Search results for: teaching and learning practice

Authors: Waleed Alanzi

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The purpose of this qualitative study was to add to the existing literature and provide a more detailed understanding of the individual experiences and perceptions of 15 Deans at the University of Kuwait regarding their first year of planning, developing, and implementing crisis distance education (CDE) in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. An interpretative phenomenological approach was applied, using the thematic analysis of interview transcripts to describe the challenging journeys taken by each of the Deans from the first-person point of view. There was objective evidence, manifested by four primary themes (“Obstacles to the implementation of CDE”; “Planning for CDE”; “Training for CDE,” and “Future Directions”) to conclude that the faculty members, technical staff, administrative staff, and students generally helped each other to overcome the obstacles associated with planning and implementing CDE. The idea that CDE may turn homes into schools and parents into teachers was supported. The planning and implementation of CDE were inevitably associated with a certain amount of confusion, as well as disruptions in the daily routines of staff and students, as well as significant changes in their responsibilities. There were contradictory ideas about the future directions of distance education after the pandemic. Previous qualitative research on the implementation of CDE at higher education institutions in the Arab world has focused mainly on the experiences and perceptions of students; however, little is known about the experiences and perceptions of the students at the University of Kuwait during the COVID19 pandemic, providing a rationale and direction for future research.

Keywords: distance learning, qualitative research, COVID-19 epidemic, Kuwait university

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Authors: Megan Weisbart

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Background/Significance: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) environment contributes to nurse burnout. Burnout costs include decreased employee compassion, missed workdays, worse patient outcomes, diminished job performance, high turnover, and higher organizational cost. Meaningful recognition, nurturing of interpersonal connections, and mindfulness-based interventions are associated with decreased burnout. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to decrease Neonatal ICU (NICU) nurse burnout using a Wellness Bundle that fosters meaningful recognition, interpersonal connections and includes mindfulness-based interventions. Methods: The Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 (ProQOL5) was used to measure burnout before Wellness Bundle implementation, after six months, and will be given yearly for three years. Meaningful recognition bundle items include Online submission and posting of staff shoutouts, recognition events, Nurses Week and Unit Practice Council member gifts, and an employee recognition program. Fostering of interpersonal connections bundle items include: Monthly staff games with prizes, social events, raffle fundraisers, unit blog, unit wellness basket, and a wellness resource sheet. Quick coherence techniques were implemented at staff meetings and huddles as a mindfulness-based intervention. Findings: The mean baseline burnout score of 14 NICU nurses was 20.71 (low burnout). The baseline range was 13-28, with 11 nurses experiencing low burnout, three nurses experiencing moderate burnout, and zero nurses experiencing high burnout. After six months of the Wellness Bundle Implementation, the mean burnout score of 39 NICU nurses was 22.28 (low burnout). The range was 14-31, with 22 nurses experiencing low burnout, 17 nurses experiencing moderate burnout, and zero nurses experiencing high burnout. Conclusion: A NICU Wellness Bundle that incorporated meaningful recognition, fostering of interpersonal connections, and mindfulness-based activities was implemented to improve work environments and decrease nurse burnout. Participation bias and low baseline response rate may have affected the reliability of the data and necessitate another comparative measure of burnout in one year.

Keywords: burnout, NICU, nurse, wellness

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Authors: Khalid Ali, Manar Jammal

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In order to meet the stringent latency and reliability requirements of the upcoming 5G networks, Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN) have been proposed. The virtualization of O-RAN has allowed it to be treated as a Network Function Virtualization (NFV) architecture, while its components are considered Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs). Hence, intelligent Machine Learning (ML) based solutions can be utilized to apply different resource management and allocation techniques on O-RAN. However, intelligently allocating resources for O-RAN VNFs can prove challenging due to the dynamicity of traffic in mobile networks. Network providers need to dynamically scale the allocated resources in response to the incoming traffic. Elastically allocating resources can provide a higher level of flexibility in the network in addition to reducing the OPerational EXpenditure (OPEX) and increasing the resources utilization. Most of the existing elastic solutions are reactive in nature, despite the fact that proactive approaches are more agile since they scale instances ahead of time by predicting the incoming traffic. In this work, we propose and evaluate traffic forecasting models based on the ML algorithm. The algorithms aim at predicting future O-RAN traffic by using previous traffic data. Detailed analysis of the traffic data was carried out to validate the quality and applicability of the traffic dataset. Hence, two ML models were proposed and evaluated based on their prediction capabilities.

Keywords: O-RAN, traffic forecasting, NFV, ARIMA, LSTM, elasticity

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Authors: Christopher Leung, Tony Kim, Rebecca Lendzion, Scott Mackenzie

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Retroperitoneal abscesses are a rare but serious condition with often delayed diagnosis, non-specific symptoms, multiple causes and high morbidity/mortality. With the advent of more readily available cross-sectional imaging, retroperitoneal abscesses are treated earlier and better outcomes are achieved. Occasionally, a retroperitoneal abscess is present as a huge retroperitoneal abscess, as evident in this 53-year-old male. With a background of chronic renal disease and left partial nephrectomy, this gentleman presented with a one-month history of left flank pain without any other symptoms, including fevers or abdominal pain. CT abdomen and pelvis demonstrated a huge retroperitoneal abscess spanning from the diaphragm, abutting the spleen, down to the iliopsoas muscle and abutting the iliac vessels at the pelvic brim. This large retroperitoneal abscess required open drainage as well as drainage by interventional radiology. A long course of intravenous antibiotics and multiple drainages was required to drain the abscess. His blood culture and fluid culture grew Proteus species suggesting a urinary source, likely from his non-functioning kidney, which had a partial nephrectomy. Such a huge retroperitoneal abscess has rarely been described in the literature. The learning point here is that the basic principle of source control and antibiotics is paramount in treating retroperitoneal abscesses regardless of the size of the abscess.

Keywords: retroperitoneal abscess, retroperitoneal mass, sepsis, genitourinary infection

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Authors: Mohammed Messaoudi

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The higher education sector in Algeria has witnessed in recent years a remarkable transformation, as it witnessed the integration of institutions within the modern technological environment and harnessing all appropriate mechanisms to raise the level of education and the level of training. Observers and those interested that it is necessary for the Algerian university to enter this field, especially with the efforts that seek to employ modern technology in the sector and encourage investment in this field, in addition to the state’s keenness to move towards building a path to benefit from modern technology, and to encourage energies in light of a reality that carries many Aspirations and challenges by achieving openness to the new digital environment and keeping pace with the ranks of international universities. Higher education is one of the engines of development for societies, as it is a vital field for the transfer of knowledge and scientific expertise, and the university is at the top of the comprehensive educational system for various disciplines in light of the achievement of a multi-dimensional educational system, and amid the integration of three basic axes that establish the sound educational process (teaching, research, relevant outputs efficiency), and according to a clear strategy that monitors the advancement of academic work, and works on developing its future directions to achieve development in this field. The Algerian University is considered one of the service institutions that seeks to find the optimal mechanisms to keep pace with the changes of the times, as it has become necessary for the university to enter the technological space and thus ensure the quality of education in it and achieve the required empowerment by dedicating a structure that matches the requirements of the challenges on which the sector is based, amid unremitting efforts to develop the capabilities. He sought to harness the mechanisms of communication and information technology and achieve transformation at the level of the higher education sector with what is called higher education technology. The conceptual framework of information and communication technology at the level of higher education institutions in Algeria is determined through the factors of organization, factors of higher education institutions, characteristics of the professor, characteristics of students, the outcomes of the educational process, and there is a relentless pursuit to achieve a positive interaction between these axes as they are basic components on which the success and achievement of higher education are based for his goals.

Keywords: Information and communication technology, Algerian university, scientific and cognitive development, challenges

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Authors: Soofia Malik

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The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to measure undergraduate students’ attitudes toward mathematics (MAT) and to assess the data collected from the instrument for validity and reliability. The instrument is developed using five subscales: anxiety, enjoyment, self-confidence, value, and technology. The technology dimension is added as the fifth subscale of attitude toward mathematics because of the recent trend of incorporating online homework in mathematics courses as well as due to heavy reliance of higher education on using online learning management systems, such as Blackboard and Moodle. The sample consists of 163 (M = 82, F = 81) undergraduates enrolled in College Algebra course in the summer 2017 semester at a university in the USA. The data is analyzed to answer the research question: if and how do undergraduate students’ attitudes toward mathematics load using Principal Components Analysis (PCA)? As a result of PCA, three subscales emerged namely: anxiety/self-confidence scale, enjoyment, and value scale. After deleting the last five items or the last two subscales from the initial MAT scale, the Cronbach’s alpha was recalculated using the scores from 20 items and was found to be α = .95. It is important to note that the reliability of the initial MAT form was α = .93. This means that employing the final MAT survey form would yield consistent results in repeated uses. The final MAT form is, therefore, more reliable as compared to the initial MAT form.

Keywords: college algebra, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient, Principal Components Analysis, PCA, technology in mathematics

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Authors: Nami Matsumoto

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This study explores the experiences of cross-linguistic medical encounters by patients, and their views of receiving language support therein, with a particular focus on Japanese-English cases. The aim of this study is to investigate the reason for the frequent use of a spouse as a communication mediator from a Japanese perspective, through a comparison with that of English speakers. This study conducts an empirical qualitative analysis of the accounts of informants. A total of 31 informants who have experienced Japanese-English cross-linguistic medical encounters were recruited in Australia and Japan for semi-structured in-depth interviews. A breakdown of informants is 15 English speakers and 16 Japanese speakers. In order to obtain a further insight into collected data, additional interviews were held with 4 Australian doctors who are familiar with using interpreters. This study was approved by the Australian National University Human Research Ethics Committee, and written consent to participate in this study was obtained from all participants. The interviews lasted up to over one hour. They were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed by the author. Japanese transcriptions were translated into English by the author. An analysis of interview data found that patients value relationship in communication. Particularly, Japanese informants, who have an English-speaking spouse, value trust-based communication interventions by their spouse, regardless of the language proficiency of the spouse. In Australia, health care interpreters are required to abide by the national code of ethics for interpreters. The Code defines the role of an interpreter exclusively to be language rendition and enshrines the tenets of accuracy, confidentiality and professional role boundaries. However, the analysis found that an interpreter who strictly complies with the Code sometimes fails to render the real intentions of the patient and their doctor. Findings from the study suggest that an interpreter should not be detached from the context and should be more engaged in the needs of patients. Their needs are not always communicated by an interpreter when they simply follow a professional code of ethics. The concept of relationship-centred care should be incorporated in the professional practice of health care interpreters.

Keywords: health care, Japanese-English medical encounters, language barriers, trust

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Authors: Qiao Mao

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There is a growing number of studies concerning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). However, the research is little on STEAM competitions from Arts' perspective. This study takes the annual PowerTech STEAM competition in Taiwan as an example. In this activity, students are asked to make wooden bionic mechanical beasts on the spot and participate in a model and speed competition. This study aims to explore how Arts influences STEM after it involves in the making of mechanical beasts. A case study method is adopted. Through expert sampling, five prize winners in the PowerTech Youth Science and Technology Creation Competition and their supervisors are taken as the research subjects. Relevant data which are collected, sorted out, analyzed and interpreted afterwards, derive from observations, interview and document analyses, etc. The results of the study show that in the PowerTech Youth Science and Technology Creation Competition, when Arts involves in STEM, (1) it has an impact on the athletic performance, balance, stability and symmetry of mechanical beasts; (2) students become more interested and more creative in making STEAM mechanical beasts, which can promote students' learning of STEM; (3) students encounter more difficulties and problems when making STEAM mechanical beasts, and need to have more systematic thinking and design thinking to solve problems.

Keywords: PowerTech, STEAM contest, mechanical beast, arts' role

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Authors: Kitda Praraththajariya

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The main purpose of this research was to study how to communicate the identity of the Mueang district, Samut Songkram province for ecotourism. The qualitative data was collected through studying related materials, exploring the area, in-depth interviews with three groups of people: three directly responsible officers who were key informants of the district, twenty foreign tourists and five Thai tourist guides. A content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The two main findings of the study were as follows: 1. The identity of Amphur (District) Mueang, Samut Songkram province. This establishment was near the Mouth of Maekong River for normal people and tourists, consisting of rest accommodations. There are restaurants where food and drinks are served, rich mangrove forests, Hoy Lod (Razor Clam) and mangrove trees. Don Hoy Lod, is characterized by muddy beaches, is a coastal wetland for Ramsar Site. It is at 1099th ranging where the greatest number of Hoy Lod (Razor Clam) can be seen from March to May each year. 2. The communication of the identity of Amphur Mueang, Samut Songkram province which the researcher could find and design to present in English materials can be summed up in 4 items: 1) The history of Amphur Mueang, Samut Songkram province 2) Wat Phet Samut Worrawihan 3) The Learning source of Ecotourism: Don Hoy Lod and Mangrove forest 4) How to keep Amphur Mueang, Samut Songkram province for ecotourism.

Keywords: foreigner tourists, signified, semiotics, ecotourism

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Authors: Jacob Wahl, Jane Zhang

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This paper describes the development and characterization of a prototype IoT network for use with agricultural imaging and monitoring applications. The sensor and gateway nodes are designed using the ESP32 SoC with integrated Bluetooth Low Energy 4.2 and Wi-Fi. A development board, the Arducam IoTai ESP32, is used for prototyping, testing, and power measurements. Google’s Firebase is used as the cloud storage site for image data collected by the sensor. The sensor node captures images using the OV2640 2MP camera module and transmits the image data to the gateway via Bluetooth Low Energy. The gateway then uploads the collected images to Firebase via a known nearby Wi-Fi network connection. This image data can then be processed and analyzed by computer vision and machine learning pipelines to assess crop growth or other needs. The sensor node achieves a wireless transmission data throughput of 220kbps while consuming 150mA of current; the sensor sleeps at 162µA. The sensor node device lifetime is estimated to be 682 days on a 6600mAh LiPo battery while acquiring five images per day based on the development board power measurements. This network can be utilized by any application that requires high data rates, low power consumption, short-range communication, and large amounts of data to be transmitted at low-frequency intervals.

Keywords: Bluetooth low energy, ESP32, firebase cloud, IoT, smart farming

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Authors: Niloofar Zebarjad

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This research aims at finding a tool to provide basketball players with real-time audio feedback on their shooting form in free throw shots. Free throws played a pivotal role in taking the lead in fierce competitions. The major problem in performing an accurate free throw seems to be improper training. Since the arm movement during the free throw shot is complex, the coach or the athlete might miss the movement details during practice. Hence, there is a necessity to create a system that measures arm movements' critical characteristics and control for improper kinematics. The proposed setup in this study quantifies arm kinematics and provides real-time feedback as an audio signal consisting of a gyroscope sensor. Spatial shoulder angle data are transmitted in a mobile application in real-time and can be saved and processed for statistical and analysis purposes. The proposed system is easy to use, inexpensive, portable, and real-time applicable. Objectives: This research aims to modify and control the free throw using audio feedback and determine if and to what extent the new setup reduces errors in arm formations during throws and finally assesses the successful throw rate. Methods: One group of elite basketball athletes and two novice athletes (control and study group) participated in this study. Each group contains 5 participants being studied in three separate sessions over a week. Results: Empirical results showed enhancements in the free throw shooting style, shot pocket (SP), and locked position (LP). The mean values of shoulder angle were controlled on 25° and 45° for SP and LP, respectively, recommended by valid FIBA references. Conclusion: Throughout the experiments, the system helped correct and control the shoulder angles toward the targeted pattern of shot pocket (SP) and locked position (LP). According to the desired results for arm motion, adding another sensor to measure and control the elbow angle is recommended.

Keywords: audio-feedback, basketball, free-throw, locked-position, motor-control, shot-pocket

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Authors: Aaron G. Laylo

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This paper mainly assumes that social entrepreneurship contributes significantly to youth empowerment i.e., work and community engagement. Two questions are thus raised in order to establish this hypothesis: 1) First, how does social entrepreneurship contribute to youth empowerment?; and 2) secondly, why is social entrpreneurship significantly incremental to youth empowerment? This research aims a) to investigate on the social aspect of entrepreneurship; b) to explore challenges in youth empowerment particularly in respect to work and community engagement; and c) to inquire into whether social enterprises have truly served as a catalyst for, thus an effective response to, youth empowerment. It must be emphasized that young people, which comprise 1.8 billion in a world of seven billion are an asset; Apparently, how to maximize that potential is crucial. By utilizing exploratory research design, the paper endeavors to generate new ideas in regards to both components, develop tentative theories on social entrepreneurship, and refine certain issues that are under observation and seek scholarly attention— a rather emerging phenomenon vis a vis the challenge to empower a significant cluster of the society. Case studies will be utilized as an approach in order to comparatively analyze youth-driven social enterprises in the Philippines that have been widely recognized as successful insofar as social impact is concerned. As most scholars attested, social entrepreneurship is still at its infancy stage. Youth empowerment, meanwhile, is yet a vast area to explore insofar as academic research is concerned. Programs and projects that advocate the pursuit of these components abound. However, academic research is yet to be undertaken to see and understand their social and economic relevance. This research is also an opportunity for scholars to explore, understand, and make sense of the promise that lies in social entrepreneurship research and how it can serve as a catalyst for youth empowerment. Youth-driven social enterprises can be an influential tool in sustaining development across the globe as they intend to provide opportunities for optimal economic productivity that recognizes social inclusion. Ultimately, this study should be able to contribute to both research and development-in-practice communities for the greater good of the society. By establishing the nexus between these two components, the research may contribute to fostering greater exploration of the benefits that both may yield to human progress as well as the gaps that have to be filled in by various policy stakeholders relevant to these units.

Keywords: social entpreneurship, youth, empowerment, social inclusion

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Authors: David Ross Cameron

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In an attempt to alleviate the educational planning problem, double-shift schools have been created throughout various regions in Jordan, namely communities closer to the Syrian border, where a large portion of the refugee population settled, allowing Jordanians to attend the morning-shift and Syrians to attend the afternoon-shift. Subsequently, overcrowded classrooms have added a significant amount of stress on school facilities and teacher capacities. Established national policies and the implementation of inclusive educational practices have been jeopardized. In particular, teachers’ and student’s attitudes of the importance of inclusive education provisions in the classroom have deteriorated. To have a more comprehensive understanding of the current situation and possible plan for intervention, a focus study was carried out at a double-shift Jordanian/Syrian girls’ public school in Irbid, Jordan. Interviews and surveys of 29 students with physical, learning, emotional and behavioral disabilities, 33 students without any special needs and nine teachers were included with a mixed-method social research approach to highlight the current attitudes that students and teachers held and factors that contributed to shaping their inclinations and beliefs of inclusive education.

Keywords: capacity building, development, double-shift, Irbid, inclusive education, Jordan, pedagogy, planning, policy, refugee, special education, special needs, vulnerable population

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Authors: Ashish Kumar, Munesh Raghuraj Varma, Nisarg Joshi, Gujjula Vishwa Teja, Srikanth Sambi, Arpit Awasthi

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Autonomous driving vehicles are revolutionizing the transportation system of the 21st century. This has been possible due to intensive research put into making a robust, reliable, and intelligent program that can perceive and understand its environment and make decisions based on the understanding. It is a very data-intensive task with data coming from multiple sensors and the amount of data directly reflects on the performance of the system. Researchers have to design the preprocessing pipeline for different datasets with different sensor orientations and alignments before the dataset can be fed to the model. This paper proposes a solution that provides a method to unify all the data from different sources into a uniform format using the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the sensor used to capture the data allowing the same pipeline to use data from multiple sources at a time. This also means easy adoption of new datasets or In-house generated datasets. The solution also automates the complete deep learning pipeline from preprocessing to post-processing for various tasks allowing researchers to design multiple custom end-to-end pipelines. Thus, the solution takes care of the input and output data handling, saving the time and effort spent on it and allowing more time for model improvement.

Keywords: augmentation, autonomous driving, camera, custom end-to-end pipeline, data unification, lidar, post-processing, preprocessing

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Authors: Ana Miguel

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Purpose: Glaucoma is the second cause of worldwide blindness and the first cause of irreversible blindness. Trabeculectomy, the standard glaucoma surgery, has a success rate between 36.0% and 98.0% at three years and a high complication rate, leading to the development of different surgeries, micro-invasive glaucoma surgeries (MIGS). MIGS devices are diverse and have various indications, risks, and effectiveness. We intended to review MIGS’ surgical techniques, indications, contra-indications, and IOP effect. Methods: We performed a literature review of MIGS to differentiate the devices and their reported effectiveness compared to traditional surgery (tubes and blebs). We also conducted a video review of the last 1000 glaucoma surgeries of the author (including MIGS, but also trabeculectomy, deep sclerectomy, and tubes of Ahmed and Baerveldt) performed at glaucoma and advanced anterior segment fellowship in Canada and France, to describe preferred surgical techniques for each. Results: We present the videos with surgical techniques and pearls for each surgery. Glaucoma surgeries included: 1- bleb surgery (namely trabeculectomy, with releasable sutures or with slip knots, deep sclerectomy, Ahmed valve, Baerveldt tube), 2- MIGS with bleb, also known as MIBS (including XEN 45, XEN 63, and Preserflo), 3- MIGS increasing supra-choroidal flow (iStar), 4-MIGS increasing trabecular flow (iStent, gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy - GATT, goniotomy, excimer laser trabeculostomy -ELT), and 5-MIGS decreasing aqueous humor production (endocyclophotocoagulation, ECP). There was also needling (ab interno and ab externo) performed at the operating room and irido-zonulo-hyaloïdectomy (IZHV). Each technique had different indications and contra-indications. Conclusion: MIGS are valuable in glaucoma surgery, such as traditional surgery with trabeculectomy and tubes. All glaucoma surgery can be combined with phacoemulsification (there may be a synergistic effect on MIGS + cataract surgery). In addition, some MIGS may be combined for further intraocular pressure lowering effect (for example, iStents with goniotomy and ECP). A good surgical technique and postoperative management are fundamental to increasing success and good practice in all glaucoma surgery.

Keywords: glaucoma, migs, surgery, video, review

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Authors: Shaik Ayesha Fathima, Shaik Noor Jahan, Duvvada Rajeswara Rao

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Earth's environment and its evolution can be seen through satellite images in near real-time. Through satellite imagery, remote sensing data provide crucial information that can be used for a variety of applications, including image fusion, change detection, land cover classification, agriculture, mining, disaster mitigation, and monitoring climate change. The objective of this project is to propose a method for classifying satellite images according to multiple predefined land cover classes. The proposed approach involves collecting data in image format. The data is then pre-processed using data pre-processing techniques. The processed data is fed into the proposed algorithm and the obtained result is analyzed. Some of the algorithms used in satellite imagery classification are U-Net, Random Forest, Deep Labv3, CNN, ANN, Resnet etc. In this project, we are using the DeepLabv3 (Atrous convolution) algorithm for land cover classification. The dataset used is the deep globe land cover classification dataset. DeepLabv3 is a semantic segmentation system that uses atrous convolution to capture multi-scale context by adopting multiple atrous rates in cascade or in parallel to determine the scale of segments.

Keywords: area calculation, atrous convolution, deep globe land cover classification, deepLabv3, land cover classification, resnet 50

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Authors: Gajendra Kumar Mourya, Dinesh Bhatia, Akash Handique, Sunita Warjri, Syed Achaab Amir

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Nowadays, Medical imaging has become an integral part of modern healthcare. Abdominal CT images are an invaluable mean for abdominal organ investigation and have been widely studied in the recent years. Diagnosis of liver pathologies is one of the major areas of current interests in the field of medical image processing and is still an open problem. To deeply study and diagnose the liver, segmentation of liver is done to identify which part of the liver is mostly affected. Manual segmentation of the liver in CT images is time-consuming and suffers from inter- and intra-observer differences. However, automatic or semi-automatic computer aided segmentation of the Liver is a challenging task due to inter-patient Liver shape and size variability. In this paper, we present a technique for automatic segmenting the liver from CT images using Random Forest Classifier. Random forests or random decision forests are an ensemble learning method for classification that operate by constructing a multitude of decision trees at training time and outputting the class that is the mode of the classes of the individual trees. After comparing with various other techniques, it was found that Random Forest Classifier provide a better segmentation results with respect to accuracy and speed. We have done the validation of our results using various techniques and it shows above 89% accuracy in all the cases.

Keywords: CT images, image validation, random forest, segmentation

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Authors: Peniah Mabaso-Shamano

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The paper evaluates Shona terms that were created to teach Phonetics and Phonology courses at Great Zimbabwe University (GZU). The phonetics and phonology terms to be discussed in this paper were created using different processes and strategies such as translation, borrowing, neologising, compounding, transliteration, circumlocution among many others. Most phonetics and phonology terms are alien to Shona and as a result, there are no suitable Shona equivalents. The lecturers and students for these courses have a mammoth task of creating terminology for the different modules offered in Shona and other Zimbabwean indigenous languages. Most linguistic reference books are written in English. As such, lecturers and students translate information from English to Shona, a measure which is proving to be too difficult for them. A term creation workshop was held at GZU to try to address the problem of lack of terminology in indigenous languages. Different indigenous language practitioners from different tertiary institutions convened for a two-day workshop at GZU. Due to the 'specialized' nature of phonetics and phonology, it was too difficult to come up with 'proper' indigenous terms. The researcher will consult tertiary institutions lecturers who teach linguistics courses and linguistics students to get their views on the created terms. The people consulted will not be the ones who took part in the term creation workshop held at GZU. The selected participants will be asked to evaluate and back-translate some of the terms. In instances where they feel the terms created are not suitable or user-friendly, they will be asked to suggest other terms. Since the researcher is also a linguistics lecturer, her observation and views will be important. From her experience in using some of the terms in teaching phonetics and phonology courses to undergraduate students, the researcher noted that most of the terms created have shortcomings since they are not user-friendly. These shortcomings include terms longer than the English terms as some terms are translated to Shona through a whole statement. Most of these terms are neologisms, compound neologisms, transliterations, circumlocutions, and blends. The paper will show that there is overuse of transliterated terms due to the lack of Shona equivalents for English terms. Most single English words were translated into compound neologisms or phrases after attempts to reduce them to one word terms failed. In other instances, circumlocution led to the problem of creating longer terms than the original and as a result, the terms are not user-friendly. The paper will discuss and evaluate the different phonetics and phonology terms created and the different strategies and processes used in creating them.

Keywords: blending, circumlocution, term creation, translation

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Authors: Alina Muradyan, Lina Babayan, Arsen Nanyan, Gohar Galstyan, Vigen Khachatryan

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We present a photometric method for identifying stars, galaxies and quasars in multi-color surveys, which uses a library of ∼> 65000 color templates for comparison with observed objects. The method aims for extracting the information content of object colors in a statistically correct way, and performs a classification as well as a redshift estimation for galaxies and quasars in a unified approach based on the same probability density functions. For the redshift estimation, we employ an advanced version of the Minimum Error Variance estimator which determines the redshift error from the redshift dependent probability density function itself. The method was originally developed for the Calar Alto Deep Imaging Survey (CADIS), but is now used in a wide variety of survey projects. We checked its performance by spectroscopy of CADIS objects, where the method provides high reliability (6 errors among 151 objects with R < 24), especially for the quasar selection, and redshifts accurate within σz ≈ 0.03 for galaxies and σz ≈ 0.1 for quasars. For an optimization of future survey efforts, a few model surveys are compared, which are designed to use the same total amount of telescope time but different sets of broad-band and medium-band filters. Their performance is investigated by Monte-Carlo simulations as well as by analytic evaluation in terms of classification and redshift estimation. If photon noise were the only error source, broad-band surveys and medium-band surveys should perform equally well, as long as they provide the same spectral coverage. In practice, medium-band surveys show superior performance due to their higher tolerance for calibration errors and cosmic variance. Finally, we discuss the relevance of color calibration and derive important conclusions for the issues of library design and choice of filters. The calibration accuracy poses strong constraints on an accurate classification, which are most critical for surveys with few, broad and deeply exposed filters, but less severe for surveys with many, narrow and less deep filters.

Keywords: VO, ArVO, DFBS, FITS, image processing, data analysis

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Authors: Hanae Ait Hattani, Nohaila Ait Hattani

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Globalization, with the rapid technological progress, is affecting every life aspect. The 21st century higher education faces a major challenge in preparing well-rounded and competent graduates to compete in the global marketplace. Worldwide, educational policies work to develop the quality of instruction at all educational levels by focusing on promoting students’ qualifications and skills, considering both academic activities and non-academic attributes. In fact, extracurricular activities (ECAs) complement the academic curriculum and enhance the student experience by improving their interpersonal skills and attitudes. This study comes to examine the potential of extracurricular activities as a vital tool for soft skills’ development. Using empirical research, the study aims to measure and evaluate the extent to which university students’ engagement in extracurricular activities contribute in positively changing their learning experience, fostering their soft skills and fostering their behaviors and attitudes. Findings emanating from a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews add a number of contributions to the literature. They support the assumption suggesting that ECAs can be considered a valuable way to acquire, develop, and demonstrate softs skills that students today need to evidence in a variety of contexts, such as communication skills, team work, leadership, problem-solving, to name but a few.

Keywords: extracurricular activities (ECAs), soft skills, education, university, attitude

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Authors: Shadrack Mambo, Karim Djouani, Yskandar Hamam, Barend van Wyk, Patrick Siarry

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This paper discusses the current trends in medical image registration techniques and addresses the need to provide a solid theoretical foundation for research endeavours. Methodological analysis and synthesis of quality literature was done, providing a platform for developing a good foundation for research study in this field which is crucial in understanding the existing levels of knowledge. Research on medical image registration techniques assists clinical and medical practitioners in diagnosis of tumours and lesion in anatomical organs, thereby enhancing fast and accurate curative treatment of patients. Literature review aims to provide a solid theoretical foundation for research endeavours in image registration techniques. Developing a solid foundation for a research study is possible through a methodological analysis and synthesis of existing contributions. Out of these considerations, the aim of this paper is to enhance the scientific community’s understanding of the current status of research in medical image registration techniques and also communicate to them, the contribution of this research in the field of image processing. The gaps identified in current techniques can be closed by use of artificial neural networks that form learning systems designed to minimise error function. The paper also suggests several areas of future research in the image registration.

Keywords: image registration techniques, medical images, neural networks, optimisaztion, transformation

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Authors: Masoomeh Estaji, Ahdie Tahamtani

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Considering the necessity of conducting research and publishing academic papers during Master’s and Ph.D. programs, graduate students are in dire need of improving their writing skills through either writing courses or self-study planning. One key feature that could aid academic papers to look more sophisticated is the application of grammatical metaphors (GMs). These types of metaphors represent the ‘non-congruent’ and ‘implicit’ ways of decoding meaning through which one grammatical category is replaced by another, more implied counterpart, which can alter the readers’ understanding of the text as well. Although a number of studies have been conducted on the application of GMs across various disciplines, almost none has been devoted to the field of environmental management, and the scope of the previous studies has been relatively limited compared to the present work. In the current study, attempts were made to analyze different types of GMs used in academic papers published in top-tiered journals in the field of environmental management, and make a list of the most frequently used GMs based on their functions in this particular discipline to make the teaching of academic writing courses more explicit and the composition of academic texts more well-structured. To fulfill these purposes, a corpus-based analysis based on the two theoretical models of Martin et al. (1997) and Liardet (2014) was run. Through two stages of manual analysis and concordancers, ten recent academic articles entailing 132490 words published in two prestigious journals were precisely scrutinized. The results yielded that through the whole IMRaD sections of the articles, among all types of ideational GMs, material processes were the most frequent types. The second and the third ranks would apply to the relational and mental categories, respectively. Regarding the use of interpersonal GMs, objective expanding metaphors were the highest in number. In contrast, subjective interpersonal metaphors, either expanding or contracting, were the least significant. This would suggest that scholars in the field of Environmental Management tended to shift the focus on the main procedures and explain technical phenomenon in detail, rather than to compare and contrast other statements and subjective beliefs. Moreover, since no instances of verbal ideational metaphors were detected, it could be deduced that the act of ‘saying or articulating’ something might be against the standards of the academic genre. One other assumption would be that the application of ideational GMs is context-embedded and that the more technical they are, the least frequent they become. For further studies, it is suggested that the employment of GMs to be studied in a wider scope and other disciplines, and the third type of GMs known as ‘textual’ metaphors to be included as well.

Keywords: English for specific purposes, grammatical metaphor, academic texts, corpus-based analysis

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Authors: Claudia Aguilar, Amen Farooq

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Among other cities in the United States, the city of Atlanta is experiencing levels of growth that surpass anything we have witnessed in the last century. With the surge of population influx, the available housing is practically bursting at the seams. Supply is low, and demand is high. In effect, the average one-bedroom apartment runs for 1,800 dollars per month. The city is desperately seeking new opportunities to provide affordable housing at an expeditious rate. This has been made evident by the recent updates to the city’s zoning. With the recent influx in the housing market, young professionals, in particular millennials, are desperately looking for alternatives to stay within the city. To remedy Atlanta’s affordable housing crisis, the city of Atlanta is planning to introduce 40 thousand of new affordable housing units by 2026. To achieve the urgent need for more affordable housing, the architectural response needs to adapt to overcome this goal. A method that has proven successful in modern housing is to practice modular means of development. A method that has been constrained to the dimensions of the max load for an eighteen-wheeler. This approach has diluted the architect’s ability to produce site-specific, informed design and rather contributes to the “cookie cutter” stigma that the method has been labeled with. This thesis explores the design methodology for modular housing by revisiting its constructability and adaptability. This research focuses on a modular housing type that could break away from the constraints of transport and deliver adaptive reconfigurable assemblies. The adaptive assemblies represent an integrated design strategy for assembling the future of affordable dwelling units. The goal is to take advantage of a component-based system and explore a scalable solution to modular housing. This proposal aims specifically to design a kit of parts that are made to be easily transported and assembled but also gives the ability to customize the use of components to benefit all unique conditions. The benefits of this concept could include decreased construction time, cost, on-site labor, and disruption while providing quality housing with affordable and flexible options.

Keywords: adaptive assemblies, modular architecture, adaptability, constructibility, kit of parts

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Authors: Subir S. Rao

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Existing warehouse configurations use non-traditional aisle designs with a central P/D point in their models, which is mathematically simple but less practical. Many warehouses use multiple P/D points to avoid congestion for pickers, and different warehouses have different flow policies and infrastructure for using the P/D points. Many warehouses use multiple P/D points with non-traditional aisle designs in their analytical models. Standard warehouse models introduce one-sided multiple P/D points in a flying-V warehouse and minimize pick distance for a one-way travel between an active P/D point and a pick location with P/D points, assuming uniform flow rates. A simulation of the mathematical model generally uses four fixed configurations of P/D points which are on two different sides of the warehouse. It can be easily proved that if the source and destination P/D points are both chosen randomly, in a uniform way, then minimizing the one-way travel is the same as minimizing the two-way travel. Another warehouse configuration analytically models the warehouse for multiple one-sided P/D points while keeping the angle of the cross-aisles and picking aisles as a decision variable. The minimization of the one-way pick travel distance from the P/D point to the pick location by finding the optimal position/angle of the cross-aisle and picking aisle for warehouses having different numbers of multiple P/D points with variable flow rates is also one of the objectives. Most models of warehouses with multiple P/D points are one-way travel models and we extend these analytical models to minimize the two-way pick travel distance wherein the destination P/D is chosen optimally for the return route, which is not similar to minimizing the one-way travel. In most warehouse models, the return P/D is chosen randomly, but in our research, the return route P/D point is chosen optimally. Such warehouses are common in practice, where the flow rates at the P/D points are flexible and depend totally on the position of the picks. A good warehouse management system is efficient in consolidating orders over multiple P/D points in warehouses where the P/D is flexible in function. In the latter arrangement, pickers and shrink-wrap processes are not assigned to particular P/D points, which ultimately makes the P/D points more flexible and easy to use interchangeably for picking and deposits. The number of P/D points considered in this research uniformly increases from a single-central one to a maximum of each aisle symmetrically having a P/D point below it.

Keywords: non-traditional warehouse, V cross-aisle, multiple P/D point, pick travel distance

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Authors: E. Isaac, I. Jalo, Y. Alkali, A. Ajani, A. Rasaki, Y. Jibrin, K. Mustapha, S. Charanchi, A. Kudi, H. Danlami

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Introduction: Hepatitis B infection is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, where transmission predominantly occurs in infants and children by perinatal and horizontal routes. The risk of chronic infection peaks when infection is acquired early. Materials and Methods: Records of Hepatitis B surface and envelope antigen results in Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe between May 2000 and May 2015 were retrieved and analyzed. Results: Paediatric outpatient visits and in-patient admissions were 64,193 accounting for 13% of total. Individuals tested for Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia were 23,866. Children aged 0-18 years constituted 11% (2,626). Among children tested, males accounted for 52.8% (1386/2626) and females 47.2% (1240/2626). Infants contributed 65 (2.3%); 1-4 year old children 309 (11.7%); 5-9 year old children 564 (21.4%) and adolescents 1717 (65.1%). HbSAg sero-positivity was 18% (496/2626) among children tested. The highest number of children tested per year was in 2009 (518) and 2014 (569) and the lowest, in the first study year (62). The highest sero-positivity rate was in 2010; 21.7% (54/255). Children aged 0-18years accounted for 10.5% (496/4720) of individuals with Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia. Sero-positivity was 3.1% (2/65); 12.9% (40/309); 18.1% (102/564); and 20.5% (352/1717) in infants, children ages 1-4years, 5-9years and adolescents respectively. 2.5% (1/40) and 4% (1/25) of male and female infants respectively had HbSAg. Among children aged 1-4years, 15.1% (30/198) of males and 9.0% (10/111) of females were seropositive; 14.8% (52/350) and 22% (50/224) of male and female 5-9year old children respectively has HbSAg. 14.3% (138/943) of adolescent females had Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia. Adolescent males demonstrated the highest sero-positivity rate 27.6% (214/774). 97.3% (483/496) of children who demonstrated Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia were tested for dual carriage with the e antigen. Males accounted for 296/483 (63.1%) and females 187/483 (36.9%). Infants constituted 0.97% (4/482); children aged 1-4years, 5-9years and adolescents were 6.8% (33/483); 20.9% (100/483) and 71.3% (342/483) respectively. 17.6% (85/483) of children tested had HBe antigenaemia. Of these, males accounted for 69.4% (59/85). 1.2% (1/85) were infants; 9.4% (8/85%) 1-4years; 22.3% (19/85) 5-9years and 68.2% (58/85) adolescents. 25% (1/4) infants; 24% (8/33) children aged 1-4 years; 19% (19/100) 5-9 year old children and 16.9% (58/342) adolescents had dual carriage. Infants and young children demonstrated the highest rate of dual carriage but were less likely to be tested for dual carriage 37/42 (88%) than their 5-9 year old 98% (100/102) and adolescent 342/352 (97%) counterparts. HB e antigen positivity rate was 45.4% (59/130) males and 36.0% (27/75) in females. Conclusion: Hepatitis B surface antigenaemia is high among adolescent males. Infants and young children who had HBSAg had the highest rate of envelope antigen carriage. Testing in pregnancy, vaccination programmes and prophylaxis need to be strengthened.

Keywords: children, dual carriage, Gombe, hepatitis B

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Authors: Gizachew Assefa Tessema, Mohammad Afzal Mahmood, Judith Streak Gomersall, Caroline O. Laurence

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Introduction: Improving access to quality family planning services is the key to improving health of women and children. However, there is currently little evidence on the quality and scope of family planning services provided by private facilities, and this compares to the services provided in public facilities in Ethiopia. This is important, particularly in determining whether the government should further expand the roles of the private sector in the delivery of family planning facility. Methods: This study used the 2014 Ethiopian Services Provision Assessment Plus (ESPA+) survey dataset for comparing the structural aspects of quality of care in family planning services. The present analysis used a weighted sample of 1093 primary health care facilities (955 public and 138 private). This study employed logistic regression analysis to compare key structural variables between public and private facilities. While taking the structural variables as an outcome for comparison, the facility type (public vs private) were used as the key exposure of interest. Results: When comparing availability of basic amenities (infrastructure), public facilities were less likely to have functional cell phones (AOR=0.12; 95% CI: 0.07-0.21), and water supply (AOR=0.29; 95% CI: 0.15-0.58) than private facilities. However, public facilities were more likely to have staff available 24 hours in the facility (AOR=0.12; 95% CI: 0.07-0.21), providers having family planning related training in the past 24 months (AOR=4.4; 95% CI: 2.51, 7.64) and possessing guidelines/protocols (AOR= 3.1 95% CI: 1.87, 5.24) than private facilities. Moreover, comparing the availability of equipment, public facilities had higher odds of having pelvic model for IUD demonstration (AOR=2.60; 95% CI: 1.35, 5.01) and penile model for condom demonstration (AOR=2.51; 95% CI: 1.32, 4.78) than private facilities. Conclusion: The present study suggests that Ethiopian government needs to provide emphasis towards the private sector in terms of providing family planning guidelines and training on family planning services for their staff. It is also worthwhile for the public health facilities to allocate funding for improving the availability of basic amenities. Implications for policy and/ or practice: This study calls policy makers to design appropriate strategies in providing opportunities for training a health care providers working in private health facility.

Keywords: quality of care, family planning, public-private, Ethiopia

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Authors: Mosito Jonas Seabela

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Breastfeeding in public has become a contentious issue in contemporary society. Mothers are often subjected to unfair discrimination and harassment for simply responding to their maternal instinct to breastfeed their infants. The unwillingness of society to accept public breastfeeding as a natural, non-sexual act is partly influenced by the imposition of a pornified and hypersexualised Western culture, which was imported to Africa through colonisation, enforced by the apartheid regime, and is now perpetuated by Western media. The imposition of the modern nuclear family on Africans, and the coerced aspiration to subscribe to bourgeois values, has eroded the moral standing of the traditional African family and its cultural values. Western-centric perceptions of African women have altered the experience of motherhood for many, commodifying the practice of breastfeeding. As a result, the use of bottles and infant formulas is often perceived as the preferred method, while breastfeeding in public is viewed as primitive, immoral, and unacceptable. This normative study seeks to answer the question of what ought to be done to preserve the dignity of African motherhood and protect their right to breastfeed in public. The African philosophy of Ubuntu is employed to advocate for the right to breastfeed in public. This moral philosophy posits that the western perception of a person seeks to isolate people from their environment and culture, thereby undermining the process of acquiring humanity, which fosters social cohesion. The Ubuntu philosophy embodies the aphorism, “umuntu ngumuntu nga bantu”, meaning “a person is a person through other persons”, signifying people’s interconnectedness and interdependence. The application of the key principles of Ubuntu, such as “survival, the spirit of solidarity, compassion, respect, and dignity” can improve human interaction and unite the public to support the government’s efforts to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates and reduce infant mortality rates. A doctrine called “Ubuntu Lactivism” is what the author proposes as a means to advocate for breastfeeding rights in fulfilment of African traditional values.

Keywords: ubuntu, breastfeeding, Afrocentric, colonization, culture, motherhood, imperialism, objectification

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Authors: Syahruddin Sumardi Samindjaya, Indra Fajar Alamsyah, Junaidah Hashim

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Purpose: This study attempts to explore and presents a proposed recruitment model in Islamic university which aligned with holistic role. Design/methodology/approach: It is a conceptual paper in nature. In turn, this study is designed to utilize exploratory approach. Literature and document review that related to this topic are used as the methods to analyse the content found. Findings: Recruitment for any organization is fundamental to achieve its goal effectively. Staffing in universities is vital due to the important role of lecturers. Currently, Islamic universities still adopt the common process of recruitment for their academic staffs. Whereas, they have own characteristics which are embedded in their institutions. Furthermore, the FCWC (Foundation, Capability, Worldview and Commitment) model of recruitment proposes to suit the holistic character of Islamic university. Research limitation/implications: Further studies are required to empirically validate the concept through systematic investigations. Additionally, measuring this model by a designed means is appreciated. Practical implications: The model provides the map and alternative tool of recruitment for Islamic universities to determine the process of recruitment which can appropriate their institutions. In addition, it also allows stakeholders and policy makers to consider regarding Islamic values that should inculcate in the Islamic higher learning institutions. Originality/value: This study initiates a foundational contribution for an early sequence of research.

Keywords: academic staff, Islamic values, recruitment model, university

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Authors: Belete Abebaw, Mulugeta Atinafu, Awoke Shishigu

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The study aimed to examine students’ problem-solving skills through mixed instruction (variation theory based Geogerba assisted problem-solving instructional approaches). A total of 125 students divided into 4 intact groups participated in the study. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design. Three intact groups were randomly assigned as a treatment group, while one group was taken as a comparison group. Each of the groups took a specific instructional approach, while the comparison group proceeded as usual without any changes to the instructional process for all sessions. Both pre and post problem-solving tests were administered to all groups. To analyze the data and examine the differences (if any) in each group, ANCOVA and Paired samples t-tests were employed. There was a significant mean difference between students pre-test and post-test in their conceptual understanding of each treatment group. Furthermore, the mixed treatment had a large mean difference. It was recommended that teachers give attention to using variation theory-based geometry problem-solving approaches for students’ better understanding. Administrators should emphasize launching Geogebra software through IT labs in schools, and government officials should appreciate the implementation of technology in schools.

Keywords: conceptual understanding, Geogebra, learning geometry, problem solving approaches, variation theory

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Authors: Momen Yaseen M. Amin

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Despite widespread coverage of language policy in the literature, there has been scant research probing into English language education policy at tertiary levels in general and in the case of higher education context of Iraqi Kurdistan in particular. The present qualitative study investigated the results of a questionnaire on attitudes toward English language education policy in terms of attitudes toward the English language in general, the current English education policy, and the purposes for learning English among Kurdish EFL university students. Moreover, this study aimed to investigate this topic in light of the participants’ gender and major. To this end, an adapted version of Yang’s (2012) questionnaire was administered to university EFL students majoring in soft and hard sciences (N=300, male 34%, female 67%, four and two disciplines, respectively) at two-state and private universities in Iraqi Kurdistan. The findings revealed positive attitudes toward English as an international language in both soft and hard sciences. While strongly subscribing to the idea that all Iraqi Kurdish students should learn the English language and the courses to be offered in English as well as Kurdish, the majority of the participants expressed their readiness and enthusiasm to excel in English and considered such competency a significant academic accomplishment. However, a good number felt dissatisfied with the status quo of English education at their institutions. This paper provides some implications and recommendations for English education policies makers, administrators, and English language instructors at tertiary levels.

Keywords: attitudes, language policy, English language education, Iraqi Kurdistan

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