Search results for: clients perception

Authors: N. S. Ajisha

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In today’s competitive world the quality of the service you deliver is one of the important factor that determine customer satisfaction. Service quality is considered to be one important determinant to evaluate customer satisfaction and the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction is considered as the foundation in researches on customer satisfaction. This research examines to do a gap analysis between the perception and expectation of the services delivered and find relation between the service quality and customer satisfaction. Service quality is found out here using the SERVQUAL model. And it finds out the dimension of service quality which is more important to measure customer satisfaction. The dimensions which we measure using SERVQUAL include the tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. This study involves primary data collection like market survey.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, service quality, retail service quality, Kochi

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Authors: Romeo Botes, Imelda Smit

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In today’s modern age of technology vast amounts of data needs to be processed in real-time to keep users satisfied. This data comes from various sources and in many formats, including electronic and mobile devices such as GPRS modems and GPS devices. They make use of different protocols including TCP, UDP, and HTTP/s for data communication to web servers and eventually to users. The data obtained from these devices may provide valuable information to users, but are mostly in an unreadable format which needs to be processed to provide information and business intelligence. This data is not always current, it is mostly historical data. The data is not subject to implementation of consistency and redundancy measures as most other data usually is. Most important to the users is that the data are to be pre-processed in a readable format when it is entered into the database. To accomplish this, programmers build processing programs and scripts to decode and process the information stored in databases. Programmers make use of various techniques in such programs to accomplish this, but sometimes neglect the effect some of these techniques may have on database performance. One of the techniques generally used,is to pull data from the database server, process it and push it back to the database server in one single step. Since the processing of the data usually takes some time, it keeps the database busy and locked for the period of time that the processing takes place. Because of this, it decreases the overall performance of the database server and therefore the system’s performance. This paper follows on a paper discussing the performance increase that may be achieved by utilizing array lists along with a pull-process-push data processing technique split in three steps. The purpose of this paper is to expand the number of clients when comparing the two techniques to establish the impact it may have on performance of the CPU storage and processing time.

Keywords: performance measures, algorithm techniques, data processing, push data, process data, array list

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Authors: Oliver Arana

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Within the common vein of social understanding, surrealism is often understood to rely on disconcerting images and fragmented collage, both in its visual representation and literary manifestations. By tracing the history and literature of surrealism, the author makes the argument that there were certain factions within Latin America that employed characteristics of surrealism in order to reach some sense of understanding, and not to further complicate or disorient -an aim that most closely aligns to Freudian psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis should, however, be a comparable practice only to understand how Latin American surrealism had more of a concrete goal than its European counterpart. The primary subject of the paper is the Mexican poet, Pita Amor, who has retroactively been associated with the movement; and therefore, it should be duly noted that the adjective, surrealism, only applies to her as something that describes traits within the literary lexicon.

Keywords: Latin America, Pita Amor, poetry, surrealism

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Authors: Okanlawon Simon Ayorinde, Odunjo Oluronke Omolola, Fadamiro Joseph Akinlabi, Adedibu Afolabi Adebgite

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A road is a path established over land, especially prepared way between places for the use of pedestrian, riders, and vehicles: a hard surface built for vehicles to travel on. The social, economic and health importance of roads in any community and nation cannot be underestimated. Roads provide access to properties and they also provide mobility which is ability to transport goods and services from one place to another. In the residential zones of many indigenous cities in Nigeria, roads are usually blocked for social ceremonies. Road blocked for ceremonies as used in this study are a temporary barrier across a road, used to stop or hinder traffic from passing through to the other side. Social ceremonies that could warrant road blockage include marriage, child naming, funeral, celebration of life’s achievement, birthday anniversary etc. These activities are likely to generate environmental hazards and their attendant risks. The assessment of these hazards and risks in residential zones of indigenous cities in Nigeria becomes imperative. The study is focused on Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. The town has two local government councils namely Ogbomoso North and Ogbomoso South. Urban tracts that are easy to identify are political wards in the absence of land use segregation, houses numbering and street naming. The wards that had residential having a minimum of 60% of their land use components were surveyed and fifteen out of twenty wards identified in the town were surveyed. The study utilized primary data collected through questionnaire administration The three major road categories (Trunk A-Federal; Trunk B- State; Trunk C-Local) were identified and trunk C-Local roads were purposively selected being the concern of this study because they are the ones often blocked for social activities. The major stakeholders interviewed and the respective sampling methods are residents (random and systematic), social ceremony organizers (purposive), government officials (purposive) and road users namely commercial motorists and commercial motor cyclists (random and incidental). Data analysis was mainly descriptive. Two indices to measure respondents’ perception were developed. These are ‘Hazard Severity Index’ (HSI) and ‘Relative Awareness Index’ (RAI).Thereafter, policy implications and recommendations were provided.

Keywords: road, residential zones, indigenous cities, blocked, social ceremonies

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Authors: Spanova Yerkezhan, Amantay Ayan, Alimzhanova Laura

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This article discusses the concept of rebranding and its relationship to cybersecurity. Rebranding is the process of changing the appearance and image of a company or organization in order to appeal to new customers or change the perception of a company. It can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to renew their reputation or expand into new markets. In today's digital age, companies increasingly rely on technology and the internet to conduct business; rebranding can also present significant cybersecurity risks. This is because a rebranding effort can create new vulnerabilities for companies, particularly in terms of their online presence. This article explores the potential hazards associated with rebranding and provides recommendations for mitigating those risks. It also highlights the importance of considering cybersecurity in the rebranding process and how it can be integrated into the overall strategy for a successful and secure rebranding.

Keywords: rebranding, cybersecurity, cyberattack, logo, vulnerability

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Authors: Armando Luis Vieira, Carlos Costa, Arthur Araújo

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The tourism system is viewable as a network of relationships amongst business partners where the success of each actor will ultimately be determined by the success of the whole network. Especially since the publication of Gümmesson’s (1996) ‘theory of imaginary organisations’, which suggests that organisational effectiveness largely depends on managing relationships and sharing resources and activities, relationship quality (RQ) has been increasingly recognised as a main source of value creation and competitive advantage. However, there is still ambiguity around this topic, and managers and researchers have been recurrently reporting the need to better understand and capitalise on the quality of interactions with business partners. This research aims at testing an RQ model from a relational, imaginary organisation’s approach. Two mail surveys provide the perceptions of 725 hotel representatives about their business relationships with tour operators, and 1,224 corporate client representatives about their business relationships with hotels (21.9 % and 38.8 % response rate, respectively). The analysis contributes to enhance our understanding on the linkages between RQ and its determinants, and identifies the role of their dimensions. Structural equation modelling results highlight trust as the dominant dimension, the crucial role of commitment and satisfaction, and suggest customer orientation as complementary building block. Findings also emphasise problem solving behaviour and selling orientation as the most relevant dimensions of customer orientation. The comparison of the two ‘dyads’ deepens the discussion and enriches the suggested theoretical and managerial guidelines concerning the contribution of quality relationships to business performance.

Keywords: corporate clients, destination competitiveness, hotels, relationship quality, structural equations modelling, tour operators

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Authors: Sibel Özkan

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This study aims to set forth the perception of young people in Turkey about “Gezi Parkı Actions” which has been represented by different views on social and traditional media. In-depth interview method was carried out with all of the participants who consisted of high school students. All interviews has been conducted in areas where the actions take place and the numbers of participants who are using and not using social media were equal. There are minor differences between young people who are using and not using social media. Participants who are not using social media had an opinion only about saving nature aspect of Gezi Parkı Actions. On the other hand, people who are using social media had another reasons such as freedom of expression, respect to the lifestyles etc. to join Gezi Parkı Actions. It was found that young people do not completely trust traditional media anymore.

Keywords: Gezi Parkı, resistance, social media, hegemony

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Authors: Annelien A. Van Rooyen, Carol S. Binnekade, Deon Scott, Christina C. Shuttleworth

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Society expects professional accountants to uphold fundamental principles of professional competence, confidentiality, and ethical behavior. Their work needs to be trusted by the public, clients and other stakeholders. However, self-interest, intimidation and even ignorance could create conditions in which accounting practitioners and their staff may act contradictory to these principles. Similarly, plagiarism and cheating occur regularly at higher education institutions, where students claim ignorance of these actions and the accompanying consequences. Teaching students ethical skills in a distance-learning environment where interaction between students and instructors is limited is a challenge for academics. This also applies to instructors who teach accounting subjects to potential professional accountants. The researchers wanted to understand the concerns of accounting practitioners regarding recently qualified accounting students’ understanding of ethics and the resulting influence on their conduct. A mixed method approach was used to obtain feedback from numerous accounting practitioners in South Africa. The research questions focused mainly on ethical conduct in the workplace and the influence of social media on the behavior of graduates. The findings of the research suggested, inter alia, that accounting practitioners are of the opinion that the ethical conduct of graduates starts at home, but higher education institutions play a pivotal role in providing students with an understanding of ethics in the workplace, including the role of social media. The paper concludes with recommendations on how academics in higher education institutions need to address these challenges.

Keywords: accounting profession, distance learning, ethics, workplace

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Authors: Mimi My Tse

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The prevalence of chronic non-cancer pain is high among community-dwelling older adults. Pain affects physical and psychosocial abilities. Older adults tend to be less mobile and have a high tendency to fall risk. In addition, older adults with pain are depressed, anxious, and not too willing to join social activities. This will make them feel very lonely and social isolation. Instead of giving pain management education and programs to older adults/clients, both older adults and their caregivers, it is sad to find that the majority of existing services are given to older adults only. Given the importance of family members in increasing compliance with health-promoting programs, we proposed to offer pain management programs to both older adults with his/her caregiver as a “dyad.” We used the Health Promotion Model and implemented a dyadic pain management program (DPM). The DPM is an 8-week group-based program. The DPM comprises 4 weeks of center-based, face-to-face activities and 4 weeks of digital-based activities delivered via a WhatsApp group. There were 30 dyads (15 in the experimental group with DPM and 15 in the control group with pain education pamphlets). Upon the completion of DPM, pain intensity and pain interference were significantly lower in the intervention group as compared to the control group. At the same time, physical function showed significant improvement and lower depression scores in the intervention group. In conclusion, the study highlights the potential benefits of involving caregivers in the management of chronic pain for older adults. This approach should be widely promoted in managing chronic pain situations for community-dwelling older adults and their caregivers.

Keywords: pain, older adults, dyadic approach, education

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Authors: Tamás Gyulavári, Erzsébet Malota

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The main purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of congruence between the perceived self and perceived culture personality on the evaluation of the examined countries as ideal business/tourist destinations. A measure of Culture Personality (CP) has been developed and implemented to assess the perception of French and Turkish culture. Results show that very similar personality structure of both cultures can be extracted along the dimensions of Competence, Interpersonal approach, Aura, Life approach and Rectitude. Regarding the congruence theory, we found that instead of the effect of similarity between the perceived culture personality and actual self, the more positively culture personality is perceived relative to the perceived self, the more positive attitude the individual has toward the country as business and tourist destination.

Keywords: culture personality, ideal business/tourist destination, personality, scale development

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Authors: Chapman Eze Nnadozie

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Cloud computing, a technology that is made possible through virtualization within networks represents a shift from the traditional ownership of infrastructure and other resources by distinct organization to a more scalable pattern in which computer resources are rented online to organizations on either as a pay-as-you-use basis or by subscription. In other words, cloud computing entails the renting of computing resources (such as storage space, memory, servers, applications, networks, etc.) by a third party to its clients on a pay-as-go basis. It is a new innovative technology that is globally embraced because of its renowned benefits, profound of which is its cost effectiveness on the part of organizations engaged with its services. In Nigeria, the services are provided either directly to companies mostly by the key IT players such as Microsoft, IBM, and Google; or in partnership with some other players such as Infoware, Descasio, and Sunnet. This action enables organizations to rent IT resources on a pay-as-you-go basis thereby salvaging them from wastages accruable on acquisition and maintenance of IT resources such as ownership of a separate data centre. This paper intends to appraise the challenges of cloud computing adoption in Nigeria, bearing in mind the country’s peculiarities’ in terms of infrastructural development. The methodologies used in this paper include the use of research questionnaires, formulated hypothesis, and the testing of the formulated hypothesis. The major findings of this paper include the fact that there are some addressable challenges to the adoption of cloud computing in Nigeria. Furthermore, the country will gain significantly if the challenges especially in the area of infrastructural development are well addressed. This is because the research established the fact that there are significant gains derivable by the adoption of cloud computing by organizations in Nigeria. However, these challenges can be overturned by concerted efforts in the part of government and other stakeholders.

Keywords: cloud computing, data centre, infrastructure, it resources, virtualization

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Authors: Rosni Lakandri

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With the development of science and technology, there has been a complete transformation in the domain of information technology. Particularly after the Second World War and Cold War period, the role of media and communication technology in shaping the political, economic, socio-cultural proceedings across the world has been tremendous. It performs as a channel between the governing bodies of the state and the general masses. As we have seen the international community constantly talking about the onset of Asian Century, India and China happens to be the major player in this. Both have the civilization history, both are neighboring countries, both are witnessing a huge economic growth and, important of all, both are considered the rising powers of Asia. Not negating the fact that both countries have gone to war with each other in 1962 and the common people and even the policy makers of both the sides view each other till now from this prism. A huge contribution to this perception of people goes to the media coverage of both sides, even if there are spaces of cooperation which they share, the negative impacts of media has tended to influence the people’s opinion and government’s perception about each other. Therefore, analysis of media’s impression in both the countries becomes important in order to know their effect on the larger implications of foreign policy towards each other. It is usually said that media not only acts as the information provider but also acts as ombudsman to the government. They provide a kind of check and balance to the governments in taking proper decisions for the people of the country but in attempting to answer this hypothesis we have to analyze does the media really helps in shaping the political landscape of any country? Therefore, this study rests on the following questions; 1.How do China and India depict each other through their respective News media? 2.How much and what influences they make on the policy making process of each country? How do they shape the public opinion in both the countries? In order to address these enquiries, the study employs both primary and secondary sources available, and in generating data and other statistical information, primary sources like reports, government documents, and cartography, agreements between the governments have been used. Secondary sources like books, articles and other writings collected from various sources and opinion from visual media sources like news clippings, videos in this topic are also included as a source of on ground information as this study is not based on field study. As the findings suggest in case of China and India, media has certainly affected people’s knowledge about the political and diplomatic issues at the same time has affected the foreign policy making of both the countries. They have considerable impact on the foreign policy formulation and we can say there is some mediatization happening in foreign policy issues in both the countries.

Keywords: China, foreign policy, India, media, public opinion

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Authors: Ismail Bamidele Afolabi, Abdulmujeeb Babatunde Aremu, Lawal Abdurraheem Maidoki, Nnodimele Onuigbo Atulomah

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Background: Hepatitis B virus infection remains a significant global public health challenge with infectivity as well as the potential for transmission more than 50 to 100 times that of HIV. Annually, global HBV-related mortality is linked primarily to cirrhosis and liver carcinoma. The ever-increasing endemicity of HBV among children under-5-years, owing to vertical transmission and its lingering chronicity in developing countries, will hamper the global efforts concertedly endorsed towards eliminating viral hepatitis as a global public health threat by 2030. Objective: This study assessed information motivation behavioral skills model constructs as predictors of HBV infection prevention practices among consenting expectant mothers attending antenatal care in Central Uganda as a focal point of intervention towards breaking materno-foetal transmission of HBV. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a quantitative data collection approach based on the constructs of the IMB model was used to capture data on the study variables among 385 randomly selected pregnant women between September and October 2020. Data derived from the quantitative instrument were transformed into weighted aggregate scores using SPSS version 26. ANOVA and regression analysis were done to ascertain the study hypotheses with a significance level set as (p ≤ 0.05). Results: Relatively 60% of the respondents were aged between 18 and 28. Expectant mothers with secondary education (42.3%) were predominant. Furthermore, an average but inadequate knowledge (X ̅=5.97±6.61; B=0.57; p<.001), incorrect perception (X ̅=17.10±18.31; B=0.97; p=.014), and good behavioral skills (X ̅=12.39±13.37; B=0.56; p<.001) for adopting prevention practices all statistically predicted the unsatisfactory level of prevention practices (X ̅=15.03±16.20) among the study respondents as measured on rating scales of 12, 33, 21 and 30 respectively. Conclusion: Evidence from this study corroborates the imperativeness of IMB constructs in reducing the burden of HBV infection in developing countries. Therefore, the inadequate HBV knowledge and misperception among obstetric populations necessitate personalized health education during antenatal visits and subsequent health campaigns in order to inform better prevention practices and, in turn, reduce the lingering chronicity of HBV infection in developing countries.

Keywords: behavioral skills, HBV infection, knowledge, perception, pregnant women, prevention practices

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Authors: Yuanxiang Miao

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This paper aims to examine the perceptual features of couchsurfers on a new hospitality tourism platform, the free homestay website couchsurfing. As a local host, the author has accepted 61 couchsurfers in Kyoto, Japan, and attempted to figure out couchsurfers' characteristics on perception by hosting them. Moreover, the methodology of this research is mainly based on in-depth interviews, by talking with couchsurfers, observing their behaviors, doing questionnaires, etc. Five dominant perceptual features of couchsurfers were identified: (1) Trusting; (2) Meeting; (3) Sharing; (4) Reciprocity; (5) Worries. The value of this research lies in figuring out a deeper understanding of the perceptual features of couchsurfers, and the author indeed hosted and stayed with 61 couchsurfers from 30 countries and areas over one year. Lastly, the author offers practical suggestions for future research.

Keywords: couchsurfing, depth interview, hospitality tourism, perceptual features

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Authors: Yingling Chen

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Most current research has been focused on whether NESTs have advantages over NNESTs in English language Teaching. The purpose of this study was to investigate English learners’ preferences toward native English speaking teachers and non-English speaking teachers in four skills of English language learning. This qualitative study consists of 12 participants. Two open-ended questions were investigated and analyzed. The findings revealed that the participants held an overall preference for NESTs over NNESTs in reading, writing, and listening English skills; nevertheless, they believed both NESTs and NNESTs offered learning experiences strengths, and weaknesses to satisfy students’ need in their English instruction.

Keywords: EFL, instruction, Student Rating of Instructions (SRI), perception

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Authors: Etim, Victoria Enefiok, Dada, Oluseyi Akintunde, Bassey Okon

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Phonological disorder is a serious and disturbing issue to many parents and teachers. Efforts towards resolving the problem have been undermined by other specific disabilities which were hidden to many regular and special education teachers. It is against this background that this study was motivated to provide data on the prevalence of phonological disorders in children with specific language impairment (CWSLI) as the first step towards critical intervention. The study was a survey of 15 CWSLI from St. Louise Inclusive schools, Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. Phonological Processes Diagnostic Scale (PPDS) with 17 short sentences, which cut across the five phonological processes that were examined, were validated by experts in test measurement, phonology and special education. The respondents were made to read the sentences with emphasis on the targeted sounds. Their utterances were recorded and analyzed in the language laboratory using Praat Software. Data were also collected through friendly interactions at different times from the clients. The theory of generative phonology was adopted for the descriptive analysis of the phonological processes. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentage and composite bar chart for better understanding of the result. The study found out that CWSLI exhibited the five phonological processes under investigation. It was revealed that 66.7%, 80%, 73.3%, 80%, and 86.7% of the respondents have severe deficit in fricative stopping, velar fronting, liquid gliding, final consonant deletion and cluster reduction, respectively. It was therefore recommended that a nationwide survey should be carried out to have national statistics of CWSLI with phonological deficits and develop intervention strategies for effective therapy to remediate the disorder.

Keywords: language disorders, phonology, phonological processes, specific language impairment

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Authors: Hertzog Clara, Sakurai Sho, Hirota Koichi, Nojima Takuya

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It is common to see graphics appearing on television while watching a sports game to provide information, but it is less common to see graphics specifically aiming to boost spectators’ dynamism perception. It is even less common to see such graphics designed especially for virtual reality (VR). However, it appears that even with simple dynamic graphics, it would be possible to improve VR sports spectators’ experience. So, in this research, we explain how graphics can be used in VR to improve the dynamism of a broadcasted sports game and we provide a simple example. This example consists in a white halo displayed around the video and blinking according to the game speed. We hope to increase people’s awareness about VR sports spectating and the possibilities this display offers through dynamic graphics.

Keywords: broadcasting, graphics, sports spectating, virtual reality

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Authors: Mary Gouva, Elena Dragioti, Evangelia Kotrsotsiou

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Family identification has the potential to play a very decisive role in psychopathology. In this study we aimed to investigate the impact of family identifications on female psychopathology. A community sample of 101 women (mean age 20.81 years, SD = 0.91 ranged 20-25) participated to the present study. The girls completed a) the Symptom Check-List Revised (SCL-90) and b) questionnaire concerning socio-demographic information and questions for family identifications. The majority of women reported that they matched to the father in terms of identifications (47.1%). Age and birth order were not contributed on family identifications (F(5) =2.188, p=.062 and F(3)=1.244, p=.299 respectively). Multivariate analysis by using MANCOVA found statistical significant associations between family identifications and domains of psychopathology as provided by SCL-90 (P<05). Our results highlight the role of identifications especially on father and female psychopathology as well as replicate the Freudian perception about the female Oedipus complex.

Keywords: family identification, psychoanalysis, psychopathology, women

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Authors: Ian N. Robertson

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Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR) occurs in concrete when the alkali hydroxides (Na, K and OH) from the cement react with unstable silica, SiO2, in some types of aggregate. The gel that forms during this reaction will expand when it absorbs water, potentially leading to cracking and overall expansion of the concrete. ASR has resulted in accelerated deterioration of concrete highways, dams and other structures that are exposed to moisture during their service life. Concrete aggregates available in Hawaii have not demonstrated a history of ASR, however, accelerated laboratory tests using ASTM 1260 indicated a potential for ASR with some aggregates. Certain clients are now requiring import of aggregates from the US mainland at great expense. In order to assess the accuracy of the laboratory test results, a long-term field study of the potential for ASR in concretes made with Hawaiian aggregates was initiated in 2011 with funding from the US Federal Highway Administration and Hawaii Department of Transportation. Thirty concrete specimens were constructed of various concrete mixtures using aggregates from all Hawaiian aggregate sources, and some US mainland aggregates known to exhibit ASR expansion. The specimens are located in an open field site in Manoa valley on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu, exposed to relatively high humidity and frequent rainfall. A weather station at the site records the ambient conditions on a continual basis. After two years of monitoring, only one of the Hawaiian aggregates showed any sign of expansion. Ten additional specimens were fabricated with this aggregate to confirm the earlier observations. Admixtures known to mitigate ASR, such as fly ash and lithium, were included in some specimens to evaluate their effect on the concrete expansion. This paper describes the field evaluation program and presents the results for all forty specimens after four years of monitoring.

Keywords: aggregate, alkali silica reaction, concrete durability, field exposure

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Authors: Arpine Maghakyan

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The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between the level of industry digitalization and audit fees, especially, the relationship between Big 4 auditor fees and industry digitalization level. On the one hand, automation of business processes decreases internal control weakness and manual mistakes; increases work effectiveness and integrations. On the other hand, it may cause serious misstatements, high business risks or even bankruptcy, typically in early stages of automation. Incomplete automation can bring high audit risk especially if the auditor does not fully understand client’s business automation model. Higher audit risk consequently will cause higher audit fees. Higher audit fees for clients with high automation level are more highlighted in Big 4 auditor’s behavior. Using data of US firms from 2005-2015, we found that industry level digitalization is an interaction for the auditor quality on audit fees. Moreover, the choice of Big4 or non-Big4 is correlated with client’s industry digitalization level. Big4 client, which has higher digitalization level, pays more than one with low digitalization level. In addition, a high-digitalized firm that has Big 4 auditor pays higher audit fee than non-Big 4 client. We use audit fees and firm-specific variables from Audit Analytics and Compustat databases. We analyze collected data by using fixed effects regression methods and Wald tests for sensitivity check. We use fixed effects regression models for firms for determination of the connections between technology use in business and audit fees. We control for firm size, complexity, inherent risk, profitability and auditor quality. We chose fixed effects model as it makes possible to control for variables that have not or cannot be measured.

Keywords: audit fees, auditor quality, digitalization, Big4

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Authors: Ricardo Merlo, María González, Zully Rivero, Laura González

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This exploratory work was to know the perception of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) that university students have during their passage through the classroom. The significance of using AI in education, the degree of interest, knowledge acquisition, and how it would influence an interactive resource for acquiring skills were explored. Within this framework, a test with 30 items was designed and administered to 800 volunteer first-year university students of natural and exact sciences. Based on a randomized pilot test, it was validated with Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. Subsequently, the descriptive statistics of the sample used allowed us to observe the preponderance of the dimensions that constitute the attitude construct. Then, the factorial analysis by dimensions contributed to discern about the students' habits according to the knowledge acquired and the emotions put into play in the topics developed in the classroom.

Keywords: attitude, artificial intelligence, didactics, teaching

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Authors: Antonio Oliveira, Rute F. Meneses, Nuno Trigueiros-Cunha

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Tinnitus is commonly defined as an aberrant perception of sound without external stimulus. It is a chronic condition, with consequences on the QOL. The coping strategies used were not always effective and coping was identified as a predictor of QOL in individuals with tinnitus, which reinforces the idea that in health the use of effective coping styles should be promoted. This work intend to verify relations between coping strategies assessed by BriefCope in subjects with tinnitus and variables such as gender, age and severity of tinnitus measured by THI and the Visual Analogue Scale and also hearing and hyperacusis. The results indicate that there are any statistically significant relationships between the variables assessed in relation to the results of BriefCope except in the Visual Analogue Scale. These results, indicating no relationship between almost all variables, reinforce the need for further study of coping strategies use by these patients.

Keywords: Brief Cope, coping strategies, quality of live, THI, Tinnitus

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Authors: Marcel Duh, Jadranka Stricevic, David Halozan, Dusan Celan

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Back pain is not only the result of structural or biomechanical abnormalities of the spine but is also associated with cognitive and behavioral aspects of pain and thus represents biopsychosocial problem. Stressors are not only interpersonal conflicts, negative life events, and dangerous situations but also noise. Effects of noise on human beings are psychological (excitement, stress), sensory, and physiological. The harmful effects of noise can be seen in the 40-65 dB range and are manifested as fatigue, irritability, poor sleep and psychological discomfort of the worker. Within 65-90 dB range, body metabolism increases, oxygen consumption is higher, tachycardia and hypertension appear, and the tone of skeletal muscles increases. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the stress caused by noise at the work place increases the incidence of back pain. Measurements of noise levels were carried out in three different wards of social care institution. The measurement on each ward was repeated 3 times (total of 9 measurements) for 8 hours during the morning shift. The device was set up in the room where clients spent most of the day. The staff on the ward replied to the questionnaire consisting of closed type questions about basic demographic information and information about back pain. We find that noise levels as measured in our study had no statistically significant effect on the incidence of back pain (p = 0.90). We also find that health care workers who perceive their work as stressful, have more back pain than those who perceive their job as unstressful, but correlation is statistically insignificant (p = 0.682). With our study, we have proven findings of other authors, that noise level below 65 dB does not have a significant influence on the incidence of back pain.

Keywords: health care workers, musculoskeletal disorder, noise, sick leave

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Authors: A. Dinelka Panagoda, Bathiya Bandara, Chamod Wijetunga, Chathura Malinda, Lakmal Rupasinghe, Chethana Liyanapathirana

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This research takes us forward with the concepts of Federated Learning and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) to introduce an efficient malware detection technique and provide a mitigation mechanism to give birth to a resilient and automated healthcare sector network system by also adding the feature of extended privacy preservation. Due to the daily transformation of new malware attacks on hospital Integrated Clinical Environment (ICEs), the healthcare industry is at an undefinable peak of never knowing its continuity direction. The state of blindness by the array of indispensable opportunities that new medical device inventions and their connected coordination offer daily, a factor that should be focused driven is not yet entirely understood by most healthcare operators and patients. This solution has the involvement of four clients in the form of hospital networks to build up the federated learning experimentation architectural structure with different geographical participation to reach the most reasonable accuracy rate with privacy preservation. While the logistic regression with cross-entropy conveys the detection, SDN comes in handy in the second half of the research to stack up the initial development phases of the system with malware mitigation based on policy implementation. The overall evaluation sums up with a system that proves the accuracy with the added privacy. It is no longer needed to continue with traditional centralized systems that offer almost everything but not privacy.

Keywords: software-defined network, federated learning, privacy, integrated clinical environment, decentralized learning, malware detection, malware mitigation

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Authors: Ahmad Baghdadi, Mohammed Kishk

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Construction projects are unique and involve different level of complexity. Airports projects, among other construction projects, are considered to be very complex as they face a number of challenges which make them inevitably exposed to risks. However, in Saudi Arabia, the sector of aviation is considered an important sector owing to the fact that it is the first destination for Muslims on an annual basis. As a result the Saudi government has allocated a huge amount of their general budget to this sector through the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). However, it has been found that the projects are still delivered with a significant number of time and cost overruns. These consequences are typically generated from the risks involved in the projects. Thus, there is a need to identify the number of risks thought to cause such overruns in project times and costs, as well as to assess their significances in terms of their likelihoods of occurrence and their impacts. Accordingly, this paper aims to identify risks associated with aviation construction projects in Saudi Arabia, as well as to assess their likelihoods of occurrence and impacts on such projects. In total, forty four risks have been identified through a critical literature review of common risks in similar projects, as well as thirteen semi-structured interviews with expert project managers involved in GACA’s projects. However, the assessment of the identified risks in term of their likelihoods of occurrence and impacts was obtained through the analysis of forty five questionnaires. Respondents of questionnaires include clients, contractors and consultants. The results show the risks of design changes by the client, labour issue, and setting a tight schedule by the client have the highest likelihoods of occurrence in GACA projects, while the risks of earthquakes, design constructability, and corruption have the greatest impacts.

Keywords: aviation construction projects, GACA, risks, risk assessment, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Rossana Mancini

Abstract:

The charm of a ruin colonised by wild plants and flowers is part of Western culture. The relationship between ruins and vegetation involves a wide range of different fields of research. During the first phase of the research the most important writings and projects about this argument were investigated, to understand how the perception of the co-existence of ruins and vegetation has changed over time and to investigate the various different approaches that these different fields have adopted when tackling this issue. The paper presents some practical examples of projects carried out from the early 1900s on. The major result is that specifically regards conservation, the best attitude is the management of change, an inevitable process when it comes to the co-existence of ruins and nature and, particularly, ruins and vegetation. Limiting ourselves to adopting measures designed to stop, or rather slow down, the increasing level of entropy (and therefore disorder) may not be enough.

Keywords: ruins, vegetation, conservation, archaeology, architecture

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Authors: Fanny Soulard

Abstract:

Today work environment is more multicultural than ever: spatial limits have been blown out, encouraging people and ideas mobility all around the globe. Indeed, opportunities to design with culturally diverse team workers, clients, or end-users, have become within everyone's reach. We enjoy traveling to discover other civilizations, but when it comes to business, we often take for granted that our own work methodology will be generic enough to federate each party and cover the project needs. This paper aims to explore why, by skipping cultural awareness, we often create misunderstandings, frustration, and even counterproductive design. Tree lighting projects successively developed by a French lighting studio, a Vietnamese lighting studio, and an Australian Engineering company will be assessed from their concept stage to completion. All these study cases are based in Vietnam, where the construction market is equally led by local and international consultants. Core criteria such as lighting standard reference, service scope, communication tools, internal team organization, delivery package content, key priorities, and client relationship will help to spot and list when and how cultural diversity has impacted the design output and effectiveness. On the second hand, we will demonstrate through the same selected projects how intercultural intelligence tools and mindset can not only respond positively to previous situations and avoid major clashes but also turn cultural differences into a key added value to generate significant benefits for individuals, teams, and companies. By understanding the major importance of including a cultural factor within any design, intercultural intelligence will quickly turn out as a “must have” skill to be developed and acquired by any designer.

Keywords: intercultural intelligence, lighting design, work methodology, multicultural diversity

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Authors: Vasiliki A. Tzora, Nikolaos D. Philippas

Abstract:

The paper measures the financial literacy of youth in Greece derived from the examined aspects of financial knowledge, behaviours, and attitudes that high school students performed. The findings reveal that less than half of participant high school students have an acceptable level of financial literacy. Also, students who are in the top of their class cohort exhibit higher levels of financial literacy. We also find that the father’s education level has a significant effect on financial literacy. Students who keep records of their income and expenses are likely to show better levels of financial literacy than students who do not. Students’ perception/estimation of their parents’ income changes is also related to their levels of financial literacy. We conclude that financial education initiatives should be embedded in schools in order to embrace the young generation.

Keywords: financial literacy, financial knowledge, financial behaviour, financial attitude, financial wellbeing, 15-year-old students

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Authors: Jeff Colwell, Benjamin Knox

Abstract:

While fire and explosion incidents are often observed by eyewitnesses, the weight that fire investigators should place on those observations in their investigations is a complex issue. There is no doubt that eyewitness statements can be an important component to an investigation, particularly when other evidence is sparse, as is often the case when damage to the scene is severe. However, it is well known that eyewitness statements can be incorrect for a variety of reasons, including deception. In this paper, we reviewed factors that can have an effect on the complex processes associated with the perception, retention, and retrieval of an event. We then review the accuracy of eyewitness statements from unique criminal and civil incidents, including fire and explosion incidents, in which the accuracy of the statements could be independently evaluated. Finally, the motives for deceptive eyewitness statements are described, along with techniques that fire and explosion investigators can employ, to increase the accuracy of the eyewitness statements that they solicit.

Keywords: fire, explosion, eyewitness, reliability

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Authors: Daniel Herrera Gonzalez, Maria Luisa Montas

Abstract:

There are some factors affecting consumer decision-making regarding the use of the front of package labels in order to find benefits to the well-being of the human being. Currently, there are several labels that help influence or change the purchase decision for food products. These labels communicate the impact that food has on human health; therefore, consumers are more critical and intelligent when buying and consuming food products. The research explores the association between front-of-pack labeling and food choice; the association between label content and purchasing decisions is complex and influenced by different factors, including the packaging itself. The main objective of this study was to examine the perception of health labels and nutritional declarations and their influence on buying decisions in the non-alcoholic beverages sector. This comparative study of two developing countries will show how consumers take nutritional labels into account when deciding to buy certain foods. This research applied a quantitative methodology with correlational scope. This study has a correlational approach in order to analyze the degree of association between variables. Likewise, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method and structural equation modeling (SEM) as a powerful multivariate technique was used as statistical technique to find the relationships between observable and unobservable variables. The main findings of this research were the obtaining of three large groups and their perception and effects on nutritional and wellness labels. The first group is characterized by taking an attitude of high interest on the issue of the imposition of the nutritional information label on products and would agree that all products should be packaged given its importance to preventing illnesses in the consumer. Likewise, they almost always care about the brand, the size, the list of ingredients, and nutritional information of the food, and also the effect of these on health. The second group stands out for presenting some interest in the importance of the label on products as a purchase decision, in addition to almost always taking into account the characteristics of size, money, components, etc. of the products to decide on their consumption and almost always They are never interested in the effect of these products on their health or nutrition, and in group 3, it differs from the others by being more neutral regarding the issue of nutritional information labels, and being less interested in the purchase decision and characteristics of the product and also on the influence of these on health and nutrition. This new knowledge is essential for different companies that manufacture and market food products because they will have information to adapt or anticipate the new laws of developing countries as well as the new needs of health-conscious consumers when they buy food products.

Keywords: healthy labels, consumer behavior, nutritional information, healthy products

Procedia PDF Downloads 108