carbon emissions either under self-initiatives or regulatory policy, an opposite expected outcome resulting in a higher global supply chain emission can occur. This effect is referred to as the carbon seesaw effect. Moreover, we show that coordinating or centralizing the supply chain -contrary to what one may think at first- is not often the appropriate solution to get rid of this effect.

Keywords: carbon emissions, supply chain coordination, EOQ, sustainable operations

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: L. Aparecida Bastos, J. Leige Lopes, J. Crepaldi, R. Monteiro da Silva

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to analyze the evolution of some social and economic indicators of Mercosur´s economies from 1980 to 2012, based on the statistics of the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA). The objective is to observe if after the accession of these economies to Mercosur (the first accessions occurred in 1994) these indicators showed better performance, in order to demonstrate if economic integration contributed to improved trade, macroeconomic performance, and level of social and economic development of member countries. To this end, the methodologies used will be a literature review and descriptive statistics. The theoretical framework that guides the work are the theories of Integration: Classical Liberal, Marxist and structural-proactive. The results reveal that most social and economic indicators showed better performance in those economies that joined Mercosur after 1994. This work is the result of an investigation already completed.

Keywords: economic integration, Mercosur, social indicators, economic indicators

Procedia PDF Downloads 286

Authors: Aline Woine, Moïra Mikolajczak, Virginie Dardier, Isabelle Roskam

Abstract:

Background information: Becoming a parent is said to be the happiest event one can ever experience in one’s life. This popular (and almost absolute) truth–which no reasonable and decent human being would ever dare question on pain of being singled out as a bad parent–contrasts with the nuances that reality offers. Indeed, while many parents do thrive in their parenting role, some others falter and become progressively overwhelmed by their parenting role, ineluctably caught in a spiral of exhaustion. Parental burnout (henceforth PB) sets in when parental demands (stressors) exceed parental resources. While it is now generally acknowledged that PB affects the parent’s behavior in terms of neglect and violence toward their offspring, little is known about the impact that the syndrome might have on the children’s internalized (anxious and depressive symptoms, somatic complaints, etc.) and/or externalized (irritability, violence, aggressiveness, conduct disorder, oppositional disorder, etc.) behaviors. Furthermore, at the time of writing, to our best knowledge, no research has yet tested the reverse effect, namely, that of the child's internalized and/or externalized behaviors on the onset and/or maintenance of parental burnout symptoms. Goals and hypotheses: The present pioneering research proposes to fill an important gap in the existing literature related to PB by investigating the bidirectional effect between PB and the child’s internalized and/or externalized behaviors. Relying on a cross-lagged longitudinal study with three waves of data collection (4 months apart), our study tests a transactional model with bidirectional and recursive relations between observed variables and at the three waves, as well as autoregressive paths and cross-sectional correlations. Methods: As we write this, wave-two data are being collected via Qualtrics, and we expect a final sample of about 600 participants composed of French-speaking (snowball sample) and English-speaking (Prolific sample) parents. Structural equation modeling is employed using Stata version 17. In order to retain as much statistical power as possible, we use all available data and therefore apply the maximum likelihood with a missing value (mlmv) as the method of estimation to compute the parameter estimates. To limit (in so far is possible) the shared method variance bias in the evaluation of the child’s behavior, the study relies on a multi-informant evaluation approach. Expected results: We expect our three-wave longitudinal study to show that PB symptoms (measured at T1) raise the occurrence/intensity of the child’s externalized and/or internalized behaviors (measured at T2 and T3). We further expect the child’s occurrence/intensity of externalized and/or internalized behaviors (measured at T1) to augment the risk for PB (measured at T2 and T3). Conclusion: Should our hypotheses be confirmed, our results will make an important contribution to the understanding of both PB and children’s behavioral issues, thereby opening interesting theoretical and clinical avenues.

Keywords: exhaustion, structural equation modeling, cross-lagged longitudinal study, violence and neglect, child-parent relationship

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: J. Wozniak-Holecka, T. Holecki, P. Romaniuk

Abstract:

Spa facilities are being perceived as the ways of healing treatment in Poland and are guaranteed within the public financing. The universal health insurance (National Health Fund, NFZ), and the disability prevention programme held by Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) are the main sources of financing spa facilities. The dominant public payer of spa services is the NFZ. The Social Insurance Institution covers the cost of health treatment realized in spa facilities as medical rehabilitation, in the field of disability prevention. Health services delivered in the spa resorts are characterized by complexity, and the combination of various methods, typical for health prevention, education, balneotherapy, and physiotherapy. Healing with natural methods, believed to enhance the therapeutic effect, is also involved in health spa treatment. Regardless of the type of facility, each form of spa treatment includes health promotion, health education, prevention at all levels, including rehabilitation. The aim of the study was to determine the optimal organization of health education process. Its efficiency strongly depends on the type of service provider and the funding institution (NFZ vs ZUS). It results from the use of different measures of the effectiveness, the quality and the evaluation of the process being assessed by funding institutions. The methods of the study include a comparative and descriptive quantitative and qualitative analysis. In the empirical part, a questionnaire had been developed. It was then distributed among spa personnel, responsible directly for the health promotion, and among patients who are beneficiaries of health services in spa centers. The quantitative part of the study was based on interviews carried with the use of the online survey (CAWI: Computer-Assisted Web Interview), telephone survey (CATI: Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) and a conventional questionnaire (PAPI: Paper over Pencil Interview). As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the effectiveness of health education activities in spa resort facilities in Poland is higher when the services are organized using structured tools for managerial control. This applies to formalized procedures implemented by one of the dominant payers covering costs of services (ZUS) and involves the application of health education as one of the mandatory elements of treatment, subjected to the process of control during the course of spa therapy and evaluation after it is completed.

Keywords: effectiveness, health education, public health system, spa treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: H. J. Kim, G. C. Park, K. C. Kim, J. H. Shin

Abstract:

Cavities are frequently found beneath conduits on pile foundations in old embankments. Cavity reduces seepage length significantly and consequently causes piping failure of embankments. Case studies of embankment failures indicate that the relative settlement between ground and pile supported-concrete conduit was the main reason of the cavity. In this paper, an attempt to simulate the cavity-induced piping failure mechanism was made using finite element numerical method. Piping potential is examined by carrying out parametric study for influencing factors such as cavity length, water level, and flow conditions. The concentration of hydraulic gradient adjacent to cavity was found. It is found that the hydraulic gradient close to the cavity exceeds considerably the critical hydraulic gradient causing piping. Piping failure potential due to the existence of cavity is evaluated and contour map for the potential risk of an embankment for piping failure is proposed.

Keywords: cavity, hydraulic gradient, levee, piping

Procedia PDF Downloads 505

Authors: Aydin Teymourifar, Gurkan Ozturk

Abstract:

In this paper, a hybrid distributed algorithm has been suggested for multi-objective dynamic flexible job shop scheduling problem. The proposed algorithm is high level, in which several algorithms search the space on different machines simultaneously also it is a hybrid algorithm that takes advantages of the artificial intelligence, evolutionary and optimization methods. Distribution is done at different levels and new approaches are used for design of the algorithm. Apache spark and Hadoop frameworks have been used for the distribution of the algorithm. The Pareto optimality approach is used for solving the multi-objective benchmarks. The suggested algorithm that is able to solve large-size problems in short times has been compared with the successful algorithms of the literature. The results prove high speed and efficiency of the algorithm.

Keywords: distributed algorithms, apache-spark, Hadoop, flexible dynamic job shop scheduling, multi-objective optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 341

Authors: Raouf Fareh, Maarouf Saad, Sofiane Khadraoui, Tamer Rabie

Abstract:

This paper presents a tracking control strategy based on Lyapunov approach for nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot. This control strategy consists of two levels. First, a kinematic controller is developed to adjust the right and left wheel velocities. Using this velocity control law, the stability of the tracking error is guaranteed using Lyapunov approach. This kinematic controller cannot be generated directly by the motors. To overcome this problem, the second level of the controllers, dynamic control, is designed. This dynamic control law is developed based on Lyapunov theory in order to track the desired trajectories of the mobile robot. The stability of the tracking error is proved using Lupunov and Barbalat approaches. Simulation results on a nonholonomic wheeled mobile robot are given to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the presented approach.

Keywords: mobile robot, trajectory tracking, Lyapunov, stability

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Richard Harrison

Abstract:

Developing competency in mathematics and related critical thinking skills is essential to the education of undergraduate students of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Recently, the HE sector has been impacted by a seemingly widening disconnect between the mathematical competency of incoming first-year STEM students and their entrance qualification tariffs. Despite relatively high grades in A-Level Mathematics, students may initially lack fundamental skills in key areas such as algebraic manipulation and have limited capacity to apply problem solving strategies. Compounded by compensatory measures applied to entrance qualifications during the pandemic, there has been an associated decline in student performance on introductory university mathematics modules. In the UK, a number of online resources have been developed to help scaffold the transition to university mathematics. However, in general, these do not offer a structured learning journey focused on individual developmental needs, nor do they offer an experience coherent with the teaching and learning characteristics of the destination institution. In order to address some of these issues, a bespoke framework has been designed and implemented on our VLE in the Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (FEPS) at the University of Surrey. Called the FEPS Maths Support Framework, it was conceived to scaffold the mathematical development of individuals prior to entering the university and during the early stages of their transition to undergraduate studies. More than 90% of our incoming STEM students voluntarily participate in the process. Students complete a set of initial diagnostic questions in the late summer. Based on their performance and feedback on these questions, they are subsequently guided to self-select specific mathematical topic areas for review using our proprietary resources. This further assists students in preparing for discipline related diagnostic tests. The framework helps to identify students who are mathematically weak and facilitates early intervention to support students according to their specific developmental needs. This paper presents a summary of results from a rich data set captured from the framework over a 3-year period. Quantitative data provides evidence that students have engaged and developed during the process. This is further supported by process evaluation feedback from the students. Ranked performance data associated with seven key mathematical topic areas and eight engineering and science discipline areas reveals interesting patterns which can be used to identify more generic relative capabilities of the discipline area cohorts. In turn, this facilitates evidence based management of the mathematical development of the new cohort, informing any associated adjustments to teaching and learning at a more holistic level. Evidence is presented establishing our framework as an effective early intervention strategy for addressing the sector-wide issue of supporting the mathematical development of STEM students transitioning to HE

Keywords: competency, development, intervention, scaffolding

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Marek Vondra, Petr Bobák

Abstract:

Vacuum evaporation is a reliable and well-proven technology with a wide application range which is frequently used in food, chemical or pharmaceutical industries. Recently, numerous remarkable studies have been carried out to investigate utilization of this technology in the area of wastewater treatment. One of the most successful applications of vacuum evaporation principal is connected with seawater desalination. Since 1950’s, multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) has been the leading technology in this field and it is still irreplaceable in many respects, despite a rapid increase in cheaper reverse-osmosis-based installations in recent decades. MSF plants are conveniently operated in countries with a fluctuating seawater quality and at locations where a sufficient amount of waste heat is available. Nowadays, most of the MSF research is connected with alternative heat sources utilization and with hybridization, i.e. merging of different types of desalination technologies. Some of the studies are concerned with basic principles of the static flash phenomenon, but only few scientists have lately focused on the fundamentals of continuous multi-stage evaporation. Limited measurement possibilities at operating plants and insufficiently equipped experimental facilities may be the reasons. The aim of the presented study was to design, construct and test an up-to-date test rig with an advanced measurement system which will provide real time monitoring options of all the important operational parameters under various conditions. The whole system consists of a conventionally designed MSF unit with 8 evaporation chambers, versatile heating circuit for different kinds of feed water (e.g. seawater, waste water), sophisticated system for acquisition and real-time visualization of all the related quantities (temperature, pressure, flow rate, weight, conductivity, pH, water level, power input), access to a wide spectrum of operational media (salt, fresh and softened water, steam, natural gas, compressed air, electrical energy) and integrated transparent features which enable a direct visual control of selected physical mechanisms (water evaporation in chambers, water level right before brine and distillate pumps). Thanks to the adjustable process parameters, it is possible to operate the test unit at desired operational conditions. This allows researchers to carry out statistical design and analysis of experiments. Valuable results obtained in this manner could be further employed in simulations and process modeling. First experimental tests confirm correctness of the presented approach and promise interesting outputs in the future. The presented experimental apparatus enables flexible and efficient research of the whole MSF process.

Keywords: design of experiment, multi-stage flash distillation, test rig, vacuum evaporation

Procedia PDF Downloads 375

Authors: Nor Sahida Ibrahim, Ruhaila Maskat, Aishah Ahmad

Abstract:

Almost all tertiary-level students will undergo some form of training in organisations prior to their graduation. This practice provides the necessary exposure and experience to allow students to cope with actual working environment and culture in the future. Nevertheless, a particular degree of “matching” between what is expected and what can be offered between students and organisations underpins how effective and enriching the experience is. This matching of students and organisations is challenging when preferences from both parties must be satisfied. This work developed a web-based system, namely the OrganisationMatcher, which leverage on the use of preference weights to score each organisation and rank them based on “suitability”. OrganisationMatcher has been implemented on a relational database, designed using object-oriented methods and developed using PHP programming language for browser front-end access. We outline the challenges and limitations of our system and discuss future improvements to the system, specifically in the utilisation of intelligent methods.

Keywords: student industrial placement, information system, web-based, ranking

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Nusrat Masood, Vijaya Dubey, Suaib Luqman

Abstract:

Caspase 3, a member of cysteine-aspartic acid protease family, is an imperative indicator for cell death particularly when substantiating apoptosis. Thus, caspase 3 is an interesting target for the discovery and development of anticancer agent. We adopted a four level assessment of both terpenoids and flavonoids and thus experimentally performed the enzymatic assay in cell free system as well as in cancer cell line which was validated through real time expression and molecular interaction studies. A significant difference was observed with both the class of natural products indicating terpenoids as better activators of caspase 3 compared to flavonoids both in the cell free system as well as in cell lines. The expression analysis, activation constant and binding energy also correlate well with the enzyme activity. Overall, terpenoids had an unswerving effect on caspase 3 in all the tested system while flavonoids indirectly affect enzyme activity.

Keywords: Caspase 3, terpenoids, flavonoids, activation constant, binding energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Emily Saurman, David Lyle

Abstract:

In Australia, a well serviced rural town might have a psychiatrist visit once-a-month with more frequent visits from a psychiatric nurse, but many have no resident access to mental health specialists. Access to specialist care, would not only reduce patient distress and benefit outcomes, but facilitate the effective use of limited resources. The Mental Health Emergency Care-Rural Access Program (MHEC-RAP) was developed to improve access to specialist emergency mental health care in rural and remote communities using telehealth technologies. However, there has been no current benchmark to gauge program efficiency or capacity; to determine whether the program activity is justifiably sufficient. The evaluation of MHEC-RAP used multiple methods and applied a modified theory of access to assess the program and its aim of improved access to emergency mental health care. This was the first evaluation of a telepsychiatry service to include a time and motion study design examining program time expenditure, efficiency, and capacity. The time and motion study analysis was combined with an observational study of the program structure and function to assess the balance between program responsiveness and efficiency. Previous program studies have demonstrated that MHEC-RAP has improved access and is used and effective. The findings from the time and motion study suggest that MHEC-RAP has the capacity to manage increased activity within the current model structure without loss to responsiveness or efficiency in the provision of care. Enhancing program responsiveness and efficiency will also support a claim of the program’s value for money. MHEC-RAP is a practical telehealth solution for improving access to specialist emergency mental health care. The findings from this evaluation have already attracted the attention of other regions in Australia interested in implementing emergency telepsychiatry programs and are now informing the progressive establishment of mental health resource centres in rural New South Wales. Like MHEC-RAP, these centres will provide rapid, safe, and contextually relevant assessments and advice to support local health professionals to manage mental health emergencies in the smaller rural emergency departments. Sharing the application of this methodology and research activity may help to improve access to and future evaluations of telehealth and telepsychiatry services for others around the globe.

Keywords: access, emergency, mental health, rural, time and motion

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: Victoria C. Valdebenito

Abstract:

Located within the context of accelerating globalization in the 21^st-century knowledge society, this paper focuses on one selected university in Chile at which radical curriculum policy changes have been taking place, diverging from the traditional curriculum in Chile at the undergraduate level as a section of a larger investigation. Using a ‘policy trajectory’ framework, and guided by the interpretivist approach to research, interview transcripts and institutional documents were analyzed in relation to the meso (university administration) and the micro (academics) level. Inside the case study, participants from the university administration and academic levels were selected both via snow-ball technique and purposive selection, thus they had different levels of seniority, with some participating actively in the curriculum reform processes. Guided by an interpretivist approach to research, documents and interview transcripts were analyzed to reveal major themes emerging from the data. A further ‘bigger picture’ analysis guided by critical theory was then undertaken, involving interrogation of underlying ideologies and how political and economic interests influence the cultural production of policy. The case-study university was selected because it represents a traditional and old case of university setting in the country, undergoing curriculum changes based on international trends such as the competency model and the liberal arts. Also, it is representative of a particular socioeconomic sector of the country. Access to the university was gained through email contact. Qualitative research methods were used, namely interviews and analysis of institutional documents. In all, 18 people were interviewed. The number was defined by when the saturation criterion was met. Semi-structured interview schedules were based on the four research questions about influences, policy texts, policy enactment and longer-term outcomes. Triangulation of information was used for the analysis. While there was no intention to generalize the specific findings of the case study, the results of the research were used as a focus for engagement with broader themes, often evident in global higher education policy developments. The research results were organized around major themes in three of the four contexts of the ‘policy trajectory’. Regarding the context of influences and the context of policy text production, themes relate to hegemony exercised by first world countries’ universities in the higher education field, its associated neoliberal ideology, with accountability and the discourse of continuous improvement, the local responses to those pressures, and the value of interdisciplinarity. Finally, regarding the context of policy practices and effects (enactment), themes emerged around the impacts of the curriculum changes on university staff, students, and resistance amongst academics. The research concluded with a few recommendations that potentially provide ‘food for thought’ beyond the localized settings of this study, as well as possibilities for further research.

Keywords: curriculum, global-local dynamics, higher education, policy, sociology of education

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Roukaya Dalbouchi, Abdelkrin Zitouni

Abstract:

In this paper, we propose a novel design methodology for Dynamic Partial Reconfigurable (DPR) system. This type of system has the property of being able to be modified after its design and during its execution. The suggested design methodology is generic in terms of granularity, number of modules, and reconfigurable region and suitable for any type of modern application. It is based on the interconnection between several design stages. The recommended methodology represents a guide for the design of DPR architectures that meet compromise reconfiguration/performance. To validate the proposed methodology, we use as an application a video watermarking. The comparison result shows that the proposed methodology supports all stages of DPR architecture design and characterized by a high abstraction level. It provides a dynamic/partial reconfigurable architecture; it guarantees material efficiency, the flexibility of reconfiguration, and superior performance in terms of frequency and power consumption.

Keywords: dynamically reconfigurable system, block matching algorithm, partial reconfiguration, motion vectors, video watermarking

Procedia PDF Downloads 84