Search results for: quality of dissertation in humanities and social sciences
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 18130

Search results for: quality of dissertation in humanities and social sciences

16390 A Leadership Approach for the Sake of Organizations: Human-Oriented Leadership

Authors: Eser Bingül

Abstract:

The leadership and leaders, also having been a privileged subject of scientific researches in the last century, have become influential in shaping the destiny of the states since the first examples of the warfare history. The issue of leadership, finding a place in the management science, can also be defined as an integration of function within the aspect of leader. In this description, the relationship has come to the foreground which is established between the development of leadership theories and the elements of function which are leader, followers, and condition. While one reason of this analysis in leadership is to keep a lens to the historical background, the main reason has been a questioning the traits and education of leaders who have still affected the nation’s and organization’s fate. The links and analysis established in the definition of leadership have put forward the necessity of solving the unpredictable structure of human nature and behaviors in the focus of leadership approach. On the other hand becoming a model that meets the today’s needs of any system has given a clue that the leaders should turn towards the people. Being aware of this necessity, human-oriented leadership approach aims to gain both followers and their abilities to the system with giving them a deserved esteem and create the team spirit based on mutual trust. Ultimately this approach, with the determined leadership qualities consisting of charisma, ability of communication and trust, will be able to produce the solutions to the instant and long-term problems and uncertainties, derived from the variables of function, for the sake of systems.

Keywords: human nature, leadership, human-oriented approach, social sciences and humanities

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16389 Impact and Risk Assessment of Climate Change on Water Quality: A Study in the Errer River Basin, Taiwan

Authors: Hsin-Chih Lai, Yung-Lung Lee, Yun-Yao Chi, Ching-Yi Horng, Pei-Chih Wu, Hsien-Chang Wang

Abstract:

Taiwan, a climatically challenged island, has always been keen on the issue of water resource management due to its limitations in water storage. Since water resource management has been the focal point of many adaptations to climate change, there has been a lack of attention on another issue, water quality. This study chooses the Errer River Basin as the experimental focus for water quality in Taiwan. With the Errer River Basin being one of the most polluted rivers in Taiwan, this study observes the effects of climate change on this river over a period of time. Taiwan is also targeted by multiple typhoons every year, the heavy rainfall and strong winds create problems of pollution being carried to different river segments, including into the ocean. This study aims to create an impact and risk assessment on Errer River Basin, to show the connection from climate change to potential extreme events, which in turn could influence water quality and ultimately human health. Using dynamic downscaling, this study narrows the information from a global scale to a resolution of 1 km x 1 km. Then, through interpolation, the resolution is further narrowed into a resolution of 200m x 200m, to analyze the past, present, and future of extreme events. According to different climate change scenarios, this study designs an assessment index on the vulnerability of the Errer River Basin. Through this index, Errer River inhabitants can access advice on adaptations to climate change and act accordingly.

Keywords: climate change, adaptation, water quality, risk assessment

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16388 Social Studies Teachers Experiences in Teaching Spatial Thinking in Social Studies Classrooms in Kuwait: Exploratory Study

Authors: Huda Alazmi

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Social studies educational research has, so far, devoted very little attention towards spatial thinking in classroom teaching. To help address such paucity, this study explores the spatial thinking instructional experiences of middle school social studies teachers in Kuwait. The goal is to learn their teaching practices and assess teacher understanding for the spatial thinking concept to enable future improvements. Using a qualitative study approach, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews to examine the relevant experiences of 14 social studies teachers. The findings revealed three major themes: (1) concepts of space, (2) tools of representation, and (3) spatial reasoning. These themes illustrated how social studies teachers focus predominantly upon simple concepts of space, using multiple tools of representation, but avoid addressing critical spatial reasoning. The findings help explain the current situation while identifying weaker areas for further analysis and improvement.

Keywords: spatial thinking, concepts of space, spatial representation, spatial reasoning

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16387 Start Talking in an E-Learning Environment: Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice

Authors: Melissa C. LaDuke

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The purpose of this literature review was to identify the use of online communities of practice (CoPs) within e-learning environments as a method to build social interaction and student-centered educational experiences. A literature review was conducted to survey and collect scholarly thoughts concerning CoPs from a variety of sources. Data collected included best practices, ties to educational theories, and examples of online CoPs. Social interaction has been identified as a critical piece of the learning infrastructure, specifically for adult learners. CoPs are an effective way to help students connect to each other and the material of interest. The use of CoPs falls in line with many educational theories, including situated learning theory, social constructivism, connectivism, adult learning theory, and motivation. New literacies such as social media and gamification can help increase social interaction in online environments and provide methods to host CoPs. Steps to build and sustain a CoP were discussed in addition to CoP considerations and best practices.

Keywords: community of practice, knowledge sharing, social interaction, online course design, new literacies

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16386 Contribution to the Study of the Microbiological Quality of Chawarma Sold in Biskra

Authors: Sara Boulmai̇z

Abstract:

In order to study the microbiological quality of chawarma sold in Biskra, a sampling through some fastfoods of the city was done, the parameters studied are highlighted according to the criteria required by the country's trade management. Microbiological analyzes revealed different levels of contamination by microorganisms. The 10 samples were of an overall view of unsatisfactory quality, and according to the standards, no sample was satisfactory. The range of total aerobic mesophilic flora found is between 105 and 1.2 × 10 7 CFU / g, that of fecal coliforms is 104 to 2.4 × 10 5 CFU / g. The suspected pathogenic staphylococci were between 3.103 and 2.7.106 CFU / g. Salmonellae were absent in all samples, whereas sulphite-reducing anaerobes were present in a single sample. The rate of E. cloacae was between 103 and 6.104 CFU / g. As for fungi and safe mice, their rate was 103 to 107 CFU / g. The study of the sensitivity of antibiotics showed multi-resistance to all the antibiotics tested, although there is a sensitivity towards others. All strains of Staphylococcus aureus tested demonstrated resistance against erythromycin, 30% against streptomycin, and 10% against tetracycline. While the strains of E. cloacae were resistant in all strains to amoxicillin, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and erythromycin, while they were sensitive to fosfomycin, sulfamethoxazole trimethoperine, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline. While against chlorophenicol and ofloxacin, the sensitivity was dominant, although there was intermediate resistance. In this study demonstrates that foodborne illnesses remain a problem that arises in addition to the increasingly observed bacterial resistance and that, after all, healthy eating is a right.

Keywords: chawarma, microbiological quality, pathogens., street food

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16385 The Importance of Analysis of Internal Quality Management Systems and Self-Examination Processes in Engineering Accreditation Processes

Authors: Wilfred Fritz

Abstract:

The accreditation process of engineering degree programmes is based on various reports evaluated by the relevant governing bodies of the institution of higher education. One of the aforementioned reports for the accreditation process is a self-assessment report which is to be completed by the applying institution. This paper seeks to emphasise the importance of analysis of internal quality management systems and self-examination processes in the engineering accreditation processes. A description of how the programme fulfils the criteria should be given. Relevant stakeholders all need to contribute in the writing and structuring of the self-assessment report. The last step is to gather evidence in the form of supporting documentation. In conclusion, the paper also identifies learning outcomes in a case study in seeking accreditation from an international relevant professional body.

Keywords: accreditation, governing bodies, self-assessment report, quality management

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16384 People Abandoning Mobile Social Games: Using Candy Crush Saga as an Example

Authors: Pei-Shan Wei, Szu-Ying Lee, Hsi-Peng Lu, Jen-Chuen Tzou, Chien-I Weng

Abstract:

Mobile social games recently become extremely popular, spawning a whole new entertainment culture. However, mobile game players are fickle, quickly and easily picking up and abandoning games. This pilot study seeks to identify factors that influence users to discontinue playing mobile social games. We identified three sacrifices which can prompt users to abandon games: monetary sacrifice, time sacrifice and privacy sacrifice. The results showed that monetary sacrifice has a greater impact than the other two factors in causing players to discontinue usage intention.

Keywords: abandon, mobile devices, mobile social games, perceived sacrifice

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16383 Improving Public Service Delivery by E-Governance

Authors: Aneri Mehta, Neeti Chaudhary

Abstract:

Governments of the countries around the world have started utilizing the potential of technology to deliver online information and services to their citizens. Using ICT in the form of e-governance could yield great benefits in the reform and modernization of the public sector. The experience of e-governance in a number of developed and developing countries has shown that ICT can be a tool for greater service delivery with the goal of improving service quality. E-governance can also promote ‘good governance’, greater civic engagement can increase opportunities for direct representation and voice, and support for increased democracy. This paper discusses and presents the survey findings that seek to test the role of e-governance in improving service delivery by altering the principal-agent relationship. It further seeks to elucidate the quality aspects of public service. Strong leadership is required to implement e-governance to capture and internalize the benefits of quality services and satisfied citizens.

Keywords: public service, service delivery, e-governance, good governance

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16382 The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Tertiary Institutions in Bauchi State Nigeria

Authors: Aliyu Aminu Baba, Mustapha Makama

Abstract:

Tertiary institutions are citadel of learning and societal orientation. Due to the huge investment of various government to tertiary institutions, these institutions are solely financed by the government alone. As stakeholders of society, corporations have to have to intervene and provide corporate social responsibility. The study intends to investigate the role of Entrepreneurs in incorporating social Responsibility. Tertiary institutions are citadel of learning and societal orientation. Due to the huge investment of various government to tertiary institutions, the study intends to investigate the role of businesses and Entrepreneurs, which could be among the important contributions of businesses and Entrepreneurs on corporate social Responsibility to Tertiary Institutions in Bauchi State. Corporate social responsibility is vital in enhancing the infrastructural development of the tertiary institution as almost all individuals and corporate bodies benefit from this tertiary institutions. The study intends to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility to tertiary institutions and entrepreneurs in Bauchi state Nigeria. Questionnaires would be distributed to tertiary institutions and entrepreneurs in the Bauchi metropolis. The data collected will be analyzed with the help of SPSS version 23. The main objective is to investigate the role of businesses and Entrepreneurs, which could be among the important contributions of businesses and entrepreneurs on corporate social Responsibility to Tertiary Institutions in Bauchi State.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, tertiary, institutions, profitability

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16381 Social Media Marketing Efforts and Hospital Brand Equity: An Empirical Investigation

Authors: Abrar R. Al-Hasan

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Despite the widespread use of social media by consumers and marketers, empirical research investigating their economic value in the healthcare industry still lags. This study explores the impact of the use of social media marketing efforts on a hospital's brand equity and, ultimately, consumer response. Using social media data from Twitter and Facebook, along with an online and offline survey methodology, data is analyzed using logistic regression models. A random sample of (728) residents of the Kuwaiti population is used. The results of this study found that social media marketing efforts (SMME) in terms of use and validation lead to higher hospital brand equity and in turn, patient loyalty and patient visit. The study highlights the impact of SMME on hospital brand equity and patient response. Healthcare organizations should guide their marketing efforts to better manage this new way of marketing and communicating with patients to enhance their consumer loyalty and financial performance.

Keywords: brand equity, healthcare marketing, patient visit, social media, SMME

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16380 Functionality Based Composition of Web Services to Attain Maximum Quality of Service

Authors: M. Mohemmed Sha Mohamed Kunju, Abdalla A. Al-Ameen Abdurahman, T. Manesh Thankappan, A. Mohamed Mustaq Ahmed Hameed

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Web service composition is an effective approach to complete the web based tasks with desired quality. A single web service with limited functionality is inadequate to execute a specific task with series of action. So, it is very much required to combine multiple web services with different functionalities to reach the target. Also, it will become more and more challenging, when these services are from different providers with identical functionalities and varying QoS, so while composing the web services, the overall QoS is considered to be the major factor. Also, it is not true that the expected QoS is always attained when the task is completed. A single web service in the composed chain may affect the overall performance of the task. So care should be taken in different aspects such as functionality of the service, while composition. Dynamic and automatic service composition is one of the main option available. But to achieve the actual functionality of the task, quality of the individual web services are also important. Normally the QoS of the individual service can be evaluated by using the non-functional parameters such as response time, throughput, reliability, availability, etc. At the same time, the QoS is not needed to be at the same level for all the composed services. So this paper proposes a framework that allows composing the services in terms of QoS by setting the appropriate weight to the non-functional parameters of each individual web service involved in the task. Experimental results show that the importance given to the non-functional parameter while composition will definitely improve the performance of the web services.

Keywords: composition, non-functional parameters, quality of service, web service

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16379 A Survey on Erotic Literature, Woman, and Its Sociological Aspect

Authors: Sulmaz Mozaffari, Zahra Mozaffari, Saman Mozaffari

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Erotic literature is a branch in modern literature which has the key terms of woman and her sexual desire. It has so many supporters and it is growing to be more important everyday and in such a way that it is criticized on social medias. To create their work in that part of literature, the authors take the woman into consideration to explore the cultural, social, and political theories. In this research, the author gives an analysis of the erotic literature in Asia and the role of woman as the main element in it.

Keywords: erotic literature, social media, woman, attract addressee

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16378 The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility and Knowledge Management Factors on University's Students' Learning Process

Authors: Naritphol Boonyakiat

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This research attempts to investigate the effects of corporate social responsibility and knowledge management factors on students’ learning process of the Silpakorn University. The goal of this study is to fill the literature gap by gaining an understanding of corporate social responsibility and the knowledge management factors that fundamentally relate to students’ learning process within the university context. Thus, this study will focus on the outcomes that derive from a set of quantitative data that were obtained using Silpakorn university’s database of 200 students. The results represent the perceptions of students regarding the impact of corporate social responsibility and knowledge management factors on their learning process within the university. The findings indicate that corporate social responsibility and knowledge management have significant effects on students’ learning process. This study may assist us in gaining a better understanding of the integrated aspects of university and learning environments to discover how to allocate optimally university’s resources and management approaches to gain benefits from corporate social responsibility and knowledge management practices toward students’ learning process within the university bodies. Therefore, there is a sufficient reason to believe that the findings can contribute to research in the area of CSR, KM and students’ learning process as an essential aspect of university’s stakeholder.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, knowledge management, learning process, university’s students

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16377 The Acceptance of Online Social Network Technology for Tourism Destination

Authors: Wanida Suwunniponth

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The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the factors of using online social network for tourism destination in case of Bangkok area in Thailand, by extending the use of technology acceptance model (TAM). This study employed by quantitative research and the target population were entrepreneurs and local people in Bangkok who use social network-Facebook concerning tourist destinations in Bangkok. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 300 purposive samples. The multiple regression analysis and path analysis were used to analyze data. The results revealed that most people who used Facebook for promoting tourism destinations in Bangkok perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived trust in using Facebook and influenced by social normative as well as having positive attitude towards using this application. Addition, the hypothesis results indicate that acceptance of online social network-Facebook was related to the positive attitude towards using of Facebook and related to their intention to use this application for tourism.

Keywords: Facebook, online social network, technology acceptance model, tourism destination

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16376 Social Inclusion of Rural Elderly Left Behind by Internal Labor Migration: A Case Study in a Chinese Rural Village in Anhui Province

Authors: Lei Liu

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Since the famous opening up and reform strategy of China, lots of migrants have flowed from rural areas to urban areas. In this paper, the author investigates the rural elderly left behind, which are defined aged people left alone at home while their adult children have to migrant outside. This phenomenon is a quite general and serious social problem that cannot be ignored, accompanied by the process of urbanization and regional transferring of rural labor. The Chinese internal migration not only exerts great influence to China’s economy and urbanization but also obviously reduces the labor and care to rural aged people. Contrary to assumptions in some migration and aging studies, which show the inevitable negative effects of migration upon the old age care, the author highlights unique features in their daily strategies of house holding to integrate into society with the analysis of the conception of social inclusion. Through life history interviews with elderly left behind in one rural village, this article sheds light on three different factors of social inclusion, namely, economic inclusion, social identity and political inclusion and shows its necessaries to fully understand the status of the social wellbeing of rural elderly left behind.

Keywords: labor migration, elderly left behind, social inclusion, rural China

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16375 Investigating the Relationship Between the Auditor’s Personality Type and the Quality of Financial Reporting in Companies Listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange

Authors: Seyedmohsen Mortazavi

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The purpose of this research is to investigate the personality types of internal auditors on the quality of financial reporting in companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange. Personality type is one of the issues that emphasizes the field of auditors' behavior, and this field has attracted the attention of shareholders and stock companies today, because the auditors' personality can affect the type of financial reporting and its quality. The research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive and correlational in terms of method, and a researcher-made questionnaire was used to check the research hypotheses. The statistical population of the research is all the auditors, accountants and financial managers of the companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange, and due to their large number and the uncertainty of their exact number, 384 people have been considered as a statistical sample using Morgan's table. The researcher-made questionnaire was approved by experts in the field, and then its validity and reliability were obtained using software. For the validity of the questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis was first examined, and then using divergent and convergent validity; Fornell-Larker and cross-sectional load test of the validity of the questionnaire were confirmed; Then, the reliability of the questionnaire was examined using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability, and the results of these two tests showed the appropriate reliability of the questionnaire. After checking the validity and reliability of the research hypotheses, PLS software was used to check the hypotheses. The results of the research showed that the personalities of internal auditors can affect the quality of financial reporting; The personalities investigated in this research include neuroticism, extroversion, flexibility, agreeableness and conscientiousness, all of these personality types can affect the quality of financial reporting.

Keywords: flexibility, quality of financial reporting, agreeableness, conscientiousness

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16374 Rights, Differences and Inclusion: The Role of Transdisciplinary Approach in the Education for Diversity

Authors: Ana Campina, Maria Manuela Magalhaes, Eusebio André Machado, Cristina Costa-Lobo

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Inclusive school advocates respect for differences, for equal opportunities and for a quality education for all, including for students with special educational needs. In the pursuit of educational equity, guaranteeing equality in access and results, it becomes the responsibility of the school to recognize students' needs, adapting to the various styles and rhythms of learning, ensuring the adequacy of curricula, strategies and resources, materials and humans. This paper presents a set of theoretical reflections in the disciplinary interface between legal and education sciences, school administration and management, with the aim of understand the real inclusion characteristics in a balance with the inclusion policies and the need(s) of an education for Human Rights, especially for diversity. Considering the actual social complexity but the important education instruments and strategies, mostly patented in the policies, this paper aims expose the existing contexts opposed to the laws, policies and inclusion educational needs. More than a single study, this research aims to develop a map of the reality and the guidelines to implement the action. The results point to the usefulness and pertinence of a school in which educational managers, teachers, parents, and students, are involved in the creation, implementation and monitoring of flexible curricula and adapted to the educational needs of students, promoting a collaborative work among teachers. We are then faced with a scenario that points to the need to reflect on the legislation and curricular management of inclusive classes and to operationalize the processes of elaboration of curricular adaptations and differentiation in the classroom. The transdisciplinary is a pedagogic and social education perfect approach using the Human Rights binomio – teaching and learning – supported by the inclusion laws according to the realistic needs for an effective successful society construction.

Keywords: rights, transdisciplinary, inclusion policies, education for diversity

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16373 Teaching Ethnic Relations in Social Work Education: A Study of Teachers' Strategies and Experiences in Sweden

Authors: Helene Jacobson Pettersson, Linda Lill

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Demographic changes and globalization in society provide new opportunities for social work and social work education in Sweden. There has been an ambition to include these aspects into the Swedish social work education. However, the Swedish welfare state standard continued to be as affectionate as invisible starting point in discussions about people’s way of life and social problems. The aim of this study is to explore content given to ethnic relations in social work in the social work education in Sweden. Our standpoint is that the subject can be understood both from individual and structural levels, it changes over time, varies in different steering documents and differs from the perspectives of teachers and students. Our question is what content is given to ethnic relations in social work by the teachers in their strategies and teaching material. The study brings together research in the interface between education science, social work and research of international migration and ethnic relations. The presented narratives are from longer interviews with a total of 17 university teachers who teach in social work program at four different universities in Sweden. The universities have in different ways a curriculum that involves the theme of ethnic relations in social work, and the interviewed teachers are teaching and grading social workers on specific courses related to ethnic relations at undergraduate and graduate levels. Overall assesses these 17 teachers a large number of students during a semester. The questions were concerned on how the teachers handle ethnic relations in education in social work. The particular focus during the interviews has been the teacher's understanding of the documented learning objectives and content of literature and how this has implications for their teaching. What emerges is the teachers' own stories about the educational work and how they relate to the content of teaching, as well as the teaching strategies they use to promote the theme of ethnic relations in social work education. The analysis of this kind of pedagogy is that the teaching ends up at an individual level with a particular focus on the professional encounter with individuals. We can see the shortage of a critical analysis of the construction of social problems. The conclusion is that individual circumstance precedes theoretical perspective on social problems related to migration, transnational relations, globalization and social. This result has problematic implications from the perspective of sustainability in terms of ethnic diversity and integration in society. Thus these aspects have most relevance for social workers’ professional acting in social support and empowerment related activities, in supporting the social status and human rights and equality for immigrants.

Keywords: ethnic relations in Swedish social work education, teaching content, teaching strategies, educating for change, human rights and equality

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16372 Characteristics of Inclusive Circular Business Models in Social Entrepreneurship

Authors: Svitlana Yermak, Olubukola Aluko

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The purpose of this study was a literature review on the topic of social entrepreneurship, a review of new trends and best practices, the study of existing inclusive business models and their interaction with the principles of the circular economy for possible implementation in the practice of Ukraine in war and post-war times in conditions of scarce resources. Thus, three research questions were identified and substantiated: to determine the characteristics of social entrepreneurship, consider the features in Ukraine and the UK; highlight the criteria for inclusion in social entrepreneurship and its legal support; explore examples of existing inclusive circular business models to illustrate how the two concepts may be combined. A detailed review of the literature selected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases was carried out. The study revealed signs of social entrepreneurship, the main of which are doing business and making a profit, as well as the social orientation of the business, which is prescribed in the constituent documents of the enterprise immediately upon its creation. Considered are the characteristics of social entrepreneurship in the UK and Ukraine. It has been established that in the UK, social entrepreneurship is clearly regulated by the state; there are special legislative norms and support programs, in contrast to Ukraine, where these processes are only partially regulated. The study identified the main criteria for inclusion in inclusive circular business models: economic (sustainability and efficiency, job creation and economic growth, promotion of local development), social (accessibility, equity and fairness, inclusion and participation), and resources in their interconnection. It is substantiated that the resource criterion is especially important for this type of business model. It provides for the efficient and sustainable use of resources, as well as the cyclical nature of resources. And it was concluded that the principles of the circular economy not only do not contradict but, on the contrary, complement and expand the inclusive business models on which social entrepreneurship is based.

Keywords: social entrepreneurship, inclusive business models, circular economy, inclusion criteria

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16371 Characterization of Optical Systems for Intraocular Projection

Authors: Charles Q. Yu, Victoria H. Fan, Ahmed F. Al-Qahtani, Ibraim Viera

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Introduction: Over 12 million people are blind due to opacity of the cornea, the clear tissue forming the front of the eye. Current methods use plastic implants to produce a clear optical pathway into the eye but are limited by a high rate of complications. New implants utilizing completely inside-the-eye projection technology can overcome blindness due to scarring of the eye by producing images on the retina without need for a clear optical pathway into the eye and may be free of the complications of traditional treatments. However, the interior of the eye is a challenging location for the design of optical focusing systems which can produce a sufficiently high quality image. No optical focusing systems have previously been characterized for this purpose. Methods: 3 optical focusing systems for intraocular (inside the eye) projection were designed and then modeled with ray tracing software, including a pinhole system, a planoconvex, and an achromatic system. These were then constructed using off-the-shelf components and tested in the laboratory. Weight, size, magnification, depth of focus, image quality and brightness were characterized. Results: Image quality increased with complexity of system design, as did weight and size. A dual achromatic doublet optical system produced the highest image quality. The visual acuity equivalent achieved with this system was better than 20/200. Its weight was less than that of the natural human crystalline lens. Conclusions: We demonstrate for the first time that high quality images can be produced by optical systems sufficiently small and light to be implanted within the eye.

Keywords: focusing, projection, blindness, cornea , achromatic, pinhole

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16370 Data Quality on Regular Childhood Immunization Programme at Degehabur District: Somali Region, Ethiopia

Authors: Eyob Seife

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Immunization is a life-saving intervention which prevents needless suffering through sickness, disability, and death. Emphasis on data quality and use will become even stronger with the development of the immunization agenda 2030 (IA2030). Quality of data is a key factor in generating reliable health information that enables monitoring progress, financial planning, vaccine forecasting capacities, and making decisions for continuous improvement of the national immunization program. However, ensuring data of sufficient quality and promoting an information-use culture at the point of the collection remains critical and challenging, especially in hard-to-reach and pastoralist areas where Degehabur district is selected based on a hypothesis of ‘there is no difference in reported and recounted immunization data consistency. Data quality is dependent on different factors where organizational, behavioral, technical, and contextual factors are the mentioned ones. A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted on September 2022 in the Degehabur district. The study used the world health organization (WHO) recommended data quality self-assessment (DQS) tools. Immunization tally sheets, registers, and reporting documents were reviewed at 5 health facilities (2 health centers and 3 health posts) of primary health care units for one fiscal year (12 months) to determine the accuracy ratio. The data was collected by trained DQS assessors to explore the quality of monitoring systems at health posts, health centers, and the district health office. A quality index (QI) was assessed, and the accuracy ratio formulated were: the first and third doses of pentavalent vaccines, fully immunized (FI), and the first dose of measles-containing vaccines (MCV). In this study, facility-level results showed both over-reporting and under-reporting were observed at health posts when computing the accuracy ratio of the tally sheet to health post reports found at health centers for almost all antigens verified where pentavalent 1 was 88.3%, 60.4%, and 125.6% for Health posts A, B, and C respectively. For first-dose measles-containing vaccines (MCV), similarly, the accuracy ratio was found to be 126.6%, 42.6%, and 140.9% for Health posts A, B, and C, respectively. The accuracy ratio for fully immunized children also showed 0% for health posts A and B and 100% for health post-C. A relatively better accuracy ratio was seen at health centers where the first pentavalent dose was 97.4% and 103.3% for health centers A and B, while a first dose of measles-containing vaccines (MCV) was 89.2% and 100.9% for health centers A and B, respectively. A quality index (QI) of all facilities also showed results between the maximum of 33.33% and a minimum of 0%. Most of the verified immunization data accuracy ratios were found to be relatively better at the health center level. However, the quality of the monitoring system is poor at all levels, besides poor data accuracy at all health posts. So attention should be given to improving the capacity of staff and quality of monitoring system components, namely recording, reporting, archiving, data analysis, and using information for decision at all levels, especially in pastoralist areas where such kinds of study findings need to be improved beside to improving the data quality at root and health posts level.

Keywords: accuracy ratio, Degehabur District, regular childhood immunization program, quality of monitoring system, Somali Region-Ethiopia

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16369 Optimization of the Drinking Water Treatment Process Improvement of the Treated Water Quality by Using the Sludge Produced by the Water Treatment Plant

Authors: M. Derraz, M. Farhaoui

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Problem statement: In the water treatment processes, the coagulation and flocculation processes produce sludge according to the level of the water turbidity. The aluminum sulfate is the most common coagulant used in water treatment plants of Morocco as well as many countries. It is difficult to manage Sludge produced by the treatment plant. However, it can be used in the process to improve the quality of the treated water and reduce the aluminum sulfate dose. Approach: In this study, the effectiveness of sludge was evaluated at different turbidity levels (low, medium, and high turbidity) and coagulant dosage to find optimal operational conditions. The influence of settling time was also studied. A set of jar test experiments was conducted to find the sludge and aluminum sulfate dosages in order to improve the produced water quality for different turbidity levels. Results: Results demonstrated that using sludge produced by the treatment plant can improve the quality of the produced water and reduce the aluminum sulfate using. The aluminum sulfate dosage can be reduced from 40 to 50% according to the turbidity level (10, 20, and 40 NTU). Conclusions/Recommendations: Results show that sludge can be used in order to reduce the aluminum sulfate dosage and improve the quality of treated water. The highest turbidity removal efficiency is observed within 6 mg/l of aluminum sulfate and 35 mg/l of sludge in low turbidity, 20 mg/l of aluminum sulfate and 50 mg/l of sludge in medium turbidity and 20 mg/l of aluminum sulfate and 60 mg/l of sludge in high turbidity. The turbidity removal efficiency is 97.56%, 98.96%, and 99.47% respectively for low, medium and high turbidity levels.

Keywords: coagulation process, coagulant dose, sludge reuse, turbidity removal

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16368 Fashion Designers' Role Towards Society through Ethical Designing

Authors: Vishaka Agarwal

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Fashion is a dynamic entity. With globalisation, fashion is being retailed out to every corner of the world, and people are becoming fashion aware and adapting to the latest trends and look. In this scenario, the role of fashion in providing social change in society is strong. Every product that we use has a design element in it, and consumers prefer to buy those products. The aim of the paper is to look at the ways in which social change can be brought into society through ethical designing by designers taking into consideration the IPR issues. Review of research done by earlier researchers in studying the work done by designers to achieve social change in the society and also discussions with designers to understand the future plans looking at changing world scenario would be done. The paper concludes that fashion has a dynamic role to play in achieving social change in society, and designers are virtually controlling what people buy, wear, and consume globally. This paper would be useful to the social planners and designers in planning the future of society.

Keywords: fashion designers, ethics, intellectual property right, society

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16367 Social Sustainability Quotient of Vertical Habitats

Authors: Abdullah Mohamed, Raipat Vaidehi

Abstract:

With increasing immigration to urban areas, every city is experiencing shortage of housing. Vertical habitats are the only solution to this problem, it is hence important to make sure that these habitats are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. A lot of work on vertical habitats has already been carried out in terms of environmental and economic sustainability, hence this research aims to study the aspects of social sustainability of the vertical habitats. It being the least studied topic, opens many reals of novelty and uniqueness. In this Research, user perception survey and various mapping methods have been used to study the social sustainability of the existing vertical habitats in the selected cities. The various aspects that can be used to define social sustainability of any place include; safety, equity, accessibility, legibility, imagibility, readability, memorability and ease of movement. This research would help to evolve new strategies in form of design and/or guidelines to make the existing vertical habitats socially sustainable.

Keywords: user lifestyle, user perception, social sustainability, vertical habitats

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16366 An Investigation of Service Quality in Tourism: An Experience of International Tourists in Bangkok, Thailand

Authors: Sakul Jaariyachamsit, Kevin Wongleedee

Abstract:

The objectives of this research were to study five perceptions of service quality from international tourists who visited Bangkok, Thailand. The independent variables included gender, age, levels of education, occupation, and income while the dependent variables included their opinion on the service provided by employees in Thai tourism. An accidental random sampling method was utilized to get 215 respondents. The respondents were both male and female in the same proportion and most were between 21-40 years old. Most were married and had a graduate degree. The average income of the respondents was between $20,000-40,000. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents came to Thailand for the first time and spent about 6-8 days in Thailand and preferred to travel in small groups with no children. The five service perceptions of employees in tourism by the international tourists in descending order according to mean were reliable employees, neat and clean employees, polite employees, timely employees, and competent employees.

Keywords: experience, international tourists, service quality, Thailand

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16365 Economic and Social Well-Being for Migrant Workers: Asian Experiences

Authors: Mohsin Reza, Thirunaukarasu Subramaniam, M. Rezaul Islam

Abstract:

In Asia, economic and social well-being issues are rarely addressed. The major characteristics of the migrant workers in Asian countries are seriously exploited, marginalized, and infrequently looked from human rights perspective. This paper explored the opportunities and shortages of economic and social well-being for the migrant workers in Asia. A Qualitative Interpretative Meta-Synthesis (QIMS) was conducted to analyze the contextual socio-economic factors that characterized migrant workers’ economic and social well-being. It is perceived that in most of the recruiting countries, there are lacks of government commitments to the international protocols, conventions and laws that they ratified towards safeguarding migrant workers’ economic and social well-being. Results showed that the migrant workers had lack of job security, poor salary, long working hours, low access to the public services, poor health, poor living and working conditions, lack of legal rights, physical and mental threats. The finding would be important guideline to the governments, policy makers, legal rights practitioners, and human rights organizations.

Keywords: Asia, economic well-being, social well-being, migrant workers, human rights

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16364 An Assessment of Thermal Comfort and Air Quality in Educational Space: A Case Study of Design Studios in the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Alexandria

Authors: Bakr Gomaa, Hana Awad

Abstract:

A stuffy room is one of the indicators of poor indoor air quality. Through working in an educational building in Alexandria, it is noticed that one of the rooms is smelly. A field study is conducted in a private university building in Alexandria to achieve indoor sustainable educational environment. Additionally, the indoor air quality is empirically assessed, and thermal comfort is identified in educational buildings, in studio halls specifically during lecture hours. The current research uses qualitative and quantitative methods in the form of literature review, investigation and test measurements. At a similar time that the teachers and students fill in a questionnaire regarding the concept of indoor climate, thermal comfort variables are determined. The indoor thermal conditions of the studio are assessed through three variables including Fanger’s comfort indicators (calculated using PMV, predicted mean vote and PPD, predicted percentage of dissatisfied people), the actual people clothing and metabolic rate. Actual measurements of air quality are obtained in a case study in an architectural building. Results have proved that indoor climatic conditions as air flow and temperature are inconvenient to inhabitants. Regarding questionnaire results, occupants appear to be uncomfortable in both seasons, with result percentages out of the acceptable range. Finally, further researches will center on how to preserve thermal comfort in school buildings since it has a vital influence on the student’s knowledge.

Keywords: educational buildings, Indoor air quality, productivity, thermal comfort

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16363 Men and Feminism: Social Constructions of Masculinities in Relation to the Feminist Movement

Authors: Leonardo Dias Cruz

Abstract:

The advent of web 2.0 has enabled users to engage in translocal and transtemporal interactions in which meanings can be constantly (re)constructed. The fluidity of such interactions in the time-space spectrum makes it evident that D/discourses are always in movement and that here-and-now discursive practices are always linked to macro Discourses in social structures. Considering these assumptions, this study aims at exploring the social construction of masculinities in light of feminist D/discourses in online interactions. The data used are a series of comments from readers of articles posted in a website for (projected) male audiences. In order to approach the movable and fluid nature of such interactions, I examine the data through the lens of processes of entextualization, social positioning and indexical cues. The analysis explores the interactions as social arenas in which struggles for the control over entextualization processes are clearly noticeable. Moreover, two main stances are perceived: one that legitimates male’s participation in Feminism and one that rejects such participation.

Keywords: entextualization, feminism, masculinities, positionings

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16362 Active Development of Tacit Knowledge Using Social Media and Learning Communities

Authors: John Zanetich

Abstract:

This paper uses a pragmatic research approach to investigate the relationships between Active Development of Tacit Knowledge (ADTK), social media (Facebook) and classroom learning communities. This paper investigates the use of learning communities and social media as the context and means for changing tacit knowledge to explicit and presents a dynamic model of the development of a classroom learning community. The goal of this study is to identify the point that explicit knowledge is converted to tacit knowledge and to test a way to quantify the exchange using social media and learning communities.

Keywords: tacit knowledge, knowledge management, college programs, experiential learning, learning communities

Procedia PDF Downloads 349
16361 Effects of Irregular Migration from Different Aspects of Security

Authors: Muzaffer Topgul, Hasan Atac

Abstract:

In case of explaining the migration concept, although it is not a new phenomenon, it is easy to understand that communities have migrated for variety of reasons such as natural disasters, famine, wars, economic problems, and several theories have been put forth to define and find solution for migration within its changing nature. Examining of migration theories denotes that the circumstances under which they appear reflect political, social, and economic conditions of the age they appear. In this day and time, security is considered not only from military perspective but also from economic, political, sociological dimensions. Based on the changing security environment new impacts of migration has occurred; the migration is proceed to be conferred as a type of war, qualified as a transnational crime because of its outcomes and interpreted in a different dimension owing to its effects on the health and education areas. Social security dimension in the context of expanding concept of security; when dealing with the safety of people and social groups with the assumption that national unity and identity are threatened, it sees immigrants as a source of threat. The human security assesses the safety of individuals in terms of survival and quality of life. Changes in the standard of living under the influence of immigrants and possible terrorist acts can be seen as a threat source in this type of security. Economic security of the individuals and the regional changes at the micro level created by the immigrants are covered issues of economic security. Due to the factors such as terrorism and civil war, the increasing numbers of displaced people who have taken refugee status affect the countries, whether it is near or far to the crisis areas, in the new and different dimensions of security day by day. In this study, the term of immigration through the eyes of national and international law will be evaluated, the place of the irregular and illegal immigration in the changing security sphere will be revealed and the effects of the irregular migration to short-term, mid-term and long-term security issues will be assessed through human and social security aspects. In order to analyze the threats for the human security; the parameters such as living conditions of the immigrants, the ratio of the genders, birth rate occasions, the education circumstances of the immigrant children and the effects of the illegal passing on the public order will be evaluated. The outcomes of the problem areas for the human security and the demographic alteration resulting from the human flow of displaced people will be discussed thorough social security extent. The fizzling economic diversity, which has shown up by irregular migration, will be presented within the scope of economic dimension of security.

Keywords: irregular migration, the changing dimensions of security, human security, social security

Procedia PDF Downloads 318