Search results for: systems approach

Authors: Meera A. Albloushi, Adel B. Gougam

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The development in the field of piezoelectrics has led to a renewed interest in ZnO nanowires (NWs) as a promising material in the nanogenerator devices category. It can be used as a power source for self-powered electronic systems with higher density, higher efficiency, longer lifetime, as well as lower cost of fabrication. Highly aligned ZnO nanowires seem to exhibit a higher performance compared with nonaligned ones. The purpose of this study was to develop ZnO nanowires and to investigate their electrical and chemical properties for various applications. They were grown on silicon (100) and glass substrates. We have used a low temperature and non-hazardous method: aqueous chemical growth (ACG). ZnO (non-doped) and AZO (Aluminum doped) seed layers were deposited using RF magnetron sputteringunder Argon pressure of 3 mTorr and deposition power of 180 W, the times of growth were selected to obtain thicknesses in the range of 30 to 125 nm. Some of the films were subsequently annealed. The substrates were immersed tilted in an equimolar solution composed of zinc nitrate and hexamine (HMTA) of 0.02 M and 0.05 M in the temperature range of 80 to 90 ᵒC for 1.5 to 2 hours. The X-ray diffractometer shows strong peaks at 2Ө = 34.2ᵒ of ZnO films which indicates that the films have a preferred c-axis wurtzite hexagonal (002) orientation. The surface morphology of the films is investigated by atomic force microscope (AFM) which proved the uniformity of the film since the roughness is within 5 nm range. The scanning electron microscopes(SEM) (Quanta FEG 250, Quanta 3D FEG, Nova NanoSEM 650) are used to characterize both ZnO film and NWs. SEM images show forest of ZnO NWs grown vertically and have a range of length up to 2000 nm and diameter of 20-300 nm. The SEM images prove that the role of the seed layer is to enhance the vertical alignment of ZnO NWs at the pH solution of 5-6. Also electrical and optical properties of the NWs are carried out using Electrical Force Microscopy (EFM). After growing the ZnO NWs, developing the nano-generator is the second step of this study in order to determine the energy conversion efficiency and the power output.

Keywords: ZnO nanowires(NWs), aqueous chemical growth (ACG), piezoelectric NWs, harvesting enery

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Authors: Amir Khaleghipour, Amirhossein Moghanian, Elhamalsadat Ghaffari

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Modified bioactive glass has been considered as a promising multifunctional candidate in bone repair and regeneration due to its attractive properties. The present study mainly aims to evaluate how the individual substitution of lithium (L-BG) and magnesium (M-BG) for calcium can affect the in vitro bioactivity of sol-gel derived substituted 58S bioactive glass (BG); and to present one composition in both of the 60SiO₂–(36-x)CaO–4P₂O₅–(x)Li₂O and 60SiO₂–(36-x)CaO–4P₂O₅–(x)MgO quaternary systems (where x= 0, 5, 10 mol.%) with improved biocompatibility, enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and the most efficient antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. To address these aims, and study the effect of CaO/Li₂O and CaO/MgO substitution up to 10 mol % in 58S-BGs, the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy after immersion in simulated body fluid up to 14 days. Results indicated that substitution of either CaO/ Li₂O and CaO/ MgO had a retarding effect on in vitro hydroxyapatite (HA) formation due to the lower supersaturation degree for nucleation of HA compared with 58s-BG. Meanwhile, magnesium had a more pronounced effect. The 3-(4, 5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assays showed that both substitutions of CaO/ Li₂O and CaO/ MgO up to 5mol % in 58s-BGs led to increased biocompatibility and stimulated proliferation of the pre-osteoblast MC3T3 cells with respect to the control. On the other hand, substitution of either Li or Mg for Ca in the 58s BG composition resulted in improved bactericidal efficiency against MRSA bacteria. Taken together, sample 58s-BG with 5 mol % CaO/Li₂O substitution (BG-5L) was considered as a multifunctional biomaterial in bone repair/regeneration with improved biocompatibility, enhanced ALP activity as well enhanced antibacterial efficiency against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria among all of the synthesized L-BGs and M-BGs.

Keywords: alkaline, alkaline earth, bioactivity, biomedical applications, sol-gel processes

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Authors: Elena V. Lysenko

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Motivating as the leading function of a modern Human Resources Management involves issues of increasing the effectiveness of the organization in a broader context. During the formation of motivational systems, the top-management of organization should pay equal attention to both external motivation (incentive system) and internal (self-motivation). The balance of internal and external motivation harmonizes the relations between employers and employees, increases the level of job satisfaction by the organization staff, which in turn leads the organization to success and ensures the organization`s profitability and competitiveness in the market environment. The article is devoted to the study of personnel motivation system in the small metal trade company, which is located in Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation. The study took place during November-December, 2016 ordered by the Company Director to analyze the motivational potential of work (managerial aspect of motivation) and motivation of personnel (personnel aspect of motivation) with the purpose to construct a system of employees’ motivation. The research tools included 6 specially selected tests of motivation, which are: “Motivation profile of your job”, “Constructive motivational attitudes”, Tests about Motivation of achievements (1st variant: Test by А.Mehrabian by the theory of D.С.McClelland and 2nd variant: Test about leading needs according with the theory of D.С.MacClelland), Tests by T.Elers (1st variant: “Determination of the motivation towards success or to avoid failure” and 2nd variant: “Trends to achieve results or to avoid failure”). The results of the study showed only one, but fundamental problem of the whole organization: high level of both motivational potential in work and self-motivation, especially in terms of achievement motivation, but serious lack of productivity. According the results which study showed this problem is derived from insufficient staff competence. The research suggests basic guidelines in order to build the new personnel motivation system for this Company, which is planned to be developed in the nearest future.

Keywords: incentive system, motivation of achievements, motivation system, self-motivation

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Authors: Jean-Jacques Randrianarimanana, Nassim Sebaibi, Mohamed Boutouil

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In order to solve problems associated with stormwater runoff in urban areas and their effects on natural and artificial water bodies, the integration of new technical solutions to the rainwater drainage becomes even more essential. Permeable pavement systems are one of the most widely used techniques. This paper presents a laboratory analysis of stormwater runoff hydraulic and pollutant removal performance of permeable pavement system using pervious pavements based on seashell products. The laboratory prototype is a square column of 25 cm of side and consists of the surface in pervious concrete, a bedding of 3 cm in height, a geotextile and a subbase layer of 50 cm in height. A series of constant simulated rain events using semi-synthetic runoff which varied in intensity and duration were carried out. The initial vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity of the entire pervious pavement system was 0.25 cm/s (148 L/m²/min). The hydraulic functioning was influenced by both the inlet flow rate value and the test duration. The total water losses including evaporation ranged between 9% to 20% for all hydraulic experiments. The temporal and vertical variability of the pollutant removal efficiency (PRE) of the system were studied for total suspended solids (TSS). The results showed that the PRE along the vertical profile was influenced by the size of the suspended solids, and the pervious paver has the highest capacity to trap pollutant than the other porous layers of the permeable pavement system after the geotextile. The TSS removal efficiency was about 80% for the entire system. The first-flush effect of TSS was observed, but it appeared only at the beginning (2 to 6 min) of the experiments. It has been shown that the PPS can capture first-flush. The project in which this study is integrated aims to contribute to both the valorization of shellfish waste and the sustainable management of rainwater.

Keywords: hydraulic, pervious concrete, pollutant removal efficiency, seashell by-products, stormwater runoff

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Authors: Diego Alejandro Espíndola-Fernández, Ana María Posada-Cano, Dagnóvar Aristizábal-Ocampo, Jaime Alberto Gallo-Villegas

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Background: With the increase in life expectancy, aging has been subject of frequent research, and therefore multiple strategies have been proposed to quantify the advance of the years based on the known physiology of human senescence. For several decades, attempts have been made to characterize these changes through the concept of biological age, which aims to integrate, in a measure of time, structural or functional variation through biomarkers in comparison with simple chronological age. The objective of this scoping review is to deepen the updated concept of measuring biological age composed of biomarkers in the general population and to summarize recent evidence to identify gaps and priorities for future research. Methods: A scoping review was conducted according to the five-phase methodology developed by Arksey and O'Malley through a search of five bibliographic databases to February 2021. Original articles were included with no time or language limit that described the biological age composed of at least two biomarkers in those over 18 years of age. Results: 674 articles were identified, of which 105 were evaluated for eligibility and 65 were included with information on the measurement of biological age composed of biomarkers. Articles from 1974 of 15 nationalities were found, most observational studies, in which clinical or paraclinical biomarkers were used, and 11 different methods described for the calculation of the composite biological age were informed. The outcomes reported were the relationship with the same measured biomarkers, specified risk factors, comorbidities, physical or cognitive functionality, and mortality. Conclusions: The concept of biological age composed of biomarkers has evolved since the 1970s and multiple methods of its quantification have been described through the combination of different clinical and paraclinical variables from observational studies. Future research should consider the population characteristics, and the choice of biomarkers against the proposed outcomes to improve the understanding of aging variables to direct effective strategies for a proper approach.

Keywords: biological age, biological aging, aging, senescence, biomarker

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Authors: Anukwu J. U., Nwamba H. O., Njom V. S., Achikanu C. E., Edoga C. O. Chiaha I. E.

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The major environmental crisis is the loss of biodiversity and the decline is predominant in the fish population. Although taxonomic history began 250 years ago, there are still undiscovered members of species and new species are waiting to be uncovered. The failure of the traditional taxonomic method to address this issue has resulted to the adoption of a molecular approach-DNA barcoding. It was proposed that DNA barcoding using the mitochondrion cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene has the capability to serve as a barcode for fish. The aim of this study was to use DNA barcoding in the identification of fish species in the New Calabar River, Rivers State. BLAST result showed the correlation between the sequence queried and the biological sequences with the NCBI database. The names of the samples, percentage ID, predicted organisms, and GenBank Accession numbers were clearly identified. A total of 18 sequences (all > 600bp) belonging to 8 species, 7 genera, 7 families, and 5 orders were validated and submitted to the NCBI database. Each nucleotide peak was represented by a single colour with various percentage occurrences. Two (22%) out of the 9 original samples analyzed corresponded with the predicted organisms from the BLAST result.) There were a total of 712 positions in the final dataset. Evolutionary analyses were conducted in MEGA11. Pairwise sequence alignment showed different consensus positions and a total of 30 mutations. There was one insertion from Polynemus dubius and 29 substitutions (transition-15 and transversion-14) mutations. No deletion and nonsense codons were detected in all the amplified sequences. This work will facilitate more research in other keys areas such as the identification of mislabeled fish products, illegal trading of endangered species, and effective tracking of fish biodiversity.

Keywords: DNA barcoding, Imo river, phylogenetic tree, mutation.

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Authors: Bihan Qaimari

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In many areas of the world there are political conflicts the consequences of which have an inevitable impact on the educational system. Palestine is one such country where the experience of political conflict, going back over many years, has had a devastating effect on the development and maintenance of a stable educational environment for children and their teachers. Up to now there have been few studies that have focussed on the effects of living and working in a war zone on the professional identity of teachers. The aim of this study is to explore how the formation of Palestinian teachers’ professional identity is affected by their experience of the current political conflict its impact on the school social culture. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of political violence on the formation of the professional identity of Palestinian teachers, a qualitative multiple case-study approach was adopted which draws on sociocultural theories of identity formation. An initial study was first conducted in six schools and this was followed by an in-depth study of teachers working in three further primary schools. Data sources included participant observation, a research diary, semi-structured group and individual interviews. Grounded theory, constant-comparative methods, and discourse analysis procedures were used to interpret the data. The findings suggest that the Palestinian primary school teachers negotiate multiple conflicting identities through their every day experiences of political conflict and the schools’ social culture. This tension is formed as a result of the historical cultural meaning that teachers construct about themselves and within the current unstable and unsettling conditions that exist in their country. In addition, the data indicate that the geographical location of the schools in relation of their proximity to the events of the political conflict also had an influence on the degree of tension inherent in teachers’ professional identity. The study makes significant theoretical, practical, and methodical contributions to the study of the formation of teachers’ professional identity in countries affected by political conflict.

Keywords: identity, political conflict, Palestine, teacher's professional identity

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Authors: Briony Gray, Glenn Simpson, Hajira Dambha-Miller, Andrew Farmer

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Multimorbidity may be strongly affected by a variety of conditions, factors, and variables requiring higher demands on health and social care services, infrastructure, and expenses. Holding one or more conditions increases one’s risk for development of future conditions; with patients over 65 years old at highest risk. Psychosocial factors such as anxiety and depression are rising exponentially globally, which has been amplified by the COVID19 pandemic. These are highly correlated and predict poorer outcomes when held in coexistence and increase the likelihood of comorbid physical health conditions. While possible future reform of social and healthcare systems may help to alleviate some of these mounting pressures, there remains an urgent need to better understand the potential role health behaviours and psychosocial conditions - such as anxiety and depression – may have on aging populations. Using the UK healthcare scene as a lens for analysis, this study uses big data collected in the UK Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) to examine the role of anxiety and depression in ageing populations (65yrs+). Using logistic regression modelling, results identify the 10 most significant variables correlated with both anxiety and depression from data categorised into the areas of health behaviour, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and life satisfaction (each demonstrated through literature review to be of significance). These are compared with wider global research findings with the aim of better understanding the areas in which social and healthcare reform can support multimorbidity interventions, making suggestions for improved patient-centred care. Scope of future research is outlined, which includes analysis of 59 total multimorbidity variables from the ELSA dataset, going beyond anxiety and depression.

Keywords: multimorbidity, health behaviours, patient centred care, psychosocial factors

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Authors: B. Vijay Antony Raj, Umarani Gunasekaran, R. Thiru Kumara Raja Vallaban

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Fibrous autoclaved aerated concrete (FAAC) is concrete containing fibrous material in it which helps to increase its structural integrity when compared to that of convention autoclaved aerated concrete (CAAC). These short discrete fibers are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented, which enhances the bond strength within the aerated concrete matrix. Conventional red-clay bricks create larger impact to the environment due to red soil depletion and it also consumes large amount to time for construction. Whereas, AAC are larger in size, lighter in weight and it is environmentally friendly in nature and hence it is a viable replacement for red-clay bricks. Internal micro cracks and corner cracks are the only disadvantages of conventional autoclaved aerated concrete, to resolve this particular issue it is preferable to make use of fibers in it.These fibers are bonded together within the matrix and they induce the aerated concrete to withstand considerable stresses, especially during the post cracking stage. Hence, FAAC has the capability of enhancing the mechanical properties and energy absorption capacity of CAAC. In this research work, individual fibers like glass, nylon, polyester and polypropylene are used they generally reduce the brittle fracture of AAC.To study the fibre’s surface topography and composition, SEM analysis is performed and then to determine the composition of a specimen as a whole as well as the composition of individual components EDAX mapping is carried out and then an experimental approach was performed to determine the effect of hybrid (multiple) fibres at various dosage (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%) and curing temperature of 180-2000 C is maintained to determine the mechanical properties of autoclaved aerated concrete. As an analytical part, the outcome experimental results is compared with fuzzy logic using MATLAB.

Keywords: fiberous AAC, crack control, energy absorption, mechanical properies, SEM, EDAX, MATLAB

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Authors: Haniehsadat Jameie, Halil Zafer Alibaba

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Providing thermal comfort in urban spaces for vulnerable groups, particularly children, remains a critical yet often overlooked priority in private and governmental initiatives. Shading devices play a vital role in urban environments, regulating thermal comfort and, when integrated with photovoltaic (PV) systems, generating clean energy while enhancing user satisfaction. Cyprus, with over 300 sunny days annually, offers a unique opportunity for solar energy integration. This research investigates the design of PV-integrated shading devices for a primary school in Famagusta, Cyprus, aiming to enhance students' outdoor thermal comfort and reduce dependency on fossil fuels through efficient use of open spaces. The study employs site observations, surveys, and statistical analysis to evaluate the impact of these devices. Findings reveal significant discomfort among students and staff due to inadequate thermally comfortable outdoor spaces and high energy costs for indoor climate control. The proposed solution requires an initial investment of $1,500,000 and offers annual power generation approximately 10 times the current consumption, resulting in $500,000 in annual energy savings and surplus energy sales, with a payback period of three years. Recommendations include installing PV-integrated shading for sports spaces, parking lots, and gathering areas, as well as rooftop PV panels to maximize renewable energy generation. Beyond improving thermal comfort and reducing energy costs, this initiative fosters community engagement in outdoor spaces, enhancing societal well-being. The study concludes with recommendations for integrating sustainable urban planning practices in Cyprus.

Keywords: photovoltaic shading devices, thermal comfort, societal well-being, sustainable urban design

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Authors: Mukhtar Raban

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Nelson Mandela University subscribes to a humanizing pedagogy (HP), as housed under broader critical pedagogy, that underpins and informs learning and teaching activities at the institution. The investigation sought to explore the implications of humanizing and critical pedagogical considerations for a technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) environment in a university course. The paper inquires into the design of a learning resource in an online learning environment of an English communication module, that applied HP principles. With an objective of creating agentive spaces for foregrounding identity, student voice, critical self-reflection, and recognition of others’ humanity; a flexible and open 'My Presence' feature was added to the TELL environment that allowed students and lecturers to share elements of their backgrounds in a ‘mutually vulnerable’ manner as a way of establishing digital identity and a more ‘human’ presence in the online language learning encounter, serving as a catalyst for the recognition of the ‘other’. Following a qualitative research design, the study adopted an auto-ethnographic approach, complementing the critical inquiry nature embedded into the activity’s practices. The study’s findings provide critical reflections and deductions on the possibilities of leveraging digital human expression within a humanizing pedagogical framework to advance the realization of HP-adoption in language learning and teaching encounters. It was found that the consideration of humanizing pedagogical principles in the design of online learning was more effective when the critical outcomes were explicated to students and lecturers prior to the completion of the activities. The integration of humanizing pedagogy also led to a contextual advancement of ‘affective’ language learning. Upon critical reflection and analysis, student identity and agency can flourish in a technology-enhanced learning environment when humanizing, and critical pedagogy influences the learning design.

Keywords: critical reflection, humanizing pedagogy, student identity, technology-enhanced language learning

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Authors: Kirsten A. Bartels

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'Never again' and 'Lest we forget' have long been messages associated with the events of the Shoah. Yet as we attempt to learn from the past, we must find new ways to engage with its memories. The preservation of the culture and the value of tradition are critical factors in Jane Yolen's works of Holocaust fiction, The Devil's Arithmetic and Mapping the Bones, emphasized through the importance of remembering. That word, in its multitude of forms (remember, remembering, memories), occurs no less than ten times in the first four pages and over one hundred times in the one hundred and sixty-four-page narrative The Devil’s Arithmetic. While Yolen takes a different approach to showcasing the importance of memory in Mapping the Bones, it is of equal import in this work and arguably to the future of Holocaust knowing. The idea of remembering, the desire to remember, and the ability to remember, are explored in three divergent ways in The Devil’s Arithmetic. First, in the importance to remember a past which is not her own – to understand history or acquired memories. Second, in the protagonist's actual or initial memories, those of her life in modern-day New York. Third, in a reverse mode of forgetting and trying to reacquire that which has been lost -- as Hannah is processed in the camp and she forgets everything, all worlds prior to the camp are lost to her. As numbers replace names, Yolen stresses the importance of self-identity or owned memories. In addition, the importance of relaying memory, the transitions of memory from perspective, and the ideas of reflective telling are explored in Mapping the Bones -- through the telling of the story through the lens of one of the twins as the events are unfolding; and then the through the reflective telling from the lens of the other twin. Parallel to the exploration of the intersemiosis of memory is the discussion of literary shadows (foreshadowing, backshadowing, and side-shadowing) and their impact on the reader's experience with Yolen's narrative. For in this type of exploration, one cannot look at the events described in Yolen's work and not also contemplate the figurative shadows cast.

Keywords: holocaust literature, memory, narrative, Yolen

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Authors: Yousef Alqaryouti, Mariam Al Suwaidi, Raed Mohmood AlKhuwaildi, Hind Kolthoum, Issa Youssef, Mohammed Al Imam

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The UAE has experienced rapid economic growth due to its mature oil production industry, leading to a surge in urbanization and infrastructure development in the construction sector. Sustainable development practices are becoming increasingly important, and the UAE government has taken proactive measures to promote them, including the introduction of sustainable building codes, energy-efficient technologies, and renewable energy sources. Initiatives such as the Masdar City project and the Emirates Green Building Council further demonstrate the government's commitment to a cleaner and healthier environment. By adopting sustainable practices, the UAE can reduce its carbon footprint, lessen its reliance on fossil fuels, and achieve cost savings in the long run. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a thorough review of the current state of sustainability in the construction industry of the UAE. Our research methodology includes a local market survey and qualitative observational analysis of executed housing construction projects by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment. The market survey assesses eleven different challenging factors that affect sustainable construction project delivery. The qualitative observational research is based on data collected from three projects, including construction progress, bill of quantity, and construction program. The study concludes that addressing these challenges requires a collaborative team approach, incentivized contracts, traditional project management practices, an integrated project team, and an increase in sustainability awareness among stakeholders. The recommendations proposed in this study aim to promote and improve the application of sustainability in the UAE's construction industry for the future.

Keywords: sustainability, construction, challenges, opportunities, case study, market survey

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Authors: Tahar Tayachi, Ahlam Alrehaili

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the corporate board characteristics and the dividend policy among firms on the Saudi Stock Exchange. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper uses a sample of 103 nonfinancial firms over a time period of 4 years from 2015 to 2018. To investigate how corporate governance mechanisms such as board independence, the board size, frequency of meetings, and free cash flow impact dividends, the study uses Logit and Tobit models. Findings: This paper finds that board size, board independence, and frequency of board meetings have no influence on a firm’s decision to pay dividends, while board size has a significantly positive impact on the levels of cash dividends paid to investors. This study also finds that the level of free cash flows has a positively significant influence on both the decision to pay dividends and the magnitude of dividend payouts. Research Limitations/Implications: This paper attempts to study the effectiveness of dividend policy among some firms on the Saudi Stock Exchange. Practical Implications: The findings reveal that board characteristics, which represent one of the crucial mechanisms of corporate governance, were found to be complementary to corporate laws and regulations imposed on the Saudi market in 2015. The findings also imply that capital market authorities should revise their corporate regulations and ensure that protection laws are adequate and strong enough to protect the interests of all shareholders. Originality/Value: This paper is among the few studies focusing on dividend policy in Saudi Arabia. Finally, these findings suggest that the improvements in corporate laws in Saudi Arabia led to such an outcome, and it has become prevalent in dividend policy decisions and behaviors of Saudi firms.

Keywords: agency theory, Tobit, corporate governance, dividend payout, Logit

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Authors: Bamidele Wale-Oshinowo, Doris Akyere Boateng, Lebura Sorbarikor

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Women play significant roles when it comes to the survival of family businesses; however, their efforts are less acknowledged across the developing world. In the case where these businesses are started by husbands, women in many instances work as hard as the men to build up the business. In spite of this, the benefits women receive are not equal to their inputs. For instance, the profits accruing from ownership of these businesses are mainly enjoyed by husbands, as they are deemed to be the legal owners of family businesses in most developing economies. Though the number of women involvement in the ownership, management, and direction of family businesses keeps increasing over the years, their efforts sometimes are ‘invisible’ and not rewarded. Using a phenomenological approach, this study purposively selected 20 businesswomen each from Ghana and Nigeria for in-depth interviews on the different roles they play in ensuring the success of their family businesses (FBs). This study also explored the challenges and opportunities that these women have within their family businesses. Among the major findings of this study is the important strategic direction that women give in terms of providing both tangible and intangible resources such as transfer of transit knowledge to the next generation. Women were also found to play a significant role in the implementation of entrepreneurial orientation within small family businesses in Ghana and Nigeria. However, the study revealed that women experience various challenges as stakeholders in family businesses, among which are: work-life balance issues, succession issues, and culture-related presuppositions about gender roles both within the business and in their families. In the light of the study’s findings, critical recommendations made include encouraging founders and/or owners of family businesses to create a conducive and viable platform for women to grow into key leadership positions within Family businesses; doing this would impact strongly on the growth rate of these form of businesses within the African Region.

Keywords: emerging economies, control, management, resources, strategy, women

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Authors: D. Zhigulskaya, V. Anisimov, A. Pikunov, K. Babanova, S. Zuev, A. Latyshkova, K. Сhernozatonskiy, A. Revazov

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Electrophysiology of information processing in reading is certainly a popular research topic. Natural reading, however, has been relatively poorly studied, despite having broad potential applications for learning and education. In the current study, we explore the relationship between text categories and spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) while reading. Thirty healthy volunteers (mean age 26,68 ± 1,84) participated in this study. 15 Russian-language texts were used as stimuli. The first text was used for practice and was excluded from the final analysis. The remaining 14 were opposite pairs of texts in one of 7 categories, the most important of which were: interesting/boring, fiction/non-fiction, free reading/reading with an instruction, reading a text/reading a pseudo text (consisting of strings of letters that formed meaningless words). Participants had to read the texts sequentially on an Apple iPad Pro. EEG was recorded from 12 electrodes simultaneously with eye movement data via ARKit Technology by Apple. EEG spectral amplitude was analyzed in Fz for theta-band (4-8 Hz) and in C3, C4, P3, and P4 for alpha-band (8-14 Hz) using the Friedman test. We found that reading an interesting text was accompanied by an increase in theta spectral amplitude in Fz compared to reading a boring text (3,87 µV ± 0,12 and 3,67 µV ± 0,11, respectively). When instructions are given for reading, we see less alpha activity than during free reading of the same text (3,34 µV ± 0,20 and 3,73 µV ± 0,28, respectively, for C4 as the most representative channel). The non-fiction text elicited less activity in the alpha band (C4: 3,60 µV ± 0,25) than the fiction text (C4: 3,66 µV ± 0,26). A significant difference in alpha spectral amplitude was also observed between the regular text (C4: 3,64 µV ± 0,29) and the pseudo text (C4: 3,38 µV ± 0,22). These results suggest that some brain activity we see on EEG is sensitive to particular features of the text. We propose that changes in theta and alpha bands during reading may serve as electrophysiological tools for assessing the reader’s cognitive state as well as his or her attitude to the text and the perceived information. These physiological markers have prospective practical value for developing technological solutions and biofeedback systems for reading in particular and for education in general.

Keywords: EEG, natural reading, reader's cognitive state, theta-rhythm, alpha-rhythm

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Authors: Odaleia de O. Farias, Suzelene C. Marinho, Ecleidson B. Fragoso, Daniel S. Lima, Francisco R. S. Lira, Lara S. Araújo, Gabriel dos S. D. Soares

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In populous cities, prehospital care services that use vehicles alternative to ambulances are needed in order to reduce costs and improve response time to occurrences in areas with large concentration of people, such as leisure and tourism spaces. In this context, it was implanted a program called BIKE VIDA, that is innovative quick access and assistance program. The aim of this study is to describe the implantation and initial profile of occurrences performed by an urgency/emergency pre-hospital care service through paramedics on bicycles. It is a cross-sectional, descriptive study carried out in the city of Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil. The data included service records from July to August 2017. Ethical aspects were respected. The service covers a perimeter of 4.5 km, divided into three areas with perimeter of 1.5 km for each paramedic, attending from 5 am to 9 pm. Materials transported by bicycles include External Automated Defibrillator - DEA, portable oxygen, oximeter, cervical collar, stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, dressing and immobilization materials and personal protective equipment. Occurrences are requested directly by calling the emergency number 192 or through direct approach to the professional. In the first month of the program, there were 93 emergencies/urgencies, mainly in the daytime period (71,0%), in males (59,7%), in the age range of 26 to 45 years (46,2%). The main nature was traumatic incidents (53.3%). Most of the cases (88,2%) did not require ambulance transport to the hospital, and there were two deaths. Pre-hospital service through bicycles is an innovative strategy in Brazil and has shown to be promising in terms of reducing costs and improving the quality of the services offered.

Keywords: emergency, response time, prehospital care, urgency

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Authors: Getaneh Berie Tarekegn

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A precise localization system is crucial for many artificial intelligence Internet of Things (AI-IoT) applications in the era of smart cities. Their applications include traffic monitoring, emergency alarming, environmental monitoring, location-based advertising, intelligent transportation, and smart health care. The most common method for providing continuous positioning services in outdoor environments is by using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Due to nonline-of-sight, multipath, and weather conditions, GNSS systems do not perform well in dense urban, urban, and suburban areas.This paper proposes a generative AI-based positioning scheme for large-scale wireless settings using fingerprinting techniques. In this article, we presented a novel semi-supervised deep convolutional generative adversarial network (S-DCGAN)-based radio map construction method for real-time device localization. We also employed a reliable signal fingerprint feature extraction method with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), which extracts dominant features while eliminating noise from hybrid WLAN and long-term evolution (LTE) fingerprints. The proposed scheme reduced the workload of site surveying required to build the fingerprint database by up to 78.5% and significantly improved positioning accuracy. The results show that the average positioning error of GAILoc is less than 39 cm, and more than 90% of the errors are less than 82 cm. That is, numerical results proved that, in comparison to traditional methods, the proposed SRCLoc method can significantly improve positioning performance and reduce radio map construction costs.

Keywords: location-aware services, feature extraction technique, generative adversarial network, long short-term memory, support vector machine

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Authors: Ahmed Shaboub, Yusuf Jasim Althawadi, Shadi Alaa Abdelaal, Mohamed Hussein Abdalla, Hatem Amr Elzahaby, Mohamed Mohamed, Hazem S. Ghaith, Ahmed Negida

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Objectives: We aimed to compare the safety and outcomes of the minimally invasive approaches versus conventional sternotomy procedures for aortic valve replacement. Methods: We conducted a PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis. We ran an electronic search of PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify the relevant published studies. Data were extracted and pooled as standardized mean difference (SMD) or risk ratio (RR) using StataMP version 17 for macOS. Results: Forty-one studies with a total of 15,065 patients were included in this meta-analysis (minimally invasive approaches n=7231 vs. conventional sternotomy n=7834). The pooled effect size showed that minimally invasive approaches had lower mortality rate (RR 0.76, 95%CI [0.59 to 0.99]), intensive care unit and hospital stays (SMD -0.16 and -0.31, respectively), ventilation time (SMD -0.26, 95%CI [-0.38 to -0.15]), 24-h chest tube drainage (SMD -1.03, 95%CI [-1.53 to -0.53]), RBCs transfusion (RR 0.81, 95%CI [0.70 to 0.93]), wound infection (RR 0.66, 95%CI [0.47 to 0.92]) and acute renal failure (RR 0.65, 95%CI [0.46 to 0.93]). However, minimally invasive approaches had longer operative time, cross-clamp, and bypass times (SMD 0.47, 95%CI [0.22 to 0.72], SMD 0.27, 95%CI [0.07 to 0.48], and SMD 0.37, 95%CI [0.20 to 0.45], respectively). There were no differences between the two groups in blood loss, endocarditis, cardiac tamponade, stroke, arrhythmias, pneumonia, pneumothorax, bleeding reoperation, tracheostomy, hemodialysis, or myocardial infarction (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Current evidence showed higher safety and better operative outcomes with minimally invasive aortic valve replacement compared to the conventional approach. Future RCTs with long-term follow-ups are recommended.

Keywords: aortic replacement, minimally invasive, sternotomy, mini-sternotomy, aortic valve, meta analysis

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Authors: Naziema Begum Jappie

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In higher education, particularly within South African universities engaged in regional and global collaborations, the integration of intercultural competencies into teaching, learning, and assessment is essential for student success. Intercultural competencies and the digital platform are intwined in the fabric of teaching, learning, and assessments for student success in higher education. These are integral to virtual learning and exchange within higher education, which are expected to develop these competencies. However, this is not always the case because these are not always explicitly integrated into the academic agenda. Despite the prevalence of international students and exchange programmes, there is often a lack of deliberate integration of these competencies into academic agendas, even for South African students from different cultural, ethnic and language groups. This research addresses this gap by examining the impact of infusing intercultural activities into both face-to-face and digital learning platforms. Adopting an intersectional perspective, the study recognizes how social identities interact to shape individuals' self-perceptions and experiences in a university. Methodologically, this study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to assess the effectiveness of integrating intercultural competencies into digital platforms. Surveys administered to students and faculty measure changes in intercultural skills and attitudes before and after the implementation of targeted interventions. In-depth interviews with participants will provide further insights into the qualitative aspects of these changes, including their experiences and perceptions of the integration process. The research evaluates whether the strategic integration of intercultural competencies into digital platforms enhances students' intercultural skills and social justice awareness. The findings provide valuable insights for higher education academics and internationalization practitioners seeking to develop effective strategies for cultivating intercultural competencies among students.

Keywords: digital platform, higher education, intercultural competencies, interventions

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Authors: C. John Thomas, Sabitha Jannet

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The review concentrates on mental health wellbeing at workplace to create a safe work environment. The purpose of the study is to find the existing gaps in occupational health in the manufacturing sector. Mental wellbeing is important because it is an essential component of human life and influences our emotions, attitudes, and feelings. In the workplace, mental wellbeing can encourage a culture of safety and avoid accidents. An environment where individuals are comfortable voicing themselves and being themselves. More technically, when individuals have psychological protection at work, without regard for humiliation or punishment, they feel relaxed expressing complaints and errors. They are sure they are going to speak up and not humiliate, neglect, or accuse them. Once they are uncertain about something, they know they are going to ask questions. They are inclined to trust their colleagues and respect them. The reviews were considered through keywords and health-related topics. There are different characteristics of mental wellbeing in the literature and how it impacts the workplace. There is also a possibility that their personal lives will have an impact. In every occupation, however, there is widespread acknowledgment that psychosocial hazards are an important health risk for workers, yet in many workplaces, the focus remains on physical hazards. It is alleged that the understating of workplace psychosocial hazards is primarily due to the perception that they present a more difficult and complex challenge when compared to other health and safety issues. Others, however, allege it is the paucity of awareness about psychosocial hazards and their alleviation that explains their relative neglect. The other researchers focused that following global trends, it is believed that psychosocial hazards must be minimized within our workplaces and that there is a requirement for workplace interventions to reduce psychological harm and promote mental health for all the workman employees to achieve zero harm. In common, this literature review compares various results of the individual studies on their research methods and finding to fill gaps.

Keywords: mental health wellbeing, occupational health, psychosocial hazards, safety culture, safety management systems, workman employee, workplace safety

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Authors: Mohammad Hossain Mohammadi, Saif Al Ameri, Sana Ziaei, Jinane Mounsef

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Automated enumeration of the number of hand fingers is widely used in several motion gaming and distance control applications, and is discussed in several published papers as a starting block for hand recognition systems. The automated finger enumeration technique should not only be accurate, but also must have a fast response for a moving-picture input. The high performance of video in motion games or distance control will inhibit the program’s overall speed, for image processing software such as Matlab need to produce results at high computation speeds. Since an automated finger enumeration with minimum error and processing time is desired, a comparative study between two finger enumeration techniques is presented and analyzed in this paper. In the pre-processing stage, various image processing functions were applied on a real-time video input to obtain the final cleaned auto-cropped image of the hand to be used for the two techniques. The first technique uses the known morphological tool of skeletonization to count the number of skeleton’s endpoints for fingers. The second technique uses a radial distance method to enumerate the number of fingers in order to obtain a one dimensional hand representation. For both discussed methods, the different steps of the algorithms are explained. Then, a comparative study analyzes the accuracy and speed of both techniques. Through experimental testing in different background conditions, it was observed that the radial distance method was more accurate and responsive to a real-time video input compared to the skeletonization method. All test results were generated in Matlab and were based on displaying a human hand for three different orientations on top of a plain color background. Finally, the limitations surrounding the enumeration techniques are presented.

Keywords: comparative study, hand recognition, fingertip detection, skeletonization, radial distance, Matlab

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Authors: Adriane Amend, Leidiene Ferreira Santos, Daniella Pires Nunes

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The experience of assuming or caring for older persons dependents by relatives is a complex task that encompasses or affective involvement, the demand for technical activities and or psychological support. It would be necessary to understand the situations related to the caregiver, the person and the environment, which help the family difficulty, as a caregiver to lead this role. Objective: To identify the forces that drive and restrict the care process of family caregivers of the older adults. Method: Descriptive and exploratory research, with a qualitative approach, which has as a reference the Force Field Theory. Five family caregivers of older adult’s dependents residing in the city of Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil will participate. The data were collected from December 2021 to February 2022, through a semi-structured individual interview, and submitted to content analysis. Results: As forces that drive or process of caring for family caregivers were: the account of compassionate attitudes and patience of the caregiver (I); to the collaboration of the other person to the care and to the body structure of the same (Other); and the supports of other people not cared for and structural, such as adaptations in the room, read and bathroom, as in the presence of air conditioners (Environment). Among the restrictive forces of care we mention difficulties in delegating care to another person, or stress of care and other personal demands (I); imposition of the older person about care and e a transfer from bed to hip (Other); e lack of accessibility of the house and absence of air conditioning and hospital bed (Environment). Conclusion: The results show that there are driving forces with the caregiver's attitude and feelings, a bond as an idol and support for the caregiver and the environment. On the other hand, conflicting ties, absence of physical structure and daily and continuous care shifts, can significantly compromise well-being or the cycle of older adult, caregiver and care.

Keywords: caregivers, frail elderly, perception, geriatric nursing

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Authors: Yinebeb Mezgebu Dagnachew, Hwee Ying Lim, Liao Wupeng, Sheau Yng Lim, Lim Sheng Jie Natalie, Veronique Angeli

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Collagen is essential for maintaining lung structure and function, and its remodeling has been associated with respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the cellular mechanisms driving collagen remodeling and the functional implications of this process in the pathophysiology of pulmonary diseases remain poorly understood. Using a mouse model of Lyve-1 expressing macrophage depletion, we found that the absence of this subpopulation of tissue-resident macrophage led to the preferential deposition of type I collagen fibers around the alveoli and bronchi in the steady state. Further analysis by polarized light microscopy revealed that the collagen fibers accumulating in the lungs depleted of Lyve-1+ macrophages were thicker and crosslinked. A decrease in MMP-9 gene expression and proteolytic activity, together with an increase in Col1a1, Timp-3 and Lox gene expression, accompanied the collagen alterations. Next, we investigated the effect of the collagen remodeling on the pathophysiology of COPD and airway function in mouse lacking Lyve-1+ macrophage exposed chronically to cigarette smoke (CS), a well-established animal model of COPD. We showed that the deposition of collagen protected mouse against the destruction of alveoli (emphysema) and bronchi thickening after CS exposure and prevented loss of airway function. Thus, we demonstrate that interstitial Lyve-1+ macrophages regulate the composition, amount, and architecture of the collagen network in the lungs and that such collagen remodeling functionally impacts the development of COPD. This study further supports the potential of targeting collagen as a promising approach to treating respiratory diseases.

Keywords: lung, extracellular matrix, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, matrix metalloproteinases, collagen

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Authors: Sahar Javadi-Novashnagh, Mohammad Moradi-Shahrbabak, Mostafa Sadeghi, Katarzyna Ropka-Molik, Hossein Moradi-Shahrbabak, Maria Consuelo Mura

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The objective of this study was to investigate two single nucleotide polymorphisms located in exon 2 (g.939A > G) and intron 3 (g.4349A > G) of fatty acid binding protein 3 (FABP3) gene in two Iranian sheep breeds, Lori-Bakhtiari and Zel, using polymerase chain reaction -restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) approach. The association of the polymorphisms with growth traits and blood parameters was also examined. Results revealed a g.939A > G SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) in the exon 2 exhibiting three genotypes: AA, AG, and GG. Statistical analysis indicated that this polymorphism significantly influenced blood triglyceride (P < 0.05) and cholesterol (P < 0.08) levels as well as weaning weight (P < 0.05). Animals with AG genotype had the highest blood triglyceride level and weaning weight while the highest amount of blood cholesterol was observed in animals with GG genotype. On the other hand, no significant effect was observed on birth and fat-tail weight traits. The intron 3 (g.4349A > G) was monomorphic across the studied samples. Lori-Bakhtiari breed showed significantly higher blood triglyceride and cholesterol levels, as also birth and weaning weight compared to Zel breed (P < 0.01). Considering that the literature is bereft of any report on the association study between FABP3 SNPs and sheep growth traits and blood parameters, our findings suggest that the investigated polymorphism might be one of the main genetic factors affecting growth and physiological traits in sheep.

Keywords: FABP3 gene, fatness, weaning weight, blood triglyceride, cholesterol, Zel, Lori-Bakhtiari

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Authors: Caroline Rocco, Feyza Karasu, Céline Croutxé-Barghorn, Xavier Allonas, Maxime Lecompère, Gérard Riess, Yujing Zhang, Catarina Esteves, Leendert van der Ven, Rolf van Benthem Gijsbertus de With

Abstract:

Acrylates are widely used in UV-curing technology. Their high reactivity can, however, limit their conversion due to early vitrification. In addition, the free radical photopolymerization is known to be sensitive to oxygen inhibition leading to tacky surfaces. Although epoxides can lead to full polymerization, they are sensitive to humidity and exhibit low polymerization rate. To overcome the intrinsic limitations of both classes of monomers, Interpenetrating Polymer Networks (IPNs) can be synthesized. They consist of at least two cross linked polymers which are permanently entangled. They can be achieved under thermal and/or light induced polymerization in one or two steps approach. IPNs can display homogeneous to heterogeneous morphologies with various degrees of phase separation strongly linked to the monomer miscibility and also synthesis parameters. In this presentation, we synthesize UV-cured methacrylate - epoxide based IPNs with different chemical compositions in order to get a better understanding of their formation and phase separation. Miscibility before and during the photopolymerization, reaction kinetics, as well as mechanical properties and morphology have been investigated. The key parameters controlling the morphology and the phase separation, namely monomer miscibility and synthesis parameters have been identified. By monitoring the stiffness changes on the film surface, atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) gave, in conjunction with polymerization kinetic profiles and thermomechanical properties, explanations and corroborated the miscibility predictions. When varying the methacrylate / epoxide ratio, it was possible to move from a miscible and highly-interpenetrated IPN to a totally immiscible and phase-separated one.

Keywords: investigation of properties and morphology, kinetics, phase separation, UV-cured IPNs

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Authors: Xiao-Yan Li, Takashi Hashimoto, Guanhong Li, Shuo Yang

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In Japanese, onomatopoeia is an important element in the lively expression of feelings and experiences. It is very difficult for students of Japanese to acquire onomatopoeia, especially, its nuances. In this paper, based on traditional L2 learning theories, we propose a new method to improve the efficiency of teaching the nuances – both explicit and tacit - to non-native speakers of Japanese. The method for teaching the tacit nuances of onomatopoeia consists of three elements. First is to teach the formal rules representing the explicit nuances of onomatopoeic words. Second is to have the students create new onomatopoeic words by utilizing those formal rules. The last element is to provide feedback by evaluating the onomatopoeias created. Our previous study used five-grade relative estimation. However students were confused about the five-grade system, because they could not understand the evaluation criteria only based on a figure. In this new system, then, we built an evaluation database through native speakers’ narrative interpretation. We asked Japanese native speakers to describe their awareness of the nuances of onomatopoeia in writing. Then they voted on site and defined priorities for showing to learners on the system. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and the learning system, we conducted a preliminary experiment involving two groups of subjects. While Group A got feedback about the appropriateness of their onomatopoeic constructions from the native speakers’ narrative interpretation, Group B got feedback just in the form of the five-grade relative estimation. A questionnaire survey administered to all of the learners clarified our learning system availability and also identified areas that should be improved. Repetitive learning of word-formation rules, creating new onomatopoeias and gaining new awareness from narrative interpretation is the total process used to teach the explicit and tacit nuances of onomatopoeia.

Keywords: onomatopoeia, tacit nuance, narrative interpretation, e-learning system, second language teaching

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Authors: Dheyaa Hussein, Peter Armstrong

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The phenomenon of visual disorder is prominent in contemporary townscapes. This paper provides a theoretical framework for the assessment of visual consistency in townscape in order to achieve more favourable outcomes for users. In this paper, visual consistency refers to the amount of similarity between adjacent components of townscape. The paper investigates parameters which relate to visual consistency in townscape, explores the relationships between them and highlights their significance. The paper uses arithmetic methods from outside the domain of urban design to enable the establishment of an objective approach of assessment which considers subjective indicators including users’ preferences. These methods involve the standard of deviation, colour distance and the distance between points. The paper identifies urban space as a key representative of the visual parameters of townscape. It focuses on its two components, geometry and colour in the evaluation of the visual consistency of townscape. Accordingly, this article proposes four measurements. The first quantifies the number of vertices, which are points in the three-dimensional space that are connected, by lines, to represent the appearance of elements. The second evaluates the visual surroundings of urban space through assessing the location of their vertices. The last two measurements calculate the visual similarity in both vertices and colour in townscape by the calculation of their variation using methods including standard of deviation and colour difference. The proposed quantitative assessment is based on users’ preferences towards these measurements. The paper offers a theoretical basis for a practical tool which can alter the current understanding of architectural form and its application in urban space. This tool is currently under development. The proposed method underpins expert subjective assessment and permits the establishment of a unified framework which adds to creativity by the achievement of a higher level of consistency and satisfaction among the citizens of evolving townscapes.

Keywords: townscape, urban design, visual assessment, visual consistency

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Authors: Sofia Sutera

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Despite the introduction of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda in 2000, thanks to the UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions, and the clear stance of the UN towards the support of increased participation of women in peace and security processes, women’s leadership in this context remains very low. Considering specifically the framework of peacekeeping operations, the aim of this paper is to analyze the way women’s leadership is constructed in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). In the context of the WPS Agenda, Sweden has been chosen as a case study because of the relevance of its singular feminist policies (the statement in 2014 from Wallström, previous and current Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, that Sweden is pursuing a feminist foreign policy is a clear example). Moreover, the SAF adopted in 2016 the Handbok Gender. This policy addresses explicitly the gender perspective embraced by the Swedish military institution, a sui-generis organization even in the Scandinavian reality. Indeed, the SAF has assumed a clear commitment to represent its institution as gender aware and gender equal. The theoretical perspective utilized in this research, which focuses specifically on women, is feminism and particularly a feminist constructivist approach, with an institutional focus on the military institution, has been chosen. Taking into account the specificity of the feminist research, the above-mentioned gender policy has been examined by means of a critical discourse analysis (CDA) whose main aim is to investigate the social structures of discourse and the power relationships inherent to it. Thus, CDA appears to be quite relevant in order to understand the construction of women’s leadership in the Handbok Gender. Nevertheless, even in a country which officially identifies as feminist and which is characterized by a peculiar military institution, the conclusions of this analysis revealed that women’s leadership in peacekeeping operations remains very low.

Keywords: feminism, peacekeeping operations, swedish armed forces, UNSCR 1325, women's leadership, WPS agenda

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Authors: A. B. M. Rezaul Islam, Ernur Karadogan

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Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are known for their shape memory effect and pseudoelasticity behavior. Their thermomechanical behaviors are modeled by numerous researchers using microscopic thermodynamic and macroscopic phenomenological point of view. Tanaka, Liang-Rogers and Ivshin-Pence models are some of the most popular SMA macroscopic phenomenological constitutive models. They describe SMA behavior in terms of stress, strain and temperature. These models involve material parameters and they have associated uncertainty present in them. At different operating temperatures, the uncertainty propagates to the output when the material is subjected to loading followed by unloading. The propagation of uncertainty while utilizing these models in real-life application can result in performance discrepancies or failure at extreme conditions. To resolve this, we used probabilistic approach to perform the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of Tanaka, Liang-Rogers, and Ivshin-Pence models. Sobol and extended Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Testing (eFAST) methods have been used to perform the sensitivity analysis for simulated isothermal loading/unloading at various operating temperatures. As per the results, it is evident that the models vary due to the change in operating temperature and loading condition. The average and stress-dependent sensitivity indices present the most significant parameters at several temperatures. This work highlights the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis results and shows comparison of them at different temperatures and loading conditions for all these models. The analysis presented will aid in designing engineering applications by eliminating the probability of model failure due to the uncertainty in the input parameters. Thus, it is recommended to have a proper understanding of sensitive parameters and the uncertainty propagation at several operating temperatures and loading conditions as per Tanaka, Liang-Rogers, and Ivshin-Pence model.

Keywords: constitutive models, FAST sensitivity analysis, sensitivity analysis, sobol, shape memory alloy, uncertainty analysis

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