Search results for: adoption of standards

Authors: Lila Boulekbache-Makhlouf, Brahmi Fatiha

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This study was carried out with the aim of enriching fresh cheese with the food by-products, which are the leaves of shallots and the peels of potatoes. Firstly, the conditions for extracting the total polyphenols (TPP) using ultrasound are optimized. Then, the contents of PPT, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity were evaluated for the extracts obtained by adopting the optimal parameter. On the other hand, we have carried out some physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensory analyzes of the cheese produced. The maximum PPT value of 70.44 mg GAE/g DM of shallot leaves was reached with 40% (v/v) ethanol, an extraction time of 90 min, and a temperature of 10°C. Meanwhile, the maximum TPP content of potato peels of 45.03 ± 4.16 mg GAE/g DM was obtained using an ethanol/water mixture (40%, v/v), a time of 30 min, and a temperature of 60°C and the flavonoid contents were 13.99 and 7.52 QE/g DM, respectively. From the antioxidant tests, we deduced that the potato peels present a higher antioxidant power with IC50s of 125.42 ± 2.78 μg/mL for DPPH, of 87.21 ± 7.72 μg/mL for phosphomolybdate and 200.77 ± 13.38 μg/mL for iron chelation, compared with the results obtained for shallot leaves which were 204.29 ± 0.09, 45.85 ± 3,46 and 1004.10 ± 145.73 μg/mL, respectively. The results of the physico-chemical analyzes have shown that the formulated cheese was compliant with standards. Microbiological analyzes show that the hygienic quality of the cheese produced was satisfactory. According to the sensory analyzes, the experts liked the cheese enriched with the powder and pieces of the leaves of the shallots.

Keywords: shallots leaves, potato peels, ultrasound extraction, phenolic, cheese

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Authors: Shehu A. Salau, Robiu O. Aliu, Nofiu B. Nofiu

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Nigeria is among countries of the world confronted with food insecurity problem. The agricultural production systems that produces food for the teaming population is not endurable. Attention is thus being given to alternative approaches of intensification such as the use of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) technologies. Thus, this study assessed the effect of SLM technologies on food security of farming households in Kwara State, Nigeria. A-three stage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 200 farming households for this study. Descriptive statistics, Shriar index, Likert scale, food security index and logistic regression were employed for the analysis. The result indicated that majority (41%) of the household heads were between the ages of 51 and 70 years with an average of 60.5 years. Food security index revealed that 35% and 65% of the households were food secure and food insecure respectively. The logistic regression showed that SLM technologies, estimated income, household size, gender and age of the household heads were the critical determinants of food security among farming households. The most effective coping strategies adopted by households geared towards lessening the effects of food insecurity are reduced quality of food consumed, employed off-farm jobs to raise household income and diversion of money budgeted for other uses to purchase foods. Governments should encourage the adoption and use of SLM technologies at all levels. Policies and strategies that reduce household size should be enthusiastically pursued to reduce food insecurity.

Keywords: agricultural practices, coping strategies, farming households, food security, SLM technologies, logistic regression

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Authors: L. L. Ivy-Yap, H. A. Bekhet

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As the Malaysian residential electricity consumption continued to increase rapidly, effective energy policies, which address factors affecting residential electricity consumption, is urgently needed. This study attempts to investigate the relationship between residential electricity consumption (EC), real disposable income (Y), price of electricity (Pe) and population (Po) in Malaysia for 1978-2011 periods. Unlike previous studies on Malaysia, the current study focuses on the residential sector, a sector that is important for the contemplation of energy policy. The Phillips-Perron (P-P) unit root test is employed to infer the stationary of each variable while the bound test is executed to determine the existence of co-integration relationship among the variables, modeled in an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) framework. The CUSUM and CUSUM of squares tests are applied to ensure the stability of the model. The results suggest the existence of long-run equilibrium relationship and bidirectional Granger causality between EC and the macroeconomic variables. The empirical findings will help policy makers of Malaysia in developing new monitoring standards of energy consumption. As it is the major contributing factor in economic growth and CO2 emission, there is a need for more proper planning in Malaysia to attain future targets in order to cut emissions.

Keywords: co-integration, elasticity, granger causality, Malaysia, residential electricity consumption

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Authors: R. N. Begum, Ambalika Sharma, G. K. Singh

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Identity theft has serious ramifications beyond data and personal information loss. This necessitates the implementation of robust and efficient user identification systems. Therefore, automatic biometric recognition systems are the need of the hour, and ECG-based systems are unquestionably the best choice due to their appealing inherent characteristics. The CNNs are the recent state-of-the-art techniques for ECG-based user identification systems. However, the results obtained are significantly below standards, and the situation worsens as the number of users and types of heartbeats in the dataset grows. As a result, this study proposes a highly accurate and resilient ECG-based person identification system using CNN's dense learning framework. The proposed research explores explicitly the calibre of dense CNNs in the field of ECG-based human recognition. The study tests four different configurations of dense CNN which are trained on a dataset of recordings collected from eight popular ECG databases. With the highest FAR of 0.04 percent and the highest FRR of 5%, the best performing network achieved an identification accuracy of 99.94 percent. The best network is also tested with various train/test split ratios. The findings show that DenseNets are not only extremely reliable but also highly efficient. Thus, they might also be implemented in real-time ECG-based human recognition systems.

Keywords: Biometrics, Dense Networks, Identification Rate, Train/Test split ratio

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Authors: S. M. Ali, A. Salam Khan, A. U. Khan, M. Tariq, M. S. Hussain, B. A. Abbasi, I. Hussain, U. Farid

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Environment and surrounding plays a pivotal rule in structuring life-style of the consumers. Living standards intern effect the energy consumption of the consumers. In smart grid paradigm, climate drifts, weather parameter and green environmental directly relates to the energy profiles of the various consumers, such as residential, commercial and industrial. Considering above factors helps policy in shaping utility load curves and optimal management of demand and supply. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop correlation models of load and weather parameters and critical analysis of the factors effecting energy profiles of smart grid consumers. In this paper, we elaborated various environment and weather parameter factors effecting demand of consumers. Moreover, we developed correlation models, such as Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall, an inter-relation between dependent (load) parameter and independent (weather) parameters. Furthermore, we validated our discussion with real-time data of Texas State. The numerical simulations proved the effective relation of climatic drifts with energy consumption of smart grid consumers.

Keywords: climatic drifts, correlation analysis, energy consumption, smart grid, weather parameter

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Authors: Coulibaly Fatoumata, Seme Kpassi, Aboly Nicolas, Ccoulibaly Zonzereke

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Introduction and Objective: Microbial resistance is nowadays a major public health problem. In the perspective of a better understanding of the resistance of ticks against acaricides, a study was conducted in the Department of Korhogo. The general objective was to verify the knowledge and skills of breeders on the use of acaricides and contribute to reducing the impact of ticks on livestock productivity. Methodology: To carry out the work, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using elaborate questionnaires, followed by specific interviews with livestock stakeholders in the Korhogo sub-prefecture. Results: The results showed that in the study area, cattle breeders, the majority of whom (58.06%) are Ivorians, use anti-ticks without strict compliance with recommendations of the instructions and standards for use. 68% of them performed under-dosed treatments, and 32% an over-dosed treatment. The most common method for treating cattle against ticks was spraying. Conclusion: Despite the use of tick repellents by these breeders, tick-borne diseases still persist. This could be explained by the misuse of the products (under dosage and overdose), which can cause harmful effects or even resistance of certain ticks. It is, therefore important to respect the normal dosage of the products used as well as the methods of use (bath, spray, pour-on, etc.). In order to minimize the problems of resistance, awareness is necessary among breeders for the proper use of acaricidal products as well as all other drugs.

Keywords: ticks, resistance, anti-tick, cattle, korhogo

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Authors: Tanvir Hasan, Minhaz Uddin, Anwar Sadat Anik

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A pressurizer is a safety-related reactor component that maintains the reactor operating pressure to guarantee safety. Its structure is usually made of high thermal and pressure resistive material. The mechanical structure of these components should be maintained in all working settings, including transient to severe accidents conditions. The goal of this study is to examine the structural integrity and stress of the pressurizer in order to ensure its design integrity towards transient situations. For this, the finite element method (FEM) was used to analyze the mechanical stress on pressurizer components in this research. ANSYS MECHANICAL tool was used to analyze a 3D model of the pressurizer. The material for the body and safety relief nozzle is selected as low alloy steel i.e., SA-508 Gr.3 Cl.2. The model was put into ANSYS WORKBENCH and run under the boundary conditions of (internal Pressure, -17.2 MPa, inside radius, -1348mm, the thickness of the shell, -127mm, and the ratio of the outside radius to an inside radius, - 1.059). The theoretical calculation was done using the formulas and then the results were compared with the simulated results. When stimulated at design conditions, the findings revealed that the pressurizer stress analysis completely fulfilled the ASME standards.

Keywords: pressurizer, stress analysis, finite element method, nuclear reactor

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Authors: Joshua I. Izegaegbe, Femi F. Oloye, Catherine E. Nasiru

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This study determined the level of manganese, zinc, copper, and nickel in the liver and muscle of the African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus from Ilushi River, Edo State, Nigeria with a view to determining the extent of contamination. Heavy metal determination of digested fish samples was done using the atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. The results show that the muscles and livers were contaminated to varying levels with the presence of some non-metallic elements. The heavy metal load revealed that zinc had the highest mean concentration of 0.217±0.008µg/g in liver and 0.130±0.006µg/g in muscle, while copper recorded the least concentration in liver 0.063±0.004µg/g and 0.027±0.003µg/gin muscle. The distribution of the heavy metals in the muscles and livers of Clarias gariepinus showed significant variations and the results also revealed that the concentration of heavy metals (Zn, Cu,Ni and Mn) found in the liver was higher than those found in the muscle. This indicates that the liver is a better accumulator of heavy metal in Clarias gariepinus than the muscles. On comparison with WHO/FAO/FEPA/USFDA standards, the study shows that the concentrations of heavy metals in liver and muscle were within permissible limits safe for human consumption.

Keywords: clarias gariepinus, heavy metals, liver, muscle

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Authors: Samal Abzhanova, Saule Mussabekova

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Today, a new system of education is being created in Kazakhstan in order to develop the system of education and to satisfy the world class standards. For this purpose, there have been established new requirements and responsibilities to the instructors. Students should not be limited with providing only theoretical knowledge. Also, they should be encouraged to be competitive, to think creatively and critically. Moreover, students should be able to implement these skills into practice. These issues could be resolved through the permanent improvement of teaching methods. Therefore, a specialist who teaches the languages should use up-to-date methods and introduce new technologies. The result of the investigation suggests that an interactive teaching method is one of the new technologies in this field. This paper aims to provide information about implementing new technologies in the process of teaching language. The paper will discuss about necessity of introducing innovative technologies and the techniques of organizing interactive lessons. At the same time, the structure of the interactive lesson, conditions, principles, discussions, small group works and role-playing games will be considered. Interactive methods are carried out with the help of several types of activities, such as working in a team (with two or more group of people), playing situational or role-playing games, working with different sources of information, discussions, presentations, creative works and learning through solving situational tasks and etc.

Keywords: interactive education, interactive methods, system of education, teaching a language

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Authors: Chandan Deep Singh, Jaimal Singh Khamba, Harleen Kaur

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Eminence, charge, deliverance, modernism, and awareness underlie most manufacturing strategic plan today. Firms have traditionally pursued the above tasks through the implementation of advanced technologies and manufacturing practices, such as Reverse Engineering, Value Engineering, worker empowerment, etc. Recent developments in industry suggest the materialization of another route to manufacturing brilliance, that is, there is an increasing focus by industry regulators and professional bodies on the need to stimulate innovation in a broad range of manufacturing competencies. By ‘competencies’ we mean the methods, equipment and expertise that can be developed as a leading capability in one market sector or application and have real potential to be applied successfully across other sectors or applications as well. Further, competencies are the ability to apply or use a set of related knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform 'critical work functions' or tasks in a defined work setting. Competencies often serve as the basis for skill standards that specify the level of knowledge, skills, and abilities required for success in the workplace as well as potential measurement criteria for assessing competency attainment. The present research is so designed to come up to the level of the expectations of the industrialists, policy makers, designers of the competencies, specially, the manufacturing competencies upon which the whole strategic success of the industry depends.

Keywords: manufacturing competency, strategic success, manufacturing excellence, competitive strategy

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Authors: Laura C. Solzbacher, Caja Thimm

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Journalists worldwide have been confronted with a variety of ethical challenges over the last years. Because of massive changes in media technology and the public sphere, especially online journalism has trouble to uphold the fundamental values of journalism. In particular, the increasing amount of fake news and hate speech puts journalists under more and more pressure. In order to understand better how journalists judge this development and how they adapt in their daily work, a survey with journalists in Germany was carried out. 303 professional journalists participated in an online questionnaire. Results show that 65% underline that economic pressure grows and nearly the same number describe a change in the role of journalists in society. Furthermore, 61% agree that they put more time into research to secure their work against accusations of fabricating fake news. Interestingly, over 60% see a change in the role of journalists in society. The majority (85%) confirms that print journalism has to give way for online platforms and that the influence of social media for journalism grows (75%). Half of the surveyed advocate for more personalized public activism on part of journalists, such as appearance in talk shows and public talks. The results of the study will be discussed in light of the ongoing debate on ethical standards as a condition for a sustainable and trustworthy digital public sphere.

Keywords: ethics, fake news, journalism, public sphere

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Authors: Emanuel Koseos

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Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) refers to making decisions that are based on historical data in order to inform practice, develop strategies and implement policies that benefit organizational settings. In educational technology, DDDM facilitates the implementation of differential educational learning approaches such as Educational Data Mining (EDM) and Competency-Based Education (CBE), which commonly target university classrooms. There is a current need for DDDM models applied to middle and secondary schools from a concern for assessing the needs, progress and performance of students and educators with respect to regional standards, policies and evolution of curriculums. To address these concerns, we propose a DDDM reference model developed using educational key process initiatives as inputs to a machine learning framework implemented with statistical software (SAS, R) to provide a best-practices, complex-free and automated approach for educators at their regional level. We assessed the efficiency of the model over a six-year period using data from 45 schools and grades K-12 in the Langley, BC, Canada regional school district. We concluded that the model has wider appeal, such as business learning systems.

Keywords: competency-based learning, data-driven decision making, machine learning, secondary schools

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Authors: Prosper Tafadzwa Denhere, Ephias Ruhode, Munyaradzi Zhou

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Health Information Systems (HISs) interoperability is emerging to be the future of modern healthcare systems Enterprise Architecture (EA), where healthcare entities are seamlessly interconnected to share healthcare data. The reality that the healthcare industry has been characterised by an influx of fragmented stand-alone e-Health systems, which present challenges of healthcare information sharing across platforms, desires much attention for systems integration efforts. The lack of an EA conceptual framework resultantly crates the need for investigating an ideal solution to the objective of Health Information Systems interoperability development assessment. The study takes a qualitative exploratory approach through a design science research context. The research aims to study the various themes withdrawn from the literature that can help in the assessment of interoperable HISs development through a literature study. Themes derived from the study include HIS needs, HIS readiness, HIS constraints, and HIS technology integration elements and standards tied to the EA development architectural layers of The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) as an EA development methodology. Eventually, the themes were conceptualised into a framework reviewed by two experts. The essence of the study was to provide a framework within which interoperable EA of HISs should be developed.

Keywords: enterprise architecture, eHealth, health information systems, interoperability

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Authors: Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo

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Television is one of humanity’s most important means of communication, a channel through which societal norms and values can be transferred to youths. The imagination created by foreign television programmes ultimately leads to strong emotional responses. Though some foreign films and programmes are educational in nature, the view that the majority of them are inimical to the youths’ positive-believe-system is rife. This has been occasioned by the adoption of repugnant alien cultures, imitation of vulgar slangs, weird hairdo and most visibly an adjustment in values. This study theoretically approaches two research questions: do youths act out the life style of characters seeing in foreign films? Is moral decadence, indiscipline, and vulgar habits being the results of the contents of foreign programmes and films? To establish the basis for relating foreign films watched to social vices as violence, sexual pervasiveness, cultural and traditional moral pollution on youths; Observational learning Theory and Reinnforcement Theory were utilized to answer the research questions and established the effect of foreign films content on youths. We conclude that constant showcasing of violent themes was highly responsible for the upsurge in social vices prevalent among the youths and can destroy the basis of the societal, cultural orientation. Recommendations made range from the need for government to halt the importation of foreign films not censored; the need for local films to portray more positive messages and the need for concrete steps to be taken to eradicate or minimise the use of programme capable of exerting negative influence.

Keywords: media (television), moral decadence, youths, values, observation learning theory, reinforcement theory

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Authors: Griaznova Svetlana, Umedov Mekhroz

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The current healthcare facilities trend is the creation of multidisciplinary large-scale centers to provide the maximum possible services in one place, minimizing the number of possible instances in the path of patient treatment. The multifunctional medical centers are mainly designed in urban infrastructure for good accessibility. However, many functions and connections define the building shape, often make it inharmonious, that greatly destroys the city's appearance. The purpose of the research is to scientifically substantiate the factors influencing the shaping, the formation of architectural solutions principles, the formation of recommendations and principles for the multifunctional medical centers' design. The result of the research is the elaboration of architectural and planning solutions principles and the determination of factors affecting the multifunctional healthcare facilities shaping. Research method: Study and generalization of international experience in scientific research, literature, standards, teaching aids, and design materials on the topic of research. An integrated approach to the study of existing international experience of multidisciplinary medical centers. Elaboration of graphical analysis and diagrams based on the system analysis of the processed information. Identification of methods and principles of functional zoning of nuclear medicine centers.

Keywords: health care, multifunctionality, form, medical center, hospital, PET, CT scan

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Authors: Kari M. Solomon

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Companies with a culture accepting of change management and performance excellence are better suited to determine their sustainability performance and impacts. A mature corporate culture supportive of performance excellence is better positioned to integrate sustainability management tools into their standard business strategy. Companies use various sustainability management tools and reporting standards to communicate levels of sustainability performance to their stakeholders, more often focusing on shareholders and investors. A research gap remains in understanding how companies adapt business excellence models to define corporate sustainability performance. A content analysis of medium-sized enterprises using corporate sustainability reports and business excellence models reveals the challenges and opportunities of reporting sustainability performance in the context of organizational excellence. The outcomes of this content analysis contribute knowledge on the resources needed for companies to build sustainability performance management systems integral to existing management systems. The findings of this research inform academic research areas of corporate sustainability performance, the business community contributing to sustainable development initiatives, and integrating sustainable development issues into business excellence models. There are potential research links between sustainability performance management and the alignment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) when organizations promote a culture of performance or business excellence.

Keywords: business excellence, corporate sustainability, performance excellence, sustainability performance

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Authors: Yan Zi, Han Xiao

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Across the globe, ICTs are influencing employment both as an industry that creates jobs and as a tool that empowers disabled people to access new forms of work, in innovative and more flexible ways. The advancements in ICT and the number of apps and solutions that support persons with physical, cognitive and intellectual disabilities challenge traditional biased notions and offer a pathway out of traditional sheltered workshops. As the global leader in digital technology innovation, China is arguably a leader in the use of digital technology as a 'lever' in ending the economic and social marginalization of the disabled. This study investigates factors that influence adoption and use of employment-oriented ICT applications among disabled people in China and seeks to integrate three theoretical approaches: the technology acceptance model (TAM), the uses and gratifications (U&G) approach, and the social model of disability. To that end, the study used data from self-reported survey of 214 disabled adults who have been involved in two top-down 'Internet + employment' programs promoted by local disabled persons’ federation in Shanghai. A structural equation model employed in the study demonstrates that the use of employment-oriented ICT applications is affected by demographic factors of gender, categories of disability, education and marital status. The organizational support of local social organizations demonstrates significate effects on the motivations of disabled people. Results from the focus group interviews particularly suggested that to maximize the positive impact of ICTs on employment, there is significant need to build stakeholder capacity on how ICTs could benefits persons with disabilities.

Keywords: disabled people, ICTs, technology acceptance model, uses and gratifications, the social model of disability

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Authors: Seyong Oh, Jin-Hong Park

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Recently, neuromorphic computing based on brain-inspired artificial neural networks (ANNs) has attracted huge amount of research interests due to the technological abilities to facilitate massively parallel, low-energy consuming, and event-driven computing. In particular, research on artificial synapse that imitate biological synapses responsible for human information processing and memory is in the spotlight. Here, we demonstrate a photosynaptic device, wherein a synaptic weight is governed by a mixed spike consisting of voltage and light spikes. Compared to the device operated only by the voltage spike, ∆G in the proposed photosynaptic device significantly increased from -2.32nS to 5.95nS with no degradation of nonlinearity (NL) (potentiation/depression values were changed from 4.24/8 to 5/8). Furthermore, the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (MNIST) digit pattern recognition rates improved from 36% and 49% to 50% and 62% in ANNs consisting of the synaptic devices with 20 and 100 weight states, respectively. We expect that the photosynaptic device technology processed by optoelectronic spike will play an important role in implementing the neuromorphic computing systems in the future.

Keywords: optoelectronic synapse, IGZO (Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide) photosynaptic device, optoelectronic spiking process, neuromorphic computing

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Authors: Ejikeme Johnson Kanu

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This research explores the environmental justice of host communities in south-eastern Nigeria whose source of livelihood has been destroyed due to oil exploitation. Environmental justice scholarship in the area often adopts Western liberal ideology from a more macro level synthesis (Niger Delta). This study therefore explored the sufficiency or otherwise of the adoption of Western liberal ideology in the framing of environmental justice (EJ) in the area which neglects the impact of colonialism and cultural domination. Mixed archival research supplemented by secondary analysis guided this study. Drawing from data analysis, the paper first argues that micro-level studies are required to either validate or invalidate the studies done at the macro-level (Niger Delta) which has often been used to generalise around environmental injustice done within the host communities even though the communities (South-eastern) differ significantly from (South-south) in terms of language, culture, socio-political and economic formation which indicate that the drivers of EJ may differ among them. Secondly, the paper argues that EJ framing from the Western worldview adopted in the study area is insufficient to understand environmental injustice suffered in the study area and there is the need for environmental justice framing that will consider the impact of colonialism and nonrecognition of the cultural identities of the host communities which breed environmental justice. The study, therefore, concludes by drawing from decolonial theory to consider how the framing of EJ would move beyond the western liberal EJ to Indigenous environmental justice.

Keywords: environmental justice, culture, decolonial, nonrecognition, indigenous environmental justice

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Authors: R. Santos Alimi

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Using time-series techniques, this study empirically tested the validity of existing theory which stipulates there is a nonlinear relationship between government size and economic growth; such that government spending is growth-enhancing at low levels but growth-retarding at high levels, with the optimal size occurring somewhere in between. This study employed three estimation equations. First, for the size of government, two measures are considered as follows: (i) share of total expenditures to gross domestic product, (ii) share of recurrent expenditures to gross domestic product. Second, the study adopted real GDP (without government expenditure component), as a variant measure of economic growth other than the real total GDP, in estimating the optimal level of government expenditure. The study is based on annual Nigeria country-level data for the period 1970 to 2012. Estimation results show that the inverted U-shaped curve exists for the two measures of government size and the estimated optimum shares are 19.81% and 10.98%, respectively. Finally, with the adoption of real GDP (without government expenditure component), the optimum government size was found to be 12.58% of GDP. Our analysis shows that the actual share of government spending on average (2000 - 2012) is about 13.4%.This study adds to the literature confirming that the optimal government size exists not only for developed economies but also for developing economy like Nigeria. Thus, a public intervention threshold level that fosters economic growth is a reality; beyond this point economic growth should be left in the hands of the private sector. This finding has a significant implication for the appraisal of government spending and budgetary policy design.

Keywords: public expenditure, economic growth, optimum level, fully modified OLS

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Authors: Hamilton V. Niculescu

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Following a three year study conducted on eighteen Irish people that are involved in growing vegetables in various community gardens around Dublin, Republic of Ireland, it was revealed that addition of some automated features aimed at improving agricultural practices represented a process which was regarded as potentially beneficial, and as a great tool to closely monitor climate conditions inside the greenhouses. The participants were provided with a free custom-built mobile app through which they could remotely monitor and control features such as irrigation, air ventilation, and windows to ensure optimal growing conditions for vegetables growing inside purpose-built greenhouses. While the initial interest was generally high, within weeks, the participants' level of interaction with the enclosures slowly declined. By employing a constructivist grounded theory methodology, following focus group discussions, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and observations, it was revealed that participants' trust in newer technologies, and renewables, in particular, was low. There are various reasons for this, but because the participants in this study consist of mainly working-class people, it can be argued that lack of education and knowledge are the main barriers acting against the adoption of innovations. Consequently, it was revealed that most participants eventually decided to "set and forget" the systems in automatic working mode, indicating that the immediate effect of introducing people to assisting technologies also introduced some unintended consequences into their lifestyle. It is argued that this occurrence also indicates the fact that people initially "read" newer technologies and only adopt those features that they find useful and less intrusive in regards to their current lifestyle.

Keywords: automation, communication, greenhouse, sustainable

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Authors: S. Damapong, C. Kingkeow, W. Kongnoo, P. Pattapokin, S. Pruenglamphu

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As the presence of Thai children double burden malnutrition, we conducted a project to promote holistic age-appropriate nutrition for Thai children. Researchers developed P1-P7 computer software for managing and analyzing diverse types of collected data. The study objectives were: i) to use software to manage and analyze the collected data, ii) to evaluate the children nutritional status and their caretakers’ nutrition practice to create regulations for improving nutrition. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, called P1-P7. P1, P2 and P5 were for children and caretakers, and others were for institutions. The children nutritional status, height-for-age, weight-for-age, and weight-for-height standards were calculated using Thai child z-score references. Institution evaluations consisted of various standard regulations including the use of our software. The results showed that the software was used in 44 out of 118 communities (37.3%), 57 out of 240 child development centers and nurseries (23.8%), and 105 out of 152 schools (69.1%). No major problems have been reported with the software, although user efficiency can be increased further through additional training. As the result, the P1-P7 software was used to manage and analyze nutritional status, nutrition behavior, and environmental conditions, in order to conduct Thai Child Evaluation (TCE). The software was most widely used in schools. Some aspects of P1-P7’s questionnaires could be modified to increase ease of use and efficiency.

Keywords: P1-P7 software, Thai child evaluation, nutritional status, malnutrition

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Authors: Adem Rama, Rabiha Seboussi, Mahmoud Muhamadin, Sultan Alzarooni, Fatima Mohamed, Khuloud Al Ali

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To assess public health hazards associated with the occurrence of Antibiotics and AFM1 residues in UHT milk, a survey was carried out in Sharjah, UAE. In the present study, a total of 42 UHT milk samples analyzed were from different commercial brands manufactured in industrial dairy units in the UAE and from foreign producers. Milk samples were collected for four months (January to April 2020). The occurrence and concentration range of Antibiotics (Streptomycin and Gentamycin) and AFM1 in the samples were investigated by applying the ELISA method. According to the methodology used in this study, in total, 2 (5%) out of 42(95%) samples tested positive on the presence of AFM1. While, 1(2.4%) out of 41(97.6%) positive samples were found to contain Streptomycin and Gentamycin, respectively. The positive incidence of AFM1 in the UHT milk samples ranged from 58.8 to 1074 µg/L, for Streptomycin from up to 1004 µg/L, and Gentamycin up to 6909 µg/L. There were no positive samples found in locally produced UHT milk. AFM1 and antibiotic levels in positive samples UHT milk samples exceeded the maximum tolerable limits as set by the European Union - EC guidelines/standards. These levels in the samples show a presence of contaminants that might constitute a human health risk in Sharjah. The results of this study imply that more emphasis should be given to the routine inspection of milk and dairy products in the Sharjah region.

Keywords: milk, contaminant residues, ELISA, public health, Sharjah

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Authors: Guanghua Yu

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This article has examined the rise of the UK, US, and China at different historical times to explain the argument that it is open access in the economic sphere, as well as institutional building related to the protection of property rights, contract enforcement, financial market, the rule of law, and human resource accumulation that determine economic and human development. Both the UK, after the Glorious Revolution in the seventeenth century, and China, after its adoption of the open door policy at the end of the 1970s, follow such a path of development. The difference between the UK and China in moving toward that path is the different coordination of elites. While the coordination of elites in the UK through parliament played important roles in forcing the government to consider the wider encompassing interest in society after the Glorious Revolution, the coordination of elites in China has mainly been achieved by the Communist Party of China such that the Chinese Government has started to pay greater deal of attention to the wider encompassing interest in the country from 1978. The article has also examined the rise of the US following colonial settlement to independence and institutional building thereafter. The US case is similarly consistent with the argument that open access in the economic sphere and institutional building matter the most to economic development. More decentralized methods of the coordination of elites in the US among colonies (states), the federal governments, and other political groups similarly shaped the path towards open access in the economic sphere and institutional building. As such, open access in the political sphere plays an indirect role in development at best. If that is correct, there are possibilities that different political systems are able to achieve coordination of elites so that governments will turn their attention to development.

Keywords: open access, interconnected institutions, democracy, development

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Authors: Howard Gomwe, Eunice Seekoe, Philemon Lyoka, Chioneso Show Marange, Dennyford Mafa

Abstract:

There is arguably a lack of literature regarding body physical fitness and body composition amongst primary school learners in South Africa. For this reason, the study is aimed at investigating and accessing how body composition relates to physical fitness amongst primary school learners in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. In order to achieve this, a school-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among 876 primary school learners aged 9 to 14 years. Body composition indicators were measured and/or calculated, whilst physical fitness was evaluated according to the EUROFIT fitness standards by a 20 m shuttle run, push-ups, sit and reach as well as sit-ups. Out of 876 participants, a total of 870 were retained. Of these, 351 (40.34%) were boys, and 519 (59.66%) were girls. The average age of learners was 11.04 ± 1.50 years, with boys having a significantly (p = 0.002) higher mean age (M = 11.24; SD = 1.51 years) as compared to that of girls (M = 10.91; SD = 1.48 years). The non-parametric Spearman Rho correlation coefficients revealed several significant and negative relationships between body composition measurements with physical fitness characteristics, which were stronger in girls than in boys. The findings advocate for policymakers and responsible authorities to initiate the development of policies and interventions targeted at encouraging physical activity and health promotion among primary school learners in South Africa, especially in girls.

Keywords: BMI, body composition, body fat, children, physical fitness, primary school

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Authors: Yusuf Bala

Abstract:

The last decades of the 20th Centaury witnessed renewed hope about the birth of democracy and development in Africa the interface between democracy and development in Africa has long engaged the sustained interest of scholars and researchers across Africa. The process was actively supported by all segment of society, labour students market women, rural dweller who saw in it, the prospects of reversing the trend of political despair and in disillusionment that hither to characterized political life in Africa. The political tyranny and dictatorship while having it own clientele and beneficiaries had negative and suffocating effect on the majority of the people. The democratic aspiration of the Africa people is not only confined to the Arena of political Democracy of election and granting of civil and political rights, but it involves the demand for economic empowerment better living standards of the people and adequate social welfare indeed, for the majority of the people democracy is meaningful only when it delivers socio-economic goods. However, democracy and development have generated enormous interest no conclusive evidence seems to be shared in Africa. In the course of this research emphasis shall be made on certain issues, such as issues of corruption in democracy in Africa, ethnic conflict and democracy in Africa contribution of women to democratic practice and women participation in political arena, is still very low, democratization process and industrial relation in Africa as factor that hinder the development of Democracy in Africa, a case study of Nigeria.

Keywords: democracy, development, dictatorship, conflict, ethnicity

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Authors: Jana Atteah, Wid Jan, Yara AlHibshi, Rahaf AlRougi

Abstract:

Anyword is an AI copywriting tool that helps marketers create effective campaigns for specific audiences. It offers a wide range of templates for various platforms, brand voice guidelines, and valuable analytics insights. Anyword is used by top global companies and has been recognized as one of the "Fastest Growing Products" in the 2023 software awards. A recent study examined the utilization and impact of AI-powered writing tools, specifically focusing on the adoption of AI in writing pursuits and the use of the Anyword platform. The results indicate that a majority of respondents (52.17%) had not previously used Anyword, but those who had were generally satisfied with the platform. Notable productivity improvements were observed among 13% of the participants, while an additional 34.8% reported a slight increase in productivity. A majority (47.8%) maintained a neutral stance, suggesting that their productivity remained unaffected. Only a minimal percentage (4.3%) claimed that their productivity did not improve with the usage of Anyword AI. In terms of the quality of written content generated, the participants responded positively. Approximately 91% of participants gave Anyword AI a score of 5 or higher, with roughly 17% giving it a perfect score. A small percentage (approximately 9%) gave a low score between 0-2. The mode result was a score of 7, indicating a generally positive perception of the quality of content generated using Anyword AI. These findings suggest that AI can contribute to increased productivity and positively influence the quality of written content. Further research and exploration of AI tools in writing pursuits are warranted to fully understand their potential and limitations.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, marketing platforms, productivity, user interface

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Authors: Hassan Alsada

Abstract:

Tank overfill accidents are major concerns for industries handling large volumes of hydrocarbons. Buncefield, Jaipur, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia are just a few accidents with catastrophic consequences. Thus, it is very important for any industry to take the right safety measures for overfill prevention. Moreover, one of the main causative factors in the overfill accidents was inadequate risk analysis and, subsequently, inadequate design. This study aims to provide a full assessment in accordance with the Functional safety standard: “IEC 615 11 – Safety instrumented systems for the process industry” to the tank overfill scenario according to the standard’s Safety Life Cycle (SLC), which includes: the analysis phase, the implementation phase, and the operation phase. The paper discusses in depth the tank overfills Independent Protection Layers (IPLs) with systematic analysis to avoid the safety risks of under-design and the financial risk of facility overdesign. The result shows a clear and systematic assessment in compliance with the standards that can help to assist existing tank overfilling setup or a guide to support designing new storage facilities overfill protection.

Keywords: IEC 61511, PHA, LOPA, process safety, safety, health, environment, safety instrumented systems, safety instrumented function, functional safety, safety life cycle

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Authors: Ahmed Farouk Radwan, Sheren Mousa

Abstract:

There are many laws and regulations governing the use of new and social media in the United Arab Emirates. During the past few years, the importance of using these platforms in the fields of media and government communication has increased, as well as at the level of individual use. In 2016, the National Media Council Law was issued to regulate traditional and new media field, and gave the council the power to oversee and undertake the media affairs in the state. NMC is mandated to: Develop the UAE’s media policy, Draft media legislation and ensure its execution and Prohibited media content ,Co-ordinate the media policy between the emirates in line with the UAE’s domestic and foreign policy, Ensure support for the federation and project national unity. All media organizations in the UAE must comply with the regulations and rules issued by council. Social media influencers have to be licensed by NMC if they accept paid ads to be published on their accounts. The study explores other laws concerning of new media and social media regulations and ethics including Combatting Cybercrimes law, Combating Discrimination and Hatred law, The Government Guidelines for social media users in the UAE, The Guidelines for the practices of electronic participation and social networking, Copyright Law, and Child Rights Law. The study clarifies the legal articles, items and standards in all these laws which related with the new media and social platforms and also determines the prohibited digital practices and the cultural norms governing it.

Keywords: media laws, media ethics, new media , UAE

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Chung-Hao Wu, Tung-Dju Lin, Ming-Chin Ho, Minehiro Nishiyama

Abstract:

This paper discusses reported fire tests of concrete beams and columns, future fire tests of beam/column frames, and an innovative concept for designing a beam/column furnace. The proposed furnace could be designed to maximize the efficiency of fire test procedures and minimize the cost of furnace construction and fuel consumption. ASTM E119 and ISO 834 standards were drafted based on prescriptive codes and have several weaknesses. The first involves a provision allowing the support regions of a test element to be protected from fire exposure. The second deals with the L/30 deflection end point instead of the structural end point (collapse) in order to protect the hydraulic rams from fire damage. Furthermore, designers commonly use the measured fire endurances of interior columns to assess fire ratings of edge and corner columns of the same building. The validity of such an engineering practice is theoretically unsound. Performance-Based Codes (PBC) require verification tests of structural frames including the beam/column joints to overcome these weaknesses but allow the use of element test data as reference only. In the last 30 years, PBC have gained global popularity because the innovative design and flexibility in achieving an ultimate performance goal.

Keywords: fire resistance, concrete structure, beam/column frame, fire tests

Procedia PDF Downloads 334