Search results for: theory of resources and capabilities

Authors: M. Karami Khorramabadi, A. R. Nezamabadi

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This paper studies free vibration of functionally graded beams Subjected to Axial Load that is simply supported at both ends lies on a continuous elastic foundation. The displacement field of beam is assumed based on Engesser-Timoshenko beam theory. The Young's modulus of beam is assumed to be graded continuously across the beam thickness. Applying the Hamilton's principle, the governing equation is established. Resulting equation is solved using the Euler's Equation. The effects of the constituent volume fractions and foundation coefficient on the vibration frequency are presented. To investigate the accuracy of the present analysis, a compression study is carried out with a known data.

Keywords: functionally graded beam, free vibration, elastic foundation, Engesser-Timoshenko beam theory

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Authors: Raja Rodziah Binti Raja Zainal Hassan

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The development of Malaysian political cinema is rapidly taking shape in the local film industry. The paper focuses on the production of independent political documentary by two Malaysian filmmakers, Amir Muhammad and Fahmi Reza. Revolutionary cinema can be understood by utilizing the Third Cinema Theory in order to analyse the meaning and its impact on the audience. The issue surrounding the political cinema in Malaysia is the question of national identity. The implementation of racial or ethnic based politics has resulted in hostility within Malaysia’s multiracial society. Amir Muhammad and Fahmi Reza revisit the Malaysian political history through their films in order to understand the reasons behind the hostility and conflict.

Keywords: Political cinema, third cinema theory, revolutionary cinema, national identity, racial or ethnic politics

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Authors: Radia Guerza

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Tutoring at the Algerian University has been an issue of great controversy and debate. Henceforth, the current paper is an attempt to shed light on the issue of tutoring at Algerian University. It aims to set a plan for tutoring that might meet the student's needs and challenges. It endeavors to explore the following query: “what is the role of tutoring in the Algerian university between “The CAN DO” and “The HAVE TO”? To equate with the addressed research question, an exploratory small-scale study has been carried out at Batna 2 University using questionnaires and interviews with fifty (50) teachers. Results indicate that Algerian University is still lagging behind because of the huge lack of infrastructure means, human resources, and even pedagogical resources. In addition, the majority of our teachers are reluctant to adhere to the tutorial policy due to the lack of incentives; next to that, the increasing yearly number of students and students high ratio would hardly permit any tutoring sessions. Finally, this paper is the first attempt, to our best knowledge, towards raising the awareness of our institution, staff members, teachers, and students towards the importance of tutoring and how to adopt it.

Keywords: attitudes, higher education, perceptions, tutoring

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Authors: Septimia Sarbu

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The entropy rate of a stochastic process is a fundamental concept in information theory. It provides a limit to the amount of information that can be transmitted reliably over a communication channel, as stated by Shannon's coding theorems. Recently, researchers have focused on developing new measures of information that generalize Shannon's classical theory. The aim is to design more efficient information encoding and transmission schemes. This paper continues the study of generalized entropy rates, by deriving a closed-form solution to the Sharma-Mittal entropy rate for Gaussian processes. Using the squeeze theorem, we solve the limit in the definition of the entropy rate, for different values of alpha and beta, which are the parameters of the Sharma-Mittal entropy. In the end, we compare it with Shannon and Rényi's entropy rates for Gaussian processes.

Keywords: generalized entropies, Sharma-Mittal entropy rate, Gaussian processes, eigenvalues of the covariance matrix, squeeze theorem

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Authors: Leo Latasch, Mario Di Gennaro

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Introduction: The goal of this project was to increase the resilience of the population as well as rescue organizations to make both quality and time-related improvements in handling crises. A helper network was created for this purpose. Methods: Social questions regarding the structure and purpose of helper networks were considered - specifically with regard to helper motivation, the level of commitment and collaboration between populations and agencies. The exchange of information, the coordinated use of volunteers, and the distribution of available resources will be ensured through defined communication and cooperation routines. Helper smartphones will also be used provide a picture of the situation on the ground. Results: The helper network was established and deployed based on the RESIBES information technology system. It consists of a service platform, a web portal and a smartphone app. The service platform is the central element for collaboration between the various rescue organizations, as well as for persons, associations, and companies from the population offering voluntary aid. The platform was used for: Registering helpers and resources and then requesting and assigning it in case of a disaster. These services allow the population's resources to be organized. The service platform also allows for a secure data exchange between services and external systems. Conclusions: The social and technical work priorities have allowed us to cover a full cycle of advance structural work, gaining an overview, damage management, evaluation, and feedback on experiences. This cycle allows experiences gained while handling the crisis to feed back into the cycle and improve preparations and management strategies.

Keywords: coordination, disaster, resilience, volunteers

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Authors: Mohammadhosein Hasanbeig, Lacra Pavel

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In this paper, we study a distributed control algorithm for the problem of unknown area coverage by a network of robots. The coverage objective is to locate a set of targets in the area and to minimize the robots’ energy consumption. The robots have no prior knowledge about the location and also about the number of the targets in the area. One efficient approach that can be used to relax the robots’ lack of knowledge is to incorporate an auxiliary learning algorithm into the control scheme. A learning algorithm actually allows the robots to explore and study the unknown environment and to eventually overcome their lack of knowledge. The control algorithm itself is modeled based on game theory where the network of the robots use their collective information to play a non-cooperative potential game. The algorithm is tested via simulations to verify its performance and adaptability.

Keywords: distributed control, game theory, multi-agent learning, reinforcement learning

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Authors: Paul Koffitse Agobia

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In 2020 the Ministry of Education in Ghana and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) rolled out a new curriculum, Common Core Programme (CCP) for Basic 7 to 10, that lays emphasis on character building and values which are important to the Ghanaian society by providing education that will produce character–minded learners, with problem solving skills, who can play active roles in dealing with the increasing challenges facing Ghana and the global society. Therefore, learning and teaching approaches that prioritise the use of digital learning resources and active learning are recommended. The new challenge facing Ghanaian teachers is the ability to use new technologies together with the appropriate content pedagogical knowledge to help learners develop, aside the communication skills in French, the essential 21st century skills as recommended in the new curriculum. This article focusses on the pedagogical approaches that are recommended by NaCCA. The study seeks to examine French language teachers’ understanding of the recommended pedagogical approaches and how they use digital learning resources in class to foster the development of these essential skills and values. 54 respondents, comprised 30 teachers and 24 head teachers, were selected in 6 Junior High schools in rural districts (both private and public) and 6 from Junior High schools in an urban setting. The schools were selected in three regions: Volta, Central and Western regions. A class observation checklist and an interview guide were used to collect data for the study. The study reveals that some teachers adopt teaching techniques that do not promote active learning. They demonstrate little understanding of the core competences and values, therefore, fail to integrate them in their lessons. However, some other teachers, despite their lack of understanding of learning and teaching philosophies, adopted techniques that can help learners develop some of the core competences and values. In most schools, digital learning resources are not utilized, though teachers have smartphones or laptops.

Keywords: active learning, core competences, digital learning resources, pedagogical approach, values.

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Authors: Valentina Dotto

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Climate change cases used to take the form of statutory disputes rather than constitutional or common law disputes. This changed in 2015, with the Urgenda Climate case in the Netherlands (Urgenda Foundation v. The State of the Netherlands, C/09/456689/HAZA 13-1396) and, the Juliana case in the U.S. (United States v. U.S. District Court for District of Oregon, 17-71692, 9th Cir.). The two cases represent a new type of climate litigation, the claims brought against the federal government were in fact grounded in constitutional rights. The complaints used the Doctrine of Public Trust as a cornerstone for the lawsuits asserting that government's actions against climate change failed to protect essential public trust resources; thus, violating a generation's constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property. The Public Trust Doctrine –a quintessentially American legal concept-, reserved to the States by virtue of the 9th and 10th amendment of the federal Constitution, gives them considerable jurisdiction over natural resources and has been refined by a number of Supreme Court rulings. The Juliana case exemplifies the Doctrine’s evolutionary nature because it attempts to apply it to the federal government, and establish a right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life as a fundamental right protected by a substantive due process. Furthermore, the flexibility of the Doctrine makes it permissible to be applied to a variety of different legal systems as in the Urgenda case. At the very heart of the lawsuits stands the question of who owns the Earth resources and, to what extent the general public can claim the services that the Earth provides as common property. By employing the widest possible definition of the Doctrine of Public Trust these lawsuits tried to redefine environmental resources as a collective right of all people. By doing case analysis, the paper explores how these cases can contribute to widening the public access to information and broadening the public voice in decision making as well as providing a precedent to equal access in seeking justice and redress from environmental failures.

Keywords: climate change, doctrine of public trust, environmental democracy, Juliana case, Urgenda climate case

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Authors: Charlotte Brenner

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Teachers’ beleifs about inclusion are foundational to their implementation of inclusive teaching practices. Utilizing a longitudinal design and multiple case study methodology, this study investigates how teacher candidates’ instructional and practicum experiences shape their beliefs about inclusion in one teacher education program located in western Canada (N=20). Interview questions were developed through the lens of self-determinaiton theory and theory about teachers’ beleifs and inclusion. Preliminary thematic ananysis indicates that a 36-hour course focused on diversity and inclusion supports teacher candiates to deepen their understandings of: the need for inclusion in classrooms and strategies to promote inclusion. Furthermore, teacher candiates identified course components that fostered their developing understandings of inclusion. Future data will examine the stability of teacher candidates’ beliefs about inclusion and their implementation of inclusive teaching strategies throughout their practicum experiences.

Keywords: teacher candidates, inclusion, teacher education programs, beliefs

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Authors: Uwe C. Fischer

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Mental health and well-being for employees working in the human service system are getting more and more important given the increasing rate of absenteeism at work. Besides individual capacities, social and community factors seem to be important in the working setting. Starting from a demand resource framework including the classical demand control aspects, social support systems, specific demands and resources of the client work, and work-family conflict were considered in the present study. We state hypothetically, that these factors have a meaningful association with the mental quality of life of employees working in the field of social, educational and health sectors. 1140 employees, working in human service organizations (education, youth care, nursing etc.) were asked for strains and resources at work (selected scales from Salutogenetic Subjective Work Assessment SALSA and own new scales for client work), work-family conflict, and mental quality of life from the German Short Form Health Survey. Considering the complex influences of the variables, we conducted a multiple hierarchical regression analysis. One third of the whole variance of the mental quality of life can be declared by the different variables of the model. When the variables concerning social influences were included in the hierarchical regression, the influence of work related control resource decreased. Excessive workload, work-family conflict, social support by supervisors, co-workers and other persons outside work, as well as strains and resources associated with client work had significant regression coefficients. Conclusions: Social support systems are crucial in the social, educational and health related service sector, regarding the influence on mental well-being. Especially the work-family conflict focuses on the importance of the work-life balance. Also the specific strains and resources of the client work, measured with new constructed scales, showed great impact on mental health. Therefore occupational health promotion should focus more on the social factors within and outside the working place.

Keywords: client interaction, human service system, mental health, social support, work-family conflict

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Authors: Yun Yu Stephanie Law

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Sociometer Theory is well tested among young adults in western population, however, limited research is found for other age groups, like adolescent and middle-adulthood in Asia population. Thus, one of the main purposes of this study is to verify the validity of Sociometer Theory in different age groups among Asian. To be specific, we hypothesized that an increase in one’s perceived social rejection is associated to a decrease in his/her state self-esteem among all age groups in Asian population. And we expected that this association can be found among all age groups including adolescent, young adults and middle-adults group in our first study. In this way, we can verify the validity of Sociometer Theory across different age groups as well as its significance in Asian population. Furthermore, those participants who received rejection about ‘mate-role’ would also receive some negative feedbacks regarding their current/future capacity of being a good mate. Results suggested that participants’ state self-esteem sensitivity for mating-capacity rejection is higher when comparing to that of friend-capacity rejection, i.e. greater drop in state self-esteem when receiving mating-capacity feedbacks then receiving friend-capacity feedbacks. These results, however, is just applicable on young adults. Thus, the main purpose of study two would be testing the state self-esteem sensitivity towards social rejection in different domains among three age groups. We hypothesized that group differences would be found for three age groups regarding state self-esteem sensitivity. Research question 1: perceived social rejection is associated to decrease in state self-esteem, is applicable among different age groups in Asia population. Research question 2: there are significant group differences for three age groups regarding state self-esteem sensitivity. Methods: 300 subjects are divided into three age groups, adolescents group, young adult group and middle-adult group, with 100 subjects in each group. Two questionnaires were used in testing this fundamental concept. Subjects were then asked to rate themselves on questionnaire in measuring their current state self-esteem in order to obtain the baseline measurements for later comparison. In order to avoid demand characteristics from subjects, other unrelated tasks like word matching were also given after the first test. Results: A positive correlation between scores in questionnaire 1 and questionnaire 2 among all age groups. Conclusion: State self-esteem decrease to both imagined social rejection (study1) and experienced social rejection (study2). Moreover, level of decrease in state self-esteem vary when receiving different domains of social rejection. Implications: a better understanding of self-esteem development for various age group might bring insights for education systems and policies for teaching approaches and learning methods among different age groups.

Keywords: state self-esteem, social rejection, stage theory, self-feelings

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Authors: Xuan Tran

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The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive dynamic model for pricing strategies in the hotel competition to find a win-win situation for the competitive set. By utilizing the Cobb-Douglas utility model, the study establishes room rates by analyzing the price elasticity of demand across a competitive set of four hotels, with a focus on occupancy rates. To further enhance the analysis, game theory is applied to identify the best response for each competitive party, which illustrates the optimal pricing strategy for each hotel in the competitive landscape. This approach offers valuable insights into how hotels can strategically adjust their room rates in response to market conditions and competitor actions. The primary contributions of this research include as follows: (1) advantages for both individual hotels and the broader competitive hotel market, (2) benefits for hotel management overseeing multiple brands, and (3) positive impacts on the local community.

Keywords: dynamic model, game theory, best response, Cobb-Douglas

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Authors: Yongxu Fu, Shaolong Wan

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We study the band degeneracy, defectiveness, as well as exceptional points of non-Hermitian systems and materials analytically. We elaborate on the energy bands, the band degeneracy, and the defectiveness of eigenstates under open boundary conditions based on developing a general theory of one-dimensional (1D) non-Hermitian systems. We research the presence of the exceptional points in a generalized non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model under open boundary conditions. Beyond our general theory, there exist infernal points in 1D non-Hermitian systems, where the energy spectra under open boundary conditions converge on some discrete energy values. We study two 1D non-Hermitian models with the existence of infernal points. We generalize the infernal points to the infernal knots in four-dimensional non-Hermitian systems.

Keywords: non-hermitian, degeneracy, defectiveness, exceptional points, infernal points

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Authors: Saheed A. Gbadegeshin

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Lean Commercialization (LC) is a transformation of new technologies and knowledge to products and services through application of lean/agile principle. This principle focuses on how resources can be minimized on development, manufacturing, and marketing new products/services, which can be accepted by customers. To understand how the LC has been employed by the technology-based companies, a case study approach was employed by interviewing the founders, observing their high technologies, and interviewing the commercialization experts. Two serial entrepreneurs were interviewed in 2012, and their commercialized technologies were monitored from 2012 till 2016. Some results were collected, but to validate the commercialization strategies of these entrepreneurs, four commercialization experts were interviewed in 2017. Initial results, observation notes, and experts’ opinions were analyzed qualitatively. The final findings showed that the entrepreneurs applied the LC unknowingly, and the experts were aware of the LC. Similarly, the entrepreneurs used the LC due to the financial constraints, and their need for success. Additionally, their commercialization practices revealed that LC appeared to be one of their commercialization strategies. Thus, their practices were analyzed, and a framework was developed. Furthermore, the experts noted that LC is a new dawn, which technologists and scientists need to consider for their high technology commercialization. This article contributes to the theory and practice of commercialization. Theoretically, the framework adds value to the commercialization discussion. And, practically the framework can be used by the technology entrepreneurs (technologists and scientists), technology-based enterprises, and technology entrepreneurship educators as a guide in their commercialization adventures.

Keywords: lean commercialization, high technologies, lean start-up, technology-based companies

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Authors: Hyuk-Jin Lee

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Korea is a country with thousands of years of history, like its neighbors China and Japan. However, compared to China, which is famous for its ancient fantasy novel "Journey to the West", and Japan, which is famous for its monsters, its “monster culture” is not actively used for tourism. The reason is that the culture closest to the present, from the 17th to 20th centuries, was the Joseon Dynasty, when Neo-Confucianism, which suppressed a monster culture, was the strongest. This trend became stronger after Neo-Confucianism became dogmatic in the mid-17th century. However, Korea, which has a history of Taoism for thousands of years, clearly has many literatures on monsters that can be used as tourism resources. The problem is that these data are buried in texts and are unfamiliar even to Koreans. This study examines the possibility of developing them into attractive tourism resources based on the literary records of the so-called 'monsters densely located in Namsan Mountain, located in the center of Seoul' buried in texts from the 16th to early 17th centuries. In particular, we introduce the surprising consistency in the description of the area north of Namsan Mountain in terms of 'feng shui geography', an oriental philosophy, in a contemporary Korean newspaper. Finally, based on the theoretical foundation through the phenomenological classification table of cultural heritage, we examine phenomenologically how important this ‘visualization of imaginary or text-based entities’ is to changes in the perception of specific cultural resources in a society. In addition, we will deeply analyze related cases, including Japan's ninja culture.

Keywords: monster culture, Namsan mountain, neo-confucianism, phenomenology, tourism

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Authors: Ananya Gangavarapu

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Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) based models are providing diagnostic capabilities on par with the medical specialists in many specialty areas. However, collecting the medical data for training purposes is very challenging because of the increased regulations around data collections and privacy concerns around personal health data. The gathering of the data becomes even more difficult if the capture devices are edge-based mobile devices (like smartphones) with feeble wireless connectivity in rural/remote areas. In this paper, I would like to highlight Federated Learning approach to mitigate data privacy and security issues.

Keywords: deep learning in healthcare, data privacy, federated learning, training in distributed environment

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Authors: Falek Kamel

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Free vibration analysis of beams, based on the assumptions of Bernoulli-Euler theory, has been extensively studied. Many research works have focused on the study of transverse vibrations under the application of different boundary conditions where different theories have been applied. The stiffness and mass matrices considered are those obtained by assembling those resulting from the use of the finite element method. The Jacobi method has been used to solve the eigenvalue problem. These well-known concepts have been applied to the study of beams with constant geometric and mechanical characteristics having one to two overhangs with variable lengths. Murphy studied, by an algebraic solution approach, a simply supported beam with two overhangs of arbitrary length, allowing for an experimental determination of the elastic modulus E. The advantage of our article is that it offers the possibility of extending this approach to many interesting problems formed by transversely vibrating beams with various end constraints.

Keywords: beam, finite element, transverse vibrations, end restreint, Bernoulli-Euler theory

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Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan

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Groundwater is a vital water resource in many areas in the world, particularly in the Middle-East region where the water resources become scarce and depleting. Sustainable management and planning of the groundwater resources become essential and urgent given the impact of the global climate change. In the recent years, numerical models have been widely used to predict the flow pattern and assess the water resources security, as well as the groundwater quality affected by the contaminants transported. In this study, MODFLOW is used to study the current status of groundwater resources and the risk of water resource security in the region centred at Al-Najaf City, which is located in the mid-west of Iraq and adjacent to the Euphrates River. In this study, a conceptual model is built using the geologic and hydrogeologic collected for the region, together with the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data obtained from the "Global Land Cover Facility" (GLCF) and "United State Geological Survey" (USGS) for the study area. The computer model is also implemented with the distributions of 69 wells in the area with the steady pro-defined hydraulic head along its boundaries. The model is then applied with the recharge rate (from precipitation) of 7.55 mm/year, given from the analysis of the field data in the study area for the period of 1980-2014. The hydraulic conductivity from the measurements at the locations of wells is interpolated for model use. The model is calibrated with the measured hydraulic heads at the locations of 50 of 69 wells in the domain and results show a good agreement. The standard-error-of-estimate (SEE), root-mean-square errors (RMSE), Normalized RMSE and correlation coefficient are 0.297 m, 2.087 m, 6.899% and 0.971 respectively. Sensitivity analysis is also carried out, and it is found that the model is sensitive to recharge, particularly when the rate is greater than (15mm/year). Hydraulic conductivity is found to be another parameter which can affect the results significantly, therefore it requires high quality field data. The results show that there is a general flow pattern from the west to east of the study area, which agrees well with the observations and the gradient of the ground surface. It is found that with the current operational pumping rates of the wells in the area, a dry area is resulted in Al-Najaf City due to the large quantity of groundwater withdrawn. The computed water balance with the current operational pumping quantity shows that the Euphrates River supplies water into the groundwater of approximately 11759 m3/day, instead of gaining water of 11178 m3/day from the groundwater if no pumping from the wells. It is expected that the results obtained from the study can provide important information for the sustainable and effective planning and management of the regional groundwater resources for Al-Najaf City.

Keywords: Al-Najaf city, conceptual modelling, groundwater, unconfined aquifer, visual MODFLOW

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Authors: Carin Lindskog

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Introduction: Long-term success requires an organizational balance between continuity (exploitation) and change (exploration). The problem of balancing exploitation and exploration is a common issue in studies of organizational learning. In order to better face the tough competition in the face of changes, organizations need to exploit their current business and explore new business fields by developing new capabilities. The purpose of this work in progress is to develop a conceptual framework to shed light on the relevance of 'learning activities', i.e., exploitation and exploration, on different levels. The research questions that will be addressed are as follows: What sort of learning activities are found in the Business Process Management (BPM) field? How can these activities be linked to the individual level, group, level, and organizational level? In the work, a literature review will first be conducted. This review will explore the status of learning activities in the BPM field. An outcome from the literature review will be a conceptual framework of learning activities based on the included publications. The learning activities will be categorized to focus on the categories exploitation, exploration or both and into the levels of individual, group, and organization. The proposed conceptual framework will be a valuable tool for analyzing the research field as well as identification of future research directions. Related Work: BPM has increased in popularity as a way of working to strengthen the quality of the work and meet the demands of efficiency. Due to the increase in BPM popularity, more and more organizations reporting on BPM failure. One reason for this is the lack of knowledge about the extended scope of BPM to other business contexts that include, for example, more creative business fields. Yet another reason for the failures are the fact of the employees’ are resistant to changes. The learning process in an organization is an ongoing cycle of reflection and action and is a process that can be initiated, developed and practiced. Furthermore, organizational learning is multilevel; therefore the theory of organizational learning needs to consider the individual, the group, and the organization level. Learning happens over time and across levels, but it also creates a tension between incorporating new learning (feed-forward) and exploiting or using what has already been learned (feedback). Through feed-forward processes, new ideas and actions move from the individual to the group to the organization level. At the same time, what has already been learned feeds back from the organization to a group to an individual and has an impact on how people act and think.

Keywords: business process management, exploitation, exploration, learning activities

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Authors: Spada Alessia, Fiore Mariantonietta, Lamonaca Emilia, Contò Francesco

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Bioeconomy can give the chance to face new global challenges and can move ahead the transition from a waste economy to an economy based on renewable resources and sustainable consumption. Air pollution is a grave issue in green challenges, mainly caused by anthropogenic factors. The agriculture sector is a great contributor to global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions due to lacking efficient management of the resources involved and research policies. In particular, livestock sector contributes to emissions of GHGs, deforestation, and nutrient imbalances. More effective agricultural research systems and technologies are crucial in order to improve farm productivity but also to reduce the GHGs emissions. Using data from FAOSTAT statistics and concern the EU countries; the aim of this research is to evaluate the impact of ASTI R&D (Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators) on GHGs emissions for countries EU in 2015 by generalized propensity score procedures, estimating a dose-response function, also considering a set of covariates. Expected results show the existence of the influence of ASTI R&D on GHGs across EU countries. Implications are crucial: reducing GHGs emissions by means of R&D based policies and correlatively reaching eco-friendly management of required resources by means of green available practices could have a crucial role for fair intra-generational implications.

Keywords: agricultural research systems, dose-response function, generalized propensity score, GHG emissions

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Authors: Nadjib Drouiche

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Water resources in Algeria are scarce, often low quality, fragile, and unevenly distributed in space and time. The pressure on water resources can be associated with industrial development, a steady population growth, and demanding land irrigation measures. These conditions createa tense competitionfor managing waterresourcesand sharing thembetween agricultural development, drinking water supply, industrial activities, etc. Moreover, the impact of climate change has placed in the forefront national policies focused on the water-energy-food nexus (WEF). In this context, desalination membrane technologies could play an increasing rolefor supporting segments of the Algerian economy that are heavily water-dependent. By implementing water reuse and desalination strategies together in the agricultural sector, there is an opportunity to expand the access to healthy food and clean water, thereby keeping the WEF nexus effects under control.

Keywords: desalination, mitigation, climate change, sustainable development goals

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Authors: Michiko Miyamoto

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This paper empirically investigates whether information technology (IT) strategies, business strategies, and divisions are aligned to meet overall business goals for Korean Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), based on structure based Strategic Alignment Model, and make comparison with those of Japanese SMEs. Using 2,869 valid responses of Korean Human Capital Corporate Panel survey, a result of this study suggests that Korean human resources (HR) departments have a major influence over IT strategy, which is the same as Japanese SMEs, even though their management styles are quite different. As for IT strategy, it is not related to other departments at all for Korean SMEs. The Korean management seems to possess a great power over each division, such as Sales/Service, Research and Development/Technical Experts, HR, and Production.

Keywords: IT-business alignment, structured based strategic alignment model, structural equation model, human resources department

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Authors: N. Tochukwu, M. Mukhopadhyay, A. Mohamed

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It is no new that Nigeria faces a continual power shortage problem due to its vast population power demand and heavy reliance on nonrenewable forms of energy such as thermal power or fossil fuel. Many researchers have recommended using geothermal energy as an alternative; however, Past studies focus on the geophysical & geochemical investigation of this energy in the sedimentary and basement complex; only a few studies incorporated the remote sensing methods. Therefore, in this study, the preliminary examination of geothermal resources in the Middle Benue was carried out using satellite imagery in ArcMap. Landsat 8 scene (TIR, NIR, Red spectral bands) was used to estimate the Land Surface Temperature (LST). The Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) technique was used to classify sites with very low, low, moderate, and high LST. The intermediate and high classification happens to be possible geothermal zones, and they occupy 49% of the study area (38077km2). Riverline were superimposed on the LST layer, and the identification tool was used to locate high temperate sites. Streams that overlap on the selected sites were regarded as geothermal springs as. Surprisingly, the LST results show lower temperatures (<36°C) at the famous thermal springs (Awe & Wukari) than some unknown rivers/streams found in Kwande (38°C), Ussa, (38°C), Gwer East (37°C), Yola Cross & Ogoja (36°C). Studies have revealed that temperature increases with depth. However, this result shows excellent geothermal resources potential as it is expected to exceed the minimum geothermal gradient of 25.47 with an increase in depth. Therefore, further investigation is required to estimate the depth of the causative body, geothermal gradients, and the sustainability of the reservoirs by geophysical and field exploration. This method has proven to be cost-effective in locating geothermal resources in the study area. Consequently, the same procedure is recommended to be applied in other regions of the Precambrian basement complex and the sedimentary basins in Nigeria to save a preliminary field survey cost.

Keywords: ArcMap, geothermal resources, Landsat 8, LST, thermal springs, MLC

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Authors: Quoc Khanh Dang, Thomas Bourdeaud’huy, Khaled Mesghouni, Armand Toguy´eni

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This paper studies a train routing and scheduling problem for busy railway stations. Our objective is to allow trains to be routed in dense areas that are reaching saturation. Unlike traditional methods that allocate all resources to setup a route for a train and until the route is freed, our work focuses on the use of resources as trains progress through the railway node. This technique allows a larger number of trains to be routed simultaneously in a railway node and thus reduces their current saturation. To deal with this problem, this study proposes an abstract model and a mixed-integer linear programming formulation to solve it. The applicability of our method is illustrated on a didactic example.

Keywords: busy railway stations, mixed-integer linear programming, offline railway station management, train platforming, train routing, train scheduling

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Authors: Nihad Chakri, Btissam El Amrani, Faouzi Berrada, Halima Jounaid, Fouad Amraoui

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In the context of the increasing water resource scarcity in Morocco in recent years, the use of unconventional resources has become imperative. Although efforts have been made in the field of sanitation in urban areas, rural areas, due to their specificities, such as scattered dwellings and limited accessibility, suffer from a lack of basic infrastructure. This work focuses on replicating the Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock (FSAC) model for the treatment and reuse of wastewater from a peri-urban traditional hammam in Casablanca, specifically in the municipality of Dar Bouazza. This initiative is part of the Eco-Hammam project, which aims to minimize the negative impacts of traditional hammams in terms of irrational and uncontrolled consumption of water and wood energy resources. To achieve this, a comprehensive environmental diagnosis of all hammams in the municipality of Dar Bouazza, our study site, has been undertaken. Then, a feasibility study is also conducted to assess the possibility of replicating the FSAC mini-station to treat the wastewater of the selected pilot hammam, namely, My Yacoub II.

Keywords: water resource scarcity, unconventional resources, sanitation, per-urban areas, rural areas, basic infrastructure, replication, reuse of wastewater, traditional hammam, Casablanca, Municipality of Dar Bouazza, negative impacts, environmental diagnosis, feasibility study, pilot hammam, My Yacoub II

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Authors: Davide Forcellini, James Marshal Kelly

Abstract:

Seismic isolation using multi-layer elastomeric isolators has been used in the United States for more than 20 years. Although isolation bearings normally have a large factor of safety against buckling due to low shear stiffness, this phenomenon has been widely studied. In particular, the linearly elastic theory adopted to study this phenomenon is relatively accurate and adequate for most design purposes. Unfortunately it cannot consider the large deformation response of a bearing when buckling occurs and the unresolved behaviour of the stability of the post-buckled state. The study conducted in this paper may be viewed as a development of the linear theory of multi-layered elastomeric bearing, simply replacing the differential equations by algebraic equations, showing how it is possible to evaluate the post-buckling behaviour and the interactions at large deformations.

Keywords: multi-layer elastomeric isolators, large deformation, compressive load, tensile load, post-buckling behaviour

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Authors: Allan Chia, Gabriel Gervais

Abstract:

The case study on FoodXervices Inc shows how businesses need to reinvent and transform themselves in order to adapt and thrive and it also features how an SME can also devote resources to CSR causes. The company, Ng Chye Mong, was set up in 1937 and it went through ups and downs and encountered several failures and successes. In the 1970’s, the management of the company was entrusted to the next generation who continued to manage and expanded the business. In early 2003, the business encountered several challenges. A pair of siblings from the next generation of the Ng family joined the business fulltime and together they set-out to transform the company into FoodXervices Inc. In 2012, they started a charity, Food Bank Singapore Pte Ltd. The authors conducted case study research involving a series of in-depth interviews with the business owner and staff. This case study is an example of how to run a business and coordinate a charity concurrently while mobilising the same resources. The uniqueness of this case is the operational synergy of both the business and charity to promote corporate responsibility causes and initiatives in Singapore.

Keywords: family-owned business, charity, corporate social responsibility, branding

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Authors: Azzouzi Fadoua

Abstract:

This study focuses on the diagnosis of the dynamics of natural resources in a semi-arid mountainous weakened by natural vulnerability and anthropogenic action. This is evident in the forms of hydraulic erosion and degradation of agricultural land. The rate of this damaged land is 53%, with a strong presence of concentrated erosion; this shows that balanced and semi-balanced environments are less apparent to the Watershed, representing 47%. The results revealed the crucial role of the slopes and the density of the hydraulic networks to facilitate the transport of fine elements, at the level of the slopes with low vegetation intensity, to the lake of the dam. Something that endangers the siltation of the latter. After the study of natural and anthropogenic elements, it turned out that natural vulnerability is an integral part of the current dynamic, especially when it coincides with the overexploitation of natural resources, in this case, the exploitation of steep slopes for the cultivation of cereals and overgrazing. This causes the soil to pile up and increase the rate of runoff.

Keywords: watershed, erosion, natural vulnerability, anthropogenic

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Authors: Diamant Irene, Shklarnik Batya

Abstract:

In on to its widespread effects on health and economic issues, Covid-19 shook the work and employment world. Among the prominent changes during the pandemic is the work-from-home trend, complete or partial, as part of social distancing. In fact, these changes accelerated an existing tendency of work flexibility already underway before the pandemic. Technology and means of advanced communications led to a re-assessment of “place of work” as a physical space in which work takes place. Today workers can remotely carry out meetings, manage projects, work in groups, and different research studies point to the fact that this type of work has no adverse effect on productivity. However, from the worker’s perspective, despite numerous advantages associated with work from home, such as convenience, flexibility, and autonomy, various drawbacks have been identified such as loneliness, reduction of commitment, home-work boundary erosion, all risk factors relating to the quality of life and burnout. Thus, a real need has arisen in exploring differences in work-from-home experiences and understanding the relationship between psychological characteristics and the prevalence of burnout. This understanding may be of significant value to organizations considering a future hybrid work model combining in-office and remote working. Based on Hobfoll’s Theory of Conservation of Resources, we hypothesized that burnout would mainly be found among workers whose physical remoteness from the workplace threatens or hinders their ability to retain significant individual resources. In the present study, we compared fully remote and partially remote workers (hybrid work), and we examined psychological characteristics and their connection to the formation of burnout. Based on the conceptualization of Place Attachment as the cognitive-emotional bond of an individual to a meaningful place and the need to maintain closeness to it, we assumed that individuals characterized with Place Attachment to the workplace would suffer more from burnout when working from home. We also assumed that extrovert individuals, characterized by the need of social interaction at the workplace and individuals with segmentationpreference – a need for separation between different life domains, would suffer more from burnout, especially among fully remote workers relative to partially remote workers. 194 workers, of which 111 worked from home in full and 83 worked partially from home, aged 19-53, from different sectors, were tested using an online questionnaire through social media. The results of the study supported our assumptions. The repercussions of these findings are discussed, relating to future occupational experience, with an emphasis on suitable occupational adjustment according to the psychological characteristics and needs of workers.

Keywords: working from home, burnout, place attachment, extraversion, segmentation preference, Covid-19

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Authors: Sylvie Michel, François Cocula

Abstract:

Digital agriculture is an approach that exploits information and communication technologies. These encompass data acquisition tools like mobile applications, satellites, sensors, connected devices, and smartphones. Additionally, it involves transfer and storage technologies such as 3G/4G coverage, low-bandwidth terrestrial or satellite networks, and cloud-based systems. Furthermore, embedded or remote processing technologies, including drones and robots for process automation, along with high-speed communication networks accessible through supercomputers, are integral components of this approach. While farm-level adoption studies regarding digital agricultural technologies have emerged in recent years, they remain relatively limited in comparison to other agricultural practices. To bridge this gap, this study delves into understanding farmers' intention to adopt digital tools, employing the technology, organization, environment framework. A qualitative research design encompassed semi-structured interviews, totaling fifteen in number, conducted with key stakeholders both prior to and following the 2020-2021 COVID-19 lockdowns in France. Subsequently, the interview transcripts underwent thorough thematic content analysis, and the data and verbatim were triangulated for validation. A coding process aimed to systematically organize the data, ensuring an orderly and structured classification. Our research extends its contribution by delineating sub-dimensions within each primary dimension. A total of nine sub-dimensions were identified, categorized as follows: perceived usefulness for communication, perceived usefulness for productivity, and perceived ease of use constitute the first dimension; technological resources, financial resources, and human capabilities constitute the second dimension, while market pressure, institutional pressure, and the COVID-19 situation constitute the third dimension. Furthermore, this analysis enriches the TOE framework by incorporating entrepreneurial orientation as a moderating variable. Managerial orientation emerges as a pivotal factor influencing adoption intention, with producers acknowledging the significance of utilizing digital sales support tools to combat "greenwashing" and elevate their overall brand image. Specifically, it illustrates that producers recognize the potential of digital tools in time-saving and streamlining sales processes, leading to heightened productivity. Moreover, it highlights that the intent to adopt digital sales support tools is influenced by a market mimicry effect. Additionally, it demonstrates a negative association between the intent to adopt these tools and the pressure exerted by institutional partners. Finally, this research establishes a positive link between the intent to adopt digital sales support tools and economic fluctuations, notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. The adoption of sales support tools in agriculture is a multifaceted challenge encompassing three dimensions and nine sub-dimensions. The research delves into the adoption of digital farming technologies at the farm level through the TOE framework. This analysis provides significant insights beneficial for policymakers, stakeholders, and farmers. These insights are instrumental in making informed decisions to facilitate a successful digital transition in agriculture, effectively addressing sector-specific challenges.

Keywords: adoption, digital agriculture, e-commerce, TOE framework

Procedia PDF Downloads 60