Search results for: regression hypothesis

Authors: I. Rodionov, A. Semenov, E. Gosteva, O. Sokolova

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Currently, the venture capital becomes more and more advanced and effective source of the innovation project financing, connected with a high-risk level. In the developed countries, it plays a key role in transforming innovation projects into successful businesses and creating prosperity of the modern economy. Actually, in Russia there are many necessary preconditions for creation of the effective venture investment system: the network of the public institutes for innovation financing operates; there is a significant number of the small and medium-sized enterprises, capable to sell production with good market potential. However, the current system does not confirm the necessary level of efficiency in practice that can be substantially explained by the absence of the accurate plan of action to form the national venture model and by the lack of experience of successful venture deals with profitable exits in Russian economy. This paper studies the influence of various factors on the venture industry development by the example of the IT-sector in Russia. The choice of the sector is based on the fact, that this segment is the main driver of the venture capital market growth in Russia, and the necessary set of data exists. The size of investment of the second round is used as the dependent variable. To analyse the influence of the previous round such determinant as the volume of the previous (first) round investments is used. There is also used a dummy variable in regression to examine that the participation of an investor with high reputation and experience in the previous round can influence the size of the next investment round. The regression analysis of short-term interrelations between studied variables reveals prevailing influence of the volume of the first round investments on the venture investments volume of the second round. Because of the research, the participation of investors with first-class reputation has a small impact on an indicator of the value of investment of the second round. The expected positive dependence of the second round investments on the forecasted market growth rate now of the deal is also rejected. So, the most important determinant of the value of the second-round investment is the value of first–round investment, so it means that the most competitive on the Russian market are the start-up teams which can attract more money on the start, and the target market growth is not the factor of crucial importance.

Keywords: venture industry, venture investment, determinants of the venture sector development, IT-sector

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Authors: Jamel Slaughter

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Father involvement across the development of a child has been linked to children’s psychological adjustment, fewer behavioral problems, and higher educational attainment. Conversely, there is much less research that highlights father involvement in relation to childhood development during early childhood period prior to preschool age (ages 1-3 years). Most research on fathers and child outcomes have been limited by its focus on the stages of adolescence, middle childhood, and infancy. This study examined the influence of father involvement, during the toddler stage, on 5th grade cognitive development, rule-breaking, and behavior outcomes measured by Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores. Using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation (EHSRE) Study, 1996-2010: United States, a total of 3,001 children and families were identified in 17 sites (cities), representing a diverse demographic sample. An independent samples t-test was run to compare cognitive development, aggressive, and rule-breaking behavior mean scores among children who had early continuous father involvement for the first 14 – 36 months to children who did not have early continuous father involvement for the first 14 – 36 months. Multiple linear regression was conducted to determine if continuous, or non-continuous father involvement (14 month-36 months), can be used to predict outcome scores on the Child Behavior Checklist in aggressive behavior, rule-breaking behavior, and cognitive development, at 5th grade. A statistically significant mean difference in cognitive development scores were found for children who had continuous father involvement (M=1.92, SD=2.41, t (1009) =2.81, p =.005, 95% CI=.146 to .828) compared to those who did not (M=2.60, SD=3.06, t (1009) =-2.38, p=.017, 95% CI= -1.08 to -.105). There was also a statistically significant mean difference in rule-breaking behavior scores between children who had early continuous father involvement (M=1.95, SD=2.33, t (1009) = 3.69, p <.001, 95% CI= .287 to .940), compared to those that did not (M=2.87, SD=2.93, t (1009) = -3.49, p =.001, 95% CI= -1.30 to -.364). No statistically significant difference was found in aggressive behavior scores. Multiple linear regression was performed using continuous father involvement to determine which has the largest relationship to rule-breaking behavior and cognitive development based on CBCL scores. Rule-breaking behavior was found to be significant (F (2, 1008) = 8.353, p<.001), with an R2 of .016. Cognitive development was also significant (F (2, 1008) = 4.44, p=.012), with an R2 of .009. Early continuous father involvement was a significant predictor of rule-breaking behavior and cognitive development at middle childhood. Findings suggest early continuous father involvement during the first 14 – 36 months of their children’s life, may lead to lower levels of rule-breaking behaviors and thought problems at 5th grade.

Keywords: cognitive development, early continuous father involvement, middle childhood, rule-breaking behavior

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Authors: Pongsawee Supanonth

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This study aims to investigate the consumer behavior and marketing mixed factor affect on consumer decision making for independent movies presented in Lido cinema. The research method will use quantitative research, data was collected by questionnaires distributed to the audience in the Lido cinema for 400 sample by accidental sampling technique. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistic including percentage, mean, standard deviation and inferential statistic including independent t-test for hypothesis testing. The results showed that marketing mixed factors affecting consumer decision-making for Independent movies presented in Lido cinema by gender as different as less than the 0.05 significance level, it was found that the kind of movie ,quality of theater ,price of ticket, facility of watching movies, staff services and promotion of Lido cinema respectively had a vital influence on their attention and response which makes the advertisement more attractive is in harmony with the research hypotheses also.

Keywords: consumer behavior, marketing mixed factor, resonance, consumer decision making, Lido cinema

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Authors: H. Shola Adeosun, D. Adeoye Odedeji, F. Ajoke Adebiyi

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This study examines the impact of media on the electoral process in Nigeria and the roles played by the media in the reform process. Survey research method was adopted as research methodology, and this enables the researcher to use questionnaire, and oral interview to elicit primary data from the respondents was interpreted, analysed and interpreted with statistical tools such as tables, figures, and percentages. The hypothesis formulated were tested with chi-square. The findings revealed that there is significant relationship between the media and electoral reform process in the 2011 and 2015 general elections in Nigeria. The study recommends that electoral committee should implement virile electoral system with the peaceful voting environment. The media should intensify efforts to expose violation of electoral laws; media should play an advocacy role for dialogue and debate on the reform recommendations. The study recommends that media should unite the nation through their reports on peace, national security, national integration and ethnoreligious tolerance and that adequate training should be given to media practitioners on how to report issues relating to elections.

Keywords: evaluation, impact, media, electoral reform process

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Authors: Olubukayo-Opeyemi Oyetayo, Oscar Mendez-Lucio, Andreas Bender, Hans Kiefer

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The thermal melting curve of a protein provides information on its conformational stability and could provide cues on its aggregation behavior. Naturally-occurring osmolytes have been shown to improve the thermal stability of most proteins in a concentration-dependent manner. They are therefore commonly employed as additives in therapeutic protein purification and formulation. A number of intertwined and seemingly conflicting mechanisms have been put forward to explain the observed stabilizing effects, the most prominent being the preferential exclusion mechanism. We attempted to probe and summarize molecular mechanisms for thermal stabilization of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) by developing quantitative structure-activity relationships using a rationally-selected library of 120 osmolyte-like compounds in the polyhydric alcohols, amino acids and methylamines classes. Thermal stabilization potencies were experimentally determined by thermal shift assays based on differential scanning fluorimetry. The cross-validated QSAR model was developed by partial least squares regression using descriptors generated from Molecular Operating Environment software. Careful evaluation of the results with the use of variable importance in projection parameter (VIP) and regression coefficients guided the selection of the most relevant descriptors influencing mAb thermal stability. For the mAb studied and at pH 7, the thermal stabilization effects of tested compounds correlated positively with their fractional polar surface area and inversely with their fractional hydrophobic surface area. We cannot claim that the observed trends are universal for osmolyte-protein interactions because of protein-specific effects, however this approach should guide the quick selection of (de)stabilizing compounds for a protein from a chemical library. Further work with a large variety of proteins and at different pH values would help the derivation of a solid explanation as to the nature of favorable osmolyte-protein interactions for improved thermal stability. This approach may be beneficial in the design of novel protein stabilizers with optimal property values, especially when the influence of solution conditions like the pH and buffer species and the protein properties are factored in.

Keywords: thermal stability, monoclonal antibodies, quantitative structure-activity relationships, osmolytes

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Authors: Tahmeena Ali, Andrew Francis, Keong Yap, Sharynn Schuster

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Social anxiety is a chronic and debilitating condition characterized by fear and avoidance of social situations. Several risk factors have emerged, which emphasize the role of early childhood experiences in the development of this condition. As such, the current study tested the hypothesis that early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) mediate the relationship between retrospectively reported parental criticism and social anxiety whilst controlling the effects of depression. Three hundred and thirty-four non-clinical participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of self-report measures of parental criticism, EMSs of disconnection and rejection, and symptoms of social anxiety and depression. The mediation analysis confirmed the hypothesized model, indicating that EMSs mediated the relationship between parental criticism and social anxiety symptoms when controlling for depression. Whilst the current study is limited due to its cross-sectional design, the findings lend support to the developmental formulations of social anxiety and have important therapeutic implications for treatment.

Keywords: early maladaptive schema, parental criticism, schema, social anxiety

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Authors: Charawee Butbumrung

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The purpose of this research was to study customer relationship management on social media affecting brand loyalty of Siam Commercial Bank in Bangkok. The statistics used in data analysis were frequency, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient based on social science statistic program. The result of the study found that the majority of the respondents were female, 37–47 years old of age, bachelor degree of education and monthly income between 10,001 and 15,000 Baht. In addition, customer relationship management in the overall and by each aspect of formulating, maintaining, and extending the customer relationship had a high score. Furthermore, the result of hypothesis testing showed that the difference of the customer’s age, education, occupation, average monthly income had the difference in brand loyalty with the statistical significance level of 0.05 and customer relationship management had related with brand loyalty in the same direction with the low level of statistical significance 0.05.

Keywords: brand loyalty, customer relationship management, Siam Commercial bank, social media

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Authors: Bedilu Tafesse

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The diversity and ecological analysis of vascular epiphytes was studied in Gera Forest in southwestern Ethiopia at altitudes between 1600 and 2400 m.a.s.l. A total area of 4.5 ha was surveyed in coffee and non-coffee forest vegetation. Fifty sampling plots, each 30 m x 30 m (900 m2), were used for the purpose of data collection. A total of 59 species of vascular epiphytes were recorded, of which 34 (59%) were holo epiphytes, two (4%) were hemi epiphytes and 22 (37%) species were accidental vascular epiphytes. To study the altitudinal distribution of vascular epiphytes, altitudes were classified into higher >2000, middle 1800-2000 and lower 1600-1800 m.a.s.l. According to Shannon-Wiener Index (H/= 3.411) of alpha diversity the epiphyte community in the study area is medium. There was a statistically significant difference between host bark type and epiphyte richness as determined by one-way ANOVA p = 0.001 < 0.05. The post-hoc test shows that there is significant difference of vascular epiphytes richness between smooth bark with rough, flack and corky bark (P =0.001< 0.05), as well as rough and cork bark (p =0.43 <0.05). However, between rough and flack bark (p = 0.753 > 0.05) and between flack and corky bark (p = 0.854 > 0.05) no significant difference of epiphyte abundance was observed. Rough bark had 38%, corky 26%, flack 25%, and only 11% vascular epiphytes abundance occurred on smooth bark. The regression correlation test, (R2 = 0.773, p = 0.0001 < 0.05), showed that the number of species of vascular epiphytes and host DBH size are positively correlated. The regression correlation test (R2 = 0.28, p = 0.0001 < 0.05), showed that the number of species and host tree height positively correlated. The host tree preference of vascular epiphytes was recorded for only Vittaria volkensii species hosted on Syzygium guineense trees. The result of similarity analysis indicated that Gera Forest showed the highest vascular epiphytic similarity (0.35) with Yayu Forest and shared the least vascular epiphytic similarity (0.295) with Harenna Forest. It was concluded that horizontal stems and branches, large and rough, flack and corky bark type trees are more suitable for vascular epiphytes seedling attachments and growth. Conservation and protection of these phorophytes are important for the survival of vascular epiphytes and increase their ecological importance.

Keywords: accidental epiphytes, hemiepiphyte, holoepiphyte, phorophyte

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Authors: Eyup Dogan

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This empirical aims to analyze the impacts of real income and biomass energy consumption on the level of emissions in the EKC model for the panel of biomass-consuming countries over the period 1980-2011. Because we detect the presence of cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity across countries for the analyzed data, we use panel estimation methods robust to cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. The CADF and the CIPS panel unit root tests indicate that carbon emissions, real income and biomass energy consumption are stationary at the first-differences. The LM bootstrap panel cointegration test shows that the analyzed variables are cointegrated. Results from the panel group-mean DOLS and the panel group-mean FMOLS estimators show that increase in biomass energy consumption decreases CO2 emissions and the EKC hypothesis is validated. Therefore, countries are advised to boost their production and increase the use of biomass energy for lower level of emissions.

Keywords: biomass energy, CO2 emissions, EKC model, heterogeneity, cross-sectional dependence

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Authors: Rubi Alvarez-Rodriguez

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Traditionally, eco-centric and anthropocentric forms of environmentalism have been seen as mutually exclusive. While eco-centrism focuses on global environmental issues, anthropocentrism is concerned with local ones. The objective of this paper is to characterize the relationship between eco-centric and anthropocentric attitudes across 43 countries. This study analysed secondary data from the 2005 World Values Survey, using a standard linear regression approach. It is shown that eco-centric and anthropocentric attitudes are not mutually exclusive and that the predominance of one over the other is best predicted by a country’s level of wealth.

Keywords: anthropocentrism, eco-centrism, pro-environmental attitudes, wealth

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Authors: Shabnam Dadparvar, Laijin Shen

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This paper focuses on China’s policy in the Middle East and the rivalry with the U.S. The question is that what are the main factors on China’s Middle East policy and its competition with the U.S? The hypothesis regards to three effective factors: 'China’s energy dependency' on the Middle East, 'economy' and support for 'stability' in the Middle East. What is important in China’s competition with the U.S regarding to its Middle East policy is the substantial difference in ways of treating the countries of the region; China is committed to Westphalia model based on non-interference in internal affairs of the countries and respect the sovereignty of the governments. However, after 9/11, the U.S is seeking a balance between stability and change through intervention in the international affairs and in some cases is looking for a regime change. From the other hand, China, due to its dependency on the region’s energy welcomes America’s military presence in the region for providing stability. The authors by using a descriptive analytical method try to explain the situation of rivalry between China and the United States in Middle East. China is an 'emerging power' with high economic growth and in demand of more energy supply. The problem is that a rising power in the region is often a source of concern for hegemony.

Keywords: China's foreign policy, energy, hegemony, the Middle East

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Authors: Mdluli Fezile, Schmidt Stefan, Thamaga-Chitja Joyce

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In view of the frequently reported foodborne disease outbreaks caused by contaminated fresh produce, consumers have a preference for foods that meet requisite hygiene standards to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses. Producing good quality fresh produce then becomes critical in improving market access and food security, especially for small-scale farmers. Questions of hygiene and subsequent microbiological quality in the rural small-scale farming sector of South Africa are even more crucial, given the policy drive to develop small-scale farming as a measure for reinforcement of household food security and reduction of poverty. Farming practices and methods, throughout the fresh produce value chain, influence the quality of the final product, which in turn determines its success in the market. This study’s aim was to therefore determine the extent to which training on organic farming methods, including modules such as Importance of Production Hygiene, influenced the hygienic farming practices employed by eTholeni small-scale organic farmers in uMbumbulu, KwaZulu-Natal- South Africa. Questionnaires were administered to 73 uncertified organic farmers and analysis showed that a total of 33 farmers were trained and supplied the local Agri-Hub while 40 had not received training. The questionnaire probed respondents’ attitudes, knowledge of hygiene and composting practices. Data analysis included descriptive statistics such as the Chi-square test and a logistic regression model. Descriptive analysis indicated that a majority of the farmers (60%) were female, most of which (73%) were above the age of 40. The logistic regression indicated that factors such as farmer training and prior experience in the farming sector had a significant influence on hygiene practices both at 5% significance levels. These results emphasize the importance of training, education and farming experience in implementing good hygiene practices in small-scale farming. It is therefore recommended that South African policies should advocate for small-scale farmer training, not only for subsistence purposes, but also with an aim of supplying produce markets with high fresh produce.

Keywords: small-scale farmers, leafy salad vegetables, organic produce, food safety, hygienic practices, food security

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Authors: R. Joseph Raviselvan, K. Ramanathan, P. Perumal, M. R. Thansekhar

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Hard coatings are widely used in cutting and forming tool industries. Titanium Nitride (TiN) possesses good hardness, strength and corrosion resistant. The coating properties are influenced by many process parameters. The coatings were deposited on steel substrate by changing the process parameters such as substrate temperature, nitrogen flow rate and target power in a D.C planer magnetron sputtering. The structure of coatings were analysed using XRD. The hardness of coatings was found using Micro hardness tester. From the experimental data, a regression model was developed and the optimum response was determined using Response Surface Methodology (RSM).

Keywords: hardness, RSM, sputtering, TiN XRD

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Authors: Sahar Elsaleh, Ghada Farhat, Shaikha Al-Derham, Fasih Alam

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Background: Cesarean section (CS) delivery is one of the major concerns both in developing and developed countries. The rate of CS deliveries are on the rise globally, and especially in Qatar. Many socio-economic, demographic, clinical and institutional factors play an important role for cesarean sections. This study aims to investigate factors affecting the prevalence of CS among women in Qatar using the UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2012 database. Methods: The study has focused on the women’s questionnaire of the MICS, which was successfully distributed to 5699 participants. Following study inclusion and exclusion criteria, a final sample of 761 women aged 19- 49 years who had at least one delivery of giving birth in their lifetime before the survey were included. A number of socio-economic, demographic, clinical and institutional factors, identified through literature review and available in the data, were considered for the analyses. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models, along with a multi-level modeling to investigate clustering effect, were undertaken to identify the factors that affect CS prevalence in Qatar. Results: From the bivariate analyses the study has shown that, a number of categorical factors are statistically significantly associated with the dependent variable (CS). When identifying the factors from a multivariate logistic regression, the study found that only three categorical factors -‘age of women’, ‘place at delivery’ and ‘baby weight’ appeared to be significantly affecting the CS among women in Qatar. Although the MICS dataset is based on a cluster survey, an exploratory multi-level analysis did not show any clustering effect, i.e. no significant variation in results at higher level (households), suggesting that all analyses at lower level (individual respondent) are valid without any significant bias in results. Conclusion: The study found a statistically significant association between the dependent variable (CS delivery) and age of women, frequency of TV watching, assistance at birth and place of birth. These results need to be interpreted cautiously; however, it can be used as evidence-base for further research on cesarean section delivery in Qatar.

Keywords: cesarean section, factors, multiple indicator cluster survey, MICS database, Qatar

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Authors: Felicia Kikelomo Oluwalola

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This study examined lecturers’ perception of the roles of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Office Technology and Management (OTM) programme in polytechnics, in South-West, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted in this study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select all OTM lecturers in the nine (9) Polytechnics in the South-West, Nigeria. A 4-rating scale was adopted questionnaire titled ‘Lecturers’ Perception of the Roles of ICT in OTM Programme in Polytechnics’ with a reliability index of 0.93 was used. Two research questions were answered, and one null hypothesis was tested for the study. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test and one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that lecturers have right perception of the roles of ICT in OTM programme in polytechnics. Also, the study revealed no significant difference between the mean perception of male and female lecturers in office technology and management. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that recruitment of professionals in the field of ICT is necessary for effective teaching learning to be established and OTM curriculum should be constantly reviewed to enhance some ICT package that is acceptable globally.

Keywords: communication, information, perception, technology

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Authors: Saumya Srivastava, Rina Maiti

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In order to achieve a better performance of vehicle detection in a complex environment, we present an efficient approach for a multi-vehicle detection system using an adaptive sliding window technique. For a given frame, image segmentation is carried out to establish the region of interest. Gradient computation followed by thresholding, denoising, and morphological operations is performed to extract the binary search image. Near-region field and far-region field are defined to generate hypotheses using the adaptive sliding window technique on the resultant binary search image. For each vehicle candidate, features are extracted using a histogram of oriented gradients, and a pre-trained support vector machine is applied for hypothesis verification. Later, the Kalman filter is used for tracking the vanishing point. The experimental results show that the method is robust and effective on various roads and driving scenarios. The algorithm was tested on highways and urban roads in India.

Keywords: gradient, vehicle detection, histograms of oriented gradients, support vector machine

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Authors: S. A. N. Danushka, T. A. Weerasinghe

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The diverse necessities of instruction could be addressed effectively with the support of new dimensions of ICT integrated learning such as blended learning –which is a combination of face-to-face and online instruction which ensures greater flexibility in student learning and congruity of course delivery. As blended learning has been the ‘new normality' in education, many experimental and quasi-experimental research studies provide ample of evidence on its successful implementation in many fields of studies, but it is hard to justify whether blended learning could work similarly in the delivery of technology-teacher development programmes (TTDPs). The present study is bound with the particular research uncertainty, and having considered existing research approaches, the study methodology was set to decide the efficient instructional strategies for flipped classroom learning in TTDPs. In a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design with a mix-method research approach, the major study objective was tested with two heterogeneous samples (N=135) identified in a virtual learning environment in a Sri Lankan university. Non-randomized informal ‘before-and-after without control group’ design was employed, and two data collection methods, identical pre-test and post-test and Likert-scale questionnaires were used in the study. Selected two instructional strategies, self-directed learning (SDL) and self-regulated learning (SRL), were tested in an appropriate instructional framework with two heterogeneous samples (pre-service and in-service teachers). Data were statistically analyzed, and an efficient instructional strategy was decided via t-test, ANOVA, ANCOVA. The effectiveness of the two instructional strategy implementation models was decided via multiple linear regression analysis. ANOVA (p < 0.05) shows that age, prior-educational qualifications, gender, and work-experiences do not impact on learning achievements of the two diverse groups of learners through the instructional strategy is changed. ANCOVA (p < 0.05) analysis shows that SDL is efficient for two diverse groups of technology-teachers than SRL. Multiple linear regression (p < 0.05) analysis shows that the staged self-directed learning (SSDL) model and four-phased model of motivated self-regulated learning (COPES Model) are efficient in the delivery of course content in flipped classroom learning.

Keywords: COPES model, flipped classroom learning, self-directed learning, self-regulated learning, SSDL model

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Authors: Abbas Ahmadi, Bijan Raie, Mohammad Reza Neyshabouri, Mohammad Ali Ghorbani, Farrokh Asadzadeh

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In recent years, vast areas of Urmia Lake in Dasht-e-Tabriz has dried up leading to saline sediments exposure on the surface lake coastal areas being highly susceptible to wind erosion. This study was conducted to investigate wind erosion and its relevance to soil physicochemical properties and also modeling of wind erodibility (WE) using artificial intelligence techniques. For this purpose, 96 soil samples were collected from 0-5 cm depth in 414000 hectares using stratified random sampling method. To measure the WE, all samples (<8 mm) were exposed to 5 different wind velocities (9.5, 11, 12.5, 14.1 and 15 m s-1 at the height of 20 cm) in wind tunnel and its relationship with soil physicochemical properties was evaluated. According to the results, WE varied within the range of 76.69-9.98 (g m-2 min-1)/(m s-1) with a mean of 10.21 and coefficient of variation of 94.5% showing a relatively high variation in the studied area. WE was significantly (P<0.01) affected by soil physical properties, including mean weight diameter, erodible fraction (secondary particles smaller than 0.85 mm) and percentage of the secondary particle size classes 2-4.75, 1.7-2 and 0.1-0.25 mm. Results showed that the mean weight diameter, erodible fraction and percentage of size class 0.1-0.25 mm demonstrated stronger relationship with WE (coefficients of determination were 0.69, 0.67 and 0.68, respectively). This study also compared efficiency of multiple linear regression (MLR), gene expression programming (GEP), artificial neural network (MLP), artificial neural network based on genetic algorithm (MLP-GA) and artificial neural network based on whale optimization algorithm (MLP-WOA) in predicting of soil wind erodibility in Dasht-e-Tabriz. Among 32 measured soil variable, percentages of fine sand, size classes of 1.7-2.0 and 0.1-0.25 mm (secondary particles) and organic carbon were selected as the model inputs by step-wise regression. Findings showed MLP-WOA as the most powerful artificial intelligence techniques (R2=0.87, NSE=0.87, ME=0.11 and RMSE=2.9) to predict soil wind erodibility in the study area; followed by MLP-GA, MLP, GEP and MLR and the difference between these methods were significant according to the MGN test. Based on the above finding MLP-WOA may be used as a promising method to predict soil wind erodibility in the study area.

Keywords: wind erosion, erodible fraction, gene expression programming, artificial neural network

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Authors: Artur Daniel Ramos Modolo

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Popular science magazines are an important way to communicate scientific information to lay audience in science. Since the popularization of social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook and Twitter, these magazines are trying to adapt their content to these new media. In this study, one hundred posts of popular science magazines on Facebook are analyzed regarding the use of genres of communication and readers’ reactions. The quantitative analysis of these features considers the variety of genres and how the users of Facebook answer to them (liking, sharing and commenting). The first hypothesis was that these magazines used the genres of communication posted on Facebook both to marketing and informational purposes and that these mixed intentions have an impact in the number of readers’ reactions. In order to analyze these features, twenty timeline posts published by five magazines: Cosmos, Galileu, New Scientist, Scientific American and Superinteressante were gathered during the period of three days (6th November 2015–8th November 2015). This research shows that the hyperlinks posted by these magazines created ways to diversify the communication genres used on their pages and, at the same time, revealed that, overall, readers react quantitatively different to these genres.

Keywords: Facebook, genres of communication, likes, popular science magazines, social networking sites

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Authors: O. M. van den Broek

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This article examines how large German companies have responded to the 2014 refugee crisis. It challenges the assumption that the historical legacy of implicit CSR in Germany would lead to low levels of business response through CSR channels. Instead, and building on institutional CSR and the converging forces of globalization, this article argues that the urgency of a humanitarian crisis creates incentives, in the absence of formal institutional arrangement, for explicit CSR responses. This explorative research encompasses the 53 German companies presented on 2015 Forbes2000. A qualitative content analysis of corporate websites was supplemented with inquiry e-mails. Results indicate considerable evidence for the main hypothesis, showing a vast majority of companies responding to the refugee crisis. Levels of engagement varied, depending on the phase of the crisis, from core-business activities to non-integrated action. The high level of partnerships with the state and other non-state actors indicates a quest for enhanced legitimacy in the face of an absent democratic mandate.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility (CSR), implicit versus explicit CSR, public-private partnerships, European refugee crisis

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Authors: Lalit Kumar, Rashid Al Shidi

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Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) is a major crop in many middle-eastern countries, including Oman. The Dubas bug Ommatissus lybicus is the main pest that affects date palm crops. However not all plantations are infested. It is still uncertain why some plantations get infested while others are not. This research investigated whether tree density and the system of planting (random versus systematic) had any relationship with infestation and levels of infestation. Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems were used to determine the density of trees (number of trees per unit area) while infestation levels were determined by manual counting of insects on 40 leaflets from two fronds on each tree, with a total of 20-60 trees in each village. The infestation was recorded as the average number of insects per leaflet. For tree density estimation, WorldView-3 scenes, with eight bands and 2m spatial resolution, were used. The Local maxima method, which depends on locating of the pixel of highest brightness inside a certain exploration window, was used to identify the trees in the image and delineating individual trees. This information was then used to determine whether the plantation was random or systematic. The ordinary least square regression (OLS) was used to test the global correlation between tree density and infestation level and the Geographic Weight Regression (GWR) was used to find the local spatial relationship. The accuracy of detecting trees varied from 83–99% in agricultural lands with systematic planting patterns to 50–70% in natural forest areas. Results revealed that the density of the trees in most of the villages was higher than the recommended planting number (120–125 trees/hectare). For infestation correlations, the GWR model showed a good positive significant relationship between infestation and tree density in the spring season with R² = 0.60 and medium positive significant relationship in the autumn season, with R² = 0.30. In contrast, the OLS model results showed a weaker positive significant relationship in the spring season with R² = 0.02, p < 0.05 and insignificant relationship in the autumn season with R² = 0.01, p > 0.05. The results showed a positive correlation between infestation and tree density, which suggests the infestation severity increased as the density of date palm trees increased. The correlation result showed that the density alone was responsible for about 60% of the increase in the infestation. This information can be used by the relevant authorities to better control infestations as well as to manage their pesticide spraying programs.

Keywords: dubas bug, date palm, tree density, infestation levels

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Authors: Mariana T. Teixeira, Joana P. Luz

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This paper is based on assumptions of psycholinguistics and investigates the processing of ambiguous sentences in Brazilian Portuguese. Specifically, it aims to verify if there is a difference in processing time between sentences with lexical ambiguity and sentences with structural (or syntactic) ambiguity. We hypothesize, based on the Garden Path Theory, that the two types of ambiguity entail different cognitive efforts, since sentences with structural ambiguity require that two structures be processed, whereas ambiguous phrases whose root of ambiguity is in a word require the processing of a single structure, which admits a variation of punctual meaning, within the scope of only one lexical item. In order to test this hypothesis, 25 undergraduate students, whose average age was 27.66 years, native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese, performed a self-monitoring reading task of ambiguous sentences, which had lexical and structural ambiguity. The results suggest that unambiguous sentence processing is faster than ambiguous sentence processing, whether it has lexical or structural ambiguity. In addition, participants presented a mean reading time greater for sentences with syntactic ambiguity than for sentences with lexical ambiguity, evidencing a greater cognitive effort in sentence processing with structural ambiguity.

Keywords: Brazilian portuguese, lexical ambiguity, sentence processing, syntactic ambiguity

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Authors: Taghried I. M. Abdel-Magid, Gheida T. A. Al-Khelifa, Ahmed O. Adam, Esra G. A. Mohamed, Saeed M. S. Saeed

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The use of pozzolanic materials in concrete industry is facing challenges due to unpredictable behavior of natural materials. Corncob ash (CCA) is considered to be one of the promising plant-based materials that possess cementitious properties. Corn is one of the major planted crops in Sudan. Corncob is considered as waste and normally thrown away or burnt. The main purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that CCA can sufficiently replace cement in a concrete mixture or a cement mortar. In this study, CCA was used to replace cement in mortar in three percentages: 0, 20, and 25%. The effect of this replacement was found to be positive in terms of long-term compressive strength, while not as such in short-term compressive strength. In the concrete mix, the introduction of CCA was found to have a positive impact on the slump test characteristics, whereas the early and late compressive strengths deteriorated by approximately 30%. More research is needed in this area to upgrade the efficient use of CCA in cement mortar and concrete properties.

Keywords: cementitious materials, compressive strength, corncob ash, pozzolanic materials

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Authors: Dana El-Mughayyar, Neil Manson, Erin Bigney, Eden Richardson, Dean Tripp, Edward Abraham

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Use of narcotics to treat pain has increased over the past two decades and is a contributing factor to the current public health crisis. Understanding the pre-operative risks of chronic narcotic use may be aided through investigation of psychological measures. The objective of the reported study is to determine predictors of narcotic use two years post-surgery in a thoracolumbar spine surgery population, including an array of psychological factors. A prospective observational study of 191 consecutively enrolled adult patients having undergone thoracolumbar spine surgery is presented. Baseline measures of interest included the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia, Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Numeric Rating Scales for back and leg pain (NRS-B/L), SF-12’s Mental Component Summary (MCS), narcotic use and demographic variables. The post-operative measure of interest is narcotic use at 2-year follow-up. Narcotic use is collapsed into binary categories of use and no use. Descriptive statistics are run. Chi Square analysis is used for categorical variables and an ANOVA for continuous variables. Significant variables are built into a hierarchical logistic regression to determine predictors of post-operative narcotic use. Significance is set at α < 0.05. Results: A total of 27.23% of the sample were using narcotics two years after surgery. The regression model included ODI, NRS-Leg, time with condition, chief complaint, pre-operative drug use, gender, MCS, PCS subscale helplessness, and CPAQ subscale pain willingness and was significant χ² (13, N=191)= 54.99; p = .000. The model accounted for 39.6% of the variance in narcotic use and correctly predicted in 79.7% of cases. Psychological variables accounted for 9.6% of the variance over and above the other predictors. Conclusions: Managing chronic narcotic usage is central to the patient’s overall health and quality of life. Psychological factors in the preoperative period are significant predictors of narcotic use 2 years post-operatively. The psychological variables are malleable, potentially allowing surgeons to direct their patients to preventative resources prior to surgery.

Keywords: narcotics, psychological factors, quality of life, spine surgery

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Authors: Tausif A. Ishtiaque, Zarrin T. Tasin, Kazi S. Akter

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Current trend of urban expansion, especially in the developing countries has caused significant changes in land cover, which is generating great concern due to its widespread environmental degradation. Energy consumption of the cities is also increasing with the aggravated heat island effect. Distribution of land surface temperature (LST) is one of the most significant climatic parameters affected by urban land cover change. Recent increasing trend of LST is causing elevated temperature profile of the built up area with less vegetative cover. Gradual change in land cover, especially decrease in vegetative cover is enhancing the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in the developing cities around the world. Increase in the amount of urban vegetation cover can be a useful solution for the reduction of UHI intensity. LST and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) have widely been accepted as reliable indicators of UHI and vegetation abundance respectively. Chittagong, the second largest city of Bangladesh, has been a growth center due to rapid urbanization over the last several decades. This study assesses the intensity of UHI in Chittagong city by analyzing the relationship between LST and NDVI based on the type of land use/land cover (LULC) in the study area applying an integrated approach of Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and regression analysis. Land cover map is prepared through an interactive supervised classification using remotely sensed data from Landsat ETM+ image along with NDVI differencing using ArcGIS. LST and NDVI values are extracted from the same image. The regression analysis between LST and NDVI indicates that within the study area, UHI is directly correlated with LST while negatively correlated with NDVI. It interprets that surface temperature reduces with increase in vegetation cover along with reduction in UHI intensity. Moreover, there are noticeable differences in the relationship between LST and NDVI based on the type of LULC. In other words, depending on the type of land usage, increase in vegetation cover has a varying impact on the UHI intensity. This analysis will contribute to the formulation of sustainable urban land use planning decisions as well as suggesting suitable actions for mitigation of UHI intensity within the study area.

Keywords: land cover change, land surface temperature, normalized difference vegetation index, urban heat island

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Authors: Keith T. S. Tung, H. W. Tsang, Rosa S. Wong, Frederick K. Ho, Patrick Ip

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Objectives: Atopic diseases are increasingly prevalent among children and adolescents, both locally and internationally. One of the possible contributing factors could be the hypercholesterolemia which leads to cholesterol accumulation in macrophages and other immune cells that would eventually promote inflammatory responses, including augmentation of toll-like receptor (TLR). Meanwhile, physical activity is well known for its beneficial effects against the condition of hypercholesterolemia and incidence of atopic diseases. This study, therefore, explored whether atopic diseases were associated with increased cholesterol levels and whether physical activity habit influenced this association. Methods: This is a sub-study derived from the longitudinal cohort study which recruited a group of children at five years of age in Kindergarten 3 (K3) to investigate the long-term impact of family socioeconomic status on child development. In 2018/19, adolescents (average age: 13 years old) were asked to report their physical activity habit and history of any atopic diseases. During health assessment, peripheral blood samples were collected from the adolescents to study their lipid profile [total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol]. Regression analyses were performed to test the relationships between variables of interest. Results: Among the 315 adolescents, 99 (31.4%) reported to have allergic rhinitis. There were 45 (14.3%) with eczema, 17 (5.4%) with a food allergy, and 12 (3.8%) with asthma. Regression analyses showed that adolescents with a history of any type of atopic diseases had significantly higher total cholesterol (B=13.3, p < 0.01) and LDL cholesterol (B=7.9, p < 0.05) levels. Further subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the effect of physical activity level on the association between atopic diseases and cholesterol levels. We found stronger associations among those who did not meet the World Health Organization recommendation of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activities each day (total cholesterol: B=15.5, p < 0.01; LDL cholesterol: B=10.4, p < 0.05). For those who met this recommendation, the associations between atopic diseases and cholesterol levels became insignificant. Conclusion: Our study results support the current research evidence on the relationship between an elevated level of cholesterol and atopic diseases. More importantly, our results provide preliminary support for the protective effect of regular exercises against elevated cholesterol level due to atopic diseases. The findings highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle for keeping cholesterol levels in the normal range, which can bring benefits to both physical and mental health.

Keywords: atopic diseases, Chinese adolescents, cholesterol level, physical activity

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Authors: Meghan E. Murray, Carri R. Tolmie

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This study aims to identify potential factors and widely applicable best practices that can contribute to improving corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate performance for firms by exploring the relationship between transformational leadership, spiritual intelligence, and emotional intelligence. Corporate social responsibility is when companies are cognizant of the impact of their actions on the economy, their communities, the environment, and the world as a whole while executing business practices accordingly. The prevalence of CSR has continuously strengthened over the past few years and is now a common practice in the business world, with such efforts coinciding with what stakeholders and the public now expect from corporations. Because of this, it is extremely important to be able to pinpoint factors and best practices that can improve CSR within corporations. One potential factor that may lead to improved CSR is spiritual intelligence (SQ), or the ability to recognize and live with a purpose larger than oneself. Spiritual intelligence is a measurable skill, just like emotional intelligence (EQ), and can be improved through purposeful and targeted coaching. This research project consists of two studies. Study 1 is a case study comparison of a benefit corporation and a non-benefit corporation. This study will examine the role of SQ and EQ as moderators in the relationship between the transformational leadership of employees within each company and the perception of each firm’s CSR and corporate performance. Project methodology includes creating and administering a survey comprised of multiple pre-established scales on transformational leadership, spiritual intelligence, emotional intelligence, CSR, and corporate performance. Multiple regression analysis will be used to extract significant findings from the collected data. Study 2 will dive deeper into spiritual intelligence itself by analyzing pre-existing data and identifying key relationships that may provide value to companies and their stakeholders. This will be done by performing multiple regression analysis on anonymized data provided by Deep Change, a company that has created an advanced, proprietary system to measure spiritual intelligence. Based on the results of both studies, this research aims to uncover best practices, including the unique contribution of spiritual intelligence, that can be utilized by organizations to help enhance their corporate social responsibility. If it is found that high spiritual and emotional intelligence can positively impact CSR effort, then corporations will have a tangible way to enhance their CSR: providing targeted employees with training and coaching to increase their SQ and EQ.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, CSR, corporate performance, emotional intelligence, EQ, spiritual intelligence, SQ, transformational leadership

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Authors: Kehinde Damilola Ilesanmi, Dev Datt Tewari

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South Africa is in its post-industrial era moving from the primary and secondary sector to the tertiary sector. The study investigated the impact of the disaggregated energy consumption (coal, oil, and electricity) on the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy between 1980 and 2012 in South Africa. Using vector error correction model, it was established that South Africa is an energy dependent economy, and that energy (especially electricity and oil) is a limiting factor of growth. This implies that implementation of energy conservation policies may hamper economic growth. Output growth is significantly outpacing energy supply, which has necessitated load shedding. To meet up the excess energy demand, there is a need to increase the generating capacity which will necessitate increased investment in the electricity sector as well as strategic steps to increase oil production. There is also need to explore more renewable energy sources, in order to meet the growing energy demand without compromising growth and environmental sustainability. Policy makers should also pursue energy efficiency policies especially at sectoral level of the economy.

Keywords: causality, economic growth, energy consumption, hypothesis, sectoral output

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Authors: Ploychompoo Kittikunchotiwut

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This study examines the relationships between human resource practices, knowledge management capacity, and innovation performance. The data were collected by using a questionnaire from 241 firms in the hotels in Thailand. The hypothesized relationships among variables are examined by using ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis. The findings show that human resource practices have a positive effect on knowledge management capacity. Besides, knowledge management capacity was found to positively affect innovation performance. Finally, the limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: human resource practices, knowledge management capacity, innovation performance

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Authors: Chuyuan Wang, Nayan Khare, Lily Villa, Patricia Solis, Elizabeth A. Wentz

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Maricopa County, Arizona, has a semi-arid hot desert climate that is one of the hottest regions in the United States. The exacerbated urban heat island (UHI) effect caused by rapid urbanization has made the urban area even hotter than the rural surroundings. The Phoenix metropolitan area experiences extremely high temperatures in the summer from June to September that can reach the daily highest of 120 °F (48.9 °C). Morbidity and mortality due to the environmental heat is, therefore, a significant public health issue in Maricopa County, especially because it is largely preventable. Public records from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) revealed that between 2012 and 2016, there were 10,825 incidents of heat-related morbidity incidents, 267 outdoor environmental heat deaths, and 173 indoor heat-related deaths. A lot of research has examined heat-related death and its contributing factors around the world, but little has been done regarding heat-related morbidity issues, especially for regions that are naturally hot in the summer. The objective of this study is to examine the demographic, socio-economic, housing, and environmental factors that contribute to heat-related morbidity in Maricopa County. We obtained heat-related morbidity data between 2012 and 2016 at census tract level from MCDPH. Demographic, socio-economic, and housing variables were derived using 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimate from the U.S. Census. Remotely sensed Landsat 7 ETM+ and Landsat 8 OLI satellite images and Level-1 products were acquired for all the summer months (June to September) from 2012 and 2016. The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2016 percent tree canopy and percent developed imperviousness data were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). We used ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis to examine the empirical relationship between all the independent variables and heat-related morbidity rate. Results showed that higher morbidity rates are found in census tracts with higher values in population aged 65 and older, population under poverty, disability, no vehicle ownership, white non-Hispanic, population with less than high school degree, land surface temperature, and surface reflectance, but lower values in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and housing occupancy. The regression model can be used to explain up to 59.4% of total variation of heat-related morbidity in Maricopa County. The multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) technique was then used to examine the spatially varying relationships between heat-related morbidity rate and all the significant independent variables. The R-squared value of the MGWR model increased to 0.691, that shows a significant improvement in goodness-of-fit than the global OLS model, which means that spatial heterogeneity of some independent variables is another important factor that influences the relationship with heat-related morbidity in Maricopa County. Among these variables, population aged 65 and older, the Hispanic population, disability, vehicle ownership, and housing occupancy have much stronger local effects than other variables.

Keywords: census, empirical modeling, heat-related morbidity, spatial analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 126