Search results for: higher institutions

Authors: Yan Liu

Abstract:

The Gini coefficient indicates that the inequality of income distribution is rising in China. How individuals viewing the equality of current society is an important predicator of social turbulence. Perceptions of social justice may vary according to the social stratification. People usually use socioeconomic status to identify divisions between social stratifications. The objective of this study is to explore the potential influence of socioeconomic status on citizens’ perceptions of social justice in China. Socioeconomic status (SES) is usually reflected by either an SES indicator or a composite of three core dimensions: education, income and occupation. With data collected in the 2010 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this study uses OLS regression analyses to examine the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and citizens’ perceptions of social justice. This study finds that most Chinese citizens believe that the current society is fair or more than fair. Socioeconomic status (SES) has a positive impact on citizens’ perceptions of social justice, which means individuals with higher indicator of socioeconomic status prefer to believe current society is fair. However, the three core dimensions which are used to measure socioeconomic status (SES) have different influences on perceptions of social justice: First, income helps enhance citizens’ sense of social justice. Second, education weakens citizens’ sense of social justice. Third, compared to the middle occupational status, people of both higher occupational status and lower occupational status have higher levels of perceptions of social justice. Though education creates a negative influence on perceptions of social justice, its effect is much weaker than that of income, which indicates income is a determining factor for enhancing people’s perceptions of social justice in China’s market society. Policy implications are discussed.

Keywords: education, income, occupation, perceptions of social justice, social stratification, socioeconomic status

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Authors: Ondiba Hesborn Andole, Kenichi Matsui

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Women entrepreneurs in the rural areas of Kenya have continually been affected by culturally engraved gendered bias customs. This research investigates challenges and prospects of rural women entrepreneurship in Kakamega County, Kenya. We conducted the questionnaire survey and interviews among 153 women entrepreneurs in the County to better understand how traditional norms influence them in conducting or seeking small businesses. We found that Luhya customs significantly affect growth and performance of rural women enterprises. Traditional Luhya society does not recognize women’s rights to land and higher education. The Luhya traditional roles of women are limited so that, without competing with men, they need to find gender biased works through networking activities. Also, without higher education degrees, their business prospects are limited. Among the respondents, 31% had primary education and about 5% had no formal education at all. We discuss how these women may succeed in businesses under these conditions.

Keywords: chama, culture, entrepreneurs, rural women

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Authors: Kamran Baksh Soomro, Amin Talei, Sina Alaghmand

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Water scarcity has exacerbated in the last couple of decades; it is incumbent on agriculture to maximize the use of water of all qualities. The drip irrigation system practice has shown a vast increase in profit and research interests in the last two decades. However, the application of this system is still limited. The two years field experiment was conducted with three replications at Malir, Karachi (a semi-arid region) in Pakistan. The aim was to evaluate the effects of two qualities of irrigation water IT1 (EC 0.56 dS.m⁻¹) and IT2 (EC 2.89 dS.m⁻¹) on water use efficiency. To achieve the aim, bitter gourd was grown under the drip irrigation system in 2016-17. The uniformity co-efficient (UC) ranged from 93 to 96%. Water use efficiency, of 1.60 and 1.21 kg.m⁻³ under IT1 was recorded higher in season 1 and 2. Using t-test at 5% significance level, the crop yield was higher in both seasons under IT1 compared to IT2. Using pairwise t-test at 5% significance level, the parameters related with the quality of fruit, like length, weight, and diameter, were higher in IT1 than IT2 in all plants; and in both seasons. A correlational study was also conducted to observe the trends in the variables associated with both irrigation treatments for the two seasons. Results showed that most of the parameters exhibited a similar linear trend in both the seasons. The study concluded that bitter gourd crop could be grown successfully in sandy loam using drip irrigation system, supplying saline ground-water. The sustainable use of saline irrigation water should be utilized for vegetable cultivation to meet the food demand in the rural areas of Pakistan.

Keywords: uniformity co-efficient, water use efficiency, drip irrigation, ground-water, t-test, correlation

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Authors: Raziyeh Shamsi

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In this paper, we present a multiple objective linear programming (MOLP) problem in full fuzzy case and find Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA) targets. In the presented model, we are seeking the least inputs and the most outputs in the production possibility set (PPS) with the variable return to scale (VRS) assumption, so that the efficiency projection is obtained for all decision making units (DMUs). Then, we provide an algorithm for finding DEA targets interactively in the full fuzzy case, which solves the full fuzzy problem without defuzzification. Owing to the use of interactive methods, the targets obtained by our algorithm are more applicable, more realistic, and they are according to the wish of the decision maker. Finally, an application of the algorithm in 21 educational institutions is provided.

Keywords: DEA, MOLP, full fuzzy, target

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Authors: Danylo Brindak, Viktor Liashko, Olexander Chepurniy

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Despite considerable experience in implementation of the best international approaches and services within response to epidemy of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, the results of situation analysis indicate the presence of faults in this area. In 2014, Ukraine (for the first time) was included in the world’s five countries with the highest level of drug-resistant tuberculosis. The effectiveness of its treatment constitutes only 35% in the country. In this context, the increase in allocation of funds to control the epidemic of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis does not produce perceptible positive results. During 2001-2016, only the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria allocated to Ukraine more than USD 521,3 million for programs of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS control. However, current conditions in post-Semashko system create little motivation for rational use of resources or cost control at inpatient TB facilities. There is no motivation to reduce overdue hospitalization and to target resources to priority sectors of modern tuberculosis control, including a model of care focused on the patient. In the presence of a line-item budget at medical institutions, based on the input factors as the ratios of beds and staff, there is a passive disposal of budgetary funds by health care institutions and their employees who have no motivation to improve quality and efficiency of service provision. Outpatient treatment of tuberculosis is being implemented in Ukraine since 2011 and has many risks, namely creation of parallel systems, low consistency through dependence on funding for the project, reduced the role of the family doctor, the fragmentation of financing, etc. In terms of reforming approaches to health system financing, which began in Ukraine in late 2016, NGO Infection Control in Ukraine conducted piloting of a new, motivating method of remuneration of employees in primary health care. The innovative aspect of this funding mechanism is cost according to results of treatment. The existing method of payment on the basis of the standard per inhabitant (per capita ratio) was added with motivating costs according to results of work. The effectiveness of such treatment of TB patients at the outpatient stage is 90%, while in whole on the basis of a current system the effectiveness of treatment of newly diagnosed pulmonary TB with positive swab is around 60% in the country. Even though Ukraine has 5.24 TB beds per 10 000 citizens. Implemented pilot model of ambulatory treatment will be used for the creation of costs system according to results of activities, the integration of TB and primary health and social services and their focus on achieving results, the reduction of inpatient treatment of tuberculosis.

Keywords: health care reform, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, outpatient treatment efficiency, tuberculosis

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Authors: Klaus Froehlich-Gildhoff, Ullrich Boettinger, Katharina Rauh, Angela Schickler

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The Prevention Network Ortenaukreis, PNO, funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, aims to promote physical and mental health as well as the social inclusion of 3 to 10 years old children and their families in the Ortenau district. Within a period of four years starting 11/2014 a community network will be established. One regional and five local prevention representatives are building networks with stakeholders of the prevention and health promotion field bridging the health care, educational and youth welfare system in a multidisciplinary approach. The regional prevention representative implements regularly convening prevention and health conferences. On a local level, the 5 local prevention representatives implement round tables in each area as a platform for networking. In the setting approach, educational institutions are playing a vital role when gaining access to children and their families. Thus the project will offer 18 month long organizational development processes with specially trained coaches to 25 kindergarten and 25 primary schools. The process is based on a curriculum of prevention and health promotion which is adapted to the specific needs of the institutions. Also to ensure that the entire region is reached demand oriented advanced education courses are implemented at participating day care centers, kindergartens and schools. Evaluation method: The project is accompanied by an extensive research design to evaluate the outcomes of different project components such as interview data from community prevention agents, interviews and network analysis with families at risk on their support structures, data on community network development and monitoring, as well as data from kindergarten and primary schools. The latter features a waiting-list control group evaluation in kindergarten and primary schools with a mixed methods design using questionnaires and interviews with pedagogues, teachers, parents, and children. Results: By the time of the conference pre and post test data from the kindergarten samples (treatment and control group) will be presented, as well as data from the first project phase, such as qualitative interviews with the prevention coordinators as well as mixed methods data from the community needs assessment. In supporting this project, the Federal Ministry aims to gain insight into efficient components of community prevention and health promotion networks as it is implemented and evaluated. The district will serve as a model region, so that successful components can be transferred to other regions throughout Germany. Accordingly, the transferability to other regions is of high interest in this project.

Keywords: childhood research, health promotion, physical health, prevention network, psychological well-being, social inclusion

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Authors: N. Aliyu, G. Atkinson, N. Stannard

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Compacted insulated iron powder is a key material in high volume electric motors manufacturing. It offers high production rates, dimensionally stable components, and low scrap volumes. It is the aim of this paper to develop a three-phase compact single sided concentrated winding axial flux PM motor with soft magnetic composite (SMC) core for reducing core losses and cost. To succeed the motor would need to be designed in such a way as to exploit the isotropic magnetic properties of the material and open slot constructions with surface mounted PM for higher speed up to 6000 rpm, without excessive rotor losses. Higher fill factor up to 70% was achieved by compacting the coils, which offered a significant improvement in performance. A finite-element analysis was performed for accurate parameters calculation and the simulation results are thoroughly presented and agree with the theoretical calculations very well.

Keywords: SMC core, axial gap motor, high efficiency, torque

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Authors: Xiaojing Wang, Ann-Marie Ward, Tony Wall

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The problem of over-indebtedness has increased since deregulation of the banking industry in the 1980s, and now it has become a major problem for most countries in Europe, including Germany. Consumer debt issues have attracted not only the attention of academics but also government and debt counselling institutions. Overall, this research aims to contribute to the knowledge gap regarding the causes of consumer over-indebtedness in Germany and to develop predictive models for assessing consumer over-indebtedness risk at consumer level. The situation of consumer over-indebtedness is serious in Germany. The relatively high level of social welfare support in Germany suggests that consumer debt problems are caused by other factors, other than just over-spending and income volatility. Prior literature suggests that the overall stability of the economy and level of welfare support for individuals from the structural environment contributes to consumers’ debt problems. In terms of cultural influence, the conspicuous consumption theory in consumer behaviour suggests that consumers would spend more than their means to be seen as similar profiles to consumers in a higher socio-economic class. This results in consumers taking on more debt than they can afford, and eventually becoming over-indebted. Studies have also shown that financial literacy is negatively related to consumer over-indebtedness risk. Whilst prior literature has examined structural and cultural influences respectively, no study has taken a collective approach. To address this gap, a model is developed to investigate the association between consumer over-indebtedness and proxies for influences from the structural and cultural environment based on the above theories. The model also controls for consumer demographic characteristics identified as being of influence in prior literature, such as gender and age, and adverse shocks, such as divorce or bereavement in the household. Benefiting from SOEP regional data, this study is able to conduct quantitative empirical analysis to test both structural and cultural influences at a localised level. Using German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study data from 2006 to 2016, this study finds that social benefits, financial literacy and the existence of conspicuous consumption all contribute to being over-indebted. Generally speaking, the risk of becoming over-indebted is high when consumers are in a low-welfare community, have little awareness of their own financial situation and always over-spend. In order to tackle the problem of over-indebtedness, countermeasures can be taken, for example, increasing consumers’ financial awareness, and the level of welfare support. By analysing causes of consumer over-indebtedness in Germany, this study also provides new insights on the nature and underlying causes of consumer debt issues in Europe.

Keywords: consumer, debt, financial literacy, socio-economic

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Authors: Cao Yuping, Li Longfei, Zhao Xingfu, Zhang Yalin

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Purpose: This study examined the effects of exposure to domestic physical violence (DPV) on children’s behavior in a community sample. Method: Ninety-three 12-16 year-old adolescents exposed to DPV were matched with 54 adolescents with no exposure to DPV based on age, gender, family composition and parental age and education level. Participation included assessment with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) by the adolescents and their parents respectively. Results: CBCL total score and anxiety/depression, social interaction problems, attention problems, delinquency, aggression and externalizing scores were significantly higher in adolescents exposed to DPV than those in controls (all ps<0.05).The CBCL total score and scores of anxiety/depression, social interaction problems, attention problems, delinquency, aggression and externalizing behaviors of boys were significantly higher in the research group than in the controls (all ps<0.05). Delinquency scores in abused adolescents were significantly higher than in DPV witnessed (p<0.05), but no other scores of CBCL were significant different. Different subtypes of behavioral problems were associated with different types of abuse. Conclusions: DPV exposure is associated with adverse behaviors in children, especially among boys. Children witness DPV alone have similar behavioral scores as the abused children. We recommend that both abused and DPV witness adolescents in Chinese communities need treatment to mitigate the effects on maladjusted behaviors.

Keywords: domestic violence, child, behavior, community, China

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Authors: V. Naciti, L. Pulejo, F. Cesaroni

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This study empirically analyzes whether the composition of the board of directors (BoD) enhances sustainability performance, in order to understand how the BoD contribute to the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their businesses. Hypotheses are developed based on the agency theory and stakeholder theory. Using a system generalized method of the moment (SGMM) two-step estimator, with data from Sustainalytics and Compustat databases for 362 firms in six regions, we find that firms with more diversity on the board and a separation of chair and CEO roles have higher sustainability performance. Moreover, our findings provide that a higher number of independent directors is negatively associated with sustainability performance. This study contributes to the literature on corporate governance and the firm’s performance by demonstrating that the composition of the board of directors contributes to a better sustainability performance: by the implementation of a particular corporate governance mechanism, it is possible to integrate SDGs in the corporate strategy.

Keywords: sustainable development goals, corporate governance, board of directors, sustainability performance

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Authors: Kaycee Bills

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Action research is a method of inquiry useful in solving social problems in social work. This study seeks to address a significant problem: higher education’s use of traditional instructional methods in social work education. Ineffective techniques, such as lecturing, fail to account for students’ variable learning needs. In contrast to traditional pedagogy, universal design for learning (UDL) is a robust framework that '[improves] and [optimizes] teaching and learning for all people' (CAST, 2018), including students with disabilities. For this project, the research team interviewed the UDL and Accessibility Specialist at their institution for two reasons: (1) to learn how to implement UDL practices in their classrooms, and in turn, (2) to motivate other faculty members at their institution to consider enacting UDL principles. A thematic analysis of the interview’s transcript reveals themes relevant to practicing UDL. Implications for future practice, as well as the researcher’s reflections on the research process, are shared in the discussion section.

Keywords: disabilities, higher education, inclusive education, universal design for learning

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Authors: Bikash Ranjan Mishra, Lopamudra D. Satpathy

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In the wake of the phenomenal surge in international business in the last decades or more, both the developed and developing economies around the world are in massive competition to attract more and more FDI flows. While the developed countries have marched ahead in the race, the developing countries, especially those of Asian economies, have followed them at a rapid pace. While most of the previous studies have analysed the role of institutional quality in the promotion of FDI flows in developing countries, very few studies have taken an integrated approach of examining the comprehensive impact of institutional quality, globalization pattern and domestic financial development on FDI flows. In this context, the paper contributes to the literature in two important ways. Firstly, two composite indices of institutional quality and domestic financial development for the Asian countries are constructed in comparison to earlier studies that resort to a single variable for indicating the institutional quality and domestic financial development. Secondly, the impact of these variables on FDI flows through their interaction with geographical region is investigated. The study uses panel data covering the time period of 1996 to 2012 by selecting twenty Asian developing countries by emphasizing the quality of institutions from the geographical regions of eastern, south-eastern, southern and western Asia. Control of corruption, better rule of law, regulatory quality, effectiveness of the government, political stability and voice and accountability are used as indicators of institutional quality. Besides these, the study takes into account the domestic credits in the hands of public, private sectors and in stock markets as domestic financial indicators. First in the specification of model, a factor analysis is performed to reduce the vast determinants, which are highly correlated with each other, to a manageable size. Afterwards, a reduced version of the model is estimated with the extracted factors in the form of index as independent variables along with a set of control variables. It is found that the institutional quality index and index of globalization exert a significant effect on FDI inflows of the host countries; in contrast, the domestic financial index does not seem to play much worthy role. Finally, some robustness tests are performed to make sure that the results are not sensitive to temporal and spatial unobserved heterogeneity. On the basis of the above study, one general inference can be drawn from the policy prescription point of view that the government of these developing countries should strengthen their domestic institution, both financial and non-financial. In addition to these, welfare policies should also target for rapid globalization. If the financial and non-financial institutions of these developing countries become sound and grow more globalized in the economic, social and political domain, then they can appeal to more amounts of FDI inflows that will subsequently result in advancement of these economies.

Keywords: Asian developing economies, FDI, institutional quality, panel data

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Authors: Oyegunle Oke, James Daramola, Oluwaseun Iyasere, Babatunde Modinat

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Wood shavings are the most common materials used as litter in commercial broiler production in many areas in Nigeria. A study was conducted to determine the effects of litter materials on organ weights, meat quality, footpad, and breast dermatitis of broiler chickens under hot humid climate. One hundred and eighty broiler chicks of marshal strains were randomly assigned to three treatments of wood shavings, maize cobs and chopped Panicum maximum as litter materials replicated four (4) times with 15 birds each in a completely randomized design. Data were collected on the relative body weights, meat quality, breast and foot pad dermatitis. The result showed that birds reared on chopped Panicum maximum had higher relative weight on the liver than those reared on wood shavings and maize cobs. Spleen and bursa of Fabricius were not significantly affected by litter materials. There was no significant effect of litter materials on meat quality. The relative weight of thigh of birds reared on chopped Panicum maximum, and Maize cobs were similar but higher than those reared on Wood shavings. Fresh breast weight of birds reared on wood shavings was higher than those reared on chopped Panicum maximum and maize cobs. It was concluded that chopped Panicum maximum could serve as a replacement for wood shavings as a litter material for broiler chickens.

Keywords: chickens, dermatitis, organs, litter materials

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Authors: Vaibhav Baliyan, S. S. Parihar

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With the rise in temperature during reproductive phase and moisture stress, winter wheat yields are likely to decrease because of limited plant growth, higher rate of night respiration, higher spikelet sterility or number of grains per spike and restricted embryo development thereby reducing grain number. Crop management practices play a pivotal role in minimizing adverse effects of terminal heat stress on wheat production. Amongst various agronomic management practices, adjusting sowing date, crop cultivars and irrigation scheduling have been realized to be simple yet powerful, implementable and eco-friendly mitigation strategies to sustain yields under elevated temperature conditions. Taking into account, large variability in wheat production in space and time, a study was conducted to identify the suitable wheat varieties under both early and late planting with suitable irrigation schedule for minimizing terminal heat stress effect and thereby improving wheat production. Experiments were conducted at research farms of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, separately for timely and late sown conditions with suitable varieties with staggering dates of sowing from 1st November to 30th November in case of timely sown and from 1st December to 31st December for late sown condition. The irrigation schedule followed for both the experiments were 100% of ETc (evapotranspiration of crop), 80% of ETc and 60% of ETc. Results of the timely sown experiment indicated that 1st November sowing resulted in higher grain yield followed by 10th November. However, delay in sowing thereafter resulted in gradual decrease in yield and the maximum reduction was noticed under 30th November sowing. Amongst the varieties, HD3086 produced higher grain yield compared to other varieties. Irrigation applied based on 100% of ETc gave higher yield comparable to 80% of ETc but both were significantly higher than 60% of ETc. It was further observed that even liberal irrigation under 100% of ETc could not compensate the yield under delayed sowing suggesting that rise in temperature beyond January adversely affected the growth and development of crop as well as forced maturity resulting in significant reduction of yield attributing characters due to terminal heat stress. Similar observations were recorded under late sown experiment too. Planting on 1st December along with 100% ETc of irrigation schedule resulted in significantly higher grain yield as compared to other dates and irrigation regimes. Further, it was observed that reduction in yield under late sown conditions was significantly large than the timely sown conditions irrespective of the variety grown and irrigation schedule followed. Delayed sowing resulted in reducing crop growth period and forced maturity in turn led to significant deterioration in all the yield attributing characters and there by reduction in yield suggesting that terminal heat stress had greater impact on yield under late sown crop than timely sown due to temperature rise coinciding with reproductive phase of the crop.

Keywords: climate, irrigation, mitigation, wheat

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Authors: Emine Aydin, Duygu Gocmen

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Pumpkin flour (PF) has a long shelf life and can be used as a nutritive, functional (antioxidant properties, phenolic contents, etc.) and coloring agent in many food items, especially in bakery products, sausages, instant noodles, pasta and flour mixes. Pre-treatment before drying is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of a final powdered product. Pretreatment, such as soaking in a bisulfite solution, provides that total carotenoids in raw materials rich in carotenoids, especially pumpkins, are retained in the dried product. This is due to the beneficial effect of antioxidant additives in the protection of carotenoids in the dehydrated plant foods. The oxygen present in the medium is removed by the radical SO₂, and thus the carotene degradation caused by the molecular oxygen is inhibited by the presence of SO₂. In this study, pumpkin flours (PFs) produced by two different applications (with or without metabisulfite pre-treatment) and then dried in a freeze dryer. The phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of pumpkin flour were determined. In addition to this, the compound of bioavailable phenolic substances which is obtained by PF has also been investigated using in vitro methods. As a result of researches made in recent years, it has been determined that all nutrients taken with foodstuffs are not bioavailable. Bioavailability changes depending on physical properties, chemical compounds, and capacities of individual digestion of foods. Therefore in this study; bioaccessible phenolics and phenolic bioaccessibility were also determined. The phenolics of the samples with metabisulfite application were higher than those of the samples without metabisulfite pre-treatment. Soaking in metabisulfite solution might have a protective effect for phenolic compounds. Phenolics bioaccessibility of pumpkin flours was investigated in order to assess pumpkin flour as sources of accessible phenolics. The higher bioaccessible phenolics (384.19 mg of GAE 100g⁻¹ DW) and phenolic bioaccessibility values (33.65 mL 100 mL⁻¹) were observed in the pumpkin flour with metabisulfite pre-treatment. Metabisulfite application caused an increase in bioaccessible phenolics of pumpkin flour. According to all assay (ABTS, CUPRAC, DPPH, and FRAP) results, both free and bound phenolics of pumpkin flour with metabisulfite pre-treatment had higher antioxidant activity than those of the sample without metabisulfite pre-treatment. The samples subjected to MS pre-treatment exhibited higher antioxidant activities than those of the samples without MS pre-treatment, this possibly due to higher phenolic contents of the samples with metabisulfite applications. As a result, metabisulfite application caused an increase in phenolic contents, bioaccessible phenolics, phenolic bioaccessibility and antioxidant activities of pumpkin flour. It can be said that pumpkin flour can be used as an alternative functional and nutritional ingredient in bakery products, dairy products (yoghurt, ice-cream), soups, sauces, infant formulae, confectionery, etc.

Keywords: pumpkin flour, bioaccessible phenolics, phenolic bioaccessibility, antioxidant activity

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Authors: Eva Nolan, Timothy Mcnichols

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Gamers spend over 3 billion hours collectively playing video games a week, which is arguably not nearly enough time to indulge in the many benefits gaming has to offer. Much of the previous research on video gaming is centered on the effects of playing violent video games and the negative impacts they have on the individual. However, there is a dearth of research in the area of non-violent video games, specifically the emotional and cognitive benefits playing non-violent games can offer individuals. Current research in the area of video game play suggests there are many benefits to playing for an individual, such as decreasing symptoms of depression, decreasing stress, increasing positive emotions, inducing relaxation, decreasing anxiety, and particularly improving mood. One suggestion as to why video games may offer such benefits is that they possess ideal characteristics to create and maintain flow experiences, which in turn, is the subjective experience where an individual obtains a heightened and improved state of mind while they are engaged in a task where a balance of challenge and skill is found. Many video games offer a platform for collaborative gameplay, which can enhance the emotional experience of gaming through the feeling of social support and social inclusion. The present study was designed to examine the effects of collaborative gameplay and flow experience on participants’ perceived mood. To investigate this phenomenon, an in-between subjects design involving forty participants were randomly divided into two groups where they engaged in solo or collaborative gameplay. Each group represented an even number of frequent gamers and non-frequent gamers. Each participant played ‘The Lego Movie Videogame’ on the Playstation 4 console. The participant’s levels of flow experience and perceived mood were measured by the Flow State Scale (FSS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The following research hypotheses were investigated: (i.) participants in the collaborative gameplay condition will experience higher levels of flow experience and higher levels of mood than those in the solo gameplay condition; (ii.) participants who are frequent gamers will experience higher levels of flow experience and higher levels of mood than non-frequent gamers; and (iii.) there will be a significant positive relationship between flow experience and mood. If the estimated findings are supported, this suggests that engaging in collaborative gameplay can be beneficial for an individual’s mood and that experiencing a state of flow can also enhance an individual’s mood. Hence, collaborative gaming can be beneficial to promote positive emotions (higher levels of mood) through engaging an individual’s flow state.

Keywords: collaborative gameplay, flow experience, mood, games, positive emotions

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Authors: Yan Lyu

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Japanese degree adverbs can be explained in different ways, which is hard for Japanese learners to comprehend. For instance, when ‘tyotto’ is used as a degree word, it can be interpreted literally or not. In the sentence ‘Ano mise, tyotto oishi yo. zehi iku to ii yo.’, ‘tyotto’ can be interpreted as a high degree contextually. Despite pragmatic factors, phonetics factors can also affect the interpretation of such ‘tyotto’. Concentrating on the pattern of ‘tyotto +adjective’, the paper aims to investigate the correlation between the interpretation of ‘tyotto’ and the phonetic factors in some specific contexts based on a listening experiment via PRAAT. It is also investigated that how the phonetic factors affect the interpretation of high degree adverbs, including ‘soutou’ , ‘totemo’ , ‘kanari’ and ‘sugoku’. In the experiment, Japanese speakers listened to sentences which were composed of degree adverbs and adjectives in different intonations and judged which degree the sentences expressed. Two conclusions can be drawn from the experiment results. Firstly, for adverbs expressing a high degree, in the pattern of ‘degree adverb + adjective’, either degree adverb or adjective is pronounced in a higher pitch, or both are highly pronounced, a higher degree can be expressed. Besides, with the insertion of geminate consonant and the extension of the vowel, the longer the duration of the degree adverb becomes, the higher degree can be expressed. Secondly, for ‘tyotto’, which expresses a low degree, the interpretation will be influenced by both phonetic and contextual factors. Phonetically, there are three factors causing ‘tyotto’ to be interpreted as a common degree or a high degree. The three factors are the high pitch of the modified adjective, the extended silence period of the geminate consonant and the change in the intonations of ‘tyotto’. In some contexts just like the comparison sentences, no matter how ‘tyotto + adjective’ is pronounced, ‘tyotto’ tends to be interpreted as a low degree literally.

Keywords: contextual interpretation, Japanese degree adverbs, phonetic interpretation, PRAAT

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Authors: Ekaterina Posokhova, Boris Gavrilov

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Priority national projects have become an essential phenomenon in the Russian Federation. Both regional and local government institutions and a significant part of the society have been involved in their implementation. The scale and multispectricity of the national projects give a reason to believe that their concept is beyond the scope of the individual state programs. The national project “environment” contains federal projects on waste management, water, and air quality, ecotourism development, and biodiversity conservation highlights the importance of the preservation and restoration of Volga River and Lake Baikal ecosystems. This study assesses the national projects according to their relativeness with the current SDGs (i.e., SGD 14 and 15), evaluates the methodology of the projects. The paper considers the peculiarities of the national projects as strategic management tools as well as the possibility of amending the project objective indicators. Conclusion on the effectiveness of NP in terms of achieving SDGs is provided.

Keywords: management, SDP, russia, conservation, law

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Authors: Sudson Sirivaidyapong, Ratthanan Sathienbumrungkit, Nongnapas Ruangpet, Nattanun Uaprayoon, Chawisa Wejjakul

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Many factors initiate mammary gland tumor in female dogs such as age, breed, sex, estrous cycle, birth control and pseudopregnancy. Those factors are mostly associated with canine sex hormone. In this study, questionnaires and direct interviews were used to collect information from owners of female dogs that had been diagnosed as mammary tumors at our veterinary teaching hospital, during January 2015 to October 2016 to compare the prevalence of mammary tumor between nulliparous and multiparous female dogs. 200 dogs (from all 212 mammary tumor patients, some were excluded because of inadequate information) were included in the study, 72.5% were nulliparous and 27.5% were multiparous. The results revealed that breed, age, birth control age and birth control methods were not different in both groups; most dogs in both groups were various purebreds, geriatric age, and low incidence of hormonal contraception while 100% of multiparous dogs and 83.7% of nulliparous dogs had been neutered at over two years old. The significant differences between two groups were the frequency of pseudopregnancy and estrus which were much higher in nulliparous female dogs. It can be concluded from our study that nulliparous dogs may be more likely at higher risk of mammary tumor compared to multiparous dogs from various factors especially, the frequency of estrus and the occurrence of pseudopregnancy which related to more times of sex hormonal contact. This study was a preliminary data for further studies to determine the other risk factors of mammary gland tumors in dogs, and to our knowledge, it is the first report on a significantly higher prevalence of mammary tumor in nulliparous female dogs than that in multiparous dogs. This finding corresponds with the study of breast cancer in women but may be from different causes and factors due to the differences in estrous physiology.

Keywords: canine, female dogs, nulliparous, multiparous, mammary tumor, prevalence

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Authors: Mohd Yussni Hashim, Mohd Nazrul Roslan, Shahruddin Mahzan Mohd Zin, Saparudin Ariffin

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Fiber cross-sectional area value is a crucial factor in determining the strength properties of natural fiber. Furthermore, unlike synthetic fiber, a diameter and cross-sectional area of natural fiber has a large variation along and between the fibers. This study aims to determine the main and interaction effects of alkali treatment conditions that influence kenaf bast fiber mean cross-sectional area. Three alkali treatment conditions at two different levels were selected. The conditions setting were alkali concentrations at two and ten w/v %; fiber immersed temperature at room temperature and 1000C; and fiber immersed duration for 30 and 480 minute. Untreated kenaf fiber was used as a control unit. Kenaf bast fiber bundle mounting tab was prepared according to ASTM C1557-03. The cross-sectional area was measured using a Leica video analyzer. The study result showed that kenaf fiber bundle mean cross-sectional area was reduced 6.77% to 29.88% after alkali treatment. From the analysis of variance, it shows that the interaction of alkali concentration and immersed time has a higher magnitude at 0.1619 compared to alkali concentration and immersed temperature interaction that was 0.0896. For the main effect, alkali concentration factor contributes to the higher magnitude at 0.1372 which indicated the decrease pattern of variability when the level changed from lower to the higher level. Then, it was followed by immersed temperature at 0.1261 and immersed time at 0.0696 magnitudes.

Keywords: natural fiber, kenaf bast fiber bundles, alkali treatment, cross-sectional area

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Authors: Natcha Ruamyat, Nichakorn Khondee

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The potential of an alkaliphilic bacteria isolated from soil in Thailand to utilized agro-industrial and agricultural wastes for the production of biosurfactants was evaluated in this study. Among five isolates, Pseudomonas mendocina NK41 used soapstock as substrate showing a high biosurfactant concentration of 7.10 g/L, oil displacement of 97.8 %, and surface tension reduction to 29.45 mN/m. Various agricultural residues were applied as mixed substrates with soapstock to enhance the synthesis of biosurfactants. The production of biosurfactant and bacterial growth was found to be the highest with coconut oil cake as compared to Sacha inchi shell, coconut kernel cake, and durian shell. The biodegradability of agro-industrial wastes was better than agricultural wastes, which allowed higher bacterial growth. The pretreatment of coconut oil cake by combined alkaline and hydrothermal method increased the production of biosurfactant from 12.69 g/L to 13.82 g/L. The higher microbial accessibility was improved by the swelling of the alkali-hydrothermal pretreated coconut oil cake, which enhanced its porosity and surface area. The pretreated coconut oil cake was reused twice in the repeated batch production, showing higher biosurfactant concentration up to 16.94 g/L from the second cycle. These results demonstrated the capability of using lignocellulosic wastes from agricultural and agro-industrial activities to produce a highly valuable biosurfactant. High biosurfactant yield with low-cost substrate reveals its potential towards further commercialization of biosurfactant on large-scale production.

Keywords: alkaliphilic bacteria, agricultural/agro-industrial wastes, biosurfactant, combined alkaline-hydrothermal pretreatment

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Authors: Ambika Roy Bardhan

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Kolkata, the City of Joy, is a greying metropolis not only in respect of its concrete jungle but also because of the largest population of 60-plus residents that it shelters among all other cities in India. Declining birth and death rates and a negative growth of population indicate that the city has reached the last stage of demographic transition. Thus, the obvious consequence has been the ageing of its population. With this background, the present paper attempts to study the demographic and socio-economic status of the elderly population in Kolkata. Analysis and findings have been based on secondary data obtained from Census of India of various years, Sample Registration System Reports and reports by HelpAge India. Findings show that the elderly population is increasing continuously. With respect to gender, the male elderly outnumbers the female elderly population. The percentage of households having one elderly member is more in the city due to the emergence of the nuclear families and erosion of joint family system. With respect to socio-economic status, those elderly who are the heads of the family are lower in percentages than those in the other age groups. Also, male elderly as head of the family are greater in percentage than female elderly. Elderly in the category of currently married records the highest percentage followed by widowed, never married and lastly, separated or divorced. Male elderly outnumber the female elderly as currently married, while female elderly outnumbers the male elderly in the category of widowed. In terms of living status, the percentage of elderly who are living alone is highest in Kolkata and the reason for staying alone as no support from children also happens to be highest in this city. The literacy rate and higher level of education is higher among the male than female elderly. Higher percentages of female elderly have been found to be with disability. Disability in movement and multiple disabilities have been found to be more common among the elderly population in Kolkata. Percentages of male literate pensioners are highest than other categories. Also, in terms of levels of education male elderly who are graduate and above other than technical degree are the highest receivers of pension. Also, in terms of working status, elderly as non-workers are higher in percentages with the population of elderly females outnumbering the males. The old age dependency ratio in the city is increasing continuously and the ratio is higher among females than male. Thus, it can be stated that Kolkata is witnessing continuous and rapid ageing of its population. Increasing dependency ratio is likely to create pressure on the working population, available civic, social and health amenities. This requires intervention in the form of planning, formulation and implementation of laws, policies, programs and measures to safeguard and improve the conditions of the elderly in Kolkata.

Keywords: demographic, elderly, population, socio-economic

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Authors: Didem Kepir Savoly, Selen Demirtas Zorbaz

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This research focuses on the unique developmental stage of university students, known as emerging adulthood, which can be filled with stressors relating to academics, career aspirations, and relationships. The impact of these factors on the wellbeing and mental health of students is not well understood and requires further investigation. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of career optimism and relationship status on the wellbeing/life satisfaction of university students. The specific hypotheses being tested are: 1) University students with higher career optimism will exhibit a higher level of life satisfaction, and 2) University students in relationships will report a higher level of life satisfaction. This research adopts a quantitative approach, utilizing scales and questionnaires to collect data from university students in Turkey. The data was collected from university students in Turkey through the administration of the Career Optimism Scale, The Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Perceived Romantic Relationship Quality Scale. The data is then analyzed using scale implementation, correlational analysis, and group comparison. One-way ANOVA, regression, and t-test analysis techniques are employed. The research findings provide insights into the relationship between career optimism and university students’ life satisfaction, as well as the influence of relationship status on their life satisfaction. The results suggest that life satisfaction was predicted by career optimism but not by relationship status. Moreover, significant relationships between life satisfaction and relationship quality were found among the university students who were in a relationship. These results can be utilized by practitioners, particularly those in counseling centers and career services at universities, to develop tailored psychoeducational and intervention programs aimed at promoting the mental health of university students.

Keywords: career optimism, relationship status, university students, wellbeing

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Authors: Choi Woo-Seok, Kim Eun-Sup, Ha Eun-Ryong

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Converter slag is used as a low-value product like a construction fill material and soil stabilizer unlike electric furnace slag and blast furnace slag. This study is fundamental research for utilizing the converter slag as the cement admixture. Magnetic separation was conducted for quality improvement of the converter slag, and it was classified according to into 3 types; SA: pure slag, SB: separated slag, SC: remained slag after separating. In XRF result, SB slag was Fe₂CO₃ ratio was higher, and CaO ratio was lower than SA. SC slag was Fe₂CO₃ ratio was lower, and CaO ratio was higher than SA. In compressive strength test for soil cement using SA, SB, SC as the cement admixture, SC slag was more effective in terms of 28days compressive strength than SA, SB slag. In this result, it is considered that the remained material (SC) after magnetic separation is available as the cement admixture.

Keywords: converter slag, magnetic separation, cement admixture, compressive strength

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Authors: Adejoke Abeni Adewumi, Eunice Opeyemi Idowu, Kehinde Sunday Ayeni, Dolapo Funmi Odeyemi

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This study examined the growth, nutrient utilization, hematology, and enzyme activities of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, juveniles (mean weight 27.69 ±0.51g) fed diets with varying levels of fermented sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam) peels (SPP), for a period of 10 weeks, in the laboratory. Five iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were formulated containing 0% (control diet), 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% SPP-maize replacements tagged diets D0, D25, D50, D75 and D100 respectively. The crude protein content of the test diets ranged from 39.04%-39.92% and crude fibre, 10.52%-11.51%. The growth response of the fish fed the four experimental diets compared favourably with the control diet, as significantly (P>0.05) higher values were observed for Mean Final Weight, Mean Weight Gain, Specific Growth Rate, Food Conversion Ratio, Protein Efficiency Ratio and Net Protein Utilization. However, fish fed diets D50 and D75 demonstrated superior growth. Carcass of fish fed experimental diets also indicated significantly higher (p>0.05) protein and lipid content compared to the initial and fish fed control diet. There was an increase in the white blood cells (WBC) and the lymphocytes as the SPP increased in the diet. The results obtained for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell volume (MCV) showed that the fish fed the diet containing 75% SPP had significantly higher (p>0.05) values of MCH (48.00 pg) and MCV (155.00 fl) than the other diets. The lipase activity of the fish fed the 100% SPP meal (0.81U/mg) was significantly higher (p>0.05) than the other diets. These results show that Clarias gariepinus could tolerate up to 75% level of inclusion of fermented sweet potato peel in the diet without any deleterious effect on growth, nutrient utilization, hematological responses and enzymatic activities. Fermented sweet potato peels can conveniently replace conventional energy sources and this could become a means of recycling massive potato peel wastes being generated daily.

Keywords: hematology, fermentation, carcass, growth, African catfish

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Authors: Susan D. Toliver

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Within the professional research literature on parenting in the United States, there is a paucity of research on parenting within the African American or Black community. Research on parenting focused on African Americans within the upper middle class, who constitute a critical and growing sector within the African American population, is all but non-existent. Research to address this void is needed. Despite the progress that has been made toward eliminating the long-standing racial divides in U.S. society, these divides persist and continue to affect different experiences and opportunity structures for White Americans versus Black Americans, including those in the upper middle class. Achievement of middle and upper middle class status of adult heads of families has generally been seen as the route to greater success and well-being for their children. While higher family class status is positively correlated with these factors, the strength of the relationship between higher social class and success and well-being is weaker for Black American families as compared to White American families. In light of the realities of racial inequality, African American parents, including those who have achieved higher status, have unique concerns for their children. African American parents, on the basis of their own experiences and their sense of the world as being highly racialized, anticipate the kinds of experiences that their children are likely to encounter as they grow and mature from childhood to adulthood and beyond. Racial discrimination and macro and micro racial aggressions are continued sources of concern for these parents. On the basis of in-depth personal interviews with upper middle class African American parents, findings suggest that the parenting goals and strategies of African American parents are influenced by the continuing significance of race as a social divide, including in higher socio-economic strata, in the United States. Black American families' parenting practices differ from those of White American families and are inclusive of the unique factors that threaten the well-being of African American children. Specifically, parenting practices are shaped by parents' fears about the racial experiences that they anticipate that their children will encounter. Parents' perceptions of parental effectiveness are linked to their ability to prepare their children for success in confronting, understanding, and contextualizing racial inequalities and aggressions. Theories of Parental Projective Care are useful in understanding the special considerations and unique parenting goals and behaviors of higher status African Americans.

Keywords: African American parenting, parental projective care, parenting effectiveness, racial socialization, upper middle class parenting

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Authors: Narjis Zehra

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After automobile revolution 1.0, we have automobile revolution 2.0 standing at the horizon, Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). While the technology is developing into more adaptable form, the conversations around its impact on our cities have already started on multiple scales, from academic institutions and community town halls, to the offices of mayors. In order to explore more the AVs impact on Urban transformation, we first inquire if cities can be redesigned or rebuilt. Secondly, we discuss expectation management for the public and policy in terms of what people think/believe AV technology will deliver, and what the current technological evidence suggests the technology and its adoption will look like. Thirdly, based on these discussions, we take Pittsburgh, PA, as a case study to extrapolate what other cities might need to do in order to prepare themselves for the upcoming technological revolution, that may impact more than just the research institutes. Finally, we conclude by suggesting a political way forward to embed urban design with AV technology for equitable cities of tomorrow.

Keywords: urban design, autonomous vehicles, transformation, policy

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Authors: Ellen A. Kalinga

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Moodle is an open source learning management system that enables creation of a powerful and flexible learning environment. Many organizations, especially learning institutions have customized Moodle open source LMS for their own use. In general open source LMSs are of great interest due to many advantages they offer in terms of cost, usage and freedom to customize to fit a particular context. Tanzania Secondary School e-Learning (TanSSe-L) system is the learning management system for Tanzania secondary schools. TanSSe-L system was developed using a number of methods, one of them being customization of Moodle Open Source LMS. This paper presents few areas on the way Moodle OS LMS was customized to produce a functional TanSSe-L system fitted to the requirements and specifications of Tanzania secondary schools’ context.

Keywords: LMS, Moodle, e-learning, Tanzania, secondary school

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Authors: Mehdi Abbasi, Shadan Navid, Mohammad Pourahmadi, M. Majidi Zolbin

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We have recently reported that melatonin as antioxidant enhances the efficacy of colonization of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Melatonin as an antioxidant plays a vital role in the development of SSCs in vitro. This study aimed to investigate evaluation of sertoli cells and melatonin simultaneously on SSC proliferation following transplantation to testis of adult mouse busulfan-treated azoospermia model. SSCs and sertoli cells were isolated from the testes of three to six-day old male mice.To determine the purity, Flow cytometry technique using PLZF antibody were evaluated. Isolated testicular cells were cultured in αMEM medium in the absence (control group) or presence (experimental group) of sertoli cells and melatonin extract for 2 weeks. We then transplanted SSCs by injection into the azoospermia mice model. Higher viability, proliferation, and Id4, Plzf, expression were observed in the presence of simultaneous sertoli cells and melatonin in vitro. Moreover, immunocytochemistry results showed higher Oct4 expression in this group. Eight weeks after transplantation, injected cells were localized at the base of seminiferous tubules in the recipient testes. The number of spermatogonia and the weight of testis were higher in the experimental group relative to control group. The results of our study suggest that this new protocol can increase the transplantation of these cells can be useful in the treatment of male infertility.

Keywords: colonization, melatonin, spermatogonial stem cell, transplantation

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Authors: Reza Vakili

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To assess the effect of different levels of soybean oil (SO: 1, 2%) and different types of pellet binders (sodium bentonite (SB), calcium lignosulfonate (Ca-Ls), and plant compounds (PC) on the pellet quality, and broilers’ performance, 480 one-day-old male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were used. The results showed that in the starter diet, the 1-PC group had the highest pellet durability index (PDI) (P<0.05). The PDI of the grower diet containing SB and PC was higher than others (P<0.05). The highest pellet hardness was observed in groups 1-SB, 1-PC, 2-SB, and 2-PC for the starter diet (P<0.05). For the finisher diet, the hardness of pellets containing SB and PC was higher (P<0.05). During the starter phase, the best feed conversion ratio (FCR) was obtained in 1-SB (P<0.05). The lowest and highest daily feed intake was observed in groups 2-PC and 1-SB, respectively, during the finisher phase. During the finisher and whole phases, the most daily body weight gain was observed in the SB group (P<0.05).

Keywords: bentonite, birds, body weight, feed processing, pellet durability, soybean oil

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