Search results for: international student mobility
5309 Impact of Urban Densification on Travel Behaviour: Case of Surat and Udaipur, India
Authors: Darshini Mahadevia, Kanika Gounder, Saumya Lathia
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Cities, an outcome of natural growth and migration, are ever-expanding due to urban sprawl. In the Global South, urban areas are experiencing a switch from public transport to private vehicles, coupled with intensified urban agglomeration, leading to frequent longer commutes by automobiles. This increase in travel distance and motorized vehicle kilometres lead to unsustainable cities. To achieve the nationally pledged GHG emission mitigation goal, the government is prioritizing a modal shift to low-carbon transport modes like mass transit and paratransit. Mixed land-use and urban densification are crucial for the economic viability of these projects. Informed by desktop assessment of mobility plans and in-person primary surveys, the paper explores the challenges around urban densification and travel patterns in two Indian cities of contrasting nature- Surat, a metropolitan industrial city with a 5.9 million population and a very compact urban form, and Udaipur, a heritage city attracting large international tourists’ footfall, with limited scope for further densification. Dense, mixed-use urban areas often improve access to basic services and economic opportunities by reducing distances and enabling people who don't own personal vehicles to reach them on foot/ cycle. But residents travelling on different modes end up contributing to similar trip lengths, highlighting the non-uniform distribution of land-uses and lack of planned transport infrastructure in the city and the urban-peri urban networks. Additionally, it is imperative to manage these densities to reduce negative externalities like congestion, air/noise pollution, lack of public spaces, loss of livelihood, etc. The study presents a comparison of the relationship between transport systems with the built form in both cities. The paper concludes with recommendations for managing densities in urban areas along with promoting low-carbon transport choices like improved non-motorized transport and public transport infrastructure and minimizing personal vehicle usage in the Global South.Keywords: India, low-carbon transport, travel behaviour, trip length, urban densification
Procedia PDF Downloads 2225308 Assessing the Threat of Dual Citizenship to State Interests: A Case Study of Sri Lanka
Authors: Kasuri Kaushalya Pathirana Pahamunu Pathirannehelage
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Recent changes in the international system challenged the traditional idea of citizenship, prompting a need for a clearer definition. With the rapid globalization and shifting geopolitical dynamics, the concept of dual citizenship has emerged as a focal point of debate regarding its implications for state interests. As borders become less rigid and people identify with multiple nationalities, the traditional idea of citizenship is changing. This change is especially important given the increased connections between countries and the challenges that sovereign states face. While many countries accept dual citizenship, others are hesitant, seeing it as a potential threat to their national goals. This difference underscores the complicated relationship between national interests and the evolving concept of citizenship in the modern world. This study seeks to critically assess whether dual citizenship represents a significant threat to sovereign states by examining its effects across economic, social, and political sectors. Employing qualitative methodologies, including the analysis of published articles, reports, government acts, and a mix of primary and secondary sources, this research delves into the complexities surrounding dual citizenship. The findings reveal a nuanced landscape, showcasing both positive and negative impacts on state sovereignty and international cooperation. By exploring the tension between multinationalism and state interests, particularly through the lens of Sri Lanka’s evolving policies, this study aims to contribute valuable insights to the fields of political science and international relations, ultimately addressing the question of dual citizenship's implications for state interests. The evolving framework of dual citizenship in Sri Lanka provides a unique opportunity to examine its implications for various aspects of the nation. Specifically, this study will analyse the impact of dual citizenship on the country's economy, international cooperation, and social development. By exploring these dimensions, the research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how dual citizenship influences not only individual rights but also broader state interests and development goals within the context of globalization. It’s crucial to assess the potential threats posed by dual citizenship, as it can impact national security, economic stability, social unity, and political issues within countries. Understanding these effects is important for policymakers and researchers as they work to balance globalization with the need to protect state sovereignty. Dual citizenship presents a complex interplay of challenges and benefits to state interests, influencing critical areas such as international cooperation and state sovereignty. On the one hand, it can foster stronger ties between nations, enhance economic collaboration, and encourage cultural exchange, ultimately contributing to more robust international relationships. On the other hand, it may create tensions related to national identity, complicate governance, and raise concerns about loyalty and allegiance, which can challenge the notion of state sovereignty. As countries navigate these dual realities, it becomes essential to carefully assess and manage the implications of dual citizenship. By doing so, states can harness the potential advantages while addressing the associated risks, ultimately striving for a balance that promotes both national interests and international relations.Keywords: dual citizenship, globalization, sustainable development, nationalism
Procedia PDF Downloads 245307 Impact of Intelligent Transportation System on Planning, Operation and Safety of Urban Corridor
Authors: Sourabh Jain, S. S. Jain
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Intelligent transportation system (ITS) is the application of technologies for developing a user–friendly transportation system to extend the safety and efficiency of urban transportation systems in developing countries. These systems involve vehicles, drivers, passengers, road operators, managers of transport services; all interacting with each other and the surroundings to boost the security and capacity of road systems. The goal of urban corridor management using ITS in road transport is to achieve improvements in mobility, safety, and the productivity of the transportation system within the available facilities through the integrated application of advanced monitoring, communications, computer, display, and control process technologies, both in the vehicle and on the road. Intelligent transportation system is a product of the revolution in information and communications technologies that is the hallmark of the digital age. The basic ITS technology is oriented on three main directions: communications, information, integration. Information acquisition (collection), processing, integration, and sorting are the basic activities of ITS. In the paper, attempts have been made to present the endeavor that was made to interpret and evaluate the performance of the 27.4 Km long study corridor having eight intersections and four flyovers. The corridor consisting of six lanes as well as eight lanes divided road network. Two categories of data have been collected such as traffic data (traffic volume, spot speed, delay) and road characteristics data (no. of lanes, lane width, bus stops, mid-block sections, intersections, flyovers). The instruments used for collecting the data were video camera, stop watch, radar gun, and mobile GPS (GPS tracker lite). From the analysis, the performance interpretations incorporated were the identification of peak and off-peak hours, congestion and level of service (LOS) at midblock sections and delay followed by plotting the speed contours. The paper proposed the urban corridor management strategies based on sensors integrated into both vehicles and on the roads that those have to be efficiently executable, cost-effective, and familiar to road users. It will be useful to reduce congestion, fuel consumption, and pollution so as to provide comfort, safety, and efficiency to the users.Keywords: ITS strategies, congestion, planning, mobility, safety
Procedia PDF Downloads 1825306 Legal Study on the Construction of Olympic and Paralympic Soft Law about Manipulation of Sports Competition
Authors: Clemence Collon, Didier Poracchia
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The manipulation of sports competitions is a new type of sports integrity problem. While doping has become an organized, institutionalized struggle, the manipulation of sports competitions is gradually building up. This study aims to describe and understand how the soft Olympic and Paralympic law was gradually built. It also summarizes the legal tools for prevention, detection, and sanction developed by the international Olympic movement. Then, it analyzes the impact of this soft law on the law of the States, in particular in French law. This study is mainly based on an analysis of existing legal literature and non-binding law in the International Olympic and Paralympic movement and on the French National Olympic Committee. Interviews were carried out with experts from the Olympic movement or experts working on combating the manipulation of sports competitions; the answers are also used in this article. The International Olympic Committee has created a supranational legal base to fight against the manipulation of sports competitions. This legal basis must be respected by sports organizations. The Olympic Charter, the Olympic Code of Ethics, the Olympic Movement Code on the prevention of the manipulation of sports competitions, the rules of standards, the basic universal principles, the manuals, the declarations have been published in this perspective. This sports soft law has influences or repercussions in each state. Many states take this new form of integrity problem into account by creating state laws or measures in favor of the fight against sports manipulations. France has so far only a legal basis for manipulation related to betting on sports competitions through the infraction of sports corruption included in the penal code and also created a national platform with various actors to combat this cheating. This legal study highlights the progressive construction of the sports law rules of the Olympic movement in the fight against the manipulation of sports competitions linked to sports betting and their impact on the law of the states.Keywords: integrity, law and ethics, manipulation of sports competitions, olympic, sports law
Procedia PDF Downloads 1575305 Treadmill Negotiation: The Stagnation of the Israeli – Palestinian Peace Process
Authors: Itai Kohavi, Wojciech Nowiak
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This article explores the stagnation of the Israeli -Palestinian peace negotiation process, and the reasons behind the failure of more than 12 international initiatives to resolve the conflict. Twenty-seven top members of the Israeli national security elite (INSE) were interviewed, including heads of the negotiation teams, the National Security Council, the Mossad, and other intelligence and planning arms. The interviewees provided their insights on the Israeli challenges in reaching a sustainable and stable peace agreement and in dealing with the international pressure on Israel to negotiate a peace agreement while preventing anti-Israeli UN decisions and sanctions. The findings revealed a decision tree, with red herring deception strategies implemented to postpone the negotiation process and to delay major decisions during the negotiation process. Beyond the possible applications for the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, the findings shed more light on the phenomenon of rational deception of allies in a negotiation process, a subject less frequently researched as compared with deception of rivals.Keywords: deception, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, negotiation, red herring, terrorist state, treadmill negotiation
Procedia PDF Downloads 3075304 Language Services as a Means of Language Repository for Tuition Support and Facilitation of Learning in Institution of Higher Learning
Authors: Mzamani Aaron Mabasa
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The research study examines the reality that the Language Services Directorate can be considered a language repository hub. The study postulates that multilingual education guided by language policy implementation can improve student performance and pass rate. Various documents in the form of style guides, glossaries and tutorial letters may be used to enable students to understand complex words, sentences, phrases and paragraphs when technical vocabularies are used. This paper addresses the way in which quality assurance can transform South African official languages, including Sign Language, as mandated by the Language Policy for Higher Education. The paper further emphasizes that Language Services is unique in the sense that it involves all South African officials as tools for student support and facilitation of learning. This is in line with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the Unisa Language Policy of 2023, which declares the status, parity and esteem of these official languages regarding usage in formal function domains, namely education, economy, social and politics. The aim of this paper is to ensure that quality assurance is ultimately accomplished in terms of teaching and learning standards. Eventually, all South African languages can be used for official domains to achieve functional multilingualism. This paper furthermore points out that content analysis as a research instrument as far as a qualitative approach is concerned may be used as a data collection technique.Keywords: repository, multilingualism, policy, education
Procedia PDF Downloads 385303 Educational Knowledge Transfer in Indigenous Mexican Areas Using Cloud Computing
Authors: L. R. Valencia Pérez, J. M. Peña Aguilar, A. Lamadrid Álvarez, A. Pastrana Palma, H. F. Valencia Pérez, M. Vivanco Vargas
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This work proposes a Cooperation-Competitive (Coopetitive) approach that allows coordinated work among the Secretary of Public Education (SEP), the Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ) and government funds from National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) or some other international organizations. To work on an overall knowledge transfer strategy with e-learning over the Cloud, where experts in junior high and high school education, working in multidisciplinary teams, perform analysis, evaluation, design, production, validation and knowledge transfer at large scale using a Cloud Computing platform. Allowing teachers and students to have all the information required to ensure a homologated nationally knowledge of topics such as mathematics, statistics, chemistry, history, ethics, civism, etc. This work will start with a pilot test in Spanish and initially in two regional dialects Otomí and Náhuatl. Otomí has more than 285,000 speaking indigenes in Queretaro and Mexico´s central region. Náhuatl is number one indigenous dialect spoken in Mexico with more than 1,550,000 indigenes. The phase one of the project takes into account negotiations with indigenous tribes from different regions, and the Information and Communication technologies to deliver the knowledge to the indigenous schools in their native dialect. The methodology includes the following main milestones: Identification of the indigenous areas where Otomí and Náhuatl are the spoken dialects, research with the SEP the location of actual indigenous schools, analysis and inventory or current schools conditions, negotiation with tribe chiefs, analysis of the technological communication requirements to reach the indigenous communities, identification and inventory of local teachers technology knowledge, selection of a pilot topic, analysis of actual student competence with traditional education system, identification of local translators, design of the e-learning platform, design of the multimedia resources and storage strategy for “Cloud Computing”, translation of the topic to both dialects, Indigenous teachers training, pilot test, course release, project follow up, analysis of student requirements for the new technological platform, definition of a new and improved proposal with greater reach in topics and regions. Importance of phase one of the project is multiple, it includes the proposal of a working technological scheme, focusing in the cultural impact in Mexico so that indigenous tribes can improve their knowledge about new forms of crop improvement, home storage technologies, proven home remedies for common diseases, ways of preparing foods containing major nutrients, disclose strengths and weaknesses of each region, communicating through cloud computing platforms offering regional products and opening communication spaces for inter-indigenous cultural exchange.Keywords: Mexicans indigenous tribes, education, knowledge transfer, cloud computing, otomi, Náhuatl, language
Procedia PDF Downloads 4075302 Simple Multiple-Attribute Rating Technique for Optimal Decision-Making Model on Selecting Best Spiker of World Grand Prix
Authors: Chen Chih-Cheng, Chen I-Cheng, Lee Yung-Tan, Kuo Yen-Whea, Yu Chin-Hung
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The purpose of this study is to construct a model for best spike player selection in a top volleyball tournament of the world. Data consisted of the records of 2013 World Grand Prix declared by International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). Simple Multiple-Attribute Rating Technique (SMART) was used for optimal decision-making model on the best spike player selection. The research results showed that the best spike player ranking by SMART is different than the ranking by FIVB. The results demonstrated the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed model.Keywords: simple multiple-attribute rating technique, World Grand Prix, best spike player, International Volleyball Federation
Procedia PDF Downloads 4805301 Participants’ Perception and a Student Protest of Peking University in 2014
Authors: Ruanzhenghao Shi
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Student movements have persisted in mainland China, especially in elite universities since the Tiananmen Prodemocracy Movement, contrary to the lack of studies on them. However, the participants' repertoire, mobilization and mode of interaction with authorities are vastly different from their predecessors in the 1980s as well as their western counterparts. In most of the cases, agents, cognizant of the high cost of action and their vulnerability to the authorities, consciously curtailed certain repertoire and themes of resistance. Thus these movements, without appreciable organized force, were self-interested, fragmentally mobilized, lowly integrated and limited within the campus. This study documents the 2014 protest against Yanching Academy program at Peking University, a top-tier Chinese university that played the leading role in the 1989 protest. The 2014 case is different from abovementioned trend of submissive resistance in the last twenty years, insofar as it is a value-oriented and emotion-driven collective action with the resurgence of some repertoire. The participants perceived the university's contemporary ineffectiveness and clumsiness in control and administration, higher Party authorities' indifference to less-political themes, and an increasing number of potential advocates, including students, intellectuals and social media. It shows that resisters' perception of their relative strength to their opponents - in this case, the university and its system for controlling students - under specific circumstances, not merely political opportunities or institutional changes, stimulates the participants and thus contributes to the mobilization and organization of a collective action, even under severe social control.Keywords: collective action, China, university students, resistance
Procedia PDF Downloads 1545300 Supply and Marketing of Floriculture in Ethiopia
Authors: Assefa Mitike Janko, Gosa Alemu
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The review of supply and marketing of floriculture in Ethiopia was conducted to analyses the production potential and to know the marketing share of the country. The data was collected from secondary and primary. Ethiopia has been operating in the floriculture industry for over 20 years. As is the case in many developing countries, the major export items of Ethiopia are dominated by few agricultural products that earn very small amounts in the international market. Moreover, most of the exports are destined to only few countries. Given the highly capital intensive nature of production and processing, rose farming is not a smallholder activity. It is also important to note the extremely tightly controlled time dimension of the logistics process, given the product attributes desired and the fragility and perishability of the roses. Another characteristic of the Ethiopian floriculture sector is the lack of domestically produced inputs that flower producers can access. The export volume and value of cut-flowers accounts for a small proportion of the total exports of Ethiopia. In recent years the sector is showing improvements in terms of the quality and quantity of exports to the international market.Keywords: roses, production, value chain, floriculture, supply
Procedia PDF Downloads 3865299 Foucault and Governmentality: International Organizations and State Power
Authors: Sara Dragisic
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Using the theoretical analysis of the birth of biopolitics that Foucault performed through the history of liberalism and neoliberalism, in this paper we will try to show how, precisely through problematizing the role of international institutions, the model of governance differs from previous ways of objectifying body and life. Are the state and its mechanisms still a Leviathan to fight against, or can it be even the driver of resistance against the proponents of modern governance and the biopolitical power? Do paradigmatic examples of biopolitics still appear through sovereignty and (international) law, or is it precisely this sphere that shows a significant dose of incompetence and powerlessness in relation to, not only the economic sphere (Foucault’s critique of neoliberalism) but also the new politics of freedom? Have the struggle for freedom and human rights, as well as the war on terrorism, opened a new spectrum of biopolitical processes, which are manifested precisely through new international institutions and humanitarian discourse? We will try to answer these questions, in the following way. On the one hand, we will show that the views of authors such as Agamben and Hardt and Negri, in whom the state and sovereignty are seen as enemies to be defeated or overcome, fail to see how such attempts could translate into the politicization of life like it is done in many examples through the doctrine of liberal interventionism and humanitarianism. On the other hand, we will point out that it is precisely the humanitarian discourse and the defense of the right to intervention that can be the incentive and basis for the politicization of the category of life and lead to the selective application of human rights. Zizek example of the killing of United Nations workers and doctors in a village during the Vietnam War, who were targeted even before police or soldiers, because they were precisely seen as a powerful instrument of American imperialism (as they were sincerely trying to help the population), will be focus of this part of the analysis. We’ll ask the question whether such interpretation is a kind of liquidation of the extreme left of the political (Laclau) or on this basis can be explained at least in part the need to review the functioning of international organizations, ranging from those dealing with humanitarian aid (and humanitarian military interventions) to those dealing with protection and the security of the population, primarily from growing terrorism. Based on the above examples, we will also explain how the discourse of terrorism itself plays a dual role: it can appear as a tool of liberal biopolitics, although, more superficially, it mostly appears as an enemy that wants to destroy the liberal system and its values. This brings us to the basic problem that this paper will tackle: do the mechanisms of institutional struggle for human rights and freedoms, which is often seen as opposed to the security mechanisms of the state, serve the governance of citizens in such a way that the latter themselves participate in producing biopolitical governmental practices? Is the freedom today "nothing but the correlative development of apparatuses of security" (Foucault)? Or, we can continue this line of Foucault’s argumentation and enhance the interpretation with the important question of what precisely today reflects the change in the rationality of governance in which society is transformed from a passive object into a subject of its own production. Finally, in order to understand the skills of biopolitical governance in modern civil society, it is necessary to pay attention to the status of international organizations, which seem to have become a significant place for the implementation of global governance. In this sense, the power of sovereignty can turn out to be an insufficiently strong power of security policy, which can go hand in hand with freedom policies, through neoliberal governmental techniques.Keywords: neoliberalism, Foucault, sovereignty, biopolitics, international organizations, NGOs, Agamben, Hardt&Negri, Zizek, security, state power
Procedia PDF Downloads 2145298 Motivation, Legal Knowledge and Preference Investigation of Hungarian Law Students
Authors: Zsofia Patyi
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While empirical studies under socialism in Hungary focused on the lawyer society as a whole, current research deals with law students in specific. The change of regime and the mutation of legal education have influenced the motivation, efficiency, social background and self-concept of law students. This shift needs to be acknowledged, and the education system improved for students and together with students. A new law student society requires a different legal education system, different legal studies, or, at the minimum, a different approach to teaching law. This is to ensure that competitive lawyers be trained who understand the constantly changing nature of the law and, as a result, can potentially transform or create legislation themselves. A number of developments can affect law students’ awareness of legal relations in a democratic state. In today’s Hungary, these decisive factors are primarily the new regulation of the financing of law students, and secondly, the new Hungarian constitution (henceforth: Alaptörvény), which has modified the base of the Hungarian legal system. These circumstances necessitate a new, comprehensive, and empirical, investigation of law students. To this end, our research team (comprising a professor, a Ph.D. student, and two law students), is conducting a new type of study in February 2017. The first stage of the research project uses the desktop method to open up the research antecedents. Afterward, a structured questionnaire draft will be designed and sent to the Head of Department of Sociology and the Associate Professor of the Department of Constitutional Law at the University of Szeged to have the draft checked and amended. Next, an open workshop for students and teachers will be organized with the aim to discuss the draft and create the final questionnaire. The research team will then contact each Hungarian university with a Faculty of Law to reach all 1st- and 4th-year law students. 1st-year students have not yet studied the Alaptörvény, while 4th-year students have. All students will be asked to fill in the questionnaire (in February). Results are expected to be in at the end of February. In March, the research team will report the results and present the conclusions. In addition, the results will be compared to previous researches. The outcome will help us answer the following research question: How should legal studies and legal education in Hungary be reformed in accordance with law students and the future lawyer society? The aim of the research is to (1) help create a new student- and career-centered teaching method of legal studies, (2) offer a new perspective on legal education, and (3) create a helpful and useful de lege ferenda proposal for the attorney general as regards legal education as part of higher education.Keywords: change, constitution, investigation, law students, lawyer society, legal education, legal studies, motivation, reform
Procedia PDF Downloads 2705297 The Mechanisms of Peer-Effects in Education: A Frame-Factor Analysis of Instruction
Authors: Pontus Backstrom
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In the educational literature on peer effects, attention has been brought to the fact that the mechanisms creating peer effects are still to a large extent hidden in obscurity. The hypothesis in this study is that the Frame Factor Theory can be used to explain these mechanisms. At heart of the theory is the concept of “time needed” for students to learn a certain curricula unit. The relations between class-aggregated time needed and the actual time available, steers and hinders the actions possible for the teacher. Further, the theory predicts that the timing and pacing of the teachers’ instruction is governed by a “criterion steering group” (CSG), namely the pupils in the 10th-25th percentile of the aptitude distribution in class. The class composition hereby set the possibilities and limitations for instruction, creating peer effects on individual outcomes. To test if the theory can be applied to the issue of peer effects, the study employs multilevel structural equation modelling (M-SEM) on Swedish TIMSS 2015-data (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study; students N=4090, teachers N=200). Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the SEM-framework in MPLUS, latent variables are specified according to the theory, such as “limitations of instruction” from TIMSS survey items. The results indicate a good model fit to data of the measurement model. Research is still in progress, but preliminary results from initial M-SEM-models verify a strong relation between the mean level of the CSG and the latent variable of limitations on instruction, a variable which in turn have a great impact on individual students’ test results. Further analysis is required, but so far the analysis indicates a confirmation of the predictions derived from the frame factor theory and reveals that one of the important mechanisms creating peer effects in student outcomes is the effect the class composition has upon the teachers’ instruction in class.Keywords: compositional effects, frame factor theory, peer effects, structural equation modelling
Procedia PDF Downloads 1385296 The Analysis of Internet and Social Media Behaviors of the Students in Vocational High School
Authors: Mehmet Balci, Sakir Tasdemir, Mustafa Altin, Ozlem Bozok
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Our globalizing world has become almost a small village and everyone can access any information at any time. Everyone lets each other know who does whatever in which place. We can learn which social events occur in which place in the world. From the perspective of education, the course notes that a lecturer use in lessons in a university in any state of America can be examined by a student studying in a city of Africa or the Far East. This dizzying communication we have mentioned happened thanks to fast developments in computer technologies and in parallel with this, internet technology. While these developments in the world, has a very large young population and a rapidly evolving electronic communications infrastructure Turkey has been affected by this situation. Researches has shown that almost all young people in Turkey has an account in a social network. Especially becoming common of mobile devices causes data traffic in social networks to increase. In this study, has been surveyed on students in the different age groups and at the Selcuk University Vocational School of Technical Sciences Department of Computer Technology. Student’s opinions about the use of internet and social media has been gotten. Using the Internet and social media skills, purposes, operating frequency, access facilities and tools, social life and effects on vocational education etc. have been explored. Both internet and use of social media positive and negative effects on this department students results have been obtained by the obtained findings evaluating from various aspects. Relations and differences have been found out with statistic.Keywords: computer technologies, internet use, social network, higher vocational school
Procedia PDF Downloads 5455295 Online Public Transport Safety Awareness System
Authors: Danny Mwangi, Collins Oduor Ondiek
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Mass mobility is one of the most important characteristics of every industrialized civilization. Man must travel about in order to fulfill his commitment to putting food on his table. As a result, movement is an important part of human life. Man must travel from one place to another. This is a natural trait of humans, according to elementary science. Variables in human mobility have arisen as a result of technological advancements over time. Public transit is one of these modes of transportation. When it comes to reducing safety-related risks in the public transport system, awareness is crucial. So much so even when it comes to public transportation in Kenya. Having a system that can be able to keep users updated with real-time traffic updates on the route, they are on and also have the ability to rate drivers after a trip could go a long way in improving safety on Kenyan roads. What this proposed system is intended to accomplish is to reduce occurrences of reckless driving and give matatu drivers the feeling that they are accountable to someone and more so have the incentive to be better drivers who are motivated to follow the law and have passenger safety as a priority. The research was conducted, and the findings show that 95.2% of respondents were not satisfied with the current safety measures in the Kenyan public transport sector. This means that the chances for this system to be accepted in the market are high because it addresses a key issue. 98.8% of the respondents were of the opinion that the implementation of the proposed system would significantly increase safety measures in the public transport sector. During the research, it was clear that the main challenge 77.1% of the respondents face when using public transport is that there is no way to monitor driver safety performance, and 68.7% of the respondent believed the widespread use of unroadworthy public transit vehicles contributed to the lack of safety when using public transport. However, 77.1% of the respondents expect the benefit of creating a sense of accountability for the drivers, and 74.7% of the respondents expect the benefit of increased passenger safety. 63.9% believe that with the implementation of the system, there will be the benefit of monitoring driver performance. This shows that with the implementation of the proposed system, it will be possible to make a lot of progress in terms of making Kenyan roads safer when using public transit. According to the findings, it is recommended that this proposed public transportation safety awareness system be implemented as it will be able to address matatu passengers' safety concerns while also encouraging matatu drivers to drive more carefully. As a result, it's a project with a chance of becoming viable, marketable, and feasible.Keywords: public safety, public transportation, accountable driving, safe transportation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1075294 Shared Versus Pooled Automated Vehicles: Exploring Behavioral Intentions Towards On-Demand Automated Vehicles
Authors: Samira Hamiditehrani
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Automated vehicles (AVs) are emerging technologies that could potentially offer a wide range of opportunities and challenges for the transportation sector. The advent of AV technology has also resulted in new business models in shared mobility services where many ride hailing and car sharing companies are developing on-demand AVs including shared automated vehicles (SAVs) and pooled automated vehicles (Pooled AVs). SAVs and Pooled AVs could provide alternative shared mobility services which encourage sustainable transport systems, mitigate traffic congestion, and reduce automobile dependency. However, the success of on-demand AVs in addressing major transportation policy issues depends on whether and how the public adopts them as regular travel modes. To identify conditions under which individuals may adopt on-demand AVs, previous studies have applied human behavior and technology acceptance theories, where Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been validated and is among the most tested in on-demand AV research. In this respect, this study has three objectives: (a) to propose and validate a theoretical model for behavioral intention to use SAVs and Pooled AVs by extending the original TPB model; (b) to identify the characteristics of early adopters of SAVs, who prefer to have a shorter and private ride, versus prospective users of Pooled AVs, who choose more affordable but longer and shared trips; and (c) to investigate Canadians’ intentions to adopt on-demand AVs for regular trips. Toward this end, this study uses data from an online survey (n = 3,622) of workers or adult students (18 to 75 years old) conducted in October and November 2021 for six major Canadian metropolitan areas: Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, and Hamilton. To accomplish the goals of this study, a base bivariate ordered probit model, in which both SAV and Pooled AV adoptions are estimated as ordered dependent variables, alongside a full structural equation modeling (SEM) system are estimated. The findings of this study indicate that affective motivations such as attitude towards AV technology, perceived privacy, and subjective norms, matter more than sociodemographic and travel behavior characteristic in adopting on-demand AVs. Also, the results of second objective provide evidence that although there are a few affective motivations, such as subjective norms and having ample knowledge, that are common between early adopters of SAVs and PooledAVs, many examined motivations differ among SAV and Pooled AV adoption factors. In other words, motivations influencing intention to use on-demand AVs differ among the service types. Likewise, depending on the types of on-demand AVs, the sociodemographic characteristics of early adopters differ significantly. In general, findings paint a complex picture with respect to the application of constructs from common technology adoption models to the study of on-demand AVs. Findings from the final objective suggest that policymakers, planners, the vehicle and technology industries, and the public at large should moderate their expectations that on-demand AVs may suddenly transform the entire transportation sector. Instead, this study suggests that SAVs and Pooled AVs (when they entire the Canadian market) are likely to be adopted as supplementary mobility tools rather than substitutions for current travel modesKeywords: automated vehicles, Canadian perception, theory of planned behavior, on-demand AVs
Procedia PDF Downloads 775293 An Assessment into the Drift in Direction of International Migration of Labor: Changing Aspirations for Religiosity and Cultural Assimilation
Authors: Syed Toqueer Akhter, Rabia Zulfiqar
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This paper attempts to trace the determining factor- as far as individual preferences and expectations are concerned- of what causes the direction of international migration to drift in certain ways owing to factors such as Religiosity and Cultural Assimilation. The narrative on migration has graduated from the age long ‘push/pull’ debate to that of complex factors that may vary across each individual. We explore the longstanding factor of religiosity widely acknowledged in mentioned literature as a key variable in the assessment of migration, wherein the impact of religiosity in the form of a drift into the intent of migration has been analyzed. A more conventional factor cultural assimilation is used in a contemporary way to estimate how it plays a role in affecting the drift in direction. In particular what our research aims at achieving is to isolate the effect our key variables: Cultural Assimilation and Religiosity have on direction of migration, and to explore how they interplay as a composite unit- and how we may be able to justify the change in behavior displayed by these key variables. In order to establish a true sense of what drives individual choices we employ the method of survey research and use a questionnaire to conduct primary research. The questionnaire was divided into six sections covering subjects including household characteristics, perceptions and inclinations of the respondents relevant to our study. Religiosity was quantified using a proxy of Migration Network that utilized secondary data to estimate religious hubs in recipient countries. To estimate the relationship between Intent of Migration and its variants three competing econometric models namely: the Ordered Probit Model, the Ordered Logit Model and the Tobit Model were employed. For every model that included our key variables, a highly significant relationship with the intent of migration was estimated.Keywords: international migration, drift in direction, cultural assimilation, religiosity, ordered probit model
Procedia PDF Downloads 3105292 Investigating Links in Achievement and Deprivation (ILiAD): A Case Study Approach to Community Differences
Authors: Ruth Leitch, Joanne Hughes
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This paper presents the findings of a three-year government-funded study (ILiAD) that aimed to understand the reasons for differential educational achievement within and between socially and economically deprived areas in Northern Ireland. Previous international studies have concluded that there is a positive correlation between deprivation and underachievement. Our preliminary secondary data analysis suggested that the factors involved in educational achievement within multiple deprived areas may be more complex than this, with some areas of high multiple deprivation having high levels of student attainment, whereas other less deprived areas demonstrated much lower levels of student attainment, as measured by outcomes on high stakes national tests. The study proposed that no single explanation or disparate set of explanations could easily account for the linkage between levels of deprivation and patterns of educational achievement. Using a social capital perspective that centralizes the connections within and between individuals and social networks in a community as a valuable resource for educational achievement, the ILiAD study involved a multi-level case study analysis of seven community sites in Northern Ireland, selected on the basis of religious composition (housing areas are largely segregated by religious affiliation), measures of multiple deprivation and differentials in educational achievement. The case study approach involved three (interconnecting) levels of qualitative data collection and analysis - what we have termed Micro (or community/grassroots level) understandings, Meso (or school level) explanations and Macro (or policy/structural) factors. The analysis combines a statistical mapping of factors with qualitative, in-depth data interpretation which, together, allow for deeper understandings of the dynamics and contributory factors within and between the case study sites. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data reveals both cross-cutting factors (e.g. demographic shifts and loss of community, place of the school in the community, parental capacity) and analytic case studies of explanatory factors associated with each of the community sites also permit a comparative element. Issues arising from the qualitative analysis are classified either as drivers or inhibitors of educational achievement within and between communities. Key issues that are emerging as inhibitors/drivers to attainment include: the legacy of the community conflict in Northern Ireland, not least in terms of inter-generational stress, related with substance abuse and mental health issues; differing discourses on notions of ‘community’ and ‘achievement’ within/between community sites; inter-agency and intra-agency levels of collaboration and joined-up working; relationship between the home/school/community triad and; school leadership and school ethos. At this stage, the balance of these factors can be conceptualized in terms of bonding social capital (or lack of it) within families, within schools, within each community, within agencies and also bridging social capital between the home/school/community, between different communities and between key statutory and voluntary organisations. The presentation will outline the study rationale, its methodology, present some cross-cutting findings and use an illustrative case study of the findings from a community site to underscore the importance of attending to community differences when trying to engage in research to understand and improve educational attainment for all.Keywords: educational achievement, multiple deprivation, community case studies, social capital
Procedia PDF Downloads 3955291 Nation Branding as Reframing: From the Perspective of Translation Studies
Authors: Ye Tian
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Soft power has replaced hard power and become one of the most attractive ways nations pursue to expand their international influence. One of the ways to improve a nation’s soft power is to commercialise the country and brand or rebrand it to the international audience, and thus attract interests or foreign investments. In this process, translation has often been regarded as merely a tool, and researches in it are either in translating literature as culture export or in how (in)accuracy of translation influences the branding campaign. This paper proposes to analyse nation branding campaign with framing theory, and thus gives an entry for translation studies to come to a central stage in today’s soft power research. To frame information or elements of a text, an event, or, as in this paper, a nation is to put them in a mental structure. This structure can be built by outsiders or by those who create the text, the event, or by citizens of the nation. To frame information like this can be regarded as a process of translation, as what translation does in its traditional meaning of ‘translating a text’ is to put a framework on the text to, deliberately or not, highlight some of the elements while hiding the others. In the discourse of nations, then, people unavoidably simplify a national image and put the nation into their imaginary framework. In this way, problems like stereotype and prejudice come into being. Meanwhile, if nations seek ways to frame or reframe themselves, they make efforts to have in control what and who they are in the eyes of international audiences, and thus make profits, economically or politically, from it. The paper takes African nations, which are usually perceived as a whole, and the United Kingdom as examples to justify passive and active framing process, and assesses both positive and negative influence framing has on nations. In conclusion, translation as framing causes problems like prejudice, and the image of a nation is not always in the hands of nation branders, but reframing the nation in a positive way has the potential to turn the tide.Keywords: framing, nation branding, stereotype, translation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1585290 Genome Sequencing and Analysis of the Spontaneous Nanosilver Resistant Bacterium Proteus mirabilis Strain scdr1
Authors: Amr Saeb, Khalid Al-Rubeaan, Mohamed Abouelhoda, Manojkumar Selvaraju, Hamsa Tayeb
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Background: P. mirabilis is a common uropathogenic bacterium that can cause major complications in patients with long-standing indwelling catheters or patients with urinary tract anomalies. In addition, P. mirabilis is a common cause of chronic osteomyelitis in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) patients. Methodology: P. mirabilis SCDR1 was isolated from a diabetic ulcer patient. We examined P. mirabilis SCDR1 levels of resistance against nano-silver colloids, the commercial nano-silver and silver containing bandages and commonly used antibiotics. We utilized next generation sequencing techniques (NGS), bioinformatics, phylogenetic analysis and pathogenomics in the identification and characterization of the infectious pathogen. Results: P. mirabilis SCDR1 is a multi-drug resistant isolate that also showed high levels of resistance against nano-silver colloids, nano-silver chitosan composite and the commercially available nano-silver and silver bandages. The P. mirabilis-SCDR1 genome size is 3,815,621 bp with G+C content of 38.44%. P. mirabilis-SCDR1 genome contains a total of 3,533 genes, 3,414 coding DNA sequence genes, 11, 10, 18 rRNAs (5S, 16S, and 23S), and 76 tRNAs. Our isolate contains all the required pathogenicity and virulence factors to establish a successful infection. P. mirabilis SCDR1 isolate is a potential virulent pathogen that despite its original isolation site, wound, it can establish kidney infection and its associated complications. P. mirabilis SCDR1 contains several mechanisms for antibiotics and metals resistance including, biofilm formation, swarming mobility, efflux systems, and enzymatic detoxification. Conclusion: P. mirabilis SCDR1 is the spontaneous nano-silver resistant bacterial strain. P. mirabilis SCDR1 strain contains all reported pathogenic and virulence factors characteristic for the species. In addition, it possesses several mechanisms that may lead to the observed nano-silver resistance.Keywords: Proteus mirabilis, multi-drug resistance, silver nanoparticles, resistance, next generation sequencing techniques, genome analysis, bioinformatics, phylogeny, pathogenomics, diabetic foot ulcer, xenobiotics, multidrug resistance efflux, biofilm formation, swarming mobility, resistome, glutathione S-transferase, copper/silver efflux system, altruism
Procedia PDF Downloads 3385289 Smart Trust Management for Vehicular Networks
Authors: Amel Ltifi, Ahmed Zouinkhi, Med Salim Bouhlel
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Spontaneous networks such as VANET are in general deployed in an open and thus easily accessible environment. Therefore, they are vulnerable to attacks. Trust management is one of a set of security solutions dedicated to this type of networks. Moreover, the strong mobility of the nodes (in the case of VANET) makes the establishment of a trust management system complex. In this paper, we present a concept of ‘Active Vehicle’ which means an autonomous vehicle that is able to make decision about trustworthiness of alert messages transmitted about road accidents. The behavior of an “Active Vehicle” is modeled using Petri Nets.Keywords: active vehicle, cooperation, petri nets, trust management, VANET
Procedia PDF Downloads 4105288 Using Differentiated Instruction Applying Cognitive Approaches and Strategies for Teaching Diverse Learners
Authors: Jolanta Jonak, Sylvia Tolczyk
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Educational systems are tasked with preparing students for future success in academic or work environments. Schools strive to achieve this goal, but often it is challenging as conventional teaching approaches are often ineffective in increasingly diverse educational systems. In today’s ever-increasing global society, educational systems become increasingly diverse in terms of cultural and linguistic differences, learning preferences and styles, ability and disability. Through increased understanding of disabilities and improved identification processes, students having some form of disabilities tend to be identified earlier than in the past, meaning that more students with identified disabilities are being supported in our classrooms. Also, a large majority of students with disabilities are educated in general education environments. Due to cognitive makeup and life experiences, students have varying learning styles and preferences impacting how they receive and express what they are learning. Many students come from bi or multilingual households and with varying proficiencies in the English language, further impacting their learning. All these factors need to be seriously considered when developing learning opportunities for student's. Educators try to adjust their teaching practices as they discover that conventional methods are often ineffective in reaching each student’s potential. Many teachers do not have the necessary educational background or training to know how to teach students whose learning needs are more unique and may vary from the norm. This is further complicated by the fact that many classrooms lack consistent access to interventionists/coaches that are adequately trained in evidence-based approaches to meet the needs of all students, regardless of what their academic needs may be. One evidence-based way for providing successful education for all students is by incorporating cognitive approaches and strategies that tap into affective, recognition, and strategic networks in the student's brain. This can be done through Differentiated Instruction (DI). Differentiated Instruction is increasingly recognized model that is established on the basic principles of Universal Design for Learning. This form of support ensures that regardless of the students’ learning preferences and cognitive learning profiles, they have opportunities to learn through approaches that are suitable to their needs. This approach improves the educational outcomes of students with special needs and it benefits other students as it accommodates learning styles as well as the scope of unique learning needs that are evident in the typical classroom setting. Differentiated Instruction also is recognized as an evidence-based best practice in education and is highly effective when it is implemented within the tiered system of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. Recognition of DI becomes more common; however, there is still limited understanding of the effective implementation and use of strategies that can create unique learning environments for each student within the same setting. Through employing knowledge of a variety of instructional strategies, general and special education teachers can facilitate optimal learning for all students, with and without a disability. A desired byproduct of DI is that it can eliminate inaccurate perceptions about the students’ learning abilities, unnecessary referrals for special education evaluations, and inaccurate decisions about the presence of a disability.Keywords: differentiated instruction, universal design for learning, special education, diversity
Procedia PDF Downloads 2245287 Engage, Connect, Empower: Agile Approach in the University Students' Education
Authors: D. Bjelica, T. Slavinski, V. Vukimrovic, D. Pavlovic, D. Bodroza, V. Dabetic
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Traditional methods and techniques used in higher education may be significantly persuasive on the university students' perception about quality of the teaching process. Students’ satisfaction with the university experience may be affected by chosen educational approaches. Contemporary project management trends recognize agile approaches' beneficial, so modern practice highlights their usage, especially in the IT industry. A key research question concerns the possibility of applying agile methods in youth education. As agile methodology pinpoint iteratively-incremental delivery of results, its employment could be remarkably fruitful in education. This paper demonstrates the agile concept's application in the university students’ education through the continuous delivery of student solutions. Therefore, based on the fundamental values and principles of the agile manifest, paper will analyze students' performance and learned lessons in their encounter with the agile environment. The research is based on qualitative and quantitative analysis that includes sprints, as preparation and realization of student tasks in shorter iterations. Consequently, the performance of student teams will be monitored through iterations, as well as the process of adaptive planning and realization. Grounded theory methodology has been used in this research, as so as descriptive statistics and Man Whitney and Kruskal Wallis test for group comparison. Developed constructs of the model will be showcase through qualitative research, then validated through a pilot survey, and eventually tested as a concept in the final survey. The paper highlights the variability of educational curricula based on university students' feedbacks, which will be collected at the end of every sprint and indicates to university students' satisfaction inconsistency according to approaches applied in education. Values delivered by the lecturers will also be continuously monitored; thus, it will be prioritizing in order to students' requests. Minimal viable product, as the early delivery of results, will be particularly emphasized in the implementation process. The paper offers both theoretical and practical implications. This research contains exceptional lessons that may be applicable by educational institutions in curriculum creation processes, or by lecturers in curriculum design and teaching. On the other hand, they can be beneficial regarding university students' satisfaction increscent in respect of teaching styles, gained knowledge, or even educational content.Keywords: academic performances, agile, high education, university students' satisfaction
Procedia PDF Downloads 1335286 Aquatic Therapy Improving Balance Function of Individuals with Stroke: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
Authors: Wei-Po Wu, Wen-Yu Liu, Wei−Ting Lin, Hen-Yu Lien
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Introduction: Improving balance function for individuals after stroke is a crucial target in physiotherapy. Aquatic therapy which challenges individual’s postural control in an unstable fluid environment may be beneficial in enhancing balance functions. The purposes of the systematic review with meta-analyses were to validate the effects of aquatic therapy in improving balance functions for individuals with strokes in contrast to conventional physiotherapy. Method: Available studies were explored from three electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. During literature search, the published date of studies was not limited. The study design of the included studies should be randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the studies should contain at least one outcome measurement of balance function. The PEDro scale was adopted to assess the quality of included studies, while the 'Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine 2011 Levels of Evidence' was used to evaluate the level of evidence. After the data extraction, studies with same outcome measures were pooled together for meta-analysis. Result: Ten studies with 282 participants were included in analyses. The research qualities of the studies were ranged from fair to good (4 to 8 points). Levels of evidence of the included studies were graded as level 2 and 3. Finally, scores of Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Eye closed force plate center of pressure velocity (anterior-posterior, medial-lateral axis) and Timed up and Go test were pooled and analyzed separately. The pooled results shown improvement in balance function (BBS mean difference (MD): 1.39 points; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.05-2.29; p=0.002) (Eye closed force plate center of pressure velocity (anterior-posterior axis) MD: 1.39 mm/s; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93-1.86; p<0.001) (Eye closed force plate center of pressure velocity (medial-lateral) MD: 1.48 mm/s; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.15-2.82; p=0.03) and mobility (MD: 0.9 seconds; 95% CI: 0.07-1.73; p=0.03) of stroke individuals after aquatic therapy compared to conventional therapy. Although there were significant differences between two treatment groups, the differences in improvement were relatively small. Conclusion: The aquatic therapy improved general balance function and mobility in the individuals with stroke better than conventional physiotherapy.Keywords: aquatic therapy, balance function, meta-analysis, stroke, systematic review
Procedia PDF Downloads 2055285 Digital Environment as a Factor of the City's Competitiveness in Attracting Tourists: The Case of Yekaterinburg
Authors: Alexander S. Burnasov, Anatoly V. Stepanov, Maria Y. Ilyushkina
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In the conditions of transition to the digital economy, the digital environment of the city becomes one of the key factors of its tourism attractiveness. Modern digital environment makes travelling more accessible, improves the quality of travel services and the attractiveness of many tourist destinations. The digitalization of the industry allows to use resources more efficiently, to simplify business processes, to minimize risks, and to improve travel safety. The city promotion as a tourist destination in the foreign market becomes decisive in the digital environment. Information technologies are extremely important for the functioning of not only any tourist enterprise but also the city as a whole. In addition to solving traditional problems, it is also possible to implement some innovations from the tourism industry, such as the availability of city services in international systems of booking tickets and booking rooms in hotels, the possibility of early booking of theater and museum tickets, the possibility of non-cash payment by cards of international payment systems, Internet access in the urban environment for travelers. The availability of the city's digital services makes it possible to reduce ordering costs, contributes to the optimal selection of tourist products that meet the requirements of the tourist, provides increased transparency of transactions. The users can compare prices, features, services, and reviews of the travel service. The ability to share impressions with friends thousands of miles away directly affects the image of the city. It is possible to promote the image of the city in the digital environment not only through world-scale events (such as World Cup 2018, international summits, etc.) but also through the creation and management of services in the digital environment aimed at supporting tourism services, which will help to improve the positioning of the city in the global tourism market.Keywords: competitiveness, digital environment, travelling, Yekaterinburg
Procedia PDF Downloads 1395284 Reverse Engineering Genius: Through the Lens of World Language Collaborations
Authors: Cynthia Briggs, Kimberly Gerardi
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Over the past six years, the authors have been working together on World Language Collaborations in the Middle School French Program at St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA. Author 2 brings design expertise to the projects, and both teachers have utilized the fabrication lab, emerging technologies, and collaboration with students. Each year, author 1 proposes a project scope, and her students are challenged to design and engineer a signature project. Both partners have improved the iterative process to ensure deeper learning and sustained student inquiry. The projects range from a 1:32 scale model of the Eiffel Tower that was CNC routed to a fully functional jukebox that plays francophone music, lights up, and can hold up to one thousand songs powered by Raspberry Pi. The most recent project is a Fragrance Marketplace, culminating with a pop-up store for the entire community to discover. Each student will learn the history of fragrance and the chemistry behind making essential oils. Students then create a unique brand, marketing strategy, and concept for their signature fragrance. They are further tasked to use the industrial design process (bottling, packaging, and creating a brand name) to finalize their product for the public Marketplace. Sometimes, these dynamic projects require maintenance and updates. For example, our wall-mounted, three-foot francophone clock is constantly changing. The most recent iteration uses Chat GPT to program the Arduino to reconcile the real-time clock shield and keep perfect time as each hour passes. The lights, motors, and sounds from the clock are authentic to each region, represented with laser-cut embellishments. Inspired by Michel Parmigiani, the history of Swiss watch-making, and the precision of time instruments, we aim for perfection with each passing minute. The authors aim to share exemplary work that is possible with students of all ages. We implemented the reverse engineering process to focus on student outcomes to refine our collaborative process. The products that our students create are prime examples of how the design engineering process is applicable across disciplines. The authors firmly believe that the past and present of World cultures inspire innovation.Keywords: collaboration, design thinking, emerging technologies, world language
Procedia PDF Downloads 475283 Learners’ Perceptions of Tertiary Level Teachers’ Code Switching: A Vietnamese Perspective
Authors: Hoa Pham
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The literature on language teaching and second language acquisition has been largely driven by monolingual ideology with a common assumption that a second language (L2) is best taught and learned in the L2 only. The current study challenges this assumption by reporting learners' positive perceptions of tertiary level teachers' code switching practices in Vietnam. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of code switching practices in language classrooms from a learners' perspective. Data were collected from student participants who were working towards a Bachelor degree in English within the English for Business Communication stream through the use of focus group interviews. The literature has documented that this method of interviewing has a number of distinct advantages over individual student interviews. For instance, group interactions generated by focus groups create a more natural environment than that of an individual interview because they include a range of communicative processes in which each individual may influence or be influenced by others - as they are in their real life. The process of interaction provides the opportunity to obtain the meanings and answers to a problem that are "socially constructed rather than individually created" leading to the capture of real-life data. The distinct feature of group interaction offered by this technique makes it a powerful means of obtaining deeper and richer data than those from individual interviews. The data generated through this study were analysed using a constant comparative approach. Overall, the students expressed positive views of this practice indicating that it is a useful teaching strategy. Teacher code switching was seen as a learning resource and a source supporting language output. This practice was perceived to promote student comprehension and to aid the learning of content and target language knowledge. This practice was also believed to scaffold the students' language production in different contexts. However, the students indicated their preference for teacher code switching to be constrained, as extensive use was believed to negatively impact on their L2 learning and trigger cognitive reliance on the L1 for L2 learning. The students also perceived that when the L1 was used to a great extent, their ability to develop as autonomous learners was negatively impacted. This study found that teacher code switching was supported in certain contexts by learners, thus suggesting that there is a need for the widespread assumption about the monolingual teaching approach to be re-considered.Keywords: codeswitching, L1 use, L2 teaching, learners’ perception
Procedia PDF Downloads 3305282 Decision Making Regarding Spouse Selection and Women's Autonomy in India: Exploring the Linkage
Authors: Nivedita Paul
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The changing character of marriage be it arranged marriage, love marriage, polygamy, informal unions, all signify different gender relations in everyday lives. Marriages in India are part and parcel of the kinship and cultural practices. Arranged marriage is still the dominant form of marriage where spouse selection is the initiative and decision of the parents; but its form is changing, as women are now actively participating in spouse selection but with parental consent. Spouse selection related decision making is important because marriage as an institution brings social change and gender inequality; especially in a women’s life as marriages in India are mostly patrilocal. Moreover, the amount of say in spouse selection can affect a woman’s reproductive rights, domestic violence issues, household resource allocation, communication possibilities with the spouse/husband, marital life, etc. The present study uses data from Indian Human Development Survey II (2011-12) which is a nationally representative multitopic survey that covers 41,554 households. Currently, married women of age group 15-49 in their first marriage; whose year of marriage is from 1970s to 2000s have been taken for the study. Based on spouse selection experiences, the sample of women has been divided into three marriage categories-self, semi and family arranged. Women in self arranged or love marriage is the sole decision maker in choosing the partner, in semi arranged marriage or arranged marriage with consent both parents and women together take the decision, whereas in family arranged or arranged marriage without consent only parents take the decision. The main aim of the study is to find the relationship between spouse selection experiences and women’s autonomy in India. Decision making in economic matters, child and health related decision making, mobility and access to resources are taken to be proxies of autonomy. Method of ordinal regression has been used to find the relationship between spouse selection experiences and autonomy after marriage keeping other independent variables as control factors. Results show that women in semi arranged marriage have more decision making power regarding financial matters of the household, health related matters, mobility and accessibility to resources, when compared to women in family, arranged marriages. For freedom of movement and access to resources women in self arranged marriage have the highest say or exercise greatest power. Therefore, greater participation of women (even though not absolute control) in spouse selection may lead to greater autonomy after marriage.Keywords: arranged marriage, autonomy, consent, spouse selection
Procedia PDF Downloads 1535281 Harmonization of Accreditation Standards in Education of Central Asian Countries: Theoretical Aspect
Authors: Yskak Nabi, Onolkan Umankulova, Ilyas Seitov
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Tempus project about “Central Asian network for quality assurance – CANQA” had been implemented in 2009-2012. As the result of the project, two accreditation agencies were established: the agency for quality assurance in the field of education, “EdNet” in Kyrgyzstan, center of progressive technologies in Tajikistan. The importance of the research studies of the project is supported by the idea that the creation of Central-Asian network for quality assurance in education is still relevant, and results of the International forum “Global in regional: Kazakhstan in Bologna process and EU projects,” that was held in Nur-Sultan in October 2020, proves this. At the same time, the previous experience of the partnership between accreditation agencies of Central Asia shows that recommendations elaborated within the CANQA project were not theoretically justified. But there are a number of facts and arguments that prove the practical appliance of these recommendations. In this respect, joint activities of accreditation agencies of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are representative. For example, independent Kazakh agency of accreditation and rating successfully conducts accreditation of Kyrgyz universities; based on the memorandum about joint activity between the agency for quality assurance in the field of education “EdNet” (Kyrgyzstan) and Astana accreditation agency (Kazakhstan), the last one provides its experts for accreditation procedures in EdNet. Exchange of experience among the agencies shows an effective approach towards adaptation of European standards to the reality of education systems of Central Asia with consideration of not only a legal framework but also from the point of European practices view. Therefore, the relevance of the research is identified as there is a practical partnership between accreditation agencies of Central Asian countries, but the absence of theoretical justification of integrational processes in the accreditation field. As a result, the following hypothesis was put forward: “if to develop theoretical aspects for harmonization of accreditation standards, then integrational processes would be improved since the implementation of Bologna process principles would be supported with wider possibilities, and particularly, students and academic mobility would be improved.” Indeed, for example, in Kazakhstan, the total share of foreign students was 5,04% in 2020, and most of them are coming from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, and if integrational processes will be improved, then this share can increase.Keywords: accreditation standards in education, Central Asian countries, pedagogical theory, model
Procedia PDF Downloads 2035280 School Belongingness and Coping with Bullying: Greek Adolescent Students' Experiences
Authors: E. Didaskalou, C. Roussi-Vergou, E. Andreou, G. Skrzypiec, P. Slee
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There has been growing interest lately, in the study of victimization among adolescent students in Greece and elsewhere with a view to improve school policies concerning anti-bullying practices. Researchers have recently focused on investigating the relationships between the extent of students’ victimization and the distinct mechanisms that they employ for coping with this particular problem. In particular, the emphasis has been placed on exploring the relationship between the coping strategies students use to counteract bullying, their sense of belonging at school, and extent of their victimization. Methods: Within the research framework outlined above, we set out to: a) examine the frequency of self-reported victimization among secondary school students, b) investigate the coping strategies employed by students when confronted with school bullying and c) explore any differences between bullied and non-bullied students with regard to coping strategies and school belongingness. The sample consisted of 860 from fifteen secondary public schools in central Greece. The schools were typical Greek secondary schools and the principals volunteered to participate in this study. Participants’ age ranged from 12 to 16 years. Measures: a) Exposure to Victimization: The frequency of victimization was directly located by asking students the question: ‘Over the last term, how often have you been bullied or harassed by a student or students at this high school?’ b) Coping Strategies: The ‘Living and Learning at School: Bullying at School’ was administered to students, c) School belongingness was assessed by the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale, that students completed. Results: Regarding the frequency of self-reported victimization, 1.5% of the students reported being victimized every day, 2.8% most days of the week, 2.1% one or more days a week, 2.9% about once a week, 22.6% less than once a week and 68.1% never. The coping strategies that the participants employed for terminating their victimization included: a) adult support seeking, b) emotional coping/keep away from school, c) keeping healthy and fit, d) demonstrating a positive attitude towards the bully, d) peer support seeking, e) emotional out bursting, f) wishful thinking and self-blaming, g) pretending as if it is not happening, h) displaying assertive behaviors and i) getting away from the bullies. Bullied from non-bullied children did not differ as much in coping, as in feelings of being rejected in school. Discussion: The findings are in accordance with accumulated research evidence which points to a strong relationship between student perceptions of school belongingness and their involvement in bullying behaviors. We agree with the view that a positive school climate is likely to serve as a buffer that mitigates wider adverse societal influences and institutional attitudes which favor violence and harassment among peers.Keywords: school bullying, school belonging, student coping strategies, victimization
Procedia PDF Downloads 249