Search results for: quantitative RT-PCR

Authors: Naritphol Boonyakiat

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This research attempts to investigate the effects of corporate social responsibility and knowledge management factors on students’ learning process of the Silpakorn University. The goal of this study is to fill the literature gap by gaining an understanding of corporate social responsibility and the knowledge management factors that fundamentally relate to students’ learning process within the university context. Thus, this study will focus on the outcomes that derive from a set of quantitative data that were obtained using Silpakorn university’s database of 200 students. The results represent the perceptions of students regarding the impact of corporate social responsibility and knowledge management factors on their learning process within the university. The findings indicate that corporate social responsibility and knowledge management have significant effects on students’ learning process. This study may assist us in gaining a better understanding of the integrated aspects of university and learning environments to discover how to allocate optimally university’s resources and management approaches to gain benefits from corporate social responsibility and knowledge management practices toward students’ learning process within the university bodies. Therefore, there is a sufficient reason to believe that the findings can contribute to research in the area of CSR, KM and students’ learning process as an essential aspect of university’s stakeholder.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, knowledge management, learning process, university’s students

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Yeliz Yazıcı, Alev Erenler

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School is an institution designed to provide learning, teaching places and environments under guidance of selected teachers. School is not just a place or institution but it is a place where complex and living structures are alive and always changing. It is also an undeniable fact that schools have shaped the ideas, future, society as well as the students and their lives. While this is the situation, schools having academic excellence is considered as successful ones. Academic excellence is a composition of excellence in teachers, management and physical environment, also. This is the general perception of the authorities and parents when the excellence is the point but the school is a developing and supporting organism. In this concept, the main aim of this study is to compare student and teacher perceptions of school as a ‘positive support factor’. The study is designed as a quantitative and qualitative design and a questionnaire is applied to both teachers and students via online and face to face meetings. It is aimed to define the perceptions of the participants related to the school as a positive support factor. It means the role of school in establishing self-efficacy, shaping and acquiring the behavior etc. Gathered data is analyzed via SPSS program and the detailed discussion is carried in the frame of the related literature.

Keywords: positive support factor, education, school, student teacher perception

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Anna D. Kotrova, Alexandr N. Shishkin, Elena I. Ermolenko

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The aim. To study the quantitative and qualitative colon bacteria ratio from patients with metabolic syndrome. Materials and methods. Fecal samples from patients of 2 groups were identified and analyzed: the first group was formed by patients with metabolic syndrome, the second one - by healthy individuals. The metagenomics method was used with the analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. The libraries of the variable sites (V3 and V4) gene 16S RNA were analyzed using the MiSeq device (Illumina). To prepare the libraries was used the standard recommended by Illumina, a method based on two rounds of PCR. Results. At the phylum level in the microbiota of patients with metabolic syndrome compared to healthy individuals, the proportion of Tenericutes was reduced, the proportion of Actinobacteria was increased. At the genus level, in the group with metabolic syndrome, relative to the second group was increased the proportion of Lachnospira. Conclusion. Changes in the colon bacteria ratio in the gut microbiota of patients with metabolic syndrome were found both at the type and the genus level. In the metabolic syndrome group, there is a decrease in the proportion of bacteria that do not have a cell wall. To confirm the revealed microbiota features in patients with metabolic syndrome, further study with a larger number of samples is required.

Keywords: gut microbiota, metabolic syndrome, metagenomics, tenericutes

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Authors: Baris Sezer

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A great number of projects have been implemented by Turkey in order to integrate technologies into education. The FATİH Project is intended to integrate technology into all levels of education in Turkey. As part of the FATİH Project that is aimed to complete in 2016, it is intended to initially deliver a tablet PC to every student and teacher. We aimed to detect grade 9 students’ acceptance perception level of tablet PCs during the 2014 – 2015 school year in this study where quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used in combination. The study group consisted of 228 grade 9 students of high schools in Istanbul, Ankara, Zonguldak and Bursa in Turkey. Study data was obtained through the “Tablet PC Acceptance Scale” and structured interview forms. Given the results obtained from the study, the mean overall score was 70.08 (3.72 out of 5), which was derived from all the dimensions of the acceptance perception level of tablet PCs in the students’ view. Findings of the study indicate that mean scores for students’ acceptance perception level of tablet PCs did not differ by their gender and their level of use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Focus group interviews with students suggest that students did not effectively and actively use the tablet PCs; instead they used the interactive board during classes.

Keywords: acceptance of technology, student’s view, FATIH project, tablet PCs

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: Halit Arslan, Ismail Sahin, Ahmet Oguz Akturk, Ismail Celik

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Today, the means of following the developments in the area of science and technology is to keep up with the pace of the advancements in this area. As is in every profession, apart from their personal efforts, the training of teachers in the period after they start their careers is only possible through in-service training. The aim of the present study is to determine the views of Information Technologies (IT) teachers regarding the in-service training courses organized by the Ministry of National Education. In this study, in which quantitative research methods and techniques were employed, the views of 196 IT teachers were collected by using the “Views on In-service Training” questionnaire developed by the authors of the paper. Independent groups t-test was used to determine whether the views of IT teachers regarding in-service training differed depending on gender, age and professional seniority. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to investigate whether the views of IT teachers regarding in-service training differed depending on the number of in-service training courses they joined and the type of in-service training course they wanted to take. According to the findings obtained in the study, the views of IT teachers on in-service training did not show a significant difference depending on gender and age, whereas those views differed depending on professional seniority, the number of in-service training courses they joined and the type of in-service training course they wanted to take.

Keywords: in-service training, IT teachers, professional development, personal development

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Authors: Zulaikha Reesha Rashaad

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One of the major factors which can contribute greatly to success of catering businesses is to employ food and beverage staff having sound hygiene knowledge. Individuals having sound knowledge of hygiene has a higher chance of following safe food practices in food production. One of the leading causes of food poisoning and food borne illnesses has been identified as lack of hygiene knowledge among food and beverage staff working in catering establishments and restaurants. This research aims to analyze the hygiene knowledge among food and beverage staff working in top five restaurants of Male’, in relation to their age, educational background, occupation and training. The research uses quantitative and descriptive methods in data collection and in data analysis. Data was obtained through random sampling technique with self-administered survey questionnaires which was completed by 60 respondents working in 5 different restaurants operating at top level in Male’. The respondents of the research were service staff and chefs working in these restaurants. The responses to the questionnaires have been analyzed by using SPSS. The results of the research indicated that age, education level, occupation and training correlated with hygiene knowledge perception scores.

Keywords: food and beverage staff, food poisoning, food production, hygiene knowledge

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Authors: Sufia Maroof

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This empirical study investigated the web-translations of five Pakistani public offices (FPSC, FIA, HEC, USB, and Ministry of Finance) offering Urdu tab as an option to access information on their official websites. Triangulation of quantitative and qualitative research design informed the researcher of the semantic, lexical and syntactic caveats in these translations. The study hypothesized that majority of the Pakistani population is oblivious of the Supreme Court’s amendments in language policy concerning national and official language; hence, Urdu web-translations of the public departments have not been accessed effectively. Firstly, the researcher conducted an online survey, comprising of two sections, close ended and short answer based questions. Secondly, the researcher compiled corpus of the five selected websites in a tabular form to compare the data. Thirdly, the administrators of the departments had been contacted regarding the methods of translation and the expertise of the personnel involved. The corpus was assessed for TQA after examining the lexical, semantic, syntactical and technical alignment inaccuracies and imperfections. The study suggests the public offices to invest in their Urdu webs by either hiring expert translators or engaging expertise of a translation agency for this project to offer quality translation to public.

Keywords: machine translations, public offices, Urdu translations, websites

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Authors: Mohammad Hadi Mahmoodi, Mojtaba Farahani

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The present study aimed at investigating whether reflective thinking differentiates Iranian EFL learners regarding language learning strategy use, beliefs about language learning and teaching, and L2 proficiency. To this end, the researcher adopted a mixed method approach. First, 94 EFL learners were asked to complete Reflective Thinking Questionnaire (Kember et al., 2000), Beliefs about Language Learning and Teaching Inventory (Horwitz, 1985), Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford, 1990), and Oxford Quick Placement Test. The results of three separate one-way ANOVAs indicated that reflective thinking significantly differentiates Iranian EFL learners concerning: (a)language learning strategy use, (b) beliefs about language learning and teaching, and (c) general language proficiency. Furthermore, to see where the differences lay, three separate post-hoc Tukey tests were run the results of which showed that learners with different levels of reflectivity (high, mid, and low) were significantly different from each other in all three dependent variables. Finally, to increase the validity of the findings thirty of the participants were interviewed and the results were analyzed through template organizing style method (Crabtree & Miller, 1999). The results of the interview analysis supported the results of quantitative data analysis.

Keywords: reflective thinking, language learning strategy use, beliefs toward language learning and teaching

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Authors: Azzeddine Atibi, Lamalif latifa, Khadija El Kababi, Salim Ahmed, Mohamed Radid

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This study analyzes the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in modern education, where these tools have become essential. Due to the rapid emergence of new technologies and their increasing adoption in education, it is important to understand how teachers use and perceive these tools. The study pursues three objectives : examining current teacher practices regarding ICT, evaluating their impact on student skills and engagement, and making recommendations for better integration of ICT in education. The study's methodology is based on a quantitative approach, using a questionnaire administered to a sample of 104 teachers. This questionnaire, rigorously validated to ensure its reliability, gathers representative data on perceptions and challenges related to the use of ICT. The results show widespread adoption of ICT by teachers, with the majority reporting an improvement in student skills due to these technologies. However, opinions diverge on their impact on student engagement : some teachers note an increase in engagement, while others remain skeptical. Persistent challenges include insufficient technological infrastructure and the need for ongoing training. The recommendations highlight the importance of improving infrastructures and supporting the professional development of teachers to optimize the integration of ICT.

Keywords: ICT, education, teaching practices, teacher perceptions, continuing education

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Authors: Somtop Keawchuer

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This research aims to study (1) the relationship between competency-based learning and learning efficiency of new media communication students at Suan Sunandha University (2) the demographic factor effect on learning efficiency of students at Suan Sunandha University. This research method will use quantitative research; data was collected by questionnaires distributed to students from new media communication in management science faculty of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University for 1340 sample by purposive sampling method. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistic including percentage, mean, standard deviation and inferential statistic including T-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation for hypothesis testing. The results showed that the competency-based learning in term of ability to communicate, ability to think and solve the problem, life skills and ability to use technology has a significant relationship with learning efficiency in term of the cognitive domain, psychomotor domain and affective domain at the 0.05 level and which is in harmony with the research hypotheses.

Keywords: competency-based learning, learning efficiency, new media communication students, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

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Authors: Zubier Arfan, Paul Johnson

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The electronification of financial markets and the rise of algorithmic trading has sparked a lot of interest from the mathematical community, for the market making-problem in particular. The research presented in this short paper solves the classic stochastic control problem in order to derive the strategy for a market-maker. It also shows how to calibrate and simulate the strategy with real limit order book data for back-testing. The ambiguity of limit-order priority in back-testing is dealt with by considering optimistic and pessimistic priority scenarios. The model, although it does outperform a naive strategy, assumes constant volatility, therefore, is not best suited to the LOB data. The Heston model is introduced to describe the price and variance process of the asset. The Trader's constant absolute risk aversion utility function is optimised by numerically solving a 3-dimensional Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman partial differential equation to find the optimal limit order quotes. The results show that the stochastic volatility market-making model is more suitable for a risk-averse trader and is also less sensitive to calibration error than the constant volatility model.

Keywords: market-making, market-microsctrucure, stochastic volatility, quantitative trading

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Authors: Marin Senila, Oana Cadar, Thorsten Janisch, Patrick Lacroix-Desmazes

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The study presents the analytical capability and validation of a method based on microwave-assisted acid digestion for quantitative determination of platinum and palladium in catalysts using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). In order to validate the method, the main figures of merit such as limit of detection and limit of quantification, precision and accuracy were considered and the measurement uncertainty was estimated based on the bottom-up approach according to the international guidelines of ISO/IEC 17025. Limit of detections, estimated from blank signal using 3 s criterion, were 3.0 mg/kg for Pt and respectively 3.6 mg/kg for Pd, while limits of quantification were 9.0 mg/kg for Pt and respectively 10.8 mg/kg for Pd. Precisions, evaluated as standard deviations of repeatability (n=5 parallel samples), were less than 10% for both precious metals. Accuracies of the method, verified by recovery estimation certified reference material NIST SRM 2557 - pulverized recycled monolith, were 99.4 % for Pt and 101% for Pd. The obtained limit of quantifications and accuracy were satisfactory for the intended purpose. The paper offers all the steps necessary to validate the determination method for Pt and Pd in catalysts using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry.

Keywords: catalyst analysis, ICP-OES, method validation, platinum, palladium

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Authors: Prabin Raj Gautam

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Entrepreneurship in tourism sectors, particularly hotel entrepreneurship has contributed to Nepalese Gross Domestic Production (GDP). The tourist standard and star hotels in developing countries have not only been generating revenues but also providing international hospitality to the guest in the local areas. For doing so, these hotel enterprises must need to implement different business strategies to enhance and maintain their international business benchmark. The Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) is core for making business strategies. Meanwhile, the corruption is labeled as negative factor for economic development. This paper presents the relationship between EO of Nepalese star hotels and organizational corruption. The study employed questionnaire survey as data collection tool under the quantitative methodology. Five hypotheses are developed and tested. After gathering the data form 216 questionnaire distributed to CEOs/Managers of the sample hotels, the findings show that out of five dimensions of EO, only autonomy, pro-activeness, and innovativeness are not significant to organizational corruption; however, risk-taking and competitive aggressiveness are found significant contributor. The descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling are employed to describe the data and fit the model.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial orientation, organizational corruption, dimensions

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Authors: Ihn Sook Jeong, Eun Joo Lee, Jae Hyung Kim, Gun Ho Kim, Young Jun Hwang

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This study investigated intravenous (IV) infiltration using bioelectrical impedance for 27 hospitalized patients in a long-term care hospital. Impedance parameters showed significant differences before and after infiltration as follows. First, the resistance (R) after infiltration significantly decreased compared to the initial resistance. This indicates that the IV solution flowing from the vein due to infiltration accumulates in the extracellular fluid (ECF). Second, the relative resistance at 50 kHz was 0.94 ± 0.07 in 9 subjects without infiltration and was 0.75 ± 0.12 in 18 subjects with infiltration. Third, the magnitude of the reactance (Xc) decreased after infiltration. This is because IV solution and blood components released from the vein tend to aggregate in the cell membrane (and acts analogously to the linear/parallel circuit), thereby increasing the capacitance (Cm) of the cell membrane and reducing the magnitude of reactance. Finally, the data points plotted in the R-Xc graph were distributed on the upper right before infiltration but on the lower left after infiltration. This indicates that the infiltration caused accumulation of fluid or blood components in the epidermal and subcutaneous tissues, resulting in reduced resistance and reactance, thereby lowering integrity of the cell membrane. Our findings suggest that bioelectrical impedance is an effective method for detection of infiltration in a noninvasive and quantitative manner.

Keywords: intravenous infiltration, impedance, parameters, resistance, reactance

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Authors: Aditi Chauhan, Neethu S. Mohan

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In the modern era, the advancement and digitalization in technology have taken place during an investigation of crime scene. The rapid enhancement and investigative techniques have changed the mean of identification of suspect. Identification of the person is one of the significant aspects, and personal authentication is the key of security and reliability in society. Since early 90 s, people have relied on comparing handwriting through its class and individual characteristics. But in today’s 21st century we need more reliable means to identify individual through handwriting. An approach employing computer modalities have lately proved itself auspicious enough in exploration of hieroglyphics substantial in investigating the case. Various software’s such as FISH, WRITEON, and PIKASO, CEDAR-FOX SYSTEM identify and verify the associated quantitative measure of the similarity between two samples. The research till date has been confined to identify the authorship of the concerned samples. But prospects associated with the use of computational modalities might help to identify disguised writing, forged handwriting or say altered or modified writing. Considering the applications of such modal, similar work is sure to attract plethora of research in immediate future. It has a promising role in national security too. Documents exchanged among terrorist can also be brought under the radar of surveillance, bringing forth their source of existence.

Keywords: documents, identity, computational system, suspect

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Nipon Sasithornsaowapa

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The purposes of this research was to study the female management career success of the primary education department of Thailand. The independent variable was human capital which included three factors: family status, personality, and knowledge-skill-experience, while the important dependent variable was the career success. The population of this study included 2,179 female management officials in the department of primary education. A total of 400 female managers were interviewed and utilized as a sample group. A questionnaire was developed and used as a main tool for collecting data. Content analysis was performed to get the quantitative data. Descriptive statistics in this research was done by SPSS program. The findings revealed that family and personality factors had a high influence on the human capital and, in turn, influenced the career success of female managers. On the other hand, knowledge-skill-experience had an insignificant influence to the human capital and the female career success. In addition, the findings from the in-depth interview revealed that the majority of respondents defined career success as the satisfaction in job duties, not money and position.

Keywords: career, female managers, primary education

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Authors: Ezri Coda, Kris Justine Miparanum, Relvin Jay Sale

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The study dealt on suicide risk level of college students in UM Tagum College. The primary goal of the study was to assess the level of suicide risk among students at the UM Tagum College in terms of perceived burdensomeness, low belongingness/social alienation and acquired ability to enact lethal self-injury utilizing quantitative non- experimental study with 380 students in UM Tagum College as respondents of the study. Mean was the statistical tools used for the data treatment. Moreover, the study aims to determine the mean of the level of the suicide risk assessment in terms of program, type of student, age, year level, civil status and gender, and lastly, to design an intervention program for those identified students with high suicide risk. Results showed a low level of suicide risk in terms of perceived burdensomeness, low belongingness/social alienation and acquired ability to enact lethal self-injury.

Keywords: suicide risk, perceived burdensomeness, low belongingness/social alienation, acquired ability to enact lethal self-injury, UM Tagum College, Philippines

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: José Dinis-Carvalho, Levi Guimarães, Celina Leão, Rui Sousa, Rosa Eliza Vieira, Larissa Thomaz, Kelliane Guerreiro

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This research paper investigates the efficacy of waste identification diagrams (WIDs) as a tool for waste reduction and management within the Manaus Industrial Pole. The study focuses on assessing the practical application and effectiveness of WIDs in identifying, categorizing, and mitigating various forms of waste generated across industrial processes. Employing a mixed-methods approach, including a qualitative questionnaire applied to 5 companies and quantitative data analysis with SPSS statistical software, the research evaluates the implementation and impact of WIDs on waste reduction practices in select industries within the Manaus Industrial Pole. The findings contribute to understanding the utility of WIDs as a proactive strategy for waste management, offering insights into their potential for fostering sustainable practices and promoting environmental stewardship in industrial settings. The study also discusses challenges, best practices, and recommendations for optimizing the utilization of WIDs in industrial waste management, thereby addressing the broader implications for sustainable industrial development.

Keywords: waste identification diagram, value stream mapping, overall equipment effectiveness, lean manufacturing

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Authors: Amic G. Ho

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Language usage and typography in Hong Kong are unique, as can be seen clearly on the streets of the city. In contrast to many other parts of the world, where there is only one language, in Hong Kong many signs and billboards display two languages: Chinese and English. The language usage on signage, fonts and types used, and the designs in magazines and advertisements all demonstrate the unique features of Hong Kong typographic design, which reflect the multicultural nature of Hong Kong society. This study is the first step in investigating the nature and development of Hong Kong typography. The preliminary research explored how the historical development of Hong Kong is reflected in its unique typography. Following a review of historical development, a quantitative study was designed: Local Hong Kong participants were invited to provide input on what makes the Hong Kong typographic style unique. Their input was collected and analyzed. This provided us with information about the characteristic criteria and features of Hong Kong typography, as recognized by the local people. The most significant typographic designs in Hong Kong were then investigated and the influence of Chinese and other cultures on Hong Kong typography was assessed. The research results provide an indication to local designers on how they can strengthen local design outcomes and promote the values and culture of their mother town.

Keywords: typography, Hong Kong, historical developments, multiple cultures

Procedia PDF Downloads 497

Authors: James Kinsella

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There is currently very little understanding of how the interaction between in- vestors, consumers, the firms (agents) affect a) the transmission of information, and b) the creation and transfer of value and wealth between these two groups. Employing scholarly ideas from multiple research areas (behavioural finance, emotional finance, econo-biology, and game theory) we develop a conceptual the- oretic model (the ‘bow-tie’ model) as a framework for considering this interaction. Our bow-tie model views information transfer, value and wealth creation, and transfer through the lens of “investor-consumer connection facilitated through the communicative medium of the ‘firm’ (agents)”. We confront our bow-tie model with theoretical and practical examples. Next, we utilise consumer and business confidence data alongside index data, to conduct quantitative analy- sis, to support our bow-tie concept, and to introduce the concept of “investor- consumer connection”. We highlight the importance of information persuasiveness, knowledge, and emotional categorization of characteristics in facilitating a communicative relationship between investors, consumers, and the firm (agents), forming academic and practical applications of the conceptual bow-tie model, alongside applications to wider instances, such as those seen within the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: behavioral finance, emotional finance, economy-biology, social mood

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Authors: Prompassorn Chunhabunyatip

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The objectives of this research were to study the factors affecting the participation of local people and the obstacles and recommendations towards local people’s participation in illuminated boat procession culture. The study looked at both qualitative, and quantitative data were collected by in-depth interview and analyzed by the descriptive approach. The 296 samplings were a local community who participated in constructing the illuminated boat in each community for 14 communities. The results of this study showed that the factor that encourages local people’s participation in illuminated both procession is the awareness of an importance of cultural uniqueness in the local. The problems and obstacles to the participation in illuminated boat procession include the resources for constructing illuminated both such as bamboos are run out of and price increasing, lack of proper cooperation between local people and government officers and conflict in interests between in local government office. So, the result of this study recommended that the government officers should be taken into account about community participation in the illuminated boat procession culture because without local people, the uniqueness culture of Nakhon Phanom Province would not exist and they would not reach the sustainable tourism goal.

Keywords: illuminated both culture, community participation, sustainable tourism management, Nakhon Phanom province

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Authors: Yao Meng, Mahroo Eftekhari, Dennis Loveday

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Currently, there are two types of heating systems in Chinese residential buildings, with respect to the controllability of the heating system, one is an old heating system without any possibility of controlling room temperature and another is a new heating system that provides temperature control of individual rooms. This paper is aiming to evaluate the impact of potential variables on the energy performance of old and new buildings respectively in China, and to explore how the use of individual room temperature control would change occupants’ heating behaviour and thermal comfort in Chinese residential buildings and its impact on the building energy performance. In the study, two types of residential buildings have been chosen, the new building install personal control on the heating system, together with ‘pay for what you use’ tariffs. The old building comprised uncontrolled heating with payment based on floor area. The studies were carried out in each building, with a longitudinal monitoring of indoor air temperature, outdoor air temperature, window position. The occupants’ behaviour and thermal sensation were evaluated by questionnaires. Finally, use the simulated analytic method to identify the impact of influence variables on energy use for both types of buildings.

Keywords: residential buildings, China, design parameters, energy efficiency, simulation analytics method

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Authors: Teodora Vukovic, Christoph Hottiger, Noah Bubenhofer

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The development of VIAN-DH aims at bridging two linguistic approaches: conversation analysis/interactional linguistics (IL), so far a dominantly qualitative field, and computational/corpus linguistics and its quantitative and automated methods. Contemporary IL investigates the systematic organization of conversations and interactions composed of speech, gaze, gestures, and body positioning, among others. These highly integrated multimodal behaviour is analysed based on video data aimed at uncovering so called “multimodal gestalts”, patterns of linguistic and embodied conduct that reoccur in specific sequential positions employed for specific purposes. Multimodal analyses (and other disciplines using videos) are so far dependent on time and resource intensive processes of manual transcription of each component from video materials. Automating these tasks requires advanced programming skills, which is often not in the scope of IL. Moreover, the use of different tools makes the integration and analysis of different formats challenging. Consequently, IL research often deals with relatively small samples of annotated data which are suitable for qualitative analysis but not enough for making generalized empirical claims derived quantitatively. VIAN-DH aims to create a workspace where many annotation layers required for the multimodal analysis of videos can be created, processed, and correlated in one platform. VIAN-DH will provide a graphical interface that operates state-of-the-art tools for automating parts of the data processing. The integration of tools that already exist in computational linguistics and computer vision, facilitates data processing for researchers lacking programming skills, speeds up the overall research process, and enables the processing of large amounts of data. The main features to be introduced are automatic speech recognition for the transcription of language, automatic image recognition for extraction of gestures and other visual cues, as well as grammatical annotation for adding morphological and syntactic information to the verbal content. In the ongoing instance of VIAN-DH, we focus on gesture extraction (pointing gestures, in particular), making use of existing models created for sign language and adapting them for this specific purpose. In order to view and search the data, VIAN-DH will provide a unified format and enable the import of the main existing formats of annotated video data and the export to other formats used in the field, while integrating different data source formats in a way that they can be combined in research. VIAN-DH will adapt querying methods from corpus linguistics to enable parallel search of many annotation levels, combining token-level and chronological search for various types of data. VIAN-DH strives to bring crucial and potentially revolutionary innovation to the field of IL, (that can also extend to other fields using video materials). It will allow the processing of large amounts of data automatically and, the implementation of quantitative analyses, combining it with the qualitative approach. It will facilitate the investigation of correlations between linguistic patterns (lexical or grammatical) with conversational aspects (turn-taking or gestures). Users will be able to automatically transcribe and annotate visual, spoken and grammatical information from videos, and to correlate those different levels and perform queries and analyses.

Keywords: multimodal analysis, corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, image recognition, speech recognition

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Authors: Yared Yitagesu Tilahun

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Every nation, developed or developing, relies on transportation, but Addis Abeba City's transportation service is impacted by a number of variables. The current study's objectives are to determine the factors that influence transportation and gauge consumer satisfaction with such services in Addis Abeba. Customers and employees of Addis Ababa's transportation service authority would be the study's target group. 40 workers of the authority would be counted as part of the 310 000 clients that make up the population of the searcher service. Using a straightforward random selection technique, the researcher only chose 99 customers and 28 staff from this enormous group due to the considerable cost and time involved. Data gathering and analysis options included both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The results of this poll show that young people between the ages of 18 and 25 make up the majority of respondents (51.6%). The majority of employees and customers indicated that they are not satisfied with Addis Ababa's overall transportation system. The Addis Abeba Transportation Authority prioritizes client happiness by providing fair service. The company should have a system in place for managing time, resources, and people effectively. It should also provide employees the opportunity to contribute to client handling policies.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, transportation, services, determinants

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Authors: Ian McCulloh, Andrew Placona, Darren Stewart, Daniel Gause, Kevin Kiernan, Morgan Stuart, Christopher Zinner, Laura Cartwright

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An estimated 22-25% of viable deceased donor kidneys are discarded every year in the US, while waitlisted candidates are dying every day. As many as 85% of transplanted organs are refused at least once for a patient that scored higher on the match list. There are hundreds of clinical variables involved in making a clinical transplant decision and there is rarely an ideal match. Decision makers exhibit an optimism bias where they may refuse an organ offer assuming a better match is imminent. We propose a semi-parametric Cox proportional hazard model, augmented by an accelerated failure time model based on patient specific suitable organ supply and demand to estimate a time-to-next-offer. Performance is assessed with Cox-Snell residuals and decision curve analysis, demonstrating improved decision support for up to a 5-year outlook. Providing clinical decision makers with quantitative evidence of likely patient outcomes (e.g., time to next offer and the mortality associated with waiting) may improve decisions and reduce optimism bias, thus reducing discarded organs and matching more patients on the waitlist.

Keywords: decision science, KDPI, optimism bias, organ transplant

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Authors: Joanne Moyer

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El Paso, Texas is a southwest border city that has experienced continuous growth within the last 15-years. Understanding the urban growth trends and patterns using data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and landscape metrics, provides a quantitative description of growth. Past urban growth provided a basis to predict 2031 future land-use for El Paso using the CA-Markov model. As a consequence of growth, an increase in demand of resources follows. Using panel data analysis, an understanding of the relation between landscape metrics and electricity consumption is further analyzed. The studies’ findings indicate that past growth focused within three districts within the City of El Paso. The landscape metrics suggest as the city has grown, fragmentation has decreased. Alternatively, the landscape metrics for the projected 2031 land-use indicates possible fragmentation within one of these districts. Panel data suggests electricity consumption and mean patch area landscape metric are positively correlated. The study provides local decision makers to make informed decisions for policies and urban planning to ensure a future sustainable community.

Keywords: landscape metrics, CA-Markov, El Paso, Texas, panel data

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Authors: Shahid Karim, Alfredo Bautista, Kerry Lee

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The association between teachers’ beliefs and practices has been extensively studied across the levels of education. Yet, there is a lack of context-specific evidence on the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and intentions regarding their interaction with children in early childhood education settings. Given the critical role of teachers’ beliefs in their practices, the present study examined Cambodian preschool teachers’ beliefs and intentions related to their interaction with children and what factors affect the relationship. Data was collected through a self-reported Beliefs and Intentions Questionnaire (BTQ) from preschool teachers teaching at different types of preschools in Cambodia. Four hundred nine preschool teachers teaching in public, private and community schools participated in the study through an online survey administered on Qualtrics. The quantitative analysis of the data revealed that teachers’ beliefs predict their intentions in preschool. Teachers’ teaching experience, level of education and professional training moderated the relationship between their beliefs and intentions. Differences existed between the groups of teachers teaching in different types of preschools and genders. Implications of the findings related to policy and preschool teachers’ professional development are discussed.

Keywords: teacher-child interaction, teaching beliefs, teaching intentions, preschool teaching accreditations, Cambodia

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Authors: Shahid Nishat, Keith Thomas

Abstract:

E-government initiatives attract substantial public investments around the world. These investments are based on the premise of digital transformation of the public services, improved efficiency and transparency, and citizen participation in the social democratic processes. However, many e-Government projects, especially in developing countries, fail to achieve their intended outcomes, and a strong disparity exists between the investments made and outcomes achieved, often referred to as e-Government paradox. Further, there is lack of research on evaluating the impacts of e-Government in terms of public value it creates, which ultimately drives usage. This study aims to address these gaps by identifying key enablers of e-Government success and by proposing a public value based framework to examine impact of e-Government services. The study will extend Delone and McLean Information System (IS) Success model by integrating Technology Readiness (TR) characteristics to develop an integrated success model. Level of analysis will be mobile government applications, and the framework will be empirically tested using quantitative methods. The research will add to the literature on e-Government success and will be beneficial for governments, especially in developing countries aspiring to improve public services through the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT).

Keywords: e-Government, IS success model, public value, technology adoption, technology readiness

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Safa’ Abdelkarim Hammad

Abstract:

The electrical power system is one of the main parts of the nation's infrastructure, and the availability and cost of electricity are critical factors in industrial competitiveness and strategy. Restructuring of the electricity supply industries is a very complex exercise based on national energy strategies and policies, macroeconomic developments, and national conditions, and its application varies from country to country. Electricity regulation of natural monopolies is a challenging task. Regulators face the problem of providing appropriate incentives for improvement of efficiency. Incentive regulation is often considered as an efficient regulatory tool to handle the problem, and it is widely applied in several countries. However, the exact regulation methodologies differ from one country to another. Network quantitative reliability evaluation is an essential factor with regard to the quality of supply. The main factors used to judge the reliability of supply is measured by the number and duration of interruptions experienced by customers. Several indicators are used to evaluate reliability in distribution networks. This paper addresses the impact of incentive regulation and performance benchmarking in the field of electricity distribution in Jordan. The theory of efficiency measurement and the most common models; NCSQS and DEA models are presented.

Keywords: incentive regulations, reliability, restructuring, Tarrif

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Hamidoddin Yousife

Abstract:

Drilling optimization requires a prediction of drilling rate of penetration (ROP) since it provides a significant reduction in drilling costs. There are several factors that can have an impact on the ROP, both controllable and uncontrollable. Numerous drilling penetration rate models have been considered based on drilling parameters. This papers considered the effect of proper drilling parameter selection such as bit, Mud Type, applied weight on bit (WOB), Revolution per minutes (RPM), and flow rate on drilling optimization and drilling cost reduction. A predicted analysis is used in real-time drilling performance to determine the optimal drilling operation. As a result of these modeling studies, the real data collected from three directional wells at Azadegan oil fields, Iran, was verified and adjusted to determine the drillability of a specific formation. Simulation results and actual drilling results show significant improvements in inaccuracy. Once simulations had been validated, optimum drilling parameters and equipment specifications were determined by varying weight on bit (WOB), rotary speed (RPM), hydraulics (hydraulic pressure), and bit specification for each well until the highest drilling rate was achieved. To evaluate the potential operational and economic benefits of optimizing results, a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data was performed.

Keywords: drlling, cost, optimization, parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 151