Search results for: office workers

Authors: Anna K. Wood, Terri Friedline

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In April and May 2020, the private banking industry approved over 1.7 million emergency small business loans, totaling over $650 billion in federal relief funds as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since the program’s rollout, the extensive evidence of discriminatory lending and misuse of funds has been revealed by investigative journalism and academic studies. This study is based on 41 interviews with frontline banking industry professionals conducted during the days and weeks of the PPP rollout, presenting a real-time narrative of the program rollout through the eyes of those in the role of a street-level bureaucrat. We present two themes from this data about the conditions under which these frontline workers experienced the PPP: Exigent Timelines and Defaulting to Existing Workplace Norms and Practices. We analyze these themes using literature on street-level organizations, bureaucratic discretion, and the differences between public and private sector logic. The results of this study present new directions for theorizing sector-level differences in street-level bureaucratic discretion in the context of mixed-sector collaboration on public service delivery, particularly under conditions of crisis and urgency.

Keywords: street level bureaucracy, social policy, bureaucratic discretion, public private partnerships

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Authors: Tismazammi Mustafa, Jaharudin Padli

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The frequency of terrorism is increasing throughout years that is resulting in loss of life, damaging people’s property, and destructing the environment. The incident of terrorism is not stationed in one particular country but has spread and scattered in other countries hence causing an increase in the number of terrorism cases. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the factors of human development upon the terrorism in East Asia and Pacific countries. This study used a panel ARDL model, in which it enables to capture the long run and the short run relationship among the variables of interest. Logit Model for Binary data is also used, in which to representing an attributes of dependent variables. This study focuses on several human development variables namely GDP per capita, population, human capital, land area, and technologies. The empirical finding revealed that the GDP per capita, population, human capital, land area, and technologies are positively and statistically significant in influencing the terrorism. Thus, the finding in this study will present as grounds to preserve human rights and develop public awareness and will offer guidelines to policy makers, emergency managers, first responders, public health workers, physicians, and other researchers.

Keywords: terrorism, East Asia and Pacific, human development, econometric analysis

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Authors: Simon Mensah Ofosu

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Illicit surface mining activities pollutes agricultural lands and water bodies and results in accumulation of heavy metals in vegetables cultivated in such areas. Heavy metal (HM) accumulation in vegetables is a serious food safety issues due to the adverse effects of metal toxicities, hence the need to investigate the levels of these metals in cultivated vegetables in the eastern region. Cocoyam leaves, cabbage and cucumber were sampled from selected farms in mining areas (Atiwa District) and non -mining areas (Yilo Krobo and East Akim District) of the region for the study. Levels of Cadmium, Lead, Mercury and Arsenic were investigated in the vegetables with Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, and the results statistically analyzed with Microsoft Office Excel (2013) Spread Sheet and ANOVA. Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) were the highest and least concentrated HM in the vegetables sampled, respectively. The mean concentrations of Cd and Pb in cabbage (0.564 mg/kg, 0.470 mg/kg), cucumber (0.389 mg/kg, 0.190 mg/kg), cocoyam leaves (0.410 mg/kg, 0.256 mg/kg) respectively from the mining areas exceeded the permissible limits set by Joint FAO/WHO. The mean concentrations of the metals in vegetables from the mining and non-mining areas varied significantly (P<0.05). The Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) was used to assess the health risk posed to the human population via vegetable consumption. The THQ values of cadmium, mercury, and lead in adults and children through vegetable consumption in the mining areas were greater than 1 (THQ >1). This indicates the potential health risk that the children and adults may be facing. The THQ values of adults and children in the non-mining areas were less than the safe limit of 1 (THQ<1), hence no significant health risk posed to the population from such areas.

Keywords: food safety, risk assessment, illicit mining, public health, contaminated vegetables

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Authors: Michael Dole, Pierre Ninin, Denis Raffourt

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Most of the CERN’s facilities hosting particle accelerators are large, underground and radioactive areas. All fire detection systems installed in such areas, shall be carefully studied to cope with the particularities of this stringent environment. The detection equipment usually chosen by CERN to secure these underground facilities are based on air sampling technology. The electronic equipment is located in non-radioactive areas whereas air sampling networks are deployed in radioactive areas where fire detection is required. The air sampling technology provides very good detection performances and prevent the "radiation-to-electronic" effects. In addition, it reduces the exposure to radiations of maintenance workers and is permanently available during accelerator operation. In order to protect the Super Proton Synchrotron and its 7 km tunnels, a specific long distance aspirating smoke detector has been developed to detect smoke at up to 700 meters between electronic equipment and the last air sampling hole. This paper describes the architecture, performances and return of experience of the long distance fire detection system developed and installed to secure the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron tunnels.

Keywords: air sampling, fire detection, long distance, radioactive areas

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Authors: Xiaochen Mu

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Due to the diversity of stakeholders and the ambiguity of ownership boundaries, the current protection models for Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) have many disadvantages. In response to this situation, there are three different protection models worldwide. The United States Copyright Office stipulates that works autonomously generated by artificial intelligence ‘lack’ the element of human creation, and non-human AI cannot create works. To protect and promote investment in the field of artificial intelligence, UK legislation, through Section 9(3) of the CDPA, designates the author of AI-generated works as ‘the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken.’ China neither simply excludes the work attributes of AI-generated content based on the lack of a natural person subject as the sole reason, nor does it generalize that AIGC should or should not be protected. Instead, it combines specific case circumstances and comprehensively evaluates the degree of originality of AIGC and the contributions of natural persons to AIGC. In China's first AI drawing case, the court determined that the image in question was the result of the plaintiff's design and selection through inputting prompt words and setting parameters, reflecting the plaintiff's intellectual investment and personalized expression, and should be recognized as a work in the sense of copyright law. Despite opposition, the ruling also established the feasibility of the AIGC copyright protection path. The recognition of the work attributes of AIGC will not lead to overprotection that hinders the overall development of the AI industry. Just as with the legislation and regulation of AI by various countries, there is a need for a balance between protection and development. For example, the provisional agreement reached on the EU AI Act, based on a risk classification approach, seeks a dynamic balance between copyright protection and the development of the AI industry.

Keywords: generative artificial intelligence, originality, works, copyright

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Authors: Heather Clark, Jon Kelly

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Burnout among healthcare professionals has been elevated to a high level of concern. The descriptions of the healthcare workplace often include language such as, stressful, long hours, rotating shifts, weekends and holidays, and exhausting. New graduate healthcare professionals are being sent into the workplace with little to no coping skills, knowledge of signs and symptoms of burnout, or resources that are available. The authors of this study created a university course entitled 'coping in your profession' that enrolled registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, EMTs, nurse assistants, and medical assistants. The course addresses burnout, self-analysis, incivility, coping mechanisms, and organizational responsibilities for employee well-being. The students were surveyed using QualtricsXM that included a pre-course and post-course analysis. Pre-course results showed high levels of individual experiences with burnout and limited knowledge of resources to combat burnout. Post-course results included personal growth and that students’ perception of burnout can be prevented at both the individual and the organization levels. Students also indicated that few to no resources to combat burnout existed at their place of employment. Addressing burnout at the educational level helps prepare graduates with the knowledge and tools to combat burnout at the individual and organization level.

Keywords: burnout, coping, healthcare workers, incivility, resilience

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Authors: Siobhan Laird

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Under article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which extends human rights in their application to those under the age of 18 years, children must be consulted ‘in all matters affecting the child’. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England is responsible for improving the welfare of children and young people by ensuring that their Convention rights are respected and realised and their views taken seriously. In 2014 the Children’s Commissioner engaged a team of researchers at the Centre for Social Work, University of Nottingham to develop and roll out an online survey to gather information from children and young people about their exercise of choice within the public care system. Approximately 3,000 children responded to this survey, which comprised both closed and open-ended questions. SPSS was used to analyse the numerical data and a thematic analysis of textual data was conducted on answers to open-ended questions. Findings revealed that children exercised considerable choice over personal space and their spare time, but had much less choice in relation to contact with their birth families, where they lived, or the timings of moves from one placement into another. The majority of children described how they were supported to express their opinions and believed that these were taken seriously. However, a significant number reported problems and explained how specific behaviours by professionals and carers made it difficult for them to express their opinion or to feel that they had influenced decisions which affected them. In open-ended questions eliciting information about their experiences, children and young people were asked to describe how they could be better supported to make choices and what changes would assist for these to be better acknowledged and acted upon by professionals and carers. This paper concludes by presenting the ideas and suggestions of children and young people for improving the public care system in Britain in relation to their exercise of choice.

Keywords: children, choice, participation, public care

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Authors: Hafiz Sajjad Hussain, Asad Razzaq

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The study aims to explore the relationship between application of speech and discourse used by the political workers and their leaders for maintaining authoritative approach and dialog power. The representation of these relationships between ideology and language in the analysis of discourse and spoken text following Van Dijk Socio-Cognitive model. Media and political leaders are two pillars of a state and their role is so important for development and effects on the society. Media has become an industry in the recent years in the globe, and especially, the private sector developed a lot in the last decade in Pakistan. Media is the easiest way of communication with the large community in a short time and used discourse independently. The prime time of the news channels in Pakistan presents the political programs on most favorite story or incident of the day. The current program broadcasted by a private channel ARY News July 6, 2014 covered the most top story of the day. The son of Ex. CJ Arslan Iftikhar moves an application to Election Commission of Pakistan about the daughter of the most popular political leader and chairman PTI Imran Khan. This movement turns the whole scenario of the political parties and media got a hot issue form discussion. This study also shows that the ideology and meanings which are presented by the TV channels not always obvious for readers.

Keywords: electronic media, political discourse, ideology of media, power, authoritative approach

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Authors: Konrad Pietrykowski, Michał Gęca, Michał Bialy

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The paper presents the results of the crankshaft strength simulation. The crankshaft was taken from the opposed piston engine. Calculations were made using finite element method (FEM) in Abaqus software. This program allows to perform strength tests of individual machine parts as well as their assemblies. The crankshaft that was used in the calculations will be used in the two-stroke aviation research aircraft engine. The assumptions for the calculations were obtained from the AVL Boost software, from one-dimensional engine cycle model and from the multibody model using the method developed in the MSC Adams software. The research engine will be equipped with 3 combustion chambers and two crankshafts. In order to shorten the calculation time, only one crankcase analysis was performed. The cut of the shaft has been selected with the greatest forces resulting from the engine operation. Calculations were made for two cases. For maximum piston force when maximum bending load occurs and for the maximum torque. Cast iron material was adopted. For this material, Poisson's number, density, and Young's modulus were determined. The computational grid contained of 1,977,473 Tet elements. This type of elements was chosen because of the complex design of the crankshaft. Results are presented in the form of stress distributions maps and displacements on the surface and inside the geometry of the shaft. The results show the places of tension stresses, however, no stresses are exceeded at any place. The shaft can thus be applied to the engine in its present form. Acknowledgement: This work has been realized in the cooperation with The Construction Office of WSK 'PZL-KALISZ’ S.A. and is part of Grant Agreement No. POIR.01.02.00-00-0002/15 financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development.

Keywords: aircraft diesel engine, crankshaft, finite element method, two-stroke engine

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Authors: Arjita Jhingran

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The pandemic was a turning point for flexible employment. In today’s market, employees prefer companies that provide the autonomy to change their work environment and are flexible. Post pandemic employees have become accustomed to modifying, re-designing, and re-aligning their work environment, task, and the way they interact with co-workers based on their preferences after working from home for a long time. In this scenario, the concept of job crafting has come to the forefront, and research on the subject has expanded, particularly during COVID-19. Managers who provide opportunities to craft the job are driving enhanced engagement and well-being. The current study will aim to examine the impact of job crafting on work engagement and psychological well-being among 385 working professionals, ranging in the age group of 21- 39 years. (M age=30 years). The study will also draw comparisons between freelancers and full-time employees, as freelancers have been considered to have more autonomy over their job. A comparison-based among MNC or startups will be studied; as for the majority of startups, autonomy is a primary motivator. Moreover, a difference based on the level of experience will also be observed, which will add to the body of knowledge. The data will be collected through Job Crafting Questionnaire, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and Psychological Well-Being Scale. To infer the findings, correlation analysis will be used to study the relationship among variables, and a Three way ANOVA will be used to draw comparisons.

Keywords: job crafting, work engagement, well-being, freelancers, start-ups

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Authors: Meseret Gebeyehu Yehuala

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Women represent the majority of urban farmers engaged in vegetable and fruit production in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. We examine urban agriculture in Bahir Dar city in the context of disruptions caused by the civil war and COVID-19. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework serves as a conceptual frame to explore the vulnerability context, the structural and institutional challenges faced by women, and how this impacts their livelihoods. A total of 25 urban women farmers and 6 key informants were involved in the study through explorative and structured interviews conducted in 2021. Observations and informal conversations during repeated visits provided deeper insights. In addition, key informants employed in civil service institutions and experts were interviewed. Data were analysed by applying qualitative content analysis by using Atlas tia software. Women report that they experience a lack of access to land, insecurity of tenure, irregular technical support and input provision by agricultural extension services, and lack of access to credit and formal marketplaces. The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions aggravated this situation by delaying agricultural extension offices’ provision of necessary inputs and disrupting food handling and storage leading to the loss of perishable products. Bombing in relation to the civil war has destroyed harvests and left women in fear of returning to their fields. Women stated that vegetable and fruit production could contribute to their incomes, household food supplies, and more diversified diets. However, the city municipal office has, so far, not committed to supporting urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy.

Keywords: urban agriculture, institutional challenges, Bahir Dar, sustainable livelihood framework

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Authors: Dorota Kobus-Ostrowska

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Work for everyone, especially for person with disability is a condition in independence; it secures basic needs and develops manual and intellectual capabilities. The work is a source of income, and it builds and strengthens of self-esteem and competence. The purpose of this article is to identify work as an important factor in everyone’s life, despite Polish disabled persons rarely having the chance to undertake a job. In order to achieve this purpose, two methods were used: comparative and qualitative. The theoretical part of this article is based on studies of a wide range of Polish and foreign literature devoted to the issue of the occupational development of people with disabilities. The article was also enriched with the institutional and legal analysis types of support for people with disabilities in Poland. Currently, a Polish person with disability who wants to enter or return to the labor market is under a special protection. Those entities employing workers with disabilities may obtain a subsidy for the salary of a person with disabilities. Unfortunately, people with disability in Poland rarely participate in the workforce. The factors that contribute to this include the difficulty in obtaining work, the uncertainty of keeping it, and the low salary offered. Despite that domestic and foreign literature highlight the important role of disabled people as a workforce, very few people with disability in Poland are economically active.

Keywords: disabled person, employer, rehabilitation, work

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Authors: Ahmed S. Khan, Amin Karim

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During the past several decades, the economy of each nation has been significantly affected by globalization and technology. Government regulations and private sector standards affect a majority of world trade. Countries have been working together to establish international standards in almost every field. As a result, workers in all sectors need to have an understanding of standards. Engineering and technology students must not only possess an understanding of engineering standards and applicable government codes, but also learn to apply them in designing, developing, testing and servicing products, processes and systems. Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET) criteria for engineering and technology education require students to learn and apply standards in their class projects. This paper is a follow-up of a 2006-2009 NSF initiative awarded to IEEE to help develop tutorials and case study modules for students and encourage standards education at college campuses. It presents the findings of a faculty/institution survey conducted through various U.S.-based listservs representing the major engineering and technology disciplines. The intent of the survey was to the gauge the status of use of standards and regulations in engineering and technology coursework and to identify benchmark practices. In light of survey findings, recommendations are made to standards development organizations, industry, and academia to help enhance the use of standards in engineering and technology curricula.

Keywords: standards, regulations, ABET, IEEE, engineering, technology curricula

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Authors: Mahdiyeh Zafaranchi, Ethan S. Cantor, William T. Riddell, Jess W. Everett

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The New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs (NJ DMAVA) operates over 50 facilities throughout the state of New Jersey, U.S. NJDMAVA is under a mandate to move toward decarbonization, which will eventually include eliminating the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels for heating. At the same time, the organization requires increased resiliency regarding electric grid disruption. These competing goals necessitate adopting the use of on-site renewables such as photovoltaic and geothermal power, as well as implementing power control strategies through microgrids. Planning for these changes requires a detailed understanding of current and future electricity use on yearly, monthly, and shorter time scales, as well as a breakdown of consumption by heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. This paper discusses case studies of two buildings that were simulated using the QUick Energy Simulation Tool (eQUEST). Both buildings use electricity from the grid and photovoltaics. One building also uses natural gas. While electricity use data are available in hourly intervals and natural gas data are available in monthly intervals, the simulations were developed using monthly and yearly totals. This approach was chosen to reflect the information available for most NJ DMAVA facilities. Once completed, simulation results are compared to metrics recommended by several organizations to validate energy use simulations. In addition to yearly and monthly totals, the simulated peak demands are compared to actual monthly peak demand values. The simulations resulted in monthly peak demand values that were within 30% of the measured values. These benchmarks will help to assess future energy planning efforts for NJ DMAVA.

Keywords: building energy modeling, eQUEST, peak demand, smart meters

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Authors: Abdul Rohim Tualeka, Erick Caravan K. Betekeneng, Ramdhoni Zuhro, Reko Triyono, M. Sahri

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It has been widely reported incidence caused by acute and chronic effects of exposure to ammonia in the working environment in Indonesia, but ammonia concentration was found to be below the threshold value. The purpose of this study was to determine the safety limit concentration of ammonia in the working environment through the expression of CD8 as a reference for determining the threshold value of ammonia in the working environment. This research was a laboratory experimental with post test only control group design using experimental animals as subjects experiment. From homogeneity test results indicated that the weight of white rats exposed and control groups had a homogeneous variant with a significant level of p (0.701) > α (0.05). Description of the average breathing rate is 0.0013 m³/h. Average weight rats based group listed exposure is 0.1405 kg. From the calculation IRS CD8, CD8 highest score in the doses contained 0.0154, with the location of the highest dose of ammonia without any effect on the lungs of rats is 0.0154 mg/kg body weight of mice. Safe Human Dose (SHD) ammonia is 0.002 mg/kg body weight workers. The conclusion of this study is the safety limit concentration of ammonia gas in the working environment of 0,025 ppm.

Keywords: ammonia, CD8, rats, safe limits concentration

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Authors: Daniella Arieli

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As human population is ageing, globally, we are faced with the need to find solutions for the care of older people who have reached the stage of needing full-time nursing care. Basically, there are two basic alternatives: 1. moving the individual to an institutional setting, a care home, or other form of residency, and 2. Arranging care for them in their own home, what is known as “ageing in place”. As ageing in place is becoming popular in many parts of the world, there is a need to understand its’ everyday consequences for all the involved parties: the care recipient, her/his family members and the live-in care workers. This is crucial because choosing home care means that the role of the care recipient’s relatives becomes very demanding and requires a level of support and responsibility that is often beyond what families can offer. This is particularly challenging when the older person faces dementia. While most Western countries offer a range of social services, many citizens around the world find the care provided by governments and associated social support structures insufficient. Individuals and families find themselves in the position of having to take on the responsibility themselves and find a path for the care of frail members, while facing considerable personal burdens and challenging dilemmas. The aim of this work is to discuss those challenges. The study is based on an ethnographic study of home care for older people in Israel.

Keywords: aging in place, family caregivers, policy making, qualitative research

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Authors: Alireza Saidi

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Aside from injuries due to direct contact with hot or cold substances or objects, exposure to extreme temperatures in the workplace involves physical hazards to workers. On the other hand, a poorly acclimatized worker may have reduced performance and alertness and may, therefore, be more vulnerable to the risk of accidents and injuries. Due to the incompatibility of the standards put in place with certain workplaces and the lack of thermoregulation in many protective equipments, thermal strains remain among the physical risks most present in many work sectors. However, many of these problems can be overcome thanks to the potential of intelligent textile technologies allowing intelligent thermoregulation in protective equipment. Nowadays, technologies such as heating elements, cooling elements are applied in products intended for sport and leisure, and research work has been carried out in the integration of temperature sensors and thermal stress detectors in personal protective equipment. However, the usage of all of these technologies in personal protective equipment remains very marginal. This article presents a portrait of the current state of intelligent thermoregulation systems by carrying out a synthesis of technical developments, which is accompanied by a gap analysis of current developments. Thus, the research work necessary for the adaptation and integration of intelligent thermoregulation systems with personal protective equipment is discussed in order to offer a perspective of future developments.

Keywords: personal protective equipment, smart textiles, thermoregulation, thermal strain

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Authors: Saniye Çeşmecioğlu

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The importance of project sustainability and success has become increasingly significant due to the proliferation of external environmental factors that have decreased project resistance in contemporary times. The primary approach to forestall the failure of projects is to ensure their long-term viability through the strategic selection of projects as creating judicious project selection framework within the organization. Decision-makers require precise decision contexts (models) that conform to the company's business objectives and sustainability expectations during the project selection process. The establishment of a rational model for project selection enables organizations to create a distinctive and objective framework for the selection process. Additionally, for the optimal implementation of this decision-making model, it is crucial to establish a Project Management Office (PMO) team and Project Steering Committee within the organizational structure to oversee the framework. These teams enable updating project selection criteria and weights in response to changing conditions, ensuring alignment with the company's business goals, and facilitating the selection of potentially viable projects. This paper presents a multi-criteria decision model for selecting project sustainability and project success criteria that ensures timely project completion and retention. The model was developed using MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique) and was based on broadcaster companies’ expectations. The ultimate results of this study provide a model that endorses the process of selecting the appropriate project objectively by utilizing project selection and sustainability criteria along with their respective weights for organizations. Additionally, the study offers suggestions that may ascertain helpful in future endeavors.

Keywords: project portfolio management, project selection, multi-criteria decision making, project sustainability and success criteria, MACBETH

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Authors: Ha Van Trung, Suchint Simaraks

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Agro-tourism is a form of rural tourism that has actively developed in recent years. Tra Que vegetable village has developed this type of tourism to meet the needs of visitors to visit and experience. However, in the process of agricultural tourism development, Tra Que village is facing many issues related to the agricultural way of life, affecting the attraction of tourists. The purpose of this study is to find those issues. The survey questionnaire of 71 households and a semi-structured group interview of 30 households has been applied for the data collection. Research results show that there is a shortage of young workers, lack of training in tourism and agricultural production, and households only exploit a few agricultural activities for tourism. The number of households receiving tourists tends to decrease, and the number of households selling products to tourists at farms accounts for a small proportion. These will affect sustainable agro-tourism development in the future. Focusing on training local households in tourism and agricultural production, encourage young generation to preserve the agricultural way of life, upgrade infrastructure and public services, develop agro-products and tourism services will contribute to the sustainable development of agro-tourism in Tra Que vegetable village in the future.

Keywords: agro-tourism, way of life, Vietnamese tourists, Tra Que vegetable village

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Authors: Kalpeshkumar L. Gupta, Shivali Rathore

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India is home to over 30 crore rural poor, aware of the criticality of the situation that has made to come with an innovative business idea. Entrepreneurship in India is on the verge of explosive growth and which is actually need of an hour for employment generation, poverty elevation at grass root through developmental intervention. India economic progress has started from the development of its small and medium scale enterprises to ensure that the sectors continues to stay competitive and achieve sustained growth in the era of global economy many incubators centers has been established with the mission to give the encouragement to many innovative ideas. If we define an Incubator, it is simply an enclosed apparatus in which premature small babies are placed and which provides a controlled and protective environment for their care this gives them a chance to adjust to outside environment, and grow stronger before they face the outside world. In a similar way the startup entrepreneur’s business idea is incubated in the incubation centers. Entrepreneurship has been conventionally rated as risky career, to break the myth and to augment the supply of new entrepreneurs through education; research training the incubation centers has been established, their goal is to help create and grow young businesses by providing them with necessary support and financial and technical services. The startup companies spend on an average two years in a business incubator during which numerous benefits like funding, office space, equipment’s etc. is provided by the incubators to the startup business. Present paper will study the background, role, objectives of different incubators set up in Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) for our study.

Keywords: incubation centres, entrepreneurship, Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Technology

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Authors: Tanvir Ahmed, Thanh N. Long, Phan T. Huong, Donald E. Stewart

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This paper presents views on condom use and the contexts of safe and unsafe sexual practices with different sexual partners and their relationships among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Fifteen IDUs participated and two local interviewers conducted qualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews in September-October, 2012 in Vietnamese language. Data were analyzed thematically. Non-protective condom attitudes include negotiate or convince Female Sex Workers (FSW); not realizing risk, importance or necessity; partner doesn’t like, and having extra money/drug from clients. On the other hand, self-awareness, family-consciousness, suspicion of STI presence, fear of getting HIV, and client negotiation sometimes resulted in a safe-sex practice. A thematic diagram was developed to present the relationship (strong/weak) between condom attitude and sexual practice (safe/unsafe) by partner types. The experiences and views reflected in the qualitative information emphasize the heightened need for safe-sex education especially among young IDUs (male/female) highlighting sexual transmission risk.

Keywords: AIDS, HIV, injecting drug user, risk behaviors, Vietnam

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Authors: Kiyoko Yoshimura, Yasunobu Kino

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Focusing on professional call centers where workers with expertise perform services, this study aims to clarify the relationships between emotional labor and job satisfaction and the effects of recognition of customer feedback. Since the professional call center operators consist of professional license holders (qualification holders) and those who do not (non-holders), the following three points are analyzed in the two groups by using covariance structure analysis and simultaneous multi-population analysis: 1) The relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction, 2) customer feedback and job satisfaction, and 3) The intermediation effect between the emotional labor of customer feedback and job satisfaction. The following results are obtained: i) no direct effect is found between job satisfaction and emotional labor for qualification holders and non-holders, ii) for qualification holders and non-holders, recognition of positive feedback and recognition of negative feedback had positive and negative effects on job satisfaction, respectively, iii) for qualification and non-holders, "consideration for colleagues" influences job satisfaction by recognizing positive feedback, and iv) only for qualification holders, the factors "customer-oriented emotional expression" and "emotional disharmony" have a positive and negative effect on job satisfaction, respectively, through recognition of positive feedback and recognition of negative feedback.

Keywords: call center, emotional labor, professional service, job satisfaction, customer feedback

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Authors: Ahlam Inayatullah Badrul Munir, M. Husaini A. Rahman, Mohd Sukri Hassan

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Real-time PCR is a molecular biology technique that is currently being widely used for halal services to differentiating between porcine and bovine DNA. The useful of technique become very important for student or workers (who works in the laboratory) to learn how the technique could be run smoothly without fail. Same concept with conventional PCR, real-time PCR also needed DNA template, primer, enzyme polymerase, dNTP, and buffer. The difference is in real-time PCR, have additional component namely fluorescent dye. The most common use of fluorescent dye in real-time PCR is SYBR green. The purpose of this study was to find out how sensitive, specific and efficient real-time PCR technique was combined with SYBR green method and specific primers of CYT b. The results showed that real-time PCR technique using SYBR Green, capable of detecting porcine and bovine DNA concentrations up to 0.0001 µl/ng. The level of efficiency for both types of DNA was 91% (90-110). Not only that in specific primer CYT b bovine primer could detect only bovine DNA, and porcine primer could detect only porcine primer. So, from the study could be concluded that real-time PCR technique that was combined with specific primer CYT b and SYBR green method, was sensitive, specific and efficient to detect porcine and bovine DNA.

Keywords: sensitivity, specificity, efficiency, real-time PCR, SYBR green, Cytochrome b, porcine DNA, bovine DNA

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Authors: Jason Maffia, Maria D’urso, Robert Crupi, Margaret Cartmell

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The emotional aspects of traumatic events such as workplace violence are often ignored, causing low productivity, disillusionment, and resentment within an organization. As a result, if workplace violence, particularly in healthcare settings, is not adequately addressed, it will become a phenomenon, undermining the peace and stability among the active communities while also posing a risk to the population's health and well-being. This review intends to identify the risk factors and the implications of workplace violence in healthcare settings and highlight the collaborative efforts needed in sustaining control and prevention measures against workplace violence. It is essential that health care organizations are prepared physically and emotionally for traumatic situations. This study explores the theoretical nature of addressing work-related violence in healthcare settings as well as traumatic stress reactivity and the context within which reactions occur and recovery takes place. Cognitive, social, and organizational influences on response are identified and used to tentatively offer explanations for identifying security risks, development, and implementation of de-escalation teams, CISM programs and training staff in violence prevention are among strategies hospitals are employing to keep workers and patients safe. General conclusion regarding the implications for intervention effectiveness and design are discussed.

Keywords: healthcare settings, stress reactions, traumatic events, workplace violence

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Authors: Sakulsri Srisaracam

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Social media has become an important source of information for the public and the media profession. Some social issues raised on social media are picked up by journalists to report on other platforms. This relationship between social media and mainstream media can sometimes drive public debate or stimulate social movements. The question to examine is in what situations can social media conversations raise awareness and stimulate change on public issues. This study addresses the communication patterns of social media conversations driving covert issues into mainstream media and leading to social advocacy movements. In methodological terms, the study findings are based on a content analysis of Facebook, Twitter, news websites and television media reports on three different case studies – saving Bryde’s whale, protests against a government proposal to downsize the Office of Knowledge Management and Development in Thailand, and a dengue fever campaign. These case studies were chosen because they represent issues that most members of the public do not pay much attention to but social media conversations stimulated public debate and calls to action. This study found: 1) Collective social media conversations can stimulate public debate and encourage change at three levels – awareness, public debate, and action of policy and social change. The level depends on the communication patterns of online users and media coverage. 2) Patterns of communication have to be designed to combine social media conversations, online opinion leaders, mainstream media coverage and call to both online and offline action to motivate social change. Thus, this result suggests that social media is a powerful platform for collective communication and setting the agenda on public issues for mainstream media. However, for social change to succeed, social media should be used to mobilize online movements to move offline too.

Keywords: public issues, mainstream media, social media, social movement

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Authors: Salma Maher, Ahmed Elseragy, Sally Eldeeb

Abstract:

Nowadays, Urbanism and climate change lead to the rapid growth in energy consumption and the increase of using air-conditioning for cooling. In a hot climate area, there is a need for a new sustainable alternative that is more convenient for an existing situation. The Building envelope controls the heat transfer between the outside and inside the building. While the building façade is the most critical part, types of façade material play a vital role in influences of the energy demand for heating and cooling due to exposure to direct solar radiation throughout the day. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the use of curtain walls in office buildings façades started to increase rapidly, which lead to more cooling loads in energy consumption. Integrating the living wall system in urban areas as a sustainable renovation and energy-saving method for the built environment will reduce the energy demand of buildings and will also provide environmental benefits. Also, it will balance the urban ecology and enhance urban life quality. The results show that the living wall systems reduce the internal temperature up to 4.0 °C. This research carries on an analytical study by highlighting the different types of living wall systems and verifying their thermal performance, energy-saving, and life potential on the building. These assessing criteria include the reason for using the Living wall systems in the building façade as well as the effect it has upon the surrounding environment. Finally, the paper ends with concluding the effect of using living wall systems on building. And, it suggests a system as long-lasting, and energy-efficient solution to be applied in curtain wall façades in a hot climate area.

Keywords: living wall systems, energy consumption, curtain walls, energy-saving, sustainability, urban life quality

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Authors: Md. Obidul Haque, Abbasi Khanm

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Port city Chittagong, the commercial capital of Bangladesh, is flourished with fascinating topography and climatic context along with basic resources for livelihood; both shape this city and become living archives of its ecologies. Chittagong has been witnessing numerous urban development measures being taken by city development authority, though some of those seem incomplete because of lack of proper planning. Due to this unplanned trail, the blessings of nature have become the reason of sufferings for city dwellers. One of which is the water clogging due to heavy rainfall, seepage, high tide, absence of well-knit underground drainage system, and so on. The problem has reached such an extent that the first monsoon rain is enough to shut down the entire city and causing immense sufferings to livestock, specially most vulnerable groups such as children and office going people. Study shows that total discharge is higher than present drainage capacity of the canals, thus, resulting in overflow, as major channels are clogged up by dumping waste or illegal encroachment, which are supposed to flush out rain water. This paper aims to address natural and manmade causes behind urban water clogging, adverse socio-environmental hazardous effects, possibilities for probable solutions on basis of local people’s experience and rational urban planning and landscape architectural proposals such as facilitating well planned drainage system, along with waste management policies etc. which can be able to intervene in these movements to activate the mighty port city’s unfulfilled potentials.

Keywords: drainage, high-tide, urban storm water logging (USWL), urban planning, water management

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Authors: Mark Herman Sumagang Potoy

Abstract:

State of the City Address (SOCA) is a speech, modelled after the State of the Nation Address, given not as mandated by law but usually a matter of practice or tradition delivered before the chief executive’s constituents. Through this, the general public is made to know the performance of the local government unit and its agenda for the coming year. Therefore, it is imperative for SOCAs to clearly convey its message and carry out the myriad function of enlightening its readers which could be achieved through the proper use of reference. Anaphora and cataphora are the two major types of reference; the former refer back to something that has already been mentioned while the latter points forward to something which is yet to be said. This paper seeks to identify the types of reference employed on the SOCAs from 2014 to 2016 of Hon. Rosalina Garcia Jalosjos, Mayor of Dapitan City and look into how the references contribute to the clarity of the message of the text. The qualitative method of research is used in this study through an in-depth analysis of the corpus. As soon as the copies of the SOCAs are secured from the Office of the City Mayor, they are then analyzed using documentary technique categorizing the types of reference as to anaphora and cataphora, counting each of these types and describing the implications of the dominant types used in the addresses. After a thorough analysis, it is found out that the two reference types namely, anaphora and cataphora are both employed on the three SOCAs, the former being used more frequently than the latter accounting to 80% and 20% of actual usage, respectively. Moreover, the use of anaphors and cataphora on the three addresses helps in conveying the message clearly because they primarily become aids to avoid the repetition of the same element in the text especially when there wasn’t a need to emphasize a point. Finally, it is recommended that writers of State of the City Addresses should have a vast knowledge on how reference should be used and the functions they take in the text since this is a vital tool to clearly transmit a message. Moreover, English teachers should explicitly teach the proper usage of anaphora and cataphora, as instruments to develop cohesion in written discourse, to enable students to write not only with sense but also with fluidity in tying utterances together.

Keywords: anaphora, cataphora, reference, State of the City Address

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Authors: Wafa Tourab, Abdessalem Babouri, Mohamed Nemamcha

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This work presents an experimental and theoretical characterization of electromagnetic environment in the vicinity of EL-HADJAR high voltage substation located in the eastern Algerian within a very high populated zone. There have been analyses on the effects of electromagnetic fields emanating from coupled multi-lines power systems on the health of the workers and people living in proximity of substations. An experimental investigation has been conducted around a circuit of two 220Kv lines running in parallel. The experimental results are validated by a flexible code of calculus developed in the environment Matlab. The implications of the results are discussed and are in very good agreement with the ICNIRP reference levels for occupational and non-occupational exposures. In a case of study, the separation between the two structures “S” is varied to demonstrate its influence on the electric and magnetic charges quantities generated by the circuit of lines proposed. It is found that increasing S decreases the electric and magnetic fields which occur at the center of the structure then reduces the coupling between lines. We concluded that the evaluation of the spacing between the phase conductors is of paramount interest in the preparation of the line’s implantation inside the electrical posts to reduce them radiations in the environment.

Keywords: low frequency, electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic coupling, high voltage power lines

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Authors: Christina Kirsch, Adam Hatzigiannis

Abstract:

Rail operators and maintainers worldwide are increasingly replacing walking patrols in the rail corridor with mechanized track patrols -essentially data capture on trains- and on-screen reviews of track infrastructure in centralized review facilities. The benefit is that infrastructure workers are less exposed to the dangers of the rail corridor. The impact is a significant change in work design from walking track sections and direct observation in the real world to sedentary jobs in the review facility reviewing captured data on screens. Defects in rail infrastructure can have catastrophic consequences. Reviewer performance regarding accuracy and efficiency of reviews within the available time frame is essential to ensure safety and operational performance. Rail operators must optimize workload and resource loading to transition to on-screen reviews successfully. Therefore, they need to know what workload assessment methodologies will provide reliable and valid data to optimize resourcing for on-screen reviews. This paper compares objective workload measures, including track difficulty ratings and review distance covered per hour, and subjective workload assessments (NASA TLX) and analyses the link between workload and reviewer performance, including sensitivity, precision, and overall accuracy. An experimental study was completed with eight on-screen reviewers, including infrastructure workers and engineers, reviewing track sections with different levels of track difficulty over nine days. Each day the reviewers completed four 90-minute sessions of on-screen inspection of the track infrastructure. Data regarding the speed of review (km/ hour), detected defects, false negatives, and false positives were collected. Additionally, all reviewers completed a subjective workload assessment (NASA TLX) after each 90-minute session and a short employee engagement survey at the end of the study period that captured impacts on job satisfaction and motivation. The results showed that objective measures for tracking difficulty align with subjective mental demand, temporal demand, effort, and frustration in the NASA TLX. Interestingly, review speed correlated with subjective assessments of physical and temporal demand, but to mental demand. Subjective performance ratings correlated with all accuracy measures and review speed. The results showed that subjective NASA TLX workload assessments accurately reflect objective workload. The analysis of the impact of workload on performance showed that subjective mental demand correlated with high precision -accurately detected defects, not false positives. Conversely, high temporal demand was negatively correlated with sensitivity and the percentage of detected existing defects. Review speed was significantly correlated with false negatives. With an increase in review speed, accuracy declined. On the other hand, review speed correlated with subjective performance assessments. Reviewers thought their performance was higher when they reviewed the track sections faster, despite the decline in accuracy. The study results were used to optimize resourcing and ensure that reviewers had enough time to review the allocated track sections to improve defect detection rates in accordance with the efficiency-thoroughness trade-off. Overall, the study showed the importance of a multi-method approach to workload assessment and optimization, combining subjective workload assessments with objective workload and performance measures to ensure that recommendations for work system optimization are evidence-based and reliable.

Keywords: automation, efficiency-thoroughness trade-off, human factors, job design, NASA TLX, performance optimization, subjective workload assessment, workload analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 113