Search results for: moral disengagement in sports measurement

Authors: Paul Licina, Emma M. Johnston, David Lisle, Mark Young, Chris Brady

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Background: Lumbar pars pathology is a common cause of pain in the growing spine. It can be seen in young athletes participating in at-risk sports and can affect sporting performance and long-term health due to its resistance to traditional management. There is a current lack of consensus of classification and treatment for pars injuries. Previous systems used CT to stage pars defects but could not assess early stress reactions. A modified classification is proposed that considers findings on MRI, significantly improving early treatment guidance. The treatment protocol is designed for patients aged 5 to 19 years. Method: Clinical screening identifies patients with a low, medium, or high index of suspicion for lumbar pars injury using patient age, sport participation and pain characteristics. MRI of the at-risk cohort enables augmentation of existing CT-based classification while avoiding ionising radiation. Patients are classified into five categories based on MRI findings. A type 0 lesion (stress reaction) is present when CT is normal and MRI shows high signal change (HSC) in the pars/pedicle on T2 images. A type 1 lesion represents the ‘early defect’ CT classification. The group previously referred to as a 'progressive stage' defect on CT can be split into 2A and 2B categories. 2As have HSC on MRI, whereas 2Bs do not. This distinction is important with regard to healing potential. Type 3 lesions are terminal stage defects on CT, characterised by pseudarthrosis. MRI shows no HSC. Results: Stress reactions (type 0) and acute fractures (1 and 2a) can heal and are treated in a custom-made hard brace for 12 weeks. It is initially worn 23 hours per day. At three weeks, patients commence basic core rehabilitation. At six weeks, in the absence of pain, the brace is removed for sleeping. Exercises are progressed to positions of daily living. Patients with continued pain remain braced 23 hours per day without exercise progression until becoming symptom-free. At nine weeks, patients commence supervised exercises out of the brace for 30 minutes each day. This allows them to re-learn muscular control without rigid support of the brace. At 12 weeks, bracing ceases and MRI is repeated. For patients with near or complete resolution of bony oedema and healing of any cortical defect, rehabilitation is focused on strength and conditioning and sport-specific exercise for the full return to activity. The length of this final stage is approximately nine weeks but depends on factors such as development and level of sports participation. If significant HSC remains on MRI, CT scan is considered to definitively assess cortical defect healing. For these patients, return to high-risk sports is delayed for up to three months. Chronic defects (2b and 3) cannot heal and are not braced, and rehabilitation follows traditional protocols. Conclusion: Appropriate clinical screening and imaging with MRI can identify pars pathology early. In those with potential for healing, we propose hard bracing and appropriate rehabilitation as part of a multidisciplinary management protocol. The validity of this protocol will be tested in future studies.

Keywords: adolescents, MRI classification, pars interticularis, treatment protocol

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Authors: Jiri Cecrdle

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This paper describes the concept of the W-WING whirl flutter aeroelastic demonstrator. Whirl flutter is the specific case of flutter that accounts for the additional dynamic and aerodynamic influences of the engine rotating parts. The instability is driven by motion-induced unsteady aerodynamic propeller forces and moments acting in the propeller plane. Whirl flutter instability is a serious problem that may cause the unstable vibration of a propeller mounting, leading to the failure of an engine installation or an entire wing. The complicated physical principle of whirl flutter required the experimental validation of the analytically gained results. W-WING aeroelastic demonstrator has been designed and developed at Czech Aerospace Research Centre (VZLU) Prague, Czechia. The demonstrator represents the wing and engine of the twin turboprop commuter aircraft. Contrary to the most of past demonstrators, it includes a powered motor and thrusting propeller. It allows the changes of the main structural parameters influencing the whirl flutter stability characteristics. Propeller blades are adjustable at standstill. The demonstrator is instrumented by strain gauges, accelerometers, revolution-counting impulse sensor, sensor of airflow velocity, and the thrust measurement unit. Measurement is supported by the in house program providing the data storage and real-time depiction in the time domain as well as pre-processing into the form of the power spectral densities. The engine is linked with a servo-drive unit, which enables maintaining of the propeller revolutions (constant or controlled rate ramp) and monitoring of immediate revolutions and power. Furthermore, the program manages the aerodynamic excitation of the demonstrator by the aileron flapping (constant, sweep, impulse). Finally, it provides the safety guard to prevent any structural failure of the demonstrator hardware. In addition, LMS TestLab system is used for the measurement of the structure response and for the data assessment by means of the FFT- and OMA-based methods. The demonstrator is intended for the experimental investigations in the VZLU 3m-diameter low-speed wind tunnel. The measurement variant of the model is defined by the structural parameters: pitch and yaw attachment stiffness, pitch and yaw hinge stations, balance weight station, propeller type (duralumin or steel blades), and finally, angle of attack of the propeller blade 75% section (). The excitation is provided either by the airflow turbulence or by means of the aerodynamic excitation by the aileron flapping using a frequency harmonic sweep. The experimental results are planned to be utilized for validation of analytical methods and software tools in the frame of development of the new complex multi-blade twin-rotor propulsion system for the new generation regional aircraft. Experimental campaigns will include measurements of aerodynamic derivatives and measurements of stability boundaries for various configurations of the demonstrator.

Keywords: aeroelasticity, flutter, whirl flutter, W WING demonstrator

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Authors: Mohsen Yaghmoor, Sima Radmanesh

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Rapid environmental changes have been threaten the life of many organizations .Enabling and productivity of human resource should be considered as the most important issue in order to increase performance and ensure survival of the organizations. In this research, the effectiveness of management factory in productivity & inability of human resource have been identified and reviewed at glance. Afterward there were two questions they are “what are the factors effecting productivity and enabling of human resource” . And ”what are the priority order based on effective management of human resource in Fars Poultry Complex". A specified questionnaire has been designed in order to priorities and effectiveness of the identified factors. Six factors specify to consist of: Individual characteristics, teaching, motivation, partnership management, authority or power submission and job development that have most effect on organization. Then specify a questionnaire for priority and effect measurement of specified factor that reach after collect information and using statistical tests of keronchbakh alpha coefficient r=0.792 that we can say the questionnaire has sufficient reliability. After information analysis of specified six factors by Friedman test categorize their effect. Measurement on organization respectively consists of individual characteristics, job development or enrichment, authority submission, partnership management, teaching and motivation. At last it has been indicated to approaches to increase making power full and productivity of manpower.

Keywords: productivity, empowerment, enrichment, authority submission, partnership management, teaching, motivation

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Authors: Mohammad Khazaei, Reza Rostami, Hassan Gharayagh Zandi, Ruhollah Basatnia, Mahboubeh Ghayour Najafabadi

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Introduction: This study delves into the influence of diverse interventions on brain functional connectivity among young male basketball players. Given the significance of understanding how interventions affect cognitive functions in athletes, particularly in the context of basketball, this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge in sports neuroscience. Methods: Three distinct groups were selected for comprehensive investigation: the Motivational Interview Group, Placebo Consumption Group, and Ritalin Consumption Group. The study involved assessing brain functional connectivity using various frequency bands (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta1, Beta2, Gamma, and Total Band) before and after the interventions. The participants were subjected to specific interventions corresponding to their assigned groups. Results: The findings revealed substantial differences in brain functional connectivity across the studied groups. The Motivational Interview Group exhibited optimal outcomes in PLI (Total Band) connectivity. The Placebo Consumption Group demonstrated a marked impact on PLV (Alpha) connectivity, and the Ritalin Consumption Group experienced a considerable enhancement in imCoh (Total Band) connectivity. Discussion: The observed variations in brain functional connectivity underscore the nuanced effects of different interventions on young male basketball players. The enhanced connectivity in specific frequency bands suggests potential cognitive and performance improvements. Notably, the Motivational Interview and Placebo Consumption groups displayed unique patterns, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of interventions. These findings contribute to the understanding of tailored interventions for optimizing cognitive functions in young male basketball players. Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights into the intricate relationship between interventions and brain functional connectivity in young male basketball players. Further research with expanded sample sizes and more sophisticated statistical analyses is recommended to corroborate and expand upon these initial findings. The implications of this study extend to the broader field of sports neuroscience, aiding in the development of targeted interventions for athletes in various disciplines.

Keywords: electroencephalography, Ritalin, Placebo effect, motivational interview

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Authors: Sonia Anand Knowlton

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There are some cases where we as a society feel deeply uncomfortable with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the judicial decision-making process, and justifiably so. A perfect example is COMPAS, an algorithmic model that predicts recidivism rates of offenders to assist in the determination of their bail conditions. COMPAS turned out to be extremely racist: it massively overpredicted recidivism rates of Black offenders and underpredicted recidivism rates of white offenders. At the same time, there are certain uses of AI in the judicial decision-making process that many would feel more comfortable with and even support. Take, for example, a “super-breathalyzer,” an (albeit imaginary) tool that uses AI to deliver highly detailed information about the subject of the breathalyzer test to the legal decision-makers analyzing their drunk-driving case. This article evaluates the point at which a judge’s use of AI tools begins to undermine the public’s trust in the administration of justice. It argues that the answer to this question depends on whether the AI tool is in a role in which it must perform a moral evaluation of a human being.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, judicial reasoning, morality, technology, algorithm

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Authors: Prapoj Na Bangchang

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This research aimed to study the satisfaction of university students on the Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University television station. The sample were 250 undergraduate students from Year 1 to Year 4. The tool used to collect data was a questionnaire. Statistics used in data analysis were percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results showed that student satisfaction on the University's television station location received high score, followed by the number of devices, and the content presented received the lowest score. Most students want the content of the programs to be improved especially entertainment content, followed by sports content.

Keywords: student satisfaction, university TV channel, media, broadcasting

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Authors: Anthony F. Peressini

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The concept of race has recently come prominently back into discussion in the context of medicine and medical science, along with renewed effort to biologize racial concepts. This paper argues that this renewed effort to biologize race by way of medicine and population genetics fail on their own terms, and more importantly, that the philosophical project of biologizing race ought to be recognized for what it is—a retrograde racial project—and abandoned. There is clear agreement that standard racial categories and concepts cannot be grounded in the old way of racial naturalism, which understand race as a real, interest-independent biological/metaphysical category in which its members share “physical, moral, intellectual, and cultural characteristics.” But equally clear is the very real and pervasive presence of racial concepts in individual and collective consciousness and behavior, and so it remains a pressing area in which to seek deeper understanding. Recent philosophical work has endeavored to reconcile these two observations by developing a “thin” conception of race, grounded in scientific concepts but without the moral and metaphysical content. Such “thin,” science-based analyses take the “commonsense” or “folk” sense of race as it functions in contemporary society as the starting point for their philosophic-scientific projects to biologize racial concepts. A “philosophic-scientific analysis” is a special case of the cornerstone of analytic philosophy: a conceptual analysis. That is, a rendering of a concept into the more perspicuous concepts that constitute it. Thus a philosophic-scientific account of a concept is an attempt to work out an analysis of a concept that makes use of empirical science's insights to ground, legitimate and explicate the target concept in terms of clearer concepts informed by empirical results. The focus in this paper is on three recent philosophic-scientific cases for retaining “race” that all share this general analytic schema, but that make use of “medical necessity,” population genetics, and human genetic clustering, respectively. After arguing that each of these three approaches suffers from internal difficulties, the paper considers the general analytic schema employed by such biologizations of race. While such endeavors are inevitably prefaced with the disclaimer that the theory to follow is non-essentialist and non-racialist, the case will be made that such efforts are not neutral scientific or philosophical projects but rather are what sociologists call a racial project, that is, one of many competing efforts that conjoin a representation of what race means to specific efforts to determine social and institutional arrangements of power, resources, authority, etc. Accordingly, philosophic-scientific biologizations of race, since they begin from and condition their analyses on “folk” conceptions, cannot pretend to be “prior to” other disciplinary insights, nor to transcend the social-political dynamics involved in formulating theories of race. As a result, such traditional philosophical efforts can be seen to be disciplinarily parochial and to address only a caricature of a large and important human problem—and thereby further contributing to the unfortunate isolation of philosophical thinking about race from other disciplines.

Keywords: population genetics, ontology of race, race-based medicine, racial formation theory, racial projects, racism, social construction

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Authors: Suprit Pradhan, Tshering Yangzom

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Even with availability of the modern day online insulation diagnostic technologies like partial discharge monitoring, the measurements like Dissipation Factor (tanδ), DC High Voltage Insulation Currents, Polarization Index (PI) and Insulation Resistance Measurements are still widely used as a diagnostic tools to assess the condition of stator insulation in hydro power plants. To evaluate the condition of stator winding insulation in one of the generators that have been operated since 1999, diagnostic tests were performed on the stator bars of 15 MVA generators of Basochhu Hydropower Plant. This paper presents diagnostic study done on the data gathered from the measurements which were performed in 2015 and 2016 as part of regular maintenance as since its commissioning no proper aging data were maintained. Measurement results of Dissipation Factor, DC High Potential tests and Polarization Index are discussed with regard to their effectiveness in assessing the ageing condition of the stator insulation. After a brief review of the theoretical background, the strengths of each diagnostic method in detecting symptoms of insulation deterioration are identified. The interesting results observed from Basochhu Hydropower Plant is taken into consideration to conclude that Polarization Index and DC High Voltage Insulation current measurements are best suited for the detection of humidity and contamination problems and Dissipation Factor measurement is a robust indicator of long-term ageing caused by oxidative degradation.

Keywords: dissipation Factor (tanδ), polarization Index (PI), DC High Voltage Insulation Current, insulation resistance (IR), Tan Delta Tip-Up, dielectric absorption ratio

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Authors: M. Beheshti, S. Saegrov, T. M. Muthanna

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Separated sewer systems are designed to transfer the wastewater from houses and industrial sections to wastewater treatment plants. Unwanted water in the sewer systems is a well-known problem, i.e. storm-water inflow is around 50% of the foul sewer, and groundwater infiltration to the sewer system can exceed 50% of total wastewater volume in deteriorated networks. Infiltration and inflow of non-sewer water (I/I) into sewer systems is unfavorable in separated sewer systems and can trigger overloading the system and reducing the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. Moreover, I/I has negative economic, environmental, and social impacts on urban areas. Therefore, for having sustainable management of urban sewer systems, I/I of unwanted water into the urban sewer systems should be considered carefully and maintenance and rehabilitation plan should be implemented on these water infrastructural assets. This study presents a methodology to identify and quantify the level of I/I into the sewer system. Amount of I/I is evaluated by accurate flow measurement in separated sewer systems for specified isolated catchments in Trondheim city (Norway). Advanced information about the characteristics of I/I is gained by CCTV inspection of sewer pipelines with high I/I contribution. Achieving enhanced knowledge about the detection and localization of non-sewer water in foul sewer system during the wet and dry weather conditions will enable the possibility for finding the problem of sewer system and prioritizing them and taking decisions for rehabilitation and renewal planning in the long-term. Furthermore, preventive measures and optimization of sewer systems functionality and efficiency can be executed by maintenance of sewer system. In this way, the exploitation of sewer system can be improved by maintenance and rehabilitation of existing pipelines in a sustainable way by more practical cost-effective and environmental friendly way. This study is conducted on specified catchments with different properties in Trondheim city. Risvollan catchment is one of these catchments with a measuring station to investigate hydrological parameters through the year, which also has a good database. For assessing the infiltration in a separated sewer system, applying the flow rate measurement method can be utilized in obtaining a general view of the network condition from infiltration point of view. This study discusses commonly used and advanced methods of localizing and quantifying I/I in sewer systems. A combination of these methods give sewer operators the possibility to compare different techniques and obtain reliable and accurate I/I data which is vital for long-term rehabilitation plans.

Keywords: flow rate measurement, infiltration and inflow (I/I), non-sewer water, separated sewer systems, sustainable management

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Authors: Elina Vroblevska, Toms Ratfelders

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This paper examines the impact of international status-seeking aspirations on great power behavior within the international system. In particular, we seek to test the assumption advanced by the proponents of the Social Identity Theory (SIT) that the inability to achieve social mobilization through joining perceived higher-status social groups (of states) leads great powers to adopt the approach of social competition in which they aim to equal or outdo the dominant group in the area on which its claim to superior status rests. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has struggled to be accepted as a great power by the group of Western states that had created the dominant international system order, while the Soviet states were isolated. While the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century can be characterized by striving to integrate into the existing order, the second decade has seen a rather sharp turn towards creating a new power center for Russia through the realization of ideas of multipolarity rivalry and uniqueness of the state itself. Increasingly, we have seen the Kremlin striving to collaborate and mobilize groups of states that fall outside of the categories of democracy, multiculturalism, and international order, the way that is perceived by the dominant group, which can be described as the West. Instead, Russia builds its own narrative where it creates an alternative understanding of these values, differentiating from the higher-status social group. The Global South, from a Russian perspective, is the group of states that can still be swayed to create an alternative power center in the international system - one where Russia can assert its status as a great power. This is based on a number of reasons, the most important being that the global north is already highly institutionalized in terms of economy (the EU) and defense (NATO), leaving no room for Russia but to integrate within the existing framework. Second, the difference in values and their interpretation - Russia has been adamant, for the last twenty years, on basing its moral code on traditional values like religion, the heterosexual family model, and moral superiority, which contradict the overall secularism of the Global North. And last, the striking difference in understanding of state governance models - with Russia becoming more autocratic over the course of the last 20 years, it has deliberately created distance between itself and democratic states, entering a “gray area” of alternative understanding of democracy which is more relatable to the global South countries. Using computational text analysis of the excerpts of Vladimir Putin’s speeches delivered from 2000-2022 regarding the areas that fall outside the immediate area of interest of Russia (the Global South), we identify 80 topics that relate to the particular component of the great power status - interest to use force globally. These topics are compared across four temporal frames that capture the periods of more and less permissible Western social boundaries. We find that there exists a negative association between such permissiveness and Putin’s emphasis on the “use of force” topics. This lends further support to the Social Identity Theory and contributes to broadening its applicability to explaining the questions related to great power assertiveness in areas outside of their primary focus regions.

Keywords: Russia, Global South, great power, identity

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Authors: V. Mentl, V. Koula, P. Mazal, J. Volák

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Nowadays, the acoustic emission is a widely recognized method of material damage investigation, mainly in cases of cracks initiation and growth observation and evaluation. This is highly important in structures, e.g. pressure vessels, large steam turbine rotors etc., applied both in classic and nuclear power plants. Nevertheless, the acoustic emission signals must be correlated with the real crack progress to be able to evaluate the cracks and their growth by this non-destructive technique alone in real situations and to reach reliable results when the assessment of the structures' safety and reliability is performed and also when the remaining lifetime should be evaluated. The main aim of this study was to propose a methodology for evaluation of the early manifestations of the fatigue cracks and their growth and thus to quantify the material damage by acoustic emission parameters. Specimens made of several steels used in the power producing industry were subjected to fatigue loading in the low- and high-cycle regimes. This study presents results of the crack growth rate measurement obtained by the classic compliance change method and the acoustic emission signal analysis. The experiments were realized in cooperation between laboratories of Brno University of Technology and West Bohemia University in Pilsen within the solution of the project of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Commerce: "A diagnostic complex for the detection of pressure media and material defects in pressure components of nuclear and classic power plants" and the project “New Technologies for Mechanical Engineering”.

Keywords: fatigue, crack growth rate, acoustic emission, material damage

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Authors: Sophaphan Intahphuak, Narong Pamala, Boonyaporn Yodkhong, Samuhavitayaa

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The amount of solid waste increases each year as a result of population growth, urbanization and economic expansion; however, there was little public cooperation in the segregation of solid waste due to the lack of awareness. This study aims to encourage all sectors in the community to participate in the development of a suitable model to reduce environmental waste by emerging the cultural context that bares a close relationship with Buddhism through faith and merit-making. The monks, involving stakeholder in the entire waste management system, help publicize the campaign on Buddhist holy days, religious ceremonies and they also teach people to be responsible for the garbage problem in the community. As for the garbage brought for merit-making, they are sold and the money is used to help build the pavilion. It was found that people can separate recycled garbage and the amount of solid waste slightly decrease. The results obtained suggest that the religion is not only the moral center of the community, it is also the center of community empowerment to consciousness in waste management.

Keywords: community empowerment, religion’s role, waste management, recycled garbage

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Authors: Bulcha Belay Etana, Benny Malengier, Debelo Oljira, Janarthanan Krishnamoorthy, Lieva Vanlangenhove

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Electromyography (EMG) is a technique used to measure the electrical activity of muscles. EMG can be used to assess muscle function in a variety of settings, including clinical, research, and sports medicine. The aim of this study was to develop a wearable textile sensor for EMG monitoring. The sensor was designed to be soft, stretchable, and washable, making it suitable for long-term use. The sensor was fabricated using a conductive thread material that was embroidered onto a fabric substrate. The sensor was then connected to a microcontroller unit (MCU) and a Wi-Fi-enabled module. The MCU was programmed to acquire the EMG signal and transmit it wirelessly to the Wi-Fi-enabled module. The Wi-Fi-enabled module then sent the signal to a server, where it could be accessed by a computer or smartphone. The sensor was able to successfully acquire and transmit EMG signals from a variety of muscles. The signal quality was comparable to that of commercial EMG sensors. The development of this sensor has the potential to improve the way EMG is used in a variety of settings. The sensor is soft, stretchable, and washable, making it suitable for long-term use. This makes it ideal for use in clinical settings, where patients may need to wear the sensor for extended periods of time. The sensor is also small and lightweight, making it ideal for use in sports medicine and research settings. The data for this study was collected from a group of healthy volunteers. The volunteers were asked to perform a series of muscle contractions while the EMG signal was recorded. The data was then analyzed to assess the performance of the sensor. The EMG signals were analyzed using a variety of methods, including time-domain analysis and frequency-domain analysis. The time-domain analysis was used to extract features such as the root mean square (RMS) and average rectified value (ARV). The frequency-domain analysis was used to extract features such as the power spectrum. The question addressed by this study was whether a wearable textile sensor could be developed that is soft, stretchable, and washable and that can successfully acquire and transmit EMG signals. The results of this study demonstrate that a wearable textile sensor can be developed that meets the requirements of being soft, stretchable, washable, and capable of acquiring and transmitting EMG signals. This sensor has the potential to improve the way EMG is used in a variety of settings.

Keywords: EMG, electrode position, smart wearable, textile sensor, IoT, IoT-integrated textile sensor

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Authors: Mohd Dahlan Abdul Malek, Muhamad Idris, Adi Fahrudin, Ida Shafinaz Mohamed Kamil, Husmiati Yusuf, Edeymend Reny Japil, Wan Anor Wan Sulaiman, Lailawati Madlan, Alfred Chan, Nurfarhana Adillah Aftar, Mahirah Masdin

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This research intended to develop a valid and reliable instrument of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to measure satisfaction with life (SWL) constructs among public and private university students in Sabah, Malaysia, through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) procedure. The pilot study obtained a sample of 108 students from public and private education institutions in Sabah, Malaysia, through an online survey using a self-administered questionnaire. The researchers performed the EFA procedure on SWL construct using IBM SPSS 25. The Bartletts' Test of Sphericity is highly significant (Sig. = .000). Furthermore, the sampling adequacy by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO = 0.839) is excellent. Using the extraction method of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax Rotation, a component of the SWL construct is extracted with an eigenvalue of 3.101. The variance explained for this component is 62.030%. The construct of SWL has Cronbach's alpha value of .817. The development scale and validation confirmed that the instrument is consistent and stable with both private and public college and university student samples. It adds a remarkable contribution to the measurement of SWLS, mainly in the context of higher education institution students. The EFA outcomes formed a configuration that extracts a component of SWL, which can be measured by the original five items established in this research. This research reveals that the SWL construct is applicable to this study.

Keywords: satisfaction, university students, measurement, scale development

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Authors: Brajevic-gizdic Igna, Vuletic Gorka

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Introduction: Research in opiate addiction is increasingly indicating the importance of substitution therapy in opiate addicts. Opiate addiction is a chronic relapsing disease that includes craving as a criterion. Craving has been considered a predictor of a relapse, which is defined as a strong desire with an excessive need to take a substance. The study aimed to measure the intensity of craving using the VAS (visual analog scale) in opioid addicts taking the Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST). Method: The total sample compromised of 30 participants in outpatient treatment. Two groups of opiate addicts were considered: Methadone-maintenance and buprenorphine-maintenance addicts. The participants completed the survey questionnaire during the outpatient treatment. Results: The results indicated high levels of cravings in patients during the treatment on OST, which is considered an important destabilization factor in abstinence. Thus, the use of methadone/buprenorphine dose should be considered. Conclusion: These findings provided an objective measurement of methadone /buprenorphine dosage and therapy options. The underdoes of OST can put patients at high risk of relapse, resulting in high levels of craving. Thus, when determining the therapeutic dose of OST, it is crucial to consider patients´ craving. This would achieve stabilization more quickly and avoid relapse in abstinence. Subjective physician assessment and patient’s statement are the main criteria to determine OST dosage. Future studies should use larger sample sizes and focus on the importance of intensity craving measurement on OST to objectify methadone /buprenorphine dosage.

Keywords: abstinence, addicts, methadone, OST, quality of life

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Authors: Young Ik Suh, Taewook Chung, Glaucio Scremin, Tywan Martin

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In May of 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that StubHub, the ticket resale company, will have advertising on the team’s jerseys beginning in the 2017-18 season. The 76ers and National Basketball Association (NBA) became the first team and league which embraced jersey sponsorships in the four major U.S. professional sports. Even though many professional teams and leagues in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America have adopted jersey sponsorship actively, this phenomenon is relatively new in America. While the jersey sponsorship provides economic gains for the professional leagues and franchises, sport fans can have different points of view for the phenomenon of jersey sponsorship. For instance, since many sport fans in U.S. are not familiar with ads on jerseys, this movement can possibly cause negative reaction such as the decrease in ticket and merchandise sales. They also concern the small size of ads on jersey become bigger ads, like in the English Premier League (EPL). However, some sport fans seem they do not mind too much about jersey sponsorship because the ads on jersey will not affect their loyalty and fanship. Therefore, the assumption of this study was that the sport fans’ reaction about jersey sponsorship can be possibly different, especially based on different levels of the sport fans’ team identification and various sizes of ads on jersey. Unlike general sponsorship in sport industry, jersey sponsorship has received little attention regarding its potential impact on sport fans attitudes and buying intentions. Thus, the current study sought to identify how the various levels of team identification influence brand attitude and buying intention in terms of jersey sponsorship. In particular, this study examined the effect of team identification on brand attitude and buying intention when there are no ads, small size ads, and large size ads on jersey. 3 (large, small, and no ads) X 3 (Team Identification: high, moderate, low) between subject factorial design was conducted on attitude toward the brand and buying intention of jersey sponsorship. The ads on Philadelphia 76ers jersey were used. The sample of this study was selected from message board users provided by different sports websites (i.e., forums.realgm.com and phillysportscentral.com). A total of 275 respondents participated in this study by responding to an online survey questionnaire. The results showed that there were significant differences between fans with high identification and fans with low identification. The findings of this study are expected to have many theoretical and practical contributions and implications by extending the research and literature pertaining to the relationship between team identification and brand strategy based upon different levels of team identification.

Keywords: brand attitude, buying intention, Jersey sponsorship, team identification

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Authors: Miky Lee, K. Kim, D. Lim, D. Cho

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This paper presents the planning, rationale for test specification derivation, sampling requirements, test facilities, and result analysis used to conduct lifetime expectancy endurance tests on power window switches (PWS) considering thermally induced mechanical stress under diurnal cyclic temperatures during normal operation (power cycling). The detail process of analysis and test results on the selected PWS set were discussed in this paper. A statistical approach to ‘life time expectancy’ was given to the measurement standards dealing with PWS lifetime determination through endurance tests. The approach choice, within the framework of the task, was explained. The present task was dedicated to voltage drop measurement to derive lifetime expectancy while others mostly consider contact or surface resistance. The measurements to perform and the main instruments to measure were fully described accordingly. The failure data from tests were analyzed to conclude lifetime expectancy through statistical method using Weibull cumulative distribution function. The first goal of this task is to develop realistic worst case lifetime endurance test specification because existing large number of switch test standards cannot induce degradation mechanism which makes the switches less reliable. 2nd goal is to assess quantitative reliability status of PWS currently manufactured based on test specification newly developed thru this project. The last and most important goal is to satisfy customer’ requirement regarding product reliability.

Keywords: power window switch, endurance test, Weibull function, reliability, degradation mechanism

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Authors: Jakub Czyżycki, Paweł Twardowski

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Thin-walled components made of aluminum alloys are increasingly found in many fields of industry, and they dominate the aerospace industry. The machining of thinwalled structures encounters many difficulties related to the high susceptibility of the workpiece, which causes vibrations including the most unfavorable ones called chatter. The effect of these phenomena is the difficulty in obtaining the required geometric dimensions and surface quality. The purpose of this study is to analyze vibrations arising during machining of thin-walled workpieces made of aluminum alloy EN AW-7075. Samples representing actual thin-walled workpieces were examined in a different range of dimensions characterizing thin-walled workpieces. The tests were carried out in HSM high-speed machining (cutting speed vc = 1400 m/min) using a monolithic solid carbide endmill. Measurement of vibration was realized using a singlecomponent piezoelectric accelerometer 4508C from Brüel&Kjær which was mounted directly on the sample before machining, the measurement was made in the normal feed direction AfN. In addition, the natural frequency of the tested thin-walled components was investigated using a laser vibrometer for an broader analysis of the tested samples. The effect of vibrations on machining accuracy was presented in the form of surface images taken with an optical measuring device from Alicona. A classification of the vibrations produced during the test was carried out, and were analyzed in both the time and frequency domains. Observed significant influence of the thickness of the thin-walled component on the course of vibrations during machining.

Keywords: high-speed machining, thin-walled elements, thin-walled components, milling, vibrations

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Authors: H. Lee, J. Park

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In this present study, for the first time, we retrieved the Formaldehyde (HCHO) Vertical Column Density (HCHOVCD) using Pandora instruments in Seoul, a megacity in northeast Asia, for the period between 2012 and 2014 and investigated the temporal characteristics of HCHOVCD. HCHO Slant Column Density (HCHOSCD) was obtained using the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) method. HCHOSCD was converted to HCHOVCD using geometric Air Mass Factor (AMFG) as Pandora is the direct-sun measurement. The HCHOVCDs is low at 12:00 Local Time (LT) and is high in the morning (10:00 LT) and late afternoon (16:00 LT) except for winter. The maximum (minimum) values of Pandora HCHOVCD are 2.68×1016 (1.63×10¹⁶), 3.19×10¹⁶ (2.23×10¹⁶), 2.00×10¹⁶ (1.26×10¹⁶), and 1.63×10¹⁶ (0.82×10¹⁶) molecules cm⁻² in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. In terms of seasonal variations, HCHOVCD was high in summer and low in winter which implies that photo-oxidation plays an important role in HCHO production in Seoul. In comparison with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) measurements, the HCHOVCDs from the OMI are lower than those from Pandora. The correlation coefficient (R) between monthly HCHOVCDs values from Pandora and OMI is 0.61, with slop of 0.35. Furthermore, to understand HCHO mixing ratio within Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) in Seoul, we converted Pandora HCHOVCDs to HCHO mixing ratio in the PBL using several meteorological input data from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS). Seasonal HCHO mixing ratio in PBL converted from Pandora (OMI) HCHOVCDs are estimated to be 6.57 (5.17), 7.08 (6.68), 7.60 (4.70), and 5.00 (4.76) ppbv in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively.

Keywords: formaldehyde, OMI, Pandora, remote sensing

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Authors: Yahaya Sulaiman, Ibrahim Muhammad Yakuba, Abubakar Usman

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In this paper, we discuss that Sustainable Development Goals are in consonance with Islamic ethos and philosophy. Islam made emphasize on human well-being from spiritual, physiological, intellectual and economic perspectives. Islamic worldview and values framework strengthens moral consciousness, urge pro-social behaviour and engender environmental ethics which can help in influencing our attitudes towards meeting sustainable development challenges. Islamic social finance institutions like Zakat and Waqf can contribute towards scaling up efforts in commercially non-viable, but socially vital projects and programs. There is much potential for Islamic finance to promote sustainable economic development through such approaches as widening access to finance, financing infrastructure projects, and expanding the reach of Takaful. Real sector based productive enterprise in Islamic finance has positive implications for the ecosystem. Risk-sharing shifts the emphasis from credit-worthiness of the borrower to be placed on the value creation and economic viability of investments that create new wealth. Islamic social finance package can cater to the financially excluded households.

Keywords: assessment, Islamic, economic, sustainable, development

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Authors: Levent Dumenci, Laura A. Siminoff

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Health literacy has been shown to predict a variety of health outcomes. Reliable identification of persons with limited cancer health literacy (LCHL) has been proved questionable with existing instruments using an arbitrary cut point along a continuum. The CHLT-6, however, uses a latent mixture modeling approach to identify persons with LCHL. The purpose of this study was to estimate two-week and six-month stability of identifying persons with LCHL using the CHLT-6 with a discrete latent variable approach as the underlying measurement structure. Using a test-retest design, the CHLT-6 was administered to cancer patients with two-week (N=98) and six-month (N=51) intervals. The two-week and six-month latent test-retest agreements were 89% and 88%, respectively. The chance-corrected latent agreements estimated from Dumenci’s latent kappa were 0.62 (95% CI: 0.41 – 0.82) and .47 (95% CI: 0.14 – 0.80) for the two-week and six-month intervals, respectively. High levels of latent test-retest agreement between limited and adequate categories of cancer health literacy construct, coupled with moderate to good levels of change-corrected latent agreements indicated that the CHLT-6 classification of limited versus adequate cancer health literacy is relatively stable over time. In conclusion, the measurement structure underlying the instrument allows for estimating classification errors circumventing limitations due to arbitrary approaches adopted by all other instruments. The CHLT-6 can be used to identify persons with LCHL in oncology clinics and intervention studies to accurately estimate treatment effectiveness.

Keywords: limited cancer health literacy, the CHLT-6, discrete latent variable modeling, latent agreement

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Authors: Joel Thomas, Alexa Squirini

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The key argument of this research is that every element of systems interoperability is an enabler of regional disaster resilience, and arguably should become a focal point for standardized measurement of communities’ ability to work together. Few resilience research efforts have focused on the development and application of solutions that measurably improve communities’ ability to work together at a regional level, yet a majority of the most devastating and disruptive disasters are those that have had a regional impact. The key findings of the research include a unique theoretical, mathematical, and operational approach to tangibly and defensibly measure and assess systems interoperability required to support crisis information management activities performed by governments, the private sector, and humanitarian organizations. A most effective way for communities to measurably improve regional disaster resilience is through deliberately executed disaster preparedness activities. Developing interoperable crisis information management capabilities is a crosscutting preparedness activity that greatly affects a community’s readiness and ability to work together in times of crisis. Thus, improving communities’ human and technical posture to work together in advance of a crisis, with the ultimate goal of enabling information sharing to support coordination and the careful management of available resources, is a primary means by which communities may improve regional disaster resilience. This model describes how systems interoperability can be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed when characterized as five forms of capital: governance; standard operating procedures; technology; training and exercises; and usage. The unique measurement framework presented defines the relationships between systems interoperability, information sharing and safeguarding, operational coordination, community preparedness and regional disaster resilience, and offers a means by which to implement real-world solutions and measure progress over the course of a multi-year program. The model is being developed and piloted in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Advanced Regional Civil Emergency Coordination Pilot (ARCECP) with twenty-three organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and Montenegro. The intended effect of the model implementation is to enable communities to answer two key questions: 'Have we measurably improved crisis information management capabilities as a result of this effort?' and, 'As a result, are we more resilient?'

Keywords: disaster, interoperability, measurement, resilience

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Authors: G. M. Contessa, L. Lepore, G. Gandolfo, C. Poggi, N. Cherubini, R. Remetti, S. Sandri

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Practical guidelines are provided in this work for the safe use of a portable d-t Thermo Scientific MP-320 neutron generator producing pulsed 14.1 MeV neutron beams. The neutron generator’s emission was tested experimentally and reproduced by MCNPX Monte Carlo code. Simulations were particularly accurate, even generator’s internal components were reproduced on the basis of ad-hoc collected X-ray radiographic images. Measurement campaigns were conducted under different standard experimental conditions using an LB 6411 neutron detector properly calibrated at three different energies, and comparing simulated and experimental data. In order to estimate the dose to the operator vs. the operating conditions and the energy spectrum, the most appropriate value of the conversion factor between neutron fluence and ambient dose equivalent has been identified, taking into account both direct and scattered components. The results of the simulations show that, in real situations, when there is no information about the neutron spectrum at the point where the dose has to be evaluated, it is possible - and in any case conservative - to convert the measured value of the count rate by means of the conversion factor corresponding to 14 MeV energy. This outcome has a general value when using this type of generator, enabling a more accurate design of experimental activities in different setups. The increasingly widespread use of this type of device for industrial and medical applications makes the results of this work of interest in different situations, especially as a support for the definition of appropriate radiation protection procedures and, in general, for risk analysis.

Keywords: instrumentation and monitoring, management of radiological safety, measurement of individual dose, radiation protection of workers

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Authors: Adam Kurnicki, Bartłomiej Stanczyk, Bartosz Kania

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This paper presents development of the light-weight manipulator with series elastic actuation for medical telediagnostics (USG examination). General structure of realized impedance control algorithm was shown. It was described how to perform force measurements based mainly on elasticity of manipulator links.

Keywords: telediagnostics, elastic manipulator, impedance control, force measurement

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Authors: S. J. Matlan, M. Mukhlisin, M. R. Taha

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Characterization of the engineering behavior of unsaturated soil is dependent on the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), a graphical representation of the relationship between water content or degree of saturation and soil suction. A reasonable description of the SWCC is thus important for the accurate prediction of unsaturated soil parameters. The measurement procedures for determining the SWCC, however, are difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. During the past few decades, researchers have laid a major focus on developing empirical equations for predicting the SWCC, with a large number of empirical models suggested. One of the most crucial questions is how precisely existing equations can represent the SWCC. As different models have different ranges of capability, it is essential to evaluate the precision of the SWCC models used for each particular soil type for better SWCC estimation. It is expected that better estimation of SWCC would be achieved via a thorough statistical analysis of its distribution within a particular soil class. With this in view, a statistical analysis was conducted in order to evaluate the reliability of the SWCC prediction models against laboratory measurement. Optimization techniques were used to obtain the best-fit of the model parameters in four forms of SWCC equation, using laboratory data for relatively coarse-textured (i.e., sandy) soil. The four most prominent SWCCs were evaluated and computed for each sample. The result shows that the Brooks and Corey model is the most consistent in describing the SWCC for sand soil type. The Brooks and Corey model prediction also exhibit compatibility with samples ranging from low to high soil water content in which subjected to the samples that evaluated in this study.

Keywords: soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), statistical analysis, unsaturated soil, geotechnical engineering

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Authors: Ahmet Yetik, Seyit Ali Kara, Cevat Özarpa

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Load changes occur on natural gas and oil pipelines due to natural disasters. The displacement of the soil around the natural gas and oil pipes due to situations that may cause erosion, such as earthquakes, landslides, and floods, is the source of this load change. The exposure of natural gas and oil pipes to variable loads causes deformation, cracks, and breaks in these pipes. Cracks and breaks on the pipes cause damage to people and the environment due to reasons such as explosions. Especially with the examinations made after natural disasters, it can be easily understood which of the pipes has more damage in the regions followed. It has been determined that the earthquakes in Turkey caused permanent damage to the pipelines. This project was designed and realized because it was determined that there were cracks and gas leaks in the insulation gaskets placed in the pipelines, especially at the junction points. In this study, A new SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) application has been developed to monitor load changes caused by natural disasters. The newly developed SCADA application monitors the changes in the x, y, and z axes of the stresses occurring in the pipes with the help of strain gauge sensors placed on the pipes. For the developed SCADA system, test setups in accordance with the standards were created during the fieldwork. The test setups created were integrated into the SCADA system, and the system was followed up. Thanks to the SCADA system developed with the field application, the load changes that will occur on the natural gas and oil pipes are instantly monitored, and the accumulations that may create a load on the pipes and their surroundings are immediately intervened, and new risks that may arise are prevented. It has contributed to energy supply security, asset management, pipeline holistic management, and sustainability.

Keywords: earthquake, natural gas pipes, oil pipes, strain measurement, stress measurement, landslide

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Authors: Mohammad Iqbal Malik

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Economic development of a country depends on its business ethics and values. Islamic teachings provide obvious guidelines in this regard. Mutual understanding, honesty and ethics possess central place in Islamic teachings. These teachings not only prohibit from amalgamation, black-marketing, hoarding and deception but also force to treat a customer amiably. Business ethics are broad spectrum in Islamic society due to these high moral values. One can estimate the importance of business ethics in Islam for economic development in Islamic society is evident by the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in which He excluded a trader from Muslim community who did not behave in good manners with his clients. In this study we present impact of business ethics on economic development of a Muslim society. This study is based on basic teachings of Quran and Sunnah, Fiqh, Economics and other books. This study explores the behavior of Muslim traders and reveals useful inferences. Policy makers, traders, academia, scholars, and general public may learn lessons from this study with respect to business ethics in Islamic perspective.

Keywords: ethics, business, Islam, economic perspective

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Authors: Anyi Katherine Garzon Robles, Luis Carlos Gomez Florez

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Since the advent of the Internet, the use of Information Technologies (IT) has increased exponentially. The field of informatics and telecommunications has put on the table countless possibilities for the development of different socio-economic activities, promoting a change of social paradigm and the emergence of the so-called information and knowledge society. For more than a decade, the Colombian government has been working on the incorporation of IT into the public sector through an e-government strategy. However, to date, many technological gaps has not yet been identified in the country to our knowledge, especially in rural areas and far from large cities, where factors such as low investment and the expansion of the armed conflict have led to economic and technological stagnation. This paper presents the research results obtained from the execution of a research project, which was approach from a qualitative approach and a methodological design of a participatory action research type. This design consists of nine fundamental stages divided into four work cycles. For which different strategies for data collection and analysis were established. From which, a methodology was obtained for the identification of technological gaps and the measurement of the level of technological acceptance in the rural sector, based on the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) model, as a previous activity to the development of IT solutions framed in the e-government strategy in Colombia. The result of this research work represents a contribution from academia for the improvement of the country's technological development and a guide for the proper planning of IT solutions aimed at promoting a close relationship between government and citizens.

Keywords: E-government, knowledge society, level of technological acceptance, technological gaps, technology acceptance model

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Authors: Mohd Ruzlin Mohd Mokhtar

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At present, most operators who are working on projects for utilities such as power, water, oil, gas, telecommunication and sewerage are using technologies e.g. Total station, Global Positioning System (GPS), Electromagnetic Locator (EML) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to perform underground utility mapping. With the increase in popularity of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method among the local authorities and asset owners, most of newly installed underground utilities need to use the HDD method. HDD method is seen as simple and create not much disturbance to the public and traffic. Thus, it was the preferred utilities installation method in most of areas especially in urban areas. HDDs were installed much deeper than exiting utilities (some reports saying that HDD is averaging 5 meter in depth). However, this impacts the accuracy or ability of existing underground utility mapping technologies. In most of Malaysia underground soil condition, those technologies were limited to maximum of 3 meter depth. Thus, those utilities which were installed much deeper than 3 meter depth could not be detected by using existing detection tools. The accuracy and reliability of existing underground utility mapping technologies or work procedure were in doubt. Thus, a mitigation action plan is required. While installing new utility using Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method, a more accurate underground utility mapping can be achieved by using Gyro OMU compared to existing practice using e.g. EML and GPR. Gyro OMU is a method to accurately identify the location of HDD thus this mapping can be used or referred to avoid those cost of breakdown due to future HDD works which can be caused by inaccurate underground utility mapping.

Keywords: Gyro Orientation Measurement Unit (Gyro OMU), Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electromagnetic Locator (EML)

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Authors: Noha El Toukhy

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The ‘beauty is good” stereotype suggests that people perceive attractive people as having several positive characteristics. Likewise, an “anomalous-is-bad” stereotype is hypothesized to facilitate biases against people with anomalous or less attractive faces. Researchers integrated both into a stereotype content model, which is one of the frameworks used in this study to assess how facial anomalies influence people’s social attitudes and, specifically, people’s ratings of warmth and competence. The mind perception theory, as well as the assessment of animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization against facially anomalous people, are two further frameworks that we are using in this study. This study will test the hypothesis that people have negative attitudes towards people with facial anomalies. We also hypothesize that people have negative biases toward faces with visible differences compared to faces without such differences regardless of the specific type of anomaly, as well as that individual differences in psychological dispositions bear on the expression of the anomalous-is-bad stereotype. Using highly controlled and some never-before-used face stimuli, this pre-registered study examines whether moral character influences perceptions of attractiveness, warmth, and competence for facial anomalies.

Keywords: adolescents, attractiveness, competence, social attitudes, warmth

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