Search results for: affect variables

Authors: Zafer Cakmak, Birol Bulut, Cengiz Taskiran

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Technological advances, the world becoming smaller and increasing world population increase our interdependence with individuals that we maybe never meet face to face. It is impossible for the modern individuals to escape global developments and their impact. Furthermore, it is very unlikely for the global societies to turn back from the path they are in. These effects of globalization in fact encumber the humankind at a certain extend. We succumb to these responsibilities for we desire a better future, a habitable world and a more peaceful life. In the present study, global responsibility levels of the participants were measured and the significance of global reactions that individuals have to develop on global issues was reinterpreted under the light of the existing literature. The study was conducted with general survey model, one of the survey methodologies General survey models are surveys conducted on the whole universe or a group, sample or sampling taken from the universe to arrive at a conclusion about the universe, which includes a high number of elements. The study was conducted with data obtained from 350 pre-service teachers attending 2016 spring semester to determine 'Global Social Responsibility' levels of social studies pre-service teachers based on several variables. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 software. T-test and ANOVA were utilized in the data analysis.

Keywords: social studies, globalization, global social responsibility, education

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Authors: Abdmohammad Mousavi, Mohsen Shams, Mehdi Akbartabar Toori, Ali Mousavizadeh, Mohammad Ali Morowatisharifabad

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Introduction: The effectiveness of Transtheoretical Model constructs on dietary behavior change has been subject to questions by some studies. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between self–efficacy and decisional balance as mediator variables and transfer obese and overweight women among the stages of behavior change of calorie balanced dietary intake. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 448 obese and overweight 20-44 years old women were selected from three health centers in Yasuj, a city in south west of Iran. Anthropometric data were measured using standard techniques. Demographic, stages of change, self-efficacy and decisional balance data were collected by questionnaires and analyzed using One–Way ANOVA and Generalized Linear Models tests. Results: Demographic and anthropometric variables were not different significantly in different stages of change related to calorie intake except the pre-high school level of education (P=.047, OR=502, 95% CI= .255 ~ .990). Mean scores of Self-efficacy ( F(4.425)= 27.09, P= .000), decisional balance (F(4.394), P= .004), and pros (F(4.430)=5.33, P=000) were different significantly in five stages of change. However, the cons did not show a significant change in this regard (F(4.400)=1.83, P=.123). Discussion: Women movement through the stages of changes for calorie intake behavior can be predicted by self efficacy, decisional balance and pros.

Keywords: transtheoretical model, stages of change, self efficacy, decisional balance, calorie intake, women

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Authors: Shlomit Hon-Snir, Shosh Shahrabai, Sharon Teitler Regev, Anabel Friedlander-Lifszyc

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Today, online travel sites account for a large share of the orders for tourism services, leading to the expectation that many traditional travel agencies will become redundant in the future. Technological changes are offering customers a wider variety and better prices, and the improved competition in the industry has increased customer well-being significantly. Therefore, the question is whether all customers can enjoy this change, specifically whether different groups in the Israeli population enjoy the changes similarly. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that affect the collection of data and the purchase of tourism products online and in particular to identify the barriers and limitations of technology usage among the population. The results of the current research are of great importance both economically and socially. The theory of Reasoned Action assumes that actual behavior is based on intention. Volitional behavior is predicted by individuals' attitudes to that behavior and by the way they think other people will look at them. Two cognitive variables regarding the use of technology are: perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use. Moreover, early adopters of innovations have different characteristics than people that adopt an innovation at a later stage. In the study, we analyze four groups of factors: Customer characteristics, internet usage, technology acceptance and product characteristics. Some of the parameters are gender, age, income level, frequency and type of internet use, proficiency in English, traveler type, number of trips abroad, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk, perceived trust and product type. We investigate online purchasing and online information search separately. Data will be collected using an online questionnaire distributed among a representative sample of 600 citizens in Israel. Some of the research questions will be based on previous research studies (that underwent reliability and validity testing). Those questions will be translated into Hebrew and adjusted for the tested population.

Keywords: customer characteristics, online travel sites, technology acceptance, tourism

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Authors: Inda Annisa Fauzani, Rahayu Setyawati Arifin

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The development of Special Economic Zones in Indonesia cannot be separated from the development of the communities in them. In accordance with the SEZ's objectives as a driver of economic growth, the focus of SEZ development does not only prioritize investment receipts and infrastructure development. The community as one of the stakeholders must also be considered. This becomes a challenge when the development of an SEZ has the potential to have an impact on the community in it. These impacts occur due to changes in the development of the area in the form of changes in the main regional industries and changes in the main livelihoods of the community. As a result, people can feel threats and disturbances. The community as the object of development is required to be able to have resilience in order to achieve a synergy between regional development and community development. A lack of resilience in the community can eliminate the ability to recover from disturbances and difficulty to adapt to changes that occur in their area. Social resilience is the ability of the community to be able to recover from disturbances and changes that occur. The achievement of social resilience occurs when the community gradually has the capacity in the form of coping capacity, adaptive capacity, and transformative capacity. It is hoped that when social resilience is achieved, the community will be able to develop linearly with regional development so that the benefits of this development can have a positive impact on these communities. This study aims to identify and analyze social factors that influence the achievement of social resilience in the community in Special Economic Zones in Indonesia and develop a program framework for achieving social resilience capacity in the community so that it can be used as a strategy to support the successful development of Special Economic Zones in Indonesia that provide benefits to the local community. This study uses a quantitative research method approach. Questionnaires are used as research instruments which are distributed to predetermined respondents. Respondents in this study were determined by using purposive sampling of the people living in areas that were developed into Special Economic Zones. Respondents were given a questionnaire containing questions about the influence of social factors on the achievement of social resilience. As x variables, 42 social factors are provided, while social resilience is used as y variables. The data collected from the respondents is analyzed in SPSS using Spearman Correlation to determine the relation between x and y variables. The correlated factors are then used as the basis for the preparation of programs to increase social resilience capacity in the community.

Keywords: community development, program management, social factor, social resilience

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Authors: Yanni Chang, Dezhi Dai, Albert Y. Tong

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Piecewise linear interface calculation (PLIC) schemes are widely used in the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method to capture interfaces in numerical simulations of multiphase flows. Dynamic overset meshes can be especially useful in applications involving component motions and complex geometric shapes. In the present study, the VOF value of an acceptor cell is evaluated in a geometric way that transfers the fraction field between the meshes precisely with reconstructed interfaces from the corresponding donor elements. The acceptor cell value is evaluated by using a weighted average of its donors for most of the overset interpolation schemes for continuous flow variables. The weighting factors are obtained by different algebraic methods. Unlike the continuous flow variables, the VOF equation is a step function near the interfaces, which ranges from zero to unity rapidly. A geometric interpolation scheme of the VOF field in overset meshes for the PLIC-VOF method has been proposed in the paper. It has been tested successfully in quadrilateral/hexahedral overset meshes by employing several VOF advection tests with imposed solenoidal velocity fields. The proposed algorithm has been shown to yield higher accuracy in mass conservation and interface reconstruction compared with three other algebraic ones.

Keywords: interpolation scheme, multiphase flows, overset meshes, PLIC-VOF method

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Authors: Mohammed Abdullah Alshahrani

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The research focuses on investigating the use of partial least squares (PLS) methodology for addressing challenges associated with high-dimensional correlated data. Recent technological advancements have led to experiments producing data characterized by a large number of variables compared to observations, with substantial inter-variable correlations. Such data patterns are common in chemometrics, where near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer calibrations record chemical absorbance levels across hundreds of wavelengths, and in genomics, where thousands of genomic regions' copy number alterations (CNA) are recorded from cancer patients. PLS serves as a widely used method for analyzing high-dimensional data, functioning as a regression tool in chemometrics and a classification method in genomics. It handles data complexity by creating latent variables (components) from original variables. However, applying PLS can present challenges. The study investigates key areas to address these challenges, including unifying interpretations across three main PLS algorithms and exploring unusual negative shrinkage factors encountered during model fitting. The research presents an alternative approach to addressing the interpretation challenge of predictor weights associated with PLS. Sparse estimation of predictor weights is employed using a penalty function combining a lasso penalty for sparsity and a Cauchy distribution-based penalty to account for variable dependencies. The results demonstrate sparse and grouped weight estimates, aiding interpretation and prediction tasks in genomic data analysis. High-dimensional data scenarios, where predictors outnumber observations, are common in regression analysis applications. Ordinary least squares regression (OLS), the standard method, performs inadequately with high-dimensional and highly correlated data. Copy number alterations (CNA) in key genes have been linked to disease phenotypes, highlighting the importance of accurate classification of gene expression data in bioinformatics and biology using regularized methods like PLS for regression and classification.

Keywords: partial least square regression, genetics data, negative filter factors, high dimensional data, high correlated data

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Authors: Daniel Fundi Murithi

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Missing data is a real bane in many surveys. To overcome the problems caused by missing data, partial deletion, and single imputation methods, among others, have been proposed. However, problems such as discarding usable data and inaccuracy in reproducing known population parameters and standard errors are associated with them. For regression and stochastic imputation, it is assumed that there is a variable with complete cases to be used as a predictor in estimating missing values in the other variable, and the relationship between the two variables is linear, which might not be realistic in practice. In this project, we estimate population total in presence of missing values in two-phase sampling. Instead of regression or stochastic models, non-parametric model based regression model is used in imputing missing values. Empirical study showed that nonparametric model-based regression imputation is better in reproducing variance of population total estimate obtained when there were no missing values compared to mean, median, regression, and stochastic imputation methods. Although regression and stochastic imputation were better than nonparametric model-based imputation in reproducing population total estimates obtained when there were no missing values in one of the sample sizes considered, nonparametric model-based imputation may be used when the relationship between outcome and predictor variables is not linear.

Keywords: finite population total, missing data, model-based imputation, two-phase sampling

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Authors: Roshanim Koris, Norashidah Mohamed Nor, Sharifah Azizah Haron, Normaz Wana Ismail, Syed Mohamed Aljunid Syed Junid, Amrizal Muhammad Nur, Asrul Akmal Shafie, Suraya Yusuff, Namaitijiang Maimaiti

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An ageing population has huge implications for virtually every aspect of Malaysian societies. The elderly consume a greater volume of healthcare facilities not because they are older, but because of they are sick. The chronic comorbidities and deterioration of cognitive ability would lead the elderly’s health to become worst. This study aims to provide a comprehensive estimate of the direct and indirect costs of health care used in a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling elderly with dementia and as well as the determinants of healthcare cost. A survey using multi-stage random sampling techniques recruited a final sample of 2274 elderly people (60 years and above) in the state of Johor, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan. Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was used to measure the cognitive capability among the elderly. Only the elderly with a score less than 19 marks were selected for further analysis and were classified as dementia. By using a two-part model findings also indicate household income and education level are variables that strongly significantly influence the healthcare cost among elderly with dementia. A number of visits and admission are also significantly affect healthcare expenditure. The comorbidity that highly influences healthcare cost is cancer and seeking the treatment in private facilities is also significantly affected the healthcare cost among the demented elderly. The level of dementia severity is not significant in determining the cost. This study is expected to attract the government's attention and act as a wake-up call for them to be more concerned about the elderly who are at high risk of having chronic comorbidities and cognitive problems by providing more appropriate health and social care facilities. The comorbidities are one of the factor that could cause dementia among elderly. It is hoped that this study will promote the issues of dementia as a priority in public health and social care in Malaysia.

Keywords: ageing population, dementia, elderly, healthcare cost, healthcare utiliztion

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Authors: Anju Luthra, Rajender Lal, Dhananjoy Shaw

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Participation in games and sports in the contemporary times has become more competing with the developed scientific knowledge, skills and methods, along with the equipment and applied research in the field. In spite of India being a large country having vast resources and potential, its performance in the world of sports on the whole needs sincere attention for better achievements. Beside numerous factors responsible for the dismal performance of a sportsperson, the physique and body composition, including the size, shape and form are known to play a significant role. The present investigation was undertaken to study the specific morphological characteristics of Indian female Track and Field athletes. A total of 300 athletes were randomly selected as sample for the purpose of the study from the six events having 50 athletes in each event including 100m., 400m., Shot Put, Discus Throw, Long Jump and High Jump. The study included body weight, body fat percentage, lean body weight, endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy as variables. The data were computed statistically by using Mean, Standard Deviation and Analysis of Variance. The post-hoc analysis was conducted where the F-ratio was found to be significant at .05 level. The study concluded that there is a significant difference with regard to the selected variables among the Indian female athletes of different track and field events.

Keywords: Indian female athletes, body composition, morphology, somatotypes, track and field

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Authors: Smriti Bhatnagar

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This study aims to find if the Transit-oriented planning and development approach benefit the quality of air in neighborhoods of New Delhi. Two methodologies, namely the land use regression analysis and the Transit-oriented development index analysis, are being used to explore this relationship. Land Use Regression Analysis makes use of urban form characteristics as obtained for 33 neighborhoods in Delhi. These comprise road lengths, land use areas, population and household densities, number of amenities and distance between amenities. Regressions are run to establish the relationship between urban form variables and air quality parameters (dependent variables). For the Transit-oriented development index analysis, the Transit-oriented Development index is developed as a composite index comprising 29 urban form indicators. This index is developed by assigning weights to each of the 29 urban form data points. Regressions are run to establish the relationship between the Transit-oriented development index and air quality parameters. The thesis finds that elements of Transit-oriented development if incorporated in planning approach, have a positive effect on air quality. Roads suited for non-motorized transport, well connected civic amenities in neighbourhoods, for instance, have a directly proportional relationship with air quality. Transit-oriented development index, however, is not found to have a consistent relationship with air quality parameters. The reason could this, however, be in the way that the index has been constructed.

Keywords: air quality, land use regression, mixed-use planning, transit-oriented development index, New Delhi

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Authors: H. Florianová, J. Nešleha

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Financial derivatives are considered to be risky investment instruments which could possibly bring another financial crisis. As prevention, European Union and its member states have released new legal acts adjusting this area of law in recent years. There have been several cases in history of capital markets worldwide where it was shown that legislature may affect behavior of subjects on capital markets. In our paper we analyze main events on selected European stock exchanges in order to apply them on three chosen markets - Czech capital market represented by Prague Stock Exchange, German capital market represented by Deutsche Börse and Polish capital market represented by Warsaw Stock Exchange. We follow time series of development of the sum of listed derivatives on these three stock exchanges in order to evaluate popularity of those exchanges. Afterwards we compare newly listed derivatives in relation to the speed of development of these exchanges. We also make a comparison between trends in derivatives and shares development. We explain how a legal regulation may affect situation on capital markets. If the regulation is too strict, potential investors or traders are not willing to undertake it and move to other markets. On the other hand, if the regulation is too vague, trading scandals occur and the market is not reliable from the prospect of potential investors or issuers. We see that making the regulation stricter usually discourages subjects to stay on the market immediately although making the regulation vaguer to interest more subjects is usually much slower process.

Keywords: capital markets, financial derivatives, investors' behavior, regulation

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Authors: Ghazi Faisal Najmuldeen, Wahida Amat-Fadzil, Zulkafli Hassan, Jinan B. Al-Dabbagh

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The objective of this study was to evaluate the optimum fabrication process variables to produce particleboards from oil palm fronds (OPF) particles and empty fruit bunch fiber (EFB). Response surface methodology was employed to analyse the effect of hot press temperature (150–190°C); press time (3–7 minutes) and EFB blending ratio (0–40%) on particleboards modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, internal bonding, water absorption and thickness swelling. A Box-Behnken experimental design was carried out to develop statistical models used for the optimisation of the fabrication process variables. All factors were found to be statistically significant on particleboards properties. The statistical analysis indicated that all models showed significant fit with experimental results. The optimum particleboards properties were obtained at optimal fabrication process condition; press temperature; 186°C, press time; 5.7 min and EFB / OPF ratio; 30.4%. Incorporating of oil palm frond and empty fruit bunch to produce particleboards has improved the particleboards properties. The OPF–EFB particleboards fabricated at optimized conditions have satisfied the ANSI A208.1–1999 specification for general purpose particleboards.

Keywords: empty fruit bunch fiber, oil palm fronds, particleboards, response surface methodology

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Authors: Daniel K. Gameti

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The paper explored the effects of active and passive entrepreneurship education methods on the venture creation intention of undergraduate students in Ghana. The study also examined the moderating effect of gender and negative personal characteristics (risk tolerance, stress tolerance and fear of failure) on students’ venture creation intention. Deductive approach was used in collecting quantitative data from 555 business students from one public university and one private university through self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistic was used to determine the dominant method of entrepreneurship education used in Ghana. Further, structural equation model was used to test four hypotheses. The results of the study show that the dominant method of education used in Ghana was lectures and the least method used was field trip. The study further revealed that passive methods of education are less effective compared to active methods which were statistically significant in venture creation intention among students. There was also statistical difference between male and female students’ venture creation intention but stronger among male students and finally, the only personal characteristics that influence students’ intention was stress tolerance because risk tolerance and fear of failure were statistically insignificant.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, Ghana, moderating variables, venture creation intention, undergraduate students

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Authors: Waleed Basuliman

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Anthropometric dimensions are considered one of the important factors when designing human-machine systems. In this study, the estimation of anthropometric dimensions has been improved by using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model that is able to predict the anthropometric measurements of Saudi males in Riyadh City. A total of 1427 Saudi males aged 6 to 60 years participated in measuring 20 anthropometric dimensions. These anthropometric measurements are considered important for designing the work and life applications in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected during eight months from different locations in Riyadh City. Five of these dimensions were used as predictors variables (inputs) of the model, and the remaining 15 dimensions were set to be the measured variables (Model’s outcomes). The hidden layers varied during the structuring stage, and the best performance was achieved with the network structure 6-25-15. The results showed that the developed Neural Network model was able to estimate the body dimensions of Saudi male population in Riyadh City. The network's mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and the root mean squared error (RMSE) were found to be 0.0348 and 3.225, respectively. These results were found less, and then better, than the errors found in the literature. Finally, the accuracy of the developed neural network was evaluated by comparing the predicted outcomes with regression model. The ANN model showed higher coefficient of determination (R2) between the predicted and actual dimensions than the regression model.

Keywords: artificial neural network, anthropometric measurements, back-propagation

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Authors: Sayyed Mostafa Ahmadi, Neda Raeesi

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Background and Objectives: Cervical spondylosis is a common problem that affects the adult spine and is the most common cause of radiculopathy and myelopathy in older patients. Anterior discectomy and fusion is a well-known technique in degenerative cervical disc disease. However, one of the late undesirable complications is adjacent disc degeneration, which affects about 91% of patients in ten years. Many factors can be effective in causing this complication, but some are still debatable. Discovering these risk factors and eliminating them can improve the quality of life. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. All patients who underwent anterior discectomy and fusion surgery in the neurosurgery ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital between 2013 and 2016 were evaluated. Their demographic information was collected. All patients were visited and examined for radiculopathy, myelopathy, and muscular force. At the same visit, all patients were asked to have a facelift, and neck profile, as well as a neck MRI(General Tesla 3). Preoperative graphs were used to measure the diameter of the cervical canal(Pavlov ratio) and to evaluate sagittal alignment(Cobb Angle). Preoperative MRI of patients was reviewed for anterior and posterior longitudinal ligament calcification. Result: In this study, 57 patients were studied. The mean age of patients was 50.63 years, and 49.1% were male. Only 3.5% of patients had anterior and posterior longitudinal ligament calcification. Symptomatic ASD was observed in 26.6%. The X-rays and MRIs showed evidence of 80.7% radiological ASD. Among patients who underwent one-level surgery, 20% had symptomatic ASD, but among patients who underwent two-level surgery, the rate of ASD was 50%.In other words, the higher the number of surfaces that are operated and fused, the higher the probability of symptomatic ASD(P-value <0.05). The X-rays and MRIs showed 80.7% of radiological ASD. Among patients who underwent surgery at one level, 78% had radiological ASD, and this number was 92% among patients who underwent two-level surgery(P-value> 0.05). Demographic variables such as age, sex, height, weight, and BMI did not have a significant effect on the incidence of radiological ASD(P-value> 0.05), but sex and height were two influential factors on symptomatic ASD(P-value <0.05). Other related variables such as family history, smoking and exercise also have no significant effect(P-value> 0.05). Radiographic variables such as Pavlov ratio and sagittal alignment were also unaffected by the incidence of radiological and symptomatic ASD(P-value> 0.05). The number of surgical surfaces and the incidence of anterior and posterior longitudinal ligament calcification before surgery also had no statistically significant effect(P-value> 0.05). In the study of the ability of the neck to move in different directions, none of these variables are statistically significant in the two groups with radiological and symptomatic ASD and the non-affected group(P-value> 0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, this disease is considered to be a multifactorial disease. The incidence of radiological ASD is much higher than symptomatic ASD (80.7% vs. 26.3%) and sex, height and number of fused surfaces are the only factors influencing the incidence of symptomatic ASD and no variable influences radiological ASD.

Keywords: risk factors, anterior neck disectomy and fusion, adjucent segment degeneration, complication

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Authors: Fahad Alam

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Work stress directly affects job performance, specifically in a worse environment. Consequently, a social provision plays a crucial part for enhancement. Therefore, the current research investigates the direct and moderating effect between religious activities, sustainability and peer support on job performance at hospitals in Khyber PakhtunKhwa (KPK), Pakistan. Both primary and secondary data are collected through 261 questionnaires of medical employees from four district hospitals in Khyber PakhtunKhwa, Pakistan, in 2018. The analysis was carried out by SPSS16 and SMART PLS3, to test the direct effect of religious activities, sustainability and social support on job performance and the effect of moderating variable 'work environment' on job performance. The finding confirmed that direct and moderating variables play a significant positive effect among religious activities, sustainability and peer support on job performance, the variables help to diminish the strain level or the stress level, consequently helps in the job completed. Affirmative social approaches produce desirable effects on job performance. The research revealed that social provisions are significant triggers for superior practices. Moreover, the results are stimulating because some of the past literature revealed an insignificant correlation between social provision and performance. This study found that there is a significant relationship which persuades health care organizations.

Keywords: job performance, peer’s support, religious activities, sustainability, work environment

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Authors: Nitin Bhagat

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Drought is a global phenomenon. It has a huge impact on agriculture and allied sector activities. Agriculture plays a substantial role in the economy of developing countries, which mainly depends on rainfall. The present study illustrates the drought conditions in Masurdi village of Latur district in the Marathwada region, Maharashtra. This paper is based on both primary as well as secondary data sources. The multistage sample method was used for primary data collection. The 100 households sample survey data has been collected from the village through a semi-structured questionnaire. The crop production data is collected from the Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra. The rainfall data is obtained from the Department of Revenue, Office of Divisional Commissioner, Aurangabad for the period from 1988 to 2018. This paper examines the severity of drought consequences of the 2015 drought on domestic water supply, crop production, and the effect on children's schooling, livestock assets, bank credit, and migration. The study also analyzed climate variables' impact on the Latur district's total food grain production for 19 years from 2000 to 2018. This study applied multiple regression analysis to check the relationship between climatic variables and the Latur district's total food grain production. The climate variables are annual rainfall, maximum temperature and minimum temperature. The study considered that climatic variables are independent variables and total food grain as the dependent variable. It shows there is a significant relationship between rainfall and maximum temperature. The study also calculated rainfall deviations to find out the drought and normal years. According to drought manual 2016, the rainfall deviation calculated using the following formula. RF dev = {(RFi – RFn) / RFn}*100.Approximately 27.43 % of the workforce migrated from rural to urban areas for searching jobs, and crop production decreased tremendously due to inadequate rainfall in the drought year 2015. Many farm and non-farm labor, some marginal and small cultivators, migrated from rural to urban areas (like Pune, Mumbai, and Western Maharashtra).About 48 % of the households' children faced education difficulties; in the drought period, children were not going to school. They left their school and joined to bring water with their mother and fathers, sometimes they fetched water on their head or using a bicycle, near about 2 km from the village. In their school-going days, drinking water was not available in their schools, so the government declared holidays early in the academic education year 2015-16 compared to another academic year. Some college and 10th class students left their education due to financial problems. Many households benefited from state government schemes, like drought subsidies, crop insurance, and bank loans. Out of 100 households, about 50 (50 %) have obtained financial support from the state government’s subsidy scheme, 58 ( 58 %) have got crop insurance, and 41(41 %) irrigated households have got bank loans from national banks; besides that, only two families have obtained loans from their relatives and moneylenders.

Keywords: agriculture, drought, household, rainfall

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Authors: Sufrin Hannan, Budi Suharjo, Rita Nurmalina, Kirbrandoko

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The challenge for independent surveyor service companies now is growing with increasing uncertainty in business. Protection from the government for domestic independent surveyor industry from competitor attack, such as entering the global surveyors to Indonesia also no longer exists. Therefore, building customer loyalty becomes very important to create a long-term relationship between an independent surveyor with its customers. This study aims to develop a model that can be used to build customer loyalty by looking at various factors that determine customer loyalty, especially on independent surveyors for coal inspection in Indonesia. The development of this model uses the relationship marketing approach. Testing of the hypothesis is done by testing the variables that determine customer loyalty, either directly or indirectly, which amounted to 10 variables. The data were collected from 200 questionnaires filled by independent surveyor company decision makers from 51 exporting companies and coal trading companies in Indonesia and analyzed using Structural Equation Model (SEM). The results show that customer loyalty of independent surveyors is influenced by customer satisfaction, trust, switching-barrier, and relationship-bond. Research on customer satisfaction shows that customer satisfaction is influenced by the perceived quality and perceived value, while perceived quality is influenced by reliability, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy.

Keywords: relationship marketing, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, switching barriers, relationship bonds

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Authors: Susan K. Steele-Moses, Aimee Badeaux

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Background Literature: Nurse anesthesia education placed high demands on students both personally and professionally. High levels of anxiety affect student’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being, which impacts their student success. Whereas more research has focused on the health and well-being of graduate students, far less has focused specifically on nurse anesthesia students (SNRAs), who may experience higher levels of anxiety due to the rigor of their academic program. Current literature describes stressors experienced by SRNAs that cause anxiety and affect their performance, including personal, academic, clinical, interpersonal, emotional, and financial. Sample: DNP-NA 2025 and DNP-NA 2024 cohorts (N = 36). Eighteen (66.7%) students participated in the study. Instrumentation: The DASS-21 was used to measure stress (7 items; α = .87) and anxiety (7 items; α = .74) from the participants. Intervention: The mind-shift meditation app, based on cognitive behavioral therapy, is being used daily before clinical and exams to decrease nurse anesthesia students’ stress and anxiety over time. Results: At baseline, the students exhibited a moderate level of stress, but their anxiety levels were low. The range of scores was 4-21 (out of 28) for stress (M = 12.88; SD = 5.40) and 0-16 (out of 28) for anxiety (M = 6.81; SD = 5.04). Both stress and anxiety were normally distributed [SW = .242 (stress); SW = .210 (anxiety)] without any outliers. There was a significant difference between their stress and anxiety levels (t = 5.55; p < .001) at baseline. Stress and anxiety will be measured over time, with the change analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Implications for Practice: The use of purposeful mindfulness meditation has been shown to decrease stress and anxiety in nursing students.

Keywords: mindfulness, meditation, graduate nursing education, nursing education

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Authors: Guity Karim, Valiollah Ayareh

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Probiotic dairy products are those that contain biologically active components that may affect beneficially one or more target functions in the body, beyond their adequate nutritional effects. As far as chocolate milk is a popular dairy product in the country especially among children and youth, production of a symbiotic (probiotic + peribiotic) new product using chocolate milk, Bifidobacterium lactis (DSM, Netherland) and inulin (Bene, Belgium) would help to promote the nutritional and functional properties of this product. Bifidobacterium Lactis is used as a probiotic in a variety of foods, particularly dairy products like yogurt and as a probiotic bacterium has benefit effects on the human health. Inulin as a peribiotic agent is considered as functional food ingredient. Experimental studies have shown its use as bifidogenic agent. Chocolate milk with different percent of fat (1 and 2 percent), 6 % of sugar and 0.9 % cacao was made, sterilized (UHT) and supplemented with Bifidobacterium lactis and inulin (0.5 %) after cooling . A sample was made without inulin as a control. Bifidobacterium lactis population was enumerated at days 0, 4, 8 and 12 together with measurement of pH, acidity and viscosity of the samples. Also sensory property of the product was evaluated by a 15 panel testers. The number of live bacterial cells was maintained at the functional level of 106-108 cfu/ml after keeping for 12 days in refrigerated temperature (4°C). Coliforms were found to be absent in the products during the storage. Chocolate milk containing 1% fat and inulin has the best effect on the survival and number of B. lactis at day 8 and after that. Moreover, the addition of inulin did not affect the sensorial quality of the product. In this work, chocolate has been evaluated as a potential protective carrier for oral delivery of B. lactis and inulin.

Keywords: chocolate milk, synbiotic, bifidobacterium lactis, inulin

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Authors: Getahun Nigusie

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Background; antiretroviral treatment reduce HIV-related morbidity, and prolonged survival of patients however, there is lack of up-to-date information concerning the treatment long term effect on the survival of HIV positive children especially in the study area. Objective: To assess incidence and predictors of mortality among HIV positive children on ART in public hospitals of Harer town who were enrolled from 2011 to 2021. Methodology: Institution based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 429 HIV positive children enrolled in ART clinic from January 1st 2011 to December30th 2021. Data were collected from medical cards by using a data extraction form, Descriptive analyses were used to Summarized the results, and life table was used to estimate survival probability at specific point of time after introduction of ART. Kaplan Meier survival curve together with log rank test was used to compare survival between different categories of covariates, and Multivariate Cox-proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate adjusted Hazard rate. Variables with p-values ≤0.25 in bivariable analysis were candidates to the multivariable analysis. Finally, variables with p-values < 0.05 were considered as significant variables. Results: The study participants had followed for a total of 2549.6 child-years (30596 child months) with an overall mortality rate of 1.5 (95% CI: 1.1, 2.04) per 100 child-years. Their median survival time was 112 months (95% CI: 101–117). There were 38 children with unknown outcome, 39 deaths, and 55 children transfer out to different facility. The overall survival at 6, 12, 24, 48 months were 98%, 96%, 95%, 94% respectively. being in WHO clinical Stage four (AHR=4.55, 95% CI:1.36, 15.24), having anemia(AHR=2.56, 95% CI:1.11, 5.93), baseline low absolute CD4 count (AHR=2.95, 95% CI: 1.22, 7.12), stunting (AHR=4.1, 95% CI: 1.11, 15.42), wasting (AHR=4.93, 95% CI: 1.31, 18.76), poor adherence to treatment (AHR=3.37, 95% CI: 1.25, 9.11), having TB infection at enrollment (AHR=3.26, 95% CI: 1.25, 8.49),and no history of change their regimen(AHR=7.1, 95% CI: 2.74, 18.24), were independent predictors of death. Conclusion: more than half of death occurs within 2 years. Prevalent tuberculosis, anemia, wasting, and stunting nutritional status, socioeconomic factors, and baseline opportunistic infection were independent predictors of death. Increasing early screening and managing those predictors are required.

Keywords: human immunodeficiency virus-positive children, anti-retroviral therapy, survival, Ethiopia

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Authors: L. Bih Ni, D. Norizah Ag Kiflee, T. Choon Keong, R. Talip, S. Singh Bikar Singh, M. Noor Mad Japuni, R. Talin

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The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of video clips to enhance students' achievement and motivation towards learning and facilitating of history. We use narrative literature studies to illustrate the current state of the two art and science in focused areas of inquiry. We used experimental method. The experimental method is a systematic scientific research method in which the researchers manipulate one or more variables to control and measure any changes in other variables. For this purpose, two experimental groups have been designed: one experimental and one groups consisting of 30 lower secondary students. The session is given to the first batch using a computer presentation program that uses video clips to be considered as experimental group, while the second group is assigned as the same class using traditional methods using dialogue and discussion techniques that are considered a control group. Both groups are subject to pre and post-trial in matters that are handled by the class. The findings show that the results of the pre-test analysis did not show statistically significant differences, which in turn proved the equality of the two groups. Meanwhile, post-test analysis results show that there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental group and the control group at an importance level of 0.05 for the benefit of the experimental group.

Keywords: Video clips, Learning and Facilitation, Achievement, Motivation

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Authors: Ayedh Alqahtani

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Many construction firms in Saudi Arabia dedicated to building projects agree that the most important factor in the real estate market is the value that they can give to their customer. These firms understand the value of their client in different ways. Value can be defined as the size of the building project in relationship to the cost or the design quality of the materials utilized in finish work or any other features of building rooms such as the bathroom. Value can also be understood as something suitable for the money the client is investing for the new property. A quality tool is required to support companies to achieve a solution for the building project and to understand and manage the customer’s needs. Quality Function Development (QFD) method will be able to play this role since the main difference between QFD and other conventional quality management tools is QFD a valuable and very flexible tool for design and taking into the account the VOC. Currently, organizations and agencies are seeking suitable models able to deal better with uncertainty, and that is flexible and easy to use. The primary aim of this research project is to incorporate customer’s requirements in the conceptual design of construction projects. Towards this goal, QFD is selected due to its capability to integrate the design requirements to meet the customer’s needs. To develop QFD, this research focused upon the contribution of the different (significantly weighted) input factors that represent the main variables influencing QFD and subsequent analysis of the techniques used to measure them. First of all, this research will review the literature to determine the current practice of QFD in construction projects. Then, the researcher will review the literature to define the current customers of residential projects and gather information on customers’ requirements for the design of the residential building. After that, qualitative survey research will be conducted to rank customer’s needs and provide the views of stakeholder practitioners about how these needs can affect their satisfy. Moreover, a qualitative focus group with the members of the design team will be conducted to determine the improvements level and technical details for the design of residential buildings. Finally, the QFD will be developed to establish the degree of significance of the design’s solution.

Keywords: quality function development, construction projects, Saudi Arabia, quality tools

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Authors: Gisele Mah, Paul Saah

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The rising rates of inflation are hindering economic growth in developing nations. Hence, this study investigated the effects of inflation rates on the economic growth of South Africa using the secondary time series data from 1987 to 2022. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the long run relationship between inflation and economic growth, and also to determine the causality direction between these two variables. The study utilized the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test of co-integration to investigate whether there is a long-run relationship between inflation and economic growth. The Pairwise Granger causality approach was employed to determine the second objective, which is the direction of causality. The study discovered only one co-integration relationship between our variables and it was between inflation and economic growth. The results showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between inflation and economic growth. There appeared to be a positive and significant relationship between economic growth and exchange rate. The interest rates have shown to be negative and insignificant in explaining economic growth. The study also established that inflation does Granger cause economic growth which is given as GDP. Similarly, the study discovered that inflation Granger causes exchange rates. Therefore, the study recommends that inflation should be decreased in South Africa, in order for economic growth to increase. Contrary, this study recommends that South Africa should increase its exchange rates, in order for economic growth to also increase.

Keywords: inflation rate, economic growth, South Africa, autoregressive distributed lag model

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Authors: Abdul-Monim Batiha

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Aim: The aim of this study were to correlate Jordanian cancer patients’ quality of life and fatigue with selected variables (age, sex, religion, marital status, level of education, type of cancer, number of people living in the same household, type of radiotherapy, dose of radiotherapy, and hemoglobin level). Background: Radiotherapy and chemotherapy remain devastating agents that altered patients’ normal lives. Methods: A correlational design was used in this study to 80 cancer patients and required radiotherapy treatment using a convenience sampling procedure. Results: No significant differences were found in the relationship between quality of life scores and selected variables. A significant negative relationship was found between quality of life scores and the side effects of radiotherapy treatment. Significant positive relationships were found between fatigue scores measured by Piper Fatigue Scale and cancer complications, and radiotherapy side effects. Conclusion: Cancer patients’ quality of life and fatigue are affected by radiotherapy’s side effects and cancer complications. Implications for Nursing: Nurses should try to prevent and manage the negative side effects of radiotherapy and complications of cancer. Such an initiative would serve to design specific nursing interventions that have the potential to help patients enjoy their lives and perform their activities.

Keywords: cancer patients, piper fatigue scale, fatigue, quality of life, radiotherapy

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Authors: Gyoomi Kim, Jiyoung Bae

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The purpose of this study was to propose a framework that verifies the structural relationships among students’ use of digital English learning strategy (DELS), affective domains, and their individual variables. The study developed a hypothetical model based on previous studies on language learning strategy use as well as digital language learning. The participants were 720 Korean high school students and 430 university students. The instrument was a self-response questionnaire that contained 70 question items based on Oxford’s SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) as well as the previous studies on language learning strategies in digital learning environment in order to measure DELS and affective domains. The collected data were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM). This study used quantitative data analysis procedures: Explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Firstly, the EFA was conducted in order to verify the hypothetical model; the factor analysis was conducted preferentially to identify the underlying relationships between measured variables of DELS and the affective domain in the EFA process. The hypothetical model was established with six indicators of learning strategies (memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective, and social strategies) under the latent variable of the use of DELS. In addition, the model included four indicators (self-confidence, interests, self-regulation, and attitude toward digital learning) under the latent variable of learners’ affective domain. Secondly, the CFA was used to determine the suitability of data and research models, so all data from the present study was used to assess model fits. Lastly, the model also included individual learner factors as covariates and five constructs selected were learners’ gender, the level of English proficiency, the duration of English learning, the period of using digital devices, and previous experience of digital English learning. The results verified from SEM analysis proposed a theoretical model that showed the structural relationships between Korean students’ use of DELS and their affective domains. Therefore, the results of this study help ESL/EFL teachers understand how learners use and develop appropriate learning strategies in digital learning contexts. The pedagogical implication and suggestions for the further study will be also presented.

Keywords: Digital English Learning Strategy, DELS, individual variables, learners' affective domains, Structural Equation Modeling, SEM

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Authors: Kayijuka Idrissa

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This work investigates a mathematical study for traffic flow and traffic density in Kigali city roads and the data collected from the national police of Rwanda in 2012. While working on this topic, some mathematical models were used in order to analyze and compare traffic variables. This work has been carried out on Kigali roads specifically at roundabouts from Kigali Business Center (KBC) to Prince House as our study sites. In this project, we used some mathematical tools to analyze the data collected and to understand the relationship between traffic variables. We applied the Poisson distribution method to analyze and to know the number of accidents occurred in this section of the road which is from KBC to Prince House. The results show that the accidents that occurred in 2012 were at very high rates due to the fact that this section has a very narrow single lane on each side which leads to high congestion of vehicles, and consequently, accidents occur very frequently. Using the data of speeds and densities collected from this section of road, we found that the increment of the density results in a decrement of the speed of the vehicle. At the point where the density is equal to the jam density the speed becomes zero. The approach is promising in capturing sudden changes on flow patterns and is open to be utilized in a series of intelligent management strategies and especially in noncurrent congestion effect detection and control.

Keywords: statistical methods, traffic flow, Poisson distribution, car moving technics

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Authors: Abdullah M. Alzahrani, Abdel Halim Boussabaine

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There is an international consensus on the climate change in the entire world and this is as a result of the combination of the natural factors, such as volcanoes and hurricanes with increased of human activity on the earth, such as industrial renaissance. Where this solidarity increases emissions of greenhouse gases GHGs that considered as the main driver of climate change scenarios and related emerging risks and impacts on buildings. These climatic risks including damages, disruption and disquiet are set to increase and it is considered as the main challenges and difficulties facing built environment due to major implications on assets sector. Consequently, the threat from climate change patterns has a significant impact on a variety of complex human decisions, which affect all aspects of living. Understanding the relationship between buildings and such risks arising from climate change scenarios on buildings are the key in insuring the optimal timing and design of policies and systems, which affect all aspects of the built environment. This paper will uncovering this correlation between emerging climate change risks and the building assets. In addition, how these emerging risks can be classified in practical way in terms of their impact type on buildings. Hence, this mapping will assist professionals and interested parties in the building sector to cope with such risks in several systematic ways including development and designing of mitigation and adaptation strategies and processes of design, specification, construction, and operation; all these leads to successful management of assets.

Keywords: climate change, climate change risks, built environment, building sector, impacts

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Authors: Nadir Ali Mugheri, Shaukat Ali Lohar

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In a multilingual society like Pakistan, code switching is commonly observed in different contexts. Mostly people use L1 (Native Languages) and L2 for common communications and L3 (i.e. English, Urdu, Sindhi) in formal contexts and for academic writings. Such a frequent code switching does affect EFL learners' acquisition of grammar and lexis of the target language which in the long run result in different types of errors in their writings. The current study is to investigate and identify common elements of L1 and L2 (spoken by students of the Universities in Pakistan) which create hindrances for EFL learners. Case study method was used for this research. Formal writings of 400 EFL learners (as participants from various Universities of the country) were observed. Among 400 participants, 200 were female and 200 were male EFL learners having different academic backgrounds. Errors found were categorized into different types according to grammatical items, the difference in meanings, structure of sentences and identifiers of tenses of L1 or L2 in comparison with those of the target language. The findings showed that EFL learners in Pakistani varsities have serious problems in their writings and they committed serious errors related to the grammar and meanings of the target language. After analysis of the committed errors, the results were found in the affirmation of the hypothesis that L1 or L2 does affect EFL learners. The research suggests in the end to adopt natural ways in pedagogy like task-based learning or communicative methods using contextualized material so as to avoid impediments of L1 or L2 in acquisition the target language.

Keywords: multilingualism, L2 acquisition, code switching, language acquisition, communicative language teaching

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Authors: J. B. Athavale, Sean Clarke

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Introduction According to ancient Indian scriptures, a person’s consciousness includes the physical body, the vital energy sheath (Pranshakti), the mental body (which includes one’s feelings and emotions), the intellectual body (which refers to one’s decision-making ability), and the Soul (which is the God Principle that resides in every person). Apart from the physical body, all the other aspects are subtle in nature. In today’s world, much attention is given to one’s physical appearance and intellectual prowess. While there have been improvements in the attention given to mental health, its complete nature is not understood, and in many cultures, mental ill health is considered taboo and looked down upon. Regarding the spiritual well-being of a person, our spiritual research has shown that people’s understanding and efforts are mostly lacking and superficial as they do not conform to Universal Spiritual Principles. Also, true well-being occurs only when all the bodies are healthy. Methodology The spiritual research team at the University has found that the spiritual aspect of a person’s life affects all the physical, psychological, and intellectual bodies of a person resulting in ill health. Cleansing these bodies at a spiritual level is essential to regain well-being. Using Aura and Energy Scanners and advanced sixth sense, we studied what causes spiritual impurity in various bodies and how to cleanse them. We measured the spiritual vibrations of a person and how they get affected due to various daily activities. For example, we studied the difference in a person’s aura before and after applying chemical-based makeup vs. natural makeup. Key Findings From the various spiritual research experiments we conducted, we found that: • All our actions and our thoughts affect our various bodies and have the potential to change the aura for the better or worse. • When there is an increase in negative vibrations around a person, negative energies from the subtle dimension are more likely to affect a person. • As the person’s spiritual level increases, the positivity in their aura also increases, and it is much easier to cleanse the various bodies spiritually. • Spiritual practice is like a general spiritual tonic that increases the positivity in one’s aura. The benefits of this are that it leads to mental stability and intellectual clarity. • Spiritual healing remedies augment any spiritual practice to obtain a faster healing effect. Conclusion Taking care of oneself spiritually has a positive halo effect on all one’s bodies. Spiritual cleansing is required regularly if one wants to attain a state of well-being. Spiritual practice and spiritual healing lead to spiritual growth, stability of mind, and less stress and reactions. Spiritually purer people affect the environment positively, and there is less unrest and more harmony between man and nature.

Keywords: body, spirituality, cleansing, consciousness

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