Search results for: education process

Authors: Nomthandazo Precious Sibiya, Thembisile Patience Mahlangu, Sudesh Rathilal

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Heavy metal removal is critical in the wastewater treatment process due to its numerous harmful effects on human and aquatic life. There are several chemical and physical techniques for removing heavy metals from wastewater, including ion exchange, reverse osmosis, adsorption, electrodialysis, and ultrafiltration. However, adsorption technology has captivated researchers for years due to its low cost, high efficiency, and compatible with the environment. In this study, the adsorption effectiveness of three modified agro-waste materials was explored for the removal of lead from synthetic wastewater: banana peels (BP), orange peels (OP), and sugarcane bagasse (SB). The magnetite (Fe₃O₄) is incorporated with BP, OP, and SB at a ratio of 1:1 to create magnetic biosorbents. Characterization of biosorbents was carried out using and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) to investigate surface morphology and elemental compositions, respectively. A series of batch experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of adsorbent mass, agitation time, and initial pH concentration on adsorption behaviour, as well as adsorption isotherms and kinetics. The removal efficiency of lead by the modified agro-waste materials proved to be superior to that of non-modified agro-waste materials. The proof of concept was achieved, and agro-waste materials can be paired with adsorption technology to effectively remove lead from aqueous media. The use of agricultural waste as biosorbents will aid in waste reduction and management.

Keywords: adsorption, isotherms, kinetics, agro waste, nanoparticles, batch

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Authors: Susan P. Teru, Jerome Nyameh

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Many contemporary organizations are placing a greater emphasis on business enterprise systems as a means of generating higher levels of economic development and sustainability. Many business research and literature has also concur that enterprise drive economic development, giving little or no credit to social enterprise, whose profit is reinvest to the community development compare to the business enterprise that share their profit to shareholders. Economic development and corporate sustainability includes economic policies that affect the beneficiaries of the economic entity and how it support corporate sustainability as a multifaceted concept that requires organizational change and adaptation on different levels. In this paper, we provide a closer examination of this suggested link between the social enterprise orientation of an organization and the pursuit of corporate sustainability. We suggest that producing social enterprise increments may be best achieved by orienting social enterprise entrepreneurs system to promote economic development and corporate sustainability, which is the new approach to organizational excellent. To this end, we describe a new approach to the social enterprise process that includes social entrepreneur and the key drivers of economic development and corporate sustainability at each stage. We present a model of social enterprise that incorporates the main ideas of the paper and suggests a new perspective for thinking about how to foster and manage social enterprise to achieve high levels of economic development and corporate sustainability as a new ways of achieving organizational excellence. Specifically, we seek to assess (1) what constitutes a corporate sustainability-oriented organization culture, (2) whether it is possible for organizations to display a unified corporate sustainability as a result of social enterprise (3) whether organizations can become more sustainable through social enterprise change.

Keywords: social enterprise orientation, organization, the pursuit of corporate sustainability, business and management

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Authors: Ihsan Burak Cam, Ayhan Topuz

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Turkish delight has been produced by bleaching the plain delight mix (refined sugar, water and starch) via soapwort extract and powdered sugar. Soapwort extract which contains high amount of saponin, is an additive used in Turkish delight and tahini halvah production to improve consistency, chewiness and color due to its bioactive saponin content by acting as emulsifier. In this study, soapwort powder has been produced by determining optimum process conditions of soapwort extract by using response-surface method. This extract has been enriched with saponin by reverse osmosis (contains %63 saponin in dry bases). Büchi mini spray dryer B-290 was used to produce spray-dried soapwort powder (aw=0.254) from the enriched soapwort concentrate. Processing steps optimization and saponin content enrichment of soapwort extract has been tested on Turkish Delight production. Delight samples, produced by soapwort powder and commercial extract (control), were compared in chewiness, springiness, stickiness, adhesiveness, hardness, color and sensorial characteristics. According to the results, all textural properties except hardness of delights produced by powder were found to be statistically different than control samples. Chewiness, springiness, stickiness, adhesiveness and hardness values of samples (delights produced by the powder / control delights) were determined to be 361.9/1406.7, 0.095/0.251, -120.3/-51.7, 781.9/1869.3, 3427.3g/3118.4g, respectively. According to the quality analysis that has been ran with the end products it has been determined that; there is no statistically negative effect of the soapwort extract and the soapwort powder on the color and the appearance of Turkish Delight.

Keywords: saponin, delight, soapwort powder, spray drying

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Authors: Cheng Shen, LaiHong Shen

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Ammonia is an important carrier of hydrogen energy, with the characteristics of high hydrogen content density and no carbon dioxide emission. Ammonia synthesis by the Haber process is the main method for industrial ammonia synthesis, but the conversion rate of ammonia per pass is only about 12%, while the conversion rate of biomass synthesis ammonia is as high as 56%. Therefore, safe and efficient ammonia capture for ammonia synthesis from biomass is an important way to alleviate the energy crisis and solve the energy problem. Metal chloride has a chemical adsorption effect on ammonia, and can be desorbed at high temperature to obtain high-concentration ammonia after combining with ammonia, which has a good development prospect in ammonia capture and separation technology. In this paper, the ammonia adsorption properties of CuCl₂ were measured, and the composite adsorbents were prepared by using silicon and multi-walled carbon nanotubes respectively to support CuCl₂, and the ammonia adsorption properties of the composite adsorbents were studied. The study found that the ammonia adsorption capacity of the three adsorbents decreased with the increase in temperature, so metal chlorides were more suitable for the low-temperature adsorption of ammonia. Silicon and multi-walled carbon nanotubes have an enhanced effect on the ammonia adsorption of CuCl₂. The reason is that the porous material itself has a physical adsorption effect on ammonia, and silicon can play the role of skeleton support in cupric chloride particles, which enhances the pore structure of the adsorbent, thereby alleviating sintering.

Keywords: ammonia, adsorption properties, metal chloride, silicon, MWCNTs

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Authors: Chong-Yang Qiao

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Mobile augmented reality (MAR) tracking targets from the surroundings and aids operators for interactive data and procedures visualization, potential equipment and system understandably. Operators remotely communicate and coordinate with each other for the continuous tasks, information and data exchange between control room and work-site. In the routine work, distributed control system (DCS) monitoring and work-site manipulation require operators interact in real-time manners. The critical question is the improvement of user experience in cooperative works through applying Augmented Reality in the traditional industrial field. The purpose of this exploratory study is to find the cognitive model for the multiple task performance by MAR. In particular, the focus will be on the comparison between different tasks and environment factors which influence information processing. Three experiments use interface and interaction design, the content of start-up, maintenance and stop embedded in the mobile application. With the evaluation criteria of time demands and human errors, and analysis of the mental process and the behavior action during the multiple tasks, heuristic evaluation was used to find the operators performance with different situation factors, and record the information processing in recognition, interpretation, judgment and reasoning. The research will find the functional properties of MAR and constrain the development of the cognitive model. Conclusions can be drawn that suggest MAR is easy to use and useful for operators in the remote collaborative works.

Keywords: mobile augmented reality, remote collaboration, user experience, cognition model

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Authors: M. B. Ricardo De Oliveira, A. Borghi-Silva, L. Di Thommazo, D. Braatz

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Prototypes can be understood as representations of a product concept. Furthermore, prototyping consists in an important stage in product development and results in better team communication, decision making, testing and problem solving through feedback. Although there are several methods of prototyping suggested by recent studies for designers to choose from, some methods present different advantages, such as cost and time reduction, performance and fidelity, which should be taken in account during a product development project. In this multidisciplinary study, involving areas of physiotherapy, engineering and computer science (hardware and software), we compared four developed prototypes of an ergometric step: a virtual prototype, a 3D printed prototype, a bricolage prototype and a prototype manufactured by a third-party company. These prototypes were evaluated in a comparative-qualitative approach for their contribution to the concept’s maturation of the product, the different prototyping methods used and the advantages and disadvantages of each one based on the product’s design specifications (performance, safety, materials, cost, maintenance, usability, ergonomics and portability). Our results indicated that despite prototypes show overall advantages, all of them have limitations, thus being crucial to have different methods of testing and interacting with the product. Additionally, virtual and 3D printed prototypes were essential at early stages of the project due to their low-cost and high-fidelity representation of the product, while the prototype manufactured by a third-party company and bricolage prototype introduced functional tests in real scenarios, allowing more detailed evaluations. This study also resulted in a patent for an ergometric step.

Keywords: Product Design, Product Development, Prototypes, Step

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Authors: Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Sumeera Abbasi

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The Farmers Field School (FFS) learning approach aims to improve knowledge of the farmers through integrated crop management and provide leadership in their decision making process. The study was conducted to assess the impact of FFS on vegetables production before and after FFS intervention in four villages of district Peshawar in cropping season 2012, by interviewing 80 FFS respondents, twenty from each selected village. It was observed from the study results that all the respondents were satisfied from the impact of FFS and they informed an increased in production in vegetables. It was further observed that after the implementation of FFS the sowing seed rate of tomato and cucumber were decreased from 0.185kg/kanal to 0.100 kg/ kanal and 0.120kg/kanal to 0.010kg/kanal where as the production of tomato and cucumber were increased from 8158.75kgs/kanal to 10302. 5kgs/kanal and 3230kgs/kanal to 5340kgs/kanal, respectively. The cost of agriculture inputs per kanal including seed cost, crop management, Farm Yard Manure, and weedicides in case of tomato were reduced by Rs.28, Rs. 3170, Rs.658and Rs 205 whereas in cucumber reduced by Rs.35, Rs.570, Rs 80 and Rs.430 respectively. Only fertilizers cost was increased by Rs. 2200 in case of tomato and Rs 465 in case of cucumber. Overall the cost was reduced to Rs 545 in tomato and Rs 490 in cucumber production.FFS provided a healthy vegetables and also reduced input cost by adopting integrated crop management. Therefore the promotion of FFS is needed to be planned for farmers to reduce cost of production, so that the more farmers should be benefited.

Keywords: impact, farmer field schools, vegetable production, Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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Authors: Afy Syahidan Achmad

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Tangkuban Perahu is located in West Java, Indonesia. It is active stratovolcano type and still showing hidrothermal activity. The main purpose of this study is to find correlation between subsurface structure and hidrothermal activity on the surface. Using topographic map, SRTM images, and field observation, geological condition and alteration area was mapped. Alteration sample analyzed trough petrographic analysis and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. Altered rock in study area showing white-yellowish white colour, and texture changing variation from softening to hardening because of alteration by sillica and sulphur. Alteration mineral which can be observed in petrographic analysis and XRD analysis consist of crystobalite, anatase, alunite, and pyrite. This mineral assemblage showing advanced argillic alteration type with West-East alteration area orientation. Alteration area have correlation with manifestation occurance such as steam vents, solfatara, and warm to hot pools. Most of manifestation occured in main crater like Ratu Crater and Upas crater, and parasitic crater like Domas Crater and Jarian Crater. This manifestation indicates permeability in subsurface which can be created trough structural process with same orientation. For further study geophysics method such as Magneto Telluric (MT) and resistivity can be required to find permeability zone pattern in Tangkuban Perahu subsurface.

Keywords: alteration, advanced argillic, Tangkuban Perahu, XRD, crystobalite, anatase, alunite, pyrite

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Authors: Lazic Marina, Sugden Scott, Sharma Kanta Hem, Sauvageau Dominic, Stein Lisa

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Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas mostly released through anthropogenic activities. Methane represents a low-cost and sustainable feedstock used for the biological production of value-added compounds by bacteria known as methanotrophs. In addition to methane, these organisms can utilize methanol, another cheap carbon source that is a common industrial by-product. Alphaproteobacteria methanotrophs can utilize both methane and methanol to produce the biopolymer polyhydroxybutyrate. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of methanol on polyhydroxybutyrate production in Methylocystis sp. Rockwell and to identify the optimal methane: methanol ratio that will improve PHB without reducing biomass production. Three methane: methanol ratios (4, 2.5., and 0.5) and three nitrogen source (ammonium or nitrate) concentrations (10 mM, 1 mM, and 0.1 mM) were combined to generate 18 growing conditions (9 per carbon source). The production of polyhydroxybutyrate and biomass was analyzed at the end of growth. Overall, the methane: methanol ratios that promoted polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis without reducing biomass were 4 and 2.5 and the optimal nitrogen concentration was 1 mM for both ammonium and nitrate. The physiological mechanism behind the beneficial effect of combining methane and methanol as carbon sources remain to be discovered. One possibility is that methanol has a dual role as a carbon source at lower concentrations and as a stringent response trigger at higher concentrations. Nevertheless, the beneficial effect of methanol and optimal nitrogen concentration for PHB production was confirmed, providing a basis for future physiological analysis and conditions for process scale-up.

Keywords: methane, methanol, methanotrophs, polyhydroxybutyrate, methylocystis sp. rockwell, single carbon bioconversions

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Authors: Papali Elizabeth Maqalika

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Introduction: Dress is used daily and can be used to define culture, and through it, individuals form a sense of self and identity. One of the characteristics of culture is that it evolves; Basotho culture is no exception to this. It has evolved through rites of entry, significant ceremonies, daily living, and an approach to others. Most of these affect and have been affected by the local/traditional dress. The study focused on the evolution of culture, and the role played by dress as it is one of the major contributors to non-verbal communication. Methodology: Secondary data were used since most of the original cultural practices are no longer held dear in the value system and so no longer practiced. Interviews were conducted to get some insights from the senior citizens and their responses compared to those of the present adults. Content analysis was used for the interview data. Results: The nature of governance in Lesotho has clearly contributed to the current cultural state of confusion. The Basotho culture has indeed shifted, and the difference in dress code explains it. Acculturation, the alteration in environments, and the type of occasions Basotho attended lately contributed to the shift. Technology brought about a difference in the mode of transport, sports, household activities, and gender roles. Conclusion and Recommendations: It was concluded that since culture is imparted through socialisation, a change in availability of most Basotho women leaves little time left for socialisation with children and resorts to other upbringing patterns, most of which are not cultural; this has brought a cultural shift. In addition, acculturation has contributed massively to the value system of Basotho. The type of dress worn by Basotho presently shifts the culture, and the shifting culture also shifts the dress required to suit the present culture. Because of the type of mindset Basotho has now, it is recommended that cultural days be observed in schools, including the multi-racial ones, and media should assist in this information transmission. The campaigns regarding the value of traditional dress and what it represents are recommended. The local dressmakers manufacturing the Seshoeshoe and any other traditional dress need to be educated about the fabric history, fiber content, and consequent care to be in a position to guide ultimate consumers of the products. Awareness campaigns that the culture shifts and may not necessarily result in negative should be ventured. Cultural exhibitions should also be held ideally at places that hold some cultural heritage. The ministry of sports and culture, together with that of tourism, should run with cultural awareness and enriching vision with a focus on education as opposed to revenue collection.

Keywords: Basotho, culture, dress, acculturation, influence, cultural heritage, socialization, non-verbal communication, Seshoeshoe

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Authors: Pradipta Risang Ratna Sambawa, Driya Herseta, Mahendra Fajri Nugraha

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In 2020, PT Petrokimia Gresik implemented a program to increase the ROP (Run Of Pile) production rate at the Phosphate Fertilizer 1 plant, causing an increase in scrubbing water consumption in the 100/200 area unit. This increase in water consumption causes a higher discharge of wastewater, which can further cause local flooding, especially during the rainy season. The 100/200 area of the Phosphate Fertilizer 1 plant is close to the warehouse and is often a passing area for trucks transporting raw materials. This causes the pH in the wastewater to become acidic (the worst point is up to pH 1). The problem of flooding and exposure to acidic wastewater in the 100/200 area of Phosphate Fertilizer Plant 1 was then resolved by PT Petrokimia Gresik through wastewater optimization steps called the 3R program (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle). The 3R (Reduce, reuse, and recycle) program consists of an air consumption reduction program by considering the liquid/gas ratio in scrubbing unit of 100/200 Phosphate Fertilizer 1 plant, creating a wastewater interconnection line so that wastewater from unit 100/200 can be used as scrubbing water in the Phonska 1, Phonska 2, Phonska 3 and unit 300 Phosphate Fertilizer 1 plant and increasing scrubbing effectiveness through scrubbing effectiveness simulations. Through a series of wastewater optimization programs, PT Petrokimia Gresik has succeeded in reducing NaOH consumption for neutralization up to 2,880 kg/day or equivalent in saving up to 314,359.76 dollars/year and reducing process water consumption up to 600 m3/day or equivalent in saving up to 63,739.62 dollars/year.

Keywords: fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer, wastewater, wastewater treatment, water management

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Authors: Yu-Chi Chou

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The purpose of this study was to establish a logical path of an instructional model of empathy and social regulation, providing feasibility evidence on the model implementation in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This newly developed Emotional Bug-Out Bag (BoB) curriculum was designed to enhance the empathy and socially shared regulation of students with ASD. The BoB model encompassed three instructional phases of basic theory lessons (BTL), action plan practices (APP), and final theory practices (FTP) during implementation. Besides, a learning flow (teacher-directed instruction, student self-directed problem-solving, group-based task completion, group-based reflection) was infused into the progress of instructional phases to deliberately promote the social regulatory process in group-working activities. A total of 23 junior high school students with ASD were implemented with the BoB curriculum. To examine the logical path for model implementation, data was collected from the participating students’ self-report scores on the learning nodes and understanding questions. Path analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized for analyzing scores on 10 learning nodes and 41 understanding questions through the three phases of the BoB model. Results showed (a) all participants progressed throughout the implementation of the BoB model, and (b) the models of learning nodes and phases were positive and significant as expected, confirming the hypothesized logic path of this curriculum.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, empathy, regulation, socially shared regulation

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Authors: Mariam Shah

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The way the human mind interprets and comprehends the world it occupies has long been a topic of discussion amongst philosophers and phenomenologists. This paper will focus predominantly on the ideologies espoused by the phenomenologist Alfred Schutz and will investigate how we attribute meaning to an event through the process of typification, and the production and usage of ‘types' and ‘stereotypes.' This paper will then discuss how subjective ideologies innate within us result in unique and subjective decision outcomes, based on a phenomenologically influenced theoretical framework which will illustrate how we form ‘types’ in order to ‘typecast’ and form judgements of everything and everyone we experience. The framework used will be founded in theory espoused by Alfred Schutz, and will review the different types of knowledge we rely on innately to inform our judgements, the relevance we attribute to the information which we acquire, and how we consciously and unconsciously apply this framework to everyday situations. An assessment will then be made of the potential impact that these subjective meaning structures can present when dispensing justice in criminal courts. This paper will investigate how these subjective meaning structures can influence our consciousness on both a conscious and unconscious level, and how this could potentially result in bias judicial outcomes due to negative ‘types’ or ‘stereotypes.' This paper will ultimately illustrate that we unconsciously and unreflexively use pre-formed types and stereotypes to inform our judgements and give meaning to what we have just experienced.

Keywords: Alfred Schutz, criminal courts, decision making, judicial decision making, phenomenology, Schutzian stereotypes, types, typification

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Authors: Katarzyna Miśkiewicz, Magdalena Lasoń-Rydel, Małgorzata Krępska, Katarzyna Sieczyńska, Iwona Masłowska-Lipowicz, Katarzyna Ławińska

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The aim of the study was to analyse a selection of 12 pasteurised products made from fruit and vegetables, such as fruit juices, fruit drinks, jams, marmalades and jam produced by small regional factories as well as large food corporations. The research was carried out as part of the project "Innovative system of healthy and regional food distribution", funded by the Ministry of Education and Science (Poland), which aims to create an economically and organisationally strong agri-food industry in Poland through effective cooperation between scientific and socio-economic actors. The main activities of the project include support for the creation of new distribution channels for regional food products and their easy access to a wide group of potential customers while maintaining the highest quality standards. One of the key areas of the project is food quality analyses conducted to indicate the competitive advantage of regional products. Presented here are studies on the content of sugars, vitamin C, preservatives, synthetic colours, sweeteners, sodium and potassium, as well as studies on the microbiological purity of selected products made from fruit and vegetables. The composition of products made from fruit and vegetables varies greatly and depends on both the type of raw material and the way it is processed. Of the samples tested, fruit drinks contained the least amount of sugars, and jam and marmalade made by large producers and bought in large chain stores contained the most. However, the low sugar content of some fruit drinks is due to the presence of the sweetener sucralose in their composition. The vitamin C content of the samples varied, being higher in products where it was added during production. All products made in small local factories were free of food additives such as preservatives, sweeteners and synthetic colours, indicating their superiority over products made by large producers. Products made in small local factories were characterised by a relatively high potassium content. The microbiological purity of commercial products was confirmed - no Salmonella spp. were detected, and the number of mesophilic bacteria, moulds, yeasts, and β-glucuronidase-positive E. coli was below the limit of quantification.

Keywords: fruit and vegetable products, sugars, food additives, HPLC, ICP-OES

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Authors: Tarek Abdelkader, Suresh Selvaraj, Prasad Iyer, Yong Mun Hin, Hajmath Begum, P. Gopalakrishnakone

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Nowadays, more and more educational institutes, as well as students, rely on 3D anatomy programs as an important tool that helps students correlate the actual locations of anatomical structures in a 3D dimension. Lately, virtual reality (VR) is gaining more favor from the younger generations due to its higher interactive mode. As a result, using virtual reality as a gamified learning platform for anatomy became the current goal. We present a model where a Virtual Human Anatomy Program (VHAP) was developed to assist with the anatomy learning experience of students. The anatomy module has been built, mostly, from real patient CT scans. Segmentation and surface rendering were used to create the 3D model by direct segmentation of CT scans for each organ individually and exporting that model as a 3D file. After acquiring the 3D files for all needed organs, all the files were introduced into a Virtual Reality environment as a complete body anatomy model. In this ongoing experiment, students from different Allied Health orientations are testing the VHAP. Specifically, the cardiovascular system has been selected as the focus system of study since all of our students finished learning about it in the 1st trimester. The initial results suggest that the VHAP system is adding value to the learning process of our students, encouraging them to get more involved and to ask more questions. Involved students comments show that they are excited about the VHAP system with comments about its interactivity as well as the ability to use it solo as a self-learning aid in combination with the lectures. Some students also experienced minor side effects like dizziness.

Keywords: 3D construction, health sciences, teaching pedagogy, virtual reality

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Authors: Lilian Kishimbo

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This study aims to examine Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of local large firms of East Africa region. In this study CSR is defined as all actions that go beyond obeying minimum legal requirements as espoused by other authors. Despite the increase of CSR literature empirical evidence clearly demonstrate an imbalance of CSR studies in the developing countries . Moreover, it is evident that most of the research on CSR in developing economies emerges from large fast-growing economies or BRICS members (i.e. Brazil, India, China and South Africa), and Indonesia and Malaysia and a further call for more research in Africa is particularly advocated. Taking Africa as an example, there are scanty researches on CSR practices, and the few available studies are mainly from Nigeria and South Africa leaving other parts of Africa for example East Africa underrepresented. Furthermore, in the face of globalization, experience shows that literature has focused mostly on multinational companies (MNCs) operating in either North-North or North-South and less on South-South indigenous local firms. Thus the existing literature in Africa shows more studies of MNCs and little is known about CSR of local indigenous firms operating in the South particularly in the East Africa region. Accordingly, this paper explores CSR practices of indigenous local large firms of East Africa region particularly Kenya and Tanzania with the aim of testing the hypothesis that do local firms of East Africa region engage in similar CSR practices as firms in other parts of the world?. To answer this question only listed local large firms were considered based on the assumption that they are large enough to engage. Newspapers were the main source of data and information collected was supplemented by business Annual Reports for the period 2010-2012. The research finding revealed that local firms of East Africa engage in CSR practices. However, there are some differences in the set of activities these firms prefers to engage in compared to findings from previous studies. As such some CSR that were given priority by firms in East Africa were less prioritized in the other part of the world including Indonesia. This paper will add knowledge to the body of CSR and experience of CSR practices of South-South indigenous firms where is evidenced to have a relative dearth of literature on CSR. Finally, the paper concludes that local firms of East Africa region engage in similar activities like other firms globally. But firms give more priority to some activities such education and health related activities. Finally, the study intends to assist policy makers at firm’s levels to plan for long lasting projects related to CSR for their stakeholders.

Keywords: Africa, corporate social responsibility, developing countries, indigenous firms, Kenya, Tanzania

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Authors: Muhammad Abdullah, Salman Iqbal, Mamoona Rasheed

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Social identity among people is an important source of pride and self-esteem, consequently, people struggle to preserve a positive perception of their groups and collectives. The purpose of this paper is to explain the process of social identification and to highlight the underlying causal factors of social identity among employees. There is a little research about how the social identity of employees is shaped in Pakistan’s organizational culture. This study is based on social identity theory. This study uses Systems’ approach as a research methodology. The feedback loop approach is applied to explain the underlying key elements of employee behavior that collectively form social identity among social groups in corporate arena. The findings of this study reveal that effective, evaluative and cognitive components of an individual’s personality are associated with the social identification. The system dynamic feedback loop approach has revealed the underlying structure that is associated with social identity, social group formation, and effective component proved to be the most associated factor. This may also enable to understand how social groups become stable and individuals act according to the group requirements. The value of this paper lies in the understanding gained about the underlying key factors that play a crucial role in social group formation in organizations. It may help to understand the rationale behind how employees socially categorize themselves within organizations. It may also help to design effective and more cohesive teams for better operations and long-term results. This may help to share knowledge among employees as well. The underlying structure behind the social identification is highlighted with the help of system modeling.

Keywords: affective commitment, cognitive commitment, evaluated commitment, system thinking

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Authors: Fatemeh Saadat Ghareh Bagh, Srimanta Ray, Jerald Lalman

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Lignin, the largest inventory of organic carbon with a high caloric energy value is a major component in woody and non-woody biomass. In pulping mills, a large amount of the lignin is burned for energy. At the same time, the phenolic structure of lignin enables it to be converted to value-added compounds.This study has focused on extracting lignin from black liquor using deep eutectic solvents (DESs). Therefore, three choline chloride (ChCl)-DESs paired with lactic acid (LA) (1:11), oxalic acid.2H₂O (OX) (1:4), and malic acid (MA) (1:3) were synthesized at 90oC and atmospheric pressure. The kinetics of lignin recovery from black liquor using DES was investigated at three moderate temperatures (338, 353, and 368 K) at time intervals from 30 to 210 min. The extracted lignin (acid soluble lignin plus Klason lignin) was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The FTIR studies included comparing the extracted lignin with a model Kraft lignin. The extracted lignin was characterized spectrophotometrically to determine the acid soluble lignin (ASL) [TAPPI UM 250] fraction and Klason lignin was determined gravimetrically using TAPPI T 222 om02. The lignin extraction reaction using DESs was modeled by first-order reaction kinetics and the activation energy of the process was determined. The ChCl:LA-DES recovered lignin was 79.7±2.1% at 368K and a DES:BL ratio of 4:1 (v/v). The quantity of lignin extracted for the control solvent, [emim][OAc], was 77.5+2.2%. The activation energy measured for the LA-DES system was 22.7 KJ mol⁻¹, while the activation energy for the OX-DES and MA-DES systems were 7.16 KJ·mol⁻¹ and 8.66 KJ·mol⁻¹ when the total lignin recovery was 75.4 ±0.9% and 62.4 ±1.4, % respectively.

Keywords: black liquor, deep eutectic solvents, kinetics, lignin

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Authors: Yu-Ching Lin, Meei-Ling Gau, Ghi-Hwei Kao, Hung-Chang Lee

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Objective: To compare the pushing experiences and birth outcomes of three different pushing positions during the second stage of labor. The three positions were: semi-recumbent, squatting, and squatting with the aid of ergonomically designed ankle supports. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at a regional teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. Data were collected from 168 primiparous women in their 38th to 42nd gestational week. None of the participants received epidural analgesia during labor and all were free of pregnancy and labor-related complications. Intervention: During labor, after full cervical dilation and when the fetal head had descended to at least the +1 station and had turned to the occiput anterior position, the experimental group was asked to push in the squatting position while wearing the ergonomically designed ankle supports; comparison group A was asked to push in the squatting position without the use of these supports; and comparison group B was asked to push in a standard semi-recumbent position. Measures: The participants completed a demographic and obstetrics datasheet, the Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ-SF), and the Labor Pushing Experience scale within 4-hours postpartum. Conclusion: In terms of delivery time, the duration between the start of pushing to crowning for the experimental group (squatting with ankle supports) averaged 25.52 minutes less (F =6.02, p< .05) than the time for comparison group B (semi-recumbent). Furthermore, the duration between the start of pushing to infant birth averaged 25.21 minutes less for the experimental group than for comparison group B (F =6.14, p< .05). Moreover, the experimental group had a lower average VAS pain score (5.05±3.22) than comparison group B and the average McGill pain score for the experimental group was lower than both comparison groups (F=18.12, p< .001). In summary, the participants in the group that delivered from a squatting position with ankle supports had better labor pushing experiences than their peers in the comparison groups. Results: In comparison to both unsupported squatting and semi-recumbent pushing, squatting with the aid of ergonomically designed ankle supports reduced pushing times, ameliorated labor pain, and improved the pushing experience. Clinical application and suggestion: The squatting with ankle-support intervention introduced in the present study may significantly reduce tiredness and difficulties in maintaining balance as well as increase pushing efficiency. Thus, this intervention may reduce the caring needs of women during the second stage of labor. This intervention may be introduced in midwifery education programs and in clinical practice as a method to improve the care of women during the second stage of labor.

Keywords: second stage of labor, pushing, squatting with ankle supports, squatting

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Authors: Divyanka Sontakke, Arpit Thakre, D. K Shinde, Sujata Parmeshwaran

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Electrospinning is the most widely utilized method to create nanofibers because of the direct setup, the capacity to mass-deliver consistent nanofibers from different polymers, and the ability to produce ultrathin fibers with controllable diameters. Smooth and much arranged ultrafine Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with diameters going from submicron to nanometer were delivered utilizing Electrospinning technique. PAN powder was used as a precursor to prepare the solution utilized as a part of this process. At the point when the electrostatic repulsion contradicted surface tension, a charged stream of polymer solution was shot out from the head of the spinneret and along these lines ultrathin nonwoven fibers were created. The effect of electrospinning parameter such as applied voltage, feed rate, concentration of polymer solution and tip to collector distance on the morphology of electrospun PAN nanofibers were investigated. The nanofibers were heat treated for carbonization to examine the changes in properties and composition to make for electrical application. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was performed before and after carbonization to study electrical conductivity and morphological characterization. The SEM images have shown the uniform fiber diameter and no beads formation. The average diameter of the PAN fiber observed 365nm and 280nm for flat plat and rotating drum collector respectively. The four probe strategy was utilized to inspect the electrical conductivity of the nanofibers and the electrical conductivity is significantly improved with increase in oxidation temperature exposed.

Keywords: electrospinning, polyacrylonitrile carbon nanofibres, heat treatment, electrical conductivity

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Authors: Priya Tomar, Pallavi Mittal

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Bioremediation has been recognized as an environment friendly and less expensive method which involves the natural processes resulting in the efficient conversion of hazardous compounds into innocuous products. The pulp and paper mill effluent is one of the high polluting effluents amongst the effluents obtained from polluting industries. The colouring body present in the wastewater from pulp and paper mill is organic in nature and is comprised of wood extractives, tannin, resins, synthetic dyes, lignin, and its degradation products formed by the action of chlorine on lignin which imparts an offensive colour to the water. These mills use different chemical process for paper manufacturing due to which lignified chemicals are released into the environment. Therefore, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the emanating stream is quite high. For solving the above problem we present this paper with some new techniques that were developed for the efficiency of paper mill effluents. In the present study we utilized the consortia of fungal and bacterial strain and the treatment named as C1, C2, and C3 for the decolourization of paper mill effluent. During the study, role of carbon source i.e. glucose was studied for decolourization. From the results it was observed that a maximum colour reduction of 66.9%, COD reduction of 51.8%, TSS reduction of 0.34%, TDS reduction of 0.29% and pH changes of 4.2 is achieved by consortia of Aspergillus niger with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Data indicated that consortia of Aspergillus niger with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is giving better result with glucose.

Keywords: bioremediation, decolourization, black liquor, mycoremediation

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Authors: Ali Mashayekh, Mahdiye Khorasani, Thomas Weyh

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The tendency to use the Battery-Electric vehicle (BEV) for the low and medium driving range or even high driving range has been growing more and more. As a result, higher safety, reliability, and durability of the battery pack as a component of electric vehicles, which has a great share of cost and weight of the final product, are the topics to be considered and investigated. Battery aging can be considered as the predominant factor regarding the reliability and durability of BEV. To better understand the aging process, offline battery characterization has been widely used, which is time-consuming and needs very expensive infrastructures. This paper presents the substitute method for the conventional battery characterization methods, which is based on battery Modular Multilevel Management (BM3). According to this Topology, the battery cells can be drained and charged concerning their capacity, which allows varying battery pack structures. Due to the integration of the power electronics, the output voltage of the battery pack is no longer fixed but can be dynamically adjusted in small steps. In other words, each cell can have three different states, namely series, parallel, and bypass in connection with the neighbor cells. With the help of MATLAB/Simulink and by using the BM3 modules, the battery string model is created. This model allows us to switch two cells with the different SoC as parallel, which results in the internal balancing of the cells. But if the parallel switching lasts just for a couple of ms, we can have a perturbation pulse which can stimulate the cells out of the relaxation phase. With the help of modeling the voltage response pulse of the battery, it would be possible to characterize the cell. The Online EIS method, which is discussed in this paper, can be a robust substitute for the conventional battery characterization methods.

Keywords: battery characterization, SoH estimation, RLS, BEV

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Authors: Dernie Taganna Olguera

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Marginal uplands are fragile ecosystems in the tropics that need to be evaluated for sustainable utilization and land degradation mitigation. Thus, this study evaluated the dominant soil degradation processes in selected marginal uplands of Samar Island, Philippines; evaluated the important factors influencing soil degradation in the selected sites and identified the indicators of soil degradation in marginal uplands of the tropical landscape of Samar Island, Philippines. Two (2) sites were selected (Sta. Rita, Samar and Salcedo, Eastern, Samar) representing the western and eastern sides of Samar Island respectively. These marginal uplands represent different agro-climatic zones suitable for the study. Soil erosion is the major soil degradation process in the marginal uplands studied. It resulted in not only considerable soil losses but nutrient losses as well. Soil erosion varied with vegetation cover and site. It was much higher in the sweetpotato, cassava, and gabi crops than under natural vegetation. In addition, soil erosion was higher in Salcedo than in Sta. Rita, which is related to climatic and soil characteristics. Bulk density, porosity, aggregate stability, soil pH, organic matter, and carbon dioxide evolution are good indicators of soil degradation. The dominance of Saccharum spontaneum Linn., Imperata cylindrica Linn, Melastoma malabathricum Linn. and Psidium guajava Linn indicated degraded soil condition. Farmer’s practices particularly clean culture and organic fertilizer application influenced the degree of soil degradation in the marginal uplands of Samar Island, Philippines.

Keywords: soil degradation, soil erosion, marginal uplands, Samar island, Philippines

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Authors: Nkemjika Chinenye-Kanu, Mamdud Hossain, Ghazi Droubi

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Prediction of multiphase flow induced forces, void fraction and pressure is crucial at both design and operating stages of practical energy and process pipe systems. In this study, transient numerical simulations of upward slug-churn flow through a vertical 90-degree elbow have been conducted. The volume of fluid (VOF) method was used to model the two-phase flows while the K-epsilon Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations were used to model turbulence in the flows. The simulation results were validated using experimental results. Void fraction signal, peak frequency and maximum magnitude of void fraction fluctuation of the slug-churn flow validation case studies compared well with experimental results. The x and y direction force fluctuation signals at the elbow control volume were obtained by carrying out force balance calculations using the directly extracted time domain signals of flow properties through the control volume in the numerical simulation. The computed force signal compared well with experiment for the slug and churn flow validation case studies. Hence, the present numerical simulation technique was able to predict the behaviours of the one-way flow induced forces and void fraction fluctuations.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, flow induced vibration, slug-churn flow, void fraction and force fluctuation

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Authors: Salina Budin, Shaira Ismail

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Students learn effectively in a learning environment with a suitable teaching approach that matches their learning preferences. The main objective of the study is to examine the learning preferences amongst the students in the Science and Technology (S&T), and Social Science (SS) fields of study at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Pulau Pinang. The measurement instrument is based on the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles which measure five elements of learning styles; environmental, sociological, emotional, physiological and psychological. Questionnaires are distributed amongst undergraduates in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Business Management. The respondents comprise of 131 diploma students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and 111 degree students of the Faculty of Business Management. The results indicate that, both S&T and SS students share a similar learning preferences on the environmental aspect, emotional preferences, motivational level, learning responsibility, persistent level in learning and learning structure. Most of the S&T students are concluded as analytical learners and the majority of SS students are global learners. Both S&T and SS students are concluded as visual learners, preferred to be in an active mobility in a relaxing and enjoying mode with some light of refreshments during the learning process and exhibited reflective characteristics in learning. Obviously, the S&T students are considered as left brain dominant, whereas the SS students are right brain dominant. The findings highlighted that both categories of students exhibited similar learning preferences except on psychological preferences.

Keywords: learning preferences, Dunn and Dunn learning style, teaching approach, science and technology, social science

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Authors: Fangzheng Li, Xiong Li

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Significant differences in urban greening have occurred in Chinese cities, which accompanied with China's rapid urbanization. However, few studies focused on the spatial differentiation of urban greening in China with large amounts of data. The spatial differentiation pattern, spatial correlation characteristics and the distribution shape of urban green space ratio, urban green coverage rate and public green area per capita were calculated and analyzed, using Global and Local Moran's I using data from 289 cities in 2014. We employed Spatial Lag Model and Spatial Error Model to assess the impacts of urbanization process on urban greening of China. Then we used Geographically Weighted Regression to estimate the spatial variations of the impacts. The results showed: 1. a significant spatial dependence and heterogeneity existed in urban greening values, and the differentiation patterns were featured by the administrative grade and the spatial agglomeration simultaneously; 2. it revealed that urbanization has a negative correlation with urban greening in Chinese cities. Among the indices, the the proportion of secondary industry, urbanization rate, population and the scale of urban land use has significant negative correlation with the urban greening of China. Automobile density and per capita Gross Domestic Product has no significant impact. The results of GWR modeling showed that the relationship between urbanization and urban greening was not constant in space. Further, the local parameter estimates suggested significant spatial variation in the impacts of various urbanization factors on urban greening.

Keywords: China’s urbanization, geographically weighted regression, spatial differentiation pattern, urban greening

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Authors: M. Benzerara, B. Redjel, B. Kebaili

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The cracking of the concrete is a more crucial problem with the development of the complex structures related to technological progress. The projections in the knowledge of the breaking process make it possible today for better prevention of the risk of the fracture. The breaking strength brutal of a quasi-fragile material like the concrete called Toughness is measured by a breaking value of the factor of the intensity of the constraints K1C for which the crack is propagated, it is an intrinsic property of the material. Many studies reported in the literature treating of the concrete were carried out on specimens which are in fact inadequate compared to the intrinsic characteristic to identify. We started from this established fact, in order to compare the evolution of the parameter of toughness K1C measured by calling upon ordinary concrete specimens of three prismatic geometries different (10*10*40) Cm3, (12*12*60) Cm3 & (5*20*120) Cm3 containing from the side notches various depths simulating of the cracks was set up.The notches are carried out using triangular pyramidal plates into manufactured out of sheet coated placed at the center of the specimens at the time of the casting, then withdrawn to leave the trace of a crack. The tests are carried out in 3 points bending test in mode 1 of fracture, by using the techniques of mechanical fracture. The evolution of the parameter of toughness K1C measured with the three geometries specimens gives almost the same results. They are acceptable and return in the beach of the results determined by various researchers (toughness of the ordinary concrete turns to the turn of the 1 MPa √m). These results inform us about the presence of an economy on the level of the geometry specimen (5*20*120) Cm3, therefore, to use plates specimens later if one wants to master the toughness of this material complexes, astonishing but always essential that is the concrete.

Keywords: concrete, fissure, specimen, toughness

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Authors: Lynnette Lyzwinski, Liam Caffery, Matthew Bambling, Sisira Edirippulige

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Introduction: A novel method of delivering mindfulness interventions for populations at risk of weight gain and stress-related eating, in particular, college students, is through mHealth. While there have been qualitative studies on mHealth for weight loss, there has not been a study on mHealth for weight loss using mindfulness that has explored student perspectives on a student centred mindfulness app and mindfulness-based text messages for eating and stress. Student perspective data will provide valuable information for creating a specific purpose weight management app and mindfulness-based text messages (for the Mindfulness App study). Methods: A qualitative focus group study was undertaken at St Lucia campus at the University of Queensland in March 2017. Students over the age of 18 were eligible to participate. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. One week following the focus group, students were sent sample mindfulness-based text messages based on their responses. Students provided written feedback via email. Data were analysed using N Vivo software. Results: The key themes in a future mindfulness-based app are a simple design interface, a focus on education/practical tips, and real-life practical exercises. Social media should be avoided. Key themes surrounding barriers include the perceived difficulty of mindfulness and a lack of proper guidance or knowledge. The mindfulness-based text messages were received positively. Key themes were creating messages with practical tips about how to be mindful and how to integrate mindful reflection of both one’s body and environment while on campus. Other themes including creating positive, inspirational messages. There was lack of agreement on the ideal timing for messages. Discussion: This is the first study that explored student perspectives on a mindfulness-app and mindfulness-based text messages for stress and weight management as a pre-trial study for the Mindfulness App trial for stress, lifestyle, and weight in students. It is important to consider maximizing the potential facilitators of use and minimize potential identified barriers when developing and designing a future mHealth mindfulness-based intervention tailored to the student consumer. Conclusion: Future mHealth studies may consider integrating mindfulness-based text messages in their interventions for weight and stress as this is a novel feature that appears to be acceptable for participants. The results of this focus group provide the basis to develop content for a specific purpose student app for weight management.

Keywords: mindfulness, college students, mHealth, weight loss

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Authors: Mauro Masili, Fernanda O. Duarte, Liliane Ventura

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Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is electromagnetic waves from 100 – 400 nm wavelength. The World Health Organization and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) recommend guidelines on the exposure of the eyes to UV radiation because it is correlated to ophthalmic diseases. Those exposure limits for an 8-h period are 1) UV radiant exposure should not exceed 30 J/m2 when irradiance is spectrally weighted using an actinic action spectrum; 2) unweighted radiant exposure in the UV-A spectral region 315 – 400 nm should not exceed 10 kJ/m2. Sunglasses play an important role in preventing eye injuries related to Sun exposure. We have calculated the direct and diffuse solar UV irradiance in a geometry that refers to an individual wearing a sunglass, in which the solar rays strike on a vertical surface. The diffuse rays are those scattered from the atmosphere and from the local environment. The calculations used the open-source SMARTS2 spectral model, in which we assumed a clear sky condition, aside from information about site location, date, time, ozone column, aerosols, and turbidity. In addition, we measured the spectral transmittance of a typical sunglasses lens and the global solar irradiance was weighted with the spectral transmittance profile of the lens. The radiant exposure incident on the eye’s surface was calculated in the UV and UV-A ranges following the ICNIRP’s recommendations for each day of the year. The tested lens failed the UV-A safe limit, while the UV limit failed to comply with this limit after the aging process. Hence, the ICNIRP safe limits should be considered in the standards to increase the protection against UV radiation on the eye.

Keywords: ICNIRP safe limits, ISO-12312-1, sunglasses, ultraviolet radiation

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Authors: Anne Hovgaard Jorgensen

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This study investigates how Muslim fathers in Denmark are struggling to overcome notions of mistrust from teachers and educators. Starting from school-home-cooperation (parent conferences, school-home communication, etc.), the study finds that many Muslim fathers do not feel acknowledged as a resource in the upbringing of their children. To explain these experiences further, the study suggest the notion of ‘mistrusted masculinity’ to grasp the controlling image these fathers meet in various schools and child-care-institutions in the Danish Welfare state. The paper is based on 9 months of fieldwork in a Danish school, a social housing area and in various ‘father groups’ in Denmark. Additional, 50 interviews were conducted with fathers, children, mothers, schoolteachers, and educators. By using Connell's concepts 'hegemonic' and 'marginalized' masculinity as steppingstones, the paper argues that these concepts might entail a too static and dualistic picture of gender. By applying the concepts of 'emergent masculinity' and 'emergent fatherhood' the paper brings along a long needed discussion of how Muslim men in Denmark are struggling to overcome and change the controlling images of them as patriarchal and/or ignorant fathers regarding the upbringing of their children. As such, the paper shows how Muslim fathers are taking action to change this controlling image, e.g. through various ‘father groups’. The paper is inspired by the phenomenological notions of ‘experience´ and in the light of this notion, the paper tells the fathers’ stories about their upbringing of their children and aspirations for fatherhood. These stories share light on how these fathers take care of their children in everyday life. The study also shows that the controlling image of these fathers have affected how some Muslim fathers are actually being fathers. The study shows that fear of family-interventions from teachers or social workers e.g. have left some Muslim fathers in a limbo, being afraid of scolding their children, and being confused of ‘what good parenting in Denmark is’. This seems to have led to a more lassie fair upbringing than these fathers actually wanted. This study is important since anthropologists generally have underexposed the notion of fatherhood, and how fathers engage in the upbringing of their children. Over more, the vast majority of qualitative studies of fatherhood have been on white middleclass fathers, living in nuclear families. In addition, this study is crucial at this very moment due to the major refugee crisis in Denmark and in the Western world in general. A crisis, which has resulted in a vast number of scare campaigns against Islam from different nationalistic political parties, which enforces the negative controlling image of Muslim fathers.

Keywords: fatherhood, Muslim fathers, mistrust, education

Procedia PDF Downloads 189