Search results for: trust recovery

Authors: Ahmad Abdulkadir Ibrahim

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The Islamic law of transactions laid down the methods and instruments of accounting and analyzed its basic assumptions in the modern world. There is a need to examine the implications of accounting initiatives in the Muslim world and attempt to outline the important characteristics of Islamic accounting and how Islamic accounting resolves the problem of measuring the cost of Murabaha goods in case of exchange rate variation. The research tends to discuss an analytical approach to the Islamic accounting concept as well as elaborating the jurisprudential matter and practical aspects of accounting in Islamic financial transactions. It also aims to alert the practitioners of accounting in the Islamic world to be aware of the concept of accounting in Islamic jurisprudence and its historical development. The methodology adopted in this research is the qualitative method through the consultation of relevant literature, which focuses on the thematic study of the subject matter. This is followed by an analysis and discussion of the contents of the materials used. It is concluded that Islamic accounting is unique in its norms as it has been characterized by fairness, accuracy in measuring tools, truthfulness, mutual trust, moderation in making a profit, and tolerance. It was also qualified by capacity and flexibility in terms of the tools and terminology used and invented by Islamic jurisprudence in the accounting system, which indicates its validity and consistency anytime and anywhere. An important conclusion of the research also lies in the refutation of the popular idea that an Italian writer known as Luca Pacilio was the first writer who developed the basis of double-entry due to the presented proofs by Muslim scholars of critical accounting developments, which cannot be ignored. It concludes further that Islamic jurisprudence draws the accounting system codified in the foundations of a market that is far from usury, fraud, cheating, and unfair competition in all areas.

Keywords: accounting, Islamic accounting, Islamic transactions, Islamic jurisprudence, double entry, murabaha, characteristics

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Authors: Vijay K. Tomer, Ritu Malik, Satya P. Nehra, Anshu Sharma

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Highly ordered mesoporous WO₃-TiO₂ nanohybrids with large intrinsic surface area and highly ordered pore channels were synthesized using mesoporous silica, KIT-6 as hard template using a nanocasting strategy. The nanohybrid samples were characterized by a variety of physico-chemical techniques including X-ray diffraction, Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and high resolution transmission electron microscope. The nanohybrids were tested for detection of important indoor Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) including acetone, ethanol, n-butanol, toluene, and xylene. The sensing result illustrates that the nanocomposite sensor was highly responsive towards xylene gas at relatively lower operating temperature. A rapid response and recovery time, highly linear response and excellent stability in the concentration ranges from 1 to 100 ppm was observed for xylene gas. It is believed that the promising results of this study can be utilized in the synthesis of ordered mesoporous nanostructures which can extend its configuration for the development of new age e-nose type sensors with enhanced gas-sensing performance.

Keywords: nanohybrids, response, sensor, VOCs, xylene

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Authors: Jiwoo Park, Junseok Yoon, Jeong Kim, Beomsoo Kang

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Multi-Point Stretch Forming (MPSF) process is suitable for flexible manufacturing, and it has several advantages including that it could be applied to various forming such as sheet metal forming, single curved surface forming and double curved one. In this study, a systematic numerical simulation was carried out for atypical double curved surface forming using the multiple die stretch forming process. In this simulation, urethane pads were defined based on hyper-elastic material model as a cushion for the smooth forming surface. The deformation behaviour on elastic recovery was also investigated to consider the exact result after the last forming process, and then the experiment was also carried out to confirm the formability of this forming process. By comparing the simulation and experiment results, the suitability of the multiple die stretch forming process for the atypical double curved surface was verified. Consequently, it is confirmed that the multi-point stretch forming process has the capability and feasibility of being used to manufacture the double curved surfaces of sheet metal.

Keywords: multi-point stretch forming, double curved surface, numerical simulation, manufacturing

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Authors: Mawloud Mosbah, Bachir Boucheham

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Color Histogram is considered as the oldest method used by CBIR systems for indexing images. In turn, the global histograms do not include the spatial information; this is why the other techniques coming later have attempted to encounter this limitation by involving the segmentation task as a preprocessing step. The weak segmentation is employed by the local histograms while other methods as CCV (Color Coherent Vector) are based on strong segmentation. The indexation based on local histograms consists of splitting the image into N overlapping blocks or sub-regions, and then the histogram of each block is computed. The dissimilarity between two images is reduced, as consequence, to compute the distance between the N local histograms of the both images resulting then in N*N values; generally, the lowest value is taken into account to rank images, that means that the lowest value is that which helps to designate which sub-region utilized to index images of the collection being asked. In this paper, we make under light the local histogram indexation method in the hope to compare the results obtained against those given by the global histogram. We address also another noteworthy issue when Relying on local histograms namely which value, among N*N values, to trust on when comparing images, in other words, which sub-region among the N*N sub-regions on which we base to index images. Based on the results achieved here, it seems that relying on the local histograms, which needs to pose an extra overhead on the system by involving another preprocessing step naming segmentation, does not necessary mean that it produces better results. In addition to that, we have proposed here some ideas to select the local histogram on which we rely on to encode the image rather than relying on the local histogram having lowest distance with the query histograms.

Keywords: CBIR, color global histogram, color local histogram, weak segmentation, Euclidean distance

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Authors: Musab Isah

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This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of Internet speed data in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, focusing on the most populous cities of each of the six countries – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Dubai, UAE; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Doha, Qatar; Manama, Bahrain; and Muscat, Oman. The study utilizes data collected from the Measurement Lab (M-Lab) infrastructure over a five-year period from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2023. The analysis includes downstream and upstream throughput data for the cities, covering significant events such as the launch of 5G networks in 2019, COVID-19-induced lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, and the subsequent recovery period and return to normalcy. The results showcase substantial increases in Internet speeds across the cities, highlighting improvements in both download and upload throughput over the years. All the GCC countries have achieved above-average Internet speeds that can conveniently support various online activities and applications with excellent user experience.

Keywords: internet data science, internet performance measurement, throughput analysis, internet speed, measurement lab, network diagnostic tool

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Authors: Farbod Behnaminia, Saeed Samet

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The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed many lives until a vaccine was available, which caused the so-called “new normal.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 is an infectious disease. It can cause significant illness or death in anyone. Governments and health officials tried to impose rules and regulations to avoid and slow down transmission. Therefore, software engineers worldwide developed applications to trace and track patients’ movements and notify others, mainly using Bluetooth. In this way, everyone could be informed whether they come in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and takes proper safety precautions. Because most of the applications use technologies that can potentially reveal the user’s identity and location, researchers have debated privacy preservation and how to improve user privacy during such pandemics. Thanks to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), there have been some proposed methods to develop privacy-preserving Patient Tracking Systems in the last two years. As an instance of the DLT, Blockchain is like a decentralized peer-to-peer database that maintains a record of transactions. Transactions are immutable, transparent, and anonymous in this system. We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the literature by looking for papers in the relevant field and dividing them into pre- and post-pandemic systems. Additionally, we discussed the many uses of blockchain technology in pandemic control. We found that two major obstacles facing blockchain implementation across many healthcare systems are scalability and privacy. The Polkadot platform is presented, along with a review of its efficacy in tackling current concerns. A more scalable healthcare system is achievable in the near future using Polkadot as well as a much more privacy-preserving environment.

Keywords: blockchain, electronic record management, EHR, privacy-preserving, patient tracking, COVID-19, trust and confidence, Polkadot

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Authors: Christina A. van Hal, Xiaoqian Jiang, Luyao Chen, Yan Chu, Robert D. Jolly, Yaobin Lin, Jitian Zhao, Kang Lin Hsieh

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The COVID-19 Literature Summary App was created for the primary purpose of enabling academicians and clinicians to quickly sort through the vast array of recent coronavirus publications by topics of interest. Multiple methods of summarizing and sorting the manuscripts were created. A summary page introduces the application function and capabilities, while an interactive map provides daily updates on infection, death, and recovery rates. A page with a pivot table allows publication sorting by topic, with an interactive data table that allows sorting topics by columns, as wells as the capability to view abstracts. Additionally, publications may be sorted by the medical topics they cover. We used the CORD-19 database to compile lists of publications. The data table can sort binary variables, allowing the user to pick desired publication topics, such as papers that describe COVID-19 symptoms. The application is primarily designed for use by researchers but can be used by anybody who wants a faster and more efficient means of locating papers of interest.

Keywords: COVID-19, literature summary, information retrieval, Snorkel

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Authors: Shazali Abdulahi

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Project planning is the first phase in project life cycle which relates to the use of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report the project progress within the project environment. Likewise, project execution is the third phase in project lifecycle, is the phase where the work of the project must get done correctly and it’s the longest phase in the project lifecycle therefore, they must be effectively communicated, now today Communication has become the crucial element of every organization. During construction project delivery, information needs to be accurately and timely communicating among project stakeholders in order to realize the project objective. Effective communication among stakeholders during construction project delivery is one of the major factors that impact construction project delivery. Therefore, the aim of the research work is to examine the critical factors influencing effective communication among stakeholders on construction project delivery from the perspective of construction professionals (Architects, Builders, Quantity surveyors, and Civil engineers). A quantitative approach was adopted. This entailed the used of structured questionnaire to one (108) construction professionals in public and private organization within dutse metropolis. Frequency, mean, ranking and multiple linear regression using SPSS vision 25 software were used to analyses the data. The results show that Leadership, Trust, Communication tools, Communication skills, Stakeholders involvement, Cultural differences, and Communication technology were the most critical factors influencing effective communication among stakeholders on construction project delivery. The hypothesis revealed that, effective communication among stakeholders has significant effects on construction project delivery. This research work will profit the construction stakeholders in construction industry, by providing adequate knowledge regarding the factors influencing effective communication among stakeholders, so that necessary steps to be taken to improve project performance. Also, it will provide knowledge about the appropriate strategies to employ in order to improve communication among stakeholders.

Keywords: effetive communication, ineffective communication, stakeholders, project delivery

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Authors: Tahnee West

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Drama education is increasingly understood as a useful tool in promoting positive social change and cultural awareness. The effects of both positive and negative peer relationships are also a researched facet of education systems. Despite this, very little research has been conducted in the intersection of these two areas, even given current, significant public interest surrounding multicultural relationships. This research addresses a problem faced by educators and students: facilitating meaningful multicultural relationships. The research explores the following question in an Australian context: in what ways does Drama education affect peer relationships between culturally diverse students? In doing so, the study explores the various challenges and experiences of a multicultural group of adolescents, in terms of forming and maintaining effective intercultural friendships, while participating in a series of drama workshops. The project presents a starting point for providing educators with strategies for inclusivity and relationship development amongst diverse student populations. Findings show that Drama education can positively affect culturally diverse young people’s peer relationships; interactions between participants and data collected in focus groups throughout the eight-week Drama program show a steady improvement in sense of trust, support, tolerance, empathy, familiarity with other participants, and enjoyment. Data also points to a positive correlation between the Drama activities and improved conflict resolution and communication skills, as well as an improved understanding of the other participants’ cultures. Diversities and commonalities within the group were explored, with similarities encouraging social cohesion, and decreasing cultural ‘cliques’.

Keywords: cultural diversity, drama education, friendship, multicultural, peer relationships

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Authors: Gavin Hutama Farandiarta, Hegi Adi Prabowo, Istiara Rizqillah Hanifah, Millati Hanifah Saprudin, Raden Iqrafia Ashna

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The increase of the petroleum’s consumption rate encourages industries to optimize and increase the activity in processing crude oil into petroleum. However, although the result gives a lot of benefits to humans worldwide, it also gives negative impact to the environment. One of the negative impacts of processing crude oil is the soil will be contaminated by petroleum sewage sludge. This petroleum sewage sludge, contains hydrocarbon compound and it can be calculated by Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH).Petroleum sludge waste is accounted as hazardous and toxic. The soil contamination caused by the petroleum sludge is very hard to get rid of. However, there is a way to manage the soil that is contaminated by petroleum sludge, which is by using heat (thermal desorption) in the process of remediation. There are several factors that affect the success rate of the remediation with the help of heat which are temperature, time, and air pressure in the desorption column. The remediation process using the help of heat is an alternative in soil recovery from the petroleum pollution which highly effective, cheap, and environmentally friendly that produces uncontaminated soil and the petroleum that can be used again.

Keywords: petroleum sewage sludge, remediation soil, thermal desorption, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH)

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Authors: Sharifah Sumayyah Engku Alwi, Masrah Azrifah Azmi Murad

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The development of the information technology and Internet has been transforming the healthcare industry. The internet is continuously accessed to seek for health information and there are variety of sources, including search engines, health websites, and social networking sites. Providing more and better information on health may empower individuals, however, ensuring a high quality and trusted health information could pose a challenge. Moreover, there is an ever-increasing amount of information available, but they are not necessarily accurate and up to date. Thus, this paper aims to provide an insight of the models and frameworks related to online health information seeking of consumers. It begins by exploring the definition of information behavior and information seeking to provide a better understanding of the concept of information seeking. In this study, critical factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence will be studied in relation to the value of seeking health information. It also aims to analyze the effect of age, gender, and health status as the moderator on the factors that influence online health information seeking, i.e. trust and information quality. A preliminary survey will be carried out among the health professionals to clarify the research problems which exist in the real world, at the same time producing a conceptual framework. A final survey will be distributed to five states of Malaysia, to solicit the feedback on the framework. Data will be analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS 3.0 analysis tools. It is hoped that at the end of this study, a novel framework that can improve online health information seeking is developed. Finally, this paper concludes with some suggestions on the models and frameworks that could improve online health information seeking.

Keywords: information behavior, information seeking, online health information, technology acceptance model, the theory of planned behavior, UTAUT

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Authors: Radmila Hajkova, Jiri Palecek, Hana Malachova, Alena Oulehlova

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Ensuring of continuity of business is the basic strategy of every company. Continuity of organization activities includes comprehensive procedures that help in solving unexpected situations of natural and anthropogenic character (for example flood, blaze, economic situations). Planning of continuity operations is a process that helps identify critical processes and implement plans for the security and recovery of key processes. The aim of this article demonstrates application of system approach to managing business continuity called business continuity management systems in military issues. This article describes the life cycle of business continuity management which is based on the established cycle PDCA (plan-do-check-act). After this is carried out by activities which are making by the University of Defence during activation of forces and means of the Integrated rescue system in case of emergencies - accidents at a nuclear power plant in Czech republic. Activities of various stages of deployment earmarked forces and resources are managed and evaluated by using MCMS application (military continuity management system).

Keywords: business continuity management system, emergency management, military, nuclear safety

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Authors: Maryam Sadeghi, Claude Bazin, Daniel Hodouin, Laura Perez Barnuevo

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The performance of a separation process is usually evaluated using performance indices calculated from elemental assays readily available from the chemical analysis laboratory. However, the separation process performance is essentially related to the properties of the minerals that carry the elements and not those of the elements. Since elements or metals can be carried by valuable and gangue minerals in the ore and that each mineral responds differently to a mineral processing method, the use of only elemental assays could lead to erroneous or uncertain conclusions on the process performance. This paper discusses the advantages of using performance indices calculated from minerals content, such as minerals recovery, for process performance assessments. A method is presented that uses elemental assays to estimate the minerals content of the solids in various process streams. The method combines the stoichiometric composition of the minerals and constraints of mass conservation for the minerals through the concentration process to estimate the minerals content from elemental assays. The advantage of assessing a concentration process using mineral based performance indices is illustrated for an iron ore concentration circuit.

Keywords: data reconciliation, iron ore concentration, mineral composition, process performance assessment

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Authors: Ikram Kamal, Mohamed Blaghen

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Pollution caused by petroleum hydrocarbons in terrestrial and aquatic environment is a common phenomenon that causes significant ecological and social problems. Biosurfactant applications in the environmental industries are promising due to their biodegradability, low toxicity and effectiveness in enhancing biodegradation and solubilization of low solubility compounds. Currently, the main application is for enhancement of oil recovery and hydrocarbon bioremediation due to their biodegradability and low critical micelle concentration (CMC). In this study we have investigated the potential of bacterial strains collected aseptically from the lagoon Marchika (water and soil) in Nador, Morocco; for the production of biosurfactants. This study also aimed to optimize the biosurfactant production process by changing the variables that influence the type and amount of biosurfactant produced by these microorganisms such as: carbon sources and also other physical and chemical parameters such as temperature and pH. Emulsification index, methylene blue test and thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed the ability of strains used in this study to produce compounds that could emulsify gasoline. In addition a GC/MS was used to separate and identify different biosurfactants purified.

Keywords: petroleum hydrocarbons, biosurfactant, biodegradability, critical micelle concentration, lagoon Marchika

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Authors: Claire Norman-Maillet

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Insider fraud, otherwise known as occupational, employee, or internal fraud, is a financial crime threat. Perpetrated by defrauding (or attempting to defraud) one’s current, prospective, or past employer, an ‘employee’ covers anyone employed by the company, including board members and contractors. The Coronavirus pandemic has forced insider fraud into the spotlight, and it isn’t dimming. As the focus of most academics and practitioners has historically been on that of ‘external fraud’, insider fraud is often overlooked or not considered to be a real threat. However, since COVID-19 changed the working world, pushing most of us into remote or hybrid working, employers cannot easily keep an eye on what their staff are doing, which has led to reliance on trust and transparency. This, therefore, brings about an increased risk of insider fraud perpetration. The objective of this paper is to explore why insider fraud is, therefore, now the biggest threat to a business. To achieve the research objective, participating individuals within the financial crime sector (either as a practitioner or consultants) attended semi-structured interviews with the researcher. The principal recruitment strategy for these individuals was via the researcher’s LinkedIn network. The main findings in the research suggest that insider fraud has been ignored and rejected as a threat to a business, owing to a reluctance to admit that a colleague may perpetrate. A positive of the Coronavirus pandemic is that it has forced insider fraud into a more prominent position and giving it more importance on a business’ agenda and risk register. Despite insider fraud always having been a possibility (and therefore a risk) within any business, it is very rare that a business has given it the attention it requires until now, if at all. The research concludes that insider fraud needs to prioritised by all businesses, and even ahead of external fraud. The research also provides advice on how a business can add new or enhance existing controls to mitigate the risk.

Keywords: insider fraud, occupational fraud, COVID-19, COVID, coronavirus, pandemic, internal fraud, financial crime, economic crime

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Authors: Agata Migdalska, Joanna Berczynska, Ewa Bieniek, Jacek Sterna

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Muscle relaxation is considered important during general anesthesia for spine stabilization. In a presented case peripherally acting muscle relaxant was applied during general anesthesia for spine stabilization surgery. The patient was a dog, 11-years old, 26 kg, male, mix breed. Spine fracture was situated between Th13-L1-L2, probably due to the car accident. Preanesthetic physical examination revealed no sign underlying health issues. The dog was premedicated with midazolam 0.2 mg IM and butorphanol 2.4 mg IM. General anesthesia was induced with propofol IV. After the induction, the dog was intubated with an endotracheal tube and connected to an open-ended rebreathing system and maintained with the use of inhalation anesthesia with isoflurane in oxygen. 0,5 mg/ kg of rocuronium was given IV. Use of muscle relaxant was accompanied by an assessment of the degree of neuromuscular blockade by peripheral nerve stimulator. Electrodes were attached to the skin overlying at the peroneal nerve at the lateral cranial tibia. Four electrical pulses were applied to the nerve over a 2 second period. When satisfying nerve block was detected dog was prepared for the surgery. No further monitoring of the effectiveness of blockade was performed during surgery. Mechanical ventilation was kept during anesthesia. During surgery dog maintain stable, and no anesthesiological complication occur. Intraoperatively surgeon claimed that neuromuscular blockade results in a better approach to the spine and easier muscle manipulation which was helpful in order to see the fracture and replace bone fragments. Finally, euthanasia was performed intraoperatively as a result of vast myelomalacia process of the spinal cord. This prevented examination of the recovering process. Neuromuscular blocking agents act at the neuromuscular junction to provide profound muscle relaxation throughout the body. Muscle blocking agents are neither anesthetic nor analgesic; therefore inappropriately used may cause paralysis in fully conscious and feeling pain patient. They cause paralysis of all skeletal muscles, also diaphragm and intercostal muscles when given in higher doses. Intraoperative management includes maintaining stable physiological conditions, which involves adjusting hemodynamic parameters, ensuring proper ventilation, avoiding variations in temperature, maintain normal blood flow to promote proper oxygen exchange. Neuromuscular blocking agent can cause many side effects like residual paralysis, anaphylactic or anaphylactoid reactions, delayed recovery from anesthesia, histamine release, recurarization. Therefore reverse drug like neostigmine (with glikopyrolat) or edrofonium (with atropine) should be used in case of a life-threatening situation. Another useful drug is sugammadex, although the cost of this drug strongly limits its use. Muscle relaxant improves surgical conditions during spinal surgery, especially in heavily muscled individuals. They are also used to facilitate the replacement of dislocated joints as they improve conditions during fracture reduction. It is important to emphasize that in a patient with muscle weakness neuromuscular blocking agents may result in intraoperative and early postoperative cardiovascular and respiratory complications, as well as prolonged recovery from anesthesia. This should not appear in patients with recent spine fracture or luxation. Therefore it is believed that neuromuscular blockers could be useful during spine stabilization procedures.

Keywords: anesthesia, dog, neuromuscular block, spine surgery

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Authors: Reuben Kinyuru Njuguna, Martin Mabuya Njuguna

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Digital platforms, such as The Internet, and the advent of digital marketing strategies, have led to many changes in the marketing of goods and services. These have resulted in improved service quality, enhanced customer relations, productivity gains, marketing transaction cost reductions, improved customer service and flexibility in fulfilling customers’ changing needs and lifestyles. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of digital marketing practices on the financial performance of mobile network operators in the telecommunications industry in Kenya. The objectives of the study were to establish how digital customer relationship management strategies on performance of mobile network operators in Kenya. The study used an explanatory cross-sectional survey research design, while the target population was made up of from the 4 major mobile network operators in Kenya, namely Safaricom Limited, Airtel Networks Kenya Limited, Finserve Africa Limited and Telkom Kenya Limited. Sampling strategy was stratified sampling with a sample size of 97 respondents. Digital customer relationship strategies were seen to influence firm performance, through enhancing convenience, building trust, encouraging growth in market share through creating sustainable relationships, building commitment with customers, enhancing customer retention and customer satisfaction. Digital customer relationship management were seen to maximize gross profits by increasing customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention. The study recommended upscaling the use of digital customer relationship management strategies to further enhance firm performance, given their great potential in this regard.

Keywords: customer relationship management, customer service delivery, performance, customer satisfaction

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Authors: Broto Seno

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This study aims to describe and examine more in the implementation of educational partnerships for undergraduate students at Yogyakarta State University (YSU), which is more focused on educational partnerships abroad. This study used descriptive qualitative approach. The study subjects consisted of a vice-rector, two staff education partnerships, four vice-dean, nine undergraduate students and three foreign students. Techniques of data collection using interviews and document review. Validity test of the data source using triangulation. Data analysis using flow models Miles and Huberman, namely data reduction, data display, and conclusion. Results of this study showed that the implementation of educational partnerships abroad for undergraduate students at YSU meets six of the nine indicators of the success of strategic partnerships. Six indicators are long-term, strategic, mutual trust, sustainable competitive advantages, mutual benefit for all the partners, and the separate and positive impact. The indicator has not been achieved is cooperative development, successful, and world class / best practice. These results were obtained based on the discussion of the four formulation of the problem, namely: 1) Implementation and development of educational partnerships abroad has been running good enough, but not maximized. 2) Benefits of the implementation of educational partnerships abroad is providing learning experiences for students, institutions of experience in comparison to each faculty, and improving the network of educational partnerships for YSU toward World Class University. 3) The sustainability of educational partnerships abroad is pursuing a strategy of development through improved management of the partnership. 4) Supporting factors of educational partnerships abroad is the support of YSU, YSU’s partner and society. Inhibiting factors of educational partnerships abroad is not running optimally management.

Keywords: partnership, education, YSU, institutions and faculties

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Authors: Mark Linden, Trisha Forbes, Michael Brown, Lynne Marsh, Maria Truesdale, Stuart Todd, Nathan Hughes

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reduction of health care services for many family carers of people with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities (PMID). Due to lack of services, family carers turned to charities for support during the pandemic. We explored the views of charity workers across the UK and Ireland who supported family carers during the COVID-19 pandemic and explored their views on effective online support programmes for family carers. Methods This was a qualitative study using online focus groups with participants (n = 24) from five charities across the UK and Ireland. Questions focused on challenges, supports, coping and resources which helped during lockdown restrictions. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed through thematic analysis. Findings Four themes were identified (i) ‘mental and emotional health’, (ii) ‘they who shout the loudest’ (fighting for services), (iii) ‘lack of trust in statutory services’ and (iv) ‘creating an online support programme’. Mental and emotional health emerged as the most prominent theme and included three subthemes named as ‘isolation’, ‘fear of COVID-19’ and ‘the exhaustion of caring’. Conclusions The withdrawal of many services during the COVID-19 pandemic further isolated and placed strain on family carers. Even after the end of the pandemic family cares continue to report on the struggle to receive adequate support. There is a critical need to design services, including online support programmes, in partnership with family carers which adequately address their needs.

Keywords: intellectual disability, family carers, COVID-19, charities

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Authors: S. Md. Shaarani, J. Md. Jahim, R. A. Rahman, R. Md. Illias

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Modern developments in biotechnology have paved the way for extensive use of biocatalysis in industries. Although it offers immense potential, industrial application is usually hampered by lack of operational stability, difficulty in recovery as well as limited re-use of the enzyme. These drawbacks, however, can be overcome by immobilization. Cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs), a versatile carrier-free immobilization technique is one that is currently capturing global interest. This approach involves precipitating soluble enzyme with an appropriate precipitant and subsequent crosslinking by a crosslinking reagent. Without ineffective carriers, CLEAs offer high enzymatic activity, stability and reduced production cost. This study demonstrated successful CLEA synthesis of recombinant xylanase from Trichoderma reesei using ethanol as aggregating agent and glutaraldehyde (2% (v/v); 100 mM) as crosslinker. Effects of additives including proteic feeder such as bovine serum albumin (BSA) and poly-L-Lysine were investigated to reveal its significance in enhancing the performance of enzyme. Addition of 0.1 mg BSA/U xylanase showed considerable increment in CLEA development with approximately 50% retained activity.

Keywords: cross-linked, immobilization, recombinant, xylanase

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Authors: Charn Loong Ng, Mamun Bin Ibne Reaz

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As elderly population grows globally, the percentage of people diagnosed with musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) increase proportionally. Electromyography (EMG) is an important biosignal that contributes to MSD’s clinical diagnose and recovery process. Conventional conductive electrode has many disadvantages in the continuous EMG measurement application. This research has design a new surface EMG biosensor based on the parallel-plate capacitive coupling principle. The biosensor is developed by using a double-sided PCB with having one side of the PCB use to construct high input impedance circuitry while the other side of the copper (CU) plate function as biosignal sensing metal plate. The metal plate is insulated using kapton tape for contactless application. The result implicates that capacitive biosensor is capable to constantly capture EMG signal without having galvanic contact to human skin surface. However, there are noticeable noise couple into the measured signal. Post signal processing is needed in order to present a clean and significant EMG signal. A complete design of single ended, non-contact, high input impedance, front end EMG biosensor is presented in this paper.

Keywords: contactless, capacitive, biosensor, electromyography

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Authors: Hocini Yousra, Medjnoun Amal, Khiatine Mohamed, Bahar Ramdane

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The development of the regions of southern Algeria require the construction of numerous road, rail, and airport infrastructures. However, this development is very expensive given the very severe climatic conditions, the difficulty of reusing local materials, and the unavailability of water on the project sites; these regions are characterized by an arid or semi-arid climate, which means that water sources are very limited. The climatic conditions and the scarcity of water make soil compaction work very difficult and excessively expensive. These constraints related to the supply of water for irrigation of these construction sites make it necessary to examine the solution of compaction with low water content. This work studies the possibility of improving the compaction with a low water content of the soils of southern Algeria and this by using natural or recycled ecological materials. Local soils are first subjected to a series of laboratory characterization tests, then mixed with varying amounts of natural additives. The new materials are, in turn, subjected to road tests.

Keywords: compaction, low water content, sand, natural materials

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Authors: Gulshan Kumar Jawa, Sandeep Mohan Ahuja

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With the increase in industrialization, the presence of heavy metals in wastewater streams has turned into a serious concern for the ecosystem. The metals diffuse through the food chains, causing various health hazards. Conventional methods used to remove these heavy metals from water have some limitations, such as cost, secondary pollution due to sludge formation, recovery of metal, economic viability at low metal concentrations, etc. Many of the biomaterials have been investigated by researchers for the adsorption of heavy metals from water solutions as an alternative technique for the last two decades and have found promising results. In this paper, the batch study on the use of pods of acacia karoo for the adsorption of Cd(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions has been reported. The effect of various parameters on the removal of metal ions, such as pH, contact time, stirring speed, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dose, and temperature, have been established to find the optimum parameters through one parameter optimization. Further, kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic studies have been conducted. The pods of acacia karoo have shown great potential for adsorption of Cd(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions and have proven to be a better and more economical alternative for the purpose.

Keywords: adsorption, heavy metals, biomaterials, Cadmium(II), Lead(II), pods of acacia karoo

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Authors: Ellen Lagast, Melissa Ceuterick, Mark Leys

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Although adolescence is a stressful period with an increased risk for mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, little in-depth knowledge is available on the determinants of the use of psychotropic drugs (BZD/SSRIs) and the effects. A qualitative research with adolescents in Flanders was performed. Based on indepth interviews, the interviewees indicate feelings of ambiguity towards their medication use because on the one hand the medication helps to manage their mental vulnerability and disrupted lives, but on the other hand they experience a loss of control of their self and their environment. Undesired side-effects and stigma led to a negative pharmaceutical self. The interviewed youngsters also express dissatisfaction about the prescription behavior with regard to psychotropic drugs of their general practitioner (GP). They wished to have received more information about alternative non-pharmaceutical treatment options. Notwithstanding these comments, the majority of the interviewees maintained trust in their GP to act in their best interest. This paper will relate the prescription behavior in primary care to the organization of mental health care to better understand the “phamaceuticalization” and medicalization of mental health problems in Belgium. Belgium implemented fundamental mental health care reforms to collaborate, to integrate care and to optimize continuity of care. Children and adolescents still are confronted with long waiting lists to access (non-medicalized) mental health services. This access to mental health care partly explains general practitioners’ prescription behavior of psychotropics. Moreover, multidisciplinary practices have not pervaded primary health care yet. Medicalization and pharmaceuticalization of mental health vulnerabilities of youth are both a structural and cultural problem.

Keywords: adolescents, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mental health system, psychotropic drugs

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Authors: U. V. Okpala, C. C. Okpala

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The effect of generator exhaust fumes on air, a case study of Onitsha was considered in this work. A sample of 400 respondents was randomly chosen in the study area based on the population. Questionnaire was designed and administered to inhabitants of the study area to enable the researchers ascertain information on the effect of generator exhaust fumes on air and possible remedies. The issue of the types of generators owned by residents, quantity of fuel products purchased per day and the number of years of generator ownership were discussed. The Pearson’s product moment analysis correlation and Chi-square test were applied in the hypothesis testing. The result shows that huge amount of effluents are discharged on the environment thereby polluting the air. This leads to radiative forcing, depletion of ozone layer and precipitation of acid rain. This has untold effect on the climate system. To ensure proper recovery, the study recommends that government makes available alternative energy sources in addition to the conventional power to save the environment; with this, waste becomes wealth towards a sustainable economy in Nigeria.

Keywords: Onitsha, generator, fuel products, exhaust fumes and remedies, energy systems

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Authors: Armando Luis Vieira, Carlos Costa, Arthur Araújo

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The tourism system is viewable as a network of relationships amongst business partners where the success of each actor will ultimately be determined by the success of the whole network. Especially since the publication of Gümmesson’s (1996) ‘theory of imaginary organisations’, which suggests that organisational effectiveness largely depends on managing relationships and sharing resources and activities, relationship quality (RQ) has been increasingly recognised as a main source of value creation and competitive advantage. However, there is still ambiguity around this topic, and managers and researchers have been recurrently reporting the need to better understand and capitalise on the quality of interactions with business partners. This research aims at testing an RQ model from a relational, imaginary organisation’s approach. Two mail surveys provide the perceptions of 725 hotel representatives about their business relationships with tour operators, and 1,224 corporate client representatives about their business relationships with hotels (21.9 % and 38.8 % response rate, respectively). The analysis contributes to enhance our understanding on the linkages between RQ and its determinants, and identifies the role of their dimensions. Structural equation modelling results highlight trust as the dominant dimension, the crucial role of commitment and satisfaction, and suggest customer orientation as complementary building block. Findings also emphasise problem solving behaviour and selling orientation as the most relevant dimensions of customer orientation. The comparison of the two ‘dyads’ deepens the discussion and enriches the suggested theoretical and managerial guidelines concerning the contribution of quality relationships to business performance.

Keywords: corporate clients, destination competitiveness, hotels, relationship quality, structural equations modelling, tour operators

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Authors: Jia-Shiun Chen, Quoc-Viet Huynh

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This work develops a flexible-body dynamic model of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), capable of recovering dynamic stresses while the ATV travels on random bumpy roads. The fatigue life of components is forecasted as well. While considering the interaction between dynamic forces and structure deformation, the proposed model achieves a highly accurate structure stress prediction and fatigue life prediction. During the simulation, stress time history of the ATV structure is retrieved for life prediction. Finally, the hot sports of the ATV frame are located, and the frame life for combined road conditions is forecasted, i.e. 25833.6 hr. If the usage of vehicle is eight hours daily, the total vehicle frame life is 8.847 years. Moreover, the reaction force and deformation due to the dynamic motion can be described more accurately by using flexible body dynamics than by using rigid-body dynamics. Based on recommendations made in the product design stage before mass production, the proposed model can significantly lower development and testing costs.

Keywords: flexible-body dynamics, veicle, dynamics, fatigue, durability

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Authors: Kvnkc Sharma

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Globalization, coupled with increase in competition is compelling organizations to adopt innovative strategies and identify core competencies in order to distinguish themselves from the competition. The capability of an organization is no longer determined by their products or services alone. The intellectual assets and quality of the human resource are fast emerging as key differentiators. Corporations are now positioning themselves as ‘brands’ not solely to market their products and services, but also to lure and to retain the best talent in the business. This paper identifies leadership as the ‘key element’ in developing an organization’s brand, which has a significant influence on the employee’s eventual perception of this external brand as portrayed by the organization. External branding incorporates innovation, consumer concern, trust, quality and sustainability. The paper contends that employees are indeed an organization’s ‘brand ambassadors. Internal branding involves taking care of these ambassadors of corporate brand i.e. human resource. If employees of an organization are not exposed to the organization’s branding (an ongoing process that functionally aligns, motivates and empower employees at all levels to consistently provide a satisfying customer experience), the external brand could be jeopardized. Internal branding, on the other hand, refers to employee’s perception of the organization’s brand. The current business environment can at best, be termed as volatile. Employees with the right technical and behavioral skills remain a scarce resource and the employers need to be ready to capture the attention, interest and commitment of the best and brightest candidates. This paper attempts to review and understand the relationship between employer branding and employee retention. The paper also seeks to identify potential impact of employer branding across all the factors affecting employees.

Keywords: external branding, human resource, internal branding, leadership

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Authors: Wan Shan Chiang, Charn Ting Wang, Wei-Chih Kan, Hui-Chen Huang

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Dialysis patients have risk in Zoster virus because of low immune. Valacyclovir (product name: Valtex) 500mg/tab, an anti-zoster virus medicine, is digested in kidney and it has side-effect of nervous system in patients with malfunction kidneys. Although the clinical basis of the proposed administration, we found that patients still have side effects. So we want to explore the appropriate dose of peritoneal dialysis patients. We read small samples of case reports and analyze 8 cases in our hospital, some patients’ Kt/v, match the standard of dialysis, and still go to the toilet, they still have side effect seriously with 500mg portion. The solution to this includes stopping medicine, reduction of medicine, increase of liquid change and timely hemodialysis and all of them speed up the recovery. The safety of medication needs extra attention of medical care employee. If they can tell the doctor if the patient has urine or not in his or her Kt/v, the doctor can prescribe the medicine accordingly. About the limitation, due to the lack of cases and related pharmacokinetics numbers. Therefore, for peritoneal patients, we think 500mg/48hoursis the saves. We also want to remind pharmaceuticals to revise the portion taken by patients, so that the doctor may judge the use.

Keywords: herpes zoster, Valacyclovir, peritoneal dialysis, health education

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Authors: Ali Abdrhman M. Ukasha

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Data security needed in data transmission, storage, and communication to ensure the security. The color image is decomposed into red, green, and blue channels. The blue and green channels are compressed using 3-levels discrete wavelet transform. The Arnold transform uses to changes the locations of red image channel pixels as image scrambling process. Then all these channels are encrypted separately using a key image that has same original size and is generating using private keys and modulo operations. Performing the X-OR and modulo operations between the encrypted channels images for image pixel values change purpose. The extracted contours of color image recovery can be obtained with accepted level of distortion using Canny edge detector. Experiments have demonstrated that proposed algorithm can fully encrypt 2D color image and completely reconstructed without any distortion. It has shown that the color image can be protected with a higher security level. The presented method has easy hardware implementation and suitable for multimedia protection in real time applications such as wireless networks and mobile phone services.

Keywords: color image, wavelet transform, edge detector, Arnold transform, lossy image encryption

Procedia PDF Downloads 462