Search results for: data communication

Authors: B. F. Nteumagne, E. Pindza, E. Mare

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We apply Lie symmetries analysis to price and hedge options in the fractional Brownian framework. The reputation of Lie groups is well spread in the area of Mathematical sciences and lately, in Finance. In the presence of transactions costs and under fractional Brownian motions, analytical solutions become difficult to obtain. Lie symmetries analysis allows us to simplify the problem and obtain new analytical solution. In this paper, we investigate the use of symmetries to reduce the partial differential equation obtained and obtain the analytical solution. We then proposed a hedging procedure and calibration technique for these types of options, and test the model on real market data. We show the robustness of our methodology by its application to the pricing of digital options.

Keywords: fractional brownian model, symmetry, transaction cost, option pricing

Procedia PDF Downloads 388

Authors: Diana Mitova, Krassimir Mitrev

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To prepare the current generation for the future, education systems need to change. It implies a way of learning that meets the demands of the times and the environment in which we live. Productive interaction in the educational process implies an interactive learning environment and the possibility of personal development of learners based on communication and mutual dialogue, cooperation and good partnership in decision-making. Students need not only theoretical knowledge, but transferable skills that will help them to become inventors and entrepreneurs, to implement ideas. STEM education , is now a real necessity for the modern school. Through learning in a "learning company", students master examples from classroom practice, simulate real life situations, group activities and apply basic interactive learning strategies and techniques. The learning company is the subject of this study, reduced to entrepreneurship training in STEM - technologies that encourage students to think outside the traditional box. STEM learning focuses the teacher's efforts on modeling entrepreneurial thinking and behavior in students and helping them solve problems in the world of business and entrepreneurship. Learning based on the implementation of various STEM projects in extracurricular activities, experiential learning, and an interdisciplinary approach are means by which educators better connect the local community and private businesses. Learners learn to be creative, experiment and take risks and work in teams - the leading characteristics of any innovator and future entrepreneur. This article presents some European policies on STEM and entrepreneurship education. It also shares best practices for training company training , with the integration of STEM in the learning company training environment. The main results boil down to identifying some advantages and problems in STEM entrepreneurship education. The benefits of using integrative approaches to teach STEM within a training company are identified, as well as the positive effects of project-based learning in a training company using STEM. Best practices for teaching entrepreneurship through extracurricular activities using STEM within a training company are shared. The following research methods are applied in this research paper: Theoretical and comparative analysis of principles and policies of European Union countries and Bulgaria in the field of entrepreneurship education through a training company. Experiences in entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities with STEM application within a training company are shared. A questionnaire survey to investigate the motivation of secondary vocational school students to learn entrepreneurship through a training company and their readiness to start their own business after completing their education. Within the framework of learning through a "learning company" with the integration of STEM, the activity of the teacher-facilitator includes the methods: counseling, supervising and advising students during work. The expectation is that students acquire the key competence "initiative and entrepreneurship" and that the cooperation between the vocational education system and the business in Bulgaria is more effective.

Keywords: STEM, entrepreneurship, training company, extracurricular activities

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Liane J. Ioannou, Jonathan Serpell, Cino Bendinelli, David Walters, Jenny Gough, Dean Lisewski, Win Meyer-Rochow, Julie Miller, Duncan Topliss, Bill Fleming, Stephen Farrell, Andrew Kiu, James Kollias, Mark Sywak, Adam Aniss, Linda Fenton, Danielle Ghusn, Simon Harper, Aleksandra Popadich, Kate Stringer, David Watters, Susannah Ahern

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BACKGROUND: There are significant variations in the management, treatment and outcomes of thyroid cancer, particularly in the role of: diagnostic investigation and pre-treatment scanning; optimal extent of surgery (total or hemi-thyroidectomy); use of active surveillance for small low-risk cancers; central lymph node dissections (therapeutic or prophylactic); outcomes following surgery (e.g. recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, hypocalcaemia, hypoparathyroidism); post-surgical hormone, calcium and vitamin D therapy; and provision and dosage of radioactive iodine treatment. A proven strategy to reduce variations in the outcome and to improve survival is to measure and compare it using high-quality clinical registry data. Clinical registries provide the most effective means of collecting high-quality data and are a tool for quality improvement. Where they have been introduced at a state or national level, registries have become one of the most clinically valued tools for quality improvement. To benchmark clinical care, clinical quality registries require systematic measurement at predefined intervals and the capacity to report back information to participating clinical units. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop a core set clinical indicators that enable measurement and reporting of quality of care for patients with thyroid cancer. We hypothesise that measuring clinical quality indicators, developed to identify differences in quality of care across sites, will reduce variation and improve patient outcomes and survival, thereby lessening costs and healthcare burden to the Australian community. METHOD: Preparatory work and scoping was conducted to identify existing high quality, clinical guidelines and best practice for thyroid cancer both nationally and internationally, as well as relevant literature. A bi-national panel was invited to participate in a modified Delphi process. Panelists were asked to rate each proposed indicator on a Likert scale of 1–9 in a three-round iterative process. RESULTS: A total of 236 potential quality indicators were identified. One hundred and ninety-two indicators were removed to reflect the data capture by the Australian and New Zealand Thyroid Cancer Registry (ANZTCR) (from diagnosis to 90-days post-surgery). The remaining 44 indicators were presented to the panelists for voting. A further 21 indicators were later added by the panelists bringing the total potential quality indicators to 65. Of these, 21 were considered the most important and feasible indicators to measure quality of care in thyroid cancer, of which 12 were recommended for inclusion in the final set. The consensus indicator set spans the spectrum of care, including: preoperative; surgery; surgical complications; staging and post-surgical treatment planning; and post-surgical treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a core set of quality indicators to measure quality of care in thyroid cancer. This indicator set can be applied as a tool for internal quality improvement, comparative quality reporting, public reporting and research. Inclusion of these quality indicators into monitoring databases such as clinical quality registries will enable opportunities for benchmarking and feedback on best practice care to clinicians involved in the management of thyroid cancer.

Keywords: clinical registry, Delphi survey, quality indicators, quality of care

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Authors: R. Conde

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The Brazilian economic projections and social indicators show a future of crisis for the country. Solutions to avoid this crisis scenario are necessary. Several developed countries implement initiatives linked to sustainability, mainly related to the circular economy, to solve their crises quickly - green recovery. This article aims to assess social gains if Brazil followed the same recovery strategy. Furthermore, with the use of data presented and recognized in the international academic society, the number of jobs that can be created, if Brazil took the first steps towards a more circular economy, was found. Moreover, in addition to the gross value in the number of jobs created, this article also detailed the number of these jobs by type of activity (collection, processing, and manufacturing) and by type of material.

Keywords: circular economy, green recovery, job creation, social gains

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Aishatu Ibrahim, Ijeoma Chinyere Ukonu

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The study set out to produce bread using composite cassava flour. The main objective of the work is to determine the possibility of using composite cassava flour in bread production and to find out whether it is acceptable in the hospitality industry and by the general public. The research questions were formed and analyzed. A sample size of 10 professional catering judges was used in the department of hospitality management/food science and technology. Relevant literature was received. Data collected was analyzed using mean deviation. Product A which is 20% cassava flour and 80% wheat flour product, and D which is 100% wheat flour product were competing with high acceptability. It was observed that the composite cassava dough needed to be allowed to proof for a longer period. Lastly, the researcher recommends that the caterers should be encouraged to use composite cassava flour in the production of bread in order to reduce cost.

Keywords: bread, cassava, flour, wheat

Procedia PDF Downloads 313

Authors: Nur A. Özdemir, Sude Erkin, Hatice K. Güney, Cemre S. Atılgan, Enes Huylu, Hüseyin Y. Altıntaş, Aysemin Top, Özak Durmuş

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Carbon emissions produced during a product’s life cycle, from extraction of raw materials up to waste disposal and market consumption activities are the major contributors to global warming. In the light of the science-based targets (SBT) leading the way to a zero-carbon economy for sustainable growth of the companies, carbon footprint reporting of the purchased goods has become critical for identifying hotspots and best practices for emission reduction opportunities. In line with Ford Otosan's corporate sustainability strategy, research was conducted to evaluate the carbon footprint of purchased products in accordance with Scope 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG). The purpose of this paper is to develop a systematic and transparent methodology to calculate carbon footprint of the products produced by automotive OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) within the context of automobile supply chain management. To begin with, primary material data were collected through IMDS (International Material Database System) corresponds to company’s three distinct types of vehicles including Light Commercial Vehicle (Courier), Medium Commercial Vehicle (Transit and Transit Custom), Heavy Commercial Vehicle (F-MAX). Obtained material data was classified as metals, plastics, liquids, electronics, and others to get insights about the overall material distribution of produced vehicles and matched to the SimaPro Ecoinvent 3 database which is one of the most extent versions for modelling material data related to the product life cycle. Product life cycle analysis was calculated within the framework of ISO 14040 – 14044 standards by addressing the requirements and procedures. A comprehensive literature review and cooperation with suppliers were undertaken to identify the production methods of parts used in vehicles and to find out the amount of scrap generated during part production. Cumulative weight and material information with related production process belonging the components were listed by multiplying with current sales figures. The results of the study show a key modelling on carbon footprint of products and processes based on a scientific approach to drive sustainable growth by setting straightforward, science-based emission reduction targets. Hence, this study targets to identify the hotspots and correspondingly provide broad ideas about our understanding of how to integrate carbon footprint estimates into our company's supply chain management by defining convenient actions in line with climate science. According to emission values arising from the production phase including raw material extraction and material processing for Ford OTOSAN vehicles subjected in this study, GHG emissions from the production of metals used for HCV, MCV and LCV account for more than half of the carbon footprint of the vehicle's production. Correspondingly, aluminum and steel have the largest share among all material types and achieving carbon neutrality in the steel and aluminum industry is of great significance to the world, which will also present an immense impact on the automobile industry. Strategic product sustainability plan which includes the use of secondary materials, conversion to green energy and low-energy process design is required to reduce emissions of steel, aluminum, and plastics due to the projected increase in total volume by 2030.

Keywords: automotive, carbon footprint, IMDS, scope 3, SimaPro, sustainability

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Authors: Muhammad Abid

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Utilization of renewable energy resources for energy conservation, pollution prevention, resource efficiency and systems integration is very important for sustainable development. In this study, we perform energy and exergy analyses of a wind turbine, located on the roof of Mechanical Engineering Department, King Saud University, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The turbine is part of a hybrid photovoltaic (PV)-wind system with hydrogen storage. The power output from this turbine varies between 1.5 and 5.5 kW with a rated wind speed of 12 m/s and a cut-in wind speed of 2.4 m/s. We utilize a wide range of experimental data in the analysis and assessment. We determine energy and exergy efficiencies. The energy efficiency changes between 0% to 45% while the exergy efficiency varies between 0% and 31.3%. We also determined some of the exergoeconomic parameters that are the ratios of energy and exergy loss rates to the capital cost (R en and R ex), respectively. (R en) changes between 0.96% and 59.03% for different values of velocity while R ex has a maximum value of 53.62% for the highest wind speed.

Keywords: exergy, efficiency, performance evaluation, wind energy

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Authors: Sulemana Saibu, Moses Ikpeme

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Background: The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, brought on by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has been unprecedented since the 1918 influenza pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 cases of CNS and peripheral nervous system disease, including neurodegenerative disorders and chronic immune-mediated diseases, may be anticipated based on knowledge of past coronaviruses, particularly those that caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreaks. Although respiratory symptoms are the most common clinical presentation, neurological symptoms are becoming increasingly recognized, raising concerns about their potential role in causing Parkinson's disease, Multiple sclerosis, and Narcolepsy. This systematic review aims to summarize the current evidence by exploring the association between COVID-19 infection and how it may overlap with etiological mechanisms resulting in Narcolepsy, Parkinson's disease, and Multiple sclerosis. Methods: A systematic search was conducted using electronic databases ((PubMed/MedLine, Embase, PsycINFO, ScieLO, Web of Science, ProQuest (Biotechnology, Virology, and AIDS), Scopus, and CINAHL)) to identify studies published between January 2020 and December 2022 that investigated the association between COVID-19 and Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Narcolepsy. Per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the review was performed and reported. Study quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist and the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical appraisal tools. Results: A total of 21 studies out of 1025 met the inclusion criteria, including 8 studies reporting Parkinson's disease, 11 on multiple sclerosis, and 2 on Narcolepsy. In COVID-19 individuals compared to the general population, Narcolepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis were shown to have a higher incidence. The findings imply that COVID-19 may worsen the signs or induce multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease and may raise the risk of developing Narcolepsy. Further research is required to confirm these connections because the available data is insufficient. Conclusion: According to the existing data, COVID-19 may raise the risk of Narcolepsy and have a causative relationship with Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases. More study is required to confirm these correlations and pinpoint probable mechanisms behind these interactions. Clinicians should be aware of how COVID-19 may affect various neurological illnesses and should treat patients who are affected accordingly.

Keywords: COVID-19, parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, narcolepsy, neurological disorders, sars-cov-2, neurodegenerative disorders, chronic immune-mediated diseases

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Authors: Radek Malinský, Ivan Jelínek

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The current web has become a modern encyclopedia, where people share their thoughts and ideas on various topics around them. Such kind of encyclopedia is very useful for other people who are looking for answers to their questions. However, with the growing popularity of social networking and blogging and ever expanding network services, there has also been a growing diversity of technologies along with different structure of individual websites. It is, therefore, difficult to directly find a relevant answer for a common Internet user. This paper presents a web application for the real-time end-to-end analysis of selected Internet trends; where the trend can be whatever the people post online. The application integrates fully configurable tools for data collection and analysis using selected webometric algorithms, and for its chronological visualization to user. It can be assumed that the application facilitates the users to evaluate the quality of various products that are mentioned online.

Keywords: Trend, visualizer, web analysis, web 2.0.

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Authors: Irmak Gunes Yuceil

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This paper outlines interferences and analytical errors which are encountered in the qualification and quantification of archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, by means of handheld x-ray fluorescence. These shortcomings were evaluated through case studies carried out on metallic artifacts related to various periods and cultures around Anatolia. An Innov-X Delta Standard 2000 handheld x-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used to collect data from 1361 artifacts, through 6789 measurements and 70 hours’ tube usage, in between 2013-2017. Spectrum processing was done by Delta Advanced PC Software. Qualitative and quantitative results screened by the device were compared with the spectrum graphs, and major discrepancies associated with physical and analytical interferences were clarified in this paper.

Keywords: hand-held x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, art and archaeology, interferences and analytical errors, pre-diagnosis in conservation

Procedia PDF Downloads 175

Authors: A. I. Dovgjallo, A. B. Tsapkova, A. A. Shimanov

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The paper is devoted to one of engine types with external heating – a thermoacoustic engine. In thermoacoustic engine heat energy is converted to an acoustic energy. Further, acoustic energy of oscillating gas flow must be converted to mechanical energy and this energy in turn must be converted to electric energy. The most widely used way of transforming acoustic energy to electric one is application of linear generator or usual generator with crank mechanism. In both cases, the piston is used. Main disadvantages of piston use are friction losses, lubrication problems and working fluid pollution which cause decrease of engine power and ecological efficiency. Using of a bidirectional impulse turbine as an energy converter is suggested. The distinctive feature of this kind of turbine is that the shock wave of oscillating gas flow passing through the turbine is reflected and passes through the turbine again in the opposite direction. The direction of turbine rotation does not change in the process. Different types of bidirectional impulse turbines for thermoacoustic engines are analyzed. The Wells turbine is the simplest and least efficient of them. A radial impulse turbine has more complicated design and is more efficient than the Wells turbine. The most appropriate type of impulse turbine was chosen. This type is an axial impulse turbine, which has a simpler design than that of a radial turbine and similar efficiency. The peculiarities of the method of an impulse turbine calculating are discussed. They include changes in gas pressure and velocity as functions of time during the generation of gas oscillating flow shock waves in a thermoacoustic system. In thermoacoustic system pressure constantly changes by a certain law due to acoustic waves generation. Peak values of pressure are amplitude which determines acoustic power. Gas, flowing in thermoacoustic system, periodically changes its direction and its mean velocity is equal to zero but its peak values can be used for bi-directional turbine rotation. In contrast with feed turbine, described turbine operates on un-steady oscillating flows with direction changes which significantly influence the algorithm of its calculation. Calculated power output is 150 W with frequency 12000 r/min and pressure amplitude 1,7 kPa. Then, 3-d modeling and numerical research of impulse turbine was carried out. As a result of numerical modeling, main parameters of the working fluid in turbine were received. On the base of theoretical and numerical data model of impulse turbine was made on 3D printer. Experimental unit was designed for numerical modeling results verification. Acoustic speaker was used as acoustic wave generator. Analysis if the acquired data shows that use of the bi-directional impulse turbine is advisable. By its characteristics as a converter, it is comparable with linear electric generators. But its lifetime cycle will be higher and engine itself will be smaller due to turbine rotation motion.

Keywords: acoustic power, bi-directional pulse turbine, linear alternator, thermoacoustic generator

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Authors: Vasilios Kanellopoulos

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The present paper examines the effect of innovation efficiency on the production of new knowledge from a firm level perspective. It resorts to the Greek version of community innovation survey (CIS 2012-2014 microdata) and employs 1274 firms of the manufacturing, which constitutes the main sector of examination. It assumes a knowledge production function (KPF) and finds that R&D spillovers related to the expenditures on innovation activities, internal R&D, external R&D, skilled labor, and the expenditures in the acquisition of machinery have a positive and significant effect on the production of new knowledge when OLS techniques are applied. However, innovation efficiency comes from a Banker and Morey (1986) data envelopment analysis (DEA) with categorical variables has a statistically insignificant impact on the production of new knowledge measured by firm’s turnover.

Keywords: firms, innovation efficiency, production of new knowledge, R&D spillovers

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Yongrong Liu, Xin Tang

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Background: Persistent atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia closely related to heart failure. Heart rate control is an essential strategy for treating persistent atrial fibrillation. Still, the understanding of the relationship between different heart rate control levels and the risk of heart failure rehospitalization is limited. Objective: The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between different levels of heart rate control in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and the risk of readmission for heart failure. Methods: We conducted a retrospective dual-centre cohort study, collecting data from patients with persistent atrial fibrillation who received outpatient treatment at two tertiary hospitals in central and western China from March 2019 to March 2020. The collected data included age, gender, body mass index (BMI), medical history, and hospitalization frequency due to heart failure. Patients were divided into three groups based on their heart rate control levels: Group I with a resting heart rate of less than 80 beats per minute, Group II with a resting heart rate between 80 and 100 beats per minute, and Group III with a resting heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute. The readmission rates due to heart failure within one year after discharge were statistically analyzed using propensity score matching in a 1:1 ratio. Differences in readmission rates among the different groups were compared using one-way ANOVA. The impact of varying levels of heart rate control on the risk of readmission for heart failure was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to control for potential confounding factors. Results: We enrolled a total of 1136 patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. The results of the one-way ANOVA showed that there were differences in readmission rates among groups exposed to different levels of heart rate control. The readmission rates due to heart failure for each group were as follows: Group I (n=432): 31 (7.17%); Group II (n=387): 11.11%; Group III (n=317): 90 (28.50%) (F=54.3, P<0.001). After performing 1:1 propensity score matching for the different groups, 223 pairs were obtained. Analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model showed that compared to Group I, the risk of readmission for Group II was 1.372 (95% CI: 1.125-1.682, P<0.001), and for Group III was 2.053 (95% CI: 1.006-5.437, P<0.001). Furthermore, binary logistic regression analysis, including variables such as digoxin, hypertension, smoking, coronary heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as independent variables, revealed that coronary heart disease and COPD also had a significant impact on readmission due to heart failure (p<0.001). Conclusion: The correlation between the heart rate control level of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and the risk of heart failure rehospitalization is positive. Reasonable heart rate control may significantly reduce the risk of heart failure rehospitalization.

Keywords: heart rate control levels, heart failure rehospitalization, persistent atrial fibrillation, retrospective cohort study

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Authors: Mahsa Moteshakeri

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Morinda citrifolia L., a miracle fruit with common name of Noni, has been widely used as food and traditional medicine in the Polynesians culture. Current scientific evidences have proved the therapeautical and nutritional properties of this fruit so that its extensive production in tropical regions in recent years has emerged a competitive global Noni market mainly as a dietary supplement in the form of juice or tablet. However, there is not much record on the processing method applied on fresh fruit postharvest or even its mechanism of action in controlling diseases. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive data on phytochemicals, technical, and nutritional advances on Noni fruit and recent patents published, as well as medicinal properties of the fruit in order to benefit future investigations on this precious fruit either in industrial or therapeautical section.

Keywords: noni fruit, phytochemicals, therapeautic properties of fruit, nutritional properties of fruit

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: Suratno

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Metacognition thinking skills should be developed early on in learning. The aim of research builds metacognition thinking skills through collaborative learning with self-evaluation. Approach to action research study involving 32 middle school students in Jember Indonesia. Indicators metacognition skills consist of planning, information management strategies, comprehension monitoring, and debugging strategies. Data were analyzed by t test and analysis of instructional videos. Results of the study here were significant differences in metacognition skills before and after the implementation of collaborative learning with self-evaluation. Analysis instructional video showing the difference artifacts of student learning activities to learning before and after implementation of collaborative learning with self-evaluation. Self-evaluation makes students familiar practice thinking skills metacognition.

Keywords: metacognition, collaborative, evaluation, thinking skills

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Authors: Abigail Mosetsanagape Mooketsi, Itumeleng Pleasure Mongale, Joel Hinaunye Eita

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The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of transport infrastructure on economic growth in South Africa through Engle Granger two step approach using the data from 1970 to 2013. GDP is used as a proxy for economic growth whilst rail transport (rail lines, rail goods transported) and air transport(air passengers carried, air freight) are used as proxies for transport infrastructure. The results showed that there is a positive long-run relationship between transport infrastructure and economic growth. The results show that South Africa’s economic growth can be boosted by providing transport infrastructure. The estimated models were simulated and the results that the model is a good fit. The findings of this research will be beneficial to policy makers, academics and it will also enhance the ability of the investors to make informed decisions about investing in South Africa.

Keywords: transport, infrastructure, economic growth, South Africa

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Authors: Khalid Hassan Abdesamed, Kalsom Abd Wahab

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Economic development and growth are significantly linked to the consistent and sustainable sector of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Banks are the frontrunners in financing and advising SMEs. The main objective of the study is to assess the tendency of SMEs to use the Islamic bank. Model was developed using quantitative method with a hypothetical-deductive testing approach. Model (N = 364) used primary data on the tendency of SMEs to use Islamic banks gathered from questionnaire. It is found by Mann-Whitney test that the tendency to use Islamic bank varies between those firms which consider formal financing with the ones relying on informal financing with the latter tends more to use Islamic bank. This study can serve academic researchers, policy makers, and developing countries as a model of SMEs’ desirability to Islamic banking.

Keywords: formal financing, informal financing, Islamic bank, SMEs

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Authors: Katarzyna Oberda

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The aim of this paper is to conceptual emotions in the process of mediation. Although human emotions have been approached from various disciplines and perspectives, e.g. philosophy, linguistics, psychology and neurology, this complex phenomenon still needs further investigation into its discursive character with the an open mind and heart. To attain this aim, the theoretical and practical considerations are taken into account both to contextualize the discursive psychology of emotions in mediation and show how cognitive and linguistic activity expressed in language may lead to the emotional turn in the process of mediation. The double directions of this research into the discursive psychology of emotions have been partially inspired by the evaluative components of mediation forms. In the conducted research, we apply the methodology of discursive psychology with the discourse analysis as a tool. The practical data come from the recorded mediations online. The major findings of the conducted research result in the reconstruction of the emotional transformation model in mediation.

Keywords: discourse analysis, discursive psychology, emotions, mediation

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Authors: Laurent Maurin, Mervi Toivanen

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This paper estimates euro area banks’ internal target capital ratios and investigates whether banks’ adjustment to the targets have an impact on credit supply and holding of securities during the financial crisis in 2005-2011. Using data on listed banks and country-specific macro-variables a partial adjustment model is estimated in a panel context. The results indicate, firstly, that an increase in the riskiness of banks’ balance sheets influences positively on the target capital ratios. Secondly, the adjustment towards higher equilibrium capital ratios has a significant impact on banks’ assets. The impact is found to be more size-able on security holdings than on loans, thereby suggesting a pecking order.

Keywords: Euro area, capital ratios, credit supply, partial adjustment model

Procedia PDF Downloads 435

Authors: Yan Wang, Yasushi Asami, Yukio Sadahiro

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In urban context, urban nodes such as amenity or hazard will certainly affect house price, while classic hedonic analysis will employ distance variables measured from each urban nodes. However, effects from distances to facilities on house prices generally do not represent the true price of the property. Distance variables measured on the same surface are suffering a problem called multicollinearity, which is usually presented as magnitude variance and mean value in regression, errors caused by instability. In this paper, we provided a theoretical framework to identify and gather the data with less bias, and also provided specific sampling method on locating the sample region to avoid the spatial multicollinerity problem in three distance variable’s case.

Keywords: hedonic regression, urban node, distance variables, multicollinerity, collinearity

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: Neelima Rashmi Lakra

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India was among one of the highly developed economy up to 1850 due to its cottage industries. During the end of the 18th century, modern industrial enterprises began with the first cotton mill in Bombay, the jute mill near Calcutta and the coal mine in Raniganj. This was counted as the real beginning of industry in 1854 in India. Prior to this period people concentrated only to agriculture, menial service or handicraft, and the introduction of industries exposed them to the disciplines of factory which was very tedious for them. With increasing number of factories been setup adding on to mining and introduction of railway, World War Period (1914-19), Second World War Period (1939-45) and the Great Depression (1929-33) there were visible change in the nature of work for the people, which resulted in outburst of strike for various reasons in these factories. Here, with India’s independence there was emergence of public sector industries and labour legislations were introduced. Meanwhile, trade unions came to notice to the rescue of the oppressed but failed to continue till long. Soon after, with the New Economic Policy organisations came across to face challenges to perform their best, where social justice for the workmen was in question. On these backdrops, studies were found discussing the central human capabilities which could be addressed through Social Security schemes. Therefore, this study was taken up to look at the reforms and legislations mainly meant for the welfare of the labour. This paper will contribute to the large number of Indian population who are serving in public sectors in India since the introduction of industries and will complement the issue of social justice through social security measures among this huge crowd serving the nation. The objectives of the study include; to find out what labour Legislations have already been existing in India, the role of Trade Union Movement, to look at the effects of New Economic Policy on these reforms and its effects and measures taken for the workforce employed in the public sectors and finally, if these measures fulfil the social justice aspects for the larger society on whole. The methodology followed collection of data from books, journal articles, reports, company reports and manuals focusing mainly on Indian studies and the data was analysed following content analysis method. The findings showed the measures taken for Social Security, but there were also reflections of very few particular additions or amendments to these Acts and provisions with the onset of New Liberalisation Policy. Therefore, the study concluded examining the social justice aspects in the context of a developing economy and discussing the recommendations.

Keywords: public sectors, social justice, social security schemes, trade union movement

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Authors: R. Sumalatha, M. V. Subramanyam

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In medical image processing the quality of the image is degraded in the presence of noise. Especially in ultra sound imaging and Magnetic resonance imaging the data was corrupted by signal dependent noise known as salt and pepper noise. Removal of noise from the medical images is a critical issue for researchers. In this paper, a new type of technique Adaptive Spatial Mask Filter (ASMF) has been proposed. The proposed filter is used to increase the quality of MRI and ultra sound images. Experimental results show that the proposed filter outperforms the implementation of mean, median, adaptive median filters in terms of MSE and PSNR.

Keywords: salt and pepper noise, ASMF, PSNR, MSE

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Authors: Dino Carpentras, Alejandro Dinkelberg, Michael Quayle

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Within agent-based modeling, opinion dynamics is the field that focuses on modeling people's opinions. In this prolific field, most of the literature is dedicated to the exploration of the two 'degrees of freedom' and how they impact the model’s properties (e.g., the average final opinion, the number of final clusters, etc.). These degrees of freedom are (1) the interaction rule, which determines how agents update their own opinion, and (2) the network topology, which defines the possible interaction among agents. In this work, we show that the third degree of freedom exists. This can be used to change a model's output up to 100% of its initial value or to transform two models (both from the literature) into each other. Since opinion dynamics models are representations of the real world, it is fundamental to understand how people’s opinions can be measured. Even for abstract models (i.e., not intended for the fitting of real-world data), it is important to understand if the way of numerically representing opinions is unique; and, if this is not the case, how the model dynamics would change by using different representations. The process of measuring opinions is non-trivial as it requires transforming real-world opinion (e.g., supporting most of the liberal ideals) to a number. Such a process is usually not discussed in opinion dynamics literature, but it has been intensively studied in a subfield of psychology called psychometrics. In psychometrics, opinion scales can be converted into each other, similarly to how meters can be converted to feet. Indeed, psychometrics routinely uses both linear and non-linear transformations of opinion scales. Here, we analyze how this transformation affects opinion dynamics models. We analyze this effect by using mathematical modeling and then validating our analysis with agent-based simulations. Firstly, we study the case of perfect scales. In this way, we show that scale transformations affect the model’s dynamics up to a qualitative level. This means that if two researchers use the same opinion dynamics model and even the same dataset, they could make totally different predictions just because they followed different renormalization processes. A similar situation appears if two different scales are used to measure opinions even on the same population. This effect may be as strong as providing an uncertainty of 100% on the simulation’s output (i.e., all results are possible). Still, by using perfect scales, we show that scales transformations can be used to perfectly transform one model to another. We test this using two models from the standard literature. Finally, we test the effect of scale transformation in the case of finite precision using a 7-points Likert scale. In this way, we show how a relatively small-scale transformation introduces both changes at the qualitative level (i.e., the most shared opinion at the end of the simulation) and in the number of opinion clusters. Thus, scale transformation appears to be a third degree of freedom of opinion dynamics models. This result deeply impacts both theoretical research on models' properties and on the application of models on real-world data.

Keywords: degrees of freedom, empirical validation, opinion scale, opinion dynamics

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Authors: Tran Thi Thuy Oanh, Nguyen Ngoc Bao Tran

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In the view of Cognitive Linguistics (CL), knowledge and experience of things and events are used by human beings in expressing concepts, especially in their daily life. The human conceptual system is considered to be fundamentally metaphorical in nature. It is also said that the way we think, what we experience, and what we do everyday is very much a matter of language. In fact, language is an integral factor of cognition in that CL is a family of broadly compatible theoretical approaches sharing the fundamental assumption. The relationship between language and thought, of course, has been addressed by many scholars. CL, however, strongly emphasizes specific features of this relation. By experiencing, we receive knowledge of lives. The partial things are ideal domains, we make use of all aspects of this domain in metaphorically understanding abstract targets. The paper refered to applying this theory on pragmatics lessons for major English students at University of Foreign Language Studies - The University of Da Nang, Viet Nam. We conducted the study with two third – year students groups studying English pragmatics lessons. To clarify this study, the data from these two classes were collected for analyzing linguistic perspectives in the view of CL and traditional concepts. Descriptive, analytic, synthetic, comparative, and contrastive methods were employed to analyze data from 50 students undergoing English pragmatics lessons. The two groups were taught how to transfer the meanings of expressions in daily life with the view of CL and one group used the traditional view for that. The research indicated that both ways had a significant influence on students' English translating and interpreting abilities. However, the traditional way had little effect on students' understanding, but the CL view had a considerable impact. The study compared CL and traditional teaching approaches to identify benefits and challenges associated with incorporating CL into the curriculum. It seeks to extend CL concepts by analyzing metaphorical expressions in daily conversations, offering insights into how CL can enhance language learning. The findings shed light on the effectiveness of applying CL in teaching and learning English pragmatics. They highlight the advantages of using metaphorical expressions from daily life to facilitate understanding and explore how CL can enhance cognitive processes in language learning in general and teaching English pragmatics to third-year students at the UFLS - UDN, Vietnam in personal. The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of the relationship between language, cognition, and learning. By emphasizing the metaphorical nature of human conceptual systems, it offers insights into how CL can enrich language teaching practices and enhance students' comprehension of abstract concepts.

Keywords: cognitive linguisitcs, lakoff and johnson, pragmatics, UFLS

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Authors: Won-Gon Kim

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A standardized system to describe the pressure-flow characteristics of a given cannula has recently been proposed and has been termed ‘the M-number’. Using three different sizes of aortic cannulas in 50 pediatric cardiac patients on hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass, we analyzed the correlation between experimentally and clinically derived M-numbers, and found this was positive. Clinical M-numbers were typically 0.35 to 0.55 greater than experimental M-numbers, and correlated inversely with a patient's temperature change; this was most probably due to increased blood viscosity, arising from hypothermia. This inverse relationship was more marked in higher M-number cannulas. The clinical data obtained in this study suggest that experimentally derived M-numbers correlate strongly with clinical performance of the cannula, and that the influence of temperature is significant.

Keywords: cardiopulmonary bypass, M-number, aortic cannula, pressure-flow characteristics

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Authors: Houssam A. Toutanji, Meng Han

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This study focuses on the development of a fracture mechanics based-model that predicts the debonding behavior of FRP strengthened RC beams. In this study, a database includes 351 concrete prisms bonded with FRP plates tested in single and double shear were prepared. The existing fracture-mechanics-based models are applied to this database. Unfortunately the properties of adhesive layer, especially a soft adhesive layer, used on the specimens in the existing studies were not always able to found. Thus, the new model’s proposal was based on fifteen newly conducted pullout tests and twenty four data selected from two independent existing studies with the application of a soft adhesive layers and the availability of adhesive properties.

Keywords: carbon fiber composite materials, interface response, fracture characteristics, maximum shear stress, ultimate transferable load

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Authors: Zheng Lulin, Xiong Guoping

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In recent years, agriculture, rural development, and peasants are among the top concerns and priorities of the Chinese Government. Several related issues have been paid many attentions by academic communities, including the impacts of corresponding policies on the rural villages, the mechanisms of these impacts, and the future development of rural society. However, most of the researchers focus on single rural policy instead of integral rural policy system. Hence, this dissertation focused on the mechanisms of policies’ influence on rural changes through a case study from Changfu Village in central Guangxi Province, China, to propose the optimized suggestions for rural development. Forty-three relevant pivotal policies of significant influence on rural development are summarized from literature and documents, covering five aspects of agricultural production, rural living security, open rural markets, rural household registration systems, and farmland transferring. Besides, having been live in this area for more than 20 years, researchers obtain the basic information about changing the social connection between citizens and villagers, the habitat of villagers by years of informal interviews. Furthermore, more than 200 questionnaires are given to villagers to analyze the changing of their personal and family information. The summary of rural policies revealed that the development trend of public rural policies followed the U-shape curve and these policies are characterized by economic intentions and operative economy. Report of questionnaires and interviews show that the development of rural economy was promoted greatly by public policies. Firstly, Social communication and rural culture were affected to a certain extent. Secondly, the educational level of rural individuals was significantly enhanced, whereas the quality of population had limited progress. Finally, the freedom of occupational choice for rural individuals into cities was greater than before, but still restricted by the class solidification of social background, resulting in more obstacles for rural individuals to settle down in cities. From what we discuss about, we may reach the conclusion on several perspectives: Firstly, the impact of the rural policies has a significant role in promoting the economy development of the rural area. However, separations between rural and urban area are still a major problem since rural policy contributed little to improve the rural population quality. Therefore, in the future, providing high quality educational facilities including teachers, libraries, and opportunities of broadening their knowledge base are key issues of future rural policy. Secondly, the development of rural economy would be a lack of driving force for further improvement owning to the fact that working hard couldn’t get more improvement. In the future, public policies should support the rural development of culture, technology, and personal qualities to create favorable social environment for the free increase of rural population.

Keywords: changing of rural area, rural development of China, rural policy, social environment

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Authors: Raymond Chi Fai Si Tou, Jacey Ja Young Choe, Amy Siu Ian So

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Smart hotels can be defined as the hotel which has an intelligent system, through digitalization and networking which achieve hotel management and service information. In addition, smart hotels include high-end designs that integrate information and communication technology with hotel management fulfilling the guests’ needs and improving the quality, efficiency and satisfaction of hotel management. The purpose of this study is to identify appropriate factors that may influence guests’ satisfaction and intention to revisit Smart Hotels based on service quality measurement of lodging quality index and extended UTAUT theory. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is adopted as a framework to explain technology acceptance and use. Since smart hotels are technology-based infrastructure hotels, UTATU theory could be as the theoretical background to examine the guests’ acceptance and use after staying in smart hotels. The UTAUT identifies four key drivers of the adoption of information systems: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions. The extended UTAUT modifies the definitions of the seven constructs for consideration; the four previously cited constructs of the UTAUT model together with three new additional constructs, which including hedonic motivation, price value and habit. Thus, the seven constructs from the extended UTAUT theory could be adopted to understand their intention to revisit smart hotels. The service quality model will also be adopted and integrated into the framework to understand the guests’ intention of smart hotels. There are rare studies to examine the service quality on guests’ satisfaction and intention to revisit in smart hotels. In this study, Lodging Quality Index (LQI) will be adopted to measure the service quality in smart hotels. Using integrated UTAUT theory and service quality model because technological applications and services require using more than one model to understand the complicated situation for customers’ acceptance of new technology. Moreover, an integrated model could provide more perspective insights to explain the relationships of the constructs that could not be obtained from only one model. For this research, ten in-depth interviews are planned to recruit this study. In order to confirm the applicability of the proposed framework and gain an overview of the guest experience of smart hotels from the hospitality industry, in-depth interviews with the hotel guests and industry practitioners will be accomplished. In terms of the theoretical contribution, it predicts that the integrated models from the UTAUT theory and the service quality will provide new insights to understand factors that influence the guests’ satisfaction and intention to revisit smart hotels. After this study identifies influential factors, smart hotel practitioners could understand which factors may significantly influence smart hotel guests’ satisfaction and intention to revisit. In addition, smart hotel practitioners could also provide outstanding guests experience by improving their service quality based on the identified dimensions from the service quality measurement. Thus, it will be beneficial to the sustainability of the smart hotels business.

Keywords: intention to revisit, guest satisfaction, qualitative interviews, smart hotels

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Authors: Y. Salfati, D. Sharef Bussel, J. Zamir

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In this paper, we present an Evaluation Case Study implementing the eight principles of Collaborative Approaches to Evaluation (CAE) as designed by Brad Cousins in the past decade. The focus of this paper is sharing a rich experience in which we achieved two main goals. The first was the development of a valuable and meaningful new teacher training program, and the second was a successful implementation of the CAE principles. The innovative teacher training program is based on the idea of including physical movement during the process of teaching and learning academic themes. The program is called Learning through Movement. This program is a response to a call from the Ministry of Education, claiming that today children sit in front of screens and do not exercise any physical activity. In order to contribute to children’s health, physical, and cognitive development, the Ministry of Education promotes learning through physical activities. Research supports the idea that sports and physical exercise improve academic achievements. The Learning through Movement program is operated by Kaye Academic College. Students in the Elementary School Training Program, together with students in the Physical Education Training Program, implement the program in collaboration with two mentors from the College. The program combines academic learning with physical activity. The evaluation began at the beginning of the program. During the evaluation process, data was collected by means of qualitative tools, including interviews with mentors, observations during the students’ collaborative planning, class observations at school and focus groups with students, as well as the collection of documentation related to the teamwork and to the program itself. The data was analyzed using content analysis and triangulation. The preliminary results show outcomes relating to the Teacher Training Programs, the student teachers, the pupils in class, the role of Physical Education teachers, and the evaluation. The Teacher Training Programs developed a collaborative approach to lesson planning. The students' teachers demonstrated a change in their basic attitudes towards the idea of integrating physical activities during the lessons. The pupils indicated higher motivation through full participation in classes. These three outcomes are indicators of the success of the program. An additional significant outcome of the program relates to the status and role of the physical education teachers, changing their role from marginal to central in the school. Concerning evaluation, a deep sense of trust and confidence was achieved, between the evaluator and the whole team. The paper includes the perspectives and challenges of the heads and mentors of the two programs as well as the evaluator’s conclusions. The evaluation unveils challenges in conducting a CAE evaluation in such a complex setting.

Keywords: collaborative evaluation, training teachers, learning through movement

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Authors: Charawee Butbumrung

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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the monetary worthiness of investment and the usefulness of risk estimation as a tool employed by a production section of an electronic factory. This study employed the case study of accidents occurring in production areas. Data is collected from interviews with six production of safety coordinators and collect the information from the relevant section. The study will present the ratio of benefits compared with the operation costs for investment. The result showed that it is worthwhile for investment with the safety measures. In addition, the organizations must be able to analyze the causes of accidents about the benefits of investing in protective working process. They also need to quickly provide the manual for the staff to learn how to protect themselves from accidents and how to use all of the safety equipment.

Keywords: cost and benefit, enterprises in Thailand, investment in safety and health, risk estimation

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