Search results for: behavior to turn waste into economic value

Authors: Qinke Sun, Liang Zhou

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The ‘Dragon-Elephant Debate’ between China and India is an important manifestation of global multipolarity in the 21st century. The two rising powers have carried out economic reforms one after another in the interval of more than ten years, becoming the fastest growing developing country and emerging economy in the world. At the same time, the development differences between China and India have gradually attracted wide attention of scholars. Based on the continuous annual night light data (DMSP-OLS) from 1992 to 2012, this paper systematically compares and analyses the regional development differences between China and India by Gini coefficient, coefficient of variation, comprehensive night light index (CNLI) and hot spot analysis. The results show that: (1) China's overall expansion from 1992 to 2012 is 1.84 times that of India, in which China's change is 2.6 times and India's change is 2 times. The percentage of lights in unlighted areas in China dropped from 92% to 82%, while that in India from 71% to 50%. (2) China's new growth-oriented cities appear in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, Ordos, and Urumqi in the west, and the declining cities are concentrated in Liaoning Province and Jilin Province in the northeast; India's new growth-oriented cities are concentrated in Chhattisgarh in the north, while the declining areas are distributed in Uttar Pradesh. (3) China's differences on different scales are lower than India's, and regional inequality of development is gradually narrowing. Gini coefficients at the regional and provincial levels have decreased from 0.29, 0.44 to 0.24 and 0.38, respectively, while regional inequality in India has slowly improved and regional differences are gradually widening, with Gini coefficients rising from 0.28 to 0.32. The provincial Gini coefficient decreased slightly from 0.64 to 0.63. (4) The spatial pattern of China's regional development is mainly east-west difference, which shows the difference between coastal and inland areas; while the spatial pattern of India's regional development is mainly north-south difference, but because the southern states are sea-dependent, it also reflects the coastal inland difference to a certain extent. (5) Beijing and Shanghai present a multi-core outward expansion model, with an average annual CNLI higher than 0.01, while New Delhi and Mumbai present the main core enhancement expansion model, with an average annual CNLI lower than 0.01, of which the average annual CNLI in Shanghai is about five times that in Mumbai.

Keywords: spatial pattern, spatial difference, DMSP-OLS, China, India

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Authors: Alison L. Miles

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Almost all major financial institutions in the world suffered losses due to the financial crisis of 2007, but the extent varied widely. The causes of the crash of 2007 are well documented and predominately focus on the role and complexity of the financial markets. The dominant theme of the literature suggests the causes of the crash were a combination of globalization, financial sector innovation, moribund regulation and short termism. While these arguments are undoubtedly true, they do not tell the whole story. A key weakness in the current analysis is the lack of consideration of those leading the banks pre and during times of crisis. This purpose of this study is to examine the possible link between the leadership styles and characteristics of the CEO, CFO and chairman and the financial institutions that failed or needed recapitalization. As such, it contributes to the literature and debate on international financial crises and systemic risk and also to the debate on risk management and regulatory reform in the banking sector. In order to first test the proposition (p1) that there are prevalent leadership characteristics or traits in financial institutions, an initial study was conducted using a sample of the top 65 largest global banks and financial institutions according to the Banker Top 1000 banks 2014. Secondary data from publically available and official documents, annual reports, treasury and parliamentary reports together with a selection of press articles and analyst meeting transcripts was collected longitudinally from the period 1998 to 2013. A computer aided key word search was used in order to identify the leadership styles and characteristics of the chairman, CEO and CFO. The results were then compared with the leadership models to form a picture of leadership in the sector during the research period. As this resulted in separate results that needed combining, SPSS data editor was used to aggregate the results across the studies using the variables ‘leadership style’ and ‘company financial performance’ together with the size of the company. In order to test the proposition (p2) that there was a prevalent leadership style in the banks that failed and the proposition (P3) that this was different to those that did not, further quantitative analysis was carried out on the leadership styles of the chair, CEO and CFO of banks that needed recapitalization, were taken over, or required government bail-out assistance during 2007-8. These included: Lehman Bros, Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Barclays, Northern Rock, Fortis and Allied Irish. The findings show that although regulatory reform has been a key mechanism of control of behavior in the banking sector, consideration of the leadership characteristics of those running the board are a key factor. They add weight to the argument that if each crisis is met with the same pattern of popular fury with the financier, increased regulation, followed by back to business as usual, the cycle of failure will always be repeated and show that through a different lens, new paradigms can be formed and future clashes avoided.

Keywords: banking, financial crisis, leadership, risk

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Authors: R. O. Babatunde, O. M. Igbalajobi, F. Matambalya

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Moderate economic growth in developing and emerging countries has led to improvement in the food consumption and nutrition situation in the last two decades. Nevertheless, about 870 million people, with a quarter of them from Sub-Saharan Africa, are still suffering from hunger worldwide. As part of measures to reduce the widespread poverty and hunger, cash transfer programmes are now being implemented in many countries of the world. While nationwide cash transfer schemes are few in Sub-Saharan Africa generally, the available ones are more concentrated in East and Southern Africa. Much of the available literature on social protection had focused on the poverty impact of cash transfer schemes at the household level, with the larger proportion originating from Latin America. On the contrary, much less empirical studies have been conducted on the poverty impact of cash transfer in Sub-Saharan Africa, let alone on the food security and nutrition impact. To fill this gap in knowledge, this paper examines the impact of cash transfer on food security in Nigeria. As a case study, the paper analysed the Ekiti State Cash Transfer Scheme (ECTS). ECTS is an unconditional transfer scheme which was established in 2011 to directly provide cash transfer to elderly persons aged 65 years and above in Ekiti State of Nigeria. Using survey data collected in 2013, we analysed the impact of the scheme on food availability and dietary diversity of the beneficiary households. Descriptive and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) techniques were used to estimate the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) and Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) among the beneficiary and control groups. Thereafter, a model to test for the impact of participation in the cash transfer scheme on calorie availability and dietary diversity was estimated. The results indicate that while households in the sample are clearly vulnerable, there were statistically significant differences between the beneficiary and control groups. For instance, monthly expenditure, calorie availability and dietary diversity were significantly larger among the beneficiary and consequently, the prevalence and depth of hunger were lower in the group. Econometric results indicate that the cash transfer has a positive and significant effect on food availability and dietary diversity in the households. Expanding the coverage of the present scheme to cover all eligible households in the country and incorporating cash transfer into a comprehensive hunger reduction policy will make it to have a greater impact at improving food security among the most vulnerable households in the country.

Keywords: calorie availability, cash transfers, dietary diversity, propensity score matching

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Authors: Kanogkan Leerojanaprapa

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Textile and garment industry is used to a major exporting industry of Thailand. According to lacking of the nation's price-competitiveness by stopping the EU's GSP (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) and ‘Nationwide Minimum Wage Policy’ that Thailand’s employers must pay all employees at least 300 baht (about $10) a day, the supply chains of the Thai textile and garment industry is affected and need to be reformed. Therefore, either Thai textile or garment industry will be existed or not would be concerned. This is also challenged for the government to decide which industries should be promoted the future industries of Thailand. Recently Thai government launch The Cluster-based Special Economic Development Zones Policy for promoting business cluster (effect on September 16, 2015). They define a cluster as the concentration of interconnected businesses and related institutions that operate within the same geographic areas and textiles and garment is one of target industrial clusters and 9 provinces are targeted (Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Chachoengsao, Prachinburi, and Sa Kaeo). The cluster zone are defined to link west-east corridor connected to manufacturing source in Cambodia and Mynmar to Bangkok where are promoted to be design, sourcing, and trading hub. The Thai government will provide tax and non-tax incentives for targeted industries within the clusters and expects these businesses are scattered to where they can get the most benefit which will identify future industrial cluster. This research will show the difference between the current cluster and future cluster following the target provinces of the textile and garment. The current cluster is analysed from secondary data. The four characteristics of the numbers of plants in Spinning, weaving and finishing of textiles, Manufacture of made-up textile articles, except apparel, Manufacture of knitted and crocheted fabrics, and Manufacture of other textiles, not elsewhere classified in particular 77 provinces (in total) are clustered by K-means cluster analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. In addition, the cluster can be confirmed and showed which variables contribute the most to defined cluster solution with ANOVA test. The results of analysis can identify 22 provinces (which the textile or garment plants are located) into 3 clusters. Plants in cluster 1 tend to be large numbers of plants which is only Bangkok, Next plants in cluster 2 tend to be moderate numbers of plants which are Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom. Finally plants in cluster 3 tend to be little numbers of plants which are other 18 provinces. The same methodology can be implemented in other industries for future study.

Keywords: ANOVA, hierarchical cluster analysis, industrial clusters, K -means cluster analysis, textile and garment industry

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Authors: Rosa S. Wong, Keith T. S. Tung, Frederick K. Ho, Winnie W. Y. Tso, King-wa Fu, Nirmala Rao, Patrick Ip

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As technology advances, exposures in early childhood are no longer confined to stimulations in the surrounding physical environments. Children nowadays are also subject to influences from the digital world. In particular, early access to game consoles can cause risks to child development, especially when the game is not developmentally appropriate for young children. Overstimulation is possible and could impair brain development. On the other hand, recreational parent-child activities, including outdoor activities and visits to museums, require child interaction with parents, which is beneficial for developing adaptive emotion regulation and social skills. Given the differences between these two types of exposures, this study investigated and compared the independent effects of early exposure to a game console and early play-based parent-child activities on children’s long-term psychosocial outcomes. This study used data from a subset of children (n=304, 142 male and 162 female) in the longitudinal cohort study, which studied the long-term impact of family socioeconomic status on child development. In 2012/13, we recruited a group of children at Kindergarten 3 (K3) randomly from Hong Kong local kindergartens and collected data regarding their duration of exposure to game console and recreational parent-child activities at that time. In 2018/19, we re-surveyed the parents of these children who were matriculated as Form 1 (F1) students (ages ranging from 11 to 13 years) in secondary schools and asked the parents to rate their children’s psychosocial problems in F1. Linear regressions were conducted to examine the associations between early exposures and adolescent psychosocial problems with and without adjustment for child gender and K3 family socioeconomic status. On average, K3 children spent about 42 minutes on a game console every day and had 2-3 recreational activities with their parents every week. Univariate analyses showed that more time spent on game consoles at K3 was associated with more psychosocial difficulties in F1 particularly more externalizing problems. The effect of early exposure to game console on externalizing behavior remained significant (B=0.59, 95%CI: 0.15 to 1.03, p=0.009) after adjusting for recreational parent-child activities and child gender. For recreational parent-child activities at K3, its effect on overall psychosocial difficulties became insignificant after adjusting for early exposure to game consoles and child gender. However, it was found to have significant protective effect on externalizing problems (B=-0.65, 95%CI: -1.23 to -0.07, p=0.028) even after adjusting for the confounders. Early exposure to game consoles has negative impact on children’s psychosocial health, whereas play-based parent-child activities can foster positive psychosocial outcomes. More efforts should be directed to propagate the risks and benefits of these activities and urge the parents and caregivers to replace child-alone screen time with parent-child play time in daily routine.

Keywords: early childhood, electronic device, parenting, psychosocial wellbeing

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Authors: Lacheheb Dhia Eddine Zakaria, Ballout Amor

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Today, it is necessary to be thrifty for its planet, on one hand the space being a rare, nonrenewable resource, and on the other hand the ecological, economic and social cost of the urban sprawl. It is commonly asserted that the promotion of a more compact and dense city has a positive effect in terms of public costs of investment, functioning and costs for the citizens and the users of the city. It is clear that the modes urban development management have to evolve profoundly, in particular towards a densification favourable to the raising of the urban quality through an ideal urban density on the scale of the individual housing estate. The lot as an individual housing estate was adopted as an alternative development model to the collective housing, thought in an anthropocentric perspective to emerge as a quality model where the density plays an important role, by being included in operations of a global coherence, in an optimal organization without forgetting the main importance of the deadlines of construction and the finalization of the works. The image of eternal construction site inflicted to our cities explains the renewed interest for the application of the regulatory framework and the completion of these limited operations without global coherence, which are summed up in our case to a ground cut in plots of land, sold then built independently without being finished, and support the relevance of the essential question of the improvement of the outside aspect bound to the appearance which can be revealed as a so important factor for a better use and a better acceptance of its housing environment, that the ratio of a number of houses on a plot of land or the number of square meters by house. To demonstrate the impact of the completion degree of the subdivision dwellings, roads system and urban public utilities on the density or the densification and therefore on the urban quality, we studied two residential subdivisions, the private subdivision Sellam and the subdivision El Imane with a common situation, and a different land surface, density and cutting, being occupied by various social classes, with different needs and different household average size. The approach of this work is based on the typo morphological analysis to reveal the differences in the degrees of completions of the subdivision’s built environment and on the investigation, by a household’s survey, to demonstrate importance of the degree of completion and to reveal the conditions of qualitative densification favourable and convenient to a better subdivision’s appropriation.

Keywords: subdivision, degree of completion, densification, urban quality

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Authors: Sijie Chen, Xiaofang Chen, Juan Wang, Yingying Zhang, Yu Hong, Wanyu Zhuang, Xinxin Huang, Ping Ou, Longsheng Huang

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Purpose: Autistic symptom improvement can be observed in children treated with acupuncture, but the mechanism is still being explored. In the present study, we used scalp acupuncture to treat autism rat model, and then their improvement in the abnormal behaviors and specific mechanisms behind were revealed by detecting animal behaviors, analyzing the RNA sequencing of the prefrontal cortex(PFC), and observing the ultrastructure of PFC neurons under the transmission electron microscope. Methods: On gestational day 12.5, Wistar rats were given valproic acid (VPA) by intraperitoneal injection, and their offspring were considered to be reliable rat models of autism. They were randomized to VPA or VPA-acupuncture group (n=8). Offspring of Wistar pregnant rats that were simultaneously injected with saline were randomly selected as the wild-type group (WT). VPA_acupuncture group rats received acupuncture intervention at 23 days of age for 4 weeks, and the other two groups followed without intervention. After the intervention, all experimental rats underwent behavioral tests. Immediately afterward, they were euthanized by cervical dislocation, and their prefrontal cortex was isolated for RNA sequencing and transmission electron microscopy. Results: The main results are as follows: 1. Animal behavioural tests: VPA group rats showed more anxiety-like behaviour and repetitive, stereotyped behaviour than WT group rats. While VPA group rats showed less spatial exploration ability, activity level, social interaction, and social novelty preference than WT group rats. It was gratifying to observe that acupuncture indeed improved these abnormal behaviors of autism rat model. 2. RNA-sequencing: The three groups of rats differed in the expression and enrichment pathways of multiple genes related to synaptic function, neural signal transduction, and circadian rhythm regulation. Our experiments indicated that acupuncture can alleviate the major symptoms of ASD by improving these neurological abnormalities. 3. Under the transmission electron microscopy, several lysosomes and mitochondrial structural abnormalities were observed in the prefrontal neurons of VPA group rats, which were manifested as atrophy of the mitochondrial membran, blurring or disappearance of the mitochondrial cristae, and even vacuolization. Moreover, the number of synapses and synaptic vesicles was relatively small. Conversely, the mitochondrial structure of rats in the WT group and VPA_acupuncture was normal, and the number of synapses and synaptic vesicles was relatively large. Conclusion: Acupuncture effectively improved the abnormal behaviors of autism rat model and the ultrastructure of the PFC neurons, which might worked by improving their abnormal synaptic function, synaptic plasticity and promoting neuronal signal transduction.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, acupuncture, animal behavior, RNA sequencing, transmission electron microscope

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Authors: Till Gramberg, Max Kellner, Erwin Gross

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This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the topic of smart services and IIoT-Platforms, focusing on their selection and prioritization in manufacturing organizations. First, a literature review is conducted to provide a basic understanding of the current state of research in the area of smart services. Based on discussed and established definitions, a definition approach for this paper is developed. In addition, value propositions for smart services are identified based on the literature and expert interviews. Furthermore, the general requirements for the provision of smart services are presented. Subsequently, existing approaches for the selection and development of smart services are identified and described. In order to determine the requirements for the selection of smart services, expert opinions from successful companies that have already implemented smart services are collected through semi-structured interviews. Based on the results, criteria for the evaluation of existing methods are derived. The existing methods are then evaluated according to the identified criteria. Furthermore, a novel method for the selection of smart services in manufacturing companies is developed, taking into account the identified criteria and the existing approaches. The developed concept for the method is verified in expert interviews. The method includes a collection of relevant smart services identified in the literature. The actual relevance of the use cases in the industrial environment was validated in an online survey. The required data and sensors are assigned to the smart service use cases. The value proposition of the use cases is evaluated in an expert workshop using different indicators. Based on this, a comparison is made between the identified value proposition and the required data, leading to a prioritization process. The prioritization process follows an established procedure for evaluating technical decision-making processes. In addition to the technical requirements, the prioritization process includes other evaluation criteria such as the economic benefit, the conformity of the new service offering with the company strategy, or the customer retention enabled by the smart service. Finally, the method is applied and validated in an industrial environment. The results of these experiments are critically reflected upon and an outlook on future developments in the area of smart services is given. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the selection and prioritization process as well as the technical considerations associated with smart service implementation in manufacturing organizations. The proposed method serves as a valuable guide for decision makers, helping them to effectively select the most appropriate smart services for their specific organizational needs.

Keywords: smart services, IIoT, industrie 4.0, IIoT-platform, big data

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Authors: Josephine Muchiri, Makena Muriithi

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Adverse mental health consequences are experienced by those that have been touched by Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), whether directly or indirectly. These negative effects are felt not only in the short term but in years to come. It is important to examine the prevalence and co-occurrence of mental disorders in order to provide strategic interventions for women who have experienced IPV. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and comorbidity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Depression, and Anxiety among women who had experienced intimate Partner violence in two selected informal settlements in Nairobi County, Kenya. Participants were 116 women (15-60 years) selected through purposive and snowball sampling from the low social, economic settlements (Kawangware and Kibera) in Nairobi, Kenya. A social demographic questionnaire and the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) were used to collect data on intimate partner violence experiences. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Beck’s Depression Inventory, and the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, respectively. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29, utilizing descriptive and correlation analyses. Findings indicated that the women had undergone various forms of abuse from their intimate partners, which were physical abuse 111(92.5%), sexual abuse 70(88.6%), and verbal abuse 92(93.9%). The prevalence of the mental disorders was PTSD 47(32.4%); M= 44.11, S.D =14.67, depression was the highest at n=131(90.3%; M=33.37±9.98) with the levels of depression having varying prevalence rates where severe depression had the highest representation [moderate: n= 35; 24.1%, severe: n=69 (47.6%) and extremely severe: n=27(18.6%)]. Anxiety had the second highest prevalence of n=99 (68.8%; M= 28.55±13.63) with differing prevalence rates in the levels of anxiety which were normal anxiety: 45(31.3%), moderate anxiety n=62(43.1%) and severe anxiety: n=37(25.7%). Regarding comorbidities, the Pearson correlation test showed that there was a significant (p=0.000) positive relationship between PTSD and depression (r=0.379; p=.000), PTSD and anxiety (r=0.624; p=.000), and depression and anxiety (r=0.386; p=.000) such that increase in one disorder concomitantly led to increase of the other two disorders; hence comorbidity of the three disorders was ascertained. Conclusion: The study asserted the adverse impacts of IPV on women’s mental well-being, where the prevalence of PTSD, depression, and anxiety was established. Almost all the women had depressive symptoms; whereas more than half had anxiety and slightly more than a third had PTSD. Regarding the severity levels of anxiety and depression, almost half of the women with depression had severe depression whereas moderate anxiety was more prevalent for those with anxiety. The three disorders were found to co-occur where comorbidities of PTSD and anxiety had the highest probability of co-occurrence. It is thus recommended that mental health interventions with a focus on the three disorders be offered for women undergoing IPV.

Keywords: anxiety, comorbidity, depression, intimate partner violence, post-traumatic stress disorder

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Authors: Nadia Noor, Farida Faisal

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Horizontal hostility has been identified as a special type of workplace violence and refers to the aggressive behavior inflicted by women towards other women due to gender issues or towards minority group members due to minority issues. Many women, while they want eagerly to succeed and invest invigorated efforts to achieve success, harbor negative feelings for other women to succeed in their career. This phenomenon has been known as Horizontal Violence, Horizontal Hostility, Lateral Violence, Indirect Aggression, or The Tall Poppy Syndrome in Australian culture. Tall Poppy is referred to as a visibly successful individual who attracts envy or hostility due to distinctive characteristics. Therefore, horizontal hostility provides theoretical foundation to examine fierce competition among females than males for their limited access to top level management positions. In Pakistan, gender discrimination persists due to male dominance in the society and women do not enjoy basic equality rights in all aspects of life. They are oppressed at social and organizational level. As Government has been trying to enhance women participation through providing more employment opportunities, provision of peaceful workplace is mandatory that will enable aspiring females to achieve objectives of career success. This research study will help to understand antecedents, dimensions and outcomes of horizontal hostility that hinder career success of competitive females. The present paper is a review paper and various forms of horizontal hostility have been discussed in detail. Different psychological and organizational level drivers of horizontal hostility have been explored through literature. Psychological drivers include oppression, lack of empowerment, learned helplessness and low self-esteem. Organizational level drivers include sticky floor, glass ceiling, toxic work environment and leadership role. Horizontal hostility among working women results in psychological and physical outcomes including stress, low motivation, poor job performance and intention to leave. The study recommends provision of healthy and peaceful work environment that will enable competent women to achieve objectives of career success. In this regard, concrete actions and effective steps are required to promote gender equality at social and organizational level. The need is to ensure the enforcement of legal frameworks by government agencies in order to provide healthy working environment to women by reducing harassment and violence against them. Organizations must eradicate drivers of horizontal hostility and provide women peaceful work environment. In order to develop coping skills, training and mentoring must be provided to them.

Keywords: gender discrimination, glass ceiling, horizontal hostility, oppression

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Authors: Silvia Lucciarini, Antonio Corasaniti

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The issue of democracy in capitalist countries has once again become the focus of debate in recent years. A number of socio-economic and political tensions have triggered discussion of this topic from various perspectives and disciplines. Political developments, the rise of both right-wing parties and populism and the constant growth of inequalities in a context of welfare downsizing, have led scholars to question if European capitalist countries are really capable of creating and redistributing resources and look for elements that might make democratic capital in European countries more dense. The aim of the work is to shed light on the trajectories, intensity and convergence or divergence between political and associative participation, on one hand, and organization, on the other, as these constitute two of the main points of connection between the norms, values and actions that bind citizens to the state. Using the European Social Survey database, some studies have sought to analyse degrees of unionization by investigating the relationship between systems of industrial relations and vulnerable groups (in terms of value-oriented practices or political participation). This paper instead aims to investigate the relationship between union participation and civil/political participation, comparing union members and non-members and then distinguishing between employees and self-employed professionals to better understand participatory behaviors among different workers. The first component of the research will employ a multilinear logistic model to examine a sample of 10 countries selected according to a grid that combines the industrial relations models identified by Visser (2006) and the Welfare State systems identified by Esping-Andersen (1990). On the basis of this sample, we propose to compare the choices made by workers and their propensity to join trade unions, together with their level of social and political participation, from 2002 to 2016. In the second component, we aim to verify whether workers within the same system of industrial relations and welfare show a similar propensity to engage in civil participation through political bodies and associations, or if instead these tendencies take on more specific and varied forms. The results will allow us to see: (1) if political participation is higher among unionized workers than it is among the non-unionized. (2) what are the differences in unionisation and civil/political participation between self-employed, temporary and full-time employees and (3) whether the trajectories within industrial relations and welfare models display greater inclusiveness and participation, thereby confirming or disproving the patterns that have been documented among the different European countries.

Keywords: union membership, participation, democracy, industrial relations, welfare systems

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Authors: Agâh Tuğrul Korucu, Ismail Fatih Yavuzaslan, Lale Toraman

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Nowadays, thanks to development of technology, integration of technology into teaching and learning activities is spreading. Increasing technological literacy which is one of the expected competencies for individuals of 21st century is associated with the effective use of technology in education. The most important factor in effective use of technology in education institutions is ICT teachers. The concept of computer assisted instruction (CAI) refers to the utilization of information and communication technology as a tool aided teachers in order to make education more efficient and improve its quality in the process of educational. Teachers can use computers in different places and times according to owned hardware and software facilities and characteristics of the subject and student in CAI. Analyzing teachers’ use of computers in education is significant because teachers are the ones who manage the course and they are the most important element in comprehending the topic by students. To accomplish computer-assisted instruction efficiently is possible through having positive attitude of teachers. Determination the level of knowledge, attitude and behavior of teachers who get the professional knowledge from educational faculties and elimination of deficiencies if any are crucial when teachers are at the faculty. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify ICT teachers' attitudes toward computer-assisted instruction in terms of different variables. Research group consists of 200 prospective ICT teachers studying at Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet Keleşoğlu Faculty of Education CEIT department. As data collection tool of the study; “personal information form” developed by the researchers and used to collect demographic data and "the attitude scale related to computer-assisted instruction" are used. The scale consists of 20 items. 10 of these items show positive feature, while 10 of them show negative feature. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) coefficient of the scale is found 0.88 and Barlett test significance value is found 0.000. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of the scale is found 0.93. In order to analyze the data collected by data collection tools computer-based statistical software package used; statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance are utilized. It is determined that the attitudes of prospective instructors towards computers do not differ according to their educational branches. On the other hand, the attitudes of prospective instructors who own computers towards computer-supported education are determined higher than those of the prospective instructors who do not own computers. It is established that the departments of students who previously received computer lessons do not affect this situation so much. The result is that; the computer experience affects the attitude point regarding the computer-supported education positively.

Keywords: computer based instruction, teacher candidate, attitude, technology based instruction, information and communication technologies

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Authors: Taba Tath

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Arunachal Pradesh, located in the easternmost part of India, is known for its natural beauty and diverse tribal lifestyles. The state has the highest species richness and biological diversity among Northeast states in terms of flora, fauna, and tribal traditions and culture. The protection of nature and culture is a practice that is widely used by governments or nongovernmental organizations seeking to preserve the scenic beauty of landscapes and their natural resources in spaces that stand out for their natural and cultural value and have not been heavily impacted by human activity. The whole of Arunachal Pradesh comes under the purview of special permits such as the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) for domestic and foreign travellers, respectively. Due to politically vibrant areas and naturally fragile in nature, the state needs to be protected, but at the same time, the demand for tourism activities is increasing gradually due to its unique blend of nature and socio-cultural richness. There are 13 protected areas in the state which is unexplored, and there are no tourism activities in these protected areas except for Namdapha National Park. Out of 13 protected areas, the Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the well-managed protected areas located near the Assam-Arunachal border, approximately 40km away from Tezpur town, Assam. The state has great potential for wildlife and nature-based tourism development, which can also indirectly support wildlife and nature-based livelihood options for the local inhabitants living in the peripheral of the sanctuary area due to its high richness in terms of flora and fauna. To promote the richness of the state, boost tourism, and the economic, social and environmental development of the area and local communities, a proper tourism management practice and framework are very much required. The research paper has made an attempt to study the role of stakeholders in preserving and promoting the Protected Areas for tourism development in a sustainable way. This is both a primary and secondary study conducted with field visits, interaction, questionnaire and observation with the various stakeholders and also conducted with the Government reports, magazines and other published sources available. Furthermore, this study will be relevant to all stakeholders for having knowledge and processes for promoting tourism in Protected Areas in a sustainable way. The results will provide relevant information and process for the management and promotion of the protected Areas and to strengthen the sustainable tourism activities in these areas.

Keywords: protected area, inner line permit, protected area permit, management, government, nongovernmental organization, stakeholders, sustainable, natural resources

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Authors: Perpetua Modjadji, Sphiwe Madiba

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Background: The growth patterns of children are good nutritional indicators of their nutritional status, health, and socioeconomic level. However, the maternal factors and the belief system of the society affect the growth of children promoting undernutrition. This study determined the influence of maternal factors on growth patterns of schoolchildren in a rural site. Methods: A convergent mixed method study was conducted among 508 schoolchildren and their mothers in Dikgale Health and Demographic Surveillance System Site, South Africa. Multistage sampling was used to select schools (purposive) and learners (random), who were paired with their mothers. Anthropometry was measured and socio-demographic, obstetrical, household information, maternal influence on children’s nutrition, and growth were assessed using an interviewer administered questionnaire (quantitative). The influence of the cultural beliefs and practices of mothers on the nutrition and growth of their children was explored using focus group discussions (qualitative). Narratives of mothers were used to best understand growth patterns of schoolchildren (mixed method). Data were analyzed using STATA 14 (quantitative) and Nvivo 11 (qualitative). Quantitative and qualitative data were merged for integrated mixed method analysis using a joint display analysis. Results: Mean age of children was 10 ± 2 years, ranging from 6 to 15 years. Substantial percentages of thinness (25%), underweight (24%), and stunting (22%) were observed among the children. Mothers had a mean age of 37 ± 7 years, and 75% were overweight or obese. A depressed socio-economic status indicated by a higher rate of unemployment with no income (82.3%), and dependency on social grants (86.8%) was observed. Determinants of poor growth patterns were child’s age and gender, maternal age, height and BMI, access to water supply, and refrigerator use. The narratives of mothers suggested that the children in most of their households were exposed to poverty and the inadequate intake of quality food. Conclusion: Poor growth patterns were observed among schoolchildren while their mothers were overweight or obese. Child’s gender, school grade, maternal body mass index, and access to water were the main determinants. Congruence was observed between most qualitative themes and quantitative constructs. A need for a multi sectoral approach considering an evidence based and feasible nutrition programs for schoolchildren, especially those in rural settings and educating mothers, cannot be over-emphasized.

Keywords: growth patterns, maternal factors, rural context, schoolchildren, South Africa

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Authors: Diana Mitova, Krassimir Mitrev

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

Keywords: STEM, entrepreneurship, training company, extracurricular activities

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Z. Karahaliloğlu, E. Yalçın, M. Demirbilek, E.B. Denkbaş

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Critical-sized bone defects caused by trauma, bone diseases, prosthetic implant revision or tumor excision cannot be repaired by physiological regenerative processes. Current orthopedic applications for critical-sized bone defects are to use autologous bone grafts, bone allografts, or synthetic graft materials. However, these strategies are unable to solve completely the problem, and motivate the development of novel effective biological scaffolds for tissue engineering applications and regenerative medicine applications. In particular, scaffolds combined with a variety of bio-agents as fundamental tools emerge to provide the regeneration of damaged bone tissues due to their ability to promote cell growth and function. In this study, a magnetic silk fibroin (SF) hydrogel scaffold was prepared by electrogelation process of the concentrated Bombxy mori silk fibroin (8 %wt) aqueous solution. For enhancement of osteoblast-like cells (SaOS-2) growth and adhesion, basal fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were conjugated physically to the HSA-coated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) and magnetic SF e-gel scaffolds were prepared by incorporation of Fe3O4, HSA (human serum albumin)=Fe3O4 and HSA=Fe3O4-bFGF nanoparticles. HSA=Fe3O4, HSA=Fe3O4-bFGF loaded and bare SF e-gels scaffolds were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM.) For cell studies, human osteoblast-like cell line (SaOS-2) was used and an MTT assay was used to assess the cytotoxicity of magnetic silk fibroin e-gel scaffolds and cell density on these surfaces. For the evaluation osteogenic activation, ALP (alkaline phosphatase), the amount of mineralized calcium, total protein and collagen were studied. Fe3O4 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized and bFGF was conjugated to HSA=Fe3O4 nanoparticles with %97.5 of binding yield which has a particle size of 71.52±2.3 nm. Electron microscopy images of the prepared HSA and bFGF incorporated SF e-gel scaffolds showed a 3D porous morphology. In terms of water uptake results, bFGF conjugated HSA=Fe3O4 nanoparticles has the best water absorbability behavior among all groups. In the in-vitro cell culture studies realized using SaOS-2 cell line, the coating of Fe3O4 nanoparticles surface with a protein enhance the cell viability and HSA coating and bFGF conjugation, the both have an inductive effect in the cell proliferation. One of the markers of bone formation and osteoblast differentiation, according to the ALP activity and total protein results, HSA=Fe3O4-bFGF loaded SF e-gels had significantly enhanced ALP activity. Osteoblast cultured HSA=Fe3O4-bFGF loaded SF e-gels deposited more calcium compared with SF e-gel. The proposed magnetic scaffolds seem to be promising for bone tissue regeneration and used in future work for various applications.

Keywords: basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), e-gel, iron oxide nanoparticles, silk fibroin

Procedia PDF Downloads 284

Authors: Bisemiire Anthony,

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PESH Poultry is a business project proposed specifically to solve unemployment and income-related problems affecting the youths in the Busia district. The project is intended to transform the life of the youth in terms of economic, social and behavioral, as well as the domestic well-being of the community at large. PESH Poultry is a start-up poultry farm that will be engaged in the keeping of poultry birds, broilers and layers for the production of quality and affordable poultry meat and eggs respectively and other poultry derivatives targeting consumers in eastern Uganda, for example, hotels, restaurants, households and bakeries. We intend to use a semi-intensive system of farming, where water and some food are provided in a separate nighttime shelter for the birds; our location will be in Lumino, Busia district. The poultry project will be established and owned by Bisemiire Anthony, Nandera Patience, Naula Justine, Bwire Benjamin and other investors. The farm will be managed and directed by Nandera Patience, who has five years of work experience and business administration knowledge. We will sell poultry products, including poultry eggs, chicken meat, feathers and poultry manure. We also offer consultancy services for poultry farming. Our eggs and chicken meat are hygienic, rich in protein and high quality. We produce processes and packages to meet the standard organization of Uganda and international standards. The business project shall comprise five (5) workers on the key management team who will share various roles and responsibilities in the identified business functions such as marketing, finance and other related poultry farming activities. PESH Poultry seeks 30 million Ugandan shillings in long-term financing to cover start-up costs, equipment, building expenses and working capital. Funding for the launch of the business will be provided primarily by equity from the investors. The business will reach positive cash flow in its first year of operation, allowing for the expected repayment of its loan obligations. Revenue will top UGX 11,750,000, and net income will reach about UGX115 950,000 in the 1st year of operation. The payback period for our project is 2 years and 3 months. The farm plans on starting with 1000 layer birds and 1000 broiler birds, 20 workers in the first year of operation.

Keywords: chicken, pullets, turkey, ducks

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Mayank Mishra

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Market Economy can be broadly defined as economic system where supply and demand regulate the economy and in which decisions pertaining to production, consumption, allocation of resources, price and competition are made by collective actions of individuals or organisations with limited government intervention. On the other hand Market Society is one where instead of the economy being embedded in social relations, social relations are embedded in the economy. A market economy becomes a market society when all of land, labour and capital are commodified. This transition also has effect on people’s attitude and values. Such a transition commence impacting the non-material aspect of life such as public education, public health and the like. The inception of neoliberal policies in non-market norms altered the nature of social goods like public health that raised the following questions. What impact would the transition to a market society make on people in terms of accessibility to public health? Is healthcare a commodity that can be subjected to a competitive market place? What kind of private investments are being made in public health and how do private investments alter the nature of a public good like healthcare? This research problem will employ empirical-analytical approach that includes deductive reasoning which will be using the existing concept of market economy and market society as a foundation for the analytical framework and the hypotheses to be examined. The research also intends to inculcate the naturalistic elements of qualitative methodology which refers to studying of real world situations as they unfold. The research will analyse the existing literature available on the subject. Concomitantly the research intends to access the primary literature which includes reports from the World Bank, World Health Organisation (WHO) and the different departments of respective ministries of the countries for the analysis. This paper endeavours to highlight how the issue of commodification of public health would lead to perpetual increase in its inaccessibility leading to stratification of healthcare services where one can avail the better services depending on the extent of one’s ability to pay. Since the fundamental maxim of private investments is to churn out profits, these kinds of trends would pose a detrimental effect on the society at large perpetuating the lacuna between the have and the have-nots.The increasing private investments, both, domestic and foreign, in public health sector are leading to increasing inaccessibility of public health services. Despite the increase in various public health schemes the quality and impact of government public health services are on a continuous decline.

Keywords: commodity, India and Pakistan, market society, public health

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: Judit Perjessy, Zsolt Zalan, Ferenc Hegyi, Eniko Horvath-Szanics, Krisztina Takacs, Andras Nagy, Adel Klupacs, Erika Koppany-Szabo, Zhirong Wang, Kaituo Wang, Muying Du, Jianquan Kan

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The post-harvest diseases cause great economic losses in the fruit and vegetables; the prevention of these deterioration has great importance. Against the fungi, which cause most of the diseases, are extensively used the fungicides. However, there are increasing consumer concerns over the presence of pesticide residues in food. An alternative and in recent years, increasingly studied method for the prevention of the diseases is biocontrol, where antagonistic microorganisms are used for the control of fungi. The genera of Lactobacillus is well known and extensively studied, but its applicability as biocontrol agents in post-harvest preservation of fruit and vegetables is poorly investigated. However these bacteria can be found on the surface of the plants and have great antimicrobial activity. In our study we have investigated the chitinase activity, the antifungal effect and the applicability of several Lactobacillus strains to select potential biocontrol agents. We investigated the determination of the environmental parameters of a gene (encoding chitinase) expression and we also investigated the relationship between actual antifungal activity and potential chitinase activity. Mixed cultures were also developed to enhance the antifungal activity and determined the optimal mold spore and bacteria concentration ratio for the appropriate efficacy. Five Lactobacillus strains (L. acidophilus N2, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus B397, L. sp. 2231, L. sake subsp. sake 2471, L. buchneri 1145) possess chitinase-coding gene from the 43 investigated Lactobacillus strains. Proteins with similar molecular weight and separation properties like bacterial chitinases were detected from these strains, which also possess chitin-binding property. Nevertheless, they were inactive, lacks the chitinolytic activity. In point of the cumulative activity of inhibition, our results showed that certain strains were statistically significant in a positive direction compared to other strains, e.g., L. rhamnosus VT1 and L. Casey 154 have shown great general antifungal effect against 11 molds from the genera Penicillium and Botrytis and isolated from spoiled fruit and vegetables. Also, some mixed cultures (L. rhamnosus VT1 - L. Plantarum 299v) showed significant antifungal effects against the indigenous molds on the surface of apple fruit during the industrial storage experiment. Thus, they could be promising for post-harvest biopreservation.

Keywords: biocontrol, chitinase, Lactobacillus, post-harvest

Procedia PDF Downloads 153

Authors: Satoshi Kusaka

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The term ‘competency’ is attracting considerable scholarly attention worldwide with the advance of globalization in the 21st century and with the arrival of a knowledge-based society. In the current world environment, familiarity with varied disciplines is regarded to be vital for personal success. The idea of a competency-based educational system was mooted by the ‘Definition and Selection of Competencies (DeSeCo)’ project that was conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Further, attention to this topic is not limited to developed countries; it can also be observed in developing countries. For instance, the importance of a competency-based curriculum was mentioned in the ‘2013 Harmonized Curriculum Framework for the East African Community’, which recommends key competencies that should be developed in primary schools. The introduction of such curricula and the reviews of programs are actively being executed, primarily in the East African Community but also in neighboring nations. Taking Mozambique as a case in point, the present paper examines the conception of ‘competency’ as a target of frontline education in developing countries. It also aims to discover the manner in which the syllabus, textbooks and lessons, among other things, in primary-level math education are developed and to determine the challenges faced in the process. This study employs the perspective of competency-based education design to analyze how the term ‘competency’ is defined in the primary-level math syllabus, how it is reflected in the textbooks, and how the lessons are actually developed. ‘Practical competency’ is mentioned in the syllabus, and the description of the term lays emphasis on learners' ability to interactively apply socio-cultural and technical tools, which is one of the key competencies that are advocated in OECD's ‘Definition and Selection of Competencies’ project. However, most of the content of the textbooks pertains to ‘basic academic ability’, and in actual classroom practice, teachers often impart lessons straight from the textbooks. It is clear that the aptitude of teachers and their classroom routines are greatly dependent on the cultivation of their own ‘practical competency’ as it is defined in the syllabus. In other words, there is great divergence between the ‘syllabus’, which is the intended curriculum, and the content of the ‘textbooks’. In fact, the material in the textbooks should serve as the bridge between the syllabus, which forms the guideline, and the lessons, which represent the ‘implemented curriculum’. Moreover, the results obtained from this investigation reveal that the problem can only be resolved through the cultivation of ‘practical competency’ in teachers, which is currently not sufficient.

Keywords: competency, curriculum, mathematics education, Mozambique

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Ana Caroline Ibrahim Lino, Denise Bomtempo Birche de Carvalho

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The background of this research is the international process of control and monitoring of illicit psychoactive substances that has commenced in the early 20th century. This process was intensified with the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and had its culmination in the 1970s with the "War on drugs", a doctrine undertaken by the United States of America. Since then, the phenomenon of drug prohibition has been pushing debates around alternatives of public policies to confront their consequences at a global level and in the specific context of Latin America. Previous research has answered the following key questions: a) With what characteristics and models has the international illicit drug control system consolidated in Latin America with the creation of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD)? b) What drug policies and programs were determined as guidelines for the member states by the OAS and CICAD? The present paper mainly addresses the analysis of the drug strategies developed by the OAS/CICAD for the Americas from 2004 to 2016. The primary sources have been extracted from the OAS/CICAD documents and reports, listed on the Internet sites of these organizations. Secondary sources refer to bibliographic research on the subject with the following descriptors: illicit drugs, public policies, international organizations, OAS, CICAD, and reducing the demand and supply of illicit drugs. The "content analysis" technique was used to organize the collected material and to choose the axes of analysis. The results show that the policies, strategies, and action plans for Latin America had been focused on anti-drug actions since the creation of the Commission until 2010. The discourses and policies to reduce drug demand and supply were of great importance for solving the problem. However, the real focus was on eliminating the substances by controlling the production, marketing, and distribution of illicit drugs. Little attention was given to the users and their families. The research is of great relevance to the Social Work. The guidelines and parameters of the Social Worker's profession are in line with the need for social, ethical, and political strengthening of any dimension that guarantees the rights of users of psychoactive substances. In addition, it contributed to the understanding of the political, economic, social, and cultural factors that structure the prohibitionism, whose matrix anchors the deprivation of rights and violence.

Keywords: illicit drug policies, international organizations, latin America, prohibitionism, reduce the demand and supply of illicit drugs

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Bessy Thuranira

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Buildings, as they are designed and used, may contribute to serious environmental problems because of excessive consumption of energy and other natural resources. Buildings in the informal settlements particularly, due to their unplanned physical structure and design, have significantly contributed the global energy problematic scenario typified by high-level inefficiencies. Energy used in buildings in Africa is estimated to be the highest of the total national electricity consumption. Over the last decade, assessments of energy consumption and efficiency/inefficiency has focused on formal and modern buildings. This study seeks to go off the beaten path, by focusing on energy use in informal settlements. Operationally, it sought to establish the contribution of informal buildings in the overall energy consumption in the city and the country at large. This study was carried out in Mukuru kwa Reuben informal settlement where there is distinct manifestation of different settlement morphologies within a small locality. The research narrowed down to three villages (Mombasa, Kosovo and Railway villages) within the settlement, that were representative of the different slum housing typologies. Due to the unpredictability nature and informality in slums, this study takes a multi-methodology approach. Detailed energy audits and measurements are carried out to predict total building consumption, and document building design and envelope, typology, materials and occupancy levels. Moreover, the study uses semi-structured interviews and to access energy supply, cost, access and consumption patterns. Observations and photographs are also used to shed more light on these parameters. The study reveals the high energy inefficiencies in slum buildings mainly related to sub-standard equipment and appliances, building design and settlement layout, poor access and utilization/consumption patterns of energy. The impacts of this inefficiency are high economic burden to the poor, high levels of pollution, lack of thermal comfort and emissions to the environment. The study highlights a set of urban planning and building design principles that can be used to retrofit slums into more energy efficient settlements. The study explores principles of responsive settlement layouts/plans and appropriate building designs that use the beneficial elements of nature to achieve natural lighting, natural ventilation, and solar control to create thermally comfortable, energy efficient, and environmentally responsive buildings/settlements. As energy efficiency in informal settlements is a relatively less explored area of efficiency, it requires further research and policy recommendations, for which this paper will set a background.

Keywords: energy efficiency, informal settlements, renewable energy, settlement layout

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Claudia García-García, Catalina B. García-García, Román Salmerón-Gómez

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Much economic-environmental research includes the analysis of possible interactions by using Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA), which is a specific application of multiple linear regression analysis. This methodology allows analyzing how the effect of one of the independent variables is moderated by a second independent variable by adding a cross-product term between them as an additional explanatory variable. Due to the very specification of the methodology, the moderated factor is often highly correlated with the constitutive terms. Thus, great multicollinearity problems arise. The appearance of strong multicollinearity in a model has important consequences. Inflated variances of the estimators may appear, there is a tendency to consider non-significant regressors that they probably are together with a very high coefficient of determination, incorrect signs of our coefficients may appear and also the high sensibility of the results to small changes in the dataset. Finally, the high relationship among explanatory variables implies difficulties in fixing the individual effects of each one on the model under study. These consequences shifted to the moderated analysis may imply that it is not worth including an interaction term that may be distorting the model. Thus, it is important to manage the problem with some methodology that allows for obtaining reliable results. After a review of those works that applied the MRA among the ten top journals of the field, it is clear that multicollinearity is mostly disregarded. Less than 15% of the reviewed works take into account potential multicollinearity problems. To overcome the issue, this work studies the possible application of recent methodologies to MRA. Particularly, the raised regression is analyzed. This methodology mitigates collinearity from a geometrical point of view: the collinearity problem arises because the variables under study are very close geometrically, so by separating both variables, the problem can be mitigated. Raise regression maintains the available information and modifies the problematic variables instead of deleting variables, for example. Furthermore, the global characteristics of the initial model are also maintained (sum of squared residuals, estimated variance, coefficient of determination, global significance test and prediction). The proposal is implemented to data from countries of the European Union during the last year available regarding greenhouse gas emissions, per capita GDP and a dummy variable that represents the topography of the country. The use of a dummy variable as the moderator is a special variant of MRA, sometimes called “subgroup regression analysis.” The main conclusion of this work is that applying new techniques to the field can improve in a substantial way the results of the analysis. Particularly, the use of raised regression mitigates great multicollinearity problems, so the researcher is able to rely on the interaction term when interpreting the results of a particular study.

Keywords: multicollinearity, MRA, interaction, raise

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Loredana E. Nita, Aurica P. Chiriac, Elena Stoleru, Alina Diaconu, Tudorachi Nita

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Self-assembly processes are an attractive method to form new and complex structures between macromolecular compounds to be used for specific applications. In this context, intramolecular and intermolecular bonds play a key role during self-assembling processes in preparation of carrier systems of bioactive substances. Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) are formed through electrostatic interactions, and though they are significantly below of the covalent linkages in their strength, these complexes are sufficiently stable owing to the association processes. The relative ease way of PECs formation makes from them a versatile tool for preparation of various materials, with properties that can be tuned by adjusting several parameters, such as the chemical composition and structure of polyelectrolytes, pH and ionic strength of solutions, temperature and post-treatment procedures. For example, protein-polyelectrolyte complexes (PPCs) are playing an important role in various chemical and biological processes, such as protein separation, enzyme stabilization and polymer drug delivery systems. The present investigation is focused on evaluation of the PPC formation between a synthetic polypeptide (poly(aspartic acid) – PAS) and a natural protein (bovine serum albumin - BSA). The PPC obtained from PAS and BSA in different ratio was investigated by corroboration of various techniques of characterization as: spectroscopy, microscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis, DLS and zeta potential determination, measurements which were performed in static and/or dynamic conditions. The static contact angle of the sample films was also determined in order to evaluate the changes brought upon surface free energy of the prepared PPCs in interdependence with the complexes composition. The evolution of hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of the PPC, recorded in situ, confirm changes of both co-partners conformation, a 1/1 ratio between protein and polyelectrolyte being benefit for the preparation of a stable PPC. Also, the study evidenced the dependence of PPC formation on the temperature of preparation. Thus, at low temperatures the PPC is formed with compact structure, small dimension and hydrodynamic diameter, close to those of BSA. The behavior at thermal treatment of the prepared PPCs is in agreement with the composition of the complexes. From the contact angle determination results the increase of the PPC films cohesion, which is higher than that of BSA films. Also, a higher hydrophobicity corresponds to the new PPC films denoting a good adhesion of the red blood cells onto the surface of PSA/BSA interpenetrated systems. The SEM investigation evidenced as well the specific internal structure of PPC concretized in phases with different size and shape in interdependence with the interpolymer mixture composition.

Keywords: polyelectrolyte – protein complex, bovine serum albumin, poly(aspartic acid), self-assembly

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: Barbara Behre, Verolien Cauberghe, Dieneke Van de Sompel

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Sustainable consumption is on the rise, yet it has still not entered the mainstream in several industries, such as the fashion industry. In online fashion contexts, sustainability cues have been used to signal the sustainable benefits of certain garments to promote sustainable consumption. These sustainable cues may focus on the ecological or social dimension of sustainability. Since sustainability, in general, relates to distant, abstract benefits, the current study aims to examine if and how psychological distance may mediate the effects of exposure to different sustainability cues on consumption outcomes. Following the framework of Construal Level Theory of Psychological Distance, reduced psychological distance renders the construal level more concrete, which may influence attitudes and subsequent behavior in situations like fashion shopping. Most studies investigated sustainability as a composite, failing to differentiate between ecological and societal aspects of sustainability. The few studies examining sustainability more in detail uncovered that environmental sustainability is rather perceived in abstract cognitive construal, whereas social sustainability is linked to concrete construal. However, the construal level affiliation of the sustainability dimensions likely is not universally applicable to different domains and stages of consumption, which further suggest a need to clarify the relationships between environmental and social sustainability dimensions and the construal level of psychological distance within fashion brand consumption. While psychological distance and construal level have been examined in the context of sustainability, these studies yielded mixed results. The inconsistent findings of past studies might be due to the context-dependence of psychological distance as inducing construal differently in diverse situations. Especially in a hedonic consumption context like online fashion shopping, the role of visual processing of information could determine behavioural outcomes as linked to situational construal. Given the influence of the mode of processing on psychological distance and construal level, the current study examines the moderating role of verbal versus non-verbal presentation of the sustainability cues. In a 3 (environmental sustainability vs. social sustainability vs. control) x 2 (non-verbal message vs. verbal message) between subjects experiment, the present study thus examines how consumers evaluate sustainable brands in online shopping contexts in terms of psychological distance and construal level, as well as the impact on brand attitudes and buying intentions. The results among 246 participants verify the differential impact of the sustainability dimensions on fashion brand purchase intent as mediated by construal level and perceived psychological distance. The ecological sustainability cue is perceived as more concrete, which might be explained by consumer bias induced by the predominance of pro-environmental sustainability messages. The verbal versus non-verbal presentation of the sustainability cue neither had a significant influence on distance perceptions and construal level nor on buying intentions. This study offers valuable contributions to the sustainable consumption literature, as well as a theoretical basis for construal-level framing as applied in sustainable fashion branding.

Keywords: construal level theory, environmental vs social sustainability, online fashion shopping, sustainable fashion

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Al Sayed Al Soudy, Valeria Maselli, Gianluca Polese, Anna Di Cosmo

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Cephalopods are considered as a model organism with a rich behavioral repertoire. Sophisticated behaviors were widely studied and described in different species such as Octopus vulgaris, who has evolved the largest and more complex nervous system among invertebrates. In O. vulgaris, cognitive abilities in problem-solving tasks and learning abilities are associated with long-term memory and spatial memory, mediated by highly developed sensory organs. They are equipped with sophisticated eyes, able to discriminate colors even with a single photoreceptor type, vestibular system, ‘lateral line analogue’, primitive ‘hearing’ system and olfactory organs. They can recognize chemical cues either through direct contact with odors sources using suckers or by distance through the olfactory organs. Cephalopods are able to detect widespread waterborne molecules by the olfactory organs. However, many volatile odorant molecules are insoluble or have a very low solubility in water, and must be perceived by direct contact. O. vulgaris, equipped with many chemosensory neurons located in their suckers, exhibits a peculiar behavior that can be provocatively described as 'smell by touch'. The aim of this study is to establish the priority given to chemical vs. visual perception in food choice. Materials and methods: Three different types of food (anchovies, clams, and mussels) were used, and all sessions were recorded with a digital camera. During the acclimatization period, Octopuses were exposed to the three types of food to test their natural food preferences. Later, to verify if food preference is maintained, food was provided in transparent screw-jars with pierced lids to allow both visual and chemical recognition of the food inside. Subsequently, we tested alternatively octopuses with food in sealed transparent screw-jars and food in blind screw-jars with pierced lids. As a control, we used blind sealed jars with the same lid color to verify a random choice among food types. Results and discussion: During the acclimatization period, O. vulgaris shows a higher preference for anchovies (60%) followed by clams (30%), then mussels (10%). After acclimatization, using the transparent and pierced screw jars octopus’s food choices resulted in 50-50 between anchovies and clams, avoiding mussels. Later, guided by just visual sense, with transparent but not pierced jars, their food preferences resulted in 100% anchovies. With pierced but not transparent jars their food preference resulted in 100% anchovies as first food choice, the clams as a second food choice result (33.3%). With no possibility to select food, neither by vision nor by chemoreception, the results were 20% anchovies, 20% clams, and 60% mussels. We conclude that O. vulgaris uses both chemical and visual senses in an integrative way in food choice, but if we exclude one of them, it appears clear that its food preference relies on chemical sense more than on visual perception.

Keywords: food choice, Octopus vulgaris, olfaction, sensory organs, visual sense

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Marta Ribo, Ian D. Goodwin, Thomas Mortlock, Phil O’Brien

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Coastal behavior is best investigated using a sediment budget approach, based on the identification of sediment sources and sinks. Grain size distribution over the New South Wales (NSW) continental shelf has been widely characterized since the 1970’s. Coarser sediment has generally accumulated on the outer shelf, and/or nearshore zones, with the latter related to the presence of nearshore reef and bedrocks. The central part of the NSW shelf is characterized by the presence of fine sediments distributed parallel to the coastline. This study presents new grain size distribution maps along the NSW continental shelf, built using all available NSW and Commonwealth Government holdings. All available seabed bathymetric data form prior projects, single and multibeam sonar, and aerial LiDAR surveys were integrated into a single bathymetric surface for the NSW continental shelf. Grain size information was extracted from the sediment sample data collected in more than 30 studies. The information extracted from the sediment collections varied between reports. Thus, given the inconsistency of the grain size data, a common grain size classification was her defined using the phi scale. The new sediment distribution maps produced, together with new detailed seabed bathymetric data enabled us to revise the delineation of sediment compartments to more accurately reflect the true nature of sediment movement on the inner shelf and nearshore. Accordingly, nine primary mega coastal compartments were delineated along the NSW coast and shelf. The sediment compartments are bounded by prominent nearshore headlands and reefs, and major river and estuarine inlets that act as sediment sources and/or sinks. The new sediment grain size distribution was used as an input in the morphological modelling to quantify the sediment transport patterns (and indicative rates of transport), used to investigate sand supply rates and processes from the lower shoreface to the NSW coast. The rate of sand supply to the NSW coast from deep water is a major uncertainty in projecting future coastal response to sea-level rise. Offshore transport of sand is generally expected as beaches respond to rising sea levels but an onshore supply from the lower shoreface has the potential to offset some of the impacts of sea-level rise, such as coastline recession. Sediment exchange between the lower shoreface and sub-aerial beach has been modelled across the south, central, mid-north and far-north coast of NSW. Our model approach is that high-energy storm events are the primary agents of sand transport in deep water, while non-storm conditions are responsible for re-distributing sand within the beach and surf zone.

Keywords: New South Wales coast, off-shore transport, sand supply, sediment distribution maps

Procedia PDF Downloads 225

Authors: Mussa Hussaini, Supasith Chonglerttham

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Stocks are usually classified according to their characteristics which are unique enough such that the performance of each category can be differentiated from another. The reasons behind such classifications in the financial market are sometimes financial innovation or it can also be because of finding a premium in a group of stocks with similar features. One of the major classifications in stocks market is called momentum strategy. Based on this strategy stocks are classified according to their past performances into past winners and past losers. Momentum in a stock market refers to the idea that stocks will keep moving in the same direction. In other word, stocks with rising prices (past winners stocks) will continue to rise and those stocks with falling prices (past losers stocks) will continue to fall. The performance of this classification has been well documented in numerous studies in different countries. These studies suggest that past winners tend to outperform past losers in the future. However, academic research in this direction has been limited in countries such as Thailand and to the best of our knowledge, there has been no such study in Thailand after the financial crisis of 1997. The significance of this study stems from the fact that Thailand is an open market and has been encouraging foreign investments as one of the means to enhance employment, promote economic development, and technology transfer and the main equity market in Thailand, the Stock Exchange of Thailand is a crucial channel for Foreign Investment inflow into the country. The equity market size in Thailand increased from $1.72 billion in 1984 to $133.66 billion in 1993, an increase of over 77 times within a decade. The main contribution of this paper is evidence for size category in the context of the equity market in Thailand. Almost all previous studies have focused solely on large stocks or indices. This paper extends the scope beyond large stocks and indices by including small and tiny stocks as well. Further, since there is a distinct absence of detailed academic research on momentum strategy in the Stock Exchange of Thailand after the crisis, this paper also contributes to the extension of existing literature of the study. This research is also of significance for those researchers who would like to compare the performance of this strategy in different countries and markets. In the Stock Exchange of Thailand, we examined the performance of momentum strategy from 2010 to 2014. Returns on portfolios are calculated on monthly basis. Our results on momentum strategy confirm that there is positive momentum profit in large size stocks whereas there is negative momentum profit in small size stocks during the period of 2010 to 2014. Furthermore, the equal weighted average of momentum profit of both small and large size category do not provide any indication of overall momentum profit.

Keywords: momentum strategy, past loser, past winner, stock exchange of Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Yousif M. Makeen

Abstract:

This research will address the processes of geochemical characterization and hydrocarbon generation process occurring within hydrocarbon source and/or reservoir rocks. The geochemical characterization includes organic-inorganic associations that influence the storage capacity of unconventional hydrocarbon resources (e.g. shale gas) and the migration process of oil/gas of the petroleum source/reservoir rocks. Kerogen i.e. the precursor of petroleum, occurs in various forms and types, may either be oil-prone, gas-prone, or both. China has a number of petroleum-bearing sedimentary basins commonly associated with shale gas, oil sands, and oil shale. Taken Sichuan basin as a selected basin in this study, the Sichuan basin has recorded notable successful discoveries of shale gas especially in the marine shale reservoirs within the area. However, a notable discoveries of lacustrine shale in the North-Este Fuling area indicate the accumulation of shale gas within non-marine source rock. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hydrocarbon storage capacity, generation, and retention processes in the rock matrix of hydrocarbon source/reservoir rocks within the Sichuan basin using an advanced X-ray tomography 3D imaging computational technology, commonly referred to as Micro-CT, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), optical microscope as well as organic geochemical facilities (e.g. vitrinite reflectance and UV light). The preliminary results of this study show that the lacustrine shales under investigation are acting as both source and reservoir rocks, which are characterized by very fine grains and very low permeability and porosity. Three pore structures have also been characterized in the study in the lacustrine shales, including organic matter pores, interparticle pores and intraparticle pores using x-ray Computed Tomography (CT). The benefits of this study would be a more successful oil and gas exploration and higher recovery factor, thus having a direct economic impact on China and the surrounding region. Methodologies: SRA TOC/TPH or Rock-Eval technique will be used to determine the source rock richness (S1 and S2) and Tmax. TOC analysis will be carried out using a multi N/C 3100 analyzer. The SRA and TOC results were used in calculating other parameters such as hydrogen index (HI) and production index (PI). This analysis will indicate the quantity of the organic matter. Minimum TOC limits generally accepted as essential for a source-rock are 0.5% for shales and 0.2% for carbonates. Contributions: This research could solve issues related to oil potential, provide targets, and serve as a pathfinder to future exploration activity in the Sichuan basin.

Keywords: shale gas, unconventional resources, organic chemistry, Sichuan basin

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Authors: Marcus Papandrea

Abstract:

Gerace survives as one of the best examples of unspoiled Byzantine heritage in Calabria and the world due to its strategic location. As the last western province of the Byzantine Empire, Calabria was not subject to the destruction or conversion of sites which took place by the Ottomans in the east or the Arabs in Sicily and North Africa. Situated ten kilometers inland atop a 500m high table mountain, Gerace overlooks the Ionian coast and is a gateway to the rugged and wild mountain interior of the Calabrian peninsula. It is only connected to the outside world by a single windy and crumbling road and, unfortunately, faces serious economic and demographic decline. Largely due to its isolation, Gerace has remained understudied and under-recognized in a country that boasts the most UNESCO sites in the world despite its wealth and high density of Byzantine monuments. In 1995, the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox church, Bartholomew I, visited Gerace. He re-opened and blessed the ancient Byzantine church San Giovanni Crisostomo, reviving Gerace’s cultural origins and links to Byzantium. This paper examines how these links have persisted over a millennium, starting from the community’s humble origins as a refuge for ascetic monks to becoming the “city of one-hundred churches.” While little is documented or written about Gerace’s early history, this paper employs archaeological findings as well as hagiography to present valuable insight into this area which became known as the “land of the saints.” By characterizingGerace’s early Byzantine society and helping to understand its strong spiritual roots, this paper creates the basis necessary to understand the endurance of its Byzantine legacy and appreciate its important cultural contributions to the Italian Renaissance as a hub of Greek literacy which attracted great humanists from the fourteenth to fifteenth century such as Barlaam of Seminara, Simone Autumano, Bessarion, and AthanasioChalkeolopus.Inbringing together these characters, this paper propels Gerace onto the world stage as an important cultural center in medieval Mediterranean history which facilitated cross cultural interactions between Byzantine Greeks, Sicilian Arabs, Jews, and Normans. From this intersection developed a syncretism which led to modern-day Calabrian identity culture and society and is perhaps most visible in some of Gerace’s last surviving monuments from this time. While emphasizing this unassuming town’s cultural importance and unique Byzantine heritage, this paper also highlights the criteria which Gerace fulfills for being included in the World Heritage List.

Keywords: byzantine rite, greek rite, italo-greek, latinization

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