Search results for: family quality of life scale

Authors: Jessica Gladden

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Anxiety remains one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Many university students report having a high level of anxiety, with additional life stressors that might include being away from home for the first time, being around unfamiliar people, having new expectations placed on them, and often have financial struggles. Universities have the ability and opportunity to form programs that can involve students with activities that reduce stress and teach coping skills. This research includes one example of using a somatic based group format of yoga to teach these skills and assist students in applying these strategies to their daily lives. This study compared a group of 17 students participating in weekly yoga classes to 34 students who did not attend the program. The students who attended the program reported a larger reduction of anxiety on both the BAI and GAD-7 than the control group, and verbally reported additional benefits in relaxation and coping skills. This presentation will review the results of the program as well as detailing the steps taken in creating a yoga program for university students with stress and anxiety. This will include a discussion on the components of trauma-sensitive yoga and the concerns and strategies to consider when developing a program for students.

Keywords: yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga, anxiety, students

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Authors: Issam Alnader, Aboubaker Lasebae, Rand Raheem

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Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are distributed network systems used in a wide range of applications, including safety-critical systems. The latter provide critical services, often concerned with human life or assets. Therefore, ensuring the dependability requirements of Safety critical systems is of paramount importance. The purpose of this paper is to utilize the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to elongate the service availability of WSNs by increasing the time it takes a node to become obsolete via optimal load balancing. We propose an HMM algorithm that, given a WSN, analyses and predicts undesirable situations, notably, nodes dying unexpectedly or prematurely. We apply this technique to improve on C. Lius’ algorithm, a scheduling-based algorithm which has served to improve the lifetime of WSNs. Our experiments show that our HMM technique improves the lifetime of the network, achieved by detecting nodes that die early and rebalancing their load. Our technique can also be used for diagnosis and provide maintenance warnings to WSN system administrators. Finally, our technique can be used to improve algorithms other than C. Liu’s.

Keywords: wireless sensor networks, IoT, dependability of safety WSNs, energy conservation, sleep awake schedule

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Authors: Aftab Hameed Memon, Shadab Noor, Muhammad Akram Akhund

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Lean construction is a philosophy adopted in the construction industry to increase the value of a project by reducing waste and improving construction productivity. Lean emphasizes on maximizing the value of a project with less expenditure. Globally, lean philosophy has received wider popularity in construction sector. Lean construction has supported the practitioners with several tools and techniques to implement at various stages of a construction project. Following the global trends, this study has investigated the lean practice in Pakistan. The level of implementation of different lean tools and techniques altogether with potential benefits experienced by its implementation in construction projects of Pakistan is analyzed. To achieve the targets, the opinion was sought by the practitioners involved in handling construction projects representing four stakeholders that are a client, consultant, contractors and material suppliers through a structured questionnaire. A total of 34 completed questionnaires were collected and then statistically analyzed. The findings of the analysis have highlighted that pull approach, work standardization, just in time, increase visualization tools, integrated project delivery method and fail-safe for quality are common lean techniques implemented in the local construction industry. While reduction in waste, client’s satisfaction, improved communication, visual control and proper task management are major benefits of the lean construction application.

Keywords: lean construction, lean tools and techniques, lean benefits, waste reduction, Pakistan

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Authors: Lali Kutateladze, Tamar Urushadze, Tamar Dudauri, Besarion Metreveli, Nino Zakariashvili, Izolda Khokhashvili, Maya Jobava

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Lignocellulosic waste streams from agriculture, paper and wood industry are renewable, plentiful and low-cost raw materials that can be used for large-scale production of liquid and gaseous biofuels. As opposed to prevailing multi-stage biotechnological processes developed for bioconversion of cellulosic substrates to ethanol where high-cost cellulase preparations are used, Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP) offers to accomplish cellulose and xylan hydrolysis followed by fermentation of both C6 and C5 sugars to ethanol in a single-stage process. Syntrophic microbial consortium comprising of anaerobic, thermophilic, cellulolytic, and saccharolytic bacteria in the genus Clostridia with improved ethanol productivity and high tolerance to fermentation end-products had been proposed for achieving CBP. 65 new strains of anaerobic thermophilic cellulolytic and saccharolytic Clostridia were isolated from different wetlands and hot springs in Georgia. Using new isolates, fermentation of mechanically pretreated wheat straw and corn stalks was done under oxygen-free nitrogen environment in thermophilic conditions (T=550C) and pH 7.1. Process duration was 120 hours. Liquid and gaseous products of fermentation were analyzed on a daily basis using Perkin-Elmer gas chromatographs with flame ionization and thermal detectors. Residual cellulose, xylan, xylose, and glucose were determined using standard methods. Cellulolytic and saccharolytic bacteria strains degraded mechanically pretreated herbaceous cellulosic wastes and fermented glucose and xylose to ethanol, acetic acid and gaseous products like hydrogen and CO2. Specifically, maximum yield of ethanol was reached at 96 h of fermentation and varied between 2.9 – 3.2 g/ 10 g of substrate. The content of acetic acid didn’t exceed 0.35 g/l. Other volatile fatty acids were detected in trace quantities.

Keywords: anaerobic bacteria, cellulosic wastes, Clostridia sp, ethanol

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Authors: A. Yamaoka, S. Yukawa

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Mind wandering is a mental phenomenon of drifting away from a current task or external environment toward inner thought. This research examines the feature of mind wandering which people who have high creativity and high mental health engage in because it is expected that mind wandering which such kind of people engage in may not induce negative affect, although it can improve creativity. Sixty-seven participants were required to complete questionnaires which measured their creativity and mental health. After that, researchers conducted experience sampling method and measured the details of their mind wandering and the situation when mind wandering was generated in daily life for three days. The result showed that high creative people and high mental health people more think about positive things during mind wandering and less think about negative things. In further research, researchers will examine how to induce positive thought during mind wandering and how to inhibit negative thought during mind wandering. Doing so will contribute to improve creative problem solving without generation of negative affect.

Keywords: creativity, experience sampling method, mental health, mind wandering

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Authors: Sheikh, R. Author, Bhardwaj S. Author, Jr.

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The emphasis of this paper is to investigate the identity shifts experienced within the Indian community and among Muslim refugee women in Sydney. Using Goffman’s paradigm of everyday interactions, attention is paid to how migrants navigate and perform their multiple identities in their daily life. By focusing on narratives of the migrant- migration is understood as processual instead of a one time decision of re-location. The paper aims to highlight how individuals choose and re-adapt their cultural and social practices within the context of Australia. Migrant narratives are rooted in specific socio-cultural settings of one’s own community as well as the nature of migration to a specific country. Differences and similarities will be observed within the Indian community, and among Muslim refugee women in terms of how identity is negotiated, social networks are re-established in Australia. Some attention will also be paid to difficulties that are being faced by migrants-especially in terms of Muslim identity for Refugee women, particularly in terms of assimilation, building on Ghassan Hage’s use of appraisal theory and how a diversity of language and religion is accommodated within the Indian community. By using two diverse groups, it would be able to identify and contrast migrant experiences.

Keywords: identity, migrant, refugee, women, assimilation, narratives

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Authors: Sinan Bilgen, Bekir Ozer Ay, Nilay Sezer Uzol

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After decades of conventional shapes, irregular forms with complex geometries are getting more popular for form generation of tall buildings all over the world. This trend has recently brought out diverse building forms such as twisting tall buildings. This study investigates both the aerodynamic and design features of twisting tall buildings through comparative analyses. Since twisting a tall building give rise to additional complexities related with the form and structural system, lateral load effects become of greater importance on these buildings. The aim of this study is to analyze the inherent characteristics of these iconic forms by comparing the wind loads on twisting tall buildings with those on their prismatic twins. Through a case study research, aerodynamic analyses of an existing twisting tall building and its prismatic counterpart were performed and the results have been compared. The prismatic twin of the original building were generated by removing the progressive rotation of its floors with the same plan area and story height. Performance-based measures under investigation have been evaluated in conjunction with the architectural design. Aerodynamic effects have been analyzed by both wind tunnel tests and computational methods. High frequency base balance tests and pressure measurements on 3D models were performed to evaluate wind load effects on a global and local scale. Comparisons of flat and real surface models were conducted to further evaluate the effects of the twisting form without façade texture contribution. Comparisons highlighted that, the twisting form under investigation shows better aerodynamic behavior both for along wind but particularly for across wind direction. Compared to the prismatic counterpart; twisting model is superior on reducing vortex-shedding dynamic response by disorganizing the wind vortices. Consequently, despite the difficulties arisen from inherent complexity of twisted forms, they could still be feasible and viable with their attractive images in the realm of tall buildings.

Keywords: aerodynamic tests, motivation for twisting, tall buildings, twisted forms, wind excitation

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Authors: Negar Sartipzadeh

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Energy-conscious design, which coordinates with the Earth ecological systems during its life cycle, has the least negative impact on the environment with the least waste of resources. Due to the increasing in world population as well as the consumption of fossil fuels that cause the production of greenhouse gasses and environmental pollution, mankind is looking for renewable and also sustainable energies. The Iranian native construction is a clear evidence of energy-aware designing. Our predecessors were forced to rely on the natural resources and sustainable energies as well as environmental issues which have been being considered in the recent world. One of these endless energies is wind energy. Iranian traditional architecture foundations is a appropriate model in solving the environmental crisis and the contemporary energy. What will come in this paper is an effort to recognition and introduction of the unique characteristics of the Iranian architecture in the application of aerodynamic and hydraulic energies derived from the wind, which are the most common and major type of using sustainable energies in the traditional architecture of Iran. Therefore, the recent research attempts to offer a hybrid system suggestions for application in new constructions designing in a region such as Nashtifan, which has potential through reviewing windmills and how they deal with sustainable energy sources, as a model of Iranian native construction.

Keywords: renewable energy, sustainable building, windmill, Iranian architecture

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Authors: Pankaj Pathak, Susmita Sharma

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Incessant industrial growth fulfill the energy demand of present day society, at the same time it produces huge amount of waste which could be hazardous or non-hazardous in nature. These wastes are coming out from different sources viz, nuclear power, thermal power, coal mines which contain different types of contaminants and one of the emergent contaminant is strontium, used in the present study. The isotope of strontium (Sr90) is radioactive in nature with half-life of 28.8 years and permissible limit of strontium in drinking water is 1.5 ppm. Above the permissible limit causes several types of diseases in human being. Therefore, safe disposal of strontium into ground becomes a biggest challenge for the researchers. In this context, bentonite is being used as an efficient material to retain strontium onto ground due to its specific physical, chemical and mineralogical properties which exhibits higher cation exchange capacity and specific surface area. These properties influence the interaction between strontium and bentonite, which is quantified by employing a parameter known as distribution coefficient. Batch test was conducted, and sorption isotherms were modelled at different interaction time. The pseudo first-order and pseudo second order kinetic models have been used to fit experimental data, which helps to determine the sorption rate and mechanism.

Keywords: bentonite, interaction time, sorption, strontium

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Authors: Elif D. Oguz Erkal, David Krackhardt, Erica Cochran-Hameen

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Even though social network analysis (SNA) is an abundantly studied concept for many organizations and industries, a clear SNA approach to the project teams has not yet been adopted by the construction industry. The main challenges for performing SNA in construction and the apparent reason for this gap is the unique and complex structure of each construction project, the comparatively high circulation of project team members/contributing parties and the variety of authentic problems for each project. Additionally, there are stakeholders from a variety of professional backgrounds collaborating in a high-stress environment fueled by time and cost constraints. Within this case study on Project RE, a design & build project performed at the Urban Design Build Studio of Carnegie Mellon University, social network analysis of the project design team will be performed with the main goal of applying social network theory to construction project environments. The research objective is to determine a correlation between the network of how individuals relate to each other on one’s perception of their own professional strengths and weaknesses and the communication patterns within the team and the group dynamics. Data is collected through a survey performed over four rounds conducted monthly, detailed follow-up interviews and constant observations to assess the natural alteration in the network with the effect of time. The data collected is processed by the means of network analytics and in the light of the qualitative data collected with observations and individual interviews. This paper presents the full ethnography of this construction design team of fourteen architecture students based on an elaborate social network data analysis over time. This study is expected to be used as an initial step to perform a refined, targeted and large-scale social network data collection in construction projects in order to deduce the impacts of social networks on project performance and suggest better collaboration structures for construction project teams henceforth.

Keywords: construction design teams, construction project management, social network analysis, team collaboration, network analytics

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Authors: Lei Liu

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Since the famous opening up and reform strategy of China, lots of migrants have flowed from rural areas to urban areas. In this paper, the author investigates the rural elderly left behind, which are defined aged people left alone at home while their adult children have to migrant outside. This phenomenon is a quite general and serious social problem that cannot be ignored, accompanied by the process of urbanization and regional transferring of rural labor. The Chinese internal migration not only exerts great influence to China’s economy and urbanization but also obviously reduces the labor and care to rural aged people. Contrary to assumptions in some migration and aging studies, which show the inevitable negative effects of migration upon the old age care, the author highlights unique features in their daily strategies of house holding to integrate into society with the analysis of the conception of social inclusion. Through life history interviews with elderly left behind in one rural village, this article sheds light on three different factors of social inclusion, namely, economic inclusion, social identity and political inclusion and shows its necessaries to fully understand the status of the social wellbeing of rural elderly left behind.

Keywords: labor migration, elderly left behind, social inclusion, rural China

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Authors: M. F. Slim, A. Alhussein, F. Sanchette, M. François

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Thin films are widely used in various applications to enhance the surface properties and characteristics of materials. They are used in many domains such as: biomedical, automotive, aeronautics, military, electronics and energy. Depending on the elaboration technique, the elastic behavior of thin films may be different from this of bulk materials. This dependence on the elaboration techniques and their parameters makes the control of the elasticity constants of coated components necessary. Our work is focused on the characterization of the elasticity constants of isotropic thin films by means of Impulse Excitation Techniques. The tests rely on the measurement of the sample resonance frequency before and after deposition. In this work, a finite element model was performed with ABAQUS software. This model was then compared with the analytical approaches used to determine the Young’s and shear moduli. The best model to determine the film Young’s modulus was identified and a relation allowing the determination of the shear modulus of thin films of any thickness was developed. In order to confirm the model experimentally, Tungsten films were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering of a 99.99% purity tungsten target. The choice of tungsten was done because it is well known that its elastic behavior at crystal scale is ideally isotropic. The macroscopic elasticity constants, Young’s and shear moduli and Poisson’s ratio of the deposited film were determined by means of Impulse Excitation Technique. The Young’s modulus obtained from IET was compared with measurements by the nano-indentation technique. We did not observe any significant difference and the value is in accordance with the one reported in the literature. This work presents a new methodology on the determination of the elasticity constants of thin films using Impulse Excitation Technique. A formulation allowing the determination of the shear modulus of a coating, whatever the thickness, was developed and used to determine the macroscopic elasticity constants of tungsten films. The developed model was validated numerically and experimentally.

Keywords: characterization, coating, dynamical resonant method, Poisson's ratio, PVD, shear modulus, Young's modulus

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Authors: Denia Prameswari

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The impacts of divorce are not only felt by parents but also by children. Preschool children are the most distressed while facing parental divorce. The negative impacts of divorce on children can be minimized when children had pervious knowledge about the event. One of the method to give knowledge about divorce to children is through picture book. Unfortunately, in Indonesia, researchers have not found picture books for preschoolers about divorce. This study aims to test the effectiveness of picture book in increasing knowledge of preschool children about divorce. Formulation of picture books in this study is based on three sources of information: (1) the study of literature, (2) analysis of picture books, and (3) need assessment. This picture book that have been prepared, then used to test its effectiveness for increasing knowledge of preschool children about divorce. The test was conducted using pre and post test on 5 participants. The statistical method used in this study is paired sample t-test. The purposive sampling method was used to select the participants. The participants for this study are preschool children with parents that is undergoing divorce proceedings. The result shows that picture books in this study significantly increase preschool children's knowledge about divorce. As an additional result, parents find it easier to explain divorce to their children using the picture book from this study. For further study, researcher can make another picture book about divorce for children at different age or to face another challenging situation in life.

Keywords: divorce, parent, picture book, preschool children

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Authors: Prakash Singh

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The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of teachers’ experiences of tobephobia (TBP) in their heterogeneous classrooms and what impact this had on their emotions and job satisfaction. The expansive and continuously changing demands for quality and equal education for all students in educational organisations that have limited resources connotes that the negative effects of TBP cannot be simply ignored as being non-existent in the educational environment. As this quantitative study reveals, teachers disliking their job with low expectations, lack of motivation in their workplace and pessimism, result in their low self-esteem. When there is pessimism in the workplace, then the employees’ self-esteem will inevitably be low, as pointed out by 97.1% of the respondents in this study. Self-esteem is a reliable indicator of whether employees are happy or not in their jobs and the majority of the respondents in this study agreed that their experiences of TBP negatively impacted on their self-esteem. Hence, this exploratory study strongly indicates that productivity in the workplace is directly linked to the employees’ expectations, self-confidence and their self-esteem. It is therefore inconceivable for teachers to be productive in their regular classrooms if their genuine professional concerns, anxieties, and curriculum challenges are not adequately addressed. This empirical study contributes to our knowledge on TBP because it clearly outlines some of the teaching problems that we are grappling with and constantly experience in our schools in this century. Therefore, it is imperative that the tobephobic experiences of teachers are not merely documented, but appropriately addressed with relevant action by every stakeholder associated with education so that our teachers’ emotions and job satisfaction needs are fully taken care of.

Keywords: demotivated teachers' pessimism, low expectations of teachers' job satisfaction, self-esteem, tobephobia

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Authors: Ziwen Fang, Jianran Wang, Hongtao Liu, Weiguo Kong, Kefei Wang, Qi Luo, Haifeng Hong

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A 4-stage crash energy management (CEM) system for subway rail vehicles used by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the USA is developed in this paper. The 4 stages of this new CEM system include 1) energy absorbing coupler (draft gear and shear bolts), 2) primary energy absorbers (aluminum honeycomb structured box), 3) secondary energy absorbers (crush tube), and 4) collision post and corner post. A sliding anti-climber and a fixed anti-climber are designed at the front of the vehicle cooperating with the 4-stage CEM to maximize the energy to be absorbed and minimize the damage to passengers and crews. In order to investigate the effectiveness of this CEM system, both finite element (FE) methods and crashworthiness test have been employed. The whole vehicle consists of 3 married pairs, i.e., six cars. In the FE approach, full-scale railway car models are developed and different collision cases such as a single moving car impacting a rigid wall, two moving cars into a rigid wall, two moving cars into two stationary cars, six moving cars into six stationary cars and so on are investigated. The FE analysis results show that the railway vehicle incorporating this CEM system has a superior crashworthiness performance. In the crashworthiness test, a simplified vehicle front end including the sliding anti-climber, the fixed anti-climber, the primary energy absorbers, the secondary energy absorber, the collision post and the corner post is built and impacted to a rigid wall. The same test model is also analyzed in the FE and the results such as crushing force, stress, and strain of critical components, acceleration and velocity curves are compared and studied. FE results show very good comparison to the test results.

Keywords: railway vehicle collision, crash energy management design, finite element method, crashworthiness test

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Authors: Lokesh Gupta, Rakesh Kumar

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Stabilization of weak subgrade soil is mainly aimed for the improvement of soil strength and its durability. Highway engineers are concerned to get the soil material or system that will hold under the design use conditions and for the designed life of the engineering project. The present study envisages the effect of Recron fibres mixed in different proportion (up to 1% by weight of dry soil) on Atterberg limits, Compaction of the soil, California bearing ratio (CBR) values and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the soil. The present study deals with the influence of varying in length (20 mm, 30mm, 40mm and 50mm) and percentage (0.25 %, 0.50 %, 0.75 % and 1.0 %) of fibre added to the soil samples. The aim of study is to determine the reinforcing effect of randomly distributed fibres on the Compaction characteristics, penetration resistance and unconfined compressive strength of soils. The addition of fibres leads to an increase in the optimum moisture content and decrease in maximum dry density. With the addition of the fibres, the increases in CBR and UCS values are observed. The test result shows higher CBR and unconfined compressive strength value for the soil reinforced with 0.5% Recron fibre, once keeping aspect ratio as 160.

Keywords: soil, recron fiber, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), California bearing ratio (CBR)

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Authors: Sampada Katekar, Namdeo Hedaoo

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Cold Bituminous Emulsion Mixtures (CBEMs) are generally produced by mixing unheated aggregate, binder and filler at ambient temperature. Cold bituminous emulsion mixtures have several environmental and cost-effective benefits. But CBEMs offer poor early life properties too and they require long curing time to achieve maximum strength. The main focus of this study is to overcome inferiority of CBEMs by incorporating Rice Husk Ash (RHA) and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). In this study, RHA and OPC are substituted for conventional mineral filler in an increased percentage from 0 to 3% with an increment of 1%. Marshall stability, retained stability and tensile strength tests were conducted to evaluate the enhancement in performance of CBEMs. The experimental results have shown that Marshall stability and tensile strength of CBEMs increased significantly by replacing the conventional mineral filler with RHA and OPC. The addition of RHA and OPC in CBEMs result in a reduction in moisture induced damages. However, stability and tensile strength values of RHA modified CBEMs are higher than that of OPC modified CBEMs.

Keywords: cold bituminous emulsion mixtures, Marshall stability test, ordinary Portland cement, rice husk ash

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Authors: Jamilah Halina Abdul Halim, Norsiah Hassan, Azlina Aziz, Norhayati Mat Wajid, Mohd Saipul Asrafi

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There are various types of vertical greenery system (VGS) in Malaysia, but none is installed at government buildings, although the government is looking into energy efficient building design. This is due to lack of technical information that focus on the maintenance and care, issues, and challenges face by vertical greenery system under tropical climate conditions. This research aim to identify issues in implementation of vertical greenery system on existing government building in Malaysia. The methodology used are literature reviews (desktop study), observation on sites, and case studies. Initial findings indicates that design and maintenance issues of vertical greenery system are the main challenges faced mainly by designer, especially those who involved in decision-making process. It can be concluded that orientation, openings, maintenance, performance, longevity, structural load, access, wind resistance, design failure, system failure, and lack of maintenance foresight are the main factors that need to be considered. These factors should be holistically aligned towards the economic cost, effective time, and quality design in implementation of vertical greenery system on existing government building. A comprehensive implementation of vertical greenery system will lead to greater sustainable investment for government buildings and responsive action to climate change.

Keywords: issues, government building, maintenance, vertical greenery system

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Authors: W. E. Igwegbe, B. C. Okoro, J. C. Osuagwu

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The study was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of reducing the concentrations of heavy metals in waste water using Pawpaw (Carica papaya) wood as a bio-sorbent. The heavy metals considered include; zinc, cadmium, lead, copper, iron, selenium, nickel, and manganese. The physiochemical properties of carica papaya stem were studied. The experimental sample was obtained from a felled trunk of matured pawpaw tree. Waste water for experimental use was prepared by dissolving soil samples collected from a dump site at Owerri, Imo state in water. The concentration of each metal remaining in solution as residual metal after bio-sorption was determined using Atomic absorption Spectrometer. The effects of ph, contact time and initial heavy metal concentration were studied in a batch reactor. The results of Spectrometer test showed that there were different functional groups detected in the carica papaya stem biomass. Optimum bio-sorption occurred at pH 5.9 with 5g/100ml solution of bio-sorbent. The results of the study showed that the treated wastewater is fit for irrigation purpose based on Canada wastewater quality guideline for the protection of Agricultural standard. This approach thus provides a cost effective and environmentally friendly option for treating waste water.

Keywords: biomass, bio-sorption, Carica papaya, heavy metal, wastewater

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Authors: Sercan Altundemir, Pinar Eribol, A. Kerem Uguz

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Microfluidics systems allow many-large scale laboratory applications to be miniaturized on a single device in order to reduce cost and advance fluid control. Moreover, such systems enable to generate and control droplets which have a significant role on improved analysis for many chemical and biological applications. For example, they can be employed as the model for cells in microfluidic systems. In this work, the interfacial instability of two immiscible Newtonian liquids flowing in a microchannel is investigated. When two immiscible liquids are in laminar regime, a flat interface is formed between them. If a direct current electric field is applied, the interface may deform, i.e. may become unstable and it may be ruptured and form micro-droplets. First, the effect of thickness ratio, total flow rate, viscosity ratio of the silicone oil and ethylene glycol liquid couple on the critical voltage at which the interface starts to destabilize is investigated. Then the droplet sizes are measured under the effect of these parameters at various voltages. Moreover, the effect of total flow rate on the time elapsed for the interface to be ruptured to form droplets by hitting the wall of the channel is analyzed. It is observed that an increase in the viscosity or the thickness ratio of the silicone oil to the ethylene glycol has a stabilizing effect, i.e. a higher voltage is needed while the total flow rate has no effect on it. However, it is observed that an increase in the total flow rate results in shortening of the elapsed time for the interface to hit the wall. Moreover, the droplet size decreases down to 0.1 μL with an increase in the applied voltage, the viscosity ratio or the total flow rate or a decrease in the thickness ratio. In addition to these observations, two empirical models for determining the critical electric number, i.e., the dimensionless voltage and the droplet size and another model which is a combination of both models, for determining the droplet size at the critical voltage are established.

Keywords: droplet formation, electrohydrodynamics, microfluidics, two-phase flow

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Authors: S. El Hasini, M. El Azzouzi, M. De Nobili, K. Azim, A. Zouahri

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Soil salinization is one of the most severe environmental hazards which threaten sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions, including Morocco. In this regard the application of organic matter to saline soil has confirmed its effectiveness. The present study was aimed to examine the effect of humic acid which represent, among others, the important component of organic matter that contributes to reduce soil salinity. In fact, different composts taken from Agadir (Morocco), with different C/N ratio, were tested. After extraction and purification of humic acid, the interaction with Na2CO3 was carried out. The reduction of salinity is calculated as a value expressed in mg Na2CO3 equivalent/g HA. The results showed that humic acid had generally a significant effect on salinity. In that respect, the hypothesis proposed that carboxylic groups of humic acid create bonds with excess sodium in the soil to form a coherent complex which descends by leaching operation. The comparison between composts was based on C/N ratio, it showed that the compost with the lower ratio C/N had the most important effect on salinity reduction, whereas the compost with higher C/N ratio was less effective. The study is attended also to evaluate the quality of each compost by determining the humification index, we noticed that the compost which have the lowest C/N (20) ratio was relatively less stable, where a greater predominance of the humified substances, when the compost with C/N ratio is 35 exhibited higher stability.

Keywords: compost, humic acid, organic matter, salinity

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Authors: Emir H. Pernet, Jeimy J. Cano

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Maturity models, used descriptively to explain changes in reality or normatively to guide managers to make interventions to make organizations more effective and efficient, are based on the principles of statistical quality control promulgated by Shewhart in the years 30, and on the principles of PDCA continuous improvement (Plan, Do, Check, Act) developed by Deming and Juran. Some frameworks developed over the concept of maturity models includes COBIT, CMM, and ITIL. This paper presents some limitations of traditional maturity models, most of them based on points of reflection and analysis done by some authors. Almost all limitations are related to the mechanistic and reductionist approach of the principles over those models are built. As Systems Theory helps the understanding of the dynamics of organizations and organizational change, the development of a systemic maturity model can help to overcome some of those limitations. This document proposes a systemic maturity model, based on a systemic conceptualization of organizations, focused on the study of the functioning of the parties, the relationships among them, and their behavior as a whole. The concept of maturity from the system theory perspective is conceptually defined as an emergent property of the organization, which arises from as a result of the degree of alignment and integration of their processes. This concept is operationalized through a systemic function that measures the maturity of an organization, and finally validated by the measuring of maturity in organizations. For its operationalization and validation, the model was applied to measure the maturity of organizational Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) processes.

Keywords: GRC, maturity model, systems theory, viable system model

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Authors: Haruna Seidu, Francis Wilson Owusu, Michael Mensah, Felix Boakye, James Korang, Safia Ibrahim

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Over the years, wooden furniture produced in Ghana had no means of testing their products against standards. It was therefore difficult for such furniture producers to know whether their products conform to international standards. The setting up of the ISO 17025 compliant laboratory has become a reference and accessing point for determining the quality of the furniture they produce. The objective of the study includes the determination of mechanical safety, durability, strength, and stability of wooden furniture produced in Ghana. Twelve wooden furniture manufacturers were randomly selected to design furniture (chairs and tables) for testing. 9 out of the 12 produced chairs, and three provided tables. Standard testing methods were used in this experiment, including GS EN 581-1, GS EN 581-2, and GS EN 581-3. The test results analysis indicates 55.6% of the chairs tested passed all applicable tests. 66.7% of tables tested passed all the applicable tests. The percentage pass and failure of the 12 furniture were 58.3% and 41.7% respectively. In conclusion, chair manufacturers had good designs that withstand the standard testing of strength and durability; most failures occurred largely as a result of poor stability designs adopted for the construction of the chairs and tables. It was observed that the manufacturers did not use the software in designing their furniture.

Keywords: durability, international standards, mechanical safety, wooden furniture design

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Authors: Sebastian Leal-Arenas

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TikTok’s influence on contemporary society is undeniable. The impact of the mobile app transcends entertainment, as shown by the growing presence of specialized accounts dedicated to providing educational content, particularly as it pertains to language learning. However, the prevailing trend on the platform is vocabulary and grammar acquisition, neglecting a critical component: pronunciation. This study examines English pronunciation materials available on TikTok by taking a comprehensive approach that incorporates established assessment tools, such as the Learning Object Review Instrument and the Framework for Language Learning App Evaluation. Furthermore, novel evaluation categories are introduced to provide a more holistic assessment of these educational resources. 60 English pronunciation videos were part of the analysis. The findings reveal that these audio-visual materials present clear audio bolstered by high-quality video content and automatically generated closed captions. These three components enhance the comprehensibility of the input, making these concise videos valuable assets for language learners. Nevertheless, certain deficiencies are observed, such as the lack of emphasis on specific segments and their relationship with articulators. Improvements and refinements are discussed, as well as their potential utility within the language classroom. This study contributes to the ongoing investigation of multimedia materials used for language teaching and emphasizes the need to adapt pronunciation instruction methods to today’s technology.

Keywords: pronunciation, segments, teaching materials, technology

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Authors: Mohammed Alasel, Michael Keusgen

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Gold is a noble metal; in its nano-scale level (e.g. spherical nanoparticles), the conduction electrons are triggered to collectively oscillate with a resonant frequency when certain wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation interact with its surface; this phenomenon is known as surface plasmon resonance (SPR). SPR is responsible for giving the gold nanoparticles its intense red color depending mainly on its size, shape and distance between nanoparticles. A decreased distance between gold nanoparticles results in aggregation of them causing a change in color from red to blue. This aggregation enables gold nanoparticles to serve as a sensitive biosensoric indicator. In the proposed work, gold nanoparticles were modified with two proteins: i) Borrelia antigen, variable lipoprotein surface-exposed protein (VlsE), and ii) protein A. VlsE antigen induces a strong antibody response against Lyme disease and can be detected from early to late phase during the disease in humans infected with Borrelia. In addition, it shows low cross-reaction with the other non-pathogenic Borrelia strains. The high specificity of VlsE antigen to anti-Borrelia antibodies, combined simultaneously with the high specificity of protein A to the Fc region of all IgG human antibodies, was utilized to develop a rapid test for serological point of care diagnosis of borreliosis in human serum. Only in the presence of anti-Borrelia antibodies in the serum probe, an aggregation of gold nanoparticles can be observed, which is visible by a concentration-dependent colour shift from red (low IgG) to blue (high IgG). Experiments showed it is clearly possible to distinguish between positive and negative sera samples using a simple suspension of the two-protein modified gold nanoparticles in a very short time (30 minutes). The proposed work showed the potential of using such modified gold nanoparticles generally for serological diagnosis. Improved specificity and reduced assay time can be archived in applying increased salt concentrations combined with decreased pH values (pH 5).

Keywords: gold nanoparticles, gold aggregation, serological diagnosis, protein A, lyme borreliosis

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Authors: Tina Melkoshvili

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Drastic development of information and communication technologies in Georgia has led to the necessity of launching conceptually new, effective, flexible, transparent and society oriented form of government that is e-government. Through applying information technologies, the electronic system enables to raise the efficacy of state governance and increase citizens’ participation in the process. Focusing on the topic of e-government allows us to analyze success stories, attributed benefits and, at the same time, observes challenges hampering the government development process. There are number of methodologies elaborated to study the conditions in the field of electronic governance. They enable us to find out if the government is ready to apply broad opportunities of information and communication technologies and if the government is apt to improve the accessibility and quality of delivering mainly social services. This article seeks to provide comparative analysis of widely spread methodologies used for Electronic government projects’ assessment. It has been concluded that applying current methods of assessment in Georgia is related to difficulties due to inaccessible data and the necessity of involving number of experts. The article presents new indicators for e-government development assessment that reflect efficacy of e-government conception realization in the regions of Georgia and enables to provide quantitative evaluation of regional e-government projects including all significant aspects of development.

Keywords: development methodology, e-government in Georgia, information and communication technologies, regional government

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Authors: Agbor Ekama Prisca Anne

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Current data on the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of sexual violence in the Cameroon is lacking, with the most recent sexual abuse and violence survey dating back to 2001. The current study sought to identify what proportion of University students have experienced sexual violence, if there are sex differences in exposure to different forms of sexual violence, and to what extent different forms of sexual violence are associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes. A nationally representative sample of University students (N = 1,020) completed self-report measures of history of sexual violence and mental health. Approximately one-in-three (34.4%) students experienced some form of sexual violence, including 14.8% who were sexually assaulted (raped) and 31.1% who were sexually harassed. Female students were significantly more likely than men to have experienced all forms of sexual violence (ps < .001), with the exception of sexual assault by teachers or guardian. All forms of sexual violence were associated with an increased likelihood of serious mental health problems, with sexual assault by a teacher associated with several other psychosocial outcomes in life, including education achievement, and behavior disorder. Sexual violence is a common experience in the general population and female students are disproportionately affected (1-in-2 girls versus 1-in-5 boys). Additional resources to increase mental health care among survivors of sexual violence is urgently needed.

Keywords: psychosocial, effects sexual, violence, females, students

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: E. Batista, R. Mendes, A. Furtado, M. C. Ferreira, I. Godinho, J. A. Sousa, M. Alvares, R. Martins

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Syringe pumps are commonly used for drug delivery in hospitals and clinical environments. These instruments are critical in neonatology and oncology, where any variation in the flow rate and drug dosing quantity can lead to severe incidents and even death of the patient. Therefore it is very important to determine the accuracy and precision of these devices using the suitable calibration methods. The Volume Laboratory of the Portuguese Institute for Quality (LVC/IPQ) uses two different methods to calibrate syringe pumps from 16 nL/min up to 20 mL/min. The Interferometric method uses an interferometer to monitor the distance travelled by a pusher block of the syringe pump in order to determine the flow rate. Therefore, knowing the internal diameter of the syringe with very high precision, the travelled distance, and the time needed for that travelled distance, it was possible to calculate the flow rate of the fluid inside the syringe and its uncertainty. As an alternative to the gravimetric and the interferometric method, a methodology based on the application of optical technology was also developed to measure flow rates. Mainly this method relies on measuring the increase of volume of a drop over time. The objective of this work is to compare the results of the calibration of two syringe pumps using the different methodologies described above. The obtained results were consistent for the three methods used. The uncertainties values were very similar for all the three methods, being higher for the optical drop method due to setup limitations.

Keywords: calibration, flow, interferometry, syringe pump, uncertainty

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Authors: Sheetal Sharma

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Urban planning is associated with land transformation from natural areas to modified and developed ones which leads to modification of natural environment. The basic knowledge of relationship between both should be ascertained before proceeding for the development of natural areas. Changes on land surface due to build up pavements, roads and similar land cover, affect surface water flow. There is a gap between urban planning and basic knowledge of hydrological processes which should be known to the planners. The paper aims to identify these variations in surface flow due to urbanization for a temporal scale of 40 years using Storm Water Management Mode (SWMM) and again correlating these findings with the urban planning guidelines in study area along with geological background to find out the suitable combinations of land cover, soil and guidelines. For the purpose of identifying the changes in surface flows, 19 catchments were identified with different geology and growth in 40 years facing different ground water levels fluctuations. The increasing built up, varying surface runoff are studied using Arc GIS and SWMM modeling, regression analysis for runoff. Resulting runoff for various land covers and soil groups with varying built up conditions were observed. The modeling procedures also included observations for varying precipitation and constant built up in all catchments. All these observations were combined for individual catchment and single regression curve was obtained for runoff. Thus, it was observed that alluvial with suitable land cover was better for infiltration and least generation of runoff but excess built up could not be sustained on alluvial soil. Similarly, basalt had least recharge and most runoff demanding maximum vegetation over it. Sandstone resulted in good recharging if planned with more open spaces and natural soils with intermittent vegetation. Hence, these observations made a keystone base for planners while planning various land uses on different soils. This paper contributes and provides a solution to basic knowledge gap, which urban planners face during development of natural surfaces.

Keywords: runoff, built up, roughness, recharge, temporal changes

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Authors: Prakash Singh

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The focus of this exploratory study is on whether teachers demonstrate emphatic concern for their learners in planning, implementing and assessing learning outcomes in their regular classrooms. Empathy must be shown to all learners equally and not only for high-risk learners at the expense of other ability learners. Empathy demonstrated by teachers allows them to build a stronger bond with all their learners. This bond based on trust leads to positive outcomes for learners to be able to excel in their work. Empathic teachers must make every effort to simplify the subject matter for high risk learners so that these learners not only enjoy their learning activities but are also successful like their more able peers. A total of 87.5% of the participants agreed that empathy allows teachers to demonstrate humanistic values in their choice of learning materials for learners of different abilities. It is therefore important for teachers to select content and instructional materials that will contribute to the learners’ success in the mainstream of education. It is also imperative for teachers to demonstrate empathic skills and consequently, to be attuned to the emotions and emotional needs of their learners. Schools need to be reformed, not by simply lengthening the school day or by simply adding more content in the curriculum, but by making school more satisfying to learners. This must be consistent with their diverse learning needs and interests so that they gain a sense of power, fulfillment, and importance in their regular classrooms. Hence, teacher - pupil relationships based on empathic concern for the latter’s educational needs lays the foundation for quality education to be offered.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, empathy, learners’ emotional needs, teachers’ empathic skills

Procedia PDF Downloads 422