Search results for: cultural and linguistical variables

Authors: Ahmed Bellakhdhar

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This paper aims to test the impact of various variables-namely, investment in physical capital, investment in human capital, openness to trade and foreign direct investments, and distance from the technology frontier-on economic growth in the Tunisian context during the period 1976-2010. Empirical results identify that the impact of human capital is significantly positive. This finding confirms the hypothesis that human capital is a main driver of economic performance through its role of improving the internal productive capacity and the absorption of foreign technology especially via foreign direct investments. The effect of FDI is significantly positive in all alternative regressions and the coefficient associated to physical capital variable is positive, but not significant overall. Concerning the import of technologically advanced equipments, our estimates show the absence of a significant direct impact on economic growth in Tunisia. Our empirical results also support the assumption of a non linear relationship between tax and growth and demonstrate the existence of an inverted-U curve between the two variables, in the spirit of the “Laffer curve”.

Keywords: Endogenous growth, Human capital, Technology transfer, Absorptive capacity

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Authors: Avinash Thakur, Parmjit S. Panesar, Manohar Singh

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The distribution coefficient, KD for the reactive extraction of lactic acid from aqueous solutions of lactic acid using 10-30% (v/v) tri-n-octyl amine (extractant) dissolved in n-hexane (inert diluent) and 20% (v/v) oleyl alcohol (modifier) was optimized by using response surface methodology (RSM). A three level Box-Behnken design was employed for experimental design, analysis of the results and to depict the combined interactive effect of seven independent variables, viz lactic acid concentration (cl), pH, TOA concentration in organic phase (ψ), treat ratio (φ), temperature (T), agitation speed (ω) and batch agitation time (τ) on distribution coefficient of lactic acid. The regression analysis recommended that the quadratic model is significant (R2 and adjusted R2 are 98.72 % and 98.69 % respectively) for analysis. A numerical optimization had resulted in maximum lactic acid distribution coefficient (KD) of 3.16 at the optimized values for test variables, cl, pH, ψ, φ, T, ω and τ as 0.15 [M], 3.0, 22.75% (v/v), 1.0 (v/v), 26°C, 145 rpm and 23 min respectively. A good agreement between the predicted and experimentally obtained values for distribution coefficient using the optimized conditions was exhibited.

Keywords: Distribution coefficient, tri-n-octylamine, lactic acid, response surface methodology

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Authors: Gruffydd E. Jones

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The world’s largest collection of historical, cultural, and heritage material is unarchived and undocumented in the hands of the public. Not only does this material represent the missing collections in heritage sector archives today, but it is also the key to providing a diverse range of communities with the means to express their history in their own words and to celebrate their unique, personal heritage. The People’s Collection Wales (PCW) acts as a platform on which the heritage of Wales and her people can be collated and shared, at the heart of which is a thriving community engagement programme across a network of museums, archives, and libraries. By providing communities with the archival skillset commonly employed throughout the heritage sector, PCW enables local projects, societies, and individuals to express their understanding of local heritage with their own voices, empowering communities to embrace their diverse and complex identities around Wales. Drawing on key examples from the project’s history, this paper will demonstrate the successful way in which museums have been developed as hubs for community engagement where the public was at the heart of collection and documentation activities, informing collection and curatorial policies to benefit both the institute and its local community. This paper will also highlight how collections from marginalised, under-represented, and minority communities have been published and celebrated extensively around Wales, including adoption by the education system in classrooms today. Any activity within the heritage sector, whether of collection, preservation, digitisation, or accessibility, should be considerate of community engagement opportunities not only to remain relevant but in order to develop as community hubs, pivots around which local heritage is supported and preserved. Attention will be drawn to our digitisation workflow, which, through training and support from museums and libraries, has allowed the public not only to become involved but to actively lead the contemporary evolution of documentation strategies in Wales. This paper will demonstrate how the PCW online access archive is promoting museum collections, encouraging user interaction, and providing an invaluable platform on which a broader community can inform, preserve and celebrate their cultural heritage through their own archival material too. The continuing evolution of heritage engagement depends wholly on placing communities at the heart of the sector, recognising their wealth of cultural knowledge, and developing the archival skillset necessary for them to become archival practitioners of their own.

Keywords: social history, cultural heritage, community heritage, museums, archives, libraries, community engagement, oral history, community archives

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Authors: Usriatur Rohma, Adji Achmad Rinaldo Fernandes

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Nonparametric path analysis is a statistical method that does not rely on the assumption that the curve is known. The purpose of this study is to determine the best nonparametric truncated spline path function between linear and quadratic polynomial degrees with 1, 2, and 3-knot points and to determine the significance of estimating the best nonparametric truncated spline path function in the model of the effect of population migration and agricultural economic growth on rural poverty through the variable unemployment rate using the t-test statistic at the jackknife resampling stage. The data used in this study are secondary data obtained from statistical publications. The results showed that the best model of nonparametric truncated spline path analysis is quadratic polynomial degree with 3-knot points. In addition, the significance of the best-truncated spline nonparametric path function estimation using jackknife resampling shows that all exogenous variables have a significant influence on the endogenous variables.

Keywords: nonparametric path analysis, truncated spline, linear, quadratic, rural poverty, jackknife resampling

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Authors: Bilel Chalghaf, Mathieu Varin

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Forest characterization in Quebec, Canada, is usually assessed based on photo-interpretation at the stand level. For species identification, this often results in a lack of precision. Very high spatial resolution imagery, such as DigitalGlobe, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), have the potential to overcome the limitations of aerial imagery. To date, few studies have used that data to map a large number of species at the tree level using machine learning techniques. The main objective of this study is to map 11 individual high tree species ( > 17m) at the tree level using an object-based approach in the broadleaf forest of Kenauk Nature, Quebec. For the individual tree crown segmentation, three canopy-height models (CHMs) from LiDAR data were assessed: 1) the original, 2) a filtered, and 3) a corrected model. The corrected CHM gave the best accuracy and was then coupled with imagery to refine tree species crown identification. When compared with photo-interpretation, 90% of the objects represented a single species. For modeling, 313 variables were derived from 16-band WorldView-3 imagery and LiDAR data, using radiance, reflectance, pixel, and object-based calculation techniques. Variable selection procedures were employed to reduce their number from 313 to 16, using only 11 bands to aid reproducibility. For classification, a global approach using all 11 species was compared to a semi-hierarchical hybrid classification approach at two levels: (1) tree type (broadleaf/conifer) and (2) individual broadleaf (five) and conifer (six) species. Five different model techniques were used: (1) support vector machine (SVM), (2) classification and regression tree (CART), (3) random forest (RF), (4) k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), and (5) linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Each model was tuned separately for all approaches and levels. For the global approach, the best model was the SVM using eight variables (overall accuracy (OA): 80%, Kappa: 0.77). With the semi-hierarchical hybrid approach, at the tree type level, the best model was the k-NN using six variables (OA: 100% and Kappa: 1.00). At the level of identifying broadleaf and conifer species, the best model was the SVM, with OA of 80% and 97% and Kappa values of 0.74 and 0.97, respectively, using seven variables for both models. This paper demonstrates that a hybrid classification approach gives better results and that using 16-band WorldView-3 with LiDAR data leads to more precise predictions for tree segmentation and classification, especially when the number of tree species is large.

Keywords: tree species, object-based, classification, multispectral, machine learning, WorldView-3, LiDAR

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Authors: Daniele Baldacci, Remo Pareschi

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Augmented Reality and Augmented Intelligence are radically changing information technology. The path that starts from the keyboard and then, passing through milestones such as Siri, Alexa and other vocal avatars, reaches a more fluid and natural communication with computers, thus converting the dichotomy between man and machine into a harmonious interaction, now heads unequivocally towards a new IT paradigm, where holographic computing will play a key role. The OLOS® platform contributes substantially to this trend in that it infuses computers with human features, by transferring the gestures and expressions of persons of flesh and bones to anthropomorphic holographic interfaces which in turn will use them to interact with real-life humans. In fact, we could say, boldly but with a solid technological background to back the statement, that OLOS® gives reality to an altogether new entity, placed at the exact boundary between nature and technology, namely the holographic human being. Holographic humans qualify as the perfect carriers for the virtual reincarnation of characters handed down from history and tradition. Thus, they provide for an innovative and highly immersive way of experiencing our cultural heritage as something alive and pulsating in the present.

Keywords: digital cinematography, human-computer interfaces, holographic simulation, interactive museum exhibits

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Authors: Nhi Ngoc Thien

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Franchising is a popular trend in Vietnam retail industry, especially in fast food industry. Several famous foreign fast food brands such as KFC, Lotteria, Jollibee or Pizza Hut invested on this potential market since the 1990s. Following this trend, in 2011, Burger King - the second largest fast food hamburger chain all over the world - entered Vietnam with its first store located in Tan Son Nhat International Airport, with the expectation to become the leading brand in the country. However, the business performance of Burger King was not going well in the first few years making it questioned about its strategy. The given assumption was that its business performance was affected negatively by its store location selection strategy. This research aims to investigate the current performance of Burger King Vietnam in terms of the controllable variables like store location as well as to explore the key factors influencing customer decision to choose Burger King. Therefore, a case study research method was conducted to approach deeply on the opinions and evaluations of 10 Burger King’s customers, Burger King's staffs and other fast food experts on Burger King’s performance through in-depth interview, direct observation and documentary analysis. Findings show that there are 8 determinants affecting the decision-making of Burger King’s customers, which are store location, quality of food, service quality, store atmosphere, price, promotion, menu and brand reputation. Moreover, findings present that Burger King’s staffs and fast food experts also mentioned the main problems of Burger King, which are about store location and food quality. As a result, there are some recommendations for Burger King Vietnam to improve its performance in the market and attract more Vietnamese target customers by giving suitable promotional activities among its customers and being differentiated itself from other fast food brands.

Keywords: overall retail strategy, controllable variables, store location, quality of food

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Authors: Alejandra Sierra, Maria de los Angeles Covarrubias, Guillermo Julian Gonzalez, Noe Alfaro

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The objective of this study was to identify the cultural dimensions of the terms unplanned pregnancy and unwanted pregnancy built by adolescent women, through the focus of the social representations. Two associative methods were used: free listings and the paired comparison. 72 female students between the ages of 15 and 19 were interviewed, from the downtown area of Leon Guanajuato, Mexico. Words related to inducer terms were classified into five thematic categories: facilitators, consequences, reactions, expectations, and lexicon. The results showed that the social representations of unplanned pregnancy highlighted elements related to economic difficulties and negative emotional aspects, while unwanted pregnancy was associated with negative emotional aspects such as anger, anxiety, and sadness. The meanings each person attributes to terms related to pregnancy are culturally constructed and differ between populations; therefore, more attention should be paid to understanding the cultural meanings and attitudes of people in fertility decision-making, including also the views of adolescent men and other types of population, stratified by age groups and social conditions.

Keywords: adolescent, qualitative research, unplanned pregnancy, unwanted pregnancy

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Authors: Ben Tappin, Ryan McKay

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The political left and right appear to disagree not only over questions of value but, also, over questions of fact—over what is true “out there” in society and the world. Alarmingly, a large body of survey data collected during the past decade suggests that this disagreement tends to be greatest among the most educated and most cognitively sophisticated opposing partisans. In other words, the data show that these individuals display the widest political polarization in their reported factual beliefs. Explanations of this polarization pattern draw heavily on cultural and political factors; yet, the large majority of the evidence originates from one cultural and political context—the United States, a country with a rather unique cultural and political history. One consequence is that widening political polarization conditional on education and cognitive sophistication may be due to idiosyncratic cultural, political or historical factors endogenous to US society—rather than a more general, international phenomenon. We examined widening political polarization conditional on education across Europe, over a topic that is culturally and politically contested; immigration. To do so, we analyzed data from the European Social Survey, a premier survey of countries in and around the European area conducted biennially since 2002. Our main results are threefold. First, we see widening political polarization conditional on education over beliefs about the economic impact of immigration. The foremost countries showing this pattern are the most influential in Europe: Germany and France. However, we also see heterogeneity across countries, with some—such as Belgium—showing no evidence of such polarization. Second, we find that widening political polarization conditional on education is a product of sorting. That is, highly educated partisans exhibit stronger within-group consensus in their beliefs about immigration—the data do not support the view that the more educated partisans are more polarized simply because the less educated fail to adopt a position on the question. Third, and finally, we find some evidence that shocks to the political climate of countries in the European area—for example, the “refugee crisis” of summer 2015—were associated with a subsequent increase in political polarization over immigration conditional on education. The largest increase was observed in Germany, which was at the centre of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015. These results reveal numerous insights: they show that widening political polarization conditional on education is not restricted to the US or native English-speaking culture; that such polarization emerges in the domain of immigration; that it is a product of within-group consensus among the more educated; and, finally, that exogenous shocks to the political climate may be associated with subsequent increases in political polarization conditional on education.

Keywords: beliefs, Europe, immigration, political polarization

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Authors: Daniel A. Montoya, Marta L. Tostes

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This investigation aims at analyzing and determining the relation between two very important variables in the human resource management: The organizational climate and the performance assessment. This study aims at contributing with knowledge in the search of the relation between the mentioned variables because the literature still does not provide solid evidence to this respect and the cases revised are incipient to reach conclusions enabling a typology about this relation.To this regard, a correlational and cross-sectional perspective was adopted in which quantitative and qualitative techniques were chosen with the total of the workers of the tourist service company PTS Peru. In order to measure the organizational climate, the OCQ (Organization Climate Questionnaire) from was used; it has 50 items and measures 9 dimensions of the Organizational Climate. Also, to assess performance, a questionnaire with 21 items and 6 dimensions was designed. As a means of assessment, a focus group was prepared and was applied to a worker in every area of the company. Additionally, interviews to human resources experts were conducted. The results of the investigation show a clear relation between the organizational climate and the personnel performance assessment as well as a relation between the nine dimensions of the organizational climate and the work performance in general and with some of its dimensions.

Keywords: job performance, job satisfaction, organization climate, performance assessment

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Authors: Usman Yakubu, Muktar Haruna

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The paper examines the impact of the audit committee on the earning quality of the listed consumer goods sector in Nigeria. The study used data collected from annual reports and accounts of the 13 sampled companies for the periods 2007 to 2018. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics to provide summary statistics for the variables; also, correlation analysis was carried out using the Pearson correlation technique for the correlation between the dependent and independent variables. Regression was employed using the Generalized Least Square technique since the data has both time series and cross sectional attributes (panel data). It was found out that the audit committee had a positive and significant influence on the earning quality in the listed consumer goods companies in Nigeria. Thus, the study recommends that competency and personal integrity should be the worthwhile attributes to be considered while constituting the committee; this could enhance the quality of accounting information. In addition to that majority of the committee members should be independent directors in order to allow a high level of independency to be exercised.

Keywords: earning quality, corporate governance, audit committee, financial reporting

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Authors: Giulio Mangano, Alberto De Marco, Giovanni Zenezini

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The concept of City Logistics (CL) has emerged to improve the impacts of last mile freight distribution in urban areas. In this paper, a System Dynamics (SD) model exploring the dynamics of the diffusion of a ICT platform for CL management across different populations is proposed. For the development of the model two sources have been used. On the one hand, the major diffusion variables and feedback loops are derived from a literature review of existing diffusion models. On the other hand, the parameters are represented by the value propositions delivered by the platform as a response to some of the users’ needs. To extract the most important value propositions the Business Model Canvas approach has been used. Such approach in fact focuses on understanding how a company can create value for her target customers. These variables and parameters are thus translated into a SD diffusion model with three different populations namely municipalities, logistics service providers, and own account carriers. Results show that, the three populations under analysis fully adopt the platform within the simulation time frame, highlighting a strong demand by different stakeholders for CL projects aiming at carrying out more efficient urban logistics operations.

Keywords: city logistics, simulation, system dynamics, business model

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Authors: Chun-Qing Li, Hassan Baji, Wei Yang

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Corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete structures is a major problem worldwide. The volume expansion of corrosion products causes concrete cover cracking, which could lead to delamination of concrete cover. The time to cover cracking plays a key role to the assessment of serviceability of reinforced concrete structures subjected to corrosion. Many analytical, numerical, and empirical models have been developed to predict the time to cracking initiation due to corrosion. In this study, a numerical model based on finite element modeling of corrosion-induced cracking process is used. In order to predict the service life based on time to cover initiation, the numerical approach is coupled with a probabilistic procedure. In this procedure, all the influential factors affecting time to cover cracking are modeled as random variables. The results show that the time to cover cracking is highly variables. It is also shown that rust product expansion ratio and the size of more porous concrete zone around the rebar are the most influential factors in predicting service life of corrosion-affected structures.

Keywords: corrosion, crack width, probabilistic, service life

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Authors: Dongkwon Han, Sangho Kim, Sunil Kwon

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Unconventional gas resources have dramatically changed the future energy landscape. Unlike conventional gas resources, the key challenges in unconventional gas have been the requirement that applies to advanced approaches for production forecasting due to uncertainty and complexity of fluid flow. In this study, artificial neural network (ANN) model which integrates machine learning and data-driven approach was developed to predict productivity in shale gas. The database of 129 wells of Eagle Ford shale basin used for testing and training of the ANN model. The Input data related to hydraulic fracturing, well completion and productivity of shale gas were selected and the output data is a cumulative production. The performance of the ANN using all data sets, clustering and variables importance (VI) models were compared in the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). ANN model using all data sets, clustering, and VI were obtained as 44.22%, 10.08% (cluster 1), 5.26% (cluster 2), 6.35%(cluster 3), and 32.23% (ANN VI), 23.19% (SVM VI), respectively. The results showed that the pre-trained ANN model provides more accurate results than the ANN model using all data sets.

Keywords: unconventional gas, artificial neural network, machine learning, clustering, variables importance

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Authors: Ine Huybrechts, Anja Declercq, Emily Verté, Peter Raeymaeckers, Sibyl Anthierens

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Goal-oriented care is a concept gaining increased interest as an approach to go towards more coordinated and integrated primary care. It places patients’ personal life goals at the core of health care support, hereby shifting the focus from “what’s the matter with this patient” to “what matters to this patient.” In Flanders/Belgium, various primary care providers, health and social care organizations and governmental bodies have picked up this concept and have initiated actions to facilitate this approach. The implementation of goal-oriented care not only happens on the micro-level, but it also requires efforts on the meso- and macro-level. Within implementation research, there is a growing recognition that the context in which an intervention takes place strongly relates to its implementation outcomes. However, when investigating contextual variables, the external context and its impact on implementation processes is often overlooked. This study aims to explore how we can better identify and understand the external context and how it relates to the mechanism of change within the implementation process of goal-oriented care in Flanders/Belgium. Results can be used to support and guide initiatives to introduce innovative approaches such as goal-oriented care inside an organization or in the broader primary care landscape. We have conducted qualitative research, performing in-depth interviews with n=23 respondents who have affinity with the implementation of goal-oriented care within their professional function. This lead to in-depth insights from a wide range of actors, with meso-level and/or macro-level perspectives on the implementation of goal-oriented care. This means that we have interviewed actors that are not only involved with initiatives to implement goal-oriented care, but also actors that actively give form to the external context in which goal-oriented care is implemented. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide, audio recorded, and analyzed first inductively and then deductively using various theories and concepts that derive from organizational research. Our preliminary findings suggest t Our findings can contribute to further define actions needed for sustainable implementation of goal-oriented primary care. It gives insights in the dynamics between contextual variables and implementation efforts, hereby indicating towards those contextual variables that can be further shaped to facilitate the implementation of an innovation such as goal-oriented care. hat organizational theories can help understand the mechanism of change of implementation processes with a macro-level perspective. Institutional theories, contingency theories, resources dependency theories and others can expose the mechanism of change for an innovation such as goal-oriented care. Our findings can contribute to further define actions needed for sustainable implementation of goal-oriented primary care. It gives insights in the dynamics between contextual variables and implementation efforts, hereby indicating towards those contextual variables that can be further shaped to facilitate the implementation of an innovation such as goal-oriented care.

Keywords: goal-oriented care, implementation processes, organizational theories, person-centered care, implementation research

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Authors: Omar A. A. Shaebi, Matouk M. Elamari, Salaheddin Allid

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The Information Computing System of Monitoring (ICSM) for the Research Reactor of Tajoura Nuclear Research Centre (TNRC) stopped working since early 1991. According to the regulations, the computer is necessary to operate the reactor up to its maximum power (10 MW). The fund is secured via IAEA to develop a modern computer based data acquisition system to replace the old computer. This paper presents the development of the Labview based data acquisition system to allow automated measurements using National Instruments Hardware and its labview software. The developed system consists of SCXI 1001 chassis, the chassis house four SCXI 1100 modules each can maintain 32 variables. The chassis is interfaced with the PC using NI PCI-6023 DAQ Card. Labview, developed by National Instruments, is used to run and operate the DAQ System. Labview is graphical programming environment suited for high level design. It allows integrating different signal processing components or subsystems within a graphical framework. The results showed system capabilities in monitoring variables, acquiring and saving data. Plus the capability of the labview to control the DAQ.

Keywords: data acquisition, labview, signal conditioning, national instruments

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Authors: Amandeep Kaur

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Farming is one of the most influential traditions which started around 10000 BC and has revolutionized human civilization. It is believed that farming originated at a separate location. Thus it has a great impact on local culture, which in turn gave rise to diversified farming practices. Farming activities are influenced by the culture of a particular region or community as local people have their own knowledge and belief system about soil and crops. With the inception of the Green Revolution, 'a high tech machinery model' in Punjab, various traditional farming methods and techniques changed. The present research concentrates on the local knowledge of farmers and local farming systems from an anthropological perspective. In view of the prevailing agrarian crisis in Punjab, this research is focused on farmer’s experiences and their perception regarding farming practices. Thus an attempt has to be made to focus on the local knowledge, perception, and experience of farmers for eco-friendly and sustainable agricultural development. Farmers voices are used to understand the relationship between farming practices and socio-cultural life of farmers in Faridkot district, Punjab. The research aims to comprehend the nature of changes taking place in the socio-cultural life of people with the development of capitalism and agricultural modernization. The study is based on qualitative methods of ethnography in Sarawan village of Faridkot District. Inferences drawn from in-depth case studies collected from 60 agricultural households lead to the concept of the process of diffusion, innovation, and adoption of farming technology, a variety of crops and the dissemination of agricultural skills regarding various cultural farming practices. The data is based on random sampling; the respondents were both males and females above the age of 18 years to attain a holistic understanding across the generations. A Quasi-participant observation related to lifestyle, the standard of living, and various farming practices performed by them were done. Narratives derived from the fieldwork depicts that farmers usually oppose the restrictions imposed by the government on certain farming practices, especially ban on stubble burning. This paper presents the narratives of farmers regarding the dissemination of awareness about the use of new varieties of seeds, technology, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. The study reveals that farming systems have developed in ways reflecting the activities and choices of farmers influenced by environmental, socio-cultural, economic, and political situations. Modern farming practices have forced small farmers into debt as farmers feel pride in buying new machinery. It has also led to the loss of work culture and excessive use of drugs among youngsters. Even laborers did not want to work on the land with cultivating farmers primarily for social and political reasons. Due to lack of proper marketing of crops, there is a continuum of the wheat-rice cycle instead of crop diversification in Punjab. Change in the farming system also affects the social structure of society. Agricultural modernization has commercialized the socio-cultural relations in Punjab and is slowly urbanizing the rural landscape revolutionizing the traditional social relations to capitalistic relations.

Keywords: agricultural modernization, capitalism, farming practices, narratives

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Authors: Richard Mababu Mukiur

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Leadership is an important drive that plays a key role in the success and development of organizations, particularly in the current context of digital transformation, highly competitivity and globalization. Leaders are persons that hold a dominant and privileged position within an organization, field, or sector of activities and are able to manage, motivate and exercise a high degree of influence over other in order to achieve the institutional goals. They achieve commitment and engagement of others to embrace change, and to make good decisions. Leadership studies in higher education institutions have examined how effective leaders hold their organizations, and also to find approaches which fit best in the organizations context for its better management, transformation and improvement. Moreover, recent studies have highlighted the impact of leadership styles on organizational performance and innovation capacities, since some styles give better results than others. Effective leadership is part of learning process that take place through day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and experiences that influence the organizational performance, innovation and engagement of employees. The adoption of appropriate leadership styles can improve organization results and encourage learning process, team skills and performance, and employees' motivation and engagement. In the case of case of Information Technology sector, leadership styles are particularly crucial since this sector is leading relevant changes and transformations in the knowledge society. In this context, the main objective of this study is to analyze managers leadership styles with their relation to organizational performance and innovation that may be mediated by learning organization process and demographic variables. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the transformational and transactional leadership will be the main style adopted in Information Technology sector and will influence organizational performance and innovation capacity. A sample of 540 participants from Information technology sector has been determined in order to achieve the objective of this study. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was administered as the principal instrument, Scale of innovation and Learning Organization Questionnaire. Correlations and multiple regression analysis have been used as the main techniques of data analysis. The findings indicate that leadership styles have a relevant impact on organizational performance and innovation capacity. The transformational and transactional leadership are predominant styles in Information technology sector. The effective leadership style tend to be characterized by the capacity of generating and sharing knowledge that improve organization performance and innovation capacity. Managers are adopting and adapting their leadership styles that respond to the new organizational, social and cultural challenges and realities of contemporary society. Managers who encourage innovation, foster learning process, share experience are useful to the organization since they contribute to its development and transformation. Learning process capacity and demographic variables (age, gender, and job tenure) mediate the relationship between leadership styles, innovation capacity and organizational performance. The transformational and transactional leadership tend to enhance the organizational performance due to their significant impact on team-building, employees' engagement and satisfaction. Some practical implications and future lines of research have been proposed.

Keywords: leadership styles, tranformational leadership, organisational performance, organisational innovation

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Authors: Ameur Abdelkader, Abed Bouarfa Hafida

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Since its inception, predictive analysis has revolutionized the IT industry through its robustness and decision-making facilities. It involves the application of a set of data processing techniques and algorithms in order to create predictive models. Its principle is based on finding relationships between explanatory variables and the predicted variables. Past occurrences are exploited to predict and to derive the unknown outcome. With the advent of big data, many studies have suggested the use of predictive analytics in order to process and analyze big data. Nevertheless, they have been curbed by the limits of classical methods of predictive analysis in case of a large amount of data. In fact, because of their volumes, their nature (semi or unstructured) and their variety, it is impossible to analyze efficiently big data via classical methods of predictive analysis. The authors attribute this weakness to the fact that predictive analysis algorithms do not allow the parallelization and distribution of calculation. In this paper, we propose to extend the predictive analysis algorithm, Classification And Regression Trees (CART), in order to adapt it for big data analysis. The major changes of this algorithm are presented and then a version of the extended algorithm is defined in order to make it applicable for a huge quantity of data.

Keywords: predictive analysis, big data, predictive analysis algorithms, CART algorithm

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Authors: Mohammed Jemal Ahmed

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Some anti-Islam attributes, such as alcoholism and voyeurism, have become de facto manifestations of the tourism sector. This eventually causes a paradoxical relationship between tourism and Islam. Hence, on the one hand, Islam inherently encourages Muslims to engage in tourism, the interest of Muslims to engage in tourism is steadily increasing. On the other hand, haram activities and products that are not allowed to Muslims as per the Islamic law and doctrine have surrounded tourism. Therefore, halal tourism has emerged as the best mediator to reconcile the conflicts between secular interests and religious values. Recent studies have confirmed that halal tourism is an emerging cultural phenomenon and secular rather than religious. The central aim of halal tourism is to have delighted customers irrespective of their religious and cultural backgrounds while promoting environmental conservation and social coexistence. This study appraises halal tourism development in Ethiopia from commercial, socio-cultural and diplomatic perspectives. Employing qualitative methodologies, the study, firstly, tried to clarify the existing terminological ambiguities between halal tourism and Islamic tourism and redefine both concepts. Then, it assessed perceptions of local communities and stakeholders towards halal tourism and identified halal tourism resources of Ethiopia. Accordingly, five clusters of halal visitor attractions and five potential halal tourism routes were identified and proposed. Furthermore, the comparative advantages of Ethiopia in terms of halal tourism development and potential barriers to halal tourism development in the country were rigorously appraised. The findings of this study reveal that halal tourism could inject hard currency into the national economy and create job opportunities for the locals. It could also support the mainstream tourism industry through product diversification and curving seasonality. Moreover, socially, halal tourism reinforces interreligious cohesion, relationship and coextensive in multi-religious, multicultural and multiethnic Ethiopia. Politically, it strengthens Ethiopia's foreign diplomatic relationship with the Islamic world and its near and distant neighbor Muslim Countries.

Keywords: halal-conscious travelers, halal tourism, Islamic tourism, tourism resources

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Authors: Genevieve Jorolan Quintero

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In Mindanao, the southern island of the Philippines, two provinces, Davao Oriental and Tboli of South Cotabato, respectively, are homes to indigenous communities known for their dream weavers. Davao Oriental is home to the Mandaya, while Lake Sebu is home to the Tboli. The dream weavers are mostly women who have continued the tradition of weaving, a spiritual practice of handicraft embodying the beliefs of the community. It is believed that a weaver is guided by the Tagamaling, or the nature spirit in Mandaya mythology, and Fu Dalu, or the spirit of the abaca among the Tboli. In the dream, the Tagamaling or Fu Dalu reveals to the weaver the design or the pattern of the dagmay as the abaca woven cloth is called among the Mandaya and the tnalak among the Tboli. The weaver then undertakes the production of this nature-spirit-inspired fabric based on her memory of the dream. This interaction between the spirit world and the human world inspired the theme of the short story with the title Loom of Dreams, published in 2015 by Kritika Kultura, an international peer-reviewed journal of language and literary/cultural studies of the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. In Lake Sebu, a collection of the legendary tnalak with various designs is preserved by the cultural advocate and tnalak collector Reden S. Ulo. About a hundred tnalak designs are housed in a mini museum. The paper discusses how the dagmay and the tnalak of the two Philippine indigenous communities, the Mandaya and the Tboli, embody their folklore and cultural heritage. The specific objectives are: 1. To describe the role of the dreamweavers among the Mandaya and Tboli communities in the Philippines; 2. To analyse how folklore influences the designs on the woven fabric, the dagmay, and the tnalak, and 3. To discuss how dream-weaving helps preserve culture legacy. Ethnography was used in the conduct of this research. Specifically, the following data collection methods were done: 1. a series of visits to the Mandaya and Tboli communities; 2. face-to-face interviews with the respondents from the communities, and 3. the recording of the interviews with the knowledge-bearers and material culture keepers from both communities, the narratives of which were used as a basis for the data analysis. The influence of folklore in the culture and the arts of the indigenous communities is significantly evident in the designs of the dagmay and the tnalak. As the dream weavers continue to weave the dagmay and the tnalak, this cultural legacy will continue to prosper and be preserved for posterity.

Keywords: dreamweaver's, Mandaya, mindanao, Philippine folklore, Tboli

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Authors: Andrea N. Alarcon, Julian D. Castro, Gloria C. Rojas, Paola A. Vaca, Santiago Ortiz, Gustavo Martinez, Pablo D. Lemoine

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Recently, electoral results across many countries have shown to be inconsistent with rational decision theory, which states that individuals make decisions based on maximizing benefits and reducing risks. An alternative explanation has emerged: Fear and rage-driven vote have been proved to be highly effective for political persuasion and mobilization. This phenomenon has been evident in the 2016 elections in the United States, 2006 elections in Mexico, 1998 elections in Venezuela, and 2004 elections in Bolivia. In Colombia, it has occurred recently in the 2016 plebiscite for peace and 2018 presidential elections. The aim of this study is to explain this phenomenon using cultural cognition theory, referring to the psychological predisposition individuals have to believe that its own and its peer´s behavior is correct and, therefore, beneficial to the entire society. Cultural cognition refers to the tendency of individuals to fit perceived risks, and factual beliefs into group shared values; the Cultural Cognition Worldview Scales (CCWS) measures cultural perceptions through two different dimensions: Individualism-communitarianism and hierarchy-egalitarianism. The former refers to attitudes towards social dominance based on conspicuous and static characteristics (sex, ethnicity or social class), while the latter refers to attitudes towards a social ordering in which it is expected from individuals to guarantee their own wellbeing without society´s or government´s intervention. A probabilistic national sample was obtained from different polls from the consulting and public opinion company Centro Nacional de Consultoría. Sociodemographic data was obtained along with CCWS scores, a subjective measure of left-right ideological placement and vote intention for 2019 Mayor´s elections were also included in the questionnaires. Finally, the question “In your opinion, what is the greatest risk Colombia is facing right now?” was included to identify perceived risk in the population. Preliminary results show that Colombians are highly distributed among hierarchical communitarians and egalitarian individualists (30.9% and 31.7%, respectively), and to a less extent among hierarchical individualists and egalitarian communitarians (19% and 18.4%, respectively). Males tended to be more hierarchical (p < .000) and communitarian (p=.009) than females. ANOVA´s revealed statistically significant differences between groups (quadrants) for the level of schooling, left-right ideological orientation, and stratum (p < .000 for all), and proportion differences revealed statistically significant differences for groups of age (p < .001). Differences and distributions for vote intention and perceived risks are still being processed and results are yet to be analyzed. Results show that Colombians are differentially distributed among quadrants in regard to sociodemographic data and left-right ideological orientation. These preliminary results indicate that this study may shed some light on why Colombians vote the way they do, and future qualitative data will show the fears emerging from the identified values in the CCWS and the relation this has with vote intention.

Keywords: communitarianism, cultural cognition, egalitarianism, hierarchy, individualism, perceived risks

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Authors: Lei Li, Ping Yin, Haneen Khreis

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Stroke is the second leading cause of death and a third leading cause of death and disability worldwide in 2019. Given the significant role of environmental factors in stroke development and progression, it is essential to investigate the effect of air pollution on stroke occurrence while considering the modifying effects of meteorological variables. This study aimed to evaluate the association between short-term exposure to air pollution and the incidence of stroke subtypes in Shenzhen, China, and to explore the potential interactions of meteorological factors with air pollutants. The study analyzed data from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2014, including 88,214 cases of ischemic stroke and 30,433 cases of hemorrhagic stroke among residents of Shenzhen. Using a time-stratified case–crossover design with conditional quasi-Poisson regression, the study estimated the percentage changes in stroke morbidity associated with short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), particulate matter less than 10 mm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), and ozone (O₃). A five-day moving average of air pollution was applied to capture the cumulative effects of air pollution. The estimates were further stratified by sex, age, education level, and season. The additive and multiplicative interaction between air pollutants and meteorologic variables were assessed by the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) and adding the interactive term into the main model, respectively. The study found that NO₂ was positively associated with ischemic stroke occurrence throughout the year and in the cold season (November through April), with a stronger effect observed among men. Each 10 μg/m³ increment in the five-day moving average of NO₂ was associated with a 2.38% (95% confidence interval was 1.36% to 3.41%) increase in the risk of ischemic stroke over the whole year and a 3.36% (2.04% to 4.69%) increase in the cold season. The harmful effect of CO on ischemic stroke was observed only in the cold season, with each 1 mg/m³ increment in the five-day moving average of CO increasing the risk by 12.34% (3.85% to 21.51%). There was no statistically significant additive interaction between individual air pollutants and temperature or relative humidity, as demonstrated by the RERI. The interaction term in the model showed a multiplicative antagonistic effect between NO₂ and temperature (p-value=0.0268). For hemorrhagic stroke, no evidence of the effects of any individual air pollutants was found in the whole population. However, the RERI indicated a statistically additive and multiplicative interaction of temperature on the effects of PM10 and O₃ on hemorrhagic stroke onset. Therefore, the insignificant conclusion should be interpreted with caution. The study suggests that environmental NO₂ and CO might increase the morbidity of ischemic stroke, particularly during the cold season. These findings could help inform policy decisions aimed at reducing air pollution levels to prevent stroke and other health conditions. Additionally, the study provides valuable insights into the interaction between air pollution and meteorological variables, which underscores the need for further research into the complex relationship between environmental factors and health.

Keywords: air pollution, meteorological variables, interactive effect, seasonal pattern, stroke

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Authors: Lule Basha, Eralda Gjika

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The exchange rate is one of the most important economic variables, especially for a small, open economy such as Albania. Its effect is noticeable in one country's competitiveness, trade and current account, inflation, wages, domestic economic activity, and bank stability. This study investigates the fluctuation of Albania’s exchange rates using monthly average foreign currency, Euro (Eur) to Albanian Lek (ALL) exchange rate with a time span from January 2008 to June 2021, and the macroeconomic factors that have a significant effect on the exchange rate. Initially, the Random Forest Regression algorithm is constructed to understand the impact of economic variables on the behavior of monthly average foreign currencies exchange rates. Then the forecast of macro-economic indicators for 12 months was performed using time series models. The predicted values received are placed in the random forest model in order to obtain the average monthly forecast of the Euro to Albanian Lek (ALL) exchange rate for the period July 2021 to June 2022.

Keywords: exchange rate, random forest, time series, machine learning, prediction

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Authors: Wajid Ali Khan

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Extensive experimentation and numerical investigation are performed to predict the machining-induced residual stresses in the end milling of AISI 1045 steel, and an optimization code has been developed using the particle swarm optimization technique. Experiments were conducted using a single factor at a time and design of experiments approach. Regression analysis was done, and a mathematical model of the cutting process was developed, thus predicting the machining-induced residual stress with reasonable accuracy. The mathematical model served as the objective function to be optimized using particle swarm optimization. The relationship between the different cutting parameters and the output variables, force, and residual stresses has been studied. The combined effect of the process parameters, speed, feed, and depth of cut was examined, and it is understood that 85% of the variation of these variables can be attributed to these machining parameters under research. A 3D finite element model is developed to predict the cutting forces and the machining-induced residual stresses in end milling operation. The results were validated experimentally and against the Johnson-cook model available in the literature.

Keywords: residual stresses, end milling, 1045 steel, optimization

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Authors: Christine Myunghee Ahn, Sung Eun Baek, Sun Young Park

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cross-cultural validity of the Korean version of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children 2nd Edition, Parent Rating Scales - Adolescent Form (K BASC-2, PRS-A). The 150-item K BASC-2, PRS-A questionnaire was administered to a total of 690 Korean parents or caregivers (N=690) of adolescent children in middle school and high school. Results from the confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses indicate that the K BASC-2, PRS-A yielded a 3-factor solution similar to the factor structure found in the original version of the BASC-2. The internal consistencies using the Cronbach’s alpha of the composite scale scores were in the .92~ .98 range. The overall reliability and validity of the K BASC-2, PRS-A seem adequate. Structural equation modeling was used to verify the theoretical relationship among the scales of Adaptability, Withdrawal, Somatization, Depression, and Anxiety, to render additional support for internal validity. Other relevant findings, practical implications regarding the use of the KBASC-2, PRS-A and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: behavioral assessment system, cross-cultural validity, parent report, screening

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Authors: Manojkumar Sabanayagam

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The Riemann hypothesis is an unsolved millennium problem and the search for a solution to the Riemann hypothesis is to study the pattern of prime number distribution. The scope of this paper is to identify the solution for the critical strip and the critical line axis, which has the non-trivial zero solutions using complex plane functions. The Riemann graphical plot is constructed using a linear complex variable function (X+iY) and is applicable only when X>1. But the investigation shows that complex variable behavior has two zones. The first zone is the transformation zone, where the definition of the complex plane should be a non-linear variable which is the critical strip zone in the graph (X=0 to 1). The second zone is the transformed zone (X>1) defined using linear variables conventionally. This paper deals with the Non-linear function in the transformation zone derived using cosine and sinusoidal time lag w.r.t imaginary number ‘i’. The alternate complex variable (Cosθ+i Sinθ) is used to understand the variables in the critical strip zone. It is concluded that the non-trivial zeros present in the Real part 0.5 are because the linear function is not the correct approach in the critical strip. This paper provides the solution to Reimann's hypothesis.

Keywords: Reimann hypothesis, critical strip, complex plane, transformation zone

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Authors: Partha Saha, Uttam Kumar Banerjee

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Maternal and Child Healthcare (MCH) has always been regarded as one of the important issues globally. Reduction of maternal and child mortality rates and increase of healthcare service coverage were declared as one of the targets in Millennium Development Goals till 2015 and thereafter as an important component of the Sustainable Development Goals. Over the last decade, worldwide MCH indicators have improved but could not match the expected levels. Progress of both maternal and child mortality rates have been monitored by several researchers. Each of the studies has stated that only less than 26% of low-income and middle income countries (LMICs) were on track to achieve targets as prescribed by MDG4. Average worldwide annual rate of reduction of under-five mortality rate and maternal mortality rate were 2.2% and 1.9% as on 2011 respectively whereas rates should be minimum 4.4% and 5.5% annually to achieve targets. In spite of having proven healthcare interventions for both mothers and children, those could not be scaled up to the required volume due to fragmented health systems, especially in the developing and under-developed countries. In this research, a knowledge discovery based interactive Decision Support System (DSS) has been developed on web platform which would assist healthcare policy makers to develop evidence-based policies. To achieve desirable results in MCH, efficient resource planning is very much required. In maximum LMICs, resources are big constraint. Knowledge, generated through this system, would help healthcare managers to develop strategic resource planning for combatting with issues like huge inequity and less coverage in MCH. This system would help healthcare managers to accomplish following four tasks. Those are a) comprehending region wise conditions of variables related with MCH, b) identifying relationships within variables, c) segmenting regions based on variables status, and d) finding out segment wise key influential variables which have major impact on healthcare indicators. Whole system development process has been divided into three phases. Those were i) identifying contemporary issues related with MCH services and policy making; ii) development of the system; and iii) verification and validation of the system. More than 90 variables under three categories, such as a) educational, social, and economic parameters; b) MCH interventions; and c) health system building blocks have been included into this web-based DSS and five separate modules have been developed under the system. First module has been designed for analysing current healthcare scenario. Second module would help healthcare managers to understand correlations among variables. Third module would reveal frequently-occurring incidents along with different MCH interventions. Fourth module would segment regions based on previously mentioned three categories and in fifth module, segment-wise key influential interventions will be identified. India has been considered as case study area in this research. Data of 601 districts of India has been used for inspecting effectiveness of those developed modules. This system has been developed by importing different statistical and data mining techniques on Web platform. Policy makers would be able to generate different scenarios from the system before drawing any inference, aided by its interactive capability.

Keywords: maternal and child heathcare, decision support systems, data mining techniques, low and middle income countries

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Authors: Apipol Penkitti

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The new normal or a new way of life stemmed from the COVID-19 outbreak, gave rise to a new form of social media: audio-based social platforms (ABSPs), known as Clubhouse, Twitter space, and Facebook live audio room. These platforms, on which audio-based communication is featured, became popular in a short span of time. The objective of the research study is to understand ABSPs users’ behaviors in Thailand. The study, in which functional attitude theory, uses and gratifications theory, and social influence theory are referred to, is conducted through consumer perceived utilitarian, hedonic, and social value that affect engagement. This research study is mixed method paradigm, utilizing Model of Triangulation as its framework. The data acquisition is proceeded through questionnaires from a sample of 384 male, female and LGBTQA+ individuals aged 25 - 34 who, from various occupations, have used audio-based social platform applications. This research study employs the structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between variables, and it uses the semi - structured interviewing to comprehend the rationality of the variables in the study. The study found that hedonic value directly affects engagement.

Keywords: audio based social platform, engagement, hedonic, perceived value, social, utilitarian

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Authors: Ntite Orji Kalu, Martina Kurowski

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Until recently, the Czech Republic had an educational system dominated by indigenous people, who accounted for 95% of the school population. With the increasing influx of migrants and foreign students, especially from outside European Union, came a great disparity among the quality of learners and their learning needs and consideration for the challenges associated with being a minority and living within a foreign culture. This has prompted the research into ways of tailoring the educational system to meet the rising demand of learning styles and needs for the diverse learners in the Czech classrooms. Literature is reviewed regarding the various ways to accommodate the international students considering racial differences, focusing on theoretical approach and pedagogical principles. This study examines the compulsory educational system of the Czech Republic and the position and responsibility of the teacher in fostering a culturally sensitive and inclusive learning environment. Descriptive and content analysis is relied upon for this study. Recommendations are made for stakeholders to imbibe a more responsive environment that enhances the cultural and social integration of all learners.

Keywords: culturally responsive teaching, cultural competence, diversity, learners, inclusive education, Czech schools

Procedia PDF Downloads 146