Search results for: impact assessment

Authors: Adelina Castelo

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The increasing number of learners of Portuguese as Foreign Language in China justifies the need to define the phonetic profile of these learners and to design didactic materials that are adjusted to their specific problems in pronunciation. Different aspects of this topic have been studied, but the production of oral vowels still needs to be investigated. This study aims: (i) to identify the problems the Chinese learners of Portuguese experience in the pronunciation of oral vowels; (ii) to discuss the didactic implications drawn from those problems. The participants were eight native speakers of Mandarin Chinese that had been learning Portuguese in College for almost a year. They named pictured objects and their oral productions were recorded and phonetically transcribed. The selection of the objects to name took into account some linguistic variables (e.g. stress pattern, syllable structure, presence of the Portuguese oral vowels in different word positions according to stress location). The results are analysed in two ways: the impact of linguistic variables on the success rate in the vowels' production; the replacement strategies used in the non-target productions. Both analyses show that the Chinese learners of Portuguese (i) have significantly more difficulties with the mid vowels as well as the high central vowel and (ii) do not master the vowel height feature. These findings contribute to define the phonetic profile of these learners in terms of oral vowel production. Besides, they have important didactic implications for the pronunciation teaching to these specific learners. Those implications are discussed and exemplified.

Keywords: Chinese learners, learners’ phonetic profile, linguistic variables, Portuguese as foreign language, production data, pronunciation teaching, oral vowels

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Authors: Bing Xu, Kerry Lee, Jason M. Stephen

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Collaborative learning (CL) has been regarded as a way to facilitate students to gain knowledge and improve social skills. In China, lecturers in higher education institutions have commonly adopted CL in their daily practice. However, such a strategy could not be effective when it is designed and applied in an inappropriate way. Previous research hardly focused on how CL was applied in Chinese universities. This present study aims to gain a deep understanding of how Chinese lecturers design and implement CL tasks. The researchers interviewed ten lecturers from different faculties in various universities in China and usedGroup Learning Activity Instructional Design (GLAID) framework to analyse the data. We found that not all lecturers pay enough attention to eight essential components (proposed by GLAID) when they designed CL tasks, especially the components of Structure and Guidance. Meanwhile, only a small part of lecturers made formative assessment to help students improve learning. We also discuss the strengths and limitations and CL design and further provide suggestions to the lecturers who intend to use CL in class. Research Objectives: The aims of the present research are threefold. We intend to 1) gain a deep understanding of how Chinese lecturers design and implement collaborative learning (CL) tasks, 2) find strengths and limitations of CL design in higher education, and 3) give suggestions about how to improve the design and implement. Research Methods: This research adopted qualitative methods. We applied the semi-structured interview method to interview ten Chinese lecturers about how they designed and implemented CL tasks in their courses. There were 9 questions in the interview protocol focusing on eight components of GLAID. Then, underpinning the GLAID framework, we utilized the coding reliability thematic analysis method to analyse the research data. The coding work was done by two PhD students whose research fields are CL, and the Cohen’s Kappa was 0.772 showing the inter-coder reliability was good. Contribution: Though CL has been commonly adopted in China, few studies have paid attention to the details about how lecturers designed and implemented CL tasks in practice. This research addressed such a gap and found not lecturers were aware of how to design CL and felt it difficult to structure the task and guide the students on collaboration, and further ensure student engagement in CL. In summary, this research advocates for teacher training; otherwise, students may not gain the expected learning outcomes.

Keywords: collaborative learning, higher education, task design, GLAID framework

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Authors: Lakshmi, Yakshita Awasthi, Deepika, Lovleen Jha, Archna Kumar

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From the back of centuries, plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) have been recognized as a major threat to agriculturalists globally. It causes 21.3% global food loss annually. The utilization of harmful chemical pesticides to minimize the nematode population may cause acute and delayed health hazards and harmful impacts on human health. In recent years, a variety of plants have been evaluated for their nematicidal properties and efficacy in the management of plant-parasitic nematodes. Several Phyto-nematicides are available, but most of them are incapable of sustainable management of PPN, especially Meloidogyne spp. Thus, there is a great need for a new eco-friendly, highly efficient, sustainable control measure for this nematode species. Keeping all these facts and after reviewing the literature, aqueous extract of Cymbopogon citratus, Tagetes erecta, and Azadirachta indica were prepared by adding distilled water (1 g sample mixed with 10ml of water). In vitro studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacious nature of targeted botanicals against PPN Meloidogyne spp. The mortality status of PPN was recorded by counting the live and dead individuals after applying 100μl of selected extract. The impact was observed at different time durations, i.e., 24h and 48h. The result showed that the highest 100% mortality was at 48h in all three extracts. Thus, these extracts, with the addition of a suitable shelf-life enhancer, may be exploited in different nematode control programs as an economical, sustainable measure.

Keywords: Meloidogyne, Cymbopogon citratus, Tagetes erecta, Azadirachta indica, nematicidal

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Authors: Bindu Shrestha, Sudarshan R. Tiwari, Sushil B. Bajracharya

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Urban household cooking fuel choice is highly influenced by human behavior and energy culture parameters such as cognitive norms, material culture and practices. Although these parameters have a leading role in Kathmandu for cleaner households, they are not incorporated in the city’s energy policy. This paper aims to identify trade-offs to transform resident behavior in cooking pattern towards cleaner technology from the questionnaire survey, observation, mapping, interview, and quantitative analysis. The analysis recommends implementing a Collaborative Cultural Model (CCM) for changing impact on the neighborhood from the policy level. The results showed that each household produces 439.56 kg of carbon emission each year and 20 percent used unclean technology due to low-income level. Residents who used liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as their cooking fuel suffered from an energy crisis every year that has created fuel hoarding, which ultimately creates more energy demand and carbon exposure. In conclusion, the carbon emission can be reduced by improving the residents’ energy consumption culture. It recommended the city to use holistic action of changing habits as soft power of collaboration in two-way participation approach within residents, private sectors, and government to change their energy culture and behavior in policy level.

Keywords: energy consumption pattern, collaborative cultural model, energy culture, fuel stacking

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Authors: Sanusi Abubakar Sadiq, Rebecca William Chiwar

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Wildlife Park stands a chance of contributing to tourism development in different ways, but available infrastructure, and facilities required by visitors when they arrive, access road to the destination, and resources to facilitate positive experience are lacking in certain areas. The study set out to find out the need to develop Sumu Wildlife Park Bauchi State, to an international standard. The study focused on identifying the existing facilities and infrastructure at the park and to further identify the available resources used by visitors. In attempt to find out the impact of developing Sumu Wildlife Park and ways of filling the gap of the actual standard data were obtained from fifteen administrative staff of Sumu Wildlife Park, ten staff of Bauchi state Tourism Board and twenty-five residents of the community in Kafin Madaki, Bauchi. Relevant literature were reviewed in the study; data collected were organized and analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), software for analysis. Findings revealed that though Sumu Wildlife Park has attractions to keep visitors patronage but has insufficient facilities to maintain visitors and has not been developed to an expected standard. The problem faced by the management of Sumu wildlife Park is lack of adequate facilities, infrastructure and resources. The need to develop Sumu Wildlife Park has enormous benefits in increasing patronage. Provision of more funds would help improve standard as there would be more activities within and around the park. Regular maintenance of those facilities protects the life span of the park.

Keywords: attractions, facilities, infrastructure, resources

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Authors: Sebastian Wójtowicz, Anna Mosiołek, Anna Słupik, Zbigniew Wroński, Dariusz Białoszewski

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Introduction: In whole-body vibration (WBV) high-frequency mechanical stimuli is generated by a vibration plate and is transferred through bone, muscle and connective tissues to the whole body. The research has shown that the implementation of a vibration plate training over a long period of time leads to improvement of neuromuscular facilitation, especially in afferent neural pathways, which are responsible for the conduction of vibration and proprioceptive stimuli, muscle function, balance, and proprioception. The vibration stimulus is suggested to briefly inhibit the conduction of afferent signals from proprioceptors and may hinder the maintenance of body balance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the result of a single set of exercises connected with whole-body vibration on the proprioception. Material and Methods: The study enrolled 60 people aged 19-24 years. These individuals were divided into a test group (group A) and a control group (group B). Both groups consisted of 30 persons and performed the same set of exercises on a vibration plate. The following vibration parameters: frequency of 20Hz and amplitude of 3mm, were used in the group A. The vibration plate was turned off while the control group did their exercises. All participants performed six dynamic 30-seconds-long exercises with a 60-second resting period between them. Large muscle groups of the trunk, pelvis, and lower limbs were involved while taking the exercises. The results were measured before and immediately after the exercises. The proprioception of lower limbs was measured in a closed kinematic chain using a Humac 360®. Participants were instructed to perform three squats with biofeedback in a defined range of motion. Then they did three squats without biofeedback which were measured. The final result was the average of three measurements. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 10.0 PL software. Results: There were no significant differences between the groups, both before and after the exercise (p > 0.05). The proprioception did not change in both the group A and the group B. Conclusions: 1. Deterioration in proprioception was not observed immediately after the vibration stimulus. This suggests that vibration-induced blockage of proprioceptive stimuli conduction can only have a short-lasting effect occurring only in the presence of the vibration stimulus. 2. Short-term use of vibration seems to be safe for patients with proprioceptive impairment due to the fact that the treatment does not decrease proprioception. 3. There is a need for supplementing the results with evaluation of proprioception while vibration stimuli are being applied. Moreover, the effects of vibration parameters used in the exercises should be evaluated.

Keywords: joint position sense, proprioception, squat, whole body vibration

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Authors: Wei Chen, Jinlong Pan

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3D concrete printing technology is a novel and highly efficient construction method that holds significant promise for advancing low-carbon initiatives within the construction industry. In contrast to traditional construction practices, 3D printing offers a manual and formwork-free approach, resulting in a transformative shift in labor requirements and fabrication techniques. This transition yields substantial reductions in carbon emissions during the construction phase, as well as decreased on-site waste generation. Furthermore, when compared to conventionally printed concrete, 3D concrete exhibits mechanical anisotropy due to its layer-by-layer construction methodology. Therefore, it becomes imperative to investigate the influence of the printing process on the mechanical properties of 3D printed strips and to optimize the mechanical characteristics of these coagulated strips. In this study, we conducted three-dimensional reconstructions of printed blocks using both circular and directional print heads, incorporating various overlap distances between strips, and employed CT scanning for comprehensive analysis. Our research focused on assessing mechanical properties and micro-pore characteristics under different loading orientations. Our findings reveal that increasing the overlap degree between strips leads to enhanced mechanical properties of the strips. However, it's noteworthy that once full overlap is achieved, further increases in the degree of coincidence do not lead to a decrease in porosity between strips. Additionally, due to its superior printing cross-sectional area, the square printing head exhibited the most favorable impact on mechanical properties.

Keywords: 3D printing concrete, mechanical anisotropy, micro-pore structure, printing technology

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Authors: Prajwal Eachempati, Laurent Muzellec, Ashish Kumar Jha

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We use Facebook as a case study to investigate the complex relationship between the firm’s public discourse (and actions) surrounding data privacy and the performance of a business model based on monetizing user’s data. We do so by looking at the evolution of public discourse over time (2004–2021) and relate topics to revenue and stock market evolution Drawing from archival sources like Zuckerberg We use LDA topic modelling algorithm to reveal 19 topics regrouped in 6 major themes. We first show how, by using persuasive and convincing language that promises better protection of consumer data usage, but also emphasizes greater user control over their own data, the privacy issue is being reframed as one of greater user control and responsibility. Second, we aim to understand and put a value on the extent to which privacy disclosures have a potential impact on the financial performance of social media firms. There we found significant relationship between the topics pertaining to privacy and social media/technology, sentiment score and stock market prices. Revenue is found to be impacted by topics pertaining to politics and new product and service innovations while number of active users is not impacted by the topics unless moderated by external control variables like Return on Assets and Brand Equity.

Keywords: public discourses, data protection, social media, privacy, topic modeling, business models, financial performance

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Authors: Xia Fang

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Arid and semiarid areas of China (ASAC) have experienced significant land-use/cover changes (LUCC), along with intensified climate change. However, LUCC and climate changes and their individual and interactive effects on carbon stocks have not yet been fully understood in the ASAC. This study analyses the carbon stocks in the ASAC during 1980 - 2020 using the specific arid ecosystem model (AEM), and investigates the effects of LUCC and climate change on carbon stock trends. The results indicate that in the past 41 years, the ASAC carbon pool experienced an overall growth trend, with an increase of 182.03 g C/m2. Climatic factors (+291.99 g C/m2), especially the increase in precipitation, were the main drivers of the carbon pool increase. LUCC decreased the carbon pool (-112.27 g C/m2), mainly due to the decrease in grassland area (-2.77%). The climate-induced carbon sinks were distributed in northern Xinjiang, on the Ordos Plateau, and in Northeast China, while the LUCC-induced carbon sinks mainly occurred on the Ordos Plateau and the North China Plain, resulting in a net decrease in carbon sequestration in these regions according to carbon pool measurements. The study revealed that the combination of climate variability, LUCC, and increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration resulted in an increase of approximately 182.03 g C/m2, which was mainly distributed in eastern Inner Mongolia and the western Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Our findings are essential for improving theoretical guidance to protect the ecological environment, rationally plan land use, and understand the sustainable development of arid and semiarid zones.

Keywords: AEM, climate change, LUCC, carbon stocks

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Authors: Khadidja Rahmani, Nahla Bouaziz

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The climate change and the economic crisis, which are currently running, are the origin of the emergence of many issues and problems, which are related to the domain of energy and environment in à direct or indirect manner. Since the urban space is the core element and the key to solve the current problem, particular attention is given to it in this study. For this reason, we rented to the later a very particular attention; this is for the opportunities that it provides and that can be invested to attenuate a little this situation, which is disastrous and worried, especially in the face of the requirements of sustainable development. Indeed, the purpose of this work is to develop a method, which will allow us to guide designers towards projects with a certain degree of thermo-aeraulic comfort while requiring a minimum energy consumption. In this context, the architects, the urban planners and the engineers (energeticians) have to collaborate jointly to establish a method based on indicators for the improvement of the urban environmental quality (aeraulic-thermo comfort), correlated with a reduction in the energy demand of the entities that make up this environment, in areas with a sub-humid climate. In order to test the feasibility and to validate the method developed in this work, we carried out a series of simulations using computer-based simulation. This research allows us to evaluate the impact of the use of the indicators in the design of the urban sets, on the economic and ecological plan. Using this method, we prove that an urban design, which carefully considered energetically, can contribute significantly to the preservation of the environment and the reduction of the consumption of energy.

Keywords: comfort, energy consumption, energy mastery, morpho-energetic indicators, simulation, sub-humid climate, urban sets

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Authors: Shantha Kumari Muniyandi, Johan Sohaili, Siti Suhaila Mohamad

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The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of reusing nonmetallic printed circuit boards (PCBs) waste in recycled HDPE (rHDPE) in terms of toxicity and mechanical properties. A series of X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) analysis tests have been conducted on raw nonmetallic PCBs waste to determine the chemical compositions. It can be seen that the nonmetallic PCBs approximately 72% of glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin materials such as SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, BaO, Na2O, and SrO, 9.4% of metallic materials such as CuO, SnO2, and Fe2O3, and 6.53% of Br. Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC) and Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) tests also have been done to study the toxicity characteristics of raw nonmetallic PCB powders, rHDPE/PCB and virgin HDPE for comparison purposes. For both of the testing, Cu was identified as the highest metal element contained in raw PCBs with the concentration of 905 mg/kg and 59.09 mg/L for TTLC and TCLP, respectively. However, once the nonmetallic PCB was filled in rHDPE composites, the concentrations of Cu were reduced to 134 mg/kg for TTLC and to 3 mg/L for TCLP testing. For mechanical properties testing, incorporation of 40 wt% nonmetallic PCB into rHDPE has increased the flexural modulus and flexural strength by 140% and 36%, respectively. While, Izod Impact strength decreased steadily with incorporation of 10 – 40 wt% nonmetallic PCBs.

Keywords: nonmetallic printed circuit board, recycled HDPE, composites, mechanical properties, total threshold limit concentration, toxicity characteristic leaching procedure

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Authors: Aditya Manna, Lalit Kumar Khanra, Shyamal Kumar Sarkar

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Introduction: Here in India almost 75% of cancer patient die a sad death of neglect due to lack of awareness about palliative care and low economic level. Surveys in India show that two third of cancer patient do not get proper care during the terminal phase of their life. Palliative care through volunteers can make a significant difference in this respect. Objective: To identify and try to solve, to the extent possible, the main difficulties in giving palliative care to the terminal cancer patients of the area. And evaluate the impact of volunteer’s direct care of palliative patients and their families. Methods: Feedback from patients and their relatives regarding the palliative care they receive from nursing home and from volunteers and compare the two. Also feedback from volunteers regarding their positive and negative experience while delivering palliative care service. Then evaluate the data to compare and improve the quality of service. Results: We carried out two studies. One study was undertaken in nursing home palliative care and another was in home setting by volunteers. Both studies were in adult palliative care services. Since January 2015, 496 cases were studied to enquire about their experience in both home based care and nursing home care. Both the studies fulfilled our quality appraisal criteria. One found that those families and patients who received home visits from volunteers were significantly more satisfied. The study highlighted the value of the role of volunteers in better satisfaction of patients and their families. Conclusions: Further research is needed to evaluate the role of volunteers in palliative care and how it can be delivered appropriately and effectively. We also wish to compare our findings with similar studies elsewhere.

Keywords: palliative care, terminal care, cancer, home care

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Authors: Claudia Troccoli

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Childbearing constitutes one of the key factors affecting labour market differences between men and women, accounting for almost a quarter of the gender wage gap. Family leave policies, such as maternity, paternity, and parental leave, represent potential key policy tools to address these inequalities, as they can promote mothers' job continuity and career progression. This paper analyses four major reforms implemented in Finland between the 1960s and the early 1980s. It studies the effects of these maternity and parental leave extensions on mothers' short- and long-run labour market outcomes. Eligibility to longer leave was determined on the basis of the child's date of birth. Therefore, estimation of the causal effects of the reforms is possible by exploiting random variation in children's birthdates and comparing the outcomes of mothers giving birth just before and just after the reform cutoff date. Overall, the three maternity leave reforms did not significantly improve mothers' earnings or employment rates. On the contrary, the estimates, although imprecise, seem to indicate negative effects on women's labour market outcomes. The extension of parental leave is, on the other hand, the only reform that improved mothers' short- and long-term labour market outcomes, both in terms of earnings and employment rate. At the same time, fathers appeared to be negatively affected by the reform. These results provide suggestive evidence that shareable parental leave might have more beneficial effects on mothers' job continuity, as it weakens the connotation of childcare as a task reserved for mothers.

Keywords: family policies, Finland, maternal labour market outcomes, maternity leave

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Authors: Crisanto H. Ecaldre

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Gender perception represents how an individual perceives the gender identity of a person. Since this is a subjective assessment, it paves the way to various social reactions, either in the form of acceptance or discrimination. Reports across the world show that lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people often face discrimination, stigmatization, and targeted violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. However, the challenges faced by those who belong to both a sexual minority and a marginalized ethnic, religious, linguistic, or indigenous community are even more complex. Specifically, in Palaw’an community, members own those who identify themselves as gays or lesbians and use “bantut” to identify them. There was also the introduction of various scholarly works to facilitate dialogues that promote visibility and inclusivity across sectors in terms of gender preferences; however, there are still gaps that need to be addressed in terms of recognition and visibility. Though local research initiatives are slowly increasing in terms of numbers, culturally situating gender studies appropriately within the context of indigenous cultural communities is still lacking. Indigenous community-based discourses on gender or indigenizing gender discourses remain a challenge; hence, this study aimed to contribute to addressing these identified gaps. These research objectives were realized through a qualitative approach following an exploratory design. Findings revealed that the Palaw’an indigenous cultural community has an existing concept of homosexuality, which they termed “bantut.” This notion was culturally defined by the participants as (a) kaloob ng diwata; (b) a manifestation of physical inferiority; (c) hindi nakapag-asawa or hindi nagka-anak; and (d) based on the ascribed roles by the community. These were recognized and valued by the community. However, despite the recognition and visibility within the community, the outside people view them otherwise. The challenges experienced by the Palaw’an homosexuals are imposed by the people outside their community, and these include prejudice, discrimination, and double marginalization. Because of these struggles, they are forced to cope. They deal with these imposed limitations, biases, and burdens by non-Palaw’an through self-acceptance, strong self-perception, and the option to leave the community to seek a more open and progressive environment for LGBTs. While these are indications of their ‘resilience’ amidst difficult situations, this reality poses an important concern -how the recognition and visibility of indigenous homosexuals from the mainstream perspective can be attained.

Keywords: gender preference, acceptability, challenge, recognition, visibility, coping

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Authors: Mario Jose Paillacho Silva, José Ángel Pérez López

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This article delves into the critical role of circular economy principles in unlocking sustainable growth and addressing environmental inequalities in emerging markets. Circular economy practices, rooted in regenerative systems and resource conservation, offer a transformative pathway for dynamic economies to achieve prosperity while minimizing environmental impact. The article comprehensively explores the understanding of the circular economy in emerging markets, emphasizing its economic benefits, social implications, and environmental advantages. It highlights key challenges and opportunities faced by these markets and emphasizes the crucial role of governments in creating supportive policy frameworks. It emphasizes how circular economy practices empower local communities and promote social inclusion and equality. Furthermore, the article underscores how the adoption of circular economy practices can mitigate waste, pollution, and resource scarcity, thus contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Integrating circular economy principles with the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs), the article showcases the potential of circularity in fostering responsible consumption and production, sustainable economic growth, and environmental protection. Overall, the article advocates for cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing to overcome barriers and scale circular economy practices in emerging markets, ultimately leading to a more equitable, prosperous, and environmentally sustainable future.

Keywords: circular economy, sustainability, emerging markets, circularity

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Authors: D. S. Jaya, G. P. Deepthi

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Groundwater is vital to the livelihoods and health of the majority of the people since it provides almost the entire water resource for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. Groundwater quality comprises the physical, chemical, and bacteriological qualities. The present investigation was carried out to determine the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of the ground water sources in the residential areas of Karakulam Grama Panchayath in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala state in India. Karakulam is located in the eastern suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram city. The major drinking water source of the residents in the study area are wells. The present study aims to assess the portability and irrigational suitability of groundwater in the study area. The water samples were collected from randomly selected dug wells and bore wells in the study area during post monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons of the year 2014 after a preliminary field survey. The physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters of the water samples were analysed following standard procedures. The concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Mn) in the acid digested water samples were determined by using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed that the pH of well water samples ranged from acidic to the alkaline level. In the majority of well water samples ( > 54%) the iron and magnesium content were found high in both the seasons studied, and the values were above the permissible limits of WHO drinking water quality standards. Bacteriological analyses showed that 63% of the wells were contaminated with total coliforms in both the seasons studied. Irrigational suitability of groundwater was assessed by determining the chemical indices like Sodium Percentage (%Na), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Residual Sodium Carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index (PI), and the results indicate that the well water in the study area is good for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the study reveals the degradation of drinking water quality groundwater sources in Karakulam Grama Panchayath in Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala in terms of its chemical and bacteriological characteristics and is not potable without proper treatment. In the study, more than 1/3rd of the wells tested were positive for total coliforms, and the bacterial contamination may pose threats to public health. The study recommends the need for periodic well water quality monitoring in the study area and to conduct awareness programs among the residents.

Keywords: bacteriological, groundwater, irrigational suitability, physicochemical, portability

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Authors: D. Sun, T. F. Lu, A. Zander, M. Trinkle

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This paper investigates the potential use of airborne ultrasonic phased arrays for imaging in outdoor environments as a means of overcoming the limitations experienced by kinect sensors, which may fail to work in the outdoor environments due to the oversaturation of the infrared photo diodes. Ultrasonic phased arrays have been well studied for static media, yet there appears to be no comparable examination in the literature of the impact of a flowing medium on the focusing behaviour of near field focused ultrasonic arrays. This paper presents a method for predicting the sound pressure fields produced by a single ultrasound element or an ultrasonic phased array influenced by airflows. The approach can be used to determine the actual focal point location of an array exposed in a known flow field. From the presented simulation results based upon this model, it can be concluded that uniform flows in the direction orthogonal to the acoustic propagation have a noticeable influence on the sound pressure field, which is reflected in the twisting of the steering angle of the array. Uniform flows in the same direction as the acoustic propagation have negligible influence on the array. For an array impacted by a turbulent flow, determining the location of the focused sound field becomes difficult due to the irregularity and continuously changing direction and the speed of the turbulent flow. In some circumstances, ultrasonic phased arrays impacted by turbulent flows may not be capable of producing a focused sound field.

Keywords: airborne, airflow, focused sound field, ultrasonic phased array

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Authors: Ahmad Aridah, Maria Fay Rola-Rubzen, Zora Singh

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This study investigated the effectiveness of various types of irrigation systems in regards to the impact that these have on the productivity of date palms in the semi-arid and arid region of Sebha, Southwest Libya. The date palm is an economically important crop in Libya and contributes to the agriculture industry, foreign exchange earnings, farmers’ income, and employment in the country. The date palm industry relies on large amounts of water for growing the crop. Farmers in Southwest Libya use a variety of irrigation systems, but the quality and quantity of water varies between systems and this affects the productivity and income of farmers. Using survey data from 210 farmers, this study estimated and assessed the pros and cons of different types of irrigation systems for date palm production under various irrigation systems currently used in Sebha, Libya. The number of years farmers have used irrigation, the area, irrigation water consumption, time of irrigation, number of farm workers (including family labour) and inputs used were measured for surface, sprinkler and drip irrigation methods. Findings from this research provide new insights into the advantages and disadvantages of the various irrigation systems, problems encountered by farmers and the factors that affect the quality and quantity of the irrigation system. The paper discussed proposed solutions to deal with the problems including timing of irrigation, canal maintenance, repair of wells and water control.

Keywords: Libya, factors, irrigation method, date palm

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Authors: Ravi Vishwanath, Saumya Kumaar, S. N. Omkar

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Brain-computer interfacing (BCI) is a technology that is almost four decades old, and it was developed solely for the purpose of developing and enhancing the impact of neuroprosthetics. However, in the recent times, with the commercialization of non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets, the technology has seen a wide variety of applications like home automation, wheelchair control, vehicle steering, etc. One of the latest developed applications is the mind-controlled quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle. These applications, however, do not require a very high-speed response and give satisfactory results when standard classification methods like Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLPC). Issues are faced when there is a requirement for high-speed control in the case of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles where such methods are rendered unreliable due to the low speed of classification. Such an application requires the system to classify data at high speeds in order to retain the controllability of the vehicle. This paper proposes a novel method of classification which uses a combination of Common Spatial Paradigm and Linear Discriminant Analysis that provides an improved classification accuracy in real time. A non-linear SVM based classification technique has also been discussed. Further, this paper discusses the implementation of the proposed method on a fixed-wing and VTOL unmanned aerial vehicles.

Keywords: brain-computer interface, classification, machine learning, unmanned aerial vehicles

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Authors: Mary Ostaszewski

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For many years China was riddled by poverty among many other issues and was far from a world power. However, today China has one of the largest GDPs of any country in the world and is a global powerhouse. Since China has accomplished so much, many would presume that this means China is moving away from being a “developing country” alongside countries such as India, Brazil, Israel, etc. into the category “developed country” with countries such as the U.S. Yet, this is not the case as, despite their economic strides, China still has ways to come, especially when it comes to human rights. China faces extreme criticism regarding how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) handles human rights. China has an Orwellian-based society where technology is highly monitored, critics are quickly silenced, and freedoms are heavily restricted. One of their most recent human rights violations is attempting to repress Uyghur populations by placing them into “re-education camps,” where an already vulnerable population is being deprived of their freedoms through severe oppression. These violations create concerns as other developing countries with authoritarian governments follow the example of China. This is mainly because China has seen great success economically while simultaneously being able to maintain its authoritarian regime, thus, inspiring other countries to continue their human rights violations in hopes of gaining success similar to China’s. This idolization of China by other authoritarian regimes creates a concern especially regarding their “re-education” camps. This paper will argue that Chinese “re-education” camps are not only dangerous because they severely oppress and harm the Uyghur population. Yet they are also dangerous because other countries already impressed by China’s success may adopt similar camps in their countries to ensure their oppressive governments retain their tight grasp on power.

Keywords: China, re-education camps, developing countries, Africa, West

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Authors: Damien P. Fevre, Peter K. Dearden

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Honeybee population sustainability is a critical concern for environmental stability and human food security. The success of a colony relies heavily on the egg-laying capacity of the queen, as it determines the production of thousands of worker bees who, in turn, perform essential functions in foraging and transforming food to make it digestible for the colony. The main sources of nutrition for honeybees are nectar, providing carbohydrates, and pollen, providing protein. This study delves into the impact of the proportion of these macronutrients on the food consumption patterns of nurse bees responsible for feeding the queen and how it affects the characteristics of the eggs produced. Using nutritional geometry, qRT-PCR, and RNA-seq analysis, this study sheds light on the pivotal role of nutrition in influencing gene expression in nurse bees, honeybee queen egg-laying capacity and embryonic development. Interestingly, while nutrition is crucial, the queen's genotype plays an even more significant role in this complex relationship, highlighting the importance of genotype-by-environment interactions. Understanding the interplay between genotype and nutrition is key to optimizing beekeeping management and strategic queen breeding practices. The findings from this study have significant implications for beekeeping practices, emphasizing the need for an appropriate nutrition to support the social nutrition of Apis mellifera. Implementing these insights can lead to improved colony health, increased productivity, and sustainable honeybee conservation efforts.

Keywords: honeybee, egg-laying, nutrition, transcriptomics

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Authors: Mohit Taneja, Ravi Kiran, S. C. Bose

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Entrepreneurs’ role in achieving Sustainable development goals is crucial as the growth potential of any region depends upon the number and the success rate of entrepreneurial firms. This paper is an effort to examine the relationship between Sustainable growth (SG) with Entrepreneurial attitude (EA) and Entrepreneurial intention (EI) in the context of the Indian economy. The mediation effect of EI between EA and SG has been considered. Partial least square (PLS) –Structural Equation Model (SEM) software was used to design the framework. Students enrolled in entrepreneurship courses of higher educational institutes (HEI) of Punjab, Haryana, and the National Capital Region NCR were contacted for data collection. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) framework was used in selecting HEIs and data collected from 589 students was considered for analysis. McGee’s multi-dimensional scale for measuring ESE and the scale of Linan & Chen for measuring EI & ES (SG) was used. Results highlight that EA has a strong impact on EI (p≤ 0.001) and EI has a positive and strong relationship with SG (ES) as β value for the same is 0.683 (p≤ 0.001). The current study also reflects the mediating effect of EI among EA and ES, as the results show that the combined β value of both EA and EI (i.e.0.684*0.683= 0.467) is more than the direct influence of EA on ES (β=0.265). EA, with the mediating effect of EI can enhance the opportunity for achieving SG, which suggests that in order to increase the venture success rate and to attain SG, emphasis should be given to EI along with EA. The study has been investigated in three regions of India. Future studies can be extended to other South Asian countries for generalization.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, sustainable growth, entrepreneurship intention, entrepreneurship attitude

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Authors: Nino Damenia

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The agricultural sector plays an important role in the development of Georgia's economy, it contributes to employment and food security. It faces various types of risks that may lead to heavy financial losses. Agricultural insurance is one of the means of combating agricultural risks. The paper discusses the agricultural insurance experience of those countries (European countries and the USA) that have successfully implemented the agricultural insurance program. Analysis of international cases shows that a well-designed and implemented agri-insurance system can bring significant benefits to farmers, insurance companies and the economy as a whole. In the background of all this, the Government of Georgia recognized the importance of agro-insurance and took important steps for its development. In 2014, in cooperation with insurance companies, an agro-insurance program was introduced, the purpose of which is to increase the availability of insurance for farmers and stimulate the agro-insurance market. Despite such a step forward, challenges remain such as awareness of farmers, insufficient infrastructure for data collection and risk assessment, involvement of insurance companies and other important factors. With the support of the government and stakeholders, it is possible to overcome the existing challenges and establish a strong and effective agro-insurance system. Objectives. The purpose of the research is to analyze the development trends of the agricultural insurance market, to identify the main factors affecting its growth, and to further develop recommendations for development prospects for Georgia. Methodologies. The research uses mixed methods, which combine qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The qualitative method includes the study of the literature of Georgian and foreign economists, which allows us to get acquainted with the challenges, opportunities, legislative and regulatory frameworks of agricultural insurance. Quantitative analysis involves collecting data from stakeholders and then analyzing it. The paper also uses the methods of synthesis, comparison and statistical analysis of the agricultural insurance market in Georgia, Europe and the USA. Conclusions. As the main results of the research, we can consider that the analysis of the insurance market has been made and its main functions have been identified; The essence, features and functions of agricultural insurance are analyzed; European and US agricultural insurance market is researched; The stages of formation and development of the agricultural insurance market of Georgia are studied, its importance for the agricultural sector of Georgia is determined; The role of the state for the development of agro-insurance is analyzed and development prospects are established based on the study of the current trends of the agro-insurance market of Georgia.

Keywords: agricultural insurance, agriculture, agricultural insurance program, risk

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Authors: Dipo Dunsin, Mohamed C. Ghanem, Karim Ouazzane

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Digital investigators often have a hard time spotting evidence in digital information. It has become hard to determine which source of proof relates to a specific investigation. A growing concern is that the various processes, technology, and specific procedures used in the digital investigation are not keeping up with criminal developments. Therefore, criminals are taking advantage of these weaknesses to commit further crimes. In digital forensics investigations, artificial intelligence is invaluable in identifying crime. It has been observed that an algorithm based on artificial intelligence (AI) is highly effective in detecting risks, preventing criminal activity, and forecasting illegal activity. Providing objective data and conducting an assessment is the goal of digital forensics and digital investigation, which will assist in developing a plausible theory that can be presented as evidence in court. Researchers and other authorities have used the available data as evidence in court to convict a person. This research paper aims at developing a multiagent framework for digital investigations using specific intelligent software agents (ISA). The agents communicate to address particular tasks jointly and keep the same objectives in mind during each task. The rules and knowledge contained within each agent are dependent on the investigation type. A criminal investigation is classified quickly and efficiently using the case-based reasoning (CBR) technique. The MADIK is implemented using the Java Agent Development Framework and implemented using Eclipse, Postgres repository, and a rule engine for agent reasoning. The proposed framework was tested using the Lone Wolf image files and datasets. Experiments were conducted using various sets of ISA and VMs. There was a significant reduction in the time taken for the Hash Set Agent to execute. As a result of loading the agents, 5 percent of the time was lost, as the File Path Agent prescribed deleting 1,510, while the Timeline Agent found multiple executable files. In comparison, the integrity check carried out on the Lone Wolf image file using a digital forensic tool kit took approximately 48 minutes (2,880 ms), whereas the MADIK framework accomplished this in 16 minutes (960 ms). The framework is integrated with Python, allowing for further integration of other digital forensic tools, such as AccessData Forensic Toolkit (FTK), Wireshark, Volatility, and Scapy.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, computer science, criminal investigation, digital forensics

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Authors: Barnabás Körmöndi

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The recent crises have affected societies worldwide, resulting in the irresponsible exploitation of natural resources and the unattainability of sustainability. Regions that are economically underdeveloped, such as the Bodrogköz in Eastern Hungary and Slovakia, experience these issues more severely. The aim of this study is to analyze the natural and social resources of the Bodrogköz area for the planning of complex development based on ecotourism. The objective is to develop ecotourism opportunities in this least developed area of the borderland of Hungary and Slovakia. The study utilizes desk research, deep interviews, focus group meetings, and remote sensing methods. Desk research is aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of the area, while deep interviews and focus group meetings were conducted to understand the stakeholders' perspectives on the potential for ecotourism. Remote sensing methods were used to better understand changes in the natural environment. The study identified the potential for ecotourism development in the Bodrogköz area due to its near-natural habitats along its bordering rivers and rich cultural heritage. The analysis revealed that ecotourism could promote the region's sustainable development, which is essential for its economic growth. Additionally, the study identified the possible threats to the natural environment during ecotourism development and suggested strategies to mitigate these threats. This study highlights the significance of ecotourism in promoting sustainable development in underdeveloped areas such as the Bodrogköz. It provides a basis for future research on ecotourism development and sustainable planning in similar regions. The analysis is based on the data collected through desk research, deep interviews, focus group meetings, and remote sensing. The assessment was conducted through content analysis, which allowed for the identification of themes and patterns in the data. The study addressed the question of how to develop ecotourism in the least developed area of the borderland of Hungary and Slovakia and promote sustainable development in the region. In conclusion, the study highlights the potential for ecotourism development in Bodrogköz and identifies the natural and social resources that contribute to its development. The study emphasizes the need for sustainable development to promote economic growth and mitigate any environmental threats. The findings can inform the development of future strategic plans for ecotourism, promoting sustainable development in underdeveloped regions.

Keywords: ecotourism, natural resources, remote sensing, social development

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Authors: Mebrahtu Haile

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Fuels obtained from renewable resources have garnered significant enthusiasm in recent decades due to concerns about fossil fuel depletion and climate change. This study aimed to investigate the potential of Prosopis juliflora pods mash for bio-ethanol production and its hydrolysis solid waste for solid fuel. Various parameters, such as acid concentration, hydrolysis times, fermentation times, fermentation temperature, and pH, were evaluated for their impact on bio-ethanol production using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. The results showed that increasing acid concentration (up to 1 molar H₂SO₄) led to an increase in sugar content, reaching a maximum of 96.13%v/v. Optimal conditions for bio-ethanol production were found at 1 molar H₂SO₄ concentration (4.2%v/v), 48 hours fermentation time (5.1%v/v), 20 minutes hydrolysis time (5.57%v/v), 30°C fermentation temperature (5.57%v/v), and pH 5 (6.01%v/v), resulting in a maximum bio-ethanol yield of 6.01%v/v. The solid waste remaining after bio-ethanol production exhibited potential for use as a solid fuel, with a calorific value of 18.22 MJ/kg. These findings demonstrate the promising potential of Prosopis juliflora pods mash for bio-ethanol production and suggest a viable solution for addressing disposal challenges associated with solid waste, contributing to the exploration of renewable fuel sources in the face of fossil fuel depletion and climate change.

Keywords: prosopis juliflora, pods mash, invasive species, bio-ethanol, fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, solid fuel

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Authors: Ahmed Mousa, Huda Mazeed

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The research aims to determine the appropriate songs and artistic indications for the kindergarten child. In addition, it aims to use the songs of folk to develop expressive visual drawings with artistic connotations for the kindergarten child. The current research used a one group semi-experimental approach to identify the impact of songs on expressive children's drawings. The research community is represented in the educational administration in Giza Governorate for the academic year (2018 - 2019). The sample was taken from the kindergarten of Gamal Abdel Nasser School of Dokki Educational Administration in Giza Governorate. The study was applied to the second level children sample (5-6 years), where they numbered 20 children, males and females. The research results show that there are statistically significant differences between the average scores of the children of the experimental group in the pre and post-measurements on the observation card for children after hearing the songs of social and national folk in favor of post measurement. Moreover, the results demonstrate that there are no statistically significant differences between the average scores of children in the experimental group in the measurements, the post and follow-up, on the observation card of children's drawings for social and national folk.

Keywords: folk songs, visual expressive, artistic connotations, early childhood

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Authors: Tendü H. Göktuğ, Gönül T. İçemer, Bülent Deniz

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National parks, which are rich in natural and cultural resources values are protected in the context of the idea to develop sustainability, are among the most important recreated areas demanding with each passing day. Increasing recreational use or unplanned use forms negatively affect the resource values and visitor satisfaction. The intent of national parks management is to protect the natural and cultural resource values and to provide the visitors with a quality of recreational experience, as well. In this context, the current studies to improve the appropriate tourism and recreation planning and visitor management, approach have focused on recreational carrying capacity analysis. The aim of this study is to analyze recreational carrying capacity of Çıralı Coast in the Bey Mountains Coastal National Park to compare the analyze results with the current usage format and to develop alternative management strategies. In the first phase of the study, the annual and daily visitations, geographic, bio-physical, and managerial characteristics of the park and the type of recreational usage and the recreational areas were analyzed. In addition to these, ecological observations were carried out in order to determine recreational-based pressures on the ecosystems. On-site questionnaires were administrated to a sample of 284 respondents in the August 2015 - 2016 to collect data concerning the demographics and visit characteristics. The second phase of the study, the coastal area separated into four different usage zones and the methodology proposed by Cifuentes (1992) was used for capacity analyses. This method supplies the calculation of physical, real and effective carrying capacities by using environmental, ecological, climatic and managerial parameters in a formulation. Expected numbers which estimated three levels of carrying capacities were compared to current numbers of national parks’ visitors. In the study, it was determined that the current recreational uses in the north of the beach were caused by ecological pressures, and the current numbers in the south of beach much more than estimated numbers of visitors. Based on these results management strategies were defined and the appropriate management tools were developed in accordance with these strategies. The authors are grateful for the financial support of this project by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (No: 114O344)

Keywords: Çıralı Coast, national parks, recreational carrying capacity, visitor management

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Authors: Ahmed Radwan, Ahmed Abdel Ghaney

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This paper delves into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in fostering creativity within the domain of architecture education, especially with a specific emphasis on its implications within the Design Studios; the convergence of AI and architectural pedagogy has introduced avenues for redefining the boundaries of creative expression and problem-solving. By harnessing AI-driven tools, students and educators can collaboratively explore a spectrum of design possibilities, stimulate innovative ideation, and engage in multidimensional design processes. This paper investigates the ways in which AI contributes to architectural creativity by facilitating generative design, pattern recognition, virtual reality experiences, and sustainable design optimization. Furthermore, the study examines the balance between AI-enhanced creativity and the preservation of core principles of architectural design/education, ensuring that technology is harnessed to augment rather than replace foundational design skills. Through an exploration of Egypt's architectural heritage and contemporary challenges, this research underscores how AI can synergize with cultural context and historical insights to inspire cutting-edge architectural solutions. By analyzing AI's impact on nurturing creativity among Egyptian architecture students, this paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing discourse on the integration of technology within global architectural education paradigms. It is hoped that this research will guide the thoughtful incorporation of AI in fostering creativity while preserving the authenticity and richness of architectural design education in Egypt and beyond.

Keywords: architecture, artificial intelligence, architecture education, Egypt

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Authors: Adekunle Saheed Ajisebiyawo

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This paper examines the influence of identity politics on the development of electoral democracy in Nigeria. The paper was anchored on a theory of African democracy adopted the qualitative methodology and deployed data from secondary sources to evaluate the 2023 presidential election, and found that ethnicity, religion, and regional sentiments played a major role in the election. The practical implications of this paper are that while Nigeria’s democracy is tending towards consolidation, if the unexpected does not happen, e.g., military takeover, religious and ethnic identities can mar the country’s development as competent candidates that have good policies will be voted out based on religious and ethnic sentiments. Thus, there is a need to de-emphasize religion and ethnicity in the Nigerian polity. Candidates and parties that campaign based on racial or religious narratives should be barred from contesting elective positions. The paper concluded that identity politics is inimical to Nigeria’s democratization process as well as efforts aimed at uniting and integrating the country; it, therefore, recommended that to establish a sound electoral democracy and a strong united country, the menace of ethnic, religious, and regional cleavages should be addressed. To achieve this, efforts should be intensified towards providing a set of principles for nation-building which should be included in the constitution. In addition, the paper urges the media to support the formation of an inclusive government, cutting across tribes and religions in the country to reduce the negative impact of ethnicity and religion in the country.

Keywords: cleavages, democracy, ethnicity, election, identity politics, religion

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