Search results for: recommendations and research directions

Authors: Roberto Feltrero, Sara Osuna-Acedo

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Responsible Research and Innovation have to accomplish one fundamental aim: everybody has to participate in the benefits of innovation, but also innovation has to be democratic; that is to say, everybody may have the possibility to participate in the decisions in the innovation process. Particularly, a democratic and inclusive model of social participation and innovation includes persons with disabilities and people at risk of discrimination. Innovations on Artificial Intelligence for social development have to accomplish the same dual goal: improving equality for accessing fields of public interest like education, training and public services, as well as improving civic and democratic participation in the process of developing such innovations for all. This research aims to develop innovations, policies and policy recommendations to apply and disseminate such artificial intelligence and social model for making educational and administrative processes more accessible. First, designing a citizen participation process to engage citizens in the designing and use of artificial intelligence tools for public services. This will result in improving trust in democratic institutions contributing to enhancing the transparency, effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy of public policy-making and allowing people to participate in the development of ethical standards for the use of such technologies. Second, improving educational tools for lifelong learning with AI models to improve accountability and educational data management. Dissemination, education and social participation will be integrated, measured and evaluated in innovative educational processes to make accessible all the educational technologies and content developed on AI about responsible and social innovation. A particular case will be presented regarding access for all to educational tools and public services. This accessibility requires cognitive adaptability because, many times, legal or administrative language is very complex. Not only for people with cognitive disabilities but also for old people or citizens at risk of educational or social discrimination. Artificial Intelligence natural language processing technologies can provide tools to translate legal, administrative, or educational texts to a more simple language that can be accessible to everybody. Despite technological advances in language processing and machine learning, this becomes a huge project if we really want to respect ethical and legal consequences because that kinds of consequences can only be achieved with civil and democratic engagement in two realms: 1) to democratically select texts that need and can be translated and 2) to involved citizens, experts and nonexperts, to produce and validate real examples of legal texts with cognitive adaptations to feed artificial intelligence algorithms for learning how to translate those texts to a more simple and accessible language, adapted to any kind of population.

Keywords: responsible research and innovation, AI social innovations, cognitive accessibility, public participation

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Authors: Mpho Agnes Mbeo, Patient Rambe

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The thirteenth year of the Central University of Technology, Free State’s (CUT) transition from a vocational and professional training orientation institution (i.e. a technikon) into a university with a strong research focus has neither been a smooth nor an easy one. At the heart of this transition was the need to transform the psychological faculties of academic and research staffs compliment who were accustomed to training graduates for industrial placement. The lack of a culture of research that fully embraces a strong ethos of conducting world-class research needed to be addressed. The induction and socialisation of academic staff into the development and execution of cutting-edge research also required the provision of research support and the creation of a conducive academic environment for research, both for emerging and non-research active academics. Drawing on ten cases, comprising four heads of departments, three prolific established researchers, and three emerging researchers, this study explores the challenges faced in establishing a strong research culture at the university. Furthermore, it gives an account of the extent to which the current research interventions have addressed the perceivably “missing research culture”, and the implications of these interventions for knowledge management. Evidence suggests that the endowment of an ideal institutional research environment (comprising strong internet networks, persistent connectivity on and off campus), research peer mentorship, and growing publication outputs should be matched by a coherent research incentive culture and strong research leadership. This is critical to building new knowledge and entrenching knowledge management founded on communities of practice and scholarly networking through the documentation and communication of research findings. The study concludes that the multiple policy documents set for the different domains of research may be creating pressure on researchers to engage research activities and increase output at the expense of research quality.

Keywords: Central University of Technology, performance, publication, research culture, university

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Authors: Koninika Mukherjee, Dilwar Hussain

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Introduction: One of the most prevalent psychopathologies among the youth is social anxiety. The presence of comorbid disorders further complicates diagnosis and treatment. One of the most commonly co-occurring disorders, along with social anxiety, is related to eating behavior. Objective: Identifying the risk and protective factors and the mechanism through which the effect of these disorders might help in treatment and prevention. So, the stated objective of the present study is to investigate the role of fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety in the relationship of parental bonding with social anxiety and comorbid disordered eating. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 411 Indian undergraduates. Data collection was done with the help of self-report measures like the social interaction anxiety scale, parental bonding instrument, brief fear of negative evaluation, social appearance anxiety scale, and the eating attitudes test. SPSS Amos 22.0 version was used for path analyses. Results: Out of the different dimensions of parental bonding, only maternal care and the father’s granting of behavioural freedom proved significant in the development and maintenance of social anxiety and disordered eating behaviour and symptoms. Fear of negative evaluation and social appearance anxiety mediated the impact of the mother’s care on social anxiety and comorbid disordered eating. However, only fear of negative evaluation seemed to mediate the effect of paternal granting of behavioral freedom on social anxiety and comorbid issues. Implications: One of the vital contributions of this study is looking at perceived maternal and paternal bonding separately in the path model. Identifying parenting dimensions significantly related to social anxiety and comorbid disorders can aid in establishing consensus around operational definitions and in the formulation of comprehensive assessments. Future Directions: Future research can include both participant and parental perceptions of parental bonding.

Keywords: social anxiety, disordered eating, fear of negative evaluation, social appearance anxiety

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Authors: Jae Soo Do, Kyoung-Seok Kim

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Radical changes in the industrial environment, and spectacular developments of IT have changed the current of managements from people-centered to technology- or IT-centered. Interpersonal emotion exchanges have long become insipid and interactive services have also come as mechanical reactions. This study offers various concepts for the emotional labor based on traditional studies on emotional labor. Especially the present day, on which human emotions are subject to being served as machinized thing, is the time when the study on human emotions comes momentous. Precedent researches on emotional labors commonly and basically dealt with the relationship between the active group who performs actions and the passive group who is done with the action. This study focuses on the passive group and tries to offer a new perspective of 'liquid emotion' as a defence mechanism for the passive group from the external environment. Especially, this addresses a concrete discussion on directions of following studies on the liquid labor as a newly suggested perspective.

Keywords: emotion labor, surface acting, deep acting, liquid emotion

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Authors: Gilang Maulana, Dhika Rahma Qomariah, Yasin Fadil

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Purpose: This research meant to measure the magnitude of the influence of the quality of the presentation to the targeted audience perception in catching information presentation. Design/Methodology/Approach: This research uses a quantitative research method. The kind of data that uses in this research is the primary data. The population in this research are students the economics faculty of Semarang State University. The sampling techniques uses in this research is purposive sampling. The retrieving data uses questionnaire on 30 respondents. The data analysis uses descriptive analysis. Result: The quality of presentation influential positive against perception of the audience. This proved that the more qualified presentation will increase the perception of the audience. Limitation: Respondents were limited to only 30 people.

Keywords: quality of presentation, presentation, audience, perception, semarang state university

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Authors: Jeffrey R. Mueller

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This paper expands on the role of the professor by detailing the origins of the profession, adding some of the unique contributions of North American Universities, as well as some of the best practice recommendations, to the unique tripartite role of the professor. It describes current challenges to the profession including the ever-controversial student rating of professors. It continues with the significance of empowerment to the role of the professor. It concludes with a predictive prescription for the future of the professoriate and the role of the university-level educational administrator toward that end.

Keywords: professoriate history, tripartite role, challenges, empowerment, shared governance, administratization

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Authors: Kaoutar Zellat, Tahar Kadri

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The purpose of new aseismic techniques is to provide an additional means of energy dissipation, thereby reducing the transmitted acceleration into the superstructure. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of aseismic bearings technique and understand the behavior of seismically isolated bridges by such devices a three-span continuous deck bridge made of reinforced concrete is considered. The bridge is modeled as a discrete model and the relative displacements of the isolation bearing are crucial from the design point of view of isolation system and separation joints at the abutment level. The systems presented here are passive control systems and the results of some important experimental tests are also included. The results show that the base shear in the piers is significantly reduced for the isolated system as compared to the non isolated system in the both directions of the bridge. This indicates that the use of aseismic systems is effective in reducing the earthquake response of the bridge.

Keywords: aseismic bearings, bridge isolation, bridge, seismic response

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Authors: Khalid Almarri

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The UAE is currently developing a peaceful nuclear energy program as part of its low Carbon energy strategy to meet future energy demands. Research of nuclear energy technologies is required to support nuclear energy generation projects and maximize their performance. Research of this type will require building an operating a research reactor (RR), a costly undertaking in most circumstances. Collaboration between government and private parties through public, private partnerships (PPP) can maximize the benefits expected from the adoption of an RR project. The aim of this research is to establish the critical success factors (CSF) for developing an RR project for newcomer countries, with the UAE taken as a case study, through the utilization of public, private partnerships (PPP). The results of this study were arrived at through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with ten experts in the field of research reactors, using grounded theory method. Underutilization was identified as the main stumbling block that impairs the success of research reactors.

Keywords: public private partnerships, research reactors, grounded theory, critical success factors

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Authors: Helen Pluut, Remus Ilies, Nikos Dimotakis, Maral Darouei

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This study aims to examine recovery from work as an important daily activity with implications for workplace behavior. Building on affective events theory and the stressor-detachment model as frameworks, this paper proposes and tests a comprehensive within-individual model that uncovers the role of recovery processes at home in linking workplace demands (e.g., workload) and stressors (e.g., workplace incivility) to next-day organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Our sample consisted of 126 full-time employees in a large Midwestern University. For a period of 16 working days, these employees were asked to fill out 3 electronic surveys while at work. The first survey (sent out in the morning) measured self-reported sleep quality, recovery experiences the previous day at home, and momentary effect. The second survey (sent out close to the end of the workday) measured job demands and stressors as well as OCBs, while the third survey in the evening assessed job strain. Data were analyzed using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). Results indicated that job demands and stressors at work made it difficult to unwind properly at home and have a good night’s sleep, which had repercussions for next day’s morning effect, which, in turn, influenced OCBs. It can be concluded that processes of recovery are vital to an individual’s daily effective functioning and behavior at work, but recovery may become impaired after a hard day’s work. Thus, our study sheds light on the potentially persistent nature of strain experienced as a result of work and points to the importance of recovery processes to enable individuals to avoid such cross-day spillover. Our paper will discuss this implication for theory and practice as well as potential directions for future research.

Keywords: affect, job demands, organizational citizenship behavior, recovery, strain

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Authors: Jessica A. Hellings, Piyushkumar Jani

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Background: Systemic autoimmune disorders are increasingly implicated in neuropsychiatric illness, especially in the setting of treatment resistance in individuals of all ages. Gluten allergy in fullest extent results in celiac disease, affecting multiple organs including central nervous system (CNS). Clinicians often lack awareness of the association between neuropsychiatric illness and gluten allergy, partly since many such research studies are published in immunology and gastroenterology journals. Methods: Following a Pubmed literature search and online searches on celiac disease websites, 40 articles are critically reviewed in detail. This work reviews celiac disease, gluten intolerance and current evidence of their relationship to neuropsychiatric and systemic illnesses. The review also covers current work-up and diagnosis, as well as dietary interventions, gluten restriction outcomes, and future research directions. Results: Gluten allergy in susceptible individuals damages the small intestine, producing a leaky gut and malabsorption state, as well as allowing antibodies into the bloodstream, which attack major organs. Lack of amino acid precursors for neurotransmitter synthesis together with antibody-associated brain changes and hypoperfusion may result in neuropsychiatric illness. This is well documented; however, studies in neuropsychiatry are often small. In the large CATIE trial, subjects with schizophrenia had significantly increased antibodies to tissue transglutaminase (TTG), and antigliadin antibodies, both significantly greater gluten antibodies than in control subjects. On later follow up, TTG-6 antibodies were identified in these subjects’ brains but not in their intestines. Significant evidence mostly from small studies also exists for gluten allergy and celiac-related depression, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, ataxia, and epilepsy. Dietary restriction of gluten resulted in remission in several published cases, including for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Conclusions: Ongoing and larger studies are needed of the diagnosis and treatment efficacy of the gluten-free diet in neuropsychiatric illness. Clinicians should ask about the patient history of anemia, hypothyroidism, irritable bowel syndrome and family history of benefit from the gluten-free diet, not limited to but especially in cases of treatment resistance. Obtaining gluten antibodies by a simple blood test, and referral for gastrointestinal work-up in positive cases should be considered.

Keywords: celiac, gluten, neuropsychiatric, translational

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Authors: Thamer Mahmmoud Muhammad Al Jbarat

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Building Performance Simulation plays a crucial role in optimizing energy efficiency, comfort, and sustainability in buildings. This paper explores the integration of Artificial Intelligence techniques into Building Performance Simulation to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and adaptability. The synthesis of Artificial Intelligence and Building Performance Simulation offers promising avenues for addressing complex building dynamics, optimizing energy consumption, and improving occupants' comfort. This paper examines various Artificial Intelligence methodologies and their applications in Building Performance Simulation, highlighting their potential benefits and challenges. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and case studies, this paper presents insights into the current state, future directions, and implications of Artificial Intelligence driven Building Performance Simulation on the built environment

Keywords: artificial intelligence, building performance, energy efficiency, building performance simulation, buildings sustainability, built environment.

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Authors: Xiangyu Yang

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Xiao Qian (1910-1999) was a prolific literary translator between Chinese and English in both directions and an influential commentator on Chinese translation practices for nearly 70 years (1931-1998). During his stay in Britain from 1939 to 1946, Xiao self-translated and published a series of short stories, essays, and feature articles. With Pedersen's theoretical framework, the paper finds that Xiao flexibly adopted seven translation strategies (i.e. phonemic retention, specification, direct translation, generalization, substitution, omission, and official equivalent) to deal with the expressions specific to Chinese culture, struggling to seek a balance between adequate translation and acceptable translation in a historical condition of the huge gap between China and the west in the early twentieth century. Besides, the study also discovers that Xiao's translation strategies were greatly influenced by his own translational purpose as well as the literary systems, ideologies, and patronage in China and Britain in the 1940s.

Keywords: self-translation, extralinguistic cultural reference, Xiao Qian, Pedersen

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Authors: Astrid Bagireanu, Julio Bros-Williamson, Mila Duncheva, John Currie

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Digital Twins (DTs) have entered the built environment from more established industries like aviation and manufacturing, although there has never been a common goal for utilising DTs at scale. Defined as the cyber-physical integration of data between an asset and its virtual counterpart, DT has been identified in literature from an operational standpoint – in addition to monitoring the performance of a built asset. However, this has never been translated into how DTs should be implemented into a project and what responsibilities each project stakeholder holds in the realisation of a DT. What is needed is an approach to translate these requirements into actionable DT dimensions. This paper presents a foundation for an overarching framework specific to the built environment. For the purposes of this research, the UK widely used the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work from 2020 is used as a basis for itemising project stages. The RIBA Plan of Work consists of eight stages designed to inform on the definition, briefing, design, coordination, construction, handover, and use of a built asset. Similar project stages are utilised in other countries; therefore, the recommendations from the interviews presented in this paper are applicable internationally. Simultaneously, there is not a single mainstream software resource that leverages DT abilities. This ambiguity meets an unparalleled ambition from governments and industries worldwide to achieve a national grid of interconnected DTs. For the construction industry to access these benefits, it necessitates a defined starting point. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the potential applications and ramifications of DT in the context of the built environment. This paper is an integral part of a larger research aimed at developing a conceptual framework for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector following a conventional project timeline. Therefore, this paper plays a pivotal role in providing practical insights and a tangible foundation for developing a stage-by-stage approach to assimilate the potential of DT within the built environment. First, the research focuses on a review of relevant literature, albeit acknowledging the inherent constraint of limited sources available. Secondly, a qualitative study compiling the views of 14 DT experts is presented, concluding with an inductive analysis of the interview findings - ultimately highlighting the barriers and strengths of DT in the context of framework development. As parallel developments aim to progress net-zero-centred design and improve project efficiencies across the built environment, the limited resources available to support DTs should be leveraged to propel the industry to reach its digitalisation era, in which AEC stakeholders have a fundamental role in understanding this, from the earliest stages of a project.

Keywords: digital twins, decision-making, design, net-zero, built environment

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Authors: Hugo d’Albert, Udo Lindemann

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The number of automotive electronic systems that allow realizing new functions, like driver assistance systems, has been increasing extremely in the last decade. Although they bring several benefits, their malfunctions can lead to severe consequences, such as personal injury of road users. Functional safety is an approach to identify these critical malfunctions and arrange technical systems that include only tolerable risk. This approach is– in comparison with other technical areas– relatively new in the automotive sector. For a long time, the automotive systems have based on mechanical components and approved principles, like robust design. With a growing number of electric and electronic components in the modern cars and realizing by software of the system functions, the need for new standards and methods to assure the functional safety has arisen. This paper described the current state of engineering for safety in automotive sector and discusses new directions to meet the challenges of the future.

Keywords: automotive systems, functional safety, quality engineering, quality management

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Authors: Jerome D. Donovan

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The pandemic has resulted in a dramatic re-consideration of the reliance on international student fees to support university models in Australia. A key resulting initiative for the Australian Federal Government has been shifting the way universities consider their research model, emphasising the importance of commercialising research. This study specifically examines this shift from the perspective of a university spin-off, examining how university support structures and incubation models have assisted in the translation of fundamental research into a high-growth university spin-off. A focused case study approach is adopted in this study, using an auto-ethnographic research method to document the experiences and insights drawn from being a co-founder in a university spin-off in a time where research commercialisation has emerged as a central focus in Australian universities.

Keywords: research commercialisation, spin-offs, university incubation, entrepreneurship

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Authors: Mariana Calderón, Rocío Murad, Natalia Acevedo, Laura León, Juliana Fonseca, Maria de los Angeles Balaguera Villa

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Recently, different countries and international organizations have put on their agenda the elimination of violence against people with disabilities. This research aims to evaluate the social dimensions of sexual violence against people with disabilities, particularly those with psychosocial and cognitive, in Colombia. Results reveal that 55% of people with disabilities that are survivors of sexual violence are younger than 29 years and 20,4 are people with cognitive and psychosocial disabilities. Colombian regions with better social positions presented more cases of sexual violence against people with disabilities. There were found access barriers for health, education and employment among this population, and there was also found poor data quality. Despite Colombia having an important normative framework aimed at preventing and attending to gender-based violence, it does not take into account people with disabilities specific needs. Additionally, it was found an insufficient implementation and appropriation of these norms, negative attitudes, and in general, a lack of service adaptation according to the needs, identities and circumstances of people with disabilities. Furthermore, among the factors that are exposing people with disabilities to sexual violence, it was found that family members tend to be the main aggressors, there are deep gaps in the sex education received by people with disabilities, imaginaries and perceptions about their sexuality are both hypersexualizing and presenting them as asexual. On the other hand, among protective factors, there were found body self-knowledge and conscience, acknowledgment of their sexuality and their sexual and reproductive rights and access to sex ed. Although during the last few years, there has occurred a positive change toward social inclusion of people with disabilities, specifically through their role in the political agenda and the recognition of their rights. More work is needed in order to guarantee their sexual and reproductive rights, particularly for persons with psychosocial and cognitive disabilities. This research results showed the importance of transforming persisting negative imaginaries about their sexuality and also enforcing and promoting their autonomy. In this sense, it is important to acknowledge gaps and barriers faced by them and create strategies to encourage their social inclusion through education, employment, and skill development. Nevertheless, it is necessary to keep contributing new evidence of the social determinants of health that are influencing the occurrence of sexual violence. This research understands sexual violence against people with disabilities in a multidimensional manner and offers the following recommendations: 1- To foment public sensitization and understanding of disabilities. 2- To increase parents, caregivers and officers’ commitment to the prevention and reduction of sexual violence. 3- To focus on the needs, identities and circumstances of people with disabilities.

Keywords: disabilities, sexual and reproductive rights, sexual violence, prevention

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Authors: Eva Laryea, Clement Yeboah Authors

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A pretest-posttest within subjects, experimental design was employed to examine the effects of a computerized basic statistics learning game on achievement and statistics-related anxiety of students enrolled in introductory graduate statistics course. Participants (N = 34) were graduate students in a variety of programs at state-funded research university in the Southeast United States. We analyzed pre-test posttest differences using paired samples t-tests for achievement and for statistics anxiety. The results of the t-test for knowledge in statistics were found to be statistically significant indicating significant mean gains for statistical knowledge as a function of the game-based intervention. Likewise, the results of the t-test for statistics-related anxiety were also statistically significant indicating a decrease in anxiety from pretest to posttest. The implications of the present study are significant for both teachers and students. For teachers, using computer games developed by the researchers can help to create a more dynamic and engaging classroom environment, as well as improve student learning outcomes. For students, playing these educational games can help to develop important skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. Students can develop interest in the subject matter and spend quality time to learn the course as they play the game without knowing that they are even learning the presupposed hard course. The future directions of the present study are promising, as technology continues to advance and become more widely available. Some potential future developments include the integration of virtual and augmented reality into educational games, the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to create personalized learning experiences, and the development of new and innovative game-based assessment tools. It is also important to consider the ethical implications of computer game-based pedagogy, such as the potential for games to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and biases. As the field continues to evolve, it will be crucial to address these issues and work towards creating inclusive and equitable learning experiences for all students. This study has the potential to revolutionize the way basic statistics graduate students learn and offers exciting opportunities for future development and research. It is an important area of inquiry for educators, researchers, and policymakers, and will continue to be a dynamic and rapidly evolving field for years to come.

Keywords: pretest-posttest within subjects, experimental design, achievement, statistics-related anxiety

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Authors: Stoyanka Georgieva Vladeva, Elena Kirilova Kirilova, Nikola Kirilov Kirilov

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Summary: WHO (World Health Organization) recommends the elder people a certain amount of regular physical activity in order to prevent some of the health issues. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is one of the chronic diseases which requires the maintaining of regular physical activity. The regular activity combined with an adequate medical treatment greatly improves the quality of life of the patient. Objectives: Assessment of the effect of the regular physical activity recommended by WHO on the quality of life in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Material and methods: For the period of one year 68 female patients treated with Denosumab have been monitored. The bone density has been measured with the DEXA method in accordance to the T-score. No patients having any oncologic diseases and secondary osteoporosis have been included in the study. The subjects have been divided into groups by their age. The first group – women aged under 65 years (27 subjects) and the second group – women aged over 65 years (41 subjects). All patients have been advised to maintain regular physical activity included in the recommendations of the WHO in accordance with the age and the disease. The quality of life has been assessed in the beginning and at the end of the one-year period using the SF 36V2 questionnaire. Results: Only 31% of the subjects have engaged into regular increased physical activities for the whole period. Among them are mostly patients of the second group (aged over 65 years, 71%). The women from the both groups who were engaging into regular activities for this one-year period all experience an improvement of the quality of life. These results show that older patients understand the necessity of the physical activity for their health. The comparison of the output data to the scales of physical activity, durability, body pain, vitality, social activity and emotional stability has found an improvement at the end of the period in all patients. The osteodensitometry showed general improvement of the T-score. Patients with additional visits to their rheumatologist have better results. Conclusion: Combination of regular physical activity in accordance to the recommendations of WHO and medical treatment including anti-osteoporotic drugs improves the quality of life of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Keywords: elderly patients, osteoporosis, physical activity, quality of life

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Authors: Cynthia Sau Chun Yip, Richard Fielding

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High meat and especially red meat intakes are significantly and positively associated with a multiple burden of diseases and also high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study investigated population meat intake patterns in Hong Kong. It quantified the burden of disease and GHG emission outcomes by modeling to adjust Hong Kong population meat intakes to recommended healthy levels. It compared age- and sex-specific population meat, fruit and vegetable intakes obtained from a population survey among adults aged 20 years and over in Hong Kong in 2005-2007, against intake recommendations suggested in the Modelling System to Inform the Revision of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE-2011-MS) technical document. This study found that meat and meat alternatives, especially red meat intakes among Hong Kong males aged 20+ years and over are significantly higher than recommended. Red meat intakes among females aged 50-69 years and other meat and alternatives intakes among aged 20-59 years are also higher than recommended. Taking the 2005-07 age- and sex-specific population meat intake as baselines, three counterfactual scenarios of adjusting Hong Kong adult population meat intakes to AGHE-2011-MS and Pre-2011 AGHE recommendations by the year 2030 were established. Consequent energy intake gaps were substituted with additional legume, fruit and vegetable intakes. To quantify the consequent GHG emission outcomes associated with Hong Kong meat intakes, Cradle-to-ready-to-eat lifecycle assessment emission outcome modelling was used. Comparative risk assessment of burden of disease model was used to quantify the health outcomes. This study found adjusting meat intakes to recommended levels could reduce Hong Kong GHG emission by 17%-44% when compared against baseline meat intake emissions, and prevent 2,519 to 7,012 premature deaths in males and 53 to 1,342 in females, as well as multiple burden of diseases when compared to the baseline meat intake scenario. Comparing lump sum meat intake reduction and outcome measures across the entire population, and using emission factors, and relative risks from individual studies in previous co-benefit studies, this study used age- and sex-specific input and output measures, emission factors and relative risks obtained from high quality meta-analysis and meta-review respectively, and has taken government dietary recommendations into account. Hence evaluations in this study are of better quality and more reflective of real life practices. Further to previous co-benefit studies, this study pinpointed age- and sex-specific population and meat-type-specific intervention points and leverages. When compared with similar studies in Australia, this study also showed that intervention points and leverages among populations in different geographic and cultural background could be different, and that globalization also globalizes meat consumption emission effects. More regional and cultural specific evaluations are recommended to promote more sustainable meat consumption and enhance global food security.

Keywords: burden of diseases, greenhouse gas emissions, Hong Kong diet, sustainable meat consumption

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Authors: Rossukhon Makaramani, Supanan Sittilerd, Wipada Prasarnsaph

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The study aimed to 1) examine management status of a Program in Education at the Faculty of Education, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU); 2) determine main components, indicators and criteria for constructing quality assessment framework; 3) assess quality of a SSRU Program in Education; and 4) provide recommendations to promote academic excellence. The program to be assessed was Bachelor of Education Program in Education (5 years), Revised Version 2009. Population and samples were stakeholders involving implementation of this program during an academic year 2012. Results were: 1) Management status of the Program in Education showed that the Faculty of Education depicted good level (4.20) in the third cycle of external quality assessment by the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA). There were 1,192 students enrolling in the program, divided into 5 major fields of study. There were 50 faculty members, 37 holding master’s degrees and 13 holding doctorate degrees. Their academic position consisted of 35 lecturers, 10 assistant professors, and 5 associate professors. For program management, there was a committee of 5 members for the program and also a committee of 4 or 5 members for each major field of study. Among the faculty members, 41 persons taught in this program. The ratio between faculty and student was 1:26. The result of 2013 internal quality assessment indicated that system and mechanism of the program development and management was at fair level. However, the overall result yielded good level either by criteria of the Office of Higher Education Commission (4.29) or the NESQA (4.37); 2) Framework for assessing the quality of the program consisted of 4 dimensions and 15 indicators; 3) Assessment of the program yielded Good level of quality (4.04); 4) Recommendations to promote academic excellence included management and development of the program focusing on teacher reform toward highly recognized profession; cultivation of values, moral, ethics, and spirits of being a teacher; construction of specialized programs; development of faculty potentials; enhancement of the demonstration school’s readiness level; and provision of dormitories for learning.

Keywords: quality assessment, education program, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, academic excellence

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Authors: Joanne Robertson, Awneet Sivia

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Preparing aspiring teachers to become advocates for social justice reflects a fundamental commitment for teacher education programs in Canada to create systemic educational change. The goal is ultimately to address inequities in K-12 education for students from multiple identity groups that have historically been marginalized and oppressed in schools. Social justice is described as an often undertheorized and vague concept in the literature, which increases the risk that teaching for social justice remains a lofty goal. Another concern is that the social justice agenda in teacher education in North America ignores pedagogies related to subject-matter knowledge and discipline-based teaching methods. The question surrounding how teacher education programs can address these issues forms the basis for the research undertaken in this study. The paper focuses on a qualitative research project that examines how an Equity Literature Circles (ELC) framework within a language arts methods course in a Bachelor of Education program may help pre-service teachers better understand the inherent relationship between literacy instructional practices and teaching about and for social justice. Grounded in the Freireian (2018) principle of praxis, this study specifically seeks to understand the impact of Equity Literature Circles on pre-service teachers’ understanding of current social justice issues (reflection), their development of professional competencies in literacy instruction (practice), and their identity as advocates of social justice (action) who address issues related to student diversity, equity, and human rights within the English Language Arts program. In this paper presentation, participants will be provided with an overview of the Equity Literature Circle framework, a summary of key findings and recommendations from the qualitative study, an annotated bibliography of suggested Young Adult novels, and opportunities for questions and dialogue.

Keywords: literacy, language, equity, social justice, diversity, human rights

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Authors: Ira Joseph

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The LNG paradox addresses the issue of how the most expensive form of gas supply, which is LNG, will grow in an end user market where demand is most competitive, which is power generation. In this case, LNG demand growth is under siege from two entirely different directions. At one end is price; it will be extremely difficult for gas to replace coal in Asia due to the low price of coal and the age of the generation plants. Asia's coal fleet, on average, is less than two decades old and will need significant financial incentives to retire before its state lifespan. While gas would cut emissions in half relative to coal, it would also more than double the price of the fuel source for power generation, which puts it in a precarious position. In most countries in Asia other than China, this cost increase, particularly from imports, is simply not realistic when it is also necessary to focus on economic growth and social welfare. On the other end, renewables are growing at an exponential rate for three reasons. One is that prices are dropping. Two is that policy incentives are driving deployment, and three is that China is forcing renewables infrastructure into the market to take a political seat at the global energy table with Saudi Arabia, the US, and Russia. Plus, more renewables will lower import growth of oil and gas in China, if not end it altogether. Renewables are the predator at the gate of gas demand in power generation and in every year that passes, renewables cut into demand growth projections for gas; in particular, the type of gas that is most expensive, which is LNG. Gas does have a role in the future, particularly within a domestic market. Once it crosses borders in the form of LNG or even pipeline gas, it quickly becomes a premium fuel and must be marketed and used this way. Our research shows that gas will be able to compete with batteries as an intermittency and storage tool and does offer a method to harmonize with renewables as part of the energy transition. As a baseload fuel, however, the role of gas, particularly, will be limited by cost once it needs to cross a border. Gas converted into blue or green hydrogen or ammonia is also an option for storage depending on the location. While this role is much reduced from the primary baseload role that gas once aspired to land, it still offers a credible option for decades to come.

Keywords: natural gas, LNG, demand, price, intermittency, storage, renewables

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Authors: Erizal Lugman

Abstract:

An increasing number of students from Indonesia study in universities in the UK. Because of the substantial cultural differences between the Western and Indonesian cultures, this study investigates the issues in academic and social life experienced by Indonesian postgraduate students, with a sample of 11 Indonesian postgraduate students (8 male, 3 female) studying in London during the cultural adjustment stage. This research made use of a semi-structured interview and was analyzed qualitatively using thematic content analysis to reveal key areas of concern in the academic setting, social life, and language-related issues. The findings confirm that the most challenging aspects experienced by the participants are the use of academic English in academic situations and the students’ lack of critical thinking. Nine out of 11 students agreed that they had problems with writing essays during the cultural adjustment stage. Because of the collectivist culture in Indonesia, making friends with locals was the most concerning issue in the participants’ sociocultural adjustment, followed by difficulty in finding places to pray, looking for Halal food and using the Western toilet system The findings suggest recommendations that the students must be more aware of the cultural differences between Indonesian and Western cultures, including in the academic setting and social life. Also, the lecturers should pay more attention to their speech in the British accent which is sometimes difficult to understand.

Keywords: academic adjustment, cultural adjustment, indonesian culture, intercultural communication

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Authors: Jayantha Withanaarachchi, Sujeeva Setunge, Sara Moridpour

Abstract:

Gaps in strategic thinking and planning lead to critical transport infrastructure resilience. These gaps in strategic transport and land use development planning have an impact on communities and cities. Natural and man-induced disasters can be catastrophic to communities. After a disaster, many types of critical infrastructure, including transport infrastructure gets un-usable or gets damaged. This paper examines strategic thinking behind the resilience and protection of Critical Transport Infrastructure (CI) within transport networks by investigating the impact of disasters such as bushfires, hurricanes and earthquakes. A detailed analysis of three case studies have been conducted to identify the gaps in strategic transport planning and strategic decision making processes required to mitigate the impacts of disasters. Case studies will be analysed to identify existing gaps in road design, transport planning and decision making. This paper examines the effect of road designing, transport corridors and decision making during transport planning stages and how it impacts transport infrastructure as well as community resilience. A set of recommendations to overcome the shortcomings of existing strategic planning and designing process are presented. This research paper reviews transport infrastructure planning issues and presents the common approach suitable for future strategic thinking and planning which could be adopted in practices.

Keywords: community resilience, decision making , infrastructure resilience, strategic transport planning, transport infrastructure

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Authors: Jehnming Lin

Abstract:

In the laser cleavage of glass, the laser is mostly adopted as a heat source to generate a thermal stress state on the substrates. The crack propagation of the soda-lime glass in the laser thermal cleavage with the straight-turning paths was investigated in this study experimentally and numerically. The crack propagation was visualized by a high speed camera with the off-line examination on the micro-crack propagation. The temperature and stress distributions induced by the laser heat source were calculated by ANSYS software based on the finite element method (FEM). With the cutting paths in various turning directions, the experimental and numerical results were in comparison and verified. The fracture modes due to the normal and shear stresses were verified at the turning point of the laser cleavage path. It shows a significant variation of the stress profiles along the straight-turning paths and causes a change on the fracture modes.

Keywords: laser cleavage, glass, fracture, stress analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: István Patkó, Hosam Bayoumi Hamuda, András Szeder

Abstract:

In order to efficiently solve the problems created by the deepening energy crisis affecting Europe and the world, governments cannot neglect the opportunities of using the energy produced by sun collectors. In many of the EU countries there are sun collectors producing heat energy, e.g. in 2011 in the area of EU27 (countries which belong to European Union) + Switzerland altogether 37519126 m2 were operated, which are capable of producing 26.3 GWh heat energy. The energy produced by these sun collectors is utilized at the place of production. In the near future governments will have to focus more on spreading and using sun collectors. Among the complex problems of operating sun collectors, this article deals with determining the optimal tilt angle, directions of sun collectors. We evaluate the contamination of glass surface of sun collector to the produced energy. Our theoretically results are confirmed by laboratory measurements. The purpose of our work is to help users and engineers in determination of optimal operation parameters of sun collectors.

Keywords: heat energy, tilt angle, direction of sun collector, contamination of surface

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Authors: Ho-Dae Chong, Jong-Kil Kim

Abstract:

Collaborative research has become more prevalent and important across disciplines because it stimulates innovation and interaction between scholars. Seeing as existing studies relatively disregarded the institutional conditions triggering collaborative research, this work aims to analyze the changing trend in collaborative work patterns among Korean social scientists. The focus of this research is the performance of social scientists who received research grants through the government’s Social Science Korea (SSK) program. Using quantitative statistical methods, collaborative research patterns in a total of 2,354 papers published under the umbrella of the SSK program in peer-reviewed scholarly journals from 2013 to 2016 were examined to identify changing trends and triggering factors in collaborative research. A notable finding is that the share of collaborative research is overwhelmingly higher than that of individual research. In particular, levels of collaborative research surpassed 70%, increasing much quicker compared to other research done in the social sciences. Additionally, the most common composition of collaborative research was for two or three researchers to conduct joint research as coauthors, and this proportion has also increased steadily. Finally, a strong association between international journals and co-authorship patterns was found for the papers published by SSK program researchers from 2013 to 2016. The SSK program can be seen as the driving force behind collaboration between social scientists. Its emphasis on competition through a merit-based financial support system along with a rigorous evaluation process seems to have influenced researchers to cooperate with those who have similar research interests.

Keywords: coauthorship, collaboration, competition, cooperation, Social Science Korea, policy

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Authors: Ida Srdić, Luka Mandić, LidijaMandić

Abstract:

Digitization and intensive use of tablets, smartphones, the internet, mobile, and web applications have massively disrupted our habits, and the way audiences (especially youth) consume content. To introduce educational content in games and animations, and at the same time to keep it interesting and compelling for kids, is a challenge. In our work, we are comparing the different possibilities and potentials that digital games could provide to successfully mitigate direct connection with education. We analyze the main directions and educational methods in game-based learning and the possibilities of interactive modeling through questionnaires for user experience and requirements. A pre and post-quantitative survey will be conducted in order to measure levels of objective knowledge as well as the games perception. This approach enables quantitative and objective evaluation of the impact the game has on participants. Also, we will discuss the main barriers to the use of games in education and how games can be best used for learning.

Keywords: Bloom’s taxonomy, epistemic games, learning objectives, virtual learning environments

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Andrew Youssef, David Matthews, Jie Pan

Abstract:

Identifying the magnitude and direction of a force on an elastic solid is highly desirable, as this allows for investigation and continual monitoring of the dynamic loading. This was traditionally conducted by connecting the solid to the supporting structure by multi-axial force transducer, providing that the transducer will not change the mounting conditions. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film is a versatile force transducer that can be easily embedded in structures. Here a PVDF sensor array is embedded inside a simple structure in an effort to determine the force vector applied to the structure is an inverse problem. In this paper, forces of different magnitudes and directions where applied to the structure with an impact hammer, and the output of the PVDF was captured and processed to gain an estimate of the forces applied by the hammer. The outcome extends the scope of application of PVDF sensors for measuring the external or contact force vectors.

Keywords: embedded sensor, monitoring, PVDF, vibration

Procedia PDF Downloads 331

Authors: Serge Rohmer

Abstract:

This paper proposes a progressive participatory observation that can be used as a sociological investigation within communities. The usefulness of participant observation in sociological projects is first asserted, particularly in an urban context. Competencies, know-how and interpersonal skills are then explained before to detail the progressive approach, consisting of four levels of observation. The progressive participatory observation is applied to an experimental project to set up a permaculture urban micro-farm with residents of a priority neighbourhood. Feedback on the experiment has identified several key recommendations for implementing the approach.

Keywords: participatory observation, observation scale, priority neighbourhood, urban sociology

Procedia PDF Downloads 16