Search results for: mathematics result per gender

Authors: Dhruv Saini, Megha Sharma, Sharad Gupta

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This research is showing the use of celebrity endorsement and social media influencers and how they help in enhancing the brand loyalty of the consumers. The study aims at keeping brand image of the brand as the link between the two. However, choosing the right celebrity or social media influencer is not an easy task and it is very essential for a brand to select the right ambassador for advertising their products and for selling the product to the ultimate consumer. The purpose of the study is to create a relationship of Celebrity endorsement with brand image and with brand loyalty and creating a relationship of Social media influencers with brand image and with brand loyalty and then making a comparison between the two by measuring the effects of both simultaneously. And then by analyzing which among the two has a greater impact on brand loyalty of the consumers. The study mainly focuses on four major variables namely Celebrity endorsement, Social media influencers, Brand image and Brand loyalty. The study also focuses on interdependence and relationships that these variables have with each other and how they are linked with each other. The study also aims at looking which among Celebrity endorsement and Social media influencer has a greater impact on increasing or enhancing the loyalty for a brand. Earlier celebrity endorsers had a major impact on brand loyalty of the consumers but with time social media influencers are also playing a very vital role in impacting the brand loyalty of the consumers and are giving a fight to the celebrity endorsers as well. Also, Brand image also has a very vital role to play in enhancing the brand loyalty of a brand in the minds of the consumers as a well-known and a better perception of a brand leads to retention of more and more consumers. Also, both Celebrity endorsement and Social media influencers are two-way swords as both have a number of positives and a number of negatives as well, so these are to be compared keeping in mind their adverse effects. Examination of the current market situation has shown that the recommendations of celebrities when properly integrated by comparing product strengths. Advertisers agree that celebrity authorization does not guarantee sales but it can create buzz and make the consumer feel better by-product, which is also what customers should expect as a real star by delivering the promise. On the other hand, depending on the results of the studies, there should be a variety of conclusions planned. Some of the influential people on social media had a positive impact on the product portrait. One of the conclusions is that the product image had a positive impact on consumers. Moreover, the results of the following study states that the most influential influencers consumers in their intended purpose of the purchase, but instead produced a positive result indirectly with Brand image which would further lead to brand loyalty .

Keywords: brand image, brand loyalty, celebrity endorsement, social media influencer

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Ese Urhie, Olabisi Popoola, Obindah Gershon

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Several policies and programs initiated to address the challenge of unemployment in Nigeria seem to be inadequate. The desired structural transformation which is expected to absorb the excess labour in the economy is yet to be achieved. The agricultural sector accounts for almost half of the labour force with very low productivity. This could partly explain why the much anticipated structural transformation has not been achieved. A major reason for the low productivity is the fact that the production process is predominantly based on the use of traditional tools. In view of the underdeveloped nature of the agricultural sector, Nigeria still has huge potentials for productivity enhancement through modern technology. Aside from productivity enhancement, modern agriculture also stimulates both backward and forward linkages that promote investment and thus generate employment. Contrary to the apprehension usually expressed by many stake-holders about the adoption of modern technology by labour-abundant less-developed countries, this study showed that though there will be job loss initially, the reverse will be the case in the long-run. The outcome of this study will enhance the understanding of all stakeholders in the sector and also encourage them to adopt modern techniques of farming. It will also aid policy formulation at both sectoral and national levels. The recursive model and analysis adopted in the study is useful because it exhibits a unilateral cause-and-effect relationship which most simultaneous equation models do not. It enables the structural equations to be ordered in such a way that the first equation includes only predetermined variables on the right-hand side, while the solution for the final endogenous variable is completely determined by all equations of the system. The study examines the transmission channels and effect of modern agriculture on agricultural productivity and employment growth in Nigeria, via its forward and backward linkages. Using time series data spanning 1980 to 2014, the result of the analyses shows that: (i) a significant and positive relationship between agricultural productivity growth and modern agriculture; (ii) a significant and negative relationship between export price index and agricultural productivity growth; (iii) a significant and positive relationship between export and investment; and (iv) a significant and positive relationship between investment and employment growth. The unbalanced growth theory will be a good strategy to adopt by developing countries such as Nigeria.

Keywords: employment, modern agriculture, productivity, recursive model

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Parisa Gharibi Khoshkar

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The global outbreak of Covid-19 forced a swift shift in the education sector, transitioning from traditional in-person settings to remote online setups in a short period. This abrupt change, coupled with health risks and other stressors such as the lack of social interaction, has had a negative impact on academic staff, leading to increased job-related stress and psychological pressures that can result in burnout. To address this, the current research aims to investigate the relationship between job stress and burnout among academic staff in Hebron, Palestine. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating role of emotional intelligence to gain a deeper understanding of its effects in reducing burnout among academic staff and teachers. This research posits that emotional intelligence plays a vital role in helping individuals manage job-related stress and anxiety, thereby preventing burnout. Using a self-administered questionnaire, the study gathered data from 185 samples comprising teachers and administrative staff from two universities in Hebron. The data was analyzed using moderated regression analysis, ANOVA model, and interaction plots. The findings indicate that work-related stress has a direct and significant influence on burnout. Moreover, the current results highlight that emotional intelligence serves as a key determinant in managing the negative effects of the pandemic-induced stress that can lead to burnout among individuals. Given the high-demand nature of the education sector, this research strongly recommends that school authorities take proactive measures to provide much-needed support to academic staff, enabling them to better cope with job stress and fostering an environment that prioritizes individuals' wellbeing. The results of this study hold practical implications for both scholars and practitioners, as they highlight the importance of emotional intelligence in managing stress and anxiety effectively. Understanding the significance of emotional intelligence can aid in implementing targeted interventions and support systems to promote the well-being and resilience of academic staff amidst challenging circumstances.

Keywords: job stress, burnout, employee wellbeing, emotional intelligence, industrial organizational psychology, human resource management, organizational psychology

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Hala Obeid

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Among the cities that have been touched by hard events and have been experiencing this polemic of existence, one can quote Beirut. A city that defies and confronts itself for its own existence. Beirut materialized all the social complexity; it has also preserved the memory of a society that has been able to build and reflect a certain unique identity. In spite of its glory, Lebanon’s civil war has marked a turning point in Beirut’s history. It has caused many deaths and opposed religious communities. Once this civil war has ended, the reconstruction of the city center, however, saw the spatial exclusion of manual labor, small local commerce, and middle-class residences. The urban functions that characterized the pre-war center were removed, and the city’s spontaneous evolutions were replaced by a historical urban planning, which neglected the city’s memory and identity. The social and spatial fragmentation that has erupted since the war has led to a breakdown of spatial and social boundaries within the city. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of fragmentation and boundaries on the city of Beirut in spatial, social, religious and ethnic terms. The method used in this research is what we call the mixed method which is a combination between the quantitative method and the qualitative one. These two approaches, in this case, do not oppose but complement each other in order to study the city of Beirut physically and socially. The main purpose of the qualitative approach is to describe and analyze the social phenomenon of the fragmentation of the city; this method can be summarized by the field observation and study. While the quantitative approach is based on filling out questionnaires that leads to statistics analyzes. Together, these two approaches will mark the course of the research. As a result, Beirut is not only a divided city but is fragmented spatially into many fragments and socially into many groups. This fragmentation is creating immaterial boundaries between fragments and therefore between groups. These urban and social boundaries are specifically religious and ethnic limits. As a conclusion, one of the most important and discussed boundary in Beirut is a spatial and religious boundary called ‘the green line’ or the demarcation line, a true caesura within the city. It marks the opposition of two urban groups and the aggravated fragmentation between them. This line divided Beirut into two compartments: East Beirut (for Christians) and West Beirut (for Muslims). This green line has become an urban void that holds the past in suspension. Finally, to think of Beirut as an urban unit becomes an insoluble problem.

Keywords: Beirut, boundaries, fragmentation, identity

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Aashutosh Garg, Ankur Rajpal, A. A. Kazmi

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The efficiency of an on-site wastewater treatment system named Johkasou was evaluated based on its pollutant removal efficiency over 10 months. This system was installed at IIT Roorkee and had a capacity of treating 7 m3/d of sewage water, sufficient for a group of 30-50 people. This system was fed with actual wastewater through an equalization tank to eliminate the fluctuations throughout the day. Methanol and ammonium chloride was added into this equalization tank to increase the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and ammonia content of the influent. The outlet from Johkasou is sent to a tertiary unit consisting of a Pressure Sand Filter and an Activated Carbon Filter for further treatment. Samples were collected on alternate days from Monday to Friday and the following parameters were evaluated: Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Total Nitrogen (TN). The Average removal efficiency for Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Total Nitrogen (TN) was observed as 89.6, 97.7, 96, and 80% respectively. The cost of treating the wastewater comes out to be Rs 23/m3 which includes electricity, cleaning and maintenance, chemical, and desludging costs. Tests for the coliforms were also performed and it was observed that the removal efficiency for total and fecal coliforms was 100%. The sludge generation rate is approximately 20% of the BOD removal and it needed to be removed twice a year. It also showed a very good response against the hydraulic shock load. We performed vacation stress analysis on the system to evaluate the performance of the system when there is no influent for 8 consecutive days. From the result of stress analysis, we concluded that system needs a recovery time of about 48 hours to stabilize. After about 2 days, the system returns again to original conditions and all the parameters in the effluent become within the limits of National Green Tribunal (NGT) standards. We also performed another stress analysis to save the electricity in which we turned the main aeration blower off for 2 to 12 hrs a day and the results showed that we can turn the blower off for about 4-6 hrs a day and this will help in reducing the electricity costs by about 25%. It was concluded that the Johkasou system can remove a sufficient amount of all the physiochemical parameters tested to satisfy the prescribed limit set as per Indian Standard.

Keywords: on-site treatment, domestic wastewater, Johkasou, nutrient removal, pathogens removal

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Authors: Susan Ka Yee Chow

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Effective clinical preceptorship is affecting students’ competence and fostering their growth in applying theoretical knowledge and skills in clinical settings. Any difference between the expected and actual learning experience will reduce nursing students’ interest in clinical practices and having a negative consequence with their clinical performance. This cross-sectional study is an attempt to compare the differences between preferred and actual preceptorship experience of final year nursing students, and to examine the relationship between the actual preceptorship experience and perceived clinical competence of the students in a tertiary institution. Participants of the study were final year bachelor nursing students of a self-financing tertiary institution in Hong Kong. The instruments used to measure the effectiveness of clinical preceptorship was developed by the participating institution. The scale consisted of five items in a 5-point likert scale. The questions including goals development, critical thinking, learning objectives, asking questions and providing feedback to students. The “Clinical Competence Questionnaire” by Liou & Cheng (2014) was used to examine students’ perceived clinical competences. The scale consisted of 47 items categorized into four domains, namely nursing professional behaviours; skill competence: general performance; skill competence: core nursing skills and skill competence: advanced nursing skills. There were 193 questionnaires returned with a response rate of 89%. The paired t-test was used to compare the differences between preferred and actual preceptorship experiences of students. The results showed significant differences (p<0.001) for the five questions. The mean for the preferred scores is higher than the actual scores resulting statistically significance. The maximum mean difference was accepted goal and the highest mean different was giving feedback. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to examine the relationship. The results showed moderate correlations between nursing professional behaviours with asking questions and providing feedback. Providing useful feedback to students is having moderate correlations with all domains of the Clinical Competence Questionnaire (r=0.269 – 0.345). It is concluded that nursing students do not have a positive perception of the clinical preceptorship. Their perceptions are significantly different from their expected preceptorship. If students were given more opportunities to ask questions in a pedagogical atmosphere, their perceived clinical competence and learning outcomes could be improved as a result.

Keywords: clinical preceptor, clinical competence, clinical practicum, nursing students

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: R. F. Vieira, D. Lopes, I. Baptista, S. A. Figueiredo, V. F. Domingues, R. Jorge, C. Delerue-matos, O. M. Freitas

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Odours are generated in municipal solid wastes management plants as a result of decomposition of organic matter, especially when anaerobic degradation occurs. Information was collected about the substances and respective concentration in the surrounding atmosphere of some management plants. The main components which are associated with these unpleasant odours were identified: ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans. The first is the most common and the one that presents the highest concentrations, reaching values of 700 mg/m3. Biofiltration, which involves simultaneously biodegradation, absorption and adsorption processes, is a sustainable technology for the treatment of these odour emissions when a natural packing material is used. The packing material should ideally be cheap, durable, and allow the maximum microbiological activity and adsorption/absorption. The presence of nutrients and water is required for biodegradation processes. Adsorption and absorption are enhanced by high specific surface area, high porosity and low density. The main purpose of this work is the exploitation of natural waste materials, locally available, as packing media: heather (Erica lusitanica), chestnut bur (from Castanea sativa), peach pits (from Prunus persica) and eucalyptus bark (from Eucalyptus globulus). Preliminary batch tests of ammonia removal were performed in order to select the most interesting materials for biofiltration, which were then characterized. The following physical and chemical parameters were evaluated: density, moisture, pH, buffer and water retention capacity. The determination of equilibrium isotherms and the adjustment to Langmuir and Freundlich models was also performed. Both models can fit the experimental results. Based both in the material performance as adsorbent and in its physical and chemical characteristics, eucalyptus bark was considered the best material. It presents a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.78±0.45 mol/kg for ammonia. The results from its characterization are: 121 kg/m3 density, 9.8% moisture, pH equal to 5.7, buffer capacity of 0.370 mmol H+/kg of dry matter and water retention capacity of 1.4 g H2O/g of dry matter. The application of natural materials locally available, with little processing, in biofiltration is an economic and sustainable alternative that should be explored.

Keywords: ammonia removal, biofiltration, natural materials, odour control

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Authors: Hung Hing Chan, Tai-Shan Hu

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Kaohsiung has been an industrial city of Taiwan for over a hundred year. Consequently, there are several abandoned industrial lands left when the process of deindustrialization has started, resulting in the decay of the adjacent urban communities. These industrial lands, which are brownfields that are potentially or already contaminated by hazardous substances, have created social injustice to the surrounding communities. The redevelopments of industrial lands bring a sustainable development to the communities, while the redevelopments can be in different forms, depending on the natural conditions. This research studies the possible approaches to facilitate social sustainability of urban regeneration resulted from the industrial land redevelopment projects, which has always been ignored. The aim of the research is to find out the best western practices of brownfield redevelopment to facilitate social aspect of sustainable urban regeneration and make a contribution to the industrial land redevelopment of Taiwan. The research is conducted via literature review and case study. Industrial land redevelopment has been a social focus in the blighted communities to promote urban regeneration after the post-industrial age. The tendency of this kind of redevelopment is towards constructing the built environment, as a result the environmental and economic aspect of sustainability of the redeveloped industrial land will be boosted, while the social aspect will not be necessarily better since the local communities affected are rarely engaged in the decision-making process and inadequate resource allocation to the projects is not guaranteed. To ensure the improvement of social sustainability is reached, the recommendations of this research, such as civic engagement, a formation of dedicated brownfield regeneration agency and resource allocation to employ brownfield process manager and to strategic communication, should be incorporated into the real practices of industrial land-led urban regeneration. Besides, the case study also shows that the social sustainability of industrial land-led urban regeneration can be promoted by (1) upholding the local feature and public participation in the regeneration process, (2) allocating resources and enforcing responsibility system, and (3) assuring financial resource for the urban regeneration projects and residents. Subsequent research will involve in-depth interviews with the chiefs of the village of related communities in Kaohsiung and questionnaire with the community members to comprehend their opinions regarding social sustainability, aiming at evaluating the social sustainability and finding out which kind of redevelopment project tends to support the social dimension of sustainable development more.

Keywords: brownfield, industrial land, redevelopment, social sustainability, urban regeneration

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Hasan Ustun Basaran

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Diesel engines are widely used in transportation sector due to their high thermal efficiency. However, they also release high rates of NOₓ and PM (particulate matter) emissions into the environment which have hazardous effects on human health. Therefore, environmental protection agencies have issued strict emission regulations on automotive diesel engines. Recently, these regulations are even increasingly strengthened. Engine producers search novel on-engine methods such as advanced combustion techniques, utilization of renewable fuels, exhaust gas recirculation, advanced fuel injection methods or use exhaust after-treatment (EAT) systems in order to reduce emission rates on diesel engines. Although those aforementioned on-engine methods are effective to curb emission rates, they result in inefficiency or cannot decrease emission rates satisfactorily at all operating conditions. Therefore, engine manufacturers apply both on-engine techniques and EAT systems to meet the stringent emission norms. EAT systems are highly effective to diminish emission rates, however, they perform inefficiently at low loads due to low exhaust gas temperatures (below 250°C). Therefore, the objective of this study is to demonstrate that engine-out temperatures can be elevated above 250°C at low-loaded cases via cylinder disablement. The engine studied and modeled via Lotus Engine Simulation (LES) software is a six-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled diesel engine. Exhaust temperatures and mass flow rates are predicted at 1200 rpm engine speed and several low loaded conditions using LES program. It is seen that cylinder deactivation results in a considerable exhaust temperature rise (up to 100°C) at low loads which ensures effective EAT management. The method also improves fuel efficiency through reduced total pumping loss. Decreased total air induction due to inactive cylinders is thought to be responsible for improved engine pumping loss. The technique reduces exhaust gas flow rate as air flow is cut off on disabled cylinders. Still, heat transfer rates to the after-treatment catalyst bed do not decrease that much since exhaust temperatures are increased sufficiently. Simulation results are promising; however, further experimental studies are needed to identify the true potential of the method on fuel consumption and EAT improvement.

Keywords: cylinder disablement, diesel engines, exhaust after-treatment, exhaust temperature, fuel efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 176

Authors: Baluku Nathan

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Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a practical, evidence-based approach that prevents patients and emergency health workers from being harmed by avoidable infections as a result of antimicrobial resistance; all hospital infection control programs put together various practices which, when used appropriately, restrict the spread of infection. A breach in these control practices facilitates the transmission of infections from patients to health workers, other patients and attendants. It is, therefore, important for all EMTs and patients to adhere to them strictly. It is also imperative for administrators to ensure the implementation of the infection control program for their facilities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors of prevention practices against Infection exposure among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in the emergency department at Mbarara hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that employed a self-reported questionnaire that was filled out by 32 EMTs in the emergency department from 12th February to 3rd march 2022. The questionnaire consisted of items concerning the defensive environment and other Factors influencing Infection prevention and control practices in the accident and emergency department of Mbarara hospital. Results: From the findings, majority16(50%) always used protective gear when doing clinical work,14 (43.8%) didn’t use protective gear, citing they were only assisting those performing resuscitations, gumboots were the least used protective gear with only3(9.4%) usage. Regarding disposal techniques of specific products like blood and sharps, results showed 10 (31.3%) said blood is disposed of in red buckets, 5(15.6%) in yellow buckets and only5(15.6%) in black buckets and 12(37.5%) didn’t respond. However, 28(87.5%) said sharps were disposed of in a sharps container. The majority, 17(53.1%), were not aware of the infection control guidelines even though they were pinned on walls of the emergency rooms,15(46.9%) said they had never had quality assurance monitoring events,14(43.8%) said monitoring was continuous while15(46.9 %) said it was discrete. Conclusions: The infection control practices at the emergency department were inadequate in view of less than 100% of the EMTs observing the five principles of infection prevention, such as the use of personal protective equipment and proper waste disposal in appropriate color-coded bins. Dysfunctional infection prevention and control committees accompanied by inadequate supervision to ensure infection control remained a big challenge.

Keywords: infection prevention, influencing factors, emergency medical technician (EMT), emergency unit

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Baluku Nathan

Abstract:

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a practical, evidence-based approach that prevents patients and emergency health workers from being harmed by avoidable infections as a result of antimicrobial resistance; all hospital infection control programs put together various practices which, when used appropriately, restrict the spread of infection. A breach in these control practices facilitates the transmission of infections from patients to health workers, other patients, and attendants. It is, therefore important for all emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and patients to strictly adhere to them. It is also imperative for administrators to ensure the implementation of the infection control programme for their facilities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors of prevention practices against infection exposure among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in the emergency department at Mbarara hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that employed a self-reported questionnaire that was filled out by 32 EMTs in the emergency department from 12th February to 3rd march 2022. The questionnaire consisted of items concerning the defensive environment and other factors influencing infection prevention and control practices in the accident and emergency department of Mbarara hospital. Results: From the findings, the majority 16 (50%) always used protective gear when doing clinical work, 14 (43.8%) didn’t use protective gear, citing they were only assisting those performing resuscitations, gumboots were the least used protective gear with only3(9.4%) usage. About disposal techniques of specific products like blood and sharps, results showed 10 (31.3%) said blood is disposed of in red buckets, 5 (15.6%) in yellow buckets, and only 5(15.6%) in black buckets, and 12(37.5%) didn’t respond, however, 28(87.5%) said sharps were disposed of in a sharps container. The majority, 17 (53.1%), were not aware of the infection control guidelines even though they were pinned on walls of the emergency rooms, 15(46.9%) said they have never had quality assurance monitoring events, 14(43.8%) said monitoring was continuous while 15(46.9 %) said it was discrete. Conclusions: The infection control practices at the emergency department were inadequate in view of less than 100% of the EMTs observing the five principles of infection prevention, such as the use of personal protective equipment and proper waste disposal in appropriate color-coded bins. Dysfunctional infection prevention and control committees accompanied by inadequate supervision to ensure infection control remained a big challenge.

Keywords: emergency medical technician, infection prevention, influencing factors, infection control

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Siti Aisya Gany, Swee Ching Tan, Sook Yee Gan

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Diminished antioxidant defense or increased production of reactive oxygen species in the biological system can result in oxidative stress which may lead to various neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Microglial activation also contributes to the progression of AD by producing several pro-inflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Oxidative stress and inflammation have been reported to be possible pathophysiological mechanisms underlying AD. In addition, the cholinergic hypothesis postulates that memory impairment in patient with AD is also associated with the deficit of cholinergic function in the brain. Although a number of drugs have been approved for the treatment of AD, most of these synthetic drugs have diverse side effects and yield relatively modest benefits. Marine algae have great potential in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications as they are valuable sources of bioactive properties such as anti-coagulation, anti-microbial, anti-oxidative, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. Hence, this study aimed to provide an overview of the properties of Malaysian seaweeds (Padina australis, Sargassum polycystum and Caulerpa racemosa) in inhibiting oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and cholinesterase enzymes. All tested samples significantly exhibit potent DPPH and moderate Superoxide anion radical scavenging ability (P<0.05). Hexane and methanol extracts of S. polycystum exhibited the most potent radical scavenging ability with IC50 values of 0.1572 ± 0.004 mg/ml and 0.8493 ± 0.02 for DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. Hexane extract of C. racemosa gave the strongest superoxide radical inhibitory effect (IC50 of 0.3862± 0.01 mg/ml). Most seaweed extracts significantly inhibited the production of cytokine (IL-6, IL-1 β, TNFα) and NO in a concentration-dependent manner without causing significant cytotoxicity to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated microglia cells (P<0.05). All extracts suppressed cytokine and NO level by more than 80% at the concentration of 0.4mg/ml. In addition, C. racemosa and S. polycystum also showed anti-acetylcholinesterase activities with the IC50 values ranging from 0.086-0.115 mg/ml. Moreover, C. racemosa and P. australis were also found to be active against butyrylcholinesterase with IC50 values ranging from 0.118-0.287 mg/ml.

Keywords: anti-cholinesterase, anti-oxidative, neuroinflammation, seaweeds

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Authors: Luvindran Sugumaran, Mohd Nashrul Mohd Zubir, Kazi Md Salim Newaz, Tuan Zaharinie Tuan Zahari, Suazlan Mt Aznam, Aiman Mohd Halil

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With the fast growth of integrated circuits and the trend towards making electronic devices smaller, the heat dissipation load of electronic devices has continued to go over the limit. The high heat flux element would not only harm the operation and lifetime of the equipment but would also impede the performance upgrade brought about by the iteration of technological updates, which would have a direct negative impact on the economic and production cost benefits of rising industries. Hence, in high-tech industries like radar, information and communication, electromagnetic power, and aerospace, the development and implementation of effective heat dissipation technologies were urgently required. Pool boiling is favored over other cooling methods because of its capacity to dissipate a high heat flux at a low wall superheat without the usage of mechanical components. Enhancing the pool boiling performance by increasing the heat transfer coefficient via surface modification techniques has received a lot of attention. There are several surface modification methods feasible today, but the stability and durability of surface modification are the greatest priority. Thus, laser machining is an interesting choice for surface modification due to its low production cost, high scalability, and repeatability. In this study, different patterns of laser-processed copper surfaces are fabricated to investigate the nucleate pool boiling heat transfer performance of distilled water. The investigation showed that there is a significant enhancement in the pool boiling heat transfer performance of the laser-processed surface compared to the reference surface due to the notable increase in nucleation frequency and nucleation site density. It was discovered that the heat transfer coefficients increased when both the surface area ratio and the ratio of peak-to-valley height of the microstructure were raised. It is believed that the development of microstructures on the surface as a result of laser processing is the primary factor in the enhancement of heat transfer performance.

Keywords: heat transfer coefficient, laser processing, micro structured surface, pool boiling

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Authors: Shreya Srivastava, Sagnik Dey

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Aerosol direct radiative forcing (ADRF) refers to the alteration of the Earth's energy balance from the scattering and absorption of solar radiation by aerosol particles. India experiences substantial ADRF due to high aerosol loading from various sources. These aerosols' radiative impact depends on their physical characteristics (such as size, shape, and composition) and atmospheric distribution. Quantifying ADRF is crucial for understanding aerosols’ impact on the regional climate and the Earth's radiative budget. In this study, we have taken radiation data from Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES, spatial resolution=1ox1o) for 22 years (2000-2021) over the Indian subcontinent. Except for a few locations, the short-wave DARF exhibits aerosol cooling at the TOA (values ranging from +2.5 W/m2 to -22.5W/m2). Cooling due to aerosols is more pronounced in the absence of clouds. Being an aerosol hotspot, higher negative ADRF is observed over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). Aerosol Forcing Efficiency (AFE) shows a decreasing seasonal trend in winter (DJF) over the entire study region while an increasing trend over IGP and western south India during the post-monsoon season (SON) in clear-sky conditions. Analysing atmospheric heating and AOD trends, we found that only the aerosol loading is not governing the change in atmospheric heating but also the aerosol composition and/or their vertical profile. We used a Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR) Level-2 Version 23 aerosol products to look into aerosol composition. MISR incorporates 74 aerosol mixtures in its retrieval algorithm based on size, shape, and absorbing properties. This aerosol mixture information was used for analysing long-term changes in aerosol composition and dominating aerosol species corresponding to the aerosol forcing value. Further, ADRF derived from this method is compared with around 35 studies across India, where a plane parallel Radiative transfer model was used, and the model inputs were taken from the OPAC (Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds) utilizing only limited aerosol parameter measurements. The result shows a large overestimation of TOA warming by the latter (i.e., Model-based method).

Keywords: aerosol radiative forcing (ARF), aerosol composition, MISR, CERES, SBDART

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Authors: Mohammad Javad Afroughi, Vahid Hosseini, Jason S. Olfert

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Both traffic-generated particles and noise have been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, especially in near-highway environments. Although noise and particulate matters (PM) have different mechanisms of dispersion, sharing the same emission source in urban areas (road traffics) can result in a similar degree of variability in their levels. This study investigated the temporal variation of and correlation between noise levels, PM concentrations and traffic intensities near a major highway in Tehran, Iran. Tehran particulate concentration is highly influenced by road traffic. Additionally, Tehran ultrafine particles (UFP, PM<0.1 µm) are mostly emitted from combustion processes of motor vehicles. This gives a high possibility of a strong association between traffic-related noise and UFP in near-highway environments of this megacity. Hourly average of equivalent continuous sound pressure level (Leq), total number concentration of UFPs, mass concentration of PM2.5 and PM10, as well as traffic count and speed were simultaneously measured over a period of three days in winter. Additionally, meteorological data including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction were collected in a weather station, located 3 km from the monitoring site. Noise levels showed relatively low temporal variability in near-highway environments compared to PM concentrations. Hourly average of Leq ranged from 63.8 to 69.9 dB(A) (mean ~ 68 dB(A)), while hourly concentration of particles varied from 30,800 to 108,800 cm-3 for UFP (mean ~ 64,500 cm-3), 41 to 75 µg m-3 for PM2.5 (mean ~ 53 µg m-3), and 62 to 112 µg m-3 for PM10 (mean ~ 88 µg m-3). The Pearson correlation coefficient revealed strong relationship between noise and UFP (r ~ 0.61) overall. Under downwind conditions, UFP number concentration showed the strongest association with noise level (r ~ 0.63). The coefficient decreased to a lesser degree under upwind conditions (r ~ 0.24) due to the significant role of wind and humidity in UFP dynamics. Furthermore, PM2.5 and PM10 correlated moderately with noise (r ~ 0.52 and 0.44 respectively). In general, traffic counts were more strongly associated with noise and PM compared to traffic speeds. It was concluded that noise level combined with meteorological data can be used as a proxy to estimate PM concentrations (specifically UFP number concentration) in near-highway environments of Tehran. However, it is important to measure joint variability of noise and particles to study their health effects in epidemiological studies.

Keywords: noise, particulate matter, PM10, PM2.5, ultrafine particle

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Authors: Vedanki Khandenwal, Pawan Srivastava, Kartick Tarafder, Subhasis Ghosh

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We present here the experimental realization of controlled doping of graphene monolayers through charge transfer by trapping selected organic molecules between the graphene layer and underlying substrates. This charge transfer between graphene and trapped molecule leads to controlled n-type or p-type doping in monolayer graphene (MLG), depending on whether the trapped molecule acts as an electron donor or an electron acceptor. Doping controllability has been validated by a shift in corresponding Raman peak positions and a shift in Dirac points. In the transfer characteristics of field effect transistors, a significant shift of Dirac point towards positive or negative gate voltage region provides the signature of p-type or n-type doping of graphene, respectively, as a result of the charge transfer between graphene and the organic molecules trapped within it. In order to facilitate the charge transfer interaction, it is crucial for the trapped molecules to be situated in close proximity to the graphene surface, as demonstrated by findings in Raman and infrared spectroscopies. However, the mechanism responsible for this charge transfer interaction has remained unclear at the microscopic level. Generally, it is accepted that the dipole moment of adsorbed molecules plays a crucial role in determining the charge-transfer interaction between molecules and graphene. However, our findings clearly illustrate that the doping effect primarily depends on the reactivity of the constituent atoms in the adsorbed molecules rather than just their dipole moment. This has been illustrated by trapping various molecules at the graphene−substrate interface. Dopant molecules such as acetone (containing highly reactive oxygen atoms) promote adsorption across the entire graphene surface. In contrast, molecules with less reactive atoms, such as acetonitrile, tend to adsorb at the edges due to the presence of reactive dangling bonds. In the case of low-dipole moment molecules like toluene, there is a lack of substantial adsorption anywhere on the graphene surface. Observation of (i) the emergence of the Raman D peak exclusively at the edges for trapped molecules without reactive atoms and throughout the entire basal plane for those with reactive atoms, and (ii) variations in the density of attached molecules (with and without reactive atoms) to graphene with their respective dipole moments provides compelling evidence to support our claim. Additionally, these observations were supported by first principle density functional calculations.

Keywords: graphene, doping, charge transfer, liquid phase exfoliation

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Authors: Estibe Dagne Mekonnen

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In recent years, the prevalence of undernourishment was 30 percent for sub-Saharan Africa, compared with 16 percent for Asia and the Pacific (Ali, 2011). In Ethiopia, almost 40 percent of the total population in the country and 57 percent of Addis Ababa population lives below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 per day (UNICEF, 2009). This study aims to analyze the determinant of household food secrity in Addis Ababa city administration. Primary data were collected from a survey of 256 households in the selected sub-city, namely Addis Ketema, Arada, and Kolfe Keranio, in the year 2022. Both Purposive and multi-stage cluster random sampling procedures were employed to select study areas and respondents. Descriptive statistics and order logistic regression model were used to test the formulated hypotheses. The result reveals that out of the total sampled households, 25% them were food secured, 13% were mildly food insecure, 26% were moderately food insecure and 36% were severely food insecure. The study indicates that household family size, house ownership, household income, household food source, household asset possession, household awareness on inflation, household access to social protection program, household access to credit and saving and household access to training and supervision on food security have a positive and significant effect on the likelihood of household food security status. However, marital status of household head, employment sector of household head, dependency ratio and household’s nonfood expenditure has a negative and significant influence on household food security status. The study finally suggests that the government in collaboration with financial institutions and NGO should work on sustaining household food security by creating awareness, providing credit, facilitate rural-urban linkage between producer and consumer and work on urban infrastructure improvement. Moreover, the governments also work closely and monitor consumer good suppliers, if possible find a way to subsidize consumable goods to more insecure households and make them to be food secured. Last but not least, keeping this country’s peace will play a crucial role to sustain food security.

Keywords: determinants, household, food security, order logit model, Addis Ababa

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Authors: Fumane Portia Khanare

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This paper explores strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable learners (OVLs) in rural schools in Lesotho that seem essential for their success, in anticipation of, and in the context of global education. Various strategies to improve psychosocial wellbeing are considered necessary in that they are inclusive and buffer other forms of conditions beyond traditional and Eurocentric forms in orientation. Furthermore, they bring about the local experiences and particularly of the learners and schools in rural areas – all of which constitute ethnopsychology. COVID-19 pandemic has enthused the demands for collaboration and responsive support for learners within rural and many deprived contexts in Lesotho. However, the increase of OVLs in the education sector has also sparked the debate of how many rural schools with a lack of resources, inadequate teacher training, declining unemployment and the detriment of COVID-19 throughout Lesotho affected the psychosocial wellbeing of these learners. In some cases, the pandemic has created opportunities to explore existing, forgotten or ignored resources dated back to the pre-colonial era in Lesotho, and emphasizing to have an optimistic outlook on life as a result of collaboration and appreciating local knowledge. In order to scale up the psychosocial wellbeing of OVLs, there is a need to explore various strategies to improve their psychosocial wellbeing, in which all learners can succeed during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, thereby promoting the agency of young people from the rural areas towards building supportive learning environments. The paper draws on qualitative participatory arts-based study data generated by 30 learners in two rural secondary schools in Lesotho. Thematic analysis was employed to provide an in-depth understanding of learners' psychosocial needs and strategies to improve their psychosocial wellbeing. The paper is guided by ethnopsychology – a strength-based perspective, which posits that in the most difficult situations, individuals including, young people have strengths, can collaborate and find solutions that respond to their challenges. This was done by examining how various facets of their environments such as peers, teachers, schools’ environment, family and community played out in creating supportive strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of OVLs which buffer the successful completion of their secondary school education. It is recommended that ethnopsychology should recognise and be used under the realm of positive wellbeing in rural schools in Lesotho.

Keywords: arts-based research, ethnopsychology, Lesotho, orphans and vulnerable learners, psychosocial wellbeing, rural schools.

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Authors: Fumane Portia Khanare

Abstract:

This paper explores strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable learners (OVLs) in rural schools in Lesotho that seem essential for their success, in anticipation of, and in the context of global education. Various strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing are considered necessary in that they are inclusive and buffer other forms of conditions beyond traditional and Eurocentric forms in orientation. Furthermore, they bring about the local experiences and particularly of the learners and schools in rural areas – all of which constitute ethnopsychology. COVID-19 pandemic has enthused the demands for collaboration and responsive support for learners within rural and many deprived contexts in Lesotho. However, the increase of OVLs in the education sector has also sparked the debate of how much rural schools with lack of resources, inadequate teacher training, declining unemployment and the detriment of COVID-19 throughout Lesotho affected the psychosocial wellbeing of these learners. In some cases, the pandemic has created opportunities to explore existing, forgotten or ignored resources dated back to pre-colonial era in Lesotho, and emphasizing to have an optimistic outlook on life as a result of collaboration and appreciating local knowledge. In order to scale up the psychosocial wellbeing of OVLs there is a need to explore various strategies to improve their psychosocial wellbeing, in which all learners can succeed during COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, thereby promoting agency of young people from the rural areas towards building supportive learning environments. The paper draws on a qualitative participatory arts-based study data generated by 30 learners in two rural secondary schools in Lesotho. Thematic analysis was employed to provide an in-depth understanding of learners' psychosocial needs and strategies to improve their psychosocial wellbeing. The paper is guided by ethnopsychology – a strength-based perspective, which posit that in the most difficult situations, individual including, young people have strengths, can collaborate and find solutions that respond to their challenges. This was done by examining how various facets of their environments such as peers, teachers, schools’ environment, family and community played out in creating supportive strategies to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of OVLs which buffer their successful completion of their secondary school education. It is recommended that ethnopsychology should recognised and be used under the realm of positive wellbeing in rural schools in Lesotho.

Keywords: arts-based research, ethnopsychology, orphans and vulnerable learners, Lesotho, psychosocial wellbeing, rural schools

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Authors: Ibrahima Diallo

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The literature on teacher education foregrounds reflection as an important aspect of professional practice. Reflection for a teacher consists in critically analysing and evaluating retrospectively a lesson to see what worked, what did not work, and how to improve it for the future. Now, many teacher education programmes worldwide consider the ability to reflect as one of the hallmarks of an effective educator. However, in some context like Senegal, reflection has not been given due consideration in teacher education programmes. In contexts where it has been in the education landscape for some time now, reflection is mostly depicted as an individual written activity and many teacher trainees have become disenchanted by the repeated enactments of this task that is solely intended to satisfy course requirements. This has resulted in whitewashing weaknesses or even ‘faking’ reflection. Besides, the “one-size-fits-all” approach of reflection could not flourish because how reflection impacts on practice is still unproven. Therefore, reflective practice needs to be contextualised and made more thought-provoking through dialogue and by using classroom data. There is also a need to highlight change brought in teachers’ practice through reflection. So, this study introduces reflection in a new context and aims to show evidenced change in novice EFL teachers’ practice through dialogic data-led reflection. The purpose of this study is also to contribute to the scarce literature on reflection in sub-Saharan Africa by bringing new perspectives on contextualised teacher-led reflection. Eight novice EFL teachers participated in this qualitative longitudinal study, and data have been gathered online through post-lesson reflection recordings and lesson videos for a period of four months. Then, the data have been thematically analysed using NVivo to systematically organize and manage the large amount of data. The analysis followed the six steps approach to thematic analysis. Major themes related to teachers’ classroom practice and their conception of reflection emerged from the analysis of the data. The results showed that post-lesson reflection with a peer can help novice EFL teachers gained more awareness on their classroom practice. Dialogic reflection also helped them evaluate their lessons and seek for improvement. The analysis of the data also gave insight on teachers’ conception of reflection in an EFL context. It was found that teachers were more engaged in reflection when using their lesson video recordings. Change in teaching behaviour as a result of reflection was evidenced by the analysis of the lesson video recordings. This study has shown that video-stimulated reflection is practical form of professional development that can be embedded in teachers’ professional life.

Keywords: novice EFL teachers, practice, professional development, video-stimulated reflection

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Authors: Sikiru O. Aminu, Magda Ismail Abdul Mohsin, Fauziah M. Taib

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Fund collections for Waqf projects in some Muslim countries received some boost because of the resuscitation of the cash waqf concept This study envisages that such development can improve the economic empowerment of the poor in contemporary Muslim communities given appropriate collections and effective management of the Waqf institution. Recent developments in the Financial Technology (FINTECH) space portend valuable relevance in the conduct and delivery of social charitable causes such as Waqf around the world. Particularly, emerging areas in FINTECH such as Islamic Crowdfunding (ICF) and blockchain have brought about greater efficiency and effectiveness through cost reduction, faster transactions, wider access, transparency and prompt disclosure of adequate information to relevant stakeholders. These FINTECH options of ICF and blockchain provide veritable opportunities to resuscitate, re-align, synergize and magnify the Islamic Social Finance (ISF) ecosystem of Waqf, Zakat and Sodaqah to generate positive and sustainable impact to the community, environment and the economy at large, with a view to projecting the Maqasid Shari’ah (Objective of the Law Giver). To document the effect of FINTECH on Waqf, this study examined the activities of six banks in Malaysia that signed a pact to utilize FINTECH for waqf collection towards improving the economy. Semi-structured Face to Face interviews were conducted with officers in charge of Waqf in the six banks, founder of the Islamic Crowdfunding platform and senior officers in Waqaf Selangor. Content analysis was used to analyze their responses, and the emergent themes were reported verbatim. Based on the derived themes, survey questionnaires were also administered to 300 customers with respect to the Waqf’s FINTECH functionalities of the identified banks.to further confirm and strengthen the results of the interviews. Simple descriptive analysis was performed on the result of the survey questionnaire to provide clear information on the questions raised. The findings showed a disproportionate level of readiness among the banks, where few of the banks have put structure in place to increase their Waqf collections, others are at their elementary stage. However, the commitment is high across the six banks to achieve their set goals.

Keywords: blockchain, Fintech, Islamic crowdfunding, waqf

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Authors: Yi-Chun Kuo, Jo-Chieh Lin

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The objective of a supply chain strategy is to reduce waste and increase efficiency to attain cost benefits, and to guarantee supply chain flexibility when facing the ever-changing market environment in order to meet customer requirements. Strategy implementation aims to fulfill common goals and attain benefits by integrating upstream and downstream enterprises, sharing information, conducting common planning, and taking part in decision making, so as to enhance the overall performance of the supply chain. With the rise of outsourcing and globalization, the increasing dependence on suppliers and customers and the rapid development of information technology, the complexity and uncertainty of the supply chain have intensified, and supply chain vulnerability has surged, resulting in adverse effects on supply chain performance. Thus, this study aims to use supply chain vulnerability as a moderating variable and apply structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the relationships among supply chain strategy, supply chain integration, and supply chain performance, as well as the moderating effect of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain performance. The data investigation of this study was questionnaires which were collected from the management level of enterprises in Taiwan and China, 149 questionnaires were received. The result of confirmatory factor analysis shows that the path coefficients of supply chain strategy on supply chain integration and supply chain performance are positive (0.497, t= 4.914; 0.748, t= 5.919), having a significantly positive effect. Supply chain integration is also significantly positively correlated to supply chain performance (0.192, t = 2.273). The moderating effects of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain strategy and supply chain integration to supply chain performance are significant (7.407; 4.687). In Taiwan, 97.73% of enterprises are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focusing on receiving original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and original design manufacturer (ODM) orders. In order to meet the needs of customers and to respond to market changes, these enterprises especially focus on supply chain flexibility and their integration with the upstream and downstream enterprises. According to the observation of this research, the effect of supply chain vulnerability on supply chain performance is significant, and so enterprises need to attach great importance to the management of supply chain risk and conduct risk analysis on their suppliers in order to formulate response strategies when facing emergency situations. At the same time, risk management is incorporated into the supply chain so as to reduce the effect of supply chain vulnerability on the overall supply chain performance.

Keywords: supply chain integration, supply chain performance, supply chain vulnerability, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Dongshuo Wang, Minjie Xing

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International businesses prefer to hire people who speak more than one language. With the booming of China’s market, industries and trade, business leaders are looking for people who can speak Chinese and operate successfully in a Chinese cultural context, and therefore an increasing number of tertiary students choose a Business Chinese (BC) course. As a result, BC syllabus design is urgently needed. What business knowledge should be included in China’s context? What aspects of BC culture should be included? How much Chinese language should be introduced to conduct business in China? With these research questions, this research explores a syllabus design that integrates the three aspects of subject knowledge of business in communication, business practice including the procedure of and strategies for communicating business in practice and language skills including the disciplinary and professional contexts in which linguistic choices are made. After literature review and consultancy with China-related business professionals, senior staff from business schools and representatives of students, the authors of this paper, together with language tutors drafted a syllabus based on the integrated approach to include subject knowledge, business practice and language skills. Due to the nature of this research which requires trial/test and detailed description for each correction, qualitative methods are adopted. Two in-depth focus group interviews (with 2 staff and 4 students in each group), and 18 individual interviews (8 staff and 10 students) were conducted. QDA was used for systematizing, organizing, and analysing qualitative data. It was discovered that the business knowledge related to a Chinese cultural context, including face value, networking skills, strategic plans for signing a contract, marketing, sales, and after-sale service, should be introduced through lectures and seminars; business practice could be implemented by students setting up their own companies, virtual or real; and language skills would be trained via writing business messages and presenting their companies in fairs and exhibitions. After a longitudinal study of trials and amendments for three years from 2013 to 2016, the syllabus was approved by staff and students and the university. Students appreciated the syllabus, as they could apply the subject knowledge into practice by using it in their own companies and Chinese language was used throughout the process. The syllabus is now ready to be used in universities offering BC, and the designing process can be applied to other new courses as well.

Keywords: business Chinese, syllabus design, business knowledge, language skills

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Authors: Mohammed Asiri, Saleh Alsuwayt, Mohammed Bin Mugren, Abdulmalik Almufarrih, Tariq Alotaibi, Saad Almodameg

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Background: End-stage renal disease is a major public health concern with high incidence and mortality rate. Most of ESRD patients are on hemodialysis therapy which is a long-term treatment that disturbs patients’ lifestyle. As a result, he will be susceptible to develop psychiatric disorders like anxiety that may direct him to non-compliance on physician instructions and hemodialysis therapy. Although there are studies conducted on psychiatric issues in hemodialysis patients, but few studies focused on the effect of anxiety disorder and the patient’s compliance. Hence, we are interested in determining the prevalence of anxiety disorder among hemodialysis patients in Saudi Arabia, as well as in defining the correlation between anxiety disorder and compliance on physician instructions and hemodialysis therapy. We hypothesize that our study will show a higher prevalence of anxiety in hemodialysis patients than in general population. Also, we expect the anxiety to have a negative impact on their compliance. Methodology: We used a cross-sectional study design carried out at dialysis unit of four major hospitals in Riyadh, KSA. We interviewed 235 End Stage Renal Disease male and female patients who are on hemodialysis. We divided the patients into two categories according to their compliance. we used modified general questionnaire to get their demographic data, then we used a psychometric response scale called visual analog scale (VAS) to assess patient’s compliance to hemodialysis and physician’s instructions. Also, we used the Arabic validated version of the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD scale) used mainly for anxiety assessment. Results: The overall response rate was 54%. Respondents included 147 (62.6%) males and 88 (37.4%) females. The prevalence of anxiety among hemodialysis patients is 13.3%. According to visual analog scale, we found that 189 compliant patients and 45 non-compliant patients. For HAD scale, the mean ± standard deviation of the total score for females was (4.44 ± 4.7) and it’s higher than males which was 2.65 ± 3.08 (P-value= 0.002). The mean ± standard deviation of HAD score in the non-compliant group was (5.88  4.88) and it was higher than the compliant group (2.7  3.32) (P-value= 0.004). Among non-complaint group, 33.3% of anxious patients were males and 66.6% were females. There was a negative correlation between HAD score of anxiety and visual analog scale (R= - 0.285). Conclusion: We conclude that there is a high prevalence of anxiety among patients with End Stage Renal Disease that was higher in females with association of non-compliance to physician’s instructions and hemodialysis therapy.

Keywords: anxiety, end-stage renal disease, renal failure, anxiety disorder

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Authors: Sammar Zain Allam

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Smart Growth, intelligent cities, and healthy cities cited by WHO world health organization; they all call for clean air and minimizing air pollutants considering human health. Air quality is a thriving matter to achieve ecological cities; towards sustainable environmental development of urban fabric design. Selection criteria depends on the strategic location of our area as it is located at the entry of the city of Alexandria from its agricultural road. Besides, it represents the city center for retail, business, and educational amenities. Our study is analyzing readings of definite factors affecting air quality in a centric area in Alexandria. Our readings will be compared to standard measures of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, suspended particles, and air velocity or air flow. Carbon emissions are pondered in our study, in addition to suspended particles and the air velocity or air flow. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide crystalize the main elements to necessitate environmental and sustainable studies with the appearance of global warming and the glass house effect. Nevertheless, particulate matters are increasing causing breath issues especially to children and elder people; still threatening future generations to meet their own needs; sustainable development definition. Analysis of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, suspended particles together with air velocity or air flow has taken place in our area of study to manifest the relationship between these elements and the urban fabric design and land use distribution. For conclusion, dense urban fabric affecting air flow, and thus result in the concentration of air pollutants in certain zones. The appearance of open space with green areas allow the fading of air pollutants and help in their absorption. Along with dense urban fabric, high rise buildings trap air carriers which contribute to high readings of our elements. Also, street design may facilitate the circulation of air which helps carrying these pollutant away and distribute it to a wider space which decreases its harms and effects.

Keywords: carbon emissions, air quality measurements, arteries air quality, airflow or air velocity, particulate matter, clean air, urban density

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Authors: Matheus Madureira Matos, Alexandre Rodrigues Farias

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a vital imaging technique used in both clinical and pre-clinical areas to obtain detailed anatomical and functional information. However, MRI scans can be expensive, time-consuming, and often require the use of anesthetics to keep animals still during the imaging process. Anesthetics are commonly administered to animals undergoing MRI scans to ensure they remain still during the imaging process. However, prolonged or repeated exposure to anesthetics can have adverse effects on animals, including physiological alterations and potential toxicity. Minimizing the duration and frequency of anesthesia is, therefore, crucial for the well-being of research animals. In recent years, various sampling trajectories have been investigated to reduce the number of MRI measurements leading to shorter scanning time and minimizing the duration of animal exposure to the effects of anesthetics. Compressed sensing (CS) and sampling trajectories, such as cartesian, spiral, and radial, have emerged as powerful tools to reduce MRI data while preserving diagnostic quality. This work aims to apply CS and cartesian, spiral, and radial sampling trajectories for the reconstruction of MRI of the abdomen of mice sub-sampled at levels below that defined by the Nyquist theorem. The methodology of this work consists of using a fully sampled reference MRI of a female model C57B1/6 mouse acquired experimentally in a 4.7 Tesla MRI scanner for small animals using Spin Echo pulse sequences. The image is down-sampled by cartesian, radial, and spiral sampling paths and then reconstructed by CS. The quality of the reconstructed images is objectively assessed by three quality assessment techniques RMSE (Root mean square error), PSNR (Peak to Signal Noise Ratio), and SSIM (Structural similarity index measure). The utilization of optimized sampling trajectories and CS technique has demonstrated the potential for a significant reduction of up to 70% of image data acquisition. This result translates into shorter scan times, minimizing the duration and frequency of anesthesia administration and reducing the potential risks associated with it.

Keywords: compressed sensing, magnetic resonance, sampling trajectories, small animals

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Authors: Jonathan Sohn

Abstract:

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have shown state-of-the-art performance for many applications, including computer vision, natural language processing, and speech recognition. Recently, adversarial attacks have been studied in the context of deep neural networks, which aim to alter the results of deep neural networks by modifying the inputs slightly. For example, an adversarial attack on a DNN used for object detection can cause the DNN to miss certain objects. As a result, the reliability of DNNs is undermined by their lack of robustness against adversarial attacks, raising concerns about their use in safety-critical applications such as autonomous driving. In this paper, we focus on studying the adversarial attacks and defenses on DNNs for image classification. There are two types of adversarial attacks studied which are fast gradient sign method (FGSM) attack and projected gradient descent (PGD) attack. A DNN forms decision boundaries that separate the input images into different categories. The adversarial attack slightly alters the image to move over the decision boundary, causing the DNN to misclassify the image. FGSM attack obtains the gradient with respect to the image and updates the image once based on the gradients to cross the decision boundary. PGD attack, instead of taking one big step, repeatedly modifies the input image with multiple small steps. There is also another type of attack called the target attack. This adversarial attack is designed to make the machine classify an image to a class chosen by the attacker. We can defend against adversarial attacks by incorporating adversarial examples in training. Specifically, instead of training the neural network with clean examples, we can explicitly let the neural network learn from the adversarial examples. In our experiments, the digit recognition accuracy on the MNIST dataset drops from 97.81% to 39.50% and 34.01% when the DNN is attacked by FGSM and PGD attacks, respectively. If we utilize FGSM training as a defense method, the classification accuracy greatly improves from 39.50% to 92.31% for FGSM attacks and from 34.01% to 75.63% for PGD attacks. To further improve the classification accuracy under adversarial attacks, we can also use a stronger PGD training method. PGD training improves the accuracy by 2.7% under FGSM attacks and 18.4% under PGD attacks over FGSM training. It is worth mentioning that both FGSM and PGD training do not affect the accuracy of clean images. In summary, we find that PGD attacks can greatly degrade the performance of DNNs, and PGD training is a very effective way to defend against such attacks. PGD attacks and defence are overall significantly more effective than FGSM methods.

Keywords: deep neural network, adversarial attack, adversarial defense, adversarial machine learning

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Authors: Oti Ibiam, Alexanda O. Kalu

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Human Resource Accounting is the process of identifying and measuring data about human resources and communicating this information to interested parties in order to meaningful investment decisions. In recent time, firms focus has shifted to human resource accounting so as to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in their operations. This study focused on the effect of human resource accounting on the financial performance of Banks in Nigerian. The problem that led to the study revolves around the current trend whereby Nigeria banks do not efficiently account for the input of human resource in their annual statement, thereby instead of capitalizing human resources in their statement of financial position; they expend it in their income statement thereby reducing their profit after tax. The broad objective of this study is to determine the extent to which human resource accounting affects the financial performance and value of Nigerian Banks. This study is therefore considered significant because, there are still universally, grey areas to be sorted out on the subject matter of human resources accounting. In the bid to achieve the study objectives, the researcher gathered data from sixteen commercial banks. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources using an ex-post facto research design. The data collected were then tabulated and analyzed using the multiple regression analysis. The result of hypothesis one revealed that there is a significant relationship between Capitalized Human Resource Cost and post capitalization Profit before tax of banks in Nigeria. The finding of hypothesis two revealed that the association between Capitalized Human Resource Cost and post capitalization Net worth of banks in Nigeria is significant. The finding in Hypothesis three reveals that there is a significant difference between pre and post capitalization profit before tax of banks in Nigeria. The study concludes that human resources accounting positively influenced financial performance of banks in Nigeria within the period under study. It is recommended that standards should be set for human resources identification and measurement in the banking sector and also the management of commercial banks in Nigeria should have a proper appreciation of human resource accounting. This will enable managers to take right decision regarding investment in human resource. Also, the study recommends that policies on enhancing the post capitalization profit before tax of banks in Nigeria should pay great attention to capitalized human resources cost, net worth and total asset as the variables significantly influenced post capitalization profit before tax of the studied banks in Nigeria. The limitation of the study centers on the limited number of years and companies that was adopted for the study.

Keywords: capitalization, human resources cost, profit before tax, net worth

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Authors: K. Nikilsha, Lakshmi Manohar, Debayan Chatterjee

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Landscape is a setting that informs the way of life of a set of people, and the repository of intangible values and human meanings that nurture our very existence. Along with the linkage that it forms with our lives, it can be argued that landscape and memory cannot be separated, as landscape is the nucleus of our memories. In this context, this paper studies landscape evolution of a region with unique geographic setting, where the dependency of the inhabitants on its resources, led to the formation of certain peculiar beliefs and taboos that formed the basis of a set of unwritten rules and guidelines which they still follow as a part of their lifestyle. One such example is Kuttanad, a low lying region in Kerala which is a complex mosaic of fragmented agricultural landscape incorporating coastal backwaters, rivers, marshes, paddy fields and water channels. The more the physical involvement with the resources, the more was the inhabitants attachment towards it. This attachment of the inhabitants to the place is very strong because the creation of this land was the result of the toil of the low caste labourers who strived day and night to create Kuttanad, which was reclaimed from water with the help of the finance supplied by their landlords. However, the greatest challenge faced by them is posed by the forces of water in the form of floods. As this land is fed by five rivers, even the slight variation in rainfall in its watershed area can cause a large imbalance in the water level causing the reclaimed land to be inundated. The effects of climate change including increase in rainfall, rise in sea level and change of seasons can act as a catalyst to this damage. Hasty urbanization has led to the conversion of paddy fields to housing plots and coconut/plantain fields giving no regard to the traditional systems which had once respected nature and combated floods and draughts through the various cultural practices and taboos practiced by the people. Thus it is essential to look back at the landscape evolution of Kuttanad and to recognise methods used traditionally in the region to establish a cultural landscape, and to understand how climate change and urbanisation shall pose a challenge to the existing landscape and lifestyle. This research also explores the possibilities of alternative and sustainable approaches for resilient urban development learned from Kuttanad as a case study.

Keywords: ecological conservation, landscape and ecological engineering, landscape evolution, man-made landscapes

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Authors: Olanrewaju Kafayat, O., Salman Kabir, K.

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The role of organic agriculture in providing food and income is now gaining wider recognition (Van Elzakker et al 2007). The increasing public concerns about food safety issues on the use of fertilizers, pesticide residues, growth hormones, GM organisms, and increasing awareness of environmental quality issues have led to an expanding demand for environmentally friendly products (Thompson, 1998; Rimal et al., 2005). As a result national governments are concerned about diet and health, and there has been renewed recognition of the role of public policy in promoting healthy diets, thus to provide healthier, safer, more confident citizens (Poole et al., 2007), With these benefits, a study into organic vegetables is very vital to all the major stakeholders. This study analyzed the willingness of consumers to pay for organic vegetables in Oyo state, Nigeria. Primary data was collected with the aid of structured questionnaire administered to 168 respondents. These were selected using multistage random sampling. The first stage involved the selection two (2) ADP zones out of the three (3) ADP zones in Oyo state, The second stage involved the random selection of two (2) local government areas each out of the two (2) ADP zones which are; Ibadan South West and Ogbomoso North and random selection of 4 wards each from the local government areas. The third stage involved random selection of 42 household each from of the local government areas. Descriptive statistics, the principal component analysis, and the logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results showed 55 percent of the respondents were female while 80 percent were  50 years. 74 percent of the respondents agreed that organic vegetables are of better quality. 31 percent of the respondents were aware of organic vegetables as against 69 percent who were not aware. From the logistic model, educational attainment, amount spent on organic vegetables monthly, better quality of organic vegetables and accessibility to organic vegetables were significant and had a positive relationship on willingness to pay for organic vegetable. The variables that were significant and had a negative relationship with WTP are less attractiveness of organic vegetables and household size of the respondents. This study concludes that consumers with higher level of education were more likely to be aware and willing to pay for organic vegetables than those with low levels of education, the study therefore recommends creation of awareness on the relevance of consuming organic vegetables through effective marketing and educational campaigns.

Keywords: consumers awareness, willingness to pay, organic vegetables, Oyo State

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