Search results for: private university

Authors: Lorraine Ramos

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The question of heritage language learners in foreign language classrooms has been widely debated in second language education, especially with Spanish in a U.S. Instructors of Spanish as a foreign language have brought pedagogical focus to Spanish heritage language students in order to retain, develop and maintain their first language. This paper proposes a thorough examination of the use of conceptual metaphors within autobiographical linguistic narratives as a key indicator of the writing development of advanced Spanish-language students. By pairing genre theory from Systemic Functional Linguistics with metaphor theory, this paper will examine the metaphors used by 3rd and 4th year university Spanish students within the narrative genre from a corpus of 16, 091 words. The investigation has found that heritage language students use a variety of bicultural metaphors, transferred from both languages to conceptualize their linguistic development, in addition to using metaphor in specific narrative stages as a literary strategy. Since it has been found that the metaphors used were transcultural, the use of conceptual metaphors in heritage language learners can be further examined to help these students achieve their linguistic and academic goals in the Spanish by transferring from their knowledge in English. In conclusion, by closely examining the function of student discourse through their multicultural metaphoric competence, this study provides important insights on how to enable instructors to best further their students’ writing development in the target language.

Keywords: academic writing development, heritage language learners, language attitudes and ideologies, metaphor

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Authors: Rachel Koshy, Nazrila Hairizan Bt. Nasir, Samsiah Bt. Awang, Kamaliah Bt. Mohamad Noh

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Malaysia collaborated as a ‘trailblazer’ country with PHCPI (Primary Health Care Performance Initiative) to populate the Primary Health Care (PHC) Vital Signs Profile (VSP) for the country. The PHC VSP provides an innovative snapshot of the primary health care system's performance. Four domains were assessed: system financing, system capacity, system performance, and system equity, and completed in 2019. There were two phases using a mixed method study design. The first phase involved a quantitative study, utilising existing secondary data from national and international sources. In the case of unavailability of data for any indicators, comparable alternative indicators were used. The second phase was a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach to measure the functional capacity based on governance and leadership, population health needs, inputs, population health management, and facility organisation and management. PHC spending constituted 35% of overall health spending in Malaysia, with a per capita PHC spending of $152. The capacity domain was strong in the three subdomains of governance and leadership, information system, and funds management. The two subdomains of drugs & supplies and facility organisation & management had low scores, but the lowest score was in empanelment of the population under the population health management. The PHC system performed with an access index of 98%, quality index of 84%, and service coverage of 62%. In the equity domain, there was little fluctuation in the coverage of reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services by mother’s level of education and under-five child mortality between urban and rural areas. The public sector was stronger in the capacity domain as compared to the private sector. This is due to the different financing, organisational structures, and service delivery mechanism. The VSP has identified areas for improvement in the effort to provide high-quality PHC for the population. The gaps in PHC can be addressed through the system approach and the positioning of public and private primary health care delivery systems.

Keywords: primary health care, health system, system domains, vital signs profile

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Authors: A. Aman, S. M. Tang, F. H. Alharrassy

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Omanisation was established to increase job opportunities for national employment in Sultanate of Oman. With half of the population below 25 years of age, the sultanate is striving to diversify the economy fast enough to meet the burgeoning number of jobseekers annually. On the other hand, training personnel to be competent oil and gas operators and technicians is a difficult task in a complex reservoir structures in Oman using highly advanced and sophisticated extracting processes. Coupled towards Omanisation which encourages nationals into the oil and gas sector so as to create sustainable employment for the local population, the challenge to churn out competent manpower became a daunting task. Immersive technologies provided the impetus to create a new digital media sector which provided job opportunities as well as the learning contents to enhance the competency-based training for the oil and gas sector in the Sultanate. This lead to a win-win-win collaboration amongst the government represented by the Information Technology Authority (ITA), private sector specialised company (represented by ASM Technologies), jobseekers and oil and gas organisations. This is also one of the first private-public partnership model in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector in Oman. A pilot phase was conducted for 8 months to develop four virtual applications for training in equipment and process engineering; oil rig familiarisation, Health Safety Environment (HSE) application, turbine application and the mechanical vapour compressor (MVC) water recycling plant in order to enhance the competency level of the trainees. The immersive applications were installed in operational settings which enabled new employees to practice and understand various processes and procedures regarding enhanced oil recovery. Existing employees used the application to review the working principles in order to carry out troubleshooting scenarios. Concurrently, these applications were also developed by local Omani resources within the country. This created job opportunities for job-seekers as well the establishment of a digital media sector. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how immersive technologies can enhance operational competencies, create job and establish a digital media sector in the Sultanate of Oman.

Keywords: immersive, virtual reality, operations training, Omanisation

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Authors: S. Abdourraziq, M. A. Abdourraziq

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One of the most famous and important applications of solar energy systems is water pumping. It is often used for irrigation or to supply water in countryside or private firm. However, the cost and the efficiency are still a concern, especially with a continued variation of solar radiation and temperature throughout the day. Then, the improvement of the efficiency of the system components is one of the different solutions to reducing the cost. In this paper, we will present a detailed definition of each element of a PV pumping system, and we will present the different MPPT algorithm used in the literature. Our system consists of a PV panel, a boost converter, a motor-pump set, and a storage tank.

Keywords: PV cell, converter, MPPT, MPP, PV pumping system

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Authors: Greg Turner, Bin Lu, Cheer-Sun Yang

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As computing technology advances, smartphone applications can assist in student learning in a pervasive way. For example, the idea of using a mobile apps for the PA Common Trees, Pests, Pathogens, in the field as a reference tool allows middle school students to learn about trees and associated pests/pathogens without bringing a textbook. In the past, some researches study the mobile software Mobile Application Software Development Life Cycle (MADLC) including traditional models such as the waterfall model, or more recent Agile Methods. Others study the issues related to the software development process. Very little research is on the development of three heterogenous mobile systems simultaneously in a small university where the availability of developers is an issue. In this paper, we propose to use a hybride model of Waterfall Model and the Agile Model, known as the Relay Race Methodology (RRM) in practice, to reflect the concept of racing and relaying for scheduling. Based on the development project, we observe that the modeling of the transition between any two phases is manifested naturally. Thus, we claim that the RRM model can provide a de fecto rather than a de jure basis for the core concept in the MADLC. In this paper, the background of the project is introduced first. Then, the challenges are pointed out followed by our solutions. Finally, the experiences learned and the future work are presented.

Keywords: agile methods, mobile apps, software process model, waterfall model

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Authors: Aly Audu Fada

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The mono-economic structure of Nigerian economy has made it depend on oil for so many years. Apart from the negative effect of its exploitation, relying solely on oil as the major source of revenue for peddling the ship of development is myopic. The crumbling oil price in the world market is one proof of the dangers of this over-dependence. This paper highlights the consequences of the oil-driven economy and explores the various opportunities that are accessible in tourism through a contextual analysis. It is recommended that those at the helm of affairs should initiate collaboration between the public and private sectors to explore and harness the rich tourism resources naturally dispersed across the country to achieve the objectives of economic transformation agenda of the Federal Government.

Keywords: diversifying, economic, tourism, oil

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Authors: Karina Peron, Ricardo Ghelman, Monica Taminato, Katia R. Oliveira, Debora C. A. Rodrigues, Juliana R. C. Mumme, Olga K. M. Sunakozaua, Georg Seifert, Vicente O. Filho

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The nurse is the most available health professional for the interventions of support in the integrative approach in hospital environment, therefore a professional group key to changes in the model of care. The central components in the performance of anthroposophic nursing procedures are direct physical contact, promotion of proper rhythm, thermal regulation and the construction of a calm and empathic atmosphere, safe for patients and their caregivers. The procedures of anthroposophic external therapies (AET), basically composed of the application of compresses and the use of natural products, provide an opportunity to intensify the therapeutic results through an innovative, complementary and integrative model in the university hospital. The objective of this work is to report the implementation of a program of nursing techniques (AET) through a partnership between the Pediatric Oncology Sector of the Department of Pediatrics of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sao Paulo and Charite University of Berlin, with lecturers from Berlin's Integrative Hospital Havelhöhe and Witten-Herdecke Integrative Hospital, both in Germany. Intensive training activities of the Hospital's nursing staff and a survey on AET needs were developed based on the most prevalent complaints in pediatric oncology patients in the three environments of the Hospital of Pediatric Oncology: Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Intensive Care Unit and Division of Internal Patients. We obtained the approval of the clinical protocol of external anthroposophic therapies for nursing care by the Ethics Committee and the Academic Council of the Hospital. With this project, we highlight the key AET needs that will be part of the standard program of pediatric oncology care with appropriate scientific support. The results of the prevalent symptoms were: vomiting, nausea, pain, difficulty in starting sleep, constipation, cold extremities, mood disorder and psychomotor agitation. This project was the pioneer within the Integrative Pediatrics Program, as an innovative concept of Medicine and Integrative Health presented at scientific meetings.

Keywords: integrative health care, integrative nursing, pediatric nursing, pediatric oncology

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Authors: Merve Kurt

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How women should behave in public spaces and how they should be dressed was a loaded issues in the Ottoman Empire. They pointed to what kind of state the Ottoman State was. One of such public space was Mesires, promenades. Women's visibility and invisibility, their morals were reflected and linked to the society as a whole. How the public space and private space is defined, what were the lines that separates them, how much blurred these lines were discussed in this paper. Moreover, all these points were strengthened by the primary sources from archives dating to the end of the 19th century.

Keywords: Mesire, Ottoman Empire, Ottoman women, public spaces

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Authors: Md. Kausar Alam, Mohammad Yazdi, Peiman Zogh, Ramin Motamed

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The liquefaction-induced ground settlement has caused severe damage to structures in the past decades. However, the amount of building settlement caused by liquefaction is directly proportional to the intensity of the ground shaking. To reduce this soil liquefaction effect, it is essential to examine the influence of peak ground acceleration (PGA). Unfortunately, limited studies have been carried out on this issue. In this study, a series of moderate scale 1g shake table experiments were conducted at the University of Nevada Reno to evaluate the influence of PGA with the same duration in liquefiable soil layers. The model is prepared based on a large-scale shake table with a scaling factor of N = 5, which has been conducted at the University of California, San Diego. The model ground has three soil layers with relative densities of 50% for crust, 30% for liquefiable, and 90% for dense layer, respectively. In addition, a shallow foundation is seated over an unsaturated crust layer. After preparing the model, the input motions having various peak ground accelerations (i.e., 0.16g, 0.25g, and 0.37g) for the same duration (10 sec) were applied. Based on the experimental results, when the PGA increased from 0.16g to 0.37g, the foundation increased from 20 mm to 100 mm. In addition, the expected foundation settlement based on the scaling factor was 25 mm, while the actual settlement for PGA 0.25g for 10 seconds was 50 mm.

Keywords: foundation settlement, liquefaction, peak ground acceleration, shake table test

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Authors: Paul Dankers, Juliet Stoltenkamp, Carolynne Kies

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In May 2005, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) established an eLearning Division (ED) that, over the past 18 years, accelerated into the institutionalization of an efficient eLearning Centre. The initial objective of the ED was to incessantly align itself with emerging technologies caused by digital transformation, which progressively impacted Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) globally. In this paper, we present how the UWC eLearning Division (ED) first evolved into the eLearning Development and Support Unit (EDUS), currently called the ‘Centre for Innovative Education and Communication Technologies (CIECT). CIECT was strategically separated from the Department of Information and Communication Services (ICS) in 2009 and repositioned as an independent structure at UWC. Using a comparative research method, we highlight the transformative eLearning landscape at UWC by doing a detailed account of the shift in practices. Our research method will determine the initial vision and outcomes of institutionalizing an eLearning division. The study aims to compare across space or time the eLearning division’s rate of growth. By comparing the progressive growth of the UWCs eLearning division over the years, we will be able to document the successes and achievements of the eLearning division precisely. This study’s outcomes will act as a reference for novel research subjects on formalising eLearning. More research that delves into the effectiveness of having an eLearning division at HEIs in support of students’ teaching and learning is needed.

Keywords: eLearning, institutionalization, teaching and learning, transformation

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Authors: Sally Abu Sabaa, Lindsey Gutt

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In an attempt to use education as a way of raising a socially responsible and engaged global citizen, the YU-Bridge program, the largest and fastest pathway program of its kind in North America, has embarked on the journey of integrating general themes from the UN’s sustainable developmental goals (SDGs) in its English for Academic Purposes (EAP) curriculum. The purpose of this initiative was to redefine the general philosophy of education in the middle of a pandemic and align with York University’s University Academic Plan that was released in summer 2020 framed around the SDGs. The YUB program attracts international students from all over the world but mainly from China, and its goal is to enable students to achieve the minimum language requirement to join their undergraduate courses at York University. However, along with measuring outcomes, objectives, and the students’ GPA, instructors and academics are always seeking innovation of the YUB curriculum to adapt to the ever growing challenges of academics in the university context, in order to focus more on subject matter that students will be exposed to in their undergraduate studies. However, with the sudden change that has happened globally with the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other natural disasters like the increase in forest fires and floods, rethinking the philosophy and goal of education was a must. Accordingly, the SDGs became the solid pillars upon which we, academics and administrators of the program, could build a new curriculum and shift our perspective from simply ESL education to education with moral and ethical goals. The preliminary implementation of this initiative was supported by an institutional-wide consultation with EAP instructors who have diverse experiences, disciplines, and interests. Along with brainstorming sessions and mini-pilot projects preceding the integration of the SDGs in the YUB-EAP curriculum, those meetings led to creating a general outline of a curriculum and an assessment framework that has the SDGs at its core with the medium of ESL used for language instruction. Accordingly, a community of knowledge exchange was spontaneously created and facilitated by instructors. This has led to knowledge, resources, and teaching pedagogies being shared and examined further. In addition, experiences and reactions of students are being shared, leading to constructive discussions about opportunities and challenges with the integration of the SDGs. The discussions have branched out to discussions about cultural and political barriers along with a thirst for knowledge and engagement, which has resulted in increased engagement not only on the part of the students but the instructors as well. Later in the program, two surveys will be conducted: one for the students and one for the instructors to measure the level of engagement of each in this initiative as well as to elicit suggestions for further development. This paper will describe this fundamental step into using ESL methodology as a mode of disseminating essential ethical and socially correct knowledge for all learners in the 21st Century, the students’ reactions, and the teachers’ involvement and reflections.

Keywords: EAP, curriculum, education, global citizen

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Authors: Endalew Fufa Kufi

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Every married person aspires to be a parent regardless of the situation in which s/he lives. Such aspiration meets with reality when the destined parent is able to give adequate supports and services to his/her children, whether the latter are got by birth or through adoption. The adequacy of services parents provide their children is both enriched and tempted by the work on which they involve. On the one hand, parents need to work and earn a living in order to support their family. On the other hand, they must spend most of their time outside home to do the work, which shortens the time and might they spare to care for their children. Where the sufficiency of services parents owe their children could be ascertained by in terms of life skills, physical care and related provisions, the role of working fathers and mothers in providing such supports could be diverse across cultures and work traditions. Hence, this research deals with the investigation of working mothers’ parental practices, challenges they face in providing parental services and the implication for the future progress of the parents and their children. Target of the study will be Arsi University in Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. Descriptive survey design in holding the research, and data for the research will be collected in the form of experiential self-report from 150 working mothers selected from the entire working women population of Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Studies and College of Health Sciences through stratified random-sampling. Instruments of data collection will be closed and open-ended questionnaire. Complementary data will also be collected from purposively selected samples through semi-structured interview. Data for the research will be collected through questionnaire first and then through interview. Data analysis will also follow the same procedure. The collected data will systematically be organized and statistically and thematically analyzed in order to come up with indicative findings. The overarching thesis is that, working mothers in the study area bear a lot of responsibilities both at home and at work place which leave them very little time for parenting services. Unless due attention is given to the way they can spare time for their children, they are more likely to be tense between work-life and family care services, which tempt them in different directions.

Keywords: challenges, mothers, practices, university, working

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Authors: Leah Li Echiverri, Haoyu Shang, Yue Li

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Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU) is a Sino-US Cooperative University in China. It practices the English Immersion Program (EIP), where all the courses are taught in English. Class discussions and presentations are pervasively interwoven in designing students’ learning experiences. This WKU model has brought positive influences on students and is in some way ahead of traditional college English majors. However, literature to support the perceptions on the positive outcomes of this teaching and learning model remain scarce. The distinctive profile of Chinese-ESL students in an English Medium of Instruction (EMI) environment contributes further to the scarcity of literature compared to existing studies conducted among ESL learners in Western educational settings. Hence, the study investigated the students’ perceptions towards the English Immersion Program and determine how it influences Chinese-ESL students’ academic performance (AP). This research can provide empirical data that would be helpful to educators, teaching practitioners, university administrators, and other researchers in making informed decisions when developing curricular reforms, instructional and pedagogical methods, and university-wide support programs using this educational model. The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between the English Immersion Program and Academic Performance among Chinese-ESL students enrolled at WKU for the academic year 2020-2021. Course length, immersion location, course type, and instructional design were the constructs of the English immersion program. English language learning, learning efficiency, and class participation were used to measure academic performance. Descriptive-correlational design was used in this cross-sectional research project. A quantitative approach for data analysis was applied to determine the relationship between the English immersion program and Chinese-ESL students’ academic performance. The research was conducted at WKU; a Chinese-American jointly established higher educational institution located in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. Convenience, random, and snowball sampling of 283 students, a response rate of 10.5%, were applied to represent the WKU student population. The questionnaire was posted through the survey website named Wenjuanxing and shared to QQ or WeChat. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the research instrument. Findings revealed that when professors integrate technology (PowerPoint, videos, and audios) in teaching, students pay more attention. This contributes to the acquisition of more professional knowledge in their major courses. As to course immersion, students perceive WKU as a good place to study, providing them a high degree of confidence to talk with their professors in English. This also contributes to their English fluency and better pronunciation in their communication. In the construct of designing instruction, the use of pictures, video clips, and professors’ non-verbal communication, and demonstration of concern for students encouraged students to be more active in-class participation. Findings on course length and academic performance indicated that students’ perception regarding taking courses during fall and spring terms can moderately contribute to their academic performance. In conclusion, the findings revealed a significantly strong positive relationship between course type, immersion location, instructional design, and academic performance.

Keywords: class participation, English immersion program, English language learning, learning efficiency

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Authors: Shu-Yen Wang, Shyh-Huei Hwang

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Designated as an important architectural complex of settlement by the Ministry of Culture, Hua-Zhai Settlement located in Wang-An Township, Peng-Hu County, of Taiwan has been progressively restored year by year and is now at the revitalization and reutilization stage. Over the last 5 years, YunTech has participated in the restoration project while being in compliance with the Bureau of Cultural Heritage’s spirit of 'Living Heritage Conservation'. In this study, reflections have been made to evaluate the contemporariness of traditional settlement development from the aspects of revitalization and reutilization. On the one hand, the connection between settlers’ experiences and emotions have been clarified through the living nodes, collective memory, and social-cultural connotation. On the other hand, activity design has promoted the reconstruction of living nodes and facilitated the reconnection of collective memory, enabling us to explore the contemporariness of living nodes after the reconstruction. With the adoption of literature review, participant observation, and interview analysis methods, this study concludes the following results: 1) The node reconstruction brings back the memories and makes emotional connections: the spatial collective memory is composed of different components. During the reconstruction of node space, villagers participated not only in the narration of the history but also in the restoration of the space. This process enables villagers to bring back their memories and make emotional connections thereto. 2) Villagers’ understanding towards revitalization has been facilitated through node reconstruction: as a medium of this project, activity design has facilitated node reconstruction by offering villagers a natural environment to build up emotional connections to the settlement. This also enables us to better understand the meaning of settlement activation for the local community. 3) New connections are established in life between villagers and the university through the construction of living nodes: through the local implementation of node reconstruction, new connections have been established in life between villagers who participated in the project and the university. In the meantime, the university’s entrance to the community has also been revalued.

Keywords: collective memory, local sense of belonging, reconstruction of living nodes, the important architectural complex of Wang-An Hua-Zhai settlement

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Authors: Taif Rocky, Uttam Saha, Mahobul Islam

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With a rapid urbanisation in Bangladesh, waste management remains one of the core challenges. Turning municipal waste into biogas for mass usage is a solution that Bangladesh needs to adopt urgently. Practical Action with its commitment to challenging poverty with technological justice has piloted such idea in Gaibandha. The initiative received immense success and drew the attention of policy makers and practitioners. We believe, biogas from waste can highly contribute to meet the growing demand for energy in the country at present and in the future. Practical Action has field based experience in promoting small scale and innovative technologies. We have proven track record in integrated solid waste management. We further utilized this experience to promote waste to biogas at end users’ level. In 2011, we have piloted a project on waste to biogas in Gaibandha, a northern secondary town of Bangladesh. With resource and support from UNICEF and with our own innovative funds we have established a complete chain of utilizing waste to the renewable energy source and organic fertilizer. Biogas is produced from municipal solid waste, which is properly collected, transported and segregated by private entrepreneurs. The project has two major focuses, diversification of biogas end use and establishing a public-private partnership business model. The project benefits include Recycling of Wastes, Improved institutional (municipal) capacity, Livelihood from improved services and Direct Income from the project. Project risks include Change of municipal leadership, Traditional mindset, Access to decision making, Land availability. We have observed several outcomes from the initiative. Up scaling such an initiative will certainly contribute for sustainable cleaner and healthier urban environment and urban poverty reduction. - It reduces the unsafe disposal of wastes which improve the cleanliness and environment of the town. -Make drainage system effective reducing the adverse impact of water logging or flooding. -Improve public health from better management of wastes. -Promotes usage of biogas replacing the use of firewood/coal which creates smoke and indoor air pollution in kitchens which have long term impact on health of women and children. -Reduce the greenhouse gas emission from the anaerobic recycling of wastes and contributes to sustainable urban environment. -Promote the concept of agroecology from the uses of bio slurry/compost which contributes to food security. -Creates green jobs from waste value chain which impacts on poverty alleviation of urban extreme poor. -Improve municipal governance from inclusive waste services and functional partnership with private sectors. -Contribute to the implementation of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Strategy and Employment Creation of extreme poor to achieve the target set in Vision 2021 by Government of Bangladesh.

Keywords: kitchen waste, secondary town, biogas, segregation

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Authors: Okunola Oluseye Ademola

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The study investigated various socio-cultural factors influencing adherence to antiretroviral drugs among people living with HIV in a University Teaching Hospital in South-western Nigeria. The objectives are to examine the perception of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, investigate the influence of socio-cultural factors on adherence of PLWHA to treatment regimen in the study area and assess the prevalence of adherence to ART among PLWHA in the study area. It was a cross-sectional where both qualitative and quantitative research methods were adopted. The participants were HIV diagnosed patients attending clinic at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex in Ile-Ife between the ages of 18 and 60 years. Also three healthcare delivery personnel working in the clinic were interviewed. Out of the 3007 patients receiving treatment, using Fischer’s formula of sampling technique, 336 patients living with HIV/AIDS were selected for the study. These participants had been on antiretroviral drugs for more than six months prior to the study and were selected using simple random sampling technique. Two focus group discussion sessions comprising of 10 male and 10 female living with HIV and currently on ART were conducted. These groups were purposively selected based on their being on ART for more than one year. Also in-depth interviews were conducted among three purposively selected healthcare givers (an experienced nurse, a doctor and a pharmacist) who are working in this clinic. All the participants were interviewed at the clinic on the various clinic days. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, an interview guide and tape-recorder. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Content analysis was employed to analyse responses from IDI and FGD sessions. The findings from the study revealed a very positive perception to ART among PLWHA which was about 86.3% while the level of adherence to ART was 89.0% among the respondents. There was a very strong relationship between social and family supports and the degree of adherence to ART in the PLWHA. Nutrition, polygamy, difficulty in financing transportation fare to the clinic, unemployment, drug hawkers, religion, excuse duty from work and waking up very early were highlighted as socio-cultural barriers to adherence to ART. Fear of death, strong family support, religion belief, not seeking alternative treatment, absence of rituals and perceived improved health status were identified as very strong facilitators to adherence. The study concluded that to achieve a very optimal outcome in the management of HIV among PLWHA, various social and cultural contexts should be taken into consideration as this study was able to ascertain the influence of various socio-cultural factors militating and facilitating adherence to ART.

Keywords: ART, HIV, PLWHA, socio-cultural

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Authors: Andrey Makarov

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This article will focus on the development of antitrust policy in transition economies in the context of preventing explicit and tacit collusion. Experience of BRICS, CIS (Ukraine, Kazakhstan) and CEE countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Estonia) in the creation of antitrust institutions was analyzed, including both legislation and enforcement practice. Most of these countries in the early 90th were forced to develop completely new legislation in the field of protection of competition and it is important to compare different ways of building antitrust institutions and policy results. The article proposes a special approach to evaluation of preventing collusion mechanisms. This approach takes into account such enforcement problems as: classification problems (tacit vs explicit collusion, vertical vs horizontal agreements), flexibility of prohibitions (the balance between “per se” vs “rule of reason” approaches de jure and in practice), design of sanctions, private enforcement challenge, leniency program mechanisms, the role of antitrust authorities etc. The analysis is conducted using both official data, published by competition authorities, and expert assessments. The paper will show how the integration process within the EU predetermined some aspects of the development of antitrust policy in CEE countries, including the trend of the use of "rule of reason" approach. Simultaneously was analyzed the experience of CEE countries in special mechanisms of government intervention. CIS countries in the development of antitrust policy followed more or less original ways, without such a great impact from the European Union, more attention will be given to Russian experience in this field, including the analysis of judicial decisions in antitrust cases. Main problems and challenges for transition economies in this field will be shown, including: Legal uncertainty problem; Problem of rigidity of prohibitions; Enforcement priorities of the regulator; Interaction of administrative and criminal law, limited effectiveness of criminal sanctions in the antitrust field; The effectiveness of leniency program design; Private enforcement challenge.

Keywords: collusion, antitrust policy, leniency program, transition economies, Russia, CEE

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Authors: Qin Dai

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The renovation of existing interior space is big issue for architects in today’s China. However the traditional way of space renovation in China mostly focuses on the object itself, and the method also focuses on subjective level without the support of specific data. This research focuses the application of renovation of existing interior space based on post occupancy evaluation by a case study of a typical interior space. The research hopes to give a more scientific method of interior space renovation for architects and help promoting and guiding renovation practice. This research studies the post occupancy evaluation of the atrium space of Zhejiang University Library including subjective satisfaction and physical environmental satisfaction. The result provides necessary data support to conclude the design principles and strategies of renovation. Then the research uses simulation software to verify the availability of the strategy given based on the study. In conclusion, the research summarizes the application process of design methods of renovation of existing interior space based on the post-occupancy evaluation, and testifies to the practical significance of the renovation of existing interior space.

Keywords: existing interior space, physical environmental satisfaction, post occupancy evaluation, renovation of space, subjective satisfaction of space

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Authors: W. Shin, Y. Kim

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This study focuses on disconfirming that wide-area networks can be made mobile, highly-available, and wireless. This methodological test shows that IPv7 and context-free grammar are mismatched. In the cases of robots, a similar tendency is also revealed. Further, we also prove that public-private key pairs could be built embedded, adaptive, and wireless. Finally, we disconfirm that although hash tables can be made distributed, interposable, and autonomous, XML and DNS can interfere to realize this purpose. Our experiments soon proved that exokernelizing our replicated Knesis keyboards was more significant than interrupting them. Our experiments exhibited degraded average sampling rate.

Keywords: collaborative communication, DNS, local-area networks, XML

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Authors: Sharjeel Saleem

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The glass ceiling has been a burning issue for many researchers. In this research, we examine gender of the BOD, training and development, workforce diversity, positive attitude towards women, and employee acts as antecedents of glass ceiling. Furthermore, we also look for effects of glass ceiling on likelihood of female selection and promotion and on female effectiveness. Multiple linear regression conducted on data drawn from different public and private sector organizations support our hypotheses. The research, however, is limited to Faisalabad city and only females from minority group are targeted here.

Keywords: glass ceiling, stereotype attitudes, female effectiveness

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Authors: Richard White, Anne Drabble, Maureen O’Neill

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The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) offers secondary school students in the final two years of school (Years 11 and 12, 16 – 18 years of age) an opportunity to participate in a program which provides an accelerated pathway to tertiary studies. Whilst still at secondary school, the students undertake two first year university subjects that are required subjects in USC undergraduate degree programs. The program is called Integrated Learning Pathway (ILP) and offers a range of disciplines, including business, design, drama, education, and engineering. Between 2010 and 2014, 38% of secondary students who participated in an ILP program commenced undergraduate studies at USC following completion of secondary school studies. The research reported here considers “before and after” literacy and numeracy competencies of students to determine what impact participation in the ILP program has had on their academic skills. Qualitative and quantitative data has been gathered via numeracy and literacy testing of the students, and a survey asking the students to self-evaluate their numeracy and literacy skills, and reflect on their views of these academic skills. The research will enable improved targeting of teaching strategies so that students will acquire not only course-specific learning outcomes but also collateral academic skills. This enhancement of academic skills will improve undergraduate experience and improve student retention.

Keywords: academic skills enhancement, accelerated pathways, improved teaching, student retention

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Authors: Piotr-Robert Lazik, Lena Teichmann, Harald Garrecht

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Many concrete technologists are looking for a solution to replace fly ashes as a component that occurs as a major component of many types of concrete. The importance of such a component is clear -it saves cement and reduces the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere that occurs during cement production. For example, the amount of cement in ultrahigh strength concrete (UHPC) is approximately 700-800 kg/m³ in normal concrete up to 350 kg/m³. For this reason, it is easy to follow that the use of components like fly ashes or wood ashes protect the environment. The newest investigations carried out at the University of Stuttgart have clearly shown that the use of wood ashes with appropriate pre-treatment in concrete has a positive effect. German-wide, there are hundreds of tons of wood ashes, which can be used in a wide range of construction materials. The strengths of the concrete with different types of cement and with wood ashes have given the same or, in some cases, better results than those with the use of fly ashes. There are many areas in building construction, where the clays of wood ashes can be used as a by-product. This does not only require a strength test but also, for example, an examination of structural-physical parameters. Especially the heat and moisture characteristics have an important role in times of energy-efficient construction. These are therefore determined and then compared with the characteristics of the concretes with fly ashes. The University of Stuttgart has decided to investigate the buildings' physical properties of different types of concrete with wood ashes to find their application in construction. After the examination of the buildings' physical properties in combination with strength tests, it is possible to determine in which field of civil engineering, this type of concrete can be used.

Keywords: fly ashes, wood ashes, structural-physical parameters, UHPC

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Authors: Ayanda P. Deliwe, Storm B. Watson

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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the established practices of higher education institutions (HEIs). Most higher education institutions worldwide had to shift from traditional face-to-face to online learning. The online environment and new online tools are disrupting the way in which higher education is presented. Furthermore, the structures of higher education institutions have been impacted by rapid advancements in information and communication technologies. Emerging technologies should not be viewed in a negative light because, as opposed to the traditional curriculum that worked to create productive and efficient researchers, emerging technologies encourage creativity and innovation. Therefore, using technology together with traditional means will enhance teaching and learning. Emerging technologies in higher education not only change the experience of students, lecturers, and the content, but it is also influencing the attraction and retention of students. Higher education institutions are under immense pressure because not only are they competing locally and nationally, but emerging technologies also expand the competition internationally. Emerging technologies have eliminated border barriers, allowing students to study in the country of their choice regardless of where they are in the world. Higher education institutions are becoming indifferent as technology is finding its way into the lecture room day by day. Academics need to utilise technology at their disposal if they want to get through to their students. Academics are now competing for students' attention with social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and others. This is posing a significant challenge to higher education institutions. It is, therefore, critical to pay attention to emerging technologies in order to see how they can be incorporated into the classroom in order to improve educational quality while remaining relevant in the work industry. This study aims to understand how emerging technologies have been utilised at Nelson Mandela University in presenting teaching and learning activities since April 2020. The primary objective of this study is to analyse how academics are incorporating emerging technologies in their teaching and learning activities. This primary objective was achieved by conducting a literature review on clarifying and conceptualising the emerging technologies being utilised by higher education institutions, reviewing and analysing the use of emerging technologies, and will further be investigated through an empirical analysis of the use of emerging technologies at Nelson Mandela University. Findings from the literature review revealed that emerging technology is impacting several key areas in higher education institutions, such as the attraction and retention of students, enhancement of teaching and learning, increase in global competition, elimination of border barriers, and highlighting the digital divide. The literature review further identified that learning management systems, open educational resources, learning analytics, and artificial intelligence are the most prevalent emerging technologies being used in higher education institutions. The identified emerging technologies will be further analysed through an empirical analysis to identify how they are being utilised at Nelson Mandela University.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, learning analytics, learner management systems, open educational resources

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Authors: Preethi Sudarshanie Dassanayake, R. A. Sudath Weerasiri

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Objective: The objective of this study were to find out highest expectation and perception,highest gap between perception and expectation of service quality, and to find out such gaps between perception and expectation with regard to service quality dimensions were whether statistically significant. Methodology: This study carried out at the Out Patient Department (OPD) of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), University of Peradeniya. Modified version of SERVQUAL with 22-pairs of items regarding expectation and perception of service quality in dimensions of tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy were included in Part 1 and the Part 2 of the questionnaire consisted of questions regarding socio-demographic factors. Sample size was 200 and sampling procedure was Systematic Random Sampling. Customers above 18 years of age, able to read, write and understand Sinhala or English language, visits more than twice in last six months and who willing to respond were selected. Findings: The analysis revealed customers expectations of service higher than the perceived for all 22- items of the SERVQUAL. This high expectation suggests that there is sufficient room for further improvement of service quality in all five dimensions. Originality/Value of the Paper: This study gave a new insight for poorly researched area of veterinary health service quality in Sri Lankan context. It provides hospital administrators and policy makers to develop strategies for further improvement of service quality according to customers' view.

Keywords: expectation, perception, service quality, SERVQUAL, veterinary health care

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Authors: Stephanie J. Sedberry, William J. Gerace, Ian D. Beatty, Michael J. Kane

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Increasing the number of US university students who attain degrees in STEM and enter the STEM workforce is a national priority. Demographic groups vary in their rates of participation in STEM, and the US produces just 10% of the world’s science and engineering degrees (2014 figures). To address these gaps, we have developed and tested a practical, 30-minute, single-session classroom-based intervention to improve students’ self-efficacy and academic performance in University STEM courses. Self-efficacy is a psychosocial construct that strongly correlates with academic success. Self-efficacy is a construct that is internal and relates to the social, emotional, and psychological aspects of student motivation and performance. A compelling body of research demonstrates that university students’ self-efficacy beliefs are strongly related to their selection of STEM as a major, aspirations for STEM-related careers, and persistence in science. The development of an intervention to increase students’ self-efficacy is motivated by research showing that short, social-psychological interventions in education can lead to large gains in student achievement. Our intervention addresses STEM self-efficacy via two strong, but previously separate, lines of research into attitudinal/affect variables that influence student success. The first is ‘attributional retraining,’ in which students learn to attribute their successes and failures to internal rather than external factors. The second is ‘mindset’ about fixed vs. growable intelligence, in which students learn that the brain remains plastic throughout life and that they can, with conscious effort and attention to thinking skills and strategies, become smarter. Extant interventions for both of these constructs have significantly increased academic performance in the classroom. We developed a 34-item questionnaire (Likert scale) to measure STEM Self-efficacy, Perceived Academic Control, and Growth Mindset in a University STEM context, and validated it with exploratory factor analysis, Rasch analysis, and multi-trait multi-method comparison to coded interviews. Four iterations of our 42-week research protocol were conducted across two academic years (2017-2018) at three different Universities in North Carolina, USA (UNC-G, NC A&T SU, and NCSU) with varied student demographics. We utilized a quasi-experimental prospective multiple-group time series research design with both experimental and control groups, and we are employing linear modeling to estimate the impact of the intervention on Self-Efficacy,wth-Mindset, Perceived Academic Control, and final course grades (performance measure). Preliminary results indicate statistically significant effects of treatment vs. control on Self-Efficacy, Growth-Mindset, Perceived Academic Control. Analyses are ongoing and final results pending. This intervention may have the potential to increase student success in the STEM classroom—and ownership of that success—to continue in a STEM career. Additionally, we have learned a great deal about the complex components and dynamics of self-efficacy, their link to performance, and the ways they can be impacted to improve students’ academic performance.

Keywords: academic performance, affect variables, growth mindset, intervention, perceived academic control, psycho-social variables, self-efficacy, STEM, university classrooms

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Authors: F. Saptouw

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This paper will examine the digitization process of the |Xam and !Kun notebooks, authored by Lucy Lloyd, Dorothea Bleek and Wilhelm Bleek, and their collaborators |a!kunta, ||kabbo, ≠kasin, Dia!kwain, !kweiten ta ||ken, |han≠kass'o, !nanni, Tamme, |uma, and Da during the 19th century. Detail will be provided about the status of the archive, the creation of the digital archive and selected research projects linked to the archive. The Digital Bleek and Lloyd project is an example of institutional collaboration by the University of Cape Town, University of South Africa, Iziko South African Museum, the National Library of South Africa and the Western Cape Provincial Archives and Records Service. The contemporary value of the archive will be discussed in relation to its current manifestation as a collection of archival and digital objects, each with its own set of properties and archival risk factors. This tension between the two ways to access the archive will be interrogated to shed light on the slippages between the digital object and the archival object. The primary argument is that the process of digitization generates an ontological shift in the status of the archival object. The secondary argument is an engagement with practices to curate the encounters with these ontologically shifted objects and how to relate to each as a contemporary viewer. In conclusion this paper will argue for regarding these archival objects according to the interpretive framework utilized to engage secular relics.

Keywords: archive, curatorship, digitization, museum practice

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Authors: Suttipong Boonphadung, Thassanant Unnanantn

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The research study aimed to (1) compare the critical thinking of the teacher students of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University before and after applying Miller’s Model learning activities and (2) investigate the students’ opinions towards Miller’s Model learning activities for improving the critical thinking. The participants of this study were purposively selected. They were 3 groups of teacher students: (1) fourth year 33 student teachers majoring in Early Childhood Education and enrolling in semester 1 of academic year 2013 (2) third year 28 student teachers majoring in English and enrolling in semester 2 of academic year 2013 and (3) third year 22 student teachers majoring in Thai and enrolling in semester 2 of academic year 2013. The research instruments were (1) lesson plans where the learning activities were settled based on Miller’s Model (2) critical thinking assessment criteria and (3) a questionnaire on opinions towards Miller’s Model based learning activities. The statistical treatment was mean, deviation, different scores and T-test. The result unfolded that (1) the critical thinking of the students after the assigned activities was better than before and (2) the students’ opinions towards the critical thinking improvement activities based on Miller’s Model ranged from the level of high to highest.

Keywords: critical thinking, Miller’s model, opinions, pre-service teachers

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Authors: Sharon Q. Yang, Robert J. Congleton

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Information security is a broad concept that covers any issues and concerns about the proper access and use of information on the Internet, including measures and procedures to protect intellectual property and private data from illegal access and online theft; the act of hacking; and any defensive technologies that contest such cybercrimes. As more research and commercial activities are conducted online, cybercrimes have increased significantly, putting sensitive information at risk. Information security has become critically important for organizations and private citizens alike. Hackers scan for network vulnerabilities on the Internet and steal data whenever they can. Cybercrimes disrupt our daily life, cause financial losses, and instigate fear in the public. Since the start of the pandemic, most data related cybercrimes targets have been either financial or health information from companies and organizations. Libraries also should have a high interest in understanding and adopting information security methods to protect their patron data and copyrighted materials. But according to information security professionals, higher education and cultural organizations, including their libraries, are the least prepared entities for cyberattacks. One recent example is that of Steven’s Institute of Technology in New Jersey in the US, which had its network hacked in 2020, with the hackers demanding a ransom. As a result, the network of the college was down for two months, causing serious financial loss. There are other cases where libraries, colleges, and universities have been targeted for data breaches. In order to build an effective defense, we need to understand the most common types of cybercrimes, including phishing, whaling, social engineering, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, malware and ransomware, and hacker profiles. Our research will focus on each hacking technique and related defense measures; and the social background and reasons/purpose of hacker and hacking. Our research shows that hacking techniques will continue to evolve as new applications, housing information, and data on the Internet continue to be developed. Some cybercrimes can be stopped with effective measures, while others present challenges. It is vital that people understand what they face and the consequences when not prepared.

Keywords: cybercrimes, hacking technologies, higher education, information security, libraries

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Authors: Moira Cordiner

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As a result of an Australian university approving a policy to improve the quality of assessment practices, as an academic developer (AD) with expertise in criterion-referenced assessment commenced in 2008. The four-year appointment was to support 40 'champions' in their Schools. This presentation is based on the experiences of a group of Chemistry academics who worked with the AD to develop and implement an honours dissertation rubric. Honours is a research year following a three-year undergraduate year. If the standard of the student's work is high enough (mainly the dissertation) then the student can commence a PhD. What became clear during the process was that much more was at stake than just the successful development and trial of the rubric, including academics' reputations, university rankings and research outputs. Working with the champion-Head of School(HOS) and the honours coordinator, the AD helped them adapt an honours rubric that she had helped create and trial successfully for another Science discipline. A year of many meetings and complex power plays between the two academics finally resulted in a version that was critiqued by the Chemistry teaching and learning committee. Accompanying the rubric was an explanation of grading rules plus a list of supervisor expectations to explain to students how the rubric was used for grading. Further refinements were made until all staff were satisfied. It was trialled successfully in 2011, then small changes made. It was adapted and implemented for Medicine honours with her help in 2012. Despite coming to consensus about statements of quality in the rubric, a few academics found it challenging matching these to the dissertations and allocating a grade. They had had no time to undertake training to do this, or make overt their implicit criteria and standards, which some admitted they were using - 'I know what a first class is'. Other factors affecting grading included: the small School where all supervisors knew each other and the students, meant that friendships and collegiality were at stake if low grades were given; no external examiners were appointed-all were internal with the potential for bias; supervisors’ reputations were at stake if their students did not receive a good grade; the School's reputation was also at risk if insufficient honours students qualified for PhD entry; and research output was jeopardised without enough honours students to work on supervisors’ projects. A further complication during the study was a restructure of the university and retrenchments, with pressure to increase research output as world rankings assumed greater importance to senior management. In conclusion, much more was at stake than developing a usable rubric. The HOS had to be seen to champion the 'new' assessment practice while balancing institutional demands for increased research output and ensuring as many honours dissertations as possible met high standards, so that eventually the percentage of PhD completions and research output rose. It is therefore in the institution's best interest for this cycle to be maintained as it affects rankings and reputations. In this context, are rubrics redundant?

Keywords: explicit and implicit standards, judging quality, university rankings, research reputations

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Authors: Jessica Kate Simonds

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The last successful hijacking perpetrated by Somali pirates in 2012 represented a critical turning point for the identity and brand of Indian Ocean (IO) insecurity, coined in this paper as the era of the post-piratical. This paper explores the broadening of the PMSC business model to account and contribute to the design of a new IO security environment that prioritises foreign and insurgency drone activity and Houthi rebel operations as the main threat to merchant shipping in the post-2012 era. This study is situated within a longer history of analysing maritime insecurity and also contributes a bespoke conceptual framework that understands the sea as a space that is produced and reproduced relative to existing and emerging threats to merchant shipping based on bespoke models of information sharing and intelligence acquisition. This paper also makes a prominent empirical contribution by drawing on a post-positivist methodology, data drawn from original semi-structured interviews with senior maritime insurers and active merchant seafarers that is triangulated with industry-produced guidance such as the BMP series as primary data sources. Each set is analysed through qualitative discourse and content analysis and supported by the quantitative data sets provided by the IMB Piracy Reporting center and intelligence networks. This analysis reveals that mechanisms such as the IGP&I Maritime Security Committee and intelligence divisions of PMSC’s have driven the exchanges of knowledge between land and sea and thus the reproduction of the maritime security environment through new regulations and guidance to account dones, rebels and bombs as the key challenges in the IO, beyond piracy. A contribution of this paper is the argument that experts who may not be in the highest-profile jobs are the architects of maritime insecurity based on their detailed knowledge and connections to vessels in transit. This paper shares the original insights of those who have served in critical decision making spaces to demonstrate that the development and refinement of industry produced deterrence guidance that has been accredited to the mitigation of piracy, have shaped new editions such as BMP 5 that now serve to frame a new security environment that prioritises the mitigation of risks from drones and WBEID’s from both state and insurgency risk groups. By highlighting the experiences and perspectives of key players on both land and at sea, the key finding of this paper is outlining that as pirates experienced a financial boom by profiteering from their bespoke business model during the peak of successful hijackings, the private security market encountered a similar level of financial success and guaranteed risk environment in which to prospect business. Thus, the reproduction of the Indian Ocean as a maritime security environment reflects a new found purpose for PMSC’s as part of the broader conglomerate of maritime insurers, regulators, shipowners and managers who continue to redirect the security consciousness and IO brand of insecurity.

Keywords: maritime security, private security, risk intelligence, political geography, international relations, political economy, maritime law, security studies

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