Search results for: bank penetration

Authors: E. Prema Shyam

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The role of international organizations has contributed in various ways for the good governance in the world at large. Since the beginning of the 1990s international organizations, particularly those active in the areas of human rights, trade and economic etc., have embraced a 'good governance'. It is also pertinent to mention that the application of the concept of good governance to international organizations themselves and not exclusively to national or regional polities is a more recent phenomenon. Especially since the second half of the 1990s, a number of international organizations have carried out major governance reforms, assuming that their calls for governments to heed higher standards of good governance will be all the more credible provided that they develop a good governance standard for themselves. In addition to this number of organizations such as the United Nations (UN), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Union (EU), International Committee of the Red Cross and World Trade Organization (WTO). OECD has been specifically mobilized to fight corruption. The World Bank was the first international organization to address the issue of good governance when it attributed the African development crisis to a crisis of governance in a 1989 report. International organizations are often denounced for their lack of transparency and democracy. However, in the last few years, a number of them have pushed through impressive reforms aimed at enhancing good governance standards within their own organizations, especially in the light of their long-standing secrecy. This is a remnant of the traditional conception of international organizations, which renders them merely answerable to their Members. International organizations have already gone quite some way in the areas of good management and opening up to the public. However, as far as participatory governance is concerned, lot to be done for the larger interest of society. In this paper, an attempt has been made to focus the issues on international organisations with regard to good governance.

Keywords: good governance, World Trade Organisation, international organisation, governance reforms

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Authors: Myungkyu Park, Minkun Kim, Sunghoon Kim, Samgon Ryu

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Recently, research for reactive fabrics which have the characteristics of CWA (Chemical Warfare Agent) decomposition is being performed actively. The performance level of decomposition for CWA decomposition in various environmental condition is one of the critical factors in applicability as protective materials for NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) protective clothing. In this study, results of performance test for CWA decomposition by reactive fabric made of electrospinning web and reactive particle are presented. Currently, the MOF (metal organic framework) type of UiO-66-NH₂ is frequently being studied as material for decomposing CWA especially blister agent HD [Bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide]. When we test decomposition rate with electrospinning web made of PVB (Polyvinyl Butiral) polymer and UiO-66-NH₂ particle, we can get very high protective performance than the case other particles are applied. Furthermore, if the repellant surface fabric is added on reactive material as the component of protective fabric, the performance of layer by layered reactive fabric could be approached to the level of current NBC protective fabric for HD decomposition rate. Reactive fabric we used in this study is manufactured by electrospinning process of polymer which contains the reactive particle of UiO-66-NH₂, and we performed crystalizing process once again on that polymer fiber web in solvent systems as a second step for manufacturing reactive fabric. Three kinds of polymer materials are used in this process, but PVB was most suitable as an electrospinning fiber polymer considering the shape of product. The density of particle on fiber web and HD decomposition rate is enhanced by secondary crystallization compared with the results which are not processed. The amount of HD penetration by 24hr AVLAG (Aerosol Vapor Liquid Assessment Group) swatch test through the reactive fabrics with secondary crystallization and without crystallization is 24 and 146μg/cm² respectively. Even though all of the reactive fiber webs for this test are combined with repellant surface layer at outer side of swatch, the effects of secondary crystallization of particle for the reactive fiber web are remarkable.

Keywords: CWA, Chemical Warfare Agent, gas decomposition, particle growth, protective clothing, reactive fabric, swatch test

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Authors: Tamar Trop, Michal Roffeh

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One of the emerging trends in construction is installing an exterior “green wall” (GW). GW is an overarching and most common term for various techniques of incorporating greenery into buildings’ vertical elements, mainly facades. This green infrastructure yields numerous benefits for the urban environment, the public, and the buildings’ tenants and users, such as enhancing air quality and biodiversity, managing stormwater runoff, mitigating urban heat island and climate change, improving urban aesthetics and mental wellbeing, improving indoor comfort conditions, and saving energy. Yet, the penetration rate of GWs into the construction market, especially into the housing sector, is still very slow. Furthermore, the research regarding prospective homebuyers’ willingness to purchase and pay a price premium for GW apartments is scarce and does not refer to newly built buildings and specific GW types. This research aims to narrow these knowledge gaps by exploring the willingness of prospective homebuyers in Israel to purchase a newly built apartment with a hydroponic living wall, the size of the PP that they would be willing to pay for it, and the various factors ̶ knowledge-related, concern, economic, and personal ̶ that influence these motivations. A nationwide online survey was conducted among a sample of 514 adults using a structured questionnaire. Findings show that despite low familiarity with GWs and strong concerns about various kinds of nuisance, technical issues, and maintenance costs, potential homebuyers express a relatively high willingness to purchase and pay a significant price premium for such an apartment. The main motivations behind this willingness were found to be potential energy savings and governmental incentives. Study findings can contribute to a better understanding of the maturity of the housing market in Israel to adopt GWs and to better tailor intervention tools for increasing GWs’ uptake among potential homebuyers.

Keywords: green façade, green wall, living wall, willingness to pay

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Authors: Karim Hajjar, Luis Lillo, Diego Martinez, Manuel Hermosilla, Nicholas Risko

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Objectives: This study examines the relationship between universal health coverage (UCH) and the burden of emergency diseases at a global level. Methods: Data on Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) from emergency conditions were extracted from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) database for the years 2015 and 2019. Data on UHC, measured using two variables, 1) coverage of essential health services and 2) proportion of population spending more than 10% of household income on out-of-pocket health care expenditure, was extracted from the World Bank Database for years preceding our outcome of interest. Linear regression was performed, analyzing the effect of the UHC variables on the DALYs of emergency diseases, controlling for other variables. Results: A total of 133 countries were included. 44.4% of the analyzed countries had coverage of essential health services index of at least 70/100, and 35.3% had at least 10% of their population spend greater than 10% of their household income on healthcare. For every point increase in the coverage of essential health services index, there was a 13-point reduction in DALYs of emergency medical diseases (95% CI -16, -11). Conversely, for every percent decrease in the population with large household expenditure on healthcare, there was a 0.48 increase in DALYs of emergency medical diseases (95% CI -5.6, 4.7). Conclusions: After adjusting for multiple variables, an increase in coverage of essential health services was significantly associated with improvement in DALYs for emergency conditions. There was, however, no association between catastrophic health expenditure and DALYs.

Keywords: emergency medicine, universal healthcare, global health, health economics

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Authors: Huang Wei-Chi, Li Wei, Yu Tien-Chieh

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Medication adherence is crucial for treatment success. Adherence problem is common in patients with polypharmacy, especially in the geriatric population who are vulnerable to multiple chronic conditions but averagely less knowledgeable about diseases and medications. In order to help patients take medications appropriately and enhance the understanding of diseases or medications, a Line official account named e-Pharmacist was designed. The line is a popular freeware app with the highest penetration rate (95.7%) in Taiwan. The interface of e-Pharmacist is user-friendly for easy-to-read and convenient operating. Differ from other medication adherence apps, users just added e-Pharmacist as a LINE friend without installing any more apps and the drug lists were automatically downloaded from the personal electronic medical records with security permission. Over and above medication reminder, several additional capabilities were set up and engaged in the platform of e-Pharmacist including prescription refill reservation, laboratory examination consultation, medical appointment registration, and “Daily Health Log” where patients can record and track data of blood pressure/blood sugar and daily meals for self-health management as well as can share the important information to clinical professionals when seeking medical help. Additionally, a Line chatbot was utilized to provide tailored medicine information for the individual user. From July 2020 to March 2022, around 3000 patients added e-pharmacist as Line friends. Every day more than 1500 patients receive messages from e-pharmacist to notify them to take medicine. Thanks to the e-pharmacist alert system and Chatbot, the low-compliance patients (defined by Program on Adherence to Medication, PAM) significantly dropped from 36% to 6%, whereas the high-compliance patients dramatically increased from 13% to 77%. The user satisfaction is 98%. In brief, an e-pharmacist is not only a medication reminder but also a tailored personal assistant with value-added service for health management.

Keywords: e-pharmacist, self-health management, medication reminder, value-added service

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Authors: Sreto Boljevic

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In the absence of considerable investment in electricity generation, transmission and distribution network (DN) capacity, the demand for electrical energy will quickly strain the capacity of the existing electrical power network. With anticipated growth and proliferation of Electric vehicles (EVs) and Heat pump (HPs) identified the likelihood that the additional load from EV changing and the HPs operation will require capital investment in the DN. While an area-wide implementation of EVs and HPs will contribute to the decarbonization of the energy system, they represent new challenges for the existing low-voltage (LV) network. Distributed energy resources (DER), operating both as part of the DN and in the off-network mode, have been offered as a means to meet growing electricity demand while maintaining and ever-improving DN reliability, resiliency and power quality. DN planning has traditionally been done by forecasting future growth in demand and estimating peak load that the network should meet. However, new problems are arising. These problems are associated with a high degree of proliferation of EVs and HPs as load imposes on DN. In addition to that, the promotion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES). High distributed generation (DG) penetration and a large increase in load proliferation at low-voltage DNs may have numerous impacts on DNs that create issues that include energy losses, voltage control, fault levels, reliability, resiliency and power quality. To mitigate negative impacts and at a same time enhance positive impacts regarding the new operational state of DN, CHP system integration can be seen as best action to postpone/reduce capital investment needed to facilitate promotion and maximize benefits of EVs, HPs and RES integration in low-voltage DN. The aim of this paper is to generate an algorithm by using an analytical approach. Algorithm implementation will provide a way for optimal placement of the CHP system in the DN in order to maximize the integration of RES and increase in proliferation of EVs and HPs.

Keywords: combined heat & power (CHP), distribution networks, EVs, HPs, RES

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Authors: Alireza Nikravanshallmani, Jamshid Dehmeshki, Mojtaba Ahmadi

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Modeling of business processes, based on BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation), helps analysts and managers to understand business processes, and, identify their shortages. These models provide a context to make rational decision of organizing business processes activities in an understandable manner. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for better understanding of business processes and their problems by reducing the cognitive load of displayed information for their audience at different managerial levels while keeping the essential information which are needed by them. For this reason, we integrate business process diagrams across the different managerial levels to develop a framework to improve the performance of business process management (BPM) projects. The proposed framework is entitled ‘Business process improvement framework based on managerial levels (BPIML)’. This framework, determine a certain type of business process diagrams (BPD) based on BPMN with respect to the objectives and tasks of the various managerial levels of organizations and their roles in BPM projects. This framework will make us able to provide the necessary support for making decisions about business processes. The framework is evaluated with a case study in a real business process improvement project, to demonstrate its superiority over the conventional method. A questionnaire consisted of 10 questions using Likert scale was designed and given to the participants (managers of Bank Refah Kargaran three managerial levels). By examining the results of the questionnaire, it can be said that the proposed framework provide support for correct and timely decisions by increasing the clarity and transparency of the business processes which led to success in BPM projects.

Keywords: business process management (BPM), business process modeling, business process reengineering (BPR), business process optimizing, BPMN

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Authors: Maria Florencia Ferrer, Saulo Fabiano Amancio-Vieira

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The use of the blockchain in the public sector is present today and no longer the future of disruptive institutional and technological models. There are still some cultural barriers and resistance to the proper use of its potential. This research aims to present the strengths and weaknesses of using a public-permitted and distributed network in the context of the public sector. Therefore, bibliographical/documentary research was conducted to raise the main aspects of the studied platform, focused on the use of the main demands of the public sector. The platform analyzed was LACChain, which is a global alliance composed of different actors in the blockchain environment, led by the Innovation Laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Lab) for the development of the blockchain ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean. LACChain provides blockchain infrastructure, which is a distributed ratio technology (DLT). The platform focuses on two main pillars: community and infrastructure. It is organized as a consortium for the management and administration of an infrastructure classified as public, following the ISO typologies (ISO / TC 307). It is, therefore, a network open to any participant who agrees with the established rules, which are limited to being identified and complying with the regulations. As benefits can be listed: public network (open to all), decentralized, low transaction cost, greater publicity of transactions, reduction of corruption in contracts / public acts, in addition to improving transparency for the population in general. It is also noteworthy that the platform is not based on cryptocurrency and is not anonymous; that is, it is possible to be regulated. It is concluded that the use of record platforms, such as LACChain, can contribute to greater security on the part of the public agent in the migration process of their informational applications.

Keywords: blockchain, LACChain, public sector, technological disruptions

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Authors: Abdessalam Hijab, Hafida Boulekbache, Eric Henry

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According to several research studies, the city as a whole is a complex, spatially organized system; its modeling must take into account several factors, socio-economic, and political, or geographical, acting at multiple scales of observation according to varied temporalities. Sustainable management and protection of the environment in this complex system require significant human and technical investment, particularly for monitoring and maintenance. The objective of this paper is to propose an intelligent approach based on the coupling of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools in order to integrate the inhabitants in the processes of sustainable management and protection of the urban environment, specifically in the processes of household waste collection in urban areas. We are discussing a collaborative 'city/inhabitant' space. Indeed, it is a geo-collaborative approach, based on the spatialization and real-time geo-localization of topological and multimedia data taken by the 'active' inhabitant, in the form of geo-localized alerts related to household waste issues in their city. Our proposal provides a good understanding of the extent to which civil society (inhabitants) can help and contribute to the development of complementary solutions for the collection of household waste and the protection of the urban environment. Moreover, it allows the inhabitant to contribute to the enrichment of a data bank for future uses. Our geo-collaborative model will be tested in the Lamkansa sampling district of the city of Casablanca in Morocco.

Keywords: geographic information system, GIS, information and communications technology, ICT, geo-collaboration, inhabitants, city

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Authors: Euphrasia Susy Suhendra, Lies Handrijaningsih

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The banking sector as an intermediary party or intermediaries occupies a very important position in bridging the needs of working capital investment in the real sector with funds owner. This will certainly make money more effectively to improve the economic value added. As an intermediary, Islamic banks raise funds from the public and then distribute in the form of financing. In practice, the distribution of funding that is run by Islamic Banking is not as easy as, in theory, because, in fact, there are many financing problems; some are caused by lacking the assessment and supervision of banks to customers. This study aims to analyze the influence of the Third Party Funds, Return on Assets (ROA), Non Performing Financing (NPF), and Financing Deposit Ratio (FDR) to Total Financing provided to the Community by Islamic Banks in Indonesia. The data used is monthly data released by Bank of Indonesia in Islamic Banking Statistics in the time period of January 2009 - December 2013. This study uses cointegration test to see the long-term relationship, and use error correction models to examine the relationship of short-term. The results of this study indicate that the Third Party Fund has a short-term effect on total funding, Return on Assets has a long term effect on the total financing, Non Performing Financing has long-term effects of total financing, and Financing deposit ratio has the effect of short-term and long-term of the total financing provided by Islamic Banks in Indonesia.

Keywords: Islamic banking, third party fund, return on asset, non-performing financing, financing deposit ratio

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Authors: Shah Md. Imran Kabir, Md. Mostafa Ali

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Karnafuli is one of the most important rivers of Bangladesh which is playing a vital role in our national economy. The major sea port of Bangladesh is the Chittagong port located on the right bank of Karnafuli River Bangladesh. Karnafuli river port is considered as the lifeline of the economic activities of the country. Therefore, it is always necessary to keep the river active and live in terms of its navigability. Due to man-made intervention, the river flow becomes interrupted and thereby may cause the change in the river morphology. The specific objective of this study is the application of 2D model to assess different hydrodynamic and morphological characteristics of the river due to normal flow condition and sea level rise condition. The model has been set with the recent bathymetry data collected from CPA hydrography division. For model setup, the river reach is selected between Kalurghat and Khal no-18. Time series discharge and water level data are used as boundary condition at upstream and downstream. Calibration and validation have been carried out with the recent water level data at Khal no-10 and Sadarghat. The total reach length of the river has been divided into four parts to determine different hydrodynamic and morphological assessments like variation of velocity, sediment erosion and deposition and bed level changes also have been studied. This model has been used for the assessment of river response due sediment transport and sea level rise. Model result shows slight increase in velocity. It also changes the rate of erosion and deposition at some location of the selected reach. It is hoped that the result of the model simulation will be helpful to suggest the effect of possible future development work to be implemented on this river.

Keywords: CCHE 2D, hydrodynamic, morphology, sea level rise

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Authors: Abisuga Oluwayemisi Adebola, Kerri Akiwowo, Deon de Beer, Kobus Van Der Walt

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The convergence of additive manufacturing (AM) and traditional textile dyeing techniques has initiated innovative possibilities for improving the visual application and customization potential of 3D-printed polymer objects. Textile dyeing techniques have progressed to transform fabrics with vibrant colours and complex patterns over centuries. The layer-by-layer deposition characteristic of AM necessitates adaptations in dye application methods to ensure even colour penetration across complex surfaces. Compatibility between dye formulations and polymer matrices influences colour uptake and stability, demanding careful selection and testing of dyes for optimal results. This study investigates the development interaction between these areas, revealing the challenges and opportunities of applying textile dyeing methods to colour 3D-printed polymer materials. The method explores three innovative approaches to colour the 3D-printed polymer object: (a) Additive Manufacturing of a Prototype, (b) the traditional dyebath method, and (c) the contemporary digital sublimation technique. The results show that the layer lines inherent to AM interact with dyes differently and affect the visual outcome compared to traditional textile fibers. Skillful manipulation of textile dyeing methods and dye type used for this research reduced the appearance of these lines to achieve consistency and desirable colour outcomes. In conclusion, integrating textile dyeing techniques into colouring 3D-printed polymer materials connects historical craftsmanship with innovative manufacturing. Overcoming challenges of colour distribution, compatibility, and layer line management requires a holistic approach that blends the technical consistency of AM with the artistic sensitivity of textile dyeing. Hence, applying textile dyeing methods to 3D-printed polymers opens new dimensions of aesthetic and functional possibilities.

Keywords: polymer, 3D-printing, sublimation, textile, dyeing, additive manufacturing

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Authors: Dilang Thouk Tharjiath

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This study seeks to examine determinants of access to finance: the case of micro and small enterprises in bonga town. It identifies the sector as the key to unlocking the economic potentials of the country. For the achievement of the objective of the study simple random and stratified sampling has been used to select 179 respondents, primary and secondary data were used, primary data were collected through face to face interview and preparing questionnaire and secondary data were collected through reviewing firms record and reports, quantitative research approach were used and the data obtained were analyzed using descriptive research design. Access to finance is one of the key obstacles of MSE’s not only when starting the business project but also when operating. Identifying the major determinants of access to finance is therefore quite crucial. Based on descriptive result the financiers specially formal financiers tend to grant credit easily for enterprises which are located near to town, having operators with higher educational level, experienced and with a positive attitudes towards or fulfill their lending procedures, and a firm having collateralized asset, prepare business plan, maintain accounting practice ,large and old enough. Finally the study recommended that As Educational level of entrepreneurs has significant effect on access to credit from bank and the managers or owners education level is low in Bonga town the concerned bodies of both the government and non-governmental institutions in collaboration with Bonga town MSE development office are recommended to create awareness and facilitate the provision of additional training for those with lower educational level.

Keywords: credit, entrepreneur, enterprise, manager

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Authors: Rosiris Maturo Domingues, Patricia Luissa Masmo, Cibele Cavalheiro Neves, Juliana Dalla Martha Rodriguez

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This article reports the experience of the pedagogical consultants responsible for the curriculum development of Senac São Paulo courses when facing the emergency need to maintain the pedagogical process in their schools in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The urgent adjustment to distance education resulted in the improvement of the process and the adoption of new teaching and learning strategies mediated by technologies. The processes for preparing and providing guidelines for professional education courses were also readjusted. Thus, a bank of teaching-learning strategies linked to digital resources was developed, categorized, and identified by their didactic-pedagogical potential, having as an intersection didactic planning based on learning objectives based on Bloom's taxonomy (revised), given its convergence with the competency approach adopted by Senac. Methodologically, a relationship was established between connectivity and digital networks and digital evolution in school environments, culminating in new paradigms and processes of educational communication and new trends in teaching and learning. As a result, teachers adhered to the use of digital tools in their practices, transposing face-to-face classroom methodologies and practices to online media, whose criticism was the use of ICTs in an instrumental way, reducing methodologies and practices to teaching only transmissive. There was recognition of the insertion of technology as a facilitator of the educational process in a non-palliative way and the development of a web curriculum, now and fully, carried out in contexts of ubiquity.

Keywords: technologies, education, teaching-learning strategies, Bloom taxonomy

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Authors: Ifeoma Patricia Osamor, Ayotunde Qudus Saka, Godwin Omoregbee, Hikmat Oreoluwalomo Omolaja

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Persistent fall in the value of Nigeria's currency compared to other foreign currencies, constant fluctuations in the exchange rate, and an increase in the price of goods and services necessitated the examination of the effects of exchange rate fluctuations on the economic performance of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria. An ex-post facto research design was adopted. Manufacturing gross domestic product (MGDP) was proxied for performance; Naira/Dollar exchange rate (NDE), Naira/Pounds exchange rate (NPE), Foreign exchange supply (FES) were used for exchange rate fluctuations; and inflation rate (INF) was a control variable. Data were collected from CBN Statistical Bulletin (2020) also World Development Indicators of the World Bank, while data collected were analysed using descriptive analysis, unit root, bounds cointegration test, and ARDL. Findings showed that changes in Naira/Dollar exchange rate (NDE) and Naira/Pound Sterling exchange rate negatively but significantly impact the economic performance of the manufacturing sector, while foreign exchange supply leads to an insignificant positive effect on the economic performance of the manufacturing. The study concludes that exchange rate fluctuations negatively impact the performance of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria and, therefore, recommends that government should encourage export diversification through agriculture, agro-investment, and agro-allied industries that would boost export in order to improve the value of the Naira, thereby stabilizing the exchange rate.

Keywords: exchange rate, economic performance, gross domestic product, inflation rate, foreign exchange supply

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Authors: Dongseok Cho, Mitchell Driedger, Sera Han, Noman Khan, Mohammed Elmorsy, Mohamad El-Hajj

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Since the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine in late 2020, vaccination rates have varied around the globe. Access to a vaccine supply, mandated vaccination policy, and vaccine hesitancy contribute to these rates. This study used COVID-19 vaccination data from Our World in Data and the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19 to create two COVID-19 vaccination indices. The first index is the Vaccine Utilization Index (VUI), which measures how effectively each country has utilized its vaccine supply to doubly vaccinate its population. The second index is the Vaccination Acceleration Index (VAI), which evaluates how efficiently each country vaccinated its population within its first 150 days. Pearson correlations were created between these indices and country indicators obtained from the World Bank. The results of these correlations identify countries with stronger health indicators, such as lower mortality rates, lower age dependency ratios, and higher rates of immunization to other diseases, displaying higher VUI and VAI scores than countries with lesser values. VAI scores are also positively correlated to Governance and Economic indicators, such as regulatory quality, control of corruption, and GDP per capita. As represented by the VUI, proper utilization of the COVID-19 vaccine supply by country is observed in countries that display excellence in health practices. A country’s motivation to accelerate its vaccination rates within the first 150 days of vaccinating, as represented by the VAI, was largely a product of the governing body’s effectiveness and economic status, as well as overall excellence in health practises.

Keywords: data mining, Pearson correlation, COVID-19, vaccination rates and hesitancy

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Authors: Alaa Badawi, Suzan Sayegh, Mohamed Sallam, Eman Sadoun, Mohamed Al-Thani, Muhammad W. Alam, Paul Arora

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Background: The dual burden of tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased over the past decade with DM prevalence increasing in countries already afflicted with a high burden of TB. The coexistence of the two conditions presents a serious threat to global public health. Objective: The present study examines the global relationship between the prevalence of DM and the incidence of TB to evaluate their coexistence worldwide and their contribution to one another. Methods: This is an ecological longitudinal study covering the period between years 2000 to 2012. We utilized data from the WHO and World Bank sources and International Diabetes Federation to estimate prevalence of DM (%) and the incidence of TB (per 100,000). Measures of central tendency and dispersion as well as the harmonic mean and linear regression were used for different WHO regions. The association between DM prevalence and TB incidence was examined by quartile of DM prevalence. Results: The worldwide average (±S.D.) prevalence of DM within the study period was 6.6±3.8% whereas TB incidence was 135.0±190.5 per 100,000. DM prevalence was highest in the Eastern Mediterranean (8.3±4.1) and West Pacific (8.2±5.6) regions and lowest in the Africa (3.5±2.6). TB incidence was highest in Africa (313.1±275.9 per 100,000) and South-East Asia (216.7±124.9) and lowest in the European (46.5±68.6) and American (47.2±52.9) regions. Only countries with high DM prevalence (>7.6%) showed a significant positive association with TB incidence (r=0.17, p=0.013). Conclusion: A positive association between DM and TB may exist in some – but not all – world regions, a dual burden that necessitates identifying the nature of this coexistence to assist in developing public health approaches that curb their rising burden.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis, disease burden, global association

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Authors: Julian Sandoval, Philipp Schober

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Lahar sand (lahars) is a material that originates from volcanic debris flows. During and after a volcano eruption, the lahars can move at speeds up to 22 meters per hour or more, so they can easily cover extensive areas and destroy any structure in their path. Mount Pinatubo eruption (1991) brought lahars to its vicinities, and its use has been a matter of research ever since. Lahars are often disposed of for land reclamation projects in the Manila Bay, Philippines. After reclamation, some deep loss deposits may still present and they are prone to liquefaction. To mitigate the risk of liquefaction of such deposits, Vibro compaction has been proposed and used as a ground improvement technique. Cone penetration testing (CPT) campaigns are usually initiated to monitor the effectiveness of the ground improvement works by vibro compaction. The CPT cone resistance is used to analyses the in-situ relative density of the reclaimed sand before and after compaction. Available correlations between the CPT cone resistance and the relative density are only valid for non-crushable sands. Due to the partially crushable nature of lahars, the CPT data requires to be adjusted to allow for a correct interpretation of the CPT data. The objective of this paper is to characterize the chemical and mechanical properties of the lahar sands used for an ongoing project in the Port of Manila, which comprises reclamation activities using lahars from the east of Mount Pinatubo, it investigates their effect in the proposed correction factor. Additionally, numerous CPTs were carried out in a test trial and during the execution of the project. Based on this data, the influence of the grid spacing, compaction steps and the holding time on the compaction results are analyzed. Moreover, the so-called “aging effect” of the lahars is studied by comparing the results of the CPT testing campaign at different times after the vibro compaction activities. A considerable increase in the tip resistance of the CPT was observed over time.

Keywords: vibro compaction, CPT, lahar sands, correction factor, chemical composition

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Authors: Rahmoune Abdelhaq

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Systemic risk is a key concern for central banks charged with safeguarding overall financial stability. In this work, we investigate how systemic risk is affected by the structure of the financial system. We construct banking systems that are composed of a number of banks that are connected by interbank linkages. We then vary the key parameters that define the structure of the financial system — including its level of capitalization, the degree to which banks are connected, the size of interbank exposures and the degree of concentration of the system — and analyses the influence of these parameters on the likelihood of contagious (knock-on) defaults. First, we find that the better-capitalized banks are, the more resilient is the banking system against contagious defaults and this effect is non-linear. Second, the effect of the degree of connectivity is non-monotonic, that is, initially a small increase in connectivity increases the contagion effect; but after a certain threshold value, connectivity improves the ability of a banking system to absorb shocks. Third, the size of interbank liabilities tends to increase the risk of knock-on default, even if banks hold capital against such exposures. Fourth, more concentrated banking systems are shown to be prone to larger systemic risk, all else equal. In an extension to the main analysis, we study how liquidity effects interact with banking structure to produce a greater chance of systemic breakdown. We finally consider how the risk of contagion might depend on the degree of asymmetry (tier) inherent in the structure of the banking system. A number of our results have important implications for public policy, which this paper also draws out. This paper also discusses why bank risk management is needed to get the optimal one.

Keywords: financial stability, contagion, liquidity risk, optimal risk

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Authors: C. B. Masera, M. Imprialou, L. Budd, C. Morton

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Even though signalised intersections are necessary for urban road traffic management, they can act as bottlenecks and disrupt traffic operations. Interrupted traffic flow causes congestion, delays, stop-and-go conditions (i.e. excessive acceleration/deceleration) and longer journey times. Vehicle and infrastructure connectivity offers the potential to provide improved new services with additional functions of assisting drivers. This paper focuses on one of the applications of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication namely Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA). To assess the effectiveness of GLOSA in the urban road network, an integrated microscopic traffic simulation framework is built into VISSIM software. Vehicle movements and vehicle-infrastructure communications are simulated through the interface of External Driver Model. A control algorithm is developed for recommending an optimal speed that is continuously updated in every time step for all vehicles approaching a signal-controlled point. This algorithm allows vehicles to pass a traffic signal without stopping or to minimise stopping times at a red phase. This study is performed with all connected vehicles at 100% penetration rate. Conventional vehicles are also simulated in the same network as a reference. A straight road segment composed of two opposite directions with two traffic lights per lane is studied. The simulation is implemented under 150 vehicles per hour and 200 per hour traffic volume conditions to identify how different traffic densities influence the benefits of GLOSA. The results indicate that traffic flow is improved by the application of GLOSA. According to this study, vehicles passed through the traffic lights more smoothly, and waiting times were reduced by up to 28 seconds. Average delays decreased for the entire network by 86.46% and 83.84% under traffic densities of 150 vehicles per hour per lane and 200 vehicles per hour per lane, respectively.

Keywords: connected vehicles, GLOSA, intelligent transport systems, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication

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Authors: Viktor R. Stoynov, Zlatka V. Valkova-Jarvis

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The intelligent management and optimisation of radio resource technologies will lead to a considerable improvement in the overall performance in Next Generation Networks (NGNs). Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology, also known as Spectrum Aggregation, enables more efficient use of the available spectrum by combining multiple Component Carriers (CCs) in a virtual wideband channel. LTE-A (Long Term Evolution–Advanced) CA technology can combine multiple adjacent or separate CCs in the same band or in different bands. In this way, increased data rates and dynamic load balancing can be achieved, resulting in a more reliable and efficient operation of mobile networks and the enabling of high bandwidth mobile services. In this paper, several distinct CA deployment strategies for the utilisation of spectrum bands are compared in indoor-outdoor scenarios, simulated via the recently-developed Realistic Indoor Environment Generator (RIEG). We analyse the performance of the User Equipment (UE) by integrating the average throughput, the level of fairness of radio resource allocation, and other parameters, into one summative assessment termed a Comparative Factor (CF). In addition, comparison of non-CA and CA indoor mobile networks is carried out under different load conditions: varying numbers and positions of UEs. The experimental results demonstrate that the CA technology can improve network performance, especially in the case of indoor scenarios. Additionally, we show that an increase of carrier frequency does not necessarily lead to improved CF values, due to high wall-penetration losses. The performance of users under bad-channel conditions, often located in the periphery of the cells, can be improved by intelligent CA location. Furthermore, a combination of such a deployment and effective radio resource allocation management with respect to user-fairness plays a crucial role in improving the performance of LTE-A networks.

Keywords: comparative factor, carrier aggregation, indoor mobile network, resource allocation

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Authors: Paula A. Cruise, Carvell McLeary

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Employee turnover leads to lowered productivity, decreased morale and work quality, and psychological effects associated with employee separation and replacement. Yet, it remains unknown why talented employees willingly withdraw from organizations. This uncertainty is worsened as studies; a) priorities organizational over individual predictors resulting in restriction in range in turnover measurement; b) focus on actual rather than intended turnover thereby limiting conceptual understanding of the turnover construct and its relationship with other variables and; c) produce inconsistent findings across cultures, contexts and industries despite a clear need for a unified perspective. The current study addressed these gaps by adopting the theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework to examine socio-cognitive factors in organizational trust and individual turnover intentions among bankers and energy employees in Jamaica. In a comparative study of n=369 [n_bank= 264; male=57 (22.73%); n_energy =105; male =45 (42.86)], it was hypothesized that organizational trust was a predictor of employee turnover intention, and the effect of individual, group, cognitive and socio-affective variables varied across industry. Findings from structural equation modelling confirmed the hypothesis, with a model of both cognitive and socio-affective variables being a better fit [CMIN (χ²) = 800.067, df = 364, p ≤ .000; CFI = 0.950; RMSEA = 0.057 with 90% C.I. (0.052 - 0.062); PCLOSE = 0.016; PNFI = 0.818 in predicting turnover intention. The findings are discussed in relation to socio-cognitive components of trust models and predicting negative employee behaviors across cultures and industries.

Keywords: context-specific organizational trust, cross-cultural psychology, theory of planned behavior, employee turnover intention

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: M. A. Fouad, M. A. Badr, Z. S. Abd El-Rehim, Taher Halawa, Mahmoud Bayoumi, M. M. Ibrahim

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Renewable energy-based micro-grids are presently attracting significant consideration. The smart grid system is presently considered a reliable solution for the expected deficiency in the power required from future power systems. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal components sizes of a micro-grid, investigating technical and economic performance with the environmental impacts. The micro grid load is divided into two small factories with electricity, both on-grid and off-grid modes are considered. The micro-grid includes photovoltaic cells, back-up diesel generator wind turbines, and battery bank. The estimated load pattern is 76 kW peak. The system is modeled and simulated by MATLAB/Simulink tool to identify the technical issues based on renewable power generation units. To evaluate system economy, two criteria are used: the net present cost and the cost of generated electricity. The most feasible system components for the selected application are obtained, based on required parameters, using HOMER simulation package. The results showed that a Wind/Photovoltaic (W/PV) on-grid system is more economical than a Wind/Photovoltaic/Diesel/Battery (W/PV/D/B) off-grid system as the cost of generated electricity (COE) is 0.266 $/kWh and 0.316 $/kWh, respectively. Considering the cost of carbon dioxide emissions, the off-grid will be competitive to the on-grid system as COE is found to be (0.256 $/kWh, 0.266 $/kWh), for on and off grid systems.

Keywords: renewable energy sources, micro-grid system, modeling and simulation, on/off grid system, environmental impacts

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Authors: Oduntan Oluwakemi, Obisesan Adekemi Adebisola, Ayo-Bello Taofeeq Ayodeji

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The study examined the factors influencing the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among maize farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. A Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to randomly select one hundred respondents for the study. Primary data were collected from the respondents with the aid of a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and a probit regression model. The results of this study showed that crop diversification was the most adopted climate-smart agricultural practice by the respondents, and adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural practices is still very low among the respondents. Results of probit regression revealed that marital status, access to extension services, farming experience, membership of farmers’ association, and access to credit had a positive influence on the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, while age, farm size, and total income had a negative influence. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that government should develop suitable policies that will encourage farmers, especially rural farmers, to adopt and utilize Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAP). Equally, the study also recommended government should be geared towards supporting improved extension services, providing on-farm demonstration training, disseminating information about climate-smart agricultural practices, and providing credit facilities through the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund and bank credit to farmers in order to enhance the adoption.

Keywords: adoption, agriculture, climate-smart, farmers, maize, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: S. K. Ashiquer Rahman

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The proper policy handling might not able to attain the target since some of recessions, e.g., pandemic-led crises, the variables shocks of the economics. At the level of this situation, the Central bank implements the monetary policy to choose increase the exogenous expenditure and level of money supply consecutively for booster level economic growth, whether the monetary policy is relatively more effective than fiscal policy in altering real output growth of a country or both stand for relatively effective in the direction of output growth of a country. The dispute with reference to the relationship between the monetary policy and fiscal policy is centered on the inflationary penalty of the shortfall financing by the fiscal authority. The latest variables socks of economics as well as the pandemic-led crises, central banks around the world predicted just about a general dilemma in relation to increase rates to face the or decrease rates to sustain the economic movement. Whether the prices hang about fundamentally unaffected, the aggregate demand has also been hold a significantly negative attitude by the outbreak COVID-19 pandemic. To empirically investigate the effects of economics shocks associated COVID-19 pandemic, the paper considers the effectiveness of the monetary policy and fiscal policy that linked to the adjustment mechanism of different economic variables. To examine the effects of economics shock associated COVID-19 pandemic towards the effectiveness of Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy in the direction of output growth of a Country, this paper uses the Simultaneous equations model under the estimation of Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Method.

Keywords: IS-LM framework, pandemic. Economics variables shocks, simultaneous equations model, output growth

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Authors: Khalifa Abdunaser, Salem Eljawashi

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Study area is threatened by numerous petroleum activities. The most important risk is associated with dramatic dangers of misuse and oil and gas pollutions, such as significant volumes of produced water, which refers to waste water generated during the production of oil and natural gas and disposed on the surface surrounded oil and gas fields. This work concerns the impact of oil exploration and production activities on the physical and environment fate of the area, focusing on the investigation and observation of crude oil migration as toxic fluid. Its penetration in groundwater resulted from the produced water impacted by oilfield operations disposed to the earth surface in Al Wahat area. Describing the areal distribution of the dominant groundwater quality constituents has been conducted to identify the major hydro-geochemical processes that affect the quality of water and to evaluate the relations between rock types and groundwater flow to the quality and geochemistry of water in Post-Eocene aquifer. The chemical and physical characteristics of produced water, where it is produced, and its potential impacts on the environment and on oil and gas operations have been discussed. Field work survey was conducted to identify and locate a large number of monitoring wells previously drilled throughout the study area. Groundwater samples were systematically collected in order to detect the fate of spills resulting from the various activities at the oil fields in the study area. Spatial distribution maps of the water quality parameters were built using Kriging methods of interpolation in ArcMap software. Thematic maps were generated using GIS and remote sensing techniques, which were applied to include all these data layers as an active database for the area for the purpose of identifying hot spots and prioritizing locations based on their environmental conditions as well as for monitoring plans.

Keywords: Sirt Basin, produced water, Al Wahat area, Ground water

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Authors: Muhammad Ali Asadullah, Zafarullah Amir

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In recent years, Vocational Education and Training (VET) has been under discussion by the academic researchers and remained in focus in the political grounds. Due to potential contribution of VET, the World Bank and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) support vocational education to reduce poverty, enhance economic growth and increase competitiveness. This paper examines the impact of Vocational Education and Training on the Economic Growth and Social Inclusion with direct and mediation effect of Social Inclusion. The basic purpose of this study is to assess economic pay-offs as a result of long term investments in VET. Based on the review of Anderson Nilsson, initially we explored the increasing or decreasing trend in investment on VET. Further, the study explores that the countries which invest more on VET, tend to get more economic growth and are socially more ‘inclusive’. It is a longitudinal / panel data study with 12 years of registered data which involves 24 OECD countries. The results of the study indicate the VET has positive association with Social Inclusion and Economic Growth. Further, there is also a positive association of VET and Economic Growth through mediation of Social Inclusion. The current study considers not only issue and challenges in developing VET systems but also contributes to develop the theoretical framework for considering how VET can directly and indirectly improve economic growth and social inclusion. A wider appreciation of how VET’s benefits operate may influence a country’s decisions to invest in it. If policy makers increase investment on VET, the result would be positive in Economic Growth and Social Inclusion. It is also recommended that the same OECD model may be implemented in developing countries like Pakistan.

Keywords: Vocational Education and Training (VET), Social Inclusion, Economic Growth, OECD countries

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Authors: Rohollah Asadian Kohestani, Nazanin Sedghi

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As the number of banks and financial institutions working in Iran has been significantly increased, the attracting and retaining customers and encouraging them to continually use the modern banking services have been important and vital issues. Therefore, there would be a serious competition without a deep perception of consumers and fitness of banking services with their needs in the current economic conditions of Iran. It should be noted that concepts such as 'brand equity' is defined based on the view of consumers; however, it is also focused by shareholders, competitors and other beneficiaries of a firm in addition to bank and its consumers. This study examines the impact of brand equity on the competitive advantage in the banking industry as intensive competition between brands of different banks leads to pay more attention to the brands. This research is based on the Aaker’s model examining the impact of four dimensions of brand equity on the competitive advantage of private banks in Behshahr city. Moreover, conducting an applied research and data analysis has been carried out by a descriptive method. Data collection was done using literature review and questionnaire. A 'simple random' methodology was selected for sampling staff of banks while sampling methodology to select consumers of banks was the distribution of questionnaire between staff and consumers of five private banks including Tejarat, Mellat, Refah K., Ghavamin and, Tose’e Ta’avon banks. Results show that there is a significant relationship between brand equity and their competitive advantage. In this research, software of SPSS 16 and LISREL 8.5, as well as different methods of descriptive inferential statistics for analyzing data and test hypotheses, were employed.

Keywords: brand awareness, brand loyalty, brand equity, competitive advantage

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: S. Cafiso, B. Capace, A. Di Graziano, C. D’Agostino

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Systematic monitoring of the trackbed is necessary to assure safety and quality of service in the railway system. Moreover, to produce effective management of the maintenance treatments, the assessment of bearing capacity of the railway trackbed must include ballast, sub-ballast and subgrade layers at different depths. Consequently, there is an increasing interest in obtaining a consistent measure of ballast bearing capacity with no destructive tests (NDTs) able to work in the physical and time restrictions of railway tracks in operation. Moreover, in the case of the local railway with reduced gauge, the use of the traditional high-speed track monitoring systems is not feasible. In that framework, this paper presents results from in site investigation carried out on ballast and sleepers with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Light Falling Weight Deflectometer (LWD). These equipment are currently used in road pavement maintenance where they have shown their reliability and effectiveness. Application of such Non-Destructive Tests in railway maintenance is promising but in the early stage of the investigation. More specifically, LWD was used to estimate the stiffness of ballast and sleeper support, as well. LWD, despite the limited load (6 kN in the trial test) applied directly on the sleeper, was able to detect defects in the bearing capacity at the Sleeper/Ballast interface. A dual frequency GPR was applied to detect the presence of layers’ discontinuities at different depths due to fouling phenomena that are the main causes of changing in the layer dielectric proprieties within the ballast thickness. The frequency of 2000Mhz provided high-resolution data to approximately 0.4m depth, while frequency of 600Mhz showed greater depth penetration up to 1.5 m. In the paper literature review and trial in site experience are used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT analysis) of the application of GPR and LWD for the assessment of bearing capacity of railway track-bed.

Keywords: bearing capacity, GPR, LWD, no destructive test, railway track

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Shih-Wen Hsiao, Yi-Cheng Tsao

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In the field of reverse engineering and creative industries, applying 3D scanning process to obtain geometric forms of the objects is a mature and common technique. For instance, organic objects such as faces and nonorganic objects such as products could be scanned to acquire the geometric information for further application. However, although the data resolution of 3D scanning device is increasing and there are more and more abundant complementary applications, the penetration rate of 3D scanning for the public is still limited by the relative high price of the devices. On the other hand, Kinect, released by Microsoft, is known for its powerful functions, considerably low price, and complete technology and database support. Therefore, related studies can be done with the applying of Kinect under acceptable cost and data precision. Due to the fact that Kinect utilizes optical mechanism to extracting depth information, limitations are found due to the reason of the straight path of the light. Thus, various angles are required sequentially to obtain the complete 3D information of the object when applying a single Kinect for 3D scanning. The integration process which combines the 3D data from different angles by certain algorithms is also required. This sequential scanning process costs much time and the complex integration process often encounter some technical problems. Therefore, this paper aimed to apply multiple Kinects simultaneously on the field of developing a rapid 3D mannequin scan platform and proposed suggestions on the number and angles of Kinects. In the content, a method of establishing the coordination based on the relation between mannequin and the specifications of Kinect is proposed, and a suggestion of angles and number of Kinects is also described. An experiment of applying multiple Kinect on the scanning of 3D mannequin is constructed by Microsoft API, and the results show that the time required for scanning and technical threshold can be reduced in the industries of fashion and garment design.

Keywords: 3D scan, depth sensor, fashion and garment design, mannequin, multiple Kinect sensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 359