Search results for: migration background

Authors: Hatam H. Ali, Mohd Shahrizal Sunar, Hoshang Kolivand, Mohd Azhar Bin M. Arsad

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Rendering light shafts is one of the important topics in computer gaming and interactive applications. The methods and models that are used to generate light shafts play crucial role to make a scene more realistic in computer graphics. This article discusses the image-based shadows and geometric-based shadows that contribute in generating volumetric shadows and light shafts, depending on ray tracing, radiosity, and ray marching technique. The main aim of this study is to provide researchers with background on a progress of light scattering methods so as to make it available for them to determine the technique best suited to their goals. It is also hoped that our classification helps researchers find solutions to the shortcomings of each method.

Keywords: shaft of lights, realistic images, image-based, and geometric-based

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Authors: Vincent Jones

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The North African country of Libya is in crisis and is currently a humanitarian disaster. The current American ‘hands off’ foreign policy appear to have contributed to this crisis. The research upon which this paper is based focused on a qualitative analysis of migration to Libya and its history with slavery, current conditions that have contributed to the re-emergence of slavery, an analysis of available resources in the effected region, and an analysis of legal remedies pursuant to international law. In addition, a qualitative analysis of American foreign policy from the Reagan Administration through the current Trump administration has been a focus of analysis. The major findings of this research are: (1) Since the removal of Muammar Gadhafi, a move that the United States played a major role in achieving, the nation of Libya has been in free fall and the rule of law has all but disappeared. As a major port stop for refugees and migrants fleeing atrocities in sub-Saharan African states, Libya has become the gate way to European ports of asylum. The problem is these migrant refugees are unwanted, caught between rival and often ineffective governments, profiteers, and inaction from the international community. (2) The outlook for these refugees is bleak: the ineffective government of Libya is ill-equipped to handle the large influx, European refugee destination states like Italy and Greece are already overburdened by the Syrian refugee crisis and are reluctant to accept more refugees, leaving the powerful and armed Libyan militia in control of a situation that is ripe for exploitation. (3) The combined intervention of the international community, led by a newly committed and engaged American foreign policy. In conclusion, a new American foreign policy approach along with the active engagement of the United Nations, EU, and the African Union can effectively resolve this humanitarian crisis.

Keywords: slavery, Libya, migrants, slave auction

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Authors: Meha Singla, Shankhadeep Chaudhuri, Yadunandan Batchu

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Rental Housing is a more cost effective and flexible housing solution for the low income families than home-ownership. While India is undergoing a new industrial metamorphosis with multiple government initiatives that emphasise on the growth of manufacturing sector through policy frameworks and corridor development proposals, there is going to be a huge influx of low-income working population to the upcoming urban centres. As per stats, about 70 per cent of the housing demand at these centres fall into the affordable segment. And in the midst of this rapid urbanisation and huge immigration of young population, there is a lack of proper rental housing framework in the country. A large number of immigrants will be unable to support home-ownership thereby leading to proliferation of slums in urban centres. As a result, there is a dire need for immediate articulation of a comprehensive rental housing policy and affordable housing initiatives. In this paper, CommonFloor attempts to analyse successful rental housing case studies of the world followed by establishing a correlation between the gap in urban rental housing stock and the per capita income statistics to devise rental housing affordability specific to major Indian cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai). Further, with the corroboration of market price trends, it will try to locate feasible micro-markets for immediate rental housing action. Final research findings will provide key data points thereby helping to design the approach for efficient utilisation of unsold residential inventory in the country in order to compensate the rental housing deficiency. This data set is believed to express viable model(s) of the rental housing approach for the government and private participants.

Keywords: housing prices, migration of population, real estate, rental housing, rental markets, residential property market, urbanisation

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Authors: Fei Wan Ngai

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Background: Family and marital functioning has become an important public health issue because it is vital to child development and well-being. Objective: This study was designed to examine the changes in family and marital functioning among Chinese women during the transition to motherhood. Methods: A longitudinal design was used. A convenience sample of 202 Chinese childbearing women completed the Medical Outcomes Study Family and Marital Functioning Measures during pregnancy, at 6 weeks and at 6 months postpartum. Results: The results showed that women experienced substantial decline in their family and marital functioning from pregnancy to 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the need for more attention to family and marital functioning among women after childbirth. Culturally relevant interventions should be developed to assist women in facing the challenges of new motherhood and achieving a better family and marital functioning.

Keywords: family and marital functioning, perinatal period, women

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Authors: Guebli Abdelkader, Zerf Mohammed, Mekkades Moulay Idriss, BenGoua Ali, Atouti Nouredinne, Habchi Nawel

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The paper aims to show the influence of angles in the results of triple jump. Whereas our background confirms that a series of motions are characterized by complex angles in the properties phase (hop, step, and jump) as a combination of the pushed phase on ultimate phases in the result. For the purpose, our results are obtained from the National Athletics Championship 2013, which was filmed and analysis by the software kinovea. Based on the statistical analysis we confirm: there is a positive relationship between angle of the leg, hip angle, angle of the trunk in the collision during (hop, step, and jump), and there is a negative correlation to the angle of the knee relationship in a collision during.

Keywords: kinematics variables, the triple jump, the finale results, digital achievement

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Authors: Lulu Wang, Yongjun Xu, Xiaoyang Qiao

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The Forbidden City is well known for being full of Chinese cultural and historical relics. However, the Masters in the Forbidden City, a documentary film, doesn’t just dwell on the stories of the past. Instead, it focuses on ordinary people—the restorers of the relics and antiquities, which has caught the sight of Chinese audiences. From this popular documentary film, a new way can be considered, that is to show the relics, antiquities and painting with a character of modern humanities by films and TV programs. Of course, it can’t just like a simple explanation from tour guides in museums. It should be a perfect combination of scenes, heritages, stories, storytellers and background music. All we want to do is trying to dig up the humanity behind the heritages and then create a virtual scene for the audience to have emotional resonance from the humanity. It is believed that there are two problems. One is that compared with the entertainment shows, why people prefer to see the boring restoration work. The other is that what the interaction is between those history documentary films, the heritages, the audiences and collective memory. This paper mainly used the methods of text analysis and data analysis. The audiences’ comment texts were collected from all kinds of popular video sites. Through analyzing those texts, there was a word cloud chart about people preferring to use what kind of words to comment the film. Then the usage rate of all comments words was calculated. After that, there was a Radar Chart to show the rank results. Eventually, each of them was given an emotional value classification according their comment tone and content. Based on the above analysis results, an interaction model among the audience, history films/TV programs and the collective memory can be summarized. According to the word cloud chart, people prefer to use such words to comment, including moving, history, love, family, celebrity, tone... From those emotional words, we can see Chinese audience felt so proud and shared the sense of Collective Identity, so they leave such comments: To our great motherland! Chinese traditional culture is really profound! It is found that in the construction of collective memory symbology, the films formed an imaginary system by organizing a ‘personalized audience’. The audience is not just a recipient of information, but a participant of the documentary films and a cooperator of collective memory. At the same time, it is believed that the traditional background music, the spectacular present scenes and the tone of the storytellers/hosts are also important, so it is suggested that the museums could try to cooperate with the producers of movie and TV program to create a vivid scene for the people. Maybe it’s a more artistic way for heritages to be open to all the world.

Keywords: audience, heritages, history movies, TV programs

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Authors: Jubril Olatunbosun Akinde

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Unplanned population growth are mostly attributed to a lack of infrastructural facilities and poor economic condition in the rural dwellings and the incidence of rural-urban migration, which has resulted in severe housing deficiency in the urban centre, with a resultant pressure on housing delivery in the cities. Affordable housing does not only encompass environmental factors that make living acceptable and comfortable, which include good access routes, ventilation, sanitation and access to other basic human needs, which include water and safety. The research assessed the housing affordability and safety measures in the varied residential area of lagos by examining the demographic and socioeconomic attributes of residents; examining the existing residential safety measures; by examining the residential quality in terms of safety; the researcher therefore examined if relationship between housing affordability and safety in the varied residential areas. The research adopted the bartlett, kotrlik and higgins (2001) method of t-test to determine the sample size which specifies different populations at different levels of significance (α). The researcher adopted primary data which was sourced from a field survey where the sample population was simply randomly selected to give a member of the population an equal chance of being selected, therefore, the sample size for the field survey was two hundred (200) respondents, and subjected to necessary testing. The research come to conclusion that housing safety and security is the responsibility of every resident, the landlords/landladies possess a better sense of security in their neighbourhood than renters in the community, therefore they need to be aware of their responsibility of ensuring the safety of lives and property.

Keywords: housing, housing affordability, housing security, residential, residential quality

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Authors: Martha Serrano-Arias, Martha Frías-Armenta

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Significant results have been found both supporting universality of emotion recognition and cultural background influence. Thus, the aim of this research was to test a Mexican version of the MTSI in different cultures to find differences in their performance. The MTSI-Mx assesses through a scenario approach were subjects must evaluate real persons. Two target persons were used for the construction, a man (FS) and a woman (AD). The items were grouped in four variables: Picture, Video, and FS and AD scenarios. The test was applied to 201 students from Mexico and Germany. T-test for picture and FS scenario show no significance. Video and AD had a significance at the 5% level. Results show slight differences between cultures, although a more comprehensive research is needed to conclude which culture can perform better in this kind of assessments.

Keywords: emotion recognition, MTSI, social intelligence, transcultural study

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Authors: Kwanele Shishane

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Numerous countries are faced with challenges such as disease, poverty and other social ills and inadequate government support to meet the needs of the entire population. In developing countries, the concept of child-headed households has become a ubiquitous phenomenon and lived experience. As such, migration of children is common in these countries. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of unaccompanied adolescent migrant, with regards to the utilization of health care in South Africa. The objectives of the study are to examine the lived experiences of health care utilization by unaccompanied adolescent migrants; examine the predisposing, enabling and need factors influencing utilization of health care among unaccompanied adolescent migrants; examine the social and cultural influences on health care utilization among unaccompanied adolescent migrants; and identify the health system barriers to utilization of health care by unaccompanied adolescent migrants. Andersen and Newman’s Model of Health Care Utilization (1995) which explains factors determining the utilization of healthcare will provide the theoretical framework for the empirical investigation of this study. The target population for this study is unaccompanied adolescent migrants, seeking to access services from migrant service organizations in four provinces in South Africa (Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, and Gauteng). Participants will be selected using a purposive sampling procedure. A qualitative research approach utilizing a descriptive phenomenological epistemology will be utilized in this study. Data will be collected through conducting in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with unaccompanied migrant adolescents, to explore their lived experiences related to access and utilization of health care, as an unaccompanied migrant in SA. The qualitative data will be analysed using Tech’s (1990) thematic analytical approach.

Keywords: health care utilisation, unaccompanied migrant youth, South Africa, lived experiences

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Authors: Seulbi Choi, Hyunchul Ahn

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Collaborative filtering (CF) algorithm has been popularly used for recommender systems in both academic and practical applications. It basically generates recommendation results using users’ numeric ratings. However, the additional use of the information other than user ratings may lead to better accuracy of CF. Considering that a lot of people are likely to share their honest opinion on the items they purchased recently due to the advent of the Web 2.0, user's review can be regarded as the new informative source for identifying user's preference with accuracy. Under this background, this study presents a hybrid recommender system that fuses CF and user's review mining. Our system adopts conventional memory-based CF, but it is designed to use both user’s numeric ratings and his/her text reviews on the items when calculating similarities between users.

Keywords: Recommender system, Collaborative filtering, Text mining, Review mining

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Authors: Danute Jablonskyte-Rasce, Laura Masilionyte

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The field experiments of different farming systems were conducted at Joniškėlis Experimental Station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in 2006–2016. The soil of the experimental site was Endocalcari-Endohypogleyic Cambisol (CMg-n-w-can). The research was designed to identify the effects of dry matter and nitrogen accumulated in the above-ground biomass of various catch crops grown after winter wheat on soil mineral nitrogen variation during the autumn and spring period in the presence of intensive leaching complex. Research was done in the soil differing in humus status in the organic and sustainable cropping systems by growing various plant mixtures as catch crops: narrow-leafed lupine (Lupinus angustifolius L.) and oil radish (Raphanus sativus var. Oleifera L.), white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum exculentum Moench.) and white mustard as a sole crop. All crop and soil management practices have shown optimal efficiency in late autumn – stubble breaking, catch crops and straw used during the post-harvest period of the main crops, reduced Nmin migration into deeper (40–80 cm) soil layer. The greatest Nmin reduction in the 0–40 cm soil layer during the period from late autumn to early spring was identified in the sustainable cropping system having applied N30 for the promotion of straw mineralization and with no catch crops cultivation. The sustainable cropping system, having applied N30 for straw mineralization and growing white mustard in combination with buckwheat as catch crops, Nmin difference in the spring compared with its status in the autumn in the soil low and moderate in humus was lower by 70.1% and 34.2%, respectively.

Keywords: soil nitrogen, catch crops, ecological and sustainable farming systems, Cambisol

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Authors: Kyria Rebeca Finardi

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The study discusses the role of foreign languages in general and of English in particular in the process of internationalization of higher education (IHE), defined as the intentional integration of an international, intercultural or global dimension in the purpose, function or offer of higher education. The study is bibliographical and offers a brief outline of the current political, economic and educational scenarios in Brazil, before discussing some possibilities and challenges for the development of multilingualism and IHE there. The theoretical background includes a review of Brazilian language and internationalization policies. The review and discussion concludes that the use of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach and the Intercomprehension approach to foreign language teaching/learning are relevant alternatives to foster multilingualism in that context.

Keywords: Brazil, higher education, internationalization, multilingualism

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Authors: Judita Konečná, Dagmar Halo, Martin Matoulek

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Background: Personality pathology does not have to be a contraindication nor an obstacle in obesity treatment, or eventually, surgical treatment. Detection of specific maladaptive personality traits can help us understand the manner of behavior leading to obesity as well as to address the treatment better. Objective: Using The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in combination with clinical interviews with the goal of gaining a psychological evaluation to set the treatment procedure. Data was collected from more than 400 patients to detect differences in constellations of maladaptive personality traits based on BMI, DM2 and gender. Conclusions: Besides the fact that a psychological evaluation can help address the treatment better, analyses showed that it is also useful to detect specific groups of patients. Implications for clinical practice are discussed, as well as recommendations for group education programs based on quantitative research.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, obesity, personality traits, PID-5, treatment

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Authors: Fatma Abdedayem

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The most effective and efficient methods in image categorization are almost based on bag-of-words (BOW) which presents image by a histogram of occurrence of visual words. In this paper, we propose a novel extension to this method. Firstly, we extract features in multi-scales by applying a color local descriptor named opponent-SIFT. Secondly, in order to represent image we use Spatial Pyramid Representation (SPR) and an extension to the BOW method which based on weighting visual words. Typically, the visual words are weighted during histogram assignment by computing the ratio of their occurrences in the image to the occurrences in the background. Finally, according to classical BOW retrieval framework, only a few words of the vocabulary is useful for image representation. Therefore, we select the useful weighted visual words that respect the threshold value. Experimentally, the algorithm is tested by using different image classes of PASCAL VOC 2007 and is compared against the classical bag-of-visual-words algorithm.

Keywords: BOW, useful visual words, weighted visual words, bag of visual words

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Authors: A. Yakub AbdurRaheem

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Urban violence in the form of ethnic and religious conflicts have been on the increase in many African cities in the recent years of which most of them are the result of intense and bitter competition for political power, the control of limited economic, social and environmental resources. In Nigeria, the emergence of the Boko Haram insurgency in most parts of the northeastern parts have ignited violence, bloodshed, refugee exodus and internal migration. Not only do the persistent attacks of the sect create widespread insecurity and fear, but it has also stifled normal processes of trade and investments most especially real property investment which is acclaimed to accelerate the economic cycle, thus the need to evolve strategies for an improved property market in such areas. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of this social crisis on effective and efficient utilization of real properties as a resource towards the development of the economy, using a descriptive analysis approach where particular emphasis was based on trends in residential housing values; volume of estimated property transactions and real estate investment decisions by affected individuals. Findings indicate that social crisis in the affected areas have been a clog on the wheels of property development and investment as properties worth hundreds of millions have been destroyed thereby having great impact on property values. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to include the need to strategically continue investing in property during such times, the need for Nigerian government to establish an active conflict monitoring and management unit for the prompt response, encourage community and neighborhood policing to ameliorate security challenges in Nigeria.

Keywords: social crisis, economy, resources, property market

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Authors: Unnop Panpuang

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The objectives of this project are to study on the work efficiency of the employees, sorted by their profiles, and to study on the relation between job attributes and work efficiency of employees of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The samples used for this study are 292 employees. The statistics used in this study are frequencies, standard deviations, One-way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Majority of respondent were male with an undergraduate degree, married and lives together. The average age of respondents was between 31-41 years old, married and the educational background are higher than bachelor’s degree. The job attribute is correlated to the work efficiency with the statistical significance level of .01. This concurs with the predetermined hypothesis. The correlation between the two main factors is in the moderate level. All the categories of job attributes such as the variety of skills, job clarity, job importance, freedom to do work are considered separately.

Keywords: employees, job attributes, work efficiency, university

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Authors: Howard Chitimira

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In Australia, the market abuse prohibition is generally well accepted by the investing and non-investing public as well as by the government. This co-operative and co-ordinated approach on the part of all the relevant stakeholders has to date given rise to an increased awareness and commendable combating of market abuse activities in the Australian corporations, companies, and securities markets. It is against this background that this article seeks to comparatively explore the general enforcement approaches that are employed to combat market abuse (insider trading and market manipulation) activity in Australia and South Africa. In relation to this, the role of selected enforcement authorities and possible enforcement methods which may be learnt from both the Australian and South African experiences will be isolated where necessary for consideration by such authorities, especially, in the South African market abuse regulatory framework.

Keywords: insider trading, market abuse, market manipulation, regulation

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Authors: Devinder Kaur Sugga, Ekamdeep Kaur, Jaspreet Kaur, C. Rajesh, Preeti Rajesh, Harsimran Kaur

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Withanolides are steroidal lactones and are highly oxygenated phytoconstituents that can be developed as potential anti-carcinogenic agents. The two main withanolides, namely Withaferin A and Withanolides D, have been extensively studied for their pharmacological activities. Both these withanolides are present in the Withania somnifera (WS) leaves belonging to the family Solanaceae, also known as “Indian ginseng .”In this study effects of WS leaf extract on the MCF7 breast cancer cell line were investigated by performing a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay to evaluate the cytotoxic effects and in vitro wound-healing assay to study the effect on cancer cell migration. Our data suggest WS extracts have cytotoxic effects and are effective anti-migrating agents and thus can be a source of potential candidates for the development of potential agents against metastasis. Thus, it can be a source of potential candidates for the development of potential agents against metastasis. Insight into these results, the in-silico approach to identify the possible protein targets interacting with withanolides was taken. Protein kinase C alpha (PKCα) was among the selected 5 top-ranked target proteins identified by the Swiss Target Prediction tool. PKCα is known to promote the growth and invasion of cancer cells and is being evaluated as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in clinically aggressive tumors. Molecular docking of Withaferin A and Withanolides D was performed using AutoDock Vina. Both the bioactive compounds interacted with PKCα. The targets predicted using this approach will serve as leads for the possible therapeutic potential of withanolides, the bioactive ingredients of WS extracts, as anti-cancer drugs.

Keywords: withania somnifera, withaferin A, withanolides D, PKCα

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Authors: Rachael Collins, George Lafford

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We report a case of a generally fit and a well 54-year-old gentleman who presented with a two-day history of worsening left-sided otorrhea, headache, neck stiffness, vomiting and pyrexia on the background of a seven-week history of OE. His condition progressed dramatically as he developed symptoms consistent with acute complete cervical cord syndrome with radiological evidence of skull base osteomyelitis, parapharyngeal, retropharyngeal and paravertebral abscesses and sigmoid sinus thrombus. Ultimately he made a significant, although not complete, recovery. This case is unique in demonstrating how OE can develop into a potentially life-threatening condition. It emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of OE, the recognition of ‘red flag’ symptoms and highlights the importance of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach when managing complex complications of OE.

Keywords: ENT, neurology, otology, MDT

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Authors: Norhayati Ayob, Shamsu Mohamad

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This paper aims to provide an initial background of the process of making traditional ceramic pottery, focusing on the materials and the influence of culture heritage. Ceramic pottery is one of the hallmarks of Sabah’s heirloom, not only use as cooking and storage containers but also closely linked with folk cultures and heritage. The Bajau Laut ethnic community of Semporna or better known as the Sea Gypsies, mostly are boat dwellers and work as fishermen in the coast. This ethnic community is famous for their own artistic traditional heirloom, especially the traditional hand-made clay stove called Lapohan. It is found that in the daily life of Bajau Laut community, Lapohan (clay stove) is used to prepare the meal and as a food warmer while they are at the sea. Besides, Lapohan pottery conveys symbolic meaning of natural objects, which portrays the identity, and values of Bajau Laut community. It is acknowledged that the basic process of making potterywares was much the same for people all across the world, nevertheless, it is crucial to consider that different ethnic groups may have their own styles and choices of raw materials. Furthermore, it is still unknown why and how the Bajau Laut ethnic of Semporna get started making their own pottery and to survive until today by heavily depending on the raw materials available in Semporna. In addition, the emergent problem faced by the pottery maker in Sabah is the absence of young successor to continue the heirloom legacy. Therefore, this research aims to explore the traditional pottery making in Sabah, by investigating the background history of Lapohan pottery and to propose the classification of Lapohan based on design and motifs of traditional pottery that will be recognised throughout the study. It is postulated that different techniques and forms of making traditional pottery may produce different types of pottery in terms of surface decoration, shape, and size that portrays different cultures. This study will be conducted at Selakan Island, Semporna, which is the only location that still has Lapohan making. This study is also based on the chronological process of making pottery and taboos of the process of preparing the clay, forming, decoration technique, motif application and firing techniques. The relevant information for the study will be gathered from field study, including observation, in-depth interview and video recording. In-depth interviews will be conducted with several potters and the conversation and pottery making process will be recorded in order to understand the actual process of making Lapohan. The findings hope to provide several types of Lapohan based on different designs and cultures, for example, the one with flat-shape design or has round-shape on the top of clay stove will be labeled with suitable name based on their culture. In conclusion, it is hoped that this study will contribute to conservation for traditional pottery making in Sabah as well as to preserve their culture and heirloom for future generations.

Keywords: Bajau Laut, culture, Lapohan, traditional pottery

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Out-of-sequence thrusts (OOST) are reported at different geographic locations with various local names along Siwalik Himalaya (SH), Lesser Himalaya (LH), Higher Himalaya (HH) from Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan Himalayan range. Most of OOSTs have been identified within the upper LH, and the lower HH based on geochronological age jump across. These thrusts activated from Late Miocene to recent. The Chaura Thrust (CT) was deciphered from age jump of Apatite Fission Track (AFT) and considered as blind thrust base on variable exhumation rates in Chaura region, Satluj river valley, Himachal Pradesh. CT is located north of Jhakri Thrust (JhT) and is also differently identified as Sarahan thrust (ST). Structural documentation from the rocks near the OOST in Chaura was not so far done. Detail structural study of the Jeori Group of rocks was carried out in this study to understand the manifestation of the Chaura thrust and associated structures in meso- to micro-scale. Box fold, scar fold, kink fold, crenulation cleavages, and boudins are developed in the Chaura region. These structures usually do not indicate shear sense. When studied under an optical microscope, the Chaura samples reveal that the mica fish are usually lenticular with aspect ratio (R) varying from 6–11 and inclination angle (α) from 15–40°. According to ‘R’ and ‘α’, elongated sigmoid shaped mica fish and parallelogram shaped mica fish were also documented. Asymmetric mica fish demonstrate top-to-S/SW ductile shear, which is similar as that of Chaura thrust. Grain boundary migration (GBM) structures in quartzo-feldspathic grains from Jeori Group of rocks indicate deformation temperature ranging from 400 to 650°C. This can indicate that the OOST at Chaura, i.e., the Chaura Thrust, underwent thrusting in the ductile regime.

Keywords: out-of-sequence thrust, chaura thrust, sarahan thrust, jakhri thrust, higher himalaya, s/c- fabric

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Authors: N. Ali, S. Nakayama, H. Yamaguchi, M. Nadeem

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Traffic congestion is a matter of prime concern in developing countries. This can be primarily attributed due to poor design practices and biased allocation of resources based on political will neglecting the technical feasibilities in infrastructure design. During the last decade, Lahore has expanded at an unprecedented rate as compared to surrounding cities due to more funding and resource allocation by the previous governments. As a result of this, people from surrounding cities and areas moved to the Lahore city for better opportunities and quality of life. This migration inflow inherited the city with an increased population yielding the inefficiency of the existing infrastructure to accommodate enhanced traffic demand. This leads to traffic congestion on major arterial roads of the city. In this simulation study, a major arterial road was selected to evaluate the performance of the five intersections by changing the geometry of the intersections or signal control type. Simulations were done in two software; Highway Capacity Software (HCS) and Synchro Studio and Sim Traffic Software. Some of the traffic management strategies that were employed include actuated-signal control, semi-actuated signal control, fixed-time signal control, and roundabout. The most feasible solution for each intersection in the above-mentioned traffic management techniques was selected with the least delay time (seconds) and improved Level of Service (LOS). The results showed that Jinnah Hospital Intersection and Akbar Chowk Intersection improved 92.97% and 92.67% in delay time reduction, respectively. These results can be used by traffic planners and policy makers for decision making for the expansion of these intersections keeping in mind the traffic demand in future years.

Keywords: traffic congestion, traffic simulation, traffic management, congestion problems

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Authors: Morteza Taherinezhad, Ahmad Reza Rabbani, Morteza Asemani, Rudy Swennen

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Oil-oil correlation is one of the most important issues in geochemical studies that enables to classify oils genetically. Oil-oil correlation is generally estimated based on non-polar fractions of crude oil (e.g., saturate and aromatic compounds). Despite several advantages, the drawback of using these compounds is their susceptibility of being affected by secondary processes. The polar fraction of crude oil (e.g., asphaltenes) has similar characteristics to kerogen, and this structural similarity is preserved during migration, thermal maturation, biodegradation, and water washing. Therefore, these structural characteristics can be considered as a useful correlation parameter, and it can be concluded that asphaltenes from different reservoirs with the same genetic signatures have a similar origin. Hence in this contribution, an integrated study by using both non-polar and polar fractions of oil was performed to use the merits of both fractions. Therefore, five oil samples from oil fields in the Persian Gulf were studied. Structural characteristics of extracted asphaltenes were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Graphs based on aliphatic and aromatic compounds (predominant compounds in asphaltenes structure) and sulphoxide and carbonyl functional groups (which are representatives of sulphur and oxygen abundance in asphaltenes) were used for comparison of asphaltenes structures in different samples. Non-polar fractions were analyzed by GC-MS. The study of asphaltenes showed the studied oil samples comprise two oil families with distinct genetic characteristics. The first oil family consists of Salman and Reshadat oil samples, and the second oil family consists of Resalat, Siri E, and Siri D oil samples. To validate our results, biomarker parameters were employed, and this approach completely confirmed previous results. Based on biomarker analyses, both oil families have a marine source rock, whereby marl and carbonate source rocks are the source rock for the first and the second oil family, respectively.

Keywords: biomarker, non-polar fraction, oil-oil correlation, petroleum geochemistry, polar fraction

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Authors: Meng H. Lean, Wei-Ping L. Chu

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The effects of ferroelectric nanofiller size, shape, loading, and polarization, on bipolar charge injection, transport, and recombination through amorphous and semicrystalline polymers are studied. A 3D particle-in-cell model extends the classical electrical double layer representation to treat ferroelectric nanoparticles. Metal-polymer charge injection assumes Schottky emission and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, migration through field-dependent Poole-Frenkel mobility, and recombination with Monte Carlo selection based on collision probability. A boundary integral equation method is used for solution of the Poisson equation coupled with a second-order predictor-corrector scheme for robust time integration of the equations of motion. The stability criterion of the explicit algorithm conforms to the Courant-Friedrichs-Levy limit. Trajectories for charge that make it through the film are curvilinear paths that meander through the interspaces. Results indicate that charge transport behavior depends on nanoparticle polarization with anti-parallel orientation showing the highest leakage conduction and lowest level of charge trapping in the interaction zone. Simulation prediction of a size range of 80 to 100 nm to minimize attachment and maximize conduction is validated by theory. Attached charge fractions go from 2.2% to 97% as nanofiller size is decreased from 150 nm to 60 nm. Computed conductivity of 0.4 x 1014 S/cm is in agreement with published data for plastics. Charge attachment is increased with spheroids due to the increase in surface area, and especially so for oblate spheroids showing the influence of larger cross-sections. Charge attachment to nanofillers and nanocrystallites increase with vol.% loading or degree of crystallinity, and saturate at about 40 vol.%.

Keywords: nanocomposites, nanofillers, electrical double layer, bipolar charge transport

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Authors: Umer Masood Chaudry, Hafiz Muhammad Rehan Tariq, Chung-soo Kim, Tea-sung Jun

Abstract:

This study explored the influence of pre-stretching temperature on the microstructural characteristics and deformation behavior of AZ61 magnesium alloy and its implications on grain growth during subsequent annealing. AZ61 alloy was stretched to 5% plastic strain along rolling (RD) and transverse direction (TD) at room (RT) and cryogenic temperature (-150 oC, CT) followed by annealing at 320 oC for 1 h to investigate the twinning and dislocation evolution and its consequent effect on the flow stress, plastic strain and strain hardening rate. Compared to RT-stretched samples, significant improvement in yield stress, strain hardening rate and moderate reduction in elongation to failure were witnessed for CT-stretched samples along RD and TD. The subsequent EBSD analysis revealed the increased fraction of fine {10-12} twins and nucleation of multiple {10-12} twin variants caused by higher local stress concentration at the grain boundaries in CT-stretched samples as manifested by the kernel average misorientation. This higher twin fraction and twin-twin interaction imposed the strengthening by restricting the mean free path of dislocations, leading to higher flow stress and strain hardening rate. During annealing of the RT/CT-stretched samples, the residual strain energy and twin boundaries were decreased due to static recovery, leading to a coarse-grained twin-free microstructure. Strain induced boundary migration (SBIM) was found to be the predominant mechanism governing the grain growth during annealing via movement of high angle grain boundaries.

Keywords: magnesium, twinning, twinning variant selection, EBSD, cryogenic deformation

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Authors: Gamal Shiha, Seham Seif, Shahera Etreby, Khaled Zalata, Waleed Samir

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Background: Transient Elastography (TE; FibroScan®) is a non-invasive technique to assess liver fibrosis. Aim: To compare TE and liver biopsy in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients, genotype IV and evaluate the effect of steatosis and schistosomiasis on FibroScan. Methods: The fibrosis stage (METAVIR Score) TE, was assessed in 519 patients. The diagnostic performance of FibroScan is assessed by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs). Results: The cut-off value of ≥ F2 was 8.55 kPa, ≥ F3 was 10.2 kPa and cirrhosis = F4 was 16.3 kPa. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 70.1% and 81.7% for the diagnosis of ≥ F2, 62.6% and 96.22% for F ≥ 3, and 27.7% and 100% for F4. No significant difference between schistosomiasis, steatosis degree and FibroScan measurements. Conclusion: Fibroscan could accurately predict liver fibrosis.

Keywords: chronic hepatitis C, FibroScan, liver biopsy, liver fibrosis

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Authors: Merle Talvik, Taimi Tulva, Kristi Puusepp, Ülle Ernits

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Background data. This is a study in the field of health humanities. The 1930s were years of rapid cultural and economic development in Europe and in Estonia. The urban way of life the glamorous lifestyle gained popularity, although the society of Estonia in the 1930s had traditionally been agrarian. People's free time increased, which needed to be filled with activities either at home or outside the home. Therefore, the number of popular magazines aimed at housewives increased. More than 200 magazines and bulletins were published in the Republic of Estonia before the Second World War (in 1934, the population of Estonia was 1,126,000). In the 1930s, the Republic of Estonia faced several challenges in healthcare. Infectious diseases, alcoholism, prostitution and child mortality had to be dealt with. Healers without medical education operated in the villages. For the average person, medical care was quite expensive, and despite efforts, by 1940, only 20% of the population was covered by health insurance. Advice published in popular family magazines provided help in solving, understanding and preventing health problems. Aim. The aim of the study is to analyze the health counseling through magazines during the Republic of Estonia (1930-1940) in historical and cultural context. Method. In total, 420 magazine issues were processed. An extensive textual analysis, as well as an analysis of photographs and illustrations from the aspect of health advice was carried out to achieve the research objective. Results. Health counseling was written by well-known doctors of the time, leaders of the abstinence movement and others. There was advice in various areas: prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases and their treatment with simple methods, first aid, combating sexually transmitted diseases, women's and children's health, mental health, folk medicine techniques, abstinence, healthy eating, skin care, hygiene, introducing pharmacy products. Advice was offered in both written and visual form. Photos and illustrations helped to empower the health advice. Folk heritage and health knowledge of the time were relied upon, and a scientific point of view was popularized. Aspirations towards a European lifestyle were reflected in articles and illustrations. Contribution. The article has an ethnological attitude, and its impact comes down to understanding the history of health care in its socio-cultural context. The health counseling topics of the 1930s are also applicable in today's health education and research. Health counseling builds on the legacy of the past, and it helps to understand that the past is in the future and the main principles of health counseling arise from our history and background.

Keywords: estonian republic, health counseling, lifestyle, magazines, media

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Authors: Junqi Zhao, Yongqiang Chen

Abstract:

The preference for different conflict resolution styles are influenced by cultural background and power distance of two parties involving in conflict. This research put forward 7 hypotheses and tested the preference differences of the five conflict resolution styles between Chinese owner and contractor as well as the preference differences concerning the same style between two parties. The research sample includes 202 practitioners from construction enterprises in mainland China. Research result found that theories concerning conflict resolution styles could be applied in the Chinese construction industry. Some results of this research were not in line with former research, and this research also gave explanation to the differences from the characteristics of construction projects. Based on the findings, certain suggestions were made to serve as a guidance for managers to choose appropriate conflict resolution styles for a better handling of conflict.

Keywords: Chinese owner and contractor, conflict, construction project, conflict resolution styles

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Authors: Sıla Uzkul

Abstract:

As a requirement of human rights and children's rights, the basic condition of inclusive education is that it covers all children. However, the reforms made in the context of education in Turkey and around the world include a limited level of inclusiveness. Generally, the inclusiveness mentioned is for individuals who need special education. Educational reforms superficially state that differences are tolerated, but these differences are extremely limited and often do not include sexual orientation. When we look at the education modules of the Ministry of National Education within the scope of inclusive education in Turkey, there are children with special needs, bilingual children, children exposed to violence, children under temporary protection, children affected by migration and terrorism, and children affected by natural disasters. No training modules or inclusion terms regarding sexual orientations could be found. This research aimed to understand the perspectives of research assistants working in the preschool education department regarding sexual orientations within the scope of inclusive education. Six research assistants working in the preschool teaching department at a public university in Ankara (Turkey) participated in this qualitative research study. Participants were determined by typical case sampling, which is one of the purposeful sampling methods. The data of this research was obtained through a "survey consisting of open-ended questions". Raw data from the surveys were analyzed and interpreted using the "content analysis technique" (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2005). During the data analysis process, the data from the participants were first numbered, then all the data were read, and content analysis was performed, and possible themes, categories, and codes were extracted. The opinions of the participants in the research regarding sexual orientations in inclusive education are presented under three main headings within the scope of the research questions. These are: (a) their views on inclusive education, (b) their views on sexual orientations (c) their views on sexual orientations in the preschool period.

Keywords: sexual orientation, inclusive education, child rights, preschool education

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Authors: Konstantinos Sofianos, Michail Stefanidakis

Abstract:

Nowadays, despite the great advances in technology, most educational frameworks lack a strong educational design basis. E-learning has become prevalent, but it faces various challenges such as student isolation and lack of quality in the learning process. An intelligent learning system provides a student with educational material according to their learning background and learning preferences. It records full information about the student, such as demographic information, learning styles, and academic performance. This information allows the system to be fully adapted to the student’s needs. In this paper, we propose a framework and an ontology for music education, consisting of the learner model and all elements of the learning process (learning objects, teaching methods, learning activities, assessment). This framework can be integrated into an intelligent learning system and used for music education in schools for the development of professional skills and beyond.

Keywords: intelligent learning systems, e-learning, music education, ontology, semantic web

Procedia PDF Downloads 123