Search results for: uncertainty and decision making

Authors: Vincent Chumbu

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This study examines the impact of decentralization on development and government in Malawi. Decentralization has been a key element in Malawi's attempts to alter its political system since the early 1990s. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to look into how well devolution promotes local development, improves service delivery, and supports effective governance. The findings suggest that while devolution has resulted in particular improvements in local government or service provision, significant challenges persist. Limited financial decentralization, inadequate local competency, and governmental meddling in local decision-making processes are some of these difficulties. The paper concludes with recommendations for strengthening Malawi's decentralization initiatives to better promote good governance and sustainable development.

Keywords: governance, development, malawi, local government

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Authors: Bita Mashayekhi, Mohammad Ara

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The purpose of this study is to provide some empirical evidence about implementing Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in the hospitality industry in Iran. For this purpose, we consider the Tabriz International Hotel as our sample hotel and then gather the relevant data from its cost accounting system in 2012. Then, we use ABC as our costing method and compare the cost of each service unit with that cost which had been extracted for the traditional costing method. The results show a different cost per unit for two methods. Also, because of its more precise and detailed provided information, an ABC system facilitates the decision-making process for managers on decisions related to profitability analysis, budgeting, pricing, and so on.

Keywords: Activity-Based Costing (ABC), activity, cost driver, hospitality industry

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Authors: Vinícius L. L. Morrone, David Douek, Helder M. F. Pereira, Bernadete L. M. Grandolpho

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This work aimed to identify the relationships between the level of consumer environmental awareness and their search for sustainable properties, as well as to understand the main sustainability structures considered by these consumers during the decision process. Additionally, the paper looked up to the influence environmental awareness and financial status have over the disposition of buyers to pay more for sustainable properties. To achieve these objectives, 318 questionnaires were answered electronically, after being sent to the Green Building Brazil email basis, as to other Real Estate developers client basis. From all the questionnaires answered, 71 were discarded, leaving a total amount of 247 admitted questionnaires to be analyzed. The responses were evaluated based on the theory of consumer decision making, especially on the influence factors of this process. The data were processed using a PLS model, using the R software. The results have shown that the level of consumer environmental awareness effectively affects the consumer’s will of acquiring a sustainable property or, at least, a property with some environmental friendly structures. The consumer’s environmental awareness also positively impacts the importance consumers give to individual environmental friendly structures. Also, as a consumer value to those individual structures raises, it is also observed a raise in his will to buy a sustainable property. Additionally, the impact of consumer’s environmental awareness and financial status over the willingness to pay more for a property with those attributes. The results indicate that there was no relationship between consumers' environmental awareness and their willingness to pay more for a sustainable property. On the other hand, the financial status and the family income of the consumers showed a positive relation with the willingness to pay more for a sustainable property. This indicates that consumers with better financial conditions, which according to the analysis do not necessarily have a greater environmental awareness, are those who are willing to pay more for a sustainable property. Thus, this study indicates that, even if the environmental awareness impact positively the demand for sustainable structures and properties, this impact is not price reflected, due to the price elasticity of the consumption, especially for a category of lower income consumers. This paper adds to the literature in the way it projects some guidelines to the consumer’s decision process in the Real Estate market in emerging economies, as well as it presents some drivers to pricing decisions.

Keywords: consumer behavior, environmental awareness, real estate pricing, sustainable buildings

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Authors: Jawaher Bakheet Almudarra

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The Saudi Arabian educational system shared the philosophical principles, in its foundation, which concentrated on the achievement of goals, thereby taking up authoritative styles of leadership. However, organisations are beginning to be more liberal in today’s environment than in the 1940s and 1950s, and appealing to emotional intelligence as a tool and skill are needed for effective leadership. In the Saudi Arabian case, such developments are characterised by changes such as that of the educational supervisor having the role redefined to that of a director. This review tracks several parts: the first section helps western reader to understand the subtleties, complexities, and intricacies of the Saudi Arabia education system and its approach to leadership system of education, history, culture and political contribution. This can lead to the larger extent understand if emotional intelligence is a provocation for better leadership of Saudi Arabian education sector or not. The second part is the growth of educational supervision in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the education system, and evaluates the impact of emotional intelligence as a necessary skill in leadership. The third section looks at emotions and emotional intelligence, gender roles, and contributions by emotional intelligence in the education system. The education system of Saudi Arabia has undergone significant transformation. To fully understand the current climate of Saudi Arabia, it is essential to review this process of transformation in terms of the historical, cultural, political and social positions and transformations. Over the years, the education system in Saudi Arabia has undergone significant metamorphosis. The Saudi government has instituted a wide range of reforms in an attempt to improve education standards and outcomes, facilitate improvements and ensure that high standards of education standards are upheld to keep pace with the global environment and knowledge economy. Leadership itself has become an increasingly prominent aspect of educational reform worldwide. Emotional intelligence is often considered a significant aspect of leadership, but it is in its early stages in Saudi Arabia. Its recognition and adoption may improve leadership practices, particularly among educational supervisors and contribute to national and international understandings of leadership in Saudi Arabia. Studying leadership in the Saudi Arabian context is imperative as the new generation of leaders need to cultivate pertinent skills that will allow them to become fundamentally and positively involved in the regions’ decision making processes in order to impact the progression of the Saudi Arabian education system. Understanding leadership in the education context will allow for suitable inculcation of leadership skills. These skills include goal-setting, sound decision-making as well as problem-solving within the education system of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: educational supervision, educational administration, emotional intelligence, educational leadership

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Authors: J. Ikome, M. Ndeley

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When a machine breakdown forces a Modified Flow Shop (MFS) out of the prescribed state, the proposed strategy reschedules part of the initial schedule to match up with the preschedule at some point. The objective is to create a new schedule that is consistent with the other production planning decisions like material flow, tooling and purchasing by utilizing the time critical decision making concept. We propose a new rescheduling strategy and a match-up point determination procedure through a feedback mechanism to increase both the schedule quality and stability. The proposed approach is compared with alternative reactive scheduling methods under different experimental settings.

Keywords: advanced critical task methods modified flow shop (MFS), Manufacturing, experiment, determination

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Authors: Lundqvist M., Alwin J., Levin L-A.

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Background: Assistance dogs are dogs trained to assist persons with functional impairment or chronic diseases. The assistance dog concept includes different types: guide dogs, hearing dogs, and service dogs. The service dog can further be divided into subgroups of physical services dogs, diabetes alert dogs, and seizure alert dogs. To examine the long-term effects of health care interventions, both in terms of resource use and health outcomes, cost-effectiveness analyses can be conducted. This analysis can provide important input to decision-makers when setting priorities. Little is known when it comes to the cost-effectiveness of assistance dogs. The study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of certified service or hearing dogs in comparison to regular companion dogs. Methods: The main data source for the analysis was the “service and hearing dog project”. It was a longitudinal interventional study with a pre-post design that incorporated fifty-five owners and their dogs. Data on all relevant costs affected by the use of a service dog such as; municipal services, health care costs, costs of sick leave, and costs of informal care were collected. Health-related quality of life was measured with the standardized instrument EQ-5D-3L. A decision-analytic Markov model was constructed to conduct the cost-effectiveness analysis. Outcomes were estimated over a 10-year time horizon. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio expressed as cost per gained quality-adjusted life year was the primary outcome. The analysis employed a societal perspective. Results: The result of the cost-effectiveness analysis showed that compared to a regular companion dog, a certified dog is cost-effective with both lower total costs [-32,000 USD] and more quality-adjusted life-years [0.17]. Also, we will present subgroup results analyzing the cost-effectiveness of physicals service dogs and diabetes alert dogs. Conclusions: The study shows that a certified dog is cost-effective in comparison with a regular companion dog for individuals with functional impairments or chronic diseases. Analyses of uncertainty imply that further studies are needed.

Keywords: service dogs, hearing dogs, health economics, Markov model, quality-adjusted, life years

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Authors: Jo Rhodes, Peter Lok, Zahra Sadeghinejad

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The aim of this study is to determine the impact of metacognition on top management team members and firm performance based on full team integration. A survey of 1500 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) was initiated and 140 firms were obtained in this study (with response rate of 9%). The result showed that different metacognitive abilities of managers [knowledge and experience] could enhance team decision-making and problem solving, resulting in greater firm performance. This is a significant finding for SMEs because these organisations have small teams with owner leadership and entrepreneurial orientation.

Keywords: metacognition, behavioural integration, top management team (TMT), performance

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Authors: A. M. John-Otumu, M. M. Rahman, M. C. Onuoha, E. P. Ojonugwa

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A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model for predicting Lassa fever was built using Python 3.8.0 programming language, alongside Keras 2.2.4 and TensorFlow 2.6.1 libraries as the development environment in order to reduce the current high risk of Lassa fever in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. The study was prompted by some major flaws in existing conventional laboratory equipment for diagnosing Lassa fever (RT-PCR), as well as flaws in AI-based techniques that have been used for probing and prognosis of Lassa fever based on literature. There were 15,679 blood smear microscopic image datasets collected in total. The proposed model was trained on 70% of the dataset and tested on 30% of the microscopic images in avoid overfitting. A 3x3x3 convolution filter was also used in the proposed system to extract features from microscopic images. The proposed CNN-based model had a recall value of 96%, a precision value of 93%, an F1 score of 95%, and an accuracy of 94% in predicting and accurately classifying the images into clean or infected samples. Based on empirical evidence from the results of the literature consulted, the proposed model outperformed other existing AI-based techniques evaluated. If properly deployed, the model will assist physicians, medical laboratory scientists, and patients in making accurate diagnoses for Lassa fever cases, allowing the mortality rate due to the Lassa fever virus to be reduced through sound decision-making.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, ANN, blood smear, CNN, deep learning, Lassa fever

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Authors: Phani Kiran, Prabodha Manas Yarlagadda

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This paper attempts to treat Shakespeare’s tragic hero, Hamlet as an existential hero who faces many dilemmas in the process of taking revenge for his father’s murder. Hamlet can be considered as a predecessor of existentialism, and Shakespeare, as a pioneer, focused on some serious existential issues in the play much before they were fully developed in 20th century. Hamlet's internal struggles reflect existential themes such as alienation, despair, and the quest for authenticity. Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, "To be, or not to be," is a quintessential expression of existential ponderings, contemplating the choice between life and death and the uncertainty of what lies beyond. Hamlet grapples with existential questions like the purpose and meaninglessness of life, the nature of morality, the inevitability of death, and the existence of an afterlife. He doubts the authenticity of appearance and the reliability of his own perceptions, highlighting the inherent ambiguity and uncertainty of existence. Overall, "Hamlet" aligns with existential philosophy by exploring the complexities of human existence, the search for meaning, and the individual's struggle to find their place in an inherently uncertain and perplexing world. The character of Hamlet and the play's exploration of existential themes continue to resonate with audiences and provoke contemplation on the nature of life and the human experience.

Keywords: to be or not to be, death, dilemmas, illusion and reality

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Authors: Rashed Shah, Jeanne Koepsell, Dixmer Rivera, Eric Swedberg, David Marsh

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Success of primary health care goals of health promotion and disease prevention may well be determined by community based health workers’ overall job satisfaction. It is also important to understand the ways community health workers perceive their jobs and the importance they give to the various factors influencing their job satisfaction, which is critical before making a decision for task-shifting and for expanding their scope of work. Although brigadistas are unpaid volunteers, they are formally recognized and receive support and supervision from the Ministry of Health in Nicaragua. Brigadistas are responsible for classifying and diagnosing illnesses, administering treatment, counseling mothers and care givers within the community, encouraging referral in case of serious illness and making follow-up visits at home. Some brigadistas provide more technically advanced services, including treatment for pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis and/or distribution of contraceptives. Expanding brigadistas’ duties could threaten their heretofore ‘job satisfaction’. This study primarily aims to report on job satisfaction of brigadistas in Nicaragua before expanding the scope of their work by adding more responsibilities. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What aspects of their job made the brigadistas satisfied or dissatisfied? 2) What is the job satisfaction level of brigadistas in Nicaragua? This cross-sectional study was conducted during March – July 2014, to assess brigadistas’ job satisfaction, prior to deciding on inclusion of care for sick newborns and young infants (<2 months of age) to brigadistas’ existing service package of community case management for children of 2-59 months of age. Following stratified random sampling strategy, 15 brigadistas were randomly selected from each of the following four strata: [(1) females under 25 years of age, (2) females over 30 years of age, (3) males under 25 years of age, and (4) males over 30 years of age. Out of 45 completed in-person interview with eligible and available brigadistas, 20 (44.4%) were with female and 25 (55.6%) were with male respondents; the mean age (±sd) was found as 32.0 (±3.2) years. About 53% (24/45) brigadista mentioned “Training” as the most helpful for performing their job. Another 31% (14/45) mentioned that “feeling of doing good, supporting community, women and children” was helpful to perform their job well. When asked about difficulty, about 35.5% (16/45) brigadistas mentioned about “Lack of time” due to their responsibilities in family, farm, other work places, study and such time constraint made their job performance difficult. Measured on a 0-5 scale, estimated average job satisfaction was 4.2. Current trends in task-shifting and integrated program delivery require community health workers (like the brigadistas) to deliver several essential services, including maternal, newborn and child health, and family planning, and thereby increasing their responsibilities. Given the reported level of job satisfaction among brigadistas (4.2 out of 5), and the mentioned difficulty in performing their current job (as ‘Lack of Time’) in this study results, the policy makers and program managers in MOH should be cautious enough before making a decision to expand current scope of work for brigadistas in Nicaragua.

Keywords: Brigadisata, job satisfaction, Nicaragua, task-shifting

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Authors: Bo Kampmann Walther

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This essay provides an in-depth interpretation of the ancient Babylonian origin narrative, The Enuma Elish, through the lens of game theory. It examines the strategic interactions among the deities in the myth as if they were players in a game, focusing on understanding the dynamics of conflict, cooperation, and equilibrium within the narrative. The pivotal game theory concept known as Nash Equilibrium is given prominent consideration, but saddle points and optimal strategies will also be employed to uncover the decision-making processes of the divine figures, particularly in the cosmic battle for supremacy. This analysis demonstrates that the ancient narrative, beyond its mythological content, illustrates timeless principles of strategic behavior in the pursuit of game success.

Keywords: Enuma Elish, game theory, Nash Equilibrium, Babylonian mythology, strategic interaction

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Authors: Y. Kourd, D. Lefebvre

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The monitoring of industrial processes is required to ensure operating conditions of industrial systems through automatic detection and isolation of faults. This paper proposes a method of fault diagnosis based on a neuro-fuzzy hybrid structure. This hybrid structure combines the selection of threshold and decision tree. The validation of this method is obtained with the DAMADICS benchmark. In the first phase of the method, a model will be constructed that represents the normal state of the system to fault detection. Signatures of the faults are obtained with residuals analysis and selection of appropriate thresholds. These signatures provide groups of non-separable faults. In the second phase, we build faulty models to see the flaws in the system that cannot be isolated in the first phase. In the latest phase we construct the tree that isolates these faults.

Keywords: decision tree, residuals analysis, ANFIS, fault diagnosis

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Authors: Srikanth Bade

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This paper discusses how the usage of social media has altered certain discourses and communicated with the political institutions for major actions in Indian scenario. The advent of new technology in the form of social media has engrossed the general public to discuss in the open forum. How they promulgated their ideas into action is captured in this study. Moreover, these discourses happening in the social media is analyzed from certain philosophical traditions by adopting a framework. Hence, this paper analyses the role of social media in political communication and change the political discourse. Also, this paper tries to address the issue that whether the deliberation made through social media had indeed communicated the issue of political matters to the decision making authorities.

Keywords: collective action and social capital, political communication, political discourse, social media

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Authors: Kate Parkinson

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A Family Group Conference (FGC) is a family-led decision-making process through which a family/kinship group, rather than the professionals involved, is asked to develop a plan for the care or the protection of children in the family. In England and Wales, FGCs are used in 76% of local authorities and in recent years, have tended to be used in cases where the local authority are considering the court process to remove children from their immediate family, to explore kinship alternatives to local authority care. Some local authorities offer the service much earlier, when families first come to the attention of children's social care, in line with research that suggests the earlier an FGC is held, the more likely they are to be successful. Family plans that result from FGCs are different from professional plans in that they are unique to a family and, as a result, reflect the diversity of families. Despite the fact that FGCs are arguable the most researched area of social work globally, there is a dearth of research that examines the nature of family plans and their substance. This paper presents the findings of a documentary analysis of 42 Early Help FGC plans from local authorities in England, with the aim of exploring the level and type of support that family members offer at a FGC. A thematic analysis identified 5 broad areas of support: Practical Support, Building Relationships, Child-care Support, Emotional Support and Social Support. In the majority of cases, family members did not want or ask for any formal support from the local authority or other agencies. Rather, the families came together to agree a plan of support, which was within the parameters of the resources that they as a family could provide. Perhaps then the role of the Early Help professional should be one of a facilitating and enabling role, to support families to develop plans that address their own specific difficulties, rather than the current default option, which is to either close the case because the family do not meet service thresholds or refer to formal support if they do, which may offer very specific support, have rigid referral criteria, long waiting lists and may not reflect the diverse and unique nature of families. FGCs are argued to be culturally appropriate social work practices in that they are appropriate for families from a range of cultural backgrounds and can be adapted to meet particular cultural needs. Furthermore, research on the efficacy of FGCs at an Early Help Level has demonstrated that Early Help FGCs have the potential to address difficulties in family life and prevent the need for formal support services, which are potentially stigmatising and do not reflect the uniqueness and diversity of families. The paper concludes with a recommendation for the use of FGCs across Early Help Services in England and Wales.

Keywords: family group conferences, family led decision making, early help, prevention

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Authors: Felicia Iyabode Olasehinde, Michael Maiye Olumorin

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To achieve a liveable and sustainable city, decision makers must engage in holistic approach to the planning and development of infrastructure such as roads. From observation there is great disparity in the development of roads in the northern part of the city while the south is being starved with this infrastructure. This paper attempts to make a comparison between the natures of roads in the north as against the south. The methodology to be adopted is survey research using clusters in the four local government making Kaduna Metropolis. The analysis of the road will be based on existing planning standards for roads in urban areas. This will now provide useful information for critical stakeholders at all levels of governance responsible for achieving liveable and sustainable cities.

Keywords: infrastructure, liveable, sustainable, urbanroads

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Authors: Sevinj Asgarova

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Within the last few decades, major advances in the field of prenatal testing have transpired yet little research regarding the experiences of mothers who chose to continue their pregnancies after prenatally receiving a diagnosis of Down Syndrome (DS) has been undertaken. Using social constructionism and interpretive description, this retrospective research study explores this topic from the point of view of the mothers involved and provides insight as to how the experience could be improved. Using purposive sampling, 23 mothers were recruited from British Columbia (n=11) and Ontario (n=12) in Canada. Data retrieved through semi-structured in-depth interviews were analyzed using inductive, constant comparative analysis, the major analytical techniques of interpretive description. Four primary phases emerged from the data analysis 1) healthcare professional-mothers communications, 2) initial emotional response, 3) subsequent decision-making and 4) an adjustment and reorganization of lifestyle to the preparation for the birth of the child. This study validates the individualized and contextualized nature of mothers’ decisions as influenced by multiple factors, with moral values/spiritual beliefs being significant. The mothers’ ability to cope was affected by the information communicated to them about their unborn baby’s diagnosis and the manner in which that information was delivered to them. Mothers used emotional coping strategies, dependent upon support from partners, family, and friends, as well as from other families who have children with DS. Additionally, they employed practical coping strategies, such as engaging in healthcare planning, seeking relevant information, and reimagining and reorganizing their lifestyle. Over time many families gained a sense of control over their situation and readjusted to the preparation for the birth of the child. Many mothers expressed the importance of maintaining positivity and hopefulness with respect to positive outcomes and opportunities for their children. The comprehensive information generated through this study will also provide healthcare professionals with relevant information to assist them in understanding the informational and emotional needs of these mothers. This should lead to an improvement in their practice and enhance their ability to intervene appropriately and effectively, better offering improved support to parents dealing with a diagnosis of DS for their child.

Keywords: continuing affected pregnancy, decision making, disability, down syndrome, eugenic social attitudes, inequalities, life change events, prenatal care, prenatal testing, qualitative research, social change, social justice

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Authors: Mehran Asadi, Afrand Agah

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In data mining, partitioning is used as a fundamental tool for classification. With the help of partitioning, we study the structure of data, which allows us to envision decision rules, which can be applied to classification trees. In this research, we used online social network dataset and all of its attributes (e.g., Node features, labels, etc.) to determine what constitutes an above average chance of being a divergent node. We used the R statistical computing language to conduct the analyses in this report. The data were found on the UC Irvine Machine Learning Repository. This research introduces the basic concepts of classification in online social networks. In this work, we utilize overfitting and describe different approaches for evaluation and performance comparison of different classification methods. In classification, the main objective is to categorize different items and assign them into different groups based on their properties and similarities. In data mining, recursive partitioning is being utilized to probe the structure of a data set, which allow us to envision decision rules and apply them to classify data into several groups. Estimating densities is hard, especially in high dimensions, with limited data. Of course, we do not know the densities, but we could estimate them using classical techniques. First, we calculated the correlation matrix of the dataset to see if any predictors are highly correlated with one another. By calculating the correlation coefficients for the predictor variables, we see that density is strongly correlated with transitivity. We initialized a data frame to easily compare the quality of the result classification methods and utilized decision trees (with k-fold cross validation to prune the tree). The method performed on this dataset is decision trees. Decision tree is a non-parametric classification method, which uses a set of rules to predict that each observation belongs to the most commonly occurring class label of the training data. Our method aggregates many decision trees to create an optimized model that is not susceptible to overfitting. When using a decision tree, however, it is important to use cross-validation to prune the tree in order to narrow it down to the most important variables.

Keywords: online social networks, data mining, social cloud computing, interaction and collaboration

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Authors: Ali Bhayani

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The article analyses determinants of the market entry modes used by corporate firms to expand internationally and explore whether higher education institutions uses the same determinants to decide on mode adopted to enter the market. Determinants like transaction costs, location advantage, idiosyncratic capabilities, isomorphic pressure to mimic, psychic distance, uncertainty, risks, the control over academic process, previous internationalisation experience and entry to homogenous markets are considered with regards to universities. A sample consisting of 40+ branch campuses from United Arab Emirates (UAE), host to highest number of branch campuses, is selected to study the determinants of the entry modes adopted. The aim of this article is not to prescribe or offer a solution for the best-available model of market entry that can be adopted by universities but rather to act as a trigger for a critical check up on universities planning to internationalize their offering. Determinants like idiosyncratic capabilities, isomorphic pressure and control over the academic process were found to be most prevalent. However, determinants like transaction cost efficiency, internationalisation experience, psychic distance, uncertainty and risks are not significant factors.

Keywords: higher education, UAE, internationalisation, market entry, international branch campuses

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Authors: Tiffany Wicks

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Queer patients can face issues with self-advocating due to the factors of implicit provider bias, lack of tools and resources to self-advocate, and lack of comfortability in self-advocating based on prior experiences. In this study, five participants who identify as queer discussed their interactions with their healthcare providers. This exploratory study revealed that there is a need for healthcare provider education to reduce implicit bias and judgments about queer patients. There is also an important need for peer advocates in order to further inform healthcare promotion and decision-making before and during provider visits in an effort for a better outcome. Through this exploration, queer patients voiced their experiences and concerns to inform a need for change in healthcare collaboration between providers and patients in the queer community.

Keywords: queer, LGBT, patient, self-advocacy, healthcare

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Authors: Hussah Alotaishan

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In today’s globally-driven modern cities diverse groups of new visitors face various challenges when attempting to find their desired location if culture and language are barriers. The most common way-showing tools such as directional and identificational signs are the most problematic and their usefulness can be limited or even non-existent. It is argued new methods should be implemented that could support or replace such conventional literacy and language dependent way-finding aids. It has been concluded in recent research studies that local urban features in complex pedestrian spaces are worthy of further study in order to reveal if they do function as way-showing clues. Some researchers propose a more comprehensive approach to the complex perception of buildings, façade design and surface patterns, while some have been questioning whether we necessarily need directional signs or can other methods deliver the same message but in a clearer manner for a wider range of users. This study aimed to test to what extent do existent environmental and urban features through the city center area of Swansea in the UK facilitate the way-finding process of a first time visitor. The three-hour experiment was set to attempt to find 11 visitor attractions ranging from recreational, historical, educational and religious locations. The challenge was attempting to find as many as possible when no prior geographical knowledge of their whereabouts was established. The only clues were 11 pictures representing each of the locations that had been acquired from the city of Swansea official website. An iPhone and a heart-rate tracker wristwatch were used to record the route was taken and stress levels, and take record photographs of destinations or decision-making points throughout the journey. This paper addresses: current limitations in understanding the ways that the physical environment can be intentionally deployed to facilitate pedestrians while finding their way around, without or with a reduction in language dependent signage; investigates visitor perceptions of their surroundings by indicating what urban elements manifested an impact on the way-finding process. The initial findings support the view that building facades and street features, such as width, could facilitate the decision-making process if strategically employed. However, more importantly, the anticipated features of a specific place construed from a promotional picture can also be misleading and create confusion that may lead to getting lost.

Keywords: pedestrian way-finding, environmental features, urban way-showing, environmental affordance

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Authors: Arum Perwitasari

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Learning L2 sounds is influenced by the first language (L1) sound system. This current study seeks to examine how the listeners with a different L1 vowel system perceive L2 sounds. The fact that English has a bigger number of vowel inventory than Javanese and Sundanese L1 might cause problems for Javanese and Sundanese English language learners perceiving English sounds. To reveal the L2 sound perception over time, we measured the mouse trajectories related to the hand movements made by Javanese and Sundanese language learners, two of Indonesian local languages. Do the Javanese and Sundanese listeners show higher velocity than the English listeners when they perceive English vowels which are similar and new to their L1 system? The study aims to map the patterns of real-time processing through compatible hand movements to reveal any uncertainties when making selections. The results showed that the Javanese listeners exhibited significantly slower velocity values than the English listeners for similar vowels /I, ɛ, ʊ/ in the 826-1200ms post stimulus. Unlike the Javanese, the Sundanese listeners showed slow velocity values except for similar vowel /ʊ/. For the perception of new vowels /i:, æ, ɜ:, ʌ, ɑː, u:, ɔ:/, the Javanese listeners showed slower velocity in making the lexical decision. In contrast, the Sundanese listeners showed slow velocity only for vowels /ɜ:, ɔ:, æ, I/ indicating that these vowels are hard to perceive. Our results fit well with the second language model representing how the L1 vowel system influences the L2 sound perception.

Keywords: velocity profiles, EFL learners, speech perception, experimental linguistics

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Authors: Peter Clutterbuck, Terry Rowlands, Owen Seamons

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In this paper we describe one critical research program within a complex, ongoing multi-year project (2010 to 2014 inclusive) with the overall goal to improve the learning outcomes for first year undergraduate commerce/business students within an Information Systems (IS) subject with very large enrolment. The single research program described in this paper is the analysis of student attitudes and decision making in relation to the availability of formative assessment feedback via Web-based real time conferencing and document exchange software (Adobe Connect). The formative assessment feedback between teaching staff and students is in respect of an authentic problem-based, team-completed assignment. The analysis of student attitudes and decision making is investigated via both qualitative (firstly) and quantitative (secondly) application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with a two statistically-significant and separate trial samples of the enrolled students. The initial qualitative TPB investigation revealed that perceived self-efficacy, improved time-management, and lecturer-student relationship building were the major factors in shaping an overall favorable student attitude to online feedback, whilst some students expressed valid concerns with perceived control limitations identified within the online feedback protocols. The subsequent quantitative TPB investigation then confirmed that attitude towards usage, subjective norms surrounding usage, and perceived behavioral control of usage were all significant in shaping student intention to use the online feedback protocol, with these three variables explaining 63 percent of the variance in the behavioral intention to use the online feedback protocol. The identification in this research of perceived behavioral control as a significant determinant in student usage of a specific technology component within a virtual learning environment (VLE) suggests that VLEs could now be viewed not as a single, atomic entity, but as a spectrum of technology offerings ranging from the mature and simple (e.g., email, Web downloads) to the cutting-edge and challenging (e.g., Web conferencing and real-time document exchange). That is, that all VLEs should not be considered the same. The results of this research suggest that tertiary students have the technological sophistication to assess a VLE in this more selective manner.

Keywords: formative assessment feedback, virtual learning environment, theory of planned behavior, perceived behavioral control

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Authors: Kritiyaporn Kunsook

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Machine learning algorithms (MLAs) such us artificial neural networks (ANNs), decision tree, support vector machines (SVMs), Naïve Bayes, and ensemble classifier by voting are powerful data driven methods that are relatively less widely used in the mapping of technique of system, and thus have not been comparatively evaluated together thoroughly in this field. The performances of a series of MLAs, ANNs, decision tree, SVMs, Naïve Bayes, and ensemble classifier by voting in technique of hydroponic systems prospectively modeling are compared based on the accuracy of each model. Classification of hydroponic systems only covers the test samples from vegetables grown with Nutrient film technique (NFT) and Deep flow technique (DFT). The feature, which are the characteristics of vegetables compose harvesting height width, temperature, require light and color. The results indicate that the classification performance of the ANNs is 98%, decision tree is 98%, SVMs is 97.33%, Naïve Bayes is 96.67%, and ensemble classifier by voting is 98.96% algorithm respectively.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, decision tree, support vector machines, naïve Bayes, ensemble classifier by voting

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Authors: Larry O. Awo, George N. Duru

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There are growing public and mental health concerns over the availability of gambling platforms and shops in Nigeria and the high level of youth involvement in gambling. Early theorizing maintained that gambling involvement was driven by a quest for resource gains. However, evidence shows that the economic model of gambling tends to explain the involvement of the gambling business owners (sport lottery operators: SLOs) as most gamblers lose more than they win. This loss, according to the law of effect, ought to discourage decisions to gamble. However, the quest to recover losses has often initiated prolonged gambling sessions. Therefore, the need to investigate mental contemplations (such as counterfactual reasoning (upward versus downward) of what “would, should, or could” have been, and feeling of the illusion of control; IOC) over gambling outcomes as risk or protective factors in gambling decisions became pertinent. The present study sought to understand the differential contributions and conditional effects of upward versus downward counterfactual reasoning as pathways through which the association between IOC and gambling decisions of Nigerian youths (N = 120, mean age = 18.05, SD = 3.81) could be explained. The study adopted a randomized group design, and data were obtained by means of stimulus material (the Gambling Episode; GE) and self-report measures of IOC and Gambling Decision. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) result showed that participants in the upward counterfactual reasoning group (M = 22.08) differed from their colleagues in the downward counterfactual reasoning group (M = 17.33) on the decision to gamble, and this difference was significant [F(1,112) = 23, P < .01]. HAYES PROCESS macro moderation analysis results showed that 1) IOC and upward counterfactual reasoning were positively associated with the decision to gamble (B = 14.21, t = 6.10, p < .01 and B = 7.22, t = 2.07, p <.05, respectively), 2) downward counterfactual reasoning was negatively associated with the decision to gamble more to recover losses (B = 10.03, t = 3.21, p < .01), 3) upward counterfactual reasoning did not moderate the association between IOC and gambling decision (p > .05), and 4) downward counterfactual reasoning negatively moderated the association between IOC and gambling decision (B = 07, t = 2.18, p < .05) such that the association was strong at the low level of downward counterfactual, but wane at high levels of downward counterfactual reasoning. The implication of these findings is that IOC and upward counterfactual reasoning were risk factors and promoted gambling behavior, while downward counterfactual reasoning protects individuals from gambling activities. Thus, it is concluded that downward counterfactual reasoning strategies should be included in gambling therapy and treatment packages as it could diminish feelings of both IOC and negative feelings of missed positive outcomes and the urge to gamble.

Keywords: counterfactual reasoning, gambling cognition, gambling decision, Nigeria, youths

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Authors: Daniel Herrera Gonzalez, Maria Luisa Montas

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There are some factors affecting consumer decision-making regarding the use of the front of package labels in order to find benefits to the well-being of the human being. Currently, there are several labels that help influence or change the purchase decision for food products. These labels communicate the impact that food has on human health; therefore, consumers are more critical and intelligent when buying and consuming food products. The research explores the association between front-of-pack labeling and food choice; the association between label content and purchasing decisions is complex and influenced by different factors, including the packaging itself. The main objective of this study was to examine the perception of health labels and nutritional declarations and their influence on buying decisions in the non-alcoholic beverages sector. This comparative study of two developing countries will show how consumers take nutritional labels into account when deciding to buy certain foods. This research applied a quantitative methodology with correlational scope. This study has a correlational approach in order to analyze the degree of association between variables. Likewise, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method and structural equation modeling (SEM) as a powerful multivariate technique was used as statistical technique to find the relationships between observable and unobservable variables. The main findings of this research were the obtaining of three large groups and their perception and effects on nutritional and wellness labels. The first group is characterized by taking an attitude of high interest on the issue of the imposition of the nutritional information label on products and would agree that all products should be packaged given its importance to preventing illnesses in the consumer. Likewise, they almost always care about the brand, the size, the list of ingredients, and nutritional information of the food, and also the effect of these on health. The second group stands out for presenting some interest in the importance of the label on products as a purchase decision, in addition to almost always taking into account the characteristics of size, money, components, etc. of the products to decide on their consumption and almost always They are never interested in the effect of these products on their health or nutrition, and in group 3, it differs from the others by being more neutral regarding the issue of nutritional information labels, and being less interested in the purchase decision and characteristics of the product and also on the influence of these on health and nutrition. This new knowledge is essential for different companies that manufacture and market food products because they will have information to adapt or anticipate the new laws of developing countries as well as the new needs of health-conscious consumers when they buy food products.

Keywords: healthy labels, consumer behavior, nutritional information, healthy products

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Authors: Bel G Raggad

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An e-Learning setting is a distributed computing environment where information resources can be connected to any public network. Public networks are very unsecure which can compromise the reliability of an e-Learning environment. This study is only concerned with the intrusion detection aspect of e-Learning security and how incident responses are planned. The literature reported great advances in intrusion detection system (ids) but neglected to study an important ids weakness: suspected events are detected but an intrusion is not determined because it is not defined in ids databases. We propose an incident response generator (DIRG) that produces incident responses when the working ids system suspects an event that does not correspond to a known intrusion. Data involved in intrusion detection when ample uncertainty is present is often not suitable to formal statistical models including Bayesian. We instead adopt Dempster and Shafer theory to process intrusion data for the unknown event. The DIRG engine transforms data into a belief structure using incident scenarios deduced by the security administrator. Belief values associated with various incident scenarios are then derived and evaluated to choose the most appropriate scenario for which an automatic incident response is generated. This article provides a numerical example demonstrating the working of the DIRG system.

Keywords: decision support system, distributed computing, e-Learning security, incident response, intrusion detection, security risk, statefull inspection

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Authors: Udeh Nneka Evelyn

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The shortcoming of traditional costing system in terms of validity, accuracy, consistency, and Relevance increased the need for modern management accounting system. Activity –Based Costing (ABC) can be used as a modern tool for planning, Control and decision making for management. Past studies on ABC system have focused on manufacturing firms thereby making the studies on service firms scanty to some extent. This paper reviewed the application and relevance of activity-based costing technique in service oriented business organizations by employing a qualitative research method which relied heavily on literature review of past and current relevant articles focusing on ABC. Findings suggest that ABC is not only appropriate for use in a manufacturing environment; it is also most appropriate for service organizations such as financial institutions, the healthcare industry and government organization. In fact, some banking and financial institutions have been applying the concept for years under other names. One of them is unit costing, which is used to calculate the cost of banking services by determining the cost and consumption of each unit of output of functions required to deliver the service. ABC in very basic terms may provide very good payback for businesses. Some of the benefits that relate directly to the financial services industry are: identification the most profitable customers: more accurate product and service pricing: increase product profitability: Well organized process costs.

Keywords: business, costing, organizations, planning, techniques

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Authors: Aleksandra Ristic

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The world changes and becomes a global village. Globalization of the last decade has caused changes and developments in the economy and technology, which also affected communication resources and brought diversities of cultural differences, values, relationships, religions, sexual identities, economic backgrounds, mindsets, perspectives, talents, and much more. Diversity without inclusion is marginalization and exclusion. Diversity gives a competitive advantage, enriches, and gives choice and power for decision-making and solutions. On a daily basis, in the role of special educators, we facilitate children’s observations of the world by improving diversity and inclusion in the school system. The subject of the research is children with special needs, expressing and noticing the differences and similarities in the world, while this is the key to their development. The subject of the research is also six pictures, which are similar and unique and represent scenes from everyone’s life. In the methodology, we conducted a theoretical review of the importance of difference, values, equality, inclusion, and exclusion and the quantitative research approach to analyze various factors by children with special needs. We used tools such as self /peer–reflection for them to think and to speak up through their own experiences of the words: difference, values, equality, inclusion, and exclusion. After that, children with special needs observed the photos and attributed those terms to them. By interpreting the results, we deepened our understanding of the power of the child's understanding of individual differences and elements of inclusion, which is based on the experiences at home, in the school environment, and in life. The children, as individuals or establishing networking groups, define those terms and, with the solutions, contribute to making the world more included and accepted.

Keywords: diversity, equality, exclusion, inclusion, special needs, values

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Authors: Jisun Mo, Paola Boarin

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The impact of common buildings on climate and environment has prompted people to get involved in the green building standards aimed at implementing rating tools or certifications. Thus, green building rating systems were introduced to the construction industry, and the demand for certified green buildings has increased gradually and succeeded considerably in enhancing people’s environmental awareness. However, the existing certification process has been unsatisfactory in attracting stakeholders and/or professionals who are actively engaged in adopting a rating system. It is because they have faced recurring barriers regarding limited information in understanding the rating process, time-consuming procedures and higher costs, which have a direct influence on pursuing green building rating systems. To promote the achievement of green building certifications within the building industry more successfully, this paper aims at designing a Pre-Assessment Tool (PAT) framework that can help stakeholders and/or professionals engaged in the construction industry to clarify their basic knowledge, timeframe and extra costs needed to activate a green building certification. First, taking the first steps towards the rating tool seems to be complicated because of upfront commitment to understanding the overall rating procedure is required. This conceptual PAT framework can increase basic knowledge of the rating tool and the certification process, mainly in terms of all resources or information of each credit requirements. Second, the assessment process of rating tools is generally known as a “lengthy and time-consuming system”, contributing to unenthusiastic reactions concerning green building projects. The proposed framework can predict the timeframe needed to identify how long it will take for a green project to process each credit requirement and the documentation required from the beginning of the certification process to final approval. Finally, most people often have the initial perception that pursuing green building certification costs more than constructing a non-green building, which makes it more difficult to execute rating tools. To overcome this issue, this PAT will help users to estimate the extra expenses such as certification fees and third-party contributions based on the track of the amount of time it takes to implement the rating tool throughout all the related stages. Also, it can prevent unexpected or hidden costs occurring in the process of assessment. Therefore, this proposed PAT framework can be recommended as an effective method to support the decision-making of inexperienced users and play an important role in promoting green building certification.

Keywords: green building rating tools, Pre-Occupancy Evaluation (PrOE), client’s decision-making, certification

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Authors: Ahmed Hamzi, Bryan Norman

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Having scribes help document patient records in electronic health record systems can improve hospitalists’ productivity. But hospitals need to determine the optimum number of scribes to hire to maximize scribe cost effectiveness. Scribe attendance uncertainty due to planned and unplanned absences is a primary challenge. This paper presents simulation and analytical models to determine the optimum number of scribes for a hospital to hire. Scribe staffing practices vary from one context to another; different staffing scenarios are considered where having extra attending scribes provides or does not provide additional value and utilizing on-call scribes to fill in for potentially absent scribes. These staffing scenarios are assessed for different scribe revenue ratios (ratio of the value of the scribe relative to scribe costs) ranging from 100% to 300%. The optimum solution depends on the absenteeism rate, revenue ratio, and desired service level. The analytical model obtains solutions easier and faster than the simulation model, but the simulation model is more accurate. Therefore, the analytical model’s solutions are compared with the simulation model’s solutions regarding both the number of scribes hired and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, an Excel tool has been developed to facilitate decision-makers in easily obtaining solutions using the analytical model.

Keywords: hospitalists, workload, optimization cost, economic analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 45