Search results for: monitoring/methods and impact assessment

Authors: Ernest Boateng Nuako

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This research is to find the effects of sports hooliganism on Ashanti school sports and find out some possible ways of amending or controlling them if we are to still experience them in our sporting fraternity. The researcher limited himself to the Ashanti region. The sample population was made up of officials, performances, and spectators drawn from four major second-cycle institutions and four basic schools in Ashanti. In all, 150 respondents were used, and all of them fell into the set of population, that is, performers, officials, and spectators. A structured questionnaire consisting of 29 statements where used to solicit views and opinions from the respondents on the effects of sports hooliganism in Ashanti school sports. Microsoft Office Excel tool (MS Excel) was used to analyze the response of the respondents, and the results were expressed in percentages. The study is aimed at finding out the effect sports hooliganism has on school sports festivals in Ghana with the Ashanti region as a case study and identify possible controlling measures to curb down the fast-pace effect of hooliganism on Ashanti regional schools. The research seeks to assist sports officials to identify some effects of sports hooliganism in Ashanti regional schools. It is also there to help officials to identify the influence hooliganism has on sports. This research also serves as a guide to other researchers who want to go into researching sports in the region. This research revealed that sports hooliganism has, in diverse ways, affected school sports in the region. It was also evident from the research study that sanctions, the presence of security, and other employable remedies could be used in controlling this unfortunate incident during our school sports competitions.

Keywords: officiating officials, school sports, hooliganism, spectators, performer

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Authors: Temitope M. Ojo, Titilayo A. Benson

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This study investigated street begging and its psychosocial effect in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria. In carrying out this study, four research questions were used. The instrument used for data collection was a face-to-face and self-developed questionnaire. The results revealed there is high awareness level on the causes of street begging among the respondents, who also mentioned several factors contributing to street begging. However, respondents disagreed that lack of education is a factor contributing to street begging in Nigeria. The psycho-social effects of street begging, as identified by the respondents, are development of inferiority complex, lack of social interaction, loss of self-respect and dignity, increased mindset of poverty and loss of self-confident. Solution to street begging as identified by the respondents also includes provision of rehabilitation centers, provision of food for students in Islamic schools and monthly survival allowance. Specific policies and other legislative frameworks are needed in terms of age, sex, disability, and family-related issues, to effectively address the begging problem. Therefore, it is recommended that policy planners must adopt multi-faceted, multi-targeted, and multi-tiered approaches if they are to have any impact on the lives of street beggars in all four categories. In this regard, both preventative and responsive interventions are needed instead of rehabilitative solutions for each category of street beggars.

Keywords: beggars, begging, psycho-social effect, respondents, street begging

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Authors: Kobid Panthi, Suttisak Soralump, Suriyon Prempramote

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In June 27, 2014 slope movement was observed in upstream side of Khlong Pa Bon Dam, Thailand. The slide did not have any major catastrophic impact on the dam structure but raised a very important question; why did the slide occur after 10 years of operation? Various site investigations (Bore Hole Test, SASW, Echo Sounding, and Geophysical Survey), laboratory analysis and numerical modelling using SIGMA/W and SLOPE/W were conducted to determine the cause of slope movement. It was observed that the dam had undergone the greatest differential drawdown in its operational history in the year 2014 and was termed as the major cause of movement. From the laboratory tests, it was found that the shear strength of clay had decreased with a period of time and was near its residual value. The cyclic movement of water, i.e., reservoir filling and emptying was coined out to be the major cause for the reduction of shear strength. The numerical analysis was carried out using a modified cam clay (MCC) model to determine the strain softening behavior of the clay. The strain accumulation was observed in the slope with each reservoir cycle triggering the slope failure in 2014. It can be inferred that if there was no major drawdown in 2014, the slope would not have failed but eventually would have failed after a long period of time. If there was no major drawdown in 2014, the slope would not have failed. However, even if there hadn’t been a drawdown, it would have failed eventually in the long run.

Keywords: slope movement, strain softening, residual strength, modified cam clay

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Authors: Vasupradaa Manivannan, Santosh Maruthy

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Background/Aims: Preliminary evidence suggests that code-switching and code-mixing may act as one of the voluntary coping behavior to avoid the stuttering characteristics in children and adults; however, less is known about the types and patterns of code-mixing (CM) and code-switching (CS). Further, it is not known how it is different between children to adults who stutter. This study aimed to identify and compare the CM and CS patterns between Kannada-English bilingual children and adults who stutter. Method: A standard group comparison was made between five children who stutter (CWS) in the age range of 9-13 years and five adults who stutter (AWS) in the age range of 20-25 years. The participants who are proficient in Kannada (first language- L1) and English (second language- L2) were considered for the study. There were two tasks given to both the groups, a) General conversation (GC) with 10 random questions, b) Narration task (NAR) (Story / General Topic, for example., A Memorable Life Event) in three different conditions {Mono Kannada (MK), Mono English (ME), and Bilingual (BIL) Condition}. The children and adults were assessed online (via Zoom session) with a high-quality internet connection. The audio and video samples of the full assessment session were auto-recorded and manually transcribed. The recorded samples were analyzed for the percentage of dysfluencies using SSI-4 and CM, and CS exhibited in each participant using Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model parameters. The obtained data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software package (Version 20.0). Results: The mean, median, and standard deviation values were obtained for the percentage of dysfluencies (%SS) and frequency of CM and CS in Kannada-English bilingual children and adults who stutter for various parameters obtained through the MLF model. The inferential results indicated that %SS significantly varied between population (AWS vs CWS), languages (L1 vs L2), and tasks (GC vs NAR) but not across free (BIL) and bound (MK, ME) conditions. It was also found that the frequency of CM and CS patterns varies between CWS and AWS. The AWS had a lesser %SS but greater use of CS patterns than CWS, which is due to their excessive coping skills. The language mixing patterns were more observed in L1 than L2, and it was significant in most of the MLF parameters. However, there was a significantly higher (P<0.05) %SS in L2 than L1. The CS and CS patterns were more in conditions 1 and 3 than 2, which may be due to the higher proficiency of L2 than L1. Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of assessing the CM and CS behaviors, their patterns, and the frequency of CM and CS between CWS and AWS on MLF parameters in two different tasks across three conditions. The results help us to understand CM and CS strategies in bilingual persons who stutter.

Keywords: bilinguals, code mixing, code switching, stuttering

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Authors: Mohamed Jaditager, Julie Lovisa, Nagaratnam Sivakugan

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The Port of Townsville conducts regular annual maintenance dredging to maintain depths of its harbor basin and approach channels for the navigational safety of the vessels against the natural accumulation of marine sediments. In addition to the regular maintenance dredging, the port undertakes emergency dredging in cases where large quantities of sediments are mobilized and deposited in port waters by cyclone or major flood events. The maintenance dredging material derived from the port may be disposed at sea or on land in accordance with relevant state and commonwealth regulations. For the land disposal, the dredged mud slurry is hydraulically placed into containment ponds and left to undergo sedimentation and self-weight consolidation to form fill material for land reclamation. This paper provides an overview of the maintenance dredging at the Port of Townsville and emphasis on maintenance dredging requirements, sediment quality, bathymetry, dredging methods used, and dredged material disposal options.

Keywords: consolidation, dredged material, maintenance dredging, marine sediments, sedimentation

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Authors: Moshe Davidian, Shlomo Mark, Yotam Lurie

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With the rapid development of technology and the concomitant growth in the capability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and their power, the ethical challenges involved in these systems are also evolving and increasing. In recent years, various organizations, including governments, international institutions, professional societies, civic organizations, and commercial companies, have been choosing to address these various challenges by publishing ethical codes for AI systems. However, despite the apparent agreement that AI should be “ethical,” there is debate about the definition of “ethical artificial intelligence.” This study investigates the various AI ethical codes and their key ethical values. From the vast collection of codes that exist, it analyzes and compares 25 ethical codes that were found to be representative of different types of organizations. In addition, as part of its literature review, the study overviews data collected in three recent reviews of AI codes. The results of the analyses demonstrate a convergence around seven key ethical values. However, the key finding is that the different AI ethical codes eventually reflect the type of organization that designed the code; i.e., the organizations’ role as regulator, user, or developer affects the view of what ethical AI is. The results show a relationship between the organization’s role and the dominant values in its code. The main contribution of this study is the development of a list of the key values for all AI systems and specific values that need to impact the development and design of AI systems, but also allowing for differences according to the organization for which the system is being developed. This will allow an analysis of AI values in relation to stakeholders.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, ethical codes, principles, values

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Authors: Girts Zageris, Vadims Geza, Andris Jakovics

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Gasification processes are of great interest due to their generation of renewable energy in the form of syngas from biodegradable waste. It is, therefore, important to study the factors that play a role in the efficiency of gasification and the longevity of the machines in which gasification takes place. This study focuses on the latter, aiming to optimize an entrained-flow gasifier by reducing slag formation on its walls to reduce maintenance costs. A CFD mathematical model for an entrained-flow gasifier is constructed – the model of an actual gasifier is rendered in 3D and appropriately meshed. Then, the turbulent gas flow in the gasifier is modeled with the realizable k-ε approach, taking devolatilization, combustion and coal gasification into account. Various such simulations are conducted, obtaining results for different air inlet positions and by tracking particles of varying sizes undergoing devolatilization and gasification. The model identifies potential problematic zones where most particles collide with the gasifier walls, indicating risk regions where ash deposits could most likely form. In conclusion, the effects on the formation of an ash layer of air inlet positioning and particle size allowed in the main gasifier tank are discussed, and possible solutions for decreasing a number of undesirable deposits are proposed. Additionally, an estimate of the impact of different factors such as temperature, gas properties and gas content, and different forces acting on the particles undergoing gasification is given.

Keywords: biomass particles, gasification, slag formation, turbulence k-ε modelling

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Authors: Jovana Grahovac, Ivana Pajcin, Natasa Lukic, Jelena Dodic, Aleksandar Jokic

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To obtain purified biomass to be used in the plant pathogen biocontrol or as soil biofertilizer, it is necessary to eliminate residual broth components at the end of the fermentation process. The main drawback of membrane separation techniques is permeate flux decline due to the membrane fouling. Fouling mitigation measures increase the pressure drop along membrane channel due to the increased resistance to flow of the feed suspension, thus increasing the hydraulic power drop. At the same time, these measures lead to an increase in the permeate flux due to the reduced resistance of the filtration cake on the membrane surface. Because of these opposing effects, the energy efficiency of fouling mitigation measures is limited, and the justification of its application is provided by information on a reducing specific energy consumption compared to a case without any measures employed. In this study, the influence of static mixer (Kenics) and air-sparging (two-phase flow) on reduction of specific energy consumption (ER) was investigated. Cultivation Bacillus velezensis was carried out in the 3-L bioreactor (Biostat® Aplus) containing 2 L working volume with two parallel Rushton turbines and without internal baffles. Cultivation was carried out at 28 °C on at 150 rpm with an aeration rate of 0.75 vvm during 96 h. The experiments were carried out in a conventional cross-flow microfiltration unit. During experiments, permeate and retentate were recycled back to the broth vessel to simulate continuous process. The single channel ceramic membrane (TAMI Deutschland) used had a nominal pore size 200 nm with the length of 250 mm and an inner/external diameter of 6/10 mm. The useful membrane channel surface was 4.33×10⁻³ m². Air sparging was brought by the pressurized air connected by a three-way valve to the feed tube by a simple T-connector without diffusor. The different approaches to flux improvement are compared in terms of energy consumption. Reduction of specific energy consumption compared to microfiltration without fouling mitigation is around 49% and 63%, for use of two-phase flow and a static mixer, respectively. In the case of a combination of these two fouling mitigation methods, ER is 60%, i.e., slightly lower compared to the use of turbulence promoter alone. The reason for this result can be found in the fact that flux increase is more affected by the presence of a Kenics static mixer while sparging results in an increase of energy used during microfiltration. By comparing combined method with turbulence promoter flux enhancement method ER is negative (-7%) which can be explained by increased power consumption for air flow with moderate contribution to the flux increase. Another confirmation for this fact can be found by comparing energy consumption values for combined method with energy consumption in the case of two-phase flow. In this instance energy reduction (ER) is 22% that demonstrates that turbulence promoter is more efficient compared to two phase flow. Antimicrobial activity of Bacillus velezensis biomass against phytopathogenic isolates Xanthomonas campestris was preserved under different fouling reduction methods.

Keywords: Bacillus velezensis, microfiltration, static mixer, two-phase flow

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Authors: Uchenna Bella Onu

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Traditional art is one of Nigerian cultural heritage. It is an excellent instrument for documentation and identification. Antiquities are priceless and irreplaceable. They are basically preserved for future generations. Sadly, preserving these highly prized cultural heritage is becoming a serious challenge. This paper examines the extent modernization has affected the preservation of traditional art in Nigeria. Particularly hit is the antiquities and traditional murals of eastern part of Nigeria. Participatory visual methods were used for this study. Efforts were made to reach the few surviving and aged mural artists. Oral information was collected from them as well as first hand drawings and some photographs of their works. Findings indicate that modernization has seriously affected the preservation of Nigerian artistic heritage. Further findings show that traditional mural artists are gradually dwindling and dangerously going into extinct. Antiquities are indiscriminately destroyed due to sheer ignorance and the blind quest to fit into the so called modern world.  

Keywords: antiquities, artistic heritage, cultural preservation, drawings, modernization, murals

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Authors: Anju Elizbath Peter, S. M. Shiva Nagendra, Indumathi M.Nambi

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The deliberate fires initiated by dump managers and human scavengers to reduce the volume of waste and recovery of valuable metals/materials are common at municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal sites in developed country. A large amount of toxic gases released due to this act is responsible for the deterioration of regional and local air quality, which causes visibility impairment and acute respiratory diseases. The present study was aimed at the characterization of MSW and emission characteristics of burning of MSW in the laboratory. MSW samples were collected directly from the one of the open dumpsite located in Chennai city. Solid waste sampling and laboratory analysis were carried out according to American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Results indicated the values of moisture content, volatile solids (VS) and calorific values of solid waste samples were 16.67%,8%,9.17MJ/kg, respectively. The elemental composition showed that the municipal solid waste contains 25.84% of carbon, 3.69% of hydrogen, 1.57% of nitrogen and 0.26% of sulphur. The calorific value of MSW was found to be 9.17 MJ/Kg which is sufficient to facilitate self-combustion of waste. The characterization of emissions from the burning of 1 kg of MSW in the test chamber showed a total of 90 mg/kg of PM10 and 243 mg/kg of PM2.5. The current research study results will be useful for municipal authorities to formulate guideline and policy structure regarding the MSW management to reduce the impact of air emissions at an open dump site.

Keywords: characterization, MSW, open burning, PM10, PM2.5

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Authors: Bai-Jing Peng, Shyh-Chyun Yang

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Organic reactions in water have recently attracted much attention, not only because unique reactivity is often observed in water but also because water is a safe and economical substitute for conventional organic solvents. Thus, development of environmental safe, atom-economical reactions in water is one of the most important goals of synthetic chemistry. The recent paper has documented renewed interest in the use of allylic substrates in the synthesis of new C−C, C−N, and C−O bonds. We have reported our attempts and some successful applications of a process involving the C-O bond cleavage catalyzed by palladium or platinum complexes in water. Because of the importance of heterocycle indole derivatives, much effort has been directed toward the development of methods for functionalization of the indole nucleus at N1 site. In our research, the palladium-catalyzed 2,3-disubstitued indoles with allylic alcohols was investigated under different conditions. Herein, we will establish a simple, convenient, and efficient method, which affords high yields of allylated indoles.

Keywords: palladium-catalyzed, allylic alcohols, indoles, water, allylation

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Authors: Anna Jagielska

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Five years ago, the word ‘gender’ was discussed in Poland exclusively in academic contexts. One year later, it was chosen as the word of the year and omnipresent in the Polish media. The rapid career of this word is due to the involvement of the Polish church hierarchy who strategically brought this term into relation with abortion, pornography and paedophilia. ‘Gender’ is more than a political slogan. It is a symbol of social anxiety and moral panic in Poland which need to be historically considered. The aim of this paper is to present selected rhetorical strategies used by the Polish Catholic clergy who strive to have an impact on the current gender discourse in Poland. In particular, the gender debate, culminated in the pastoral letter of the Bishops' Conference of Poland, will be discussed. The church’s protest against the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence will be analyzed and the recent heated debates in Poland on contraception, abortion, in vitro fertilization, and sex education will be mentioned. To provide explanations on the specificity of Polish gender debates the role of the Catholic Church in the fall of communism in Poland as well as the charismatisation of Polish society by Pope John Paul II will be explained. The social constructions of communism and feminism which are manifested in both written and symbolic contracts on gender equality between the Church and the State will be demonstrated. At the end of the paper, theories about the changing role of religion in society will be applied.

Keywords: gender, Poland, religion, catholicism, feminism

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Authors: Mustapha Sadouk

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This study investigates the sensitivity of high-frequency acoustic parameters in a rigid air-saturated porous bilayer material within the framework of the equivalent fluid theory, a specific case of the Biot model. The study specifically focuses on the sensitivity analysis in the frequency domain. The interaction between the fluid and solid phases of the porous medium incorporates visco-inertial and thermal exchange, characterized by two functions: the dynamic tortuosity α(ω) proposed by Johnson et al. and the dynamic compressibility β(ω) proposed by Allard, refined by Sadouki for the low-frequency domain of ultrasound. The parameters under investigation encompass porosity, tortuosity, viscous characteristic length, thermal characteristic length, as well as viscous and thermal shape factors. A +30% variation in these parameters is considered to assess their impact on the transmitted wave amplitudes. By employing this larger variation, a more comprehensive understanding of the sensitivity of these parameters is obtained. The outcomes of this study contribute to a better comprehension of the high-frequency wave behavior in porous bilayer materials, providing valuable insights for the design and optimization of such materials across various applications.

Keywords: bilayer materials, ultrasound, sensitivity analysis, equivalent fluid theory, dynamic tortuosity., porous material

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Authors: Akbar Esmaeili, Azadeh Asgari

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Essential oils’ unique and practical properties have been widely reported in recent years. Still, the sensitivity of critical oils to environmental factors and their poor solubility in aqueous solutions have limited their use in industries. Therefore, we encapsulated C. copticum essential oil in chitosan nanoparticles by emulsion-ionic gelation with sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium hexametaphosphate cross-linkers. The nanoparticles showed a round shape with an average size of 30-80 nm and a regular distribution. The release profile in the laboratory environment showed a burst in the initial release and then a stable release of C. copticum essential oil from chitosan nanoparticles at different pH. Antioxidant and antibacterial properties of C. copticum essential oil before and after the encapsulation process were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical and disc diffusion methods, respectively. The results showed that the encapsulation of C. copticum essential oil in chitosan nanoparticles could protect its quality and bioactive compounds and improve the properties of the crucial oil.

Keywords: essential oils, Carum copticum, biological activities, nanotechnology

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Authors: Morteza Gharibi, Abdolghader Pakniat, Somayeh Bahrampouri

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Introduction: Emergency department (E.R.) crowding is a serious widespread problem in hospitals that leads to irregularities, a slower rate of delivery of services to patients, and a long-term stay. In addition, the long-term stay in the E.D. reduces the possibility of providing services with appropriate quality to other patients who are undergoing medical emergencies, which leads to dissatisfaction among patients. This study aimed to determine the relationship between ED-crowding and the mortality rate of the patients referred to the E.D. In a retrospective cohort study, all patients who expired in first 24 hours of admission were enrolled in the study. Crowding index at the moment of admission was calculated using Edwin Score. The data including history and physical examination, time of arrival in the E.D., diagnosis (using ICD 10 code), time of death, cause of death, demographic information was recoded based on triage forms on admission and patients’ medical files. Data analysis was performed by using descriptive statistics and chi square test, ANOVA tests using SPSS ver. 19. The time of arrival in E.D. to death in crowded E.D. conditions, with an average of five hours and 25 minutes, was significantly higher than the average admission Time of arrival in E.D. to death in active and crowded E.D. conditions. More physicians and nurses can be employed during crowded times to reduce staff fatigue and improve their performance during these hours.

Keywords: mortality, emergency, department, crowding

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Authors: Oyenike Eludoyin

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Extreme climate conditions are deviation from the norms and are capable of causing upsets in many important environmental parameter including disruption of water balance and air temperature balance. Studies have shown that extreme climate conditions can foretell disaster in regions with inadequate early warning systems. In this paper, we combined geographical information systems, statistics and social surveys to evaluate the physiologic indices [(Dewpoint Temperature (Td), Effective Temperature Index (ETI) and Relative Strain Index (RSI)] and extreme climate conditions in different parts of southwest Nigeria. This was with the view to assessing the nature and the impact of the conditions on the people and their coping strategies. The results indicate that minimum, mean and maximum temperatures were higher in 1960-1990 than 1991-2013 periods at most areas, and more than 80% of the people adapt to thermal stress by changing wear type or cloth, installing air conditioner and fan at home and/or work place and sleeping outside at certain period of the night and day. With respect to livelihoods, about 52% of the interviewed farmers indicated that too early rainfall, late rainfall, prolonged dryness after an initial rainfall, excessive rainfall and windstorms caused low crop yields. Main (76%) coping strategies were changing of planting dates, diversification of crops, and practices of mulching and intercropping. Government or institutional support was less than 20%.

Keywords: coping strategies, extreme climate, livelihoods, physiologic comfort

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Authors: Nadine Yehya, Chantal Maatouk

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Low energy buildings have been developed to achieve global climate commitments in reducing energy consumption. They comprise energy efficient buildings, zero energy buildings, positive buildings and passive house buildings. The reduced energy demands in Low Energy buildings call for advanced building energy modeling that focuses on studying active building systems such as heating, cooling and ventilation, improvement of systems performances, and development of control systems. Modeling and building simulation have expanded to cover different modeling approach i.e.: detailed physical model, dynamic empirical models, and hybrid approaches, which are adopted by various simulation tools. This paper uses DesignBuilder with EnergyPlus simulation engine in order to; First, study the impact of efficiency measures on building energy behavior by comparing Low energy residential model to a conventional one in Beirut-Lebanon. Second, choose the appropriate energy systems for the studied case characterized by an important cooling demand. Third, study dynamic modeling of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system in EnergyPlus that is chosen due to its advantages over other systems and its availability in the Lebanese market. Finally, simulation of different energy systems models with different modeling approaches is necessary to confront the different modeling approaches and to investigate the interaction between energy systems and building envelope that affects the total energy consumption of Low Energy buildings.

Keywords: physical model, variable refrigerant flow heat pump, dynamic modeling, EnergyPlus, the modeling approach

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Authors: Saed Khawaldeh, Mohamed Elsharnouby, Alaa Eddin Alchalabi, Usama Pervaiz, Tajwar Aleef, Vu Hoang Minh

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Taxonomic classification has a wide-range of applications such as finding out more about the evolutionary history of organisms that can be done by making a comparison between species living now and species that lived in the past. This comparison can be made using different kinds of extracted species’ data which include DNA sequences. Compared to the estimated number of the organisms that nature harbours, humanity does not have a thorough comprehension of which specific species they all belong to, in spite of the significant development of science and scientific knowledge over many years. One of the methods that can be applied to extract information out of the study of organisms in this regard is to use the DNA sequence of a living organism as a marker, thus making it available to classify it into a taxonomy. The classification of living organisms can be done in many machine learning techniques including Neural Networks (NNs). In this study, DNA sequences classification is performed using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) which is a special type of NNs.

Keywords: deep networks, convolutional neural networks, taxonomic classification, DNA sequences classification

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Authors: Cristian Andrei Nica

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The state of flow relies on cognitive elements that sustain openness for information processing in order to promote goal attainment. However, the need for closure may create mental constraints, which can impact affectivity levels. This study aims to observe the extent in which need for closure moderates the interaction between flow and affectivity, taking into account the mediating role of the mood repair motivation in the interaction process between need for closure and affectivity. Using a non-experimental, correlational design, n=73 participants n=18 men and n=55 women, ages between 19-64 years (m= 28.02) (SD=9.22), completed the Positive Affectivity-Negative Affectivity Schedule, the need for closure scale-revised, the mood repair items and an adapted version of the flow state scale 2, in order to assess the trait aspects of flow. Results show that need for closure significantly moderates the flow-affectivity process, while the tolerance of ambiguity sub-scale is positively associated with negative affectivity and negatively to positive affectivity. At the same time, mood repair motivation significantly mediates the interaction between need for closure and positive affectivity, whereas the mediation process for negative affectivity is insignificant. Need for closure needs to be considered when promoting the development of positive emotions. It has been found that the motivation to repair one’s mood mediates the interaction between need for closure and positive affectivity. According to this study, flow can trigger positive emotions when the person is willing to engage in mood regulation strategies and approach meaningful experiences with an open mind.

Keywords: flow, mood regulation, mood repair motivation, need for closure, negative affectivity, positive affectivity

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Authors: Hoong C. Chin, Soon H. Chew, Zhaoxia Wang

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Work on sustainable developments and the call for action in education for sustainable development have been ongoing for a number of years. Training engineering students with the relevant competencies, particularly in sustainable development literacy, has been identified as an urgent task in universities. This requires not only a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to education but also a suitable training environment to develop the needed skills and to inculcate the appropriate attitudes in students towards sustainable development. To demonstrate how this can be done, a module involving an overseas field trip was introduced in 2013 at the National University of Singapore. This paper provides details of the module and describes its training philosophy and methods. Measured against the student learning outcomes, stipulated by the Engineering Accreditation Board, the module scored well on all of them, particularly those related to complex problem solving, environmental and sustainability awareness, multi-disciplinary team work and varied-level communications.

Keywords: civil engineering education, socio-economically sustainable infrastructure, student learning outcome, sustainable development

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Authors: Neşe Alkan

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Purpose: The point that applied/clinical psychology, which is the practice and research discipline of the mental health field, has reached today can be summarized as the necessity of handling the psychological well-being of people from multiple perspectives and the goal of moving it to a higher level. Clients' subjective assessment of their own condition and wellbeing is an integral part of evidence-based interventions. There is a need for tools through which clients can evaluate the effectiveness of the psychotherapy/intervention performed with them and their contribution to the wellbeing and wellbeing of this process in a valid and reliable manner. The aim of this research is to meet this need, to test the reliability and validity of the index in Turkish, and explore its usability in the practices of both researchers and psychotherapists. Method: A total of 213 adults aged between 18-54, 69.5% working and 29.5% university students, were included in the study. Along with their demographic information, the participants were administered a set of scales: wellbeing, life satisfaction, spiritual satisfaction, shopping addiction, and loneliness, namely via an online platform. The construct validity of the wellbeing scale was tested with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, convergent and discriminant validity were tested with two-way full and partial correlation analyses and, measurement invariance was tested with one-way analysis of variance. Results: Factor analyzes showed that the scale consisted of six dimensions as it is in its original structure. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be Cronbach α = .82. Two-way correlation analyzes revealed that the wellbeing scale total score was positively correlated with general life satisfaction (r = .62) and spiritual satisfaction (r = .29), as expected. It was negatively correlated with loneliness (r = -.51) and shopping addiction (r = -.15). While the scale score did not vary by gender, previous illness, or nicotine addiction, it was found that the total wellbeing scale scores of the participants who had used antidepressant medication during the past year were lower than those who did not use antidepressant medication (F(1,204) = 7.713, p = .005). Conclusion: It has been concluded that the 12-item wellbeing scale consisting of six dimensions can be used in research and health sciences practices as a valid and reliable measurement tool. Further research which examines the reliability and validity of the scale in different widely used languages such as Spanish and Chinese is recommended.

Keywords: wellbeing, intervention effectiveness, reliability and validity, effectiveness

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Authors: Safa'a M. Rasheed, Saba A. Gheni, Wadood T. Mohamed

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Phenolic compounds are the most carcinogenic pollutants in waste water in effluents of refineries and pulp industry. Catalytic wet air oxidation is an efficient industrial treatment process to oxidize phenolic compounds into unharmful organic compounds. Mode of flow of the fluid to be treated is a dominant factor in determining effectiveness of the catalytic process. The present study aims to obtain a mathematical model describing the conversion of phenolic compounds as a function of the process variables; mode of flow (trickling and pulsing), temperature, pressure, along with a high concentration of phenols and a platinum supported alumina catalyst. The model was validated with the results of experiments obtained in a fixed bed reactor. High pressure and temperature were employed at 8 bar and 140 °C. It has been found that conversion of phenols is highly influenced by mode of flow and the change is caused by changes occurred in hydrodynamic regime at the time of pulsing flow mode, thereby a temporal variation in wetting efficiency of platinum prevails; which in turn increases and/or decreases contact time with phenols in wastewater. The model obtained was validated with experimental results, and it is found that the model is a good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: wastewater, phenol, pulsing flow, wet oxidation, high pressure

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Authors: Fawad Hussain, Mohammad Basir Bin Saud, Mohd Azwardi Md Isa

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The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the mediating impact of export performance (EP) between technological advancement capabilities (TAC) and business performance (BP) of Malaysian manufacturing MSME’s. Firm’s technological advancement resources are hypothesized as a platform to enhance both exports and business performance of manufacturing MSMEs in Malaysia. This study is twofold, primary it has investigated that technological advancement capabilities helps to appreciates main performance measures noted in terms of export performance and Secondly it investigates that how efficiently and effectively technological advancement capabilities can contributes in overall Malaysian MSME’s business performance. Smart PLS-3 statistical software is used to know the association between technological advancement capabilities, MSME’s export performance and business performance. In this study the data was composed from Malaysian manufacturing MSME’s in east coast industrial zones known as manufacturing hub of MSMEs. Seven Hundred and Fifty (750) questionnaires were distributed but only 148 usable questionnaires are returned. The finding of this study indicated that technological advancement capabilities helps to strengthen the export in term of time and cost efficient and it plays a significant role in appreciating their business performance. This study is helpful for small and medium enterprises owners who intent to expand their business overseas and though smart technological advancement resources they can achieve their business competitiveness and excellence both at local and international markets.

Keywords: technological advancement capabilities, export performance, business performance, small and medium manufacturing enterprises, malaysia

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Authors: Charles P. Mukumba, Kahilu K. Shakantu

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Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] is a key to achieving transformational results that support Zambia’s development. Public procurement is an integral to the government’s mission to deliver goods and services, in a timely and economic manner beyond the value of money spent. This study explores the link between sustainable public procurement and the SDG targets in Zambia. And to validate the established links with the public sector procurement in Zambia. The study employed qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with 18 public procurement officials. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that public procurement plays a fundamental role in achieving the sustainable development goals [SDGs] by helping to deliver core public services that support SDGs and also by systematising and co-delivering added value along the way. The study further established the importance of sustainable public procurement within the context of development. The interviews were limited to mainstream public sector procurement entities in Lusaka, Zambia. Sustainable public procurement actions have the potential to impact SDG goals. Promoting sustainable public procurement will enhance sustainable development and significantly improve supply chain that would benefit the economy, society and environment. Findings will inform policy-makers how to strategically design sustainable public procurement policy by attuning it to procuring entities objectives and priorities in order to contribute to the attainment of SDGs.

Keywords: sustainable public procurement, sustainable development goals, target, Zambia

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Authors: Desiree David

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South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, with a sizable percentage of the population living with HIV. A substantial number of new infections occur as a result of sexual activity. South African courts have awarded civil claims for damages as a result of the transmission of HIV as a result of non-disclosure by the HIV-positive sexual partner, and more recently, the criminal courts have also convicted and sentenced individuals accused of infecting others as a result of sexual activity. This paper will analyse some case law from South African court cases that have dealt with criminal convictions for the transmission of HIV, and the potential for more widespread prosecutions of these cases. It will also address the desirability of this trend in light of the social public health system, as well as human rights concerns surrounding this highly contentious issue. This will be done by considering some applicable provisions of the Bill of Rights such as the right to privacy and equality, as espoused in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The paper further addresses the experience of other jurisdictions such as Canada, Singapore, Lesotho and Uganda, by analyzing case law, and consider the pitfalls of criminalizing a wide spectrum of sexual conduct that could result in the transmission of HIV. The paper concludes with a proposal that the issue of criminalizing the transmission of HIV cannot be addressed by the criminal justice system alone, as to do so could result in harsh consequences for those living with HIV. As such individuals may be burdened with additional responsibilities that could potentially impact on the rights of the individual. This may ultimately result in injustice for those living with HIV.

Keywords: criminalization, HIV, human rights, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: F. Infante, W. Kaal, S. Perfetto, S. Herold

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In the last decade the demand of wireless sensors and low-power electric devices for condition monitoring in mechanical structures has been strongly increased. Networks of wireless sensors can potentially be applied in a huge variety of applications. Due to the reduction of both size and power consumption of the electric components and the increasing complexity of mechanical systems, the interest of creating dense nodes sensor networks has become very salient. Nevertheless, with the development of large sensor networks with numerous nodes, the critical problem of powering them is drawing more and more attention. Batteries are not a valid alternative for consideration regarding lifetime, size and effort in replacing them. Between possible alternative solutions for durable power sources useable in mechanical components, vibrations represent a suitable source for the amount of power required to feed a wireless sensor network. For this purpose, energy harvesting from structural vibrations has received much attention in the past few years. Suitable vibrations can be found in numerous mechanical environments including automotive moving structures, household applications, but also civil engineering structures like buildings and bridges. Similarly, a dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) is one of the most used devices to mitigate unwanted vibration of structures. This device is used to transfer the primary structural vibration to the auxiliary system. Thus, the related energy is effectively localized in the secondary less sensitive structure. Then, the additional benefit of harvesting part of the energy can be obtained by implementing dedicated components. This paper describes the design process of an energy harvesting tuned vibration absorber (EHTVA) for rotating systems using piezoelectric elements. The energy of the vibration is converted into electricity rather than dissipated. The device proposed is indeed designed to mitigate torsional vibrations as with a conventional rotational TVA, while harvesting energy as a power source for immediate use or storage. The resultant rotational multi degree of freedom (MDOF) system is initially reduced in an equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) system. The Den Hartog’s theory is used for evaluating the optimal mechanical parameters of the initial DVA for the SDOF systems defined. The performance of the TVA is operationally assessed and the vibration reduction at the original resonance frequency is measured. Then, the design is modified for the integration of active piezoelectric patches without detuning the TVA. In order to estimate the real power generated, a complex storage circuit is implemented. A DC-DC step-down converter is connected to the device through a rectifier to return a fixed output voltage. Introducing a big capacitor, the energy stored is measured at different frequencies. Finally, the electromechanical prototype is tested and validated achieving simultaneously reduction and harvesting functions.

Keywords: energy harvesting, piezoelectricity, torsional vibration, vibration absorber

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Authors: Youn Young Shim, Martin J. T. Reaney

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Flaxseed meal is rich in water-soluble gums and, as such, can improve texture in gluten-free products. Flaxseed bioactive-antioxidant peptides, linusorbs (LOs, a.k.a. cyclolinopeptides), are a class of molecules that may contribute health-promoting effects. The effects of dough preparation, baking, and storage on flaxseed-derived LOs stability in doughs and baked products are un-known. Gluten-free (GF) bread dough and bread were prepared with flaxseed meal and the LO content was determined in the flaxseed meal, bread flour containing the flaxseed meal, bread dough, and bread. The LO contents during storage (0, 1, 2, and 4 weeks) at different temperatures (−18 °C, 4 °C, and 22−23 °C) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatog-raphy-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The content of oxidized LOs like [1–9-NαC],[1(Rs, Ss)-MetO]-linusorb B2 (LO14) were substantially constant in flaxseed meal and flour produced from flaxseed meal under all conditions for up to 4 weeks. However, during GF-bread production LOs decreased. Due to microbial contamination dough could not be stored at either 4 or 21°C, and bread could only be stored for one week at 21°C. Up to 4 weeks storage was possible for bread and dough at −18 °C and bread at 4 °C without the loss of LOs. The LOs change mostly from processing and less so from storage. The concentration of reduced LOs in flour and meal were much higher than measured in dough and bread. There was not a corre-sponding increase in oxidized LOs. The LOs in flaxseed meal-fortified bread were stable for products stored at low temperatures. This study is the first of the impact of baking conditions on LO content and quality.

Keywords: flaxseed, stability, gluten-free, antioxidant

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Authors: Phuoc Si Nguyen

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Frequency transformation with Pascal matrix equations is a method for transforming an electronic filter (analogue or digital) into another filter. The technique is based on frequency transformation in the s-domain, bilinear z-transform with pre-warping frequency, inverse bilinear transformation and a very useful application of the Pascal’s triangle that simplifies computing and enables calculation by hand when transforming from one filter to another. This paper will introduce two methods to transform a filter into a digital filter: frequency transformation from the s-domain into the z-domain; and frequency transformation in the z-domain. Further, two Pascal matrix equations are derived: an analogue to digital filter Pascal matrix equation and a digital to digital filter Pascal matrix equation. These are used to design a desired digital filter from a given filter.

Keywords: frequency transformation, bilinear z-transformation, pre-warping frequency, digital filters, analog filters, pascal’s triangle

Procedia PDF Downloads 533

Authors: Made Ayu Aristyana Dewi

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Due to the importance of knowledge in today’s competitive world, an understanding of how to enhance employee knowledge sharing has become critical. This study discerning employees’ knowledge sharing intentions according to the type of knowledge to be shared, whether tacit or explicit. This study provides a critical and systematic review of the current literature on knowledge sharing, with a particular focus on the most critical factors influencing employees’ tacit and explicit knowledge sharing intentions. The extant literature was identified through four electronic databases, from 2006 to 2016. The findings of this review reveal that most of the previous studies only focus on individual and social factors as the antecedents of knowledge sharing intention. Therefore, those previous studies did not consider some other potential factors, like organizational and technological factors that may hinder the progress of knowledge sharing processes. Based on the findings of the critical review, a conceptual framework is proposed, which presents the antecedents of employees’ tacit and explicit knowledge sharing intentions and its impact on innovation and sustainable competitive advantage.

Keywords: antecedents, explicit knowledge, individual factors, innovation, intentions, knowledge sharing, organizational factors, social factors, sustainable competitive advantage, tacit knowledge, technological factors

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Authors: Bishnu Prasad Devkota

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Peoples` perception is reflected in their attitudes and presumably their behavior towards wildlife conservation. The success of wildlife conservation initiatives in the mountains of Nepal is heavily dependent on local people. Therefore, Nepal has emphasized the involvement of local people in wildlife conservation, especially in the mountainous region. Local peoples` perception towards snow leopard conservation in six mountainous protected area of Nepal was carried out conducting 300 household surveys and 90 face to face key informant interviews. The average livestock holding was 27.74 animals per household with depredation rate of 10.6 % per household per annum. Livestock was the source of 32.74% of the total mean annual income of each household. In average, the economic loss per household per annum due to livestock depredation was US $ 490. There was significant difference in people´s perception towards snow leopard conservation in protected areas of mountainous region of Nepal. These differences were due to economic, educational and cultural factors. 54.4% local people showed preference for snow leopard conservation. The perception of local people toward snow leopard was significantly difference by the economic status of local people. Involvement of local people in conservation activities had positive impact towards wildlife conservation in the mountain region of Nepal. Timely introducing incentive programs can be a supportive way for sustaining the conservation of snow leopards in the Nepalese Himalayas.

Keywords: economic loss, livestock depredation, local people, perception, snow leopard

Procedia PDF Downloads 235