Search results for: indigenous learning space

Authors: Fumane Portia Khanare

Abstract:

This paper explores strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable learners (OVLs) in rural schools in Lesotho that seem essential for their success, in anticipation of, and in the context of global education. Various strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing are considered necessary in that they are inclusive and buffer other forms of conditions beyond traditional and Eurocentric forms in orientation. Furthermore, they bring about the local experiences and particularly of the learners and schools in rural areas – all of which constitute ethnopsychology. COVID-19 pandemic has enthused the demands for collaboration and responsive support for learners within rural and many deprived contexts in Lesotho. However, the increase of OVLs in the education sector has also sparked the debate of how much rural schools with lack of resources, inadequate teacher training, declining unemployment and the detriment of COVID-19 throughout Lesotho affected the psychosocial wellbeing of these learners. In some cases, the pandemic has created opportunities to explore existing, forgotten or ignored resources dated back to pre-colonial era in Lesotho, and emphasizing to have an optimistic outlook on life as a result of collaboration and appreciating local knowledge. In order to scale up the psychosocial wellbeing of OVLs there is a need to explore various strategies to improve their psychosocial wellbeing, in which all learners can succeed during COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, thereby promoting agency of young people from the rural areas towards building supportive learning environments. The paper draws on a qualitative participatory arts-based study data generated by 30 learners in two rural secondary schools in Lesotho. Thematic analysis was employed to provide an in-depth understanding of learners' psychosocial needs and strategies to improve their psychosocial wellbeing. The paper is guided by ethnopsychology – a strength-based perspective, which posit that in the most difficult situations, individual including, young people have strengths, can collaborate and find solutions that respond to their challenges. This was done by examining how various facets of their environments such as peers, teachers, schools’ environment, family and community played out in creating supportive strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of OVLs which buffer their successful completion of their secondary school education. It is recommended that ethnopsychology should recognised and be used under the realm of positive wellbeing in rural schools in Lesotho.

Keywords: arts-based research, ethnopsychology, orphans and vulnerable learners, Lesotho, psychosocial wellbeing, rural schools

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: A. Vahanyan

Abstract:

The paper touches upon the problem of revision and modernization of the current curriculum on translation studies at the Armenian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In the contemporary world where quality and speed of services provided are mostly valued, certain higher education centers in Armenia though do not demonstrate enough flexibility in terms of the revision and amendment of courses taught. This issue is present for various curricula at the university level and Translation Studies related curriculum, in particular. Technological innovations that are of great help for translators have been long ago smoothly implemented into the global Translation Industry. According to the European Master's in Translation (EMT) framework, translation service provision comprises linguistic, intercultural, information mining, thematic, and technological competencies. Therefore, to form the competencies mentioned above, the curriculum should be seriously restructured to meet the modern education and job market requirements, relevant courses should be proposed. New courses, in particular, should focus on the formation of technological competences. These suggestions have been made upon the author’s research of the problem across various HEIs in Armenia. The updated curricula should include courses aimed at familiarization with various computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools (MemoQ, Trados, OmegaT, Wordfast, etc.) in the translation process, creation of glossaries and termbases compatible with different platforms), which will ensure consistency in translation of similar texts and speeding up the translation process itself. Another aspect that may be strengthened via curriculum modification is the introduction of interdisciplinary and Project-Based Learning courses, which will enable info mining and thematic competences, which are of great importance as well. Of course, the amendment of the existing curriculum with the mentioned courses will require corresponding faculty development via training, workshops, and seminars. Finally, the provision of extensive internship with translation agencies is strongly recommended as it will ensure the synthesis of theoretical background and practical skills highly required for the specific area. Summing up, restructuring and modernization of the existing curricula on Translation Studies should focus on three major aspects, i.e., introduction of new courses that meet the global quality standards of education, professional development for faculty, and integration of extensive internship supervised by experts in the field.

Keywords: competencies, curriculum, modernization, technical literacy, translation studies

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Jonathan Sohn

Abstract:

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have shown state-of-the-art performance for many applications, including computer vision, natural language processing, and speech recognition. Recently, adversarial attacks have been studied in the context of deep neural networks, which aim to alter the results of deep neural networks by modifying the inputs slightly. For example, an adversarial attack on a DNN used for object detection can cause the DNN to miss certain objects. As a result, the reliability of DNNs is undermined by their lack of robustness against adversarial attacks, raising concerns about their use in safety-critical applications such as autonomous driving. In this paper, we focus on studying the adversarial attacks and defenses on DNNs for image classification. There are two types of adversarial attacks studied which are fast gradient sign method (FGSM) attack and projected gradient descent (PGD) attack. A DNN forms decision boundaries that separate the input images into different categories. The adversarial attack slightly alters the image to move over the decision boundary, causing the DNN to misclassify the image. FGSM attack obtains the gradient with respect to the image and updates the image once based on the gradients to cross the decision boundary. PGD attack, instead of taking one big step, repeatedly modifies the input image with multiple small steps. There is also another type of attack called the target attack. This adversarial attack is designed to make the machine classify an image to a class chosen by the attacker. We can defend against adversarial attacks by incorporating adversarial examples in training. Specifically, instead of training the neural network with clean examples, we can explicitly let the neural network learn from the adversarial examples. In our experiments, the digit recognition accuracy on the MNIST dataset drops from 97.81% to 39.50% and 34.01% when the DNN is attacked by FGSM and PGD attacks, respectively. If we utilize FGSM training as a defense method, the classification accuracy greatly improves from 39.50% to 92.31% for FGSM attacks and from 34.01% to 75.63% for PGD attacks. To further improve the classification accuracy under adversarial attacks, we can also use a stronger PGD training method. PGD training improves the accuracy by 2.7% under FGSM attacks and 18.4% under PGD attacks over FGSM training. It is worth mentioning that both FGSM and PGD training do not affect the accuracy of clean images. In summary, we find that PGD attacks can greatly degrade the performance of DNNs, and PGD training is a very effective way to defend against such attacks. PGD attacks and defence are overall significantly more effective than FGSM methods.

Keywords: deep neural network, adversarial attack, adversarial defense, adversarial machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Sheelagh Heugh, Michael Upton, Kriya Kalidas, Stephen Breen

Abstract:

This article aims to create awareness of the opportunities and issues the artificial intelligence (AI) tool GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer-3) brings to higher education. Technological disruptors have featured in higher education (HE) since Konrad Klaus developed the first functional programmable automatic digital computer. The flurry of technological advances, such as personal computers, smartphones, the world wide web, search engines, and artificial intelligence (AI), have regularly caused disruption and discourse across the educational landscape around harnessing the change for the good. Accepting AI influences are inevitable; we took mixed methods through participatory action research and evaluation approach. Joining HE communities, reviewing the literature, and conducting our own research around Chat GPT-3, we reviewed our institutional approach to changing our current practices and developing policy linked to assessments and the use of Chat GPT-3. We review the impact of GPT-3, a high-powered natural language processing (NLP) system first seen in 2020 on HE. Historically HE has flexed and adapted with each technological advancement, and the latest debates for educationalists are focusing on the issues around this version of AI which creates natural human language text from prompts and other forms that can generate code and images. This paper explores how Chat GPT-3 affects the current educational landscape: we debate current views around plagiarism, research misconduct, and the credibility of assessment and determine the tool's value in developing skills for the workplace and enhancing critical analysis skills. These questions led us to review our institutional policy and explore the effects on our current assessments and the development of new assessments. Conclusions: After exploring the pros and cons of Chat GTP-3, it is evident that this form of AI cannot be un-invented. Technology needs to be harnessed for positive outcomes in higher education. We have observed that materials developed through AI and potential effects on our development of future assessments and teaching methods. Materials developed through Chat GPT-3 can still aid student learning but lead to redeveloping our institutional policy around plagiarism and academic integrity.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, Chat GPT-3, intellectual property, plagiarism, research misconduct

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Jhiamluka Zservando Solano Velasquez, Raul Palma, Alejandro Calderon, Servio Paguada, Erick Marin, Kellyn Funes, Hana Sandoval, Oscar Hernandez

Abstract:

Background: Screening cardiac conditions in primary care in developing countries can be challenging, and Honduras is not the exception. One of the main limitations is the underfunding of the Healthcare System in general, causing conventional ECG acquisition to become a secondary priority. Objective: Development of a low-cost ECG to improve screening of arrhythmias in primary care and communication with a specialist in secondary and tertiary care. Methods: Design a portable, pocket-size low-cost 3 lead ECG (Handy EKG). The device is autonomous and has Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity options. A mobile app was designed which can access online servers with machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence to learn from the data and aid clinicians in their interpretation of readings. Additionally, the device would use the online servers to transfer patient’s data and readings to a specialist in secondary and tertiary care. 50 randomized patients volunteer to participate to test the device. The patients had no previous cardiac-related conditions, and readings were taken. One reading was performed with the conventional ECG and 3 readings with the Handy EKG using different lead positions. This project was possible thanks to the funding provided by the National Autonomous University of Honduras. Results: Preliminary results show that the Handy EKG performs readings of the cardiac activity similar to those of a conventional electrocardiograph in lead I, II, and III depending on the position of the leads at a lower cost. The wave and segment duration, amplitude, and morphology of the readings were similar to the conventional ECG, and interpretation was possible to conclude whether there was an arrhythmia or not. Two cases of prolonged PR segment were found in both ECG device readings. Conclusion: Using a Frugal innovation approach can allow lower income countries to develop innovative medical devices such as the Handy EKG to fulfill unmet needs at lower prices without compromising effectiveness, safety, and quality. The Handy EKG provides a solution for primary care screening at a much lower cost and allows for convenient storage of the readings in online servers where clinical data of patients can then be accessed remotely by Cardiology specialists.

Keywords: low-cost hardware, portable electrocardiograph, prototype, remote healthcare

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Hsiu-Ling Hsu, En-Minh (John) Lan

Abstract:

Pronunciation has received more and more language researchers’ and teachers’ attention because it is important for effective or even successful communication. How to consistently and correctly orally produce verbal morphology, such as English regular past tense inflection, has been a big challenge and troublesome for FL learners. The research aims to explore EFL (English as a foreign language) learners’ developmental trajectory of the inflectional morphology, that is, what mediating processes and strategies EFL learners use, to attain native-like prosodic structure of inflectional morphemes (e.g., –ed and –s suffixes) by comparing the differences among EFL learners at different English levels. This research adopted a self-repair analysis and Prosodic Transfer Hypothesis with three developmental stages as a theoretical framework. To answer the research questions, we conducted two experiments, grammatical tense test written production (Experiment 1) and read-aloud oral production (Experiment 2), and recruited 30 participants who were divided into three groups, low-, middle-, and advanced EFL learners. Experiment 1 was conducted to ensure that participants had learned the knowledge of forming the English regular past tense rules and Experiment 2 was carried out to compare the data across FL English learner groups at different English levels. The EFL learners’ self-repair data showed at least four interesting findings. First, low achievers were more sensitive to the plural suffix -s than the past tense suffix -ed. Middle achievers exhibited a greater responsiveness to the past tense suffix, while high achievers demonstrated equal sensitivity to both suffixes. Additionally, two strategies used by EFL English learners to produce verbs and nouns with inflectional morphemes were to delete internal syllable and to divide a four-syllable verb (e.g., ‘graduated’) into two prosodic structures (e.g., ‘gradu’ and ‘ated’ or ‘gradua’ and ‘ted’). Third, true vowel epenthesis was found only in the low EFL achievers. Moreover fortition (native-like sound) was observed in the low and middle EFL achievers. These findings and self-repair data disclosed mediating processes between the developmental stages and provided insight on how Taiwan EFL learners attained the adjunction prosodic structures of inflectional Morphemes in English.

Keywords: inflectional morphology, prosodic structure, developmental trajectory, strategies and mediating processes, English as a foreign language

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Dipankar Saha, J. P. Singh, C. B. Pandey

Abstract:

Indian Thar desert being the seventh largest in the world is the main hot sand desert occupies nearly 385,000km2 and about 9% of the area of the country harbours several species likely the flora of 682 species (63 introduced species) belonging to 352 genera and 87 families. The degree of endemism of plant species in the Thar desert is 6.4 percent, which is relatively higher than the degree of endemism in the Sahara desert which is very significant for the conservationist to envisage. The advent and development of computer technology for digitization and data base management coupled with the rapidly increasing importance of biodiversity conservation resulted in the invention of biodiversity informatics as discipline of basic sciences with multiple applications. Aichi Target 19 as an outcome of Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) specifically mandates the development of an advanced and shared biodiversity knowledge base. Information on species distributions in space is the crux of effective management of biodiversity in the rapidly changing world. The efficiency of biodiversity management is being increased rapidly by various stakeholders like researchers, policymakers, and funding agencies with the knowledge and application of biodiversity informatics. Herbarium specimens being a vital repository for biodiversity conservation especially in climate change scenario the digitization process usually aims to improve access and to preserve delicate specimens and in doing so creating large sets of images as a part of the existing repository as arid plant information facility for long-term future usage. As the leaf characters are important for describing taxa and distinguishing between them and they can be measured from herbarium specimens as well. As a part of this activity, laminar characterization (leaves being the most important characters in assessing climate change impact) initially resulted in classification of more than thousands collections belonging to ten families like Acanthaceae, Aizoaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Anacardeaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Aristolochiaceae, Berseraceae and Bignoniaceae etc. Taxonomic diversity indices has also been worked out being one of the important domain of biodiversity informatics approaches. The digitization process also encompasses workflows which incorporate automated systems to enable us to expand and speed up the digitisation process. The digitisation workflows used to be on a modular system which has the potential to be scaled up. As they are being developed with a geo-referencing tool and additional quality control elements and finally placing specimen images and data into a fully searchable, web-accessible database. Our effort in this paper is to elucidate the role of BIs, present effort of database development of the existing botanical collection of institute repository. This effort is expected to be considered as a part of various global initiatives having an effective biodiversity information facility. This will enable access to plant biodiversity data that are fit-for-use by scientists and decision makers working on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the region and iso-climatic situation of the world.

Keywords: biodiversity informatics, climate change, digitization, herbarium, laminar characters, web accessible interface

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Kathy Pain, Nalumino Akakandelwa

Abstract:

The study explores the potential to fill a gap in health and wellbeing evidence for purposeful urban real estate asset management to make investment a powerful force for societal good. Part of a five-year programme investigating the root causes of unhealthy urban development funded by the United Kingdom Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP), the study pilots the use of a systems mapping approach to identify drivers and barriers to the incorporation of health and wellbeing evidence in urban brownfield asset management decision-making. Urban real estate not only provides space for economic production but also contributes to the quality of life in the local community. Yet market approaches to urban land use have, until recently, insisted that neo-classical technology-driven efficient allocation of economic resources should inform acquisition, operational, and disposal decisions. Buildings in locations with declining economic performance have thus been abandoned, leading to urban decay. Property investors are recognising the inextricable connection between sustainable urban production and quality of life in local communities. The redevelopment and operation of brownfield assets recycle existing buildings, minimising embodied carbon emissions. It also retains established urban spaces with which local communities identify and regenerate places to create a sense of security, economic opportunity, social interaction, and quality of life. Social implications of urban real estate on health and wellbeing and increased adoption of benign sustainability guidance in urban production are driving the need to consider how they affect brownfield real estate asset management decisions. Interviews with real estate upstream decision-makers in the study, find that local social needs and impact analysis is becoming a commercial priority for large-scale urban real estate development projects. Evidence of the social value-added of proposed developments is increasingly considered essential to secure local community support and planning permissions, and to attract sustained inward long-term investment capital flows for urban projects. However, little is known about the contribution of population health and wellbeing to socially sustainable urban projects and the monetary value of the opportunity this presents to improve the urban environment for local communities. We report early findings from collaborations with two leading property companies managing major investments in brownfield urban assets in the UK to consider how the inclusion of health and wellbeing evidence in social valuation can inform perceptions of brownfield development social benefit for asset managers, local communities, public authorities and investors for the benefit of all parties. Using holistic case studies and systems mapping approaches, we explore complex relationships between public health considerations and asset management decisions in urban production. Findings indicate a strong real estate investment industry appetite and potential to include health as a vital component of sustainable real estate social value creation in asset management strategies.

Keywords: brownfield urban assets, health and wellbeing, social needs and impact, social valuation, sustainable real estate, systems mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 70

Authors: A. Kouloumpis, P. Zygouri, G. Potsi, K. Spyrou, D. Gournis

Abstract:

Much of the research effort on graphene focuses on its use as building block for the development of new hybrid nanostructures with well-defined dimensions and behavior suitable for applications among else in gas storage, heterogeneous catalysis, gas/liquid separations, nanosensing and biology. Towards this aim, here we describe a new bottom-up approach, which combines the self-assembly with the Langmuir Schaefer technique, for the production of fullerene-intercalated graphene hybrid materials. This new method uses graphene nanosheets as a template for the grafting of various fullerene C60 molecules (pure C60, bromo-fullerenes, C60Br24, and fullerols, C60(OH)24) in a bi-dimensional array, and allows for perfect layer-by-layer growth with control at the molecular level. Our film preparation approach involves a bottom-up layer-by-layer process that includes the formation of a hybrid organo-graphene Langmuir film hosting fullerene molecules within its interlayer spacing. A dilute water solution of chemically oxidized graphene (GO) was used as subphase on the Langmuir-Blodgett deposition system while an appropriate amino surfactant (that binds covalently with the GO) was applied for the formation of hybridized organo-GO. After the horizontal lift of a hydrophobic substrate, a surface modification of the GO platelets was performed by bringing the surface of the transferred Langmuir film in contact with a second amino surfactant solution (capable to interact strongly with the fullerene derivatives). In the final step, the hybrid organo-graphene film was lowered in the solution of the appropriate fullerene derivative. Multilayer films were constructed by repeating this procedure. Hybrid fullerene-based thin films deposited on various hydrophobic substrates were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR), FTIR, and Raman spectroscopies, Atomic Force Microscopy, and optical measurements. Acknowledgments. This research has been co‐financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF)‐Research Funding Program: THALES. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund (no. 377285).

Keywords: hybrids, graphene oxide, fullerenes, langmuir-blodgett, intercalated structures

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Muhammad Alkhunayn, Sajedah Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Ayman Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Ayah Al Yaari, Fatehi Eissa

Abstract:

Dysgraphia is a neurological disorder of written expression that impairs writing ability and fine motor skills, resulting primarily in problems relating not only to handwriting but also to writing coherence and cohesion. We investigate the properties of smart writing technology to highlight some unique features of the effects they cause on the academic performance of pupils with dysgraphia. In Amis, dysgraphics undergo writing problems to express their ideas due to ordinary writing aids, as the default strategy. The Amis data suggests a possible connection between available writing aids and pupils’ writing improvement; therefore, texts’ expression and comprehension. A group of thirteen dysgraphic pupils were placed in a regular classroom of primary school, with twenty-one pupils being recruited in the study as a control group. To ensure validity, reliability and accountability to the research, both groups studied writing courses for two semesters, of which the first was equipped with smart writing aids while the second took place in an ordinary classroom. Two pre-tests were undertaken at the beginning of the first two semesters, and two post-tests were administered at the end of both semesters. Tests examined pupils’ ability to write coherent, cohesive and expressive texts. The dysgraphic group received the treatment of a writing course in the first semester in classes with smart technology and produced significantly greater increases in writing expression than in an ordinary classroom, and their performance was better than that of the control group in the second semester. The current study concludes that using smart teaching aids is a ‘MUST’, both for teaching and learning dysgraphia. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that for young dysgraphia, expressive tasks are more challenging than coherent and cohesive tasks. The study, therefore, supports the literature suggesting a role for smart educational aids in writing and that smart writing techniques may be an efficient addition to regular educational practices, notably in special educational institutions and speech-language therapeutic facilities. However, further research is needed to prompt the adults with dysgraphia more often than is done to the older adults without dysgraphia in order to get them to finish the other productive and/or written skills tasks.

Keywords: smart technology, writing aids, pupils with dysgraphia, hands’ movement

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Dimitra Das, Anuradha Mitra, Kalyan Kumar Chattopadhyay

Abstract:

Organic polymers, constructed from light elements like carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and boron atoms, are the emergent class of non-toxic, metal-free, environmental benign advanced materials. Covalent triazine-based polymers with a functional triazine group are significant class of organic materials due to their remarkable stability arising out of strong covalent bonds. They can conventionally form hydrogen bonds, favour π–π contacts, and they were recently revealed to be involved in interesting anion–π interactions. The present work mainly focuses upon the development of a single-crystalline, highly cross-linked triazine-based nitrogen-rich organic polymer with nanodendritic morphology and significant thermal stability. The polymer has been synthesized through hydrothermal treatment of melamine and ethylene glycol resulting in cross-polymerization via condensation-polymerization reaction. The crystal structure of the polymer has been evaluated by employing Rietveld whole profile fitting method. The polymer has been found to be composed of monoclinic melamine having space group P21/a. A detailed insight into the chemical structure of the as synthesized polymer has been elucidated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopic analysis. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic (XPS) analysis has also been carried out for further understanding of the different types of linkages required to create the backbone of the polymer. The unique rod-like morphology of the triazine based polymer has been revealed from the images obtained from Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Interestingly, this polymer has been found to selectively detect mercury (Hg²⁺) ions at an extremely low concentration through fluorescent quenching with detection limit as low as 0.03 ppb. The high toxicity of mercury ions (Hg²⁺) arise from its strong affinity towards the sulphur atoms of biological building blocks. Even a trace quantity of this metal is dangerous for human health. Furthermore, owing to its small ionic radius and high solvation energy, Hg²⁺ ions remain encapsulated by water molecules making its detection a challenging task. There are some existing reports on fluorescent-based heavy metal ion sensors using covalent organic frameworks (COFs) but reports on mercury sensing using triazine based polymers are rather undeveloped. Thus, the importance of ultra-trace detection of Hg²⁺ ions with high level of selectivity and sensitivity has contemporary significance. A plausible sensing phenomenon by the polymer has been proposed to understand the applicability of the material as a potential sensor. The impressive sensitivity of the polymer sample towards Hg²⁺ is the very first report in the field of highly crystalline triazine based polymers (without the introduction of any sulphur groups or functionalization) towards mercury ion detection through photoluminescence quenching technique. This crystalline metal-free organic polymer being cheap, non-toxic and scalable has current relevance and could be a promising candidate for Hg²⁺ ion sensing at commercial level.

Keywords: fluorescence quenching , mercury ion sensing, single-crystalline, triazine-based polymer

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Peter Hajnal

Abstract:

The need to combine serious training in disciplinary/scholarly approaches to problems of general significance with an educational experience that engages students with these very same problems on a personal level is one of the key challenges facing modern liberal education in the West. The typical approach to synthesizing these two goals, one highly abstract, the other elusively practical, proceeds by invoking ideals traditionally associated with Enlightenment and 19th century “humanism”. These ideas are in turn rooted in an approach to reality codified by Cartesianism and the rise of modern science. Articulating this connection of the modern humanist tradition with Cartesianism allows for demonstrating how the central problem of modern liberal education is rooted in the strict separation of knowledge and personal experience inherent in the dualism of Descartes. The question about the shape of contemporary liberal education is, therefore, the same as asking whether an anti-Cartesian version of liberal education is possible at all. Although the formulation of a general answer to this question is a tall order (whether in abstract or practical terms), and might take different forms (nota bene in Eastern and Western contexts), a key inspiration may be provided by a certain shift of attitude towards the Cartesian conception of the relationship of knowledge and experience required by discussion based close-reading of works of visual art. Taking the work of Stanley Cavell as its central inspiration, my paper argues that this shift of attitude in question is best described as a form of “second naïveté”, and that it provides a useful model of conceptualizing in more concrete terms the appeal for such a “second naïveté” expressed in recent writings on the role of various disciplines in organizing learning by philosophers of such diverse backgrounds and interests as Hilary Putnam and Bruno Latour. The adoption of naïveté so identified as an educational ideal may be seen as a key instrument in thinking of the educational context as itself a medium of synthesis of the contemplative and the practical. Moreover, it is helpful in overcoming the bad dilemma of ideological vs. conservative approaches to liberal education, as well as in correcting a certain commonly held false view of the historical roots of liberal education in the Renaissance, which turns out to offer much more of a sui generis approach to practice rather than represent a mere precursor to the Cartesian conception.

Keywords: liberal arts, philosophy, education, Descartes, naivete

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Maria Belen C. Costa, Liza C. Costa

Abstract:

Teachers have an important influence on students’ academic achievement. Teachers play a crucial role in educational attainment because they stand in the interface of the transmission of knowledge, values, and skills in the learning process through the instructional strategies they employ in the classroom. The level of achievement of students in school depends on the degree of effectiveness of instructional strategies used by the teacher. Thus, this study was conceptualized and conducted to examine the instructional strategies preferred and used by the Science and Mathematics teachers and the impact of those strategies in their teaching performance and students’ academic achievement in Science and Mathematics. The participants of the study comprised a total enumeration of 61 teachers who were chosen through total enumeration and 610 students who were selected using two-stage random sampling technique. The descriptive correlation design was used in this study with a self-made questionnaire as the main tool in the data gathering procedure. Relationship among variables was tested and analyzed using Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient and Wilcoxon Signed Rank statistics. The teacher participants under study mainly belonged to the age group of ‘young’ (35 years and below) and most were females having ‘very much experienced’ (16 years and above) in teaching. Teaching performance was found to be ‘very satisfactory’ while academic achievement in Science and Mathematics was found to be ‘satisfactory’. Demographic profile and teaching performance of teacher participants were found to be ‘not significant’ to their instructional strategy preferences. Results implied that age, sex, level of education and length of service of the teachers does not affect their preference on a particular instructional strategy. However, the teacher participants’ extent of use of the different instructional strategies was found to be ‘significant’ to their teaching performance. The instructional strategies being used by the teachers were found to have a direct effect on their teaching performance. Academic achievement of student participants was found to be ‘significant’ to the teacher participants’ instructional strategy preferences. The preference of the teachers on instructional strategies had a significant effect on the students’ academic performance. On the other hand, teacher participants’ extent of use of instructional strategies was showed to be ‘not significant’ to the academic achievement of students in Science and Mathematics. The instructional strategy being used by the teachers did not affect the level of performance of students in Science and Mathematics. The results of the study revealed that there was a significant difference between the teacher participants’ preference of instructional strategy and the student participants’ instructional strategy preference as well as between teacher participants’ extent of use and student participants’ perceived level of use of the different instructional strategies. Findings found a discrepancy between the teaching strategy preferences of students and strategies implemented by teachers.

Keywords: academic achievement, extent of use, instructional strategy, preferences

Procedia PDF Downloads 313

Authors: Marion G. Ben-Jacob, David Wang

Abstract:

There is a mathematics requirement for entry level college and university students, especially those who plan to study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Most of them take College Algebra, and to continue their studies, they need to succeed in this course. Different pedagogical strategies are employed to promote the success of our students. There is, of course, the Traditional Method of teaching- lecture, examples, problems for students to solve. The Emporium Model, another pedagogical approach, replaces traditional lectures with a learning resource center model featuring interactive software and on-demand personalized assistance. This presentation will compare these two methods of pedagogy and the study done with its results on this comparison. Math is the foundation for science, technology, and engineering. Its work is generally used in STEM to find patterns in data. These patterns can be used to test relationships, draw general conclusions about data, and model the real world. In STEM, solutions to problems are analyzed, reasoned, and interpreted using math abilities in a assortment of real-world scenarios. This presentation will examine specific examples of how math is used in the different STEM disciplines. Math becomes practical in science when it is used to model natural and artificial experiments to identify a problem and develop a solution for it. As we analyze data, we are using math to find the statistical correlation between the cause of an effect. Scientists who use math include the following: data scientists, scientists, biologists and geologists. Without math, most technology would not be possible. Math is the basis of binary, and without programming, you just have the hardware. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is also used in almost every program written. Mathematical algorithms are inherent in software as well. Mechanical engineers analyze scientific data to design robots by applying math and using the software. Electrical engineers use math to help design and test electrical equipment. They also use math when creating computer simulations and designing new products. Chemical engineers often use mathematics in the lab. Advanced computer software is used to aid in their research and production processes to model theoretical synthesis techniques and properties of chemical compounds. Mathematics mastery is crucial for success in the STEM disciplines. Pedagogical research on formative strategies and necessary topics to be covered are essential.

Keywords: emporium model, mathematics, pedagogy, STEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Dona Shaini Abhilasha Nanayakkara, Kurugamage Jude Pravinda Gregory Perera

Abstract:

E-commerce platforms have revolutionized the shopping experience, offering convenient ways for consumers to make purchases. To improve interactions with customers and optimize marketing strategies, it is essential for businesses to understand user behavior, preferences, and needs on these platforms. This paper focuses on recommending businesses to customize interactions with users based on their behavioral patterns, leveraging data-driven analysis and machine learning techniques. Businesses can improve engagement and boost the adoption of e-commerce platforms by aligning behavioral patterns with user goals of usability and satisfaction. We propose TheAnalyzer, a clustering-based system designed to enhance business productivity by analyzing user-profiles and improving human-computer interaction. The Analyzer seamlessly integrates with business applications, collecting relevant data points based on users' natural interactions without additional burdens such as questionnaires or surveys. It defines five key user analytics as features for its dataset, which are easily captured through users' interactions with e-commerce platforms. This research presents a study demonstrating the successful distinction of users into specific groups based on the five key analytics considered by TheAnalyzer. With the assistance of domain experts, customized business rules can be attached to each group, enabling The Analyzer to influence business applications and provide an enhanced personalized user experience. The outcomes are evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively, demonstrating that utilizing TheAnalyzer’s capabilities can optimize business outcomes, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive sustainable growth. The findings of this research contribute to the advancement of personalized interactions in e-commerce platforms. By leveraging user behavioral patterns and analyzing both new and existing users, businesses can effectively tailor their interactions to improve customer satisfaction, loyalty and ultimately drive sales.

Keywords: data clustering, data standardization, dimensionality reduction, human computer interaction, user profiling

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Pedro Llanos, Diego García

Abstract:

Spaceflight is considered the last frontier in terms of science, technology, and engineering. But it is also the next frontier in terms of human physiology and performance. After more than 200,000 years humans have evolved under earth’s gravity and atmospheric conditions, spaceflight poses environmental stresses for which human physiology is not adapted. Hypoxia, accelerations, and radiation are among such stressors, our research involves suborbital flights aiming to develop effective countermeasures in order to assure sustainable human space presence. The physiologic baseline of spaceflight participants is subject to great variability driven by age, gender, fitness, and metabolic reserve. The objective of the present study is to characterize different physiologic variables in a population of STEM practitioners during an aerobatic flight. Cardiovascular and pulmonary responses were determined in Science Astronaut Candidates (SACs) during unusual attitude aerobatic flight indoctrination. Physiologic data recordings from 20 subjects participating in high-G flight training were analyzed. These recordings were registered by wearable sensor-vest that monitored electrocardiographic tracings (ECGs), signs of dysrhythmias or other electric disturbances during all the flight. The same cardiovascular parameters were also collected approximately 10 min pre-flight, during each high-G/unusual attitude maneuver and 10 min after the flights. The ratio (pre-flight/in-flight/post-flight) of the cardiovascular responses was calculated for comparison of inter-individual differences. The resulting tracings depicting the cardiovascular responses of the subjects were compared against the G-loads (Gs) during the aerobatic flights to analyze cardiovascular variability aspects and fluid/pressure shifts due to the high Gs. In-flight ECG revealed cardiac variability patterns associated with rapid Gs onset in terms of reduced heart rate (HR) and some scattered dysrhythmic patterns (15% premature ventricular contractions-type) that were considered as triggered physiological responses to high-G/unusual attitude training and some were considered as instrument artifact. Variation events were observed in subjects during the +Gz and –Gz maneuvers and these may be due to preload and afterload, sudden shift. Our data reveal that aerobatic flight influenced the breathing rate of the subject, due in part by the various levels of energy expenditure due to the increased use of muscle work during these aerobatic maneuvers. Noteworthy was the high heterogeneity in the different physiological responses among a relatively small group of SACs exposed to similar aerobatic flights with similar Gs exposures. The cardiovascular responses clearly demonstrated that SACs were subjected to significant flight stress. Routine ECG monitoring during high-G/unusual attitude flight training is recommended to capture pathology underlying dangerous dysrhythmias in suborbital flight safety. More research is currently being conducted to further facilitate the development of robust medical screening, medical risk assessment approaches, and suborbital flight training in the context of the evolving commercial human suborbital spaceflight industry. A more mature and integrative medical assessment method is required to understand the physiology state and response variability among highly diverse populations of prospective suborbital flight participants.

Keywords: g force, aerobatic maneuvers, suborbital flight, hypoxia, commercial astronauts

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Matt Stichter

Abstract:

Moral development requires learning from one’s failures, but that turnsout to be especially challenging when dealing with moral failures. The distress prompted by moral failure can cause responses ofdefensiveness or disengagement rather than attempts to make amends and work on self-change. The most potentially distressing response to moral failure is a shame. However, there appears to be two different senses of “shame” that are conflated in the literature, depending on whether the failure is appraised as the result of a global and unalterable self-defect, or a local and alterable self-defect. One of these forms of shame does prompt self-improvement in response to moral failure. This occurs if one views the failure as indicating only a specific (local) defect in one’s identity, where that’s something repairable, rather than asanoverall(orglobal)defectinyouridentity that can’t be fixed. So, if the whole of one’s identity as a morally good person isn’t being called into question, but only a part, then that is something one could work on to improve. Shame, in this sense, provides motivation for self-improvement to fix this part oftheselfinthe long run, and this would be important for moral development. One factor that looks to affect these different self-attributions in the wake of moral failure can be found in mindset theory, as reactions to moral failure in these two forms of shame are similar to how those with a fixed or growth mindset of their own abilities, such as intelligence, react to failure. People fall along a continuum with respect to how they view abilities – it is more of a fixed entity that you cannot do much to change, or it is malleable such that you can train to improve it. These two mindsets, ‘fixed’ versus ‘growth’, have different consequences for how we react to failure – a fixed mindset leads to maladaptive responses because of feelings of helplessness to do better; whereas a growth mindset leads to adaptive responses where a person puts forth effort to learn how to act better the next time. Here we can see the parallels between a fixed mindset of one’s own (im)morality, as the way people respond to shame when viewed as indicating a global and unalterable self-defect parallels the reactions people have to failure when they have a fixed mindset. In addition, it looks like there may be a similar structure to pride. Pride is, like shame, a self-conscious emotion that arises from internal attributions about the self as being the cause of some event. There are also paradoxical results from research on pride, where pride was found to motivate pro-social behavior in some cases but aggression in other cases. Research suggests that there may be two forms of pride, authentic and hubristic, that are also connected to different self-attributions, depending on whether one is feeling proud about a particular (local) aspect of the self versus feeling proud about the whole of oneself (global).

Keywords: emotion, mindset, moral development, moral psychology, pride, shame, self-regulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Elisabetta Cianfanelli, Maria Claudia Coppola, Margherita Tufarelli

Abstract:

Design practices throughout history return a critical understanding of society since they always conveyed values and meanings aimed at (re)framing reality by acting in everyday life: here, design gains cultural and normative character, since its artifacts, services, and environments hold the power to intercept, influence and inspire thoughts, behaviors, and relationships. In this sense, design can be persuasive, engaging in the production of worlds and, as such, acting in the space between poietics and politics so that chasing preferable futures and their aesthetic strategies becomes a matter full of political responsibility. This resonates with contemporary landscapes of radical interdependencies challenging designers to focus on complex socio-technical systems and to better support values such as equality and justice for both humans and nonhumans. In fact, it is in times of crisis and structural uncertainty that designers turn into visionaries at the service of society, envisioning scenarios and dwelling in the territories of imagination to conceive new fictions and frictions to be added to the thickness of the real. Here, design’s main tasks are to develop options, to increase the variety of choices, to cultivate its role as scout, jester, agent provocateur for the public, so that design for transformation emerges, making an explicit commitment to society, furthering structural change in a proactive and synergic manner. However, the exploration of possible futures is both a trap and a trampoline because, although it embodies a radical research tool, it raises various challenges when the design process goes further in the translation of such vision into an artefact - whether tangible or intangible -, through which it should deliver that bit of future into everyday experience. Today designers are making up new tools and practices to tackle current wicked challenges, combining their approaches with other disciplinary domains: futuring through design, thus, rises from research strands like speculative design, design fiction, and critical design, where the blending of design approaches and futures thinking brings an action-oriented and product-based approach to strategic insights. The contribution positions at the intersection of those approaches, aiming at discussing design’s tools of inquiry through which it is possible to grasp the agency of imagined futures into present time. Since futures are not remote, they actively participate in creating path-dependent decisions, crystallized into designed artifacts par excellence, prototypes, and their conceptual other, provotypes: with both being unfinished and multifaceted, the first ones are effective in reiterating solutions to problems already framed, while the second ones prove to be useful when the goal is to explore and break boundaries, bringing closer preferable futures. By focusing on some provotypes throughout history which challenged markets and, above all, social and cultural structures, the contribution’s final aim is understanding the knowledge produced by provotypes, understood as design spaces where designs’s humanistic side might help developing a deeper sensibility about uncertainty and, most of all, the unfinished feature of societal artifacts, whose experimentation would leave marks and traces to build up f(r)ictions as vital sparks of plurality and collective life.

Keywords: speculative design, provotypes, design knowledge, political theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Swati Bhomia, C. M. Kishtawal, Neeru Jaiswal

Abstract:

Traditionally, monsoon forecasts have encountered many difficulties that stem from numerous issues such as lack of adequate upper air observations, mesoscale nature of convection, proper resolution, radiative interactions, planetary boundary layer physics, mesoscale air-sea fluxes, representation of orography, etc. Uncertainties in any of these areas lead to large systematic errors. Global circulation models (GCMs), which are developed independently at different institutes, each of which carries somewhat different representation of the above processes, can be combined to reduce the collective local biases in space, time, and for different variables from different models. This is the basic concept behind the multi-model superensemble and comprises of a training and a forecast phase. The training phase learns from the recent past performances of models and is used to determine statistical weights from a least square minimization via a simple multiple regression. These weights are then used in the forecast phase. The superensemble forecasts carry the highest skill compared to simple ensemble mean, bias corrected ensemble mean and the best model out of the participating member models. This approach is a powerful post-processing method for the estimation of weather forecast parameters reducing the direct model output errors. Although it can be applied successfully to the continuous parameters like temperature, humidity, wind speed, mean sea level pressure etc., in this paper, this approach is applied to rainfall, a parameter quite difficult to handle with standard post-processing methods, due to its high temporal and spatial variability. The present study aims at the development of advanced superensemble schemes comprising of 1-5 day daily precipitation forecasts from five state-of-the-art global circulation models (GCMs), i.e., European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (Europe), National Center for Environmental Prediction (USA), China Meteorological Administration (China), Canadian Meteorological Centre (Canada) and U.K. Meteorological Office (U.K.) obtained from THORPEX Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE), which is one of the most complete data set available. The novel approaches include the dynamical model selection approach in which the selection of the superior models from the participating member models at each grid and for each forecast step in the training period is carried out. Multi-model superensemble based on the training using similar conditions is also discussed in the present study, which is based on the assumption that training with the similar type of conditions may provide the better forecasts in spite of the sequential training which is being used in the conventional multi-model ensemble (MME) approaches. Further, a variety of methods that incorporate a 'neighborhood' around each grid point which is available in literature to allow for spatial error or uncertainty, have also been experimented with the above mentioned approaches. The comparison of these schemes with respect to the observations verifies that the newly developed approaches provide more unified and skillful prediction of the summer monsoon (viz. June to September) rainfall compared to the conventional multi-model approach and the member models.

Keywords: multi-model superensemble, dynamical model selection, similarity criteria, neighborhood technique, rainfall prediction

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: E. Happ, Zs. Ivancsone Horvath

Abstract:

With the development of the information technology, IT, sector, all industry of the world has a new path, dealing with digitalisation. Tourism is the most rapidly increasing industry in the world. Without digitalisation, tourism operators would not be competitive enough with foreign destinations or other experience-based service providers. Digitalisation is also necessary to enable organizations, which are interested in tourism to meet the growing expectations of consumers. With the help of digitalisation, tourism providers can also obtain information about tourists, changes in consumer behaviour, and the use of online services. The degree of digitalisation in tourism is different for different services. The research is based on a questionnaire survey conducted in 2018 in Hungary. The sample with more than 500 respondents was processed by the SPSS program, using a variety of analysis methods. The following two variables were observed from more aspects: frequency of travel and the importance of services related to online travel. With the help of these variables, a cluster analysis was performed among the participants. The sample can be divided into two groups using K-mean cluster analysis. Cluster ‘1’ is a positive group; they can be called the “most digital tourists.” They agree in most things, with low standard deviation, and for them, digitalisation is a starting point. To the members of Cluster ‘2’, digitalisation is important, too. The results show what is important (accommodation, information gathering) to them, but also what they are not interested in at all within the digital world (e.g., car rental or online sharing). Interestingly, there is no third negative cluster. This result (that there is no result) proves that tourism uses digitalisation, and the question is only the extent of the use of online tools and methods. With the help of the designed consumer groups, the characteristics of digital tourism segments can be identified. The help of different variables characterised these groups. One of them is the frequency of travel, where there is a significant correlation between travel frequency and cluster membership. The shift is clear towards Cluster ‘1’, which means, those who find services related to online travel more important, are more likely to travel as well. By learning more about digital tourists’ consumer behaviour, the results of this research can help the providers in what kind of marketing tools could be used to influence the consumer choices of the different consumer groups created using digital devices, furthermore how to conduct more detailed and effective marketing activities. The main finding of the research was that most of the people have digital tools which are important to be able to participate in e-tourism. Of these, mobile devices are increasingly preferred. That means the challenge for service providers is no longer the digital presence but having optimised application for different devices.

Keywords: cluster analysis, digital tourism, marketing tool, tourist behaviour

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Irma Wani Othman

Abstract:

The internationalization of higher education in Malaysia mainly focuses to place the implementation of the strategic, comprehensive and integrated range of stakeholders in order to highlight the visibility of Malaysia as a hub of academic excellence. While the concept of 'global citizenship' is used as a two-pronged strategy of aggressive marketing by universities which includes; (i) the involvement of the academic expatriates in stimulating international activities of higher education and (ii) an increase in international student enrollment capacity for the enculturation of science and the development of first class mentality. In this aspect, aspirations for a transnational social movement through global citizenship status to establish the identity of the university community without borders (borderless universities) - regardless of skin colour, thus rationalize and liberalize the universal principles of life and cultural traditions of a nation. The education system earlier referred by the spirit of nationalism is now progressing due to globalization, hence forming a system of higher education that is relevant and generated by the need of all time. However, debates arose when the involvement of global citizenship is said to threaten the ultimate university autonomy in determining the direction of academic affairs and governance of their human resources. Stemming from this debate, this study aims to explore the experience of 'global citizenship' that the academic expatriates and international students in shaping the university's strategic needs and interests which are in line with the transition of contemporary higher education. The objective of this study is to examine the acculturation experience of the global citizen in the form of transnational higher education system and suggest policy and policing IHE which refers directly to the experience of the global citizen. This study offers a detailed understanding of how the university communities assess their expatriation experience, thus becoming useful information for learning and transforming education. The findings also open an advanced perspective on the international mobility of human resources and the implications on the implementation of the policy of internationalization of higher education. The contribution of this study is expected to give new input, thus shift the focus of contextual literature for the internationalization of the education system. Instead of focusing on the purpose of generating income of a university, to a greater understanding of subjective experience in utilizing international human resources hence contributing to the prominent transnational character of higher education.

Keywords: internationalization, global citizens, Malaysia higher education, academic expatriate, international students

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Narottam Puri, Bishnu Panigrahi, Narayan Pendse

Abstract:

Background: Clinical Outcomes are the globally agreed upon, evidence-based measurable changes in health or quality of life resulting from the patient care. Reporting of outcomes and its continuous monitoring provides an opportunity for both assessing and improving the quality of patient care. In 2012, International Consortium Of HealthCare Outcome Measurement (ICHOM) was founded which has defined global Standard Sets for measuring the outcome of various treatments. Method: Monitoring of Clinical Outcomes was identified as a pillar of Fortis’ core value of Patient Centricity. The project was started as an in-house developed Clinical Outcomes Reporting Portal by the Fortis Medical IT team. Standard sets of Outcome measurement developed by ICHOM were used. A pilot was run at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute from Aug’13 – Dec’13.Starting Jan’14, it was implemented across 11 hospitals of the group. The scope was hospital-wide and major clinical specialties: Cardiac Sciences, Orthopedics & Joint Replacement were covered. The internally developed portal had its limitations of report generation and also capturing of Patient related outcomes was restricted. A year later, the company provisioned for an ICHOM Certified Software product which could provide a platform for data capturing and reporting to ensure compliance with all ICHOM requirements. Post a year of the launch of the software; Fortis Healthcare has become the 1st Healthcare Provider in Asia to publish Clinical Outcomes data for the Coronary Artery Disease Standard Set comprising of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft and Percutaneous Coronary Interventions) in the public domain. (Jan 2016). Results: This project has helped in firmly establishing a culture of monitoring and reporting Clinical Outcomes across Fortis Hospitals. Given the diverse nature of the healthcare delivery model at Fortis Network, which comprises of hospitals of varying size and specialty-mix and practically covering the entire span of the country, standardization of data collection and reporting methodology is a huge achievement in itself. 95% case reporting was achieved with more than 90% data completion at the end of Phase 1 (March 2016). Post implementation the group now has one year of data from its own hospitals. This has helped identify the gaps and plan towards ways to bridge them and also establish internal benchmarks for continual improvement. Besides the value created for the group includes: 1. Entire Fortis community has been sensitized on the importance of Clinical Outcomes monitoring for patient centric care. Initial skepticism and cynicism has been countered by effective stakeholder engagement and automation of processes. 2. Measuring quality is the first step in improving quality. Data analysis has helped compare clinical results with best-in-class hospitals and identify improvement opportunities. 3. Clinical fraternity is extremely pleased to be part of this initiative and has taken ownership of the project. Conclusion: Fortis Healthcare is the pioneer in the monitoring of Clinical Outcomes. Implementation of ICHOM standards has helped Fortis Clinical Excellence Program in improving patient engagement and strengthening its commitment to its core value of Patient Centricity. Validation and certification of the Clinical Outcomes data by an ICHOM Certified Supplier adds confidence to its claim of being leaders in this space.

Keywords: clinical outcomes, healthcare delivery, patient centricity, ICHOM

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Yury S. Shpanskiy, Boris V. Kuteev

Abstract:

Development of a fusion-fission hybrid facility based on superconducting conventional tokamak DEMO-FNS runs in Russia since 2013. The main design goal is to reach the technical feasibility and outline prospects of industrial hybrid technologies providing the production of neutrons, fuel nuclides, tritium, high-temperature heat, electricity and subcritical transmutation in Fusion-Fission Hybrid Systems. The facility should operate in a steady-state mode at the fusion power of 40 MW and fission reactions of 400 MW. Major tokamak parameters are the following: major radius R=3.2 m, minor radius a=1.0 m, elongation 2.1, triangularity 0.5. The design provides the neutron wall loading of ~0.2 MW/m², the lifetime neutron fluence of ~2 MWa/m², with the surface area of the active cores and tritium breeding blanket ~100 m². Core plasma modelling showed that the neutron yield ~10¹⁹ n/s is maximal if the tritium/deuterium density ratio is 1.5-2.3. The design of the electromagnetic system (EMS) defined its basic parameters, accounting for the coils strength and stability, and identified the most problematic nodes in the toroidal field coils and the central solenoid. The EMS generates toroidal, poloidal and correcting magnetic fields necessary for the plasma shaping and confinement inside the vacuum vessel. EMC consists of eighteen superconducting toroidal field coils, eight poloidal field coils, five sections of a central solenoid, correction coils, in-vessel coils for vertical plasma control. Supporting structures, the thermal shield, and the cryostat maintain its operation. EMS operates with the pulse duration of up to 5000 hours at the plasma current up to 5 MA. The vacuum vessel (VV) is an all-welded two-layer toroidal shell placed inside the EMS. The free space between the vessel shells is filled with water and boron steel plates, which form the neutron protection of the EMS. The VV-volume is 265 m³, its mass with manifolds is 1800 tons. The nuclear blanket of DEMO-FNS facility was designed to provide functions of minor actinides transmutation, tritium production and enrichment of spent nuclear fuel. The vertical overloading of the subcritical active cores with MA was chosen as prospective. Analysis of the device neutronics and the hybrid blanket thermal-hydraulic characteristics has been performed for the system with functions covering transmutation of minor actinides, production of tritium and enrichment of spent nuclear fuel. A study of FNS facilities role in the Russian closed nuclear fuel cycle was performed. It showed that during ~100 years of operation three FNS facilities with fission power of 3 GW controlled by fusion neutron source with power of 40 MW can burn 98 tons of minor actinides and 198 tons of Pu-239 can be produced for startup loading of 20 fast reactors. Instead of Pu-239, up to 25 kg of tritium per year may be produced for startup of fusion reactors using blocks with lithium orthosilicate instead of fissile breeder blankets.

Keywords: fusion-fission hybrid system, conventional tokamak, superconducting electromagnetic system, two-layer vacuum vessel, subcritical active cores, nuclear fuel cycle

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Artem Kim, Clara Savary, Christele Dubourg, Wilfrid Carre, Houda Hamdi-Roze, Valerie Dupé, Sylvie Odent, Marie De Tayrac, Veronique David

Abstract:

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a rare congenital brain malformation resulting from the incomplete separation of the two cerebral hemispheres. It is characterized by a wide phenotypic spectrum and a high degree of locus heterogeneity. Genetic defects in 16 genes have already been implicated in HPE, but account for only 30% of cases, suggesting that a large part of genetic factors remains to be discovered. HPE has been recently redefined as a complex multigenic disorder, requiring the joint effect of multiple mutational events in genes belonging to one or several developmental pathways. The onset of HPE may result from accumulation of the effects of multiple rare variants in functionally-related genes, each conferring a moderate increase in the risk of HPE onset. In order to decipher the genetic basis of HPE, unconventional patterns of inheritance involving multiple genetic factors need to be considered. The primary objective of this study was to uncover possible disease causing combinations of multiple rare variants underlying HPE by performing trio-based Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) of familial cases where no molecular diagnosis could be established. 39 families were selected with no fully-penetrant causal mutation in known HPE gene, no chromosomic aberrations/copy number variants and without any implication of environmental factors. As the main challenge was to identify disease-related variants among a large number of nonpathogenic polymorphisms detected by WES classical scheme, a novel variant prioritization approach was established. It combined WES filtering with complementary gene-level approaches: transcriptome-driven (RNA-Seq data) and clinically-driven (public clinical data) strategies. Briefly, a filtering approach was performed to select variants compatible with disease segregation, population frequency and pathogenicity prediction to identify an exhaustive list of rare deleterious variants. The exome search space was then reduced by restricting the analysis to candidate genes identified by either transcriptome-driven strategy (genes sharing highly similar expression patterns with known HPE genes during cerebral development) or clinically-driven strategy (genes associated to phenotypes of interest overlapping with HPE). Deeper analyses of candidate variants were then performed on a family-by-family basis. These included the exploration of clinical information, expression studies, variant characteristics, recurrence of mutated genes and available biological knowledge. A novel bioinformatics pipeline was designed. Applied to the 39 families, this final integrated workflow identified an average of 11 candidate variants per family. Most of candidate variants were inherited from asymptomatic parents suggesting a multigenic inheritance pattern requiring the association of multiple mutational events. The manual analysis highlighted 5 new strong HPE candidate genes showing recurrences in distinct families. Functional validations of these genes are foreseen.

Keywords: complex genetic disorder, holoprosencephaly, multiple rare variants, whole exome sequencing

Procedia PDF Downloads 204

Authors: Nicola Colaninno, Eugenio Morello

Abstract:

The urban environment affects local-to-global climate and, in turn, suffers global warming phenomena, with worrying impacts on human well-being, health, social and economic activities. Physic-morphological features of the built-up space affect urban air temperature, locally, causing the urban environment to be warmer compared to surrounding rural. This occurrence, typically known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI), is normally assessed by means of air temperature from fixed weather stations and/or traverse observations or based on remotely sensed Land Surface Temperatures (LST). The information provided by ground weather stations is key for assessing local air temperature. However, the spatial coverage is normally limited due to low density and uneven distribution of the stations. Although different interpolation techniques such as Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), Ordinary Kriging (OK), or Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) are used to estimate air temperature from observed points, such an approach may not effectively reflect the real climatic conditions of an interpolated point. Quantifying local UHI for extensive areas based on weather stations’ observations only is not practicable. Alternatively, the use of thermal remote sensing has been widely investigated based on LST. Data from Landsat, ASTER, or MODIS have been extensively used. Indeed, LST has an indirect but significant influence on air temperatures. However, high-resolution near-surface air temperature (NSAT) is currently difficult to retrieve. Here we have experimented Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) as an effective approach to enable NSAT estimation by accounting for spatial non-stationarity of the phenomenon. The model combines on-site measurements of air temperature, from fixed weather stations and satellite-derived LST. The approach is structured upon two main steps. First, a GWR model has been set to estimate NSAT at low resolution, by combining air temperature from discrete observations retrieved by weather stations (dependent variable) and the LST from satellite observations (predictor). At this step, MODIS data, from Terra satellite, at 1 kilometer of spatial resolution have been employed. Two time periods are considered according to satellite revisit period, i.e. 10:30 am and 9:30 pm. Afterward, the results have been downscaled at 30 meters of spatial resolution by setting a GWR model between the previously retrieved near-surface air temperature (dependent variable), the multispectral information as provided by the Landsat mission, in particular the albedo, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), both at 30 meters. Albedo and DEM are now the predictors. The area under investigation is the Metropolitan City of Milan, which covers an area of approximately 1,575 km2 and encompasses a population of over 3 million inhabitants. Both models, low- (1 km) and high-resolution (30 meters), have been validated according to a cross-validation that relies on indicators such as R2, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE). All the employed indicators give evidence of highly efficient models. In addition, an alternative network of weather stations, available for the City of Milano only, has been employed for testing the accuracy of the predicted temperatures, giving and RMSE of 0.6 and 0.7 for daytime and night-time, respectively.

Keywords: urban climate, urban heat island, geographically weighted regression, remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 196

Authors: Kritchakhris Na-Wattanaprasert

Abstract:

The objective of this research is to design and develop a prototype of a key performance indicator system this is suitable for warehouse management in a case study and use requirement. In this study, we design a prototype of key performance indicator system (KPI) for warehouse case study of furniture business by methodology in step of identify scope of the research and study related papers, gather necessary data and users requirement, develop key performance indicator base on balance scorecard, design pro and database for key performance indicator, coding the program and set relationship of database and finally testing and debugging each module. This study use Balance Scorecard (BSC) for selecting and grouping key performance indicator. The system developed by using Microsoft SQL Server 2010 is used to create the system database. In regard to visual-programming language, Microsoft Visual C# 2010 is chosen as the graphic user interface development tool. This system consists of six main menus: menu login, menu main data, menu financial perspective, menu customer perspective, menu internal, and menu learning and growth perspective. Each menu consists of key performance indicator form. Each form contains a data import section, a data input section, a data searches – edit section, and a report section. The system generates outputs in 5 main reports, the KPI detail reports, KPI summary report, KPI graph report, benchmarking summary report and benchmarking graph report. The user will select the condition of the report and period time. As the system has been developed and tested, discovers that it is one of the ways to judging the extent to warehouse objectives had been achieved. Moreover, it encourages the warehouse functional proceed with more efficiency. In order to be useful propose for other industries, can adjust this system appropriately. To increase the usefulness of the key performance indicator system, the recommendations for further development are as follows: -The warehouse should review the target value and set the better suitable target periodically under the situation fluctuated in the future. -The warehouse should review the key performance indicators and set the better suitable key performance indicators periodically under the situation fluctuated in the future for increasing competitiveness and take advantage of new opportunities.

Keywords: key performance indicator, warehouse management, warehouse operation, logistics management

Procedia PDF Downloads 431

Authors: Adel Khorramrouz, Monireh Ahmadi Bani, Ehsan Norouzi

Abstract:

Background:-Due to the essential role of the foot in movement, foot disorders (FDs) have significant impacts on activity and quality of life. Many studies confirmed the association between FDs and demographic characteristics. On the other hand, recent advances in data collection and statistical analysis led to an increase in the volume of databases. Analysis of patient’s data through the decision tree can be used to explore the relationship between demographic characteristics and FDs. Significance of the study: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between demographic characteristics with common FDs. The second purpose is to better inform foot intervention, we classify FDs based on demographic variables. Methodologies: We analyzed 2323 subjects with pes-planus (PP), pes-cavus (PC), hallux-valgus (HV) and plantar-fasciitis (PF) who were referred to a foot therapy clinic between 2015 and 2021. Subjects had to fulfill the following inclusion criteria: (1) weight between 14 to 150 kilogram, (2) height between 30 to 220, (3) age between 3 to 100 years old, and (4) BMI between 12 to 35. Medical archives of 2323 subjects were recorded retrospectively and all the subjects examined by an experienced physician. Age and BMI were classified into five and four groups, respectively. 80% of the data were randomly selected as training data and 20% tested. We build a decision tree model to classify FDs using demographic characteristics. Findings: Results demonstrated 981 subjects from 2323 (41.9%) of people who were referred to the clinic with FDs were diagnosed as PP, 657 (28.2%) PC, 628 (27%) HV and 213 (9%) identified with PF. The results revealed that the prevalence of PP decreased in people over 18 years of age and in children over 7 years. In adults, the prevalence depends first on BMI and then on gender. About 10% of adults and 81% of children with low BMI have PP. There is no relationship between gender and PP. PC is more dependent on age and gender. In children under 7 years, the prevalence was twice in girls (10%) than boys (5%) and in adults over 18 years slightly higher in men (62% vs 57%). HV increased with age in women and decreased in men. Aging and obesity have increased the prevalence of PF. We conclude that the accuracy of our approach is sufficient for most research applications in FDs. Conclusion:-The increased prevalence of PP in children is probably due to the formation of the arch of the foot at this age. Increasing BMI by applying high pressure on the foot can increase the prevalence of this disorder in the foot. In PC, the Increasing prevalence of PC from women to men with age may be due to genetics and innate susceptibility of men to this disorder. HV is more common in adult women, which may be due to environmental reasons such as shoes, and the prevalence of PF in obese adult women may also be due to higher foot pressure and housekeeping activities.

Keywords: decision tree, demographic characteristics, foot disorders, machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Naseer Ahmad

Abstract:

This research investigates the intricate dynamics of language policy, ideology, and the choice of educational language as a medium of instruction in rural Pakistan. Focused on addressing the complexities of language practices in underexplored educational contexts, the study employed a case study approach, analyzing interviews with education authorities, teachers, and students, alongside classroom observations in English-medium and Urdu-medium rural schools. The research underscores the significance of understanding linguistic diversity within rural communities. The analysis of interviews and classroom observations revealed that language policies in rural schools are influenced by multiple factors, including historical legacies, societal language ideologies, and government directives. The dominance of Urdu and English as the preferred languages of instruction reflected a broader language hierarchy, where regional languages are often marginalized. This language ideology perpetuates a sense of linguistic inferiority among students who primarily speak regional languages. The impact of language choices on students' learning experiences and outcomes is a central focus of the research. It became evident that while policies advocate for specific language practices, the implementation often diverges due to multifarious socio-cultural, economic, and institutional factors. This disparity significantly impacts the effectiveness of educational processes, influencing pedagogical approaches, student engagement, academic outcomes, social mobility, and language choices. Based on the findings, the study concluded that due to policy and practice gap, rural people have complex perceptions and language choices. They perceived Urdu as a national, lingua franca, cultural, easy, or low-status language. They perceived English as an international, lingua franca, modern, difficult, or high-status language. They perceived other languages as mother tongue, local, religious, or irrelevant languages. This research provided insights that are crucial for theory, policy, and practice, addressing educational inequities and inclusive language policies. It set the stage for further research and advocacy efforts in the realm of language policies in diverse educational settings.

Keywords: language-in-education policy, language ideology, educational language choice, pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Ju Peng Poh, Jun Yu Charles Lee, Jonathan Chew Hoe Khoo

Abstract:

The emergence of digital twin technology, a digital replica of physical world, has improved the real-time access to data from sensors about the performance of buildings. This digital transformation has opened up many opportunities to improve the management of the building by using the data collected to help monitor consumption patterns and energy leakages. One example is the integration of predictive models for anomaly detection. In this paper, we use the GAM (Generalised Additive Model) for the anomaly detection of Air Handling Units (AHU) power consumption pattern. There is ample research work on the use of GAM for the prediction of power consumption at the office building and nation-wide level. However, there is limited illustration of its anomaly detection capabilities, prescriptive analytics case study, and its integration with the latest development of digital twin technology. In this paper, we applied the general GAM modelling framework on the historical data of the AHU power consumption and cooling load of the building between Jan 2018 to Aug 2019 from an education campus in Singapore to train prediction models that, in turn, yield predicted values and ranges. The historical data are seamlessly extracted from the digital twin for modelling purposes. We enhanced the utility of the GAM model by using it to power a real-time anomaly detection system based on the forward predicted ranges. The magnitude of deviation from the upper and lower bounds of the uncertainty intervals is used to inform and identify anomalous data points, all based on historical data, without explicit intervention from domain experts. Notwithstanding, the domain expert fits in through an optional feedback loop through which iterative data cleansing is performed. After an anomalously high or low level of power consumption detected, a set of rule-based conditions are evaluated in real-time to help determine the next course of action for the facilities manager. The performance of GAM is then compared with other approaches to evaluate its effectiveness. Lastly, we discuss the successfully deployment of this approach for the detection of anomalous power consumption pattern and illustrated with real-world use cases.

Keywords: anomaly detection, digital twin, generalised additive model, GAM, power consumption, supervised learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Svetlana Kostrubina, Anastasia Prokopeva

Abstract:

This research presents a comprehensive study of the word formation processes in computer terminology within English and Russian languages and provides listeners with a system of exercises for training these skills. The originality is that this study focuses on a comparative approach, which shows both general patterns and specific features of English and Russian computer terms word formation. The key point is the system of exercises development for training computer terminology based on Bloom’s taxonomy. Data contain 486 units (228 English terms from the Glossary of Computer Terms and 258 Russian terms from the Terminological Dictionary-Reference Book). The objective is to identify the main affixation models in the English and Russian computer terms formation and to develop exercises. To achieve this goal, the authors employed Bloom’s Taxonomy as a methodological framework to create a systematic exercise program aimed at enhancing students’ cognitive skills in analyzing, applying, and evaluating computer terms. The exercises are appropriate for various levels of learning, from basic recall of definitions to higher-order thinking skills, such as synthesizing new terms and critically assessing their usage in different contexts. Methodology also includes: a method of scientific and theoretical analysis for systematization of linguistic concepts and clarification of the conceptual and terminological apparatus; a method of nominative and derivative analysis for identifying word-formation types; a method of word-formation analysis for organizing linguistic units; a classification method for determining structural types of abbreviations applicable to the field of computer communication; a quantitative analysis technique for determining the productivity of methods for forming abbreviations of computer vocabulary based on the English and Russian computer terms, as well as a technique of tabular data processing for a visual presentation of the results obtained. a technique of interlingua comparison for identifying common and different features of abbreviations of computer terms in the Russian and English languages. The research shows that affixation retains its productivity in the English and Russian computer terms formation. Bloom’s taxonomy allows us to plan a training program and predict the effectiveness of the compiled program based on the assessment of the teaching methods used.

Keywords: word formation, affixation, computer terms, Bloom's taxonomy

Procedia PDF Downloads 18