Search results for: ethical diffusion

Authors: Alexandra Sweny

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This paper contends with the intersection between the act of witnessing and the act of reading in order to consider the relevance of literary testimony and fiction as tools for postcolonial readings of history. J. M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians elucidates what Primo Levi deems the 'paradoxical' task of testimony: that suffering can only be fully narrated by the sufferer themselves, whose voice and narrative capacity is often foreclosed by the very extent of their trauma. By examining the fictional Magistrate's position as both a reader and translator of history, this paper posits Waiting for the Barbarians as an ethical command against the appropriation of trauma.

Keywords: ethical criticism, limit-experience, postcolonialism, psychic trauma in literature, testimony

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Authors: Syed Ahmed Salman

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Ethicality is essential in our daily activities, including personal and commercial activities. This is evidenced by referring to the historical development of the corporate governance and ethical guidelines. The first corporate governance guideline, i.e. Cadbury Report from U.K. focuses the responsibility of board members towards the shareholders only. Gradually, realising the need to take care of the society and community, stakeholders are now concerns of business entities. Consequently, later codes of corporate governance started extending the responsibility to the other stakeholders in addition to the shareholders. One prevailing corporate governance theory, i.e. stakeholder theory, has been widely used in the research to explore the effects of business entities on society. In addition, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the leading organisation which promotes social care from businesses for sustainable development. Conventionally, history shows that ethics is key to the long term success of businesses. Many organisations, societies, and regulators give full attention and consideration to ethics. Several countries have introduced ethical codes of conduct to direct trade activities. Similarly, Islam and other religions prohibit the practice of interest, uncertainty, and gambling because of its unethical nature. These prohibited practices are not at all good for the society, business, and any organisation especially as it is detrimental to the well-being of society. In order to avoid unethicality in the finance industry, Shari’ah scholars come out with the idea of Islamic finance which is free from the prohibited elements from the Islamic perspective. It can also be termed ethical finance. This paper highlights how Takaful as one of the Islamic finance products offers fair and just products to the contracting parties and the society. Takaful is framed based on ethical guidelines which are extracted from Shari’ah principles and divine sources such as the Quran and Sunnah. Takaful products have been widely offered all over the world, including in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. It seems that it is gaining acceptance regardless of religion. This is evidence that Takaful is being accepted as an ethical financial product.

Keywords: ethics, insurance, Islamic finance, religion and takaful

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Authors: Mengjie Liu

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This essay aims at responding to the Kant arguments on how to fit the self-caused subject into the deterministic object which follows the natural laws. This essay mainly adopts the approach abstracted from Fichte’s “Wissenshaftslehre” (Doctrine of Science) to picture a possible solution to the conciliation of Kantian dualism. The Fichte approach is based on the unity of the theoretical and practical reason, which can be understood as a philosophical abstraction from ordinary experience combining both subject and object. This essay will discuss the general Kantian dualism problem and Fichte’s unity approach in the first part. Then the essay will elaborate on the achievement of this unity of the subject and object through Fichte’s “the I posits itself” process in the second section. The following third section is related to the ethical unity of subject and object based on the Fichte approach. The essay will also discuss the limitation of Fichte’s approach from two perspectives: (1) the theoretical possibility of the existence of the pure I and (2) Schelling’s statement that the Absolute I is a result rather than the originating act. This essay demonstrates a possible approach to unifying the subject and object supported by Fichte’s “Absolute I” and ethical theories and also points out the limitations of Fichte’s theories.

Keywords: Fichte, identity, Kantian dualism, Wissenshaftslehre

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Authors: Ferhat Mohamed Amine, Boukhatem Mohamed Nadjib, Chemat Farid

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The Lamiaceae family is widely spread in Algeria. Due to the application of Thymus species growing wild in Algeria as a culinary herb and in folk medicine, the purpose of the present work was to evaluate antimicrobial activities of their essential oils and relate them with their chemical composition, for further application in food and pharmaceutical industries as natural valuable products. The extraction of the Thymus vulgaris L. essential oil (TVEO) was obtained by steam distillation. Chemical composition of the TVEO was determined by Gas Chromatography. A total of thirteen compounds were identified. Carvacrol (83.8%) was the major component, followed by cymene (8.15%) and terpinene (4.96%). Antibacterial action of the TVEO against 23 clinically isolated bacterial strains was determined by using agar disc diffusion and vapour diffusion methods at different doses. By disc diffusion method, TVEO showed potent antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria more than gram-negative strains and antibiotic discs. The Diameter of Inhibition Zone (DIZ) varied from 25 to 60 mm for S. aureus, B. subtilisand E. coli. However, the results obtained by both agar diffusion and vapour diffusion methods were different. Significantly higher antibacterial effect was observed in the vapour phase at lower doses. S. aureus and B. subtilis were the most susceptible strains to the oil vapour. Therefore, smaller doses of EO in the vapour phase can be inhibitory to pathogenic bacteria. There is growing evidence that TVEO in vapour phase are effective antiseptic systems and appears worthy to be considered for practical uses in the treatment of human infections oras air decontaminants in hospital. TVEO has considerable antibacterial activity deserving further investigation for clinical applications. Also whilst the mode of action remains mainly undetermined, this experimental approach will need to continue.

Keywords: antimicrobial drugs, carvacrol, disc diffusion, Thymus vulgaris, vapour diffusion

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Authors: Adriana Piatti-Crocker

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Drawing on archival documentation, digital platforms, academic journals, and reports, this research will explore the diffusion of a protest movement in Latin America. Starting in Argentina in 2015, this paper will explain how the hashtag #NiUnaMenos (“Not One Woman Less”), created to combat violence against women and girls, led to the spread of a regionwide movement. A year after its introduction, hundreds of thousands of activists mobilized on the streets of major cities in Latin America. Movements arose to protest against specific circumstances and contexts under the hashtag #NiUnaMenos, but the main goal of all of these protests was to fight against misogynist violence. Moreover, unlike previous social movements, the use of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Twitter, changed the depth and scope of these protests and led to an unprecedented speed in helping transmit their messages, strategies, identities, and goals.

Keywords: social protests, #NiUnaMenos ( Not one woman less), diffusion of social protests, protests and mysoginist violence

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Authors: Torchane Lazhar

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In this work, our task consists in optimizing the nitriding treatment at low-temperature of the steel 32CrMoV13 by the way of the mixtures of ammonia gas, nitrogen and hydrogen to improve the mechanical properties of the surface (good wear resistance, friction and corrosion), and of the diffusion layer of the nitrogen (good resistance to fatigue and good tenacity with heart). By limiting our work to the pure iron and to the alloys iron-chromium and iron-chrome-carbon, we have studied the various parameters which manage the nitriding: flow rate and composition of the gaseous phase, the interaction chromium-nitrogen and chromium-carbon by the help of experiments of nitriding realized in the laboratory by thermogravimetry. The acquired knowledge have been applied by the mastery of the growth of the combination layer on the diffusion layer in the case of the industrial steel 32CrMoV13.

Keywords: diffusion of nitrogen, gaseous nitriding, layer growth kinetic, steel

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Authors: Arnab Mondal, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Ranjit Kumar Upadhyay

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We study the spatiotemporal dynamics of a neuronal cable. The processes of one- dimensional (1D) and 2D diffusion are considered for a single variable, which is the membrane voltage, i.e., membrane voltage diffusively interacts for spatiotemporal pattern formalism. The recovery and other variables interact through the membrane voltage. A 3D Leech-Heart (LH) model is introduced to investigate the nonlinear responses of an excitable neuronal cable. The deterministic LH model shows different types of firing properties. We explore the parameter space of the uncoupled LH model and based on the bifurcation diagram, considering v_k2_ashift as a bifurcation parameter, we analyze the 1D diffusion dynamics in three regimes: bursting, regular spiking, and a quiescent state. Depending on parameters, it is shown that the diffusive system may generate regular and irregular bursting or spiking behavior. Further, it is explored a 2D diffusion acting on the membrane voltage, where different types of patterns can be observed. The results show that the LH neurons with different firing characteristics depending on the control parameters participate in a collective behavior of an information processing system that depends on the overall network.

Keywords: bifurcation, pattern formation, spatio-temporal dynamics, stability analysis

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Authors: Kirsi Snellman, Johannes Gartner, , Katja Upadaya

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A transition towards a future where the economy serves society so that it evolves within the safe operating space of the planet calls for fundamental changes in the way managers think, feel and act, and make decisions that relate to social and environmental issues. Sustainable decision-making in organizations are often challenging tasks characterized by trade-offs between environmental, social and financial aspects, thus often bringing forth ethical concerns. Although there have been significant developments in incorporating uncertainty into environmental decision-making and measuring constructs and dimensions in ethical behavior in organizations, the majority of sustainable decision-making models are rationalist-based. Moreover, research in psychology indicates that one’s readiness to make a decision depends on the individual’s state of mind, the feasibility of the implied change, and the compatibility of strategies and tactics of implementation. Although very informative, most of this extant research is limited in the sense that it often directs attention towards the rational instead of the emotional. Hence, little is known about the role of emotions in sustainable decision making, especially in situations where decision-makers evaluate a variety of options and use their feelings as a source of information in tackling the uncertainty. To fill this lacuna, and to embrace the uncertainty and perceived risk involved in decisions that touch upon social and environmental aspects, it is important to add emotion to the evaluation when aiming to reach the one right and good ethical decision outcome. This analysis builds on recent findings in moral psychology that associate feelings and intuitions with ethical decisions and suggests that emotions can sensitize the manager to evaluate the rightness or wrongness of alternatives if ethical concerns are present in sustainable decision making. Capturing such sensitive evaluation as triggered by intuitions, we suggest that rational justification can be complemented by using emotions as a tool to tune in to what feels right in making sustainable decisions. This analysis integrates ethical decision-making theories with recent advancements in emotion theories. It determines the conditions under which emotions play a role in sustainability decisions by contributing to a personal equilibrium in which intuition and rationality are both activated and in accord. It complements the rationalist ethics view according to which nothing fogs the mind in decision making so thoroughly as emotion, and the concept of cheater’s high that links unethical behavior with positive affect. This analysis contributes to theory with a novel theoretical model that specifies when and why managers, who are more emotional, are, in fact, more likely to make ethical decisions than those managers who are more rational. It also proposes practical advice on how emotions can convert the manager’s preferences into choices that benefit both common good and one’s own good throughout the transition towards a more sustainable future.

Keywords: emotion, ethical decision making, intuition, sustainability

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Authors: Muhammad Asif ShakoorI, Maogang He, Aamir Shahzad

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Dusty (complex) plasmas contained micro-sized charged dust particles in addition to ions, electrons, and neutrals. It is typically low-temperature plasma and exists in a wide variety of physical systems. In this work, the effects of an external electric field on the diffusion coefficient and share viscosity are investigated through equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) simulations in three-dimensional (3D) strongly coupled (SC) dusty plasmas (DPs). The effects of constant and varying normalized electric field strength (E*) have been computed along with different combinations of plasma states on the diffusion of dust particles using EMD simulations. Diffusion coefficient (D) and share viscosity (η) along with varied system sizes, in the limit of varying E* values, is accounted for an appropriate range of plasma coupling (Γ) and screening strength (κ) parameters. At varying E* values, it is revealed that the 3D diffusion coefficient increases with increasing E* and κ; however, it decreases with an increase of Γ but within statistical limits. The share viscosity increases with increasing E*and Γ and decreases with increasing κ. New simulation results are outstanding that the combined effects of electric field and screening strengths give well-matched values of Dandη at low-intermediate to large Γ with varying small-intermediate to large N. The current EMD simulation outcomes under varying electric field strengths are in satisfactory well-matched with previous known simulation data of EMD simulations of the SC-DPs. It has been shown that the present EMD simulation data enlarged the range of E* strength up to 0.1 ≤ E*≤ 1.0 in order to find the linear range of the DPs system and to demonstrate the fundamental nature of electric field linearity of 3D SC-DPs.

Keywords: strongly coupled dusty plasma, diffusion coefficient, share viscosity, molecular dynamics simulation, electric field strength

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Authors: Lagnajeet Mohanty, Mohnish Mishra, Pratham Tapdiya, Himanshu Sekhar Nayak, Swetapadma Singh

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In the era of global interconnectedness, effective risk assessment and management are critical for organizational resilience. This review explores the integration of machine learning (ML) into risk processes, examining its transformative potential and the challenges it presents. The literature reveals ML's success in sectors like consumer credit, demonstrating enhanced predictive accuracy, adaptability, and potential cost savings. However, ethical considerations, interpretability issues, and the demand for skilled practitioners pose limitations. Looking forward, the study identifies future research scopes, including refining ethical frameworks, advancing interpretability techniques, and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations. The synthesis of limitations and future directions highlights the dynamic landscape of ML in risk management, urging stakeholders to navigate challenges innovatively. This abstract encapsulates the evolving discourse on ML's role in shaping proactive and effective risk management strategies in our interconnected and unpredictable global landscape.

Keywords: machine learning, risk assessment, ethical considerations, financial inclusion

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Authors: M. A. Khanday, Aasma Rafiq, Khalid Nazir

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This paper is an attempt to establish the mathematical models to understand the distribution of drug administration in the human body through oral and intravenous routes. Three models were formulated based on diffusion process using Fick’s principle and the law of mass action. The rate constants governing the law of mass action were used on the basis of the drug efficacy at different interfaces. The Laplace transform and eigenvalue methods were used to obtain the solution of the ordinary differential equations concerning the rate of change of concentration in different compartments viz. blood and tissue medium. The drug concentration in the different compartments has been computed using numerical parameters. The results illustrate the variation of drug concentration with respect to time using MATLAB software. It has been observed from the results that the drug concentration decreases in the first compartment and gradually increases in other subsequent compartments.

Keywords: Laplace transform, diffusion, eigenvalue method, mathematical model

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Authors: Martina Manenova, Lukas Cirus

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This article introduces research focused on elementary school teachers’ approach to innovations in ICT. The diffusion of innovations theory, which was written by E. M. Rogers, captures the processes of innovation adoption. The research method derived from this theory and the Rogers’ questionnaire focused on the diffusion of innovations was used as the basic research method. The research sample consisted of elementary school teachers. The comparison of results with the Rogers’ results shows that among the teachers in the research sample the so-called early majority, as well as the overall division of the data, was rather central (early adopter, early majority, and later majority). The teachers very rarely appeared on the edge positions (innovator, laggard). The obtained results can be applied to teaching practice and used especially in the implementation of new technologies and techniques into the educational process.

Keywords: innovation, diffusion of innovation, information and communication technology, teachers

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Authors: Anthony Townsend, Robyn Fasser

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While complete objectivity is a desirable scientific position from which to conduct a care and contact evaluation (CCE), it is precisely the recognition that we are inherently incapable of operating objectively that is the foundation of ethical practice and skilled assessment. Drawing upon recent research from Daniel Kahneman (2021) on the differences between noise and bias, as well as different inherent biases collectively termed “The Elephant in the Brain” by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson (2019) from Oxford University, this presentation addresses both the various ways in which our judgments, perceptions and even procedures can be distorted and contaminated while conducting a CCE, but also considers the value of second order cybernetics and the psychodynamic concept of ‘ambivalence’ as a conceptual basis to inform our assessment methodologies to limit such errors or at least better identify them. Both a conceptual framework for ambivalence, our higher-order capacity to allow for the convergence and consideration of multiple emotional experiences and cognitive perceptions to inform our reasoning, and a practical methodology for assessment relying on data triangulation, Bayesian inference and hypothesis testing is presented as a means of promoting ethical practice for health care professionals conducting CCEs. An emphasis on widening awareness and perspective, limiting ‘splitting’, is demonstrated both in how this form of emotional processing plays out in alienating dynamics in families as well as the assessment thereof. In addressing this concept, this presentation aims to illuminate the value of ambivalence as foundational to ethical practice for assessors.

Keywords: ambivalence, forensic, psychology, noise, bias, ethics

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Authors: Ahmed Abdulrahman, Jalal Foroozesh

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CO₂ based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques have gained massive attention from major oil firms since they resolve the industry's two main concerns of CO₂ contribution to the greenhouse effect and the declined oil production. Carbonated water injection (CWI) is a promising EOR technique that promotes safe and economic CO₂ storage; moreover, it mitigates the pitfalls of CO₂ injection, which include low sweep efficiency, early CO₂ breakthrough, and the risk of CO₂ leakage in fractured formations. One of the main challenges that hinder the wide adoption of this EOR technique is the complexity of accurate modeling of the kinetics of CO₂ mass transfer. The mechanisms of CO₂ mass transfer during CWI include the slow and gradual cross-phase CO₂ diffusion from carbonated water (CW) to the oil phase and the CO₂ dispersion (within phase diffusion and mechanical mixing), which affects the oil physical properties and the spatial spreading of CO₂ inside the reservoir. A 2D non-equilibrium compositional simulator has been developed using a fully implicit finite difference approximation. The material balance term (k) was added to the governing equation to account for the slow cross-phase diffusion of CO₂ from CW to the oil within the gird cell. Also, longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients have been added to account for CO₂ spatial distribution inside the oil phase. The CO₂-oil diffusion coefficient was calculated using the Sigmund correlation, while a scale-dependent dispersivity was used to calculate CO₂ mechanical mixing. It was found that the CO₂-oil diffusion mechanism has a minor impact on oil recovery, but it tends to increase the amount of CO₂ stored inside the formation and slightly alters the residual oil properties. On the other hand, the mechanical mixing mechanism has a huge impact on CO₂ spatial spreading (accurate prediction of CO₂ production) and the noticeable change in oil physical properties tends to increase the recovery factor. A sensitivity analysis has been done to investigate the effect of formation heterogeneity (porosity, permeability) and injection rate, it was found that the formation heterogeneity tends to increase CO₂ dispersion coefficients, and a low injection rate should be implemented during CWI.

Keywords: CO₂ mass transfer, carbonated water injection, CO₂ dispersion, CO₂ diffusion, cross phase CO₂ diffusion, within phase CO2 diffusion, CO₂ mechanical mixing, non-equilibrium simulation

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Authors: Antonio Espingardeiro

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It is likely that robots will cross the boundaries of industry into households over the next decades. With demographic challenges worldwide, the future ageing populations will require the introduction of assistive technologies capable of providing, care, human dignity and quality of life through the aging process. Robotics technology has a high potential for being used in the areas of social and healthcare by promoting a wide range of activities such as entertainment, companionship, supervision or cognitive and physical assistance. However, such close Human Robotics Interactions (HRIs) encompass a rich set of ethical scenarios that need to be addressed before Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) reach the global markets. Such interactions with robots may seem a worthy goal for many technical/financial reasons but inevitably require close attention to the ethical dimensions of such interactions. This article investigates the current HRI benchmark of social success. It revises it according to the ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and justice aligned with social care ethos. An extension of such benchmark is proposed based on an empirical study of HRIs with elderly groups.

Keywords: HRI, SARs, social success, benchmark, elderly care

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Authors: Mansour Al Qubeissi, Sergei S. Sazhin, Cyril Crua, Morgan R. Heikal

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This paper presents the application of the Discrete Component Model for heating and evaporation to multi-component biodiesel fuel droplets in direct injection internal combustion engines. This model takes into account the effects of temperature gradient, recirculation and species diffusion inside droplets. A distinctive feature of the model used in the analysis is that it is based on the analytical solutions to the temperature and species diffusion equations inside the droplets. Nineteen types of biodiesel fuels are considered. It is shown that a simplistic model, based on the approximation of biodiesel fuel by a single component or ignoring the diffusion of components of biodiesel fuel, leads to noticeable errors in predicted droplet evaporation time and time evolution of droplet surface temperature and radius.

Keywords: heat/mass transfer, biodiesel, multi-component fuel, droplet

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Authors: Dragana Calic

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The openness, availability and the sheer volume of big data have provided, what some regard as, an invaluable and rich dataset. Researchers, businesses, advertising agencies, medical institutions, to name only a few, collect, share, and analyze this data to enable their processes and decision making. However, there are important ethical considerations associated with the use of big data. The rapidly evolving nature of online technologies has overtaken the many legislative, privacy, and ethical frameworks and principles that exist. For example, should we obtain consent to use people’s online data, and under what circumstances can privacy considerations be overridden? Current guidance on how to appropriately and ethically handle big data is inconsistent. Consequently, this paper focuses on two quite distinct but related ethical considerations that are at the core of the use of big data for research purposes. They include empowering the producers of data and empowering researchers who want to study big data. The first consideration focuses on informed consent which is at the core of empowering producers of data. In this paper, we discuss some of the complexities associated with informed consent and consider studies of producers’ perceptions to inform research ethics guidelines and practice. The second consideration focuses on the researcher. Similarly, we explore studies that focus on researchers’ perceptions and experiences.

Keywords: big data, ethics, producers’ perceptions, researchers’ perceptions

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Authors: Margarita Mayoral-Villa, J. Klapp, L. Di G. Sigalotti, J. E. V. Guzmán

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Automated learning techniques are widely applied in the energy sector to address challenging problems from a practical point of view. To this end, we discuss the implementation of a Message Passing algorithm (MPNN)within a Graph Neural Network(GNN)to leverage the neighborhood of a set of nodes during the aggregation process. This approach enables the characterization of multiphase diffusion processes in the reservoir, such that the flow paths underlying the interconnections between multiple wells may be inferred from previously available data on flow rates and bottomhole pressures. The results thus obtained compare favorably with the predictions produced by the Reduced Order Capacitance-Resistance Models (CRM) and suggest the potential of MPNNs to enhance the robustness of the forecasts while improving the computational efficiency.

Keywords: multiphase diffusion, message passing neural network, well interconnection, interwell connectivity, graph neural network, capacitance-resistance models

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Authors: Shafiullah Soomro

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Active contour is one of the image segmentation techniques and its goal is to capture required object boundaries within an image. In this paper, we propose a novel image segmentation method by using an active contour method based on anisotropic diffusion feature enhancement technique. The traditional active contour methods use only pixel information to perform segmentation, which produces inaccurate results when an image has some noise or complex background. We use Perona and Malik diffusion scheme for feature enhancement, which sharpens the object boundaries and blurs the background variations. Our main contribution is the formulation of a new SPF (signed pressure force) function, which uses global intensity information across the regions. By minimizing an energy function using partial differential framework the proposed method captures semantically meaningful boundaries instead of catching uninterested regions. Finally, we use a Gaussian kernel which eliminates the problem of reinitialization in level set function. We use several synthetic and real images from different modalities to validate the performance of the proposed method. In the experimental section, we have found the proposed method performance is better qualitatively and quantitatively and yield results with higher accuracy compared to other state-of-the-art methods.

Keywords: active contours, anisotropic diffusion, level-set, partial differential equations

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Authors: Ömer Akkaya, Muammer Zerenler

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Ethics is important for all shareholders and stakeholders that a firm has in its environment. Whether a firm behaves ethically or unethically has a significant influence on consumers’ decision making and buying process. This research tries to explain business ethics from consumers’ perspective. The survey includes several questions to explain how consumers react if they know a firm behave unethically or ethically. What are consumers’ expectations regarding the ethical behavior of firm? Do consumer reward or punish the firms considering the ethics? Does it really important for consumers firms behaving ethical?

Keywords: business ethics, consumer behavior, ethics, social responsibility

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Authors: H. Higashiyama, M. Sappakittipakorn, M. Mizukoshi, O. Takahashi

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Ceramic waste aggregates (CWAs) were made from electric porcelain insulator wastes supplied from an electric power company, which were crushed and ground to fine aggregate sizes. In this study, to develop the CWA mortar as an eco–efficient, ground granulated blast–furnace slag (GGBS) as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) was incorporated. The water–to–binder ratio (W/B) of the CWA mortars was varied at 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6. The cement of the CWA mortar was replaced by GGBS at 20 and 40% by volume (at about 18 and 37% by weight). Mechanical properties of compressive and splitting tensile strengths, and elastic modulus were evaluated at the age of 7, 28, and 91 days. Moreover, the chloride ingress test was carried out on the CWA mortars in a 5.0% NaCl solution for 48 weeks. The chloride diffusion was assessed by using an electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). To consider the relation of the apparent chloride diffusion coefficient and the pore size, the pore size distribution test was also performed using a mercury intrusion porosimetry at the same time with the EPMA. The compressive strength of the CWA mortars with the GGBS was higher than that without the GGBS at the age of 28 and 91 days. The resistance to the chloride ingress of the CWA mortar was effective in proportion to the GGBS replacement level.

Keywords: ceramic waste aggregate, chloride diffusion, GGBS, pore size distribution

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Authors: Meriem Bahij, Ahmed Nafidi, Boujemâa Achchab, Sílvio M. A. Gama, José A. O. Matos

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Stochastic modeling concerns the use of probability to model real-world situations in which uncertainty is present. Therefore, the purpose of stochastic modeling is to estimate the probability of outcomes within a forecast, i.e. to be able to predict what conditions or decisions might happen under different situations. In the present study, we present a model of a stochastic diffusion process based on the bi-Weibull distribution function (its trend is proportional to the bi-Weibull probability density function). In general, the Weibull distribution has the ability to assume the characteristics of many different types of distributions. This has made it very popular among engineers and quality practitioners, who have considered it the most commonly used distribution for studying problems such as modeling reliability data, accelerated life testing, and maintainability modeling and analysis. In this work, we start by obtaining the probabilistic characteristics of this model, as the explicit expression of the process, its trends, and its distribution by transforming the diffusion process in a Wiener process as shown in the Ricciaardi theorem. Then, we develop the statistical inference of this model using the maximum likelihood methodology. Finally, we analyse with simulated data the computational problems associated with the parameters, an issue of great importance in its application to real data with the use of the convergence analysis methods. Overall, the use of a stochastic model reflects only a pragmatic decision on the part of the modeler. According to the data that is available and the universe of models known to the modeler, this model represents the best currently available description of the phenomenon under consideration.

Keywords: diffusion process, discrete sampling, likelihood estimation method, simulation, stochastic diffusion process, trends functions, bi-parameters weibull density function

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Authors: Soufiene Ilahi

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Photothermal effect occurs when absorbed light energy that generate a thermal wave that propagate into the sample and surrounding media. Subsequently, the propagation of the vibration of phonons or electrons causes heat transfer. In fact, heat energy is provided by non-radiative recombination process that occurs in semiconductors sample. Three heats sources are identified: surface recombination, bulk recombination and carrier thermalisation. In the last few years, Photothermal Deflection Technique PTD is a nondestructive and accurate technique that prove t ability for electronics properties investigation. In this paper, we have studied the influence of doping on minority carrier lifetime, i.e, nonradiative lifetime, surface and diffusion coefficient. In fact, we have measured the photothermal signal of two sample of GaAs doped with C et Cr.In other hand , we have developed a theoretical model that takes into account of thermal and electronics diffusion equations .In order to extract electronics parameters of GaAs samples, we have fitted the theoretical signal of PTD to the experimental ones. As a results, we have found that nonradiative lifetime is around of 4,3 x 10-8 (±11,24%) and 5 x 10-8 (±14,32%) respectively for GaAs : Si doped and Cr doped. Accordingly, the diffusion coefficient is equal 4,6 *10-4 (± 3,2%) and 5* 10-4 (± 0,14%) foe the Cr, C and Si doped GaAs respectively.

Keywords: nonradiative lifetime, mobility of minority carrier, diffusion length, surface and interface recombination in GaAs

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Authors: Patricia Crentsil, Alvina Oriekhova

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The aim of the study is to determine social responsibility in the theory of organisation management. The main objectives are to examine the link between accountability,transparency, and ethical onorganisation management. The study seeks to answer questions that have received inadequate attention in social responsibility literature. Specifically, how accountability, transparency of policy, and ethical aspect enhanced organisation management? The target population of the study comprises of Deans and Head of Departments of Public Universities and Technical Universities in Ghana. The study used purposive sampling technique to select the Public Universities and technical universities in Ghana and adopted simple random Technique to select 300 participants from all Technical Universities in Ghana and 500 participants from all Traditional Universities in Ghana. The sample size will be 260 using confidence level = 95%, Margin of Error = 5%. The study used both primary and secondary data. The study adopted exploratory design to address the research questions. Results indicated thataccountability, transparency, and ethical have a positive significant link with organisation management. The study suggested that management can motivate an organization to act in a socially responsible manner.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, organisation management, organisation management theory, social responsibility

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Authors: Supranee Wattanasin

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This research study was a qualitative documentary research by using an in-depth interview with many experts in the field who has both knowledge and experience to provide information to create a strategic plan to enhance the students’ ethics. The findings revealed that there were five areas that require an attention. The five areas included honesty, accurate fact, human right, speed, and responsibility. The development of the strategic plan to enhance the ethics for students who major in communication arts can be concluded as follows. First, the government, private, and religion sectors need to come up together and set up the activities to promote the ethical standard in schools, universities, and organizations. Second, it is important to cultivate the knowledge that ethics is important of the professional jobs, especially in the mass communication and media. Third, the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy should be brought to explain to students in order for them to have some immunity to the negative attitude such as drinking alcohol, gambling, cut classes, and cheating at exams. Fourth, experts in the field of ethics should be found to provide more knowledge to students and allow students to participate in activities that will increase their experience and knowledge of the real world problem.

Keywords: communication arts, ethics, mass communication, media, strategy

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Authors: Arnaud Deshais

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The supply chain industry has integrated the need for supplier Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), mostly from an ethical and moral argument. In addition, in some countries, it is also a legal requirement for companies reaching a certain size. As a matter of fact, a lot of successful companies have developed a Corporate Social Responsibility Program that encourages diversity and inclusion in the supply chain, such as building strong relationships with minority owned businesses (women, LGBT, veterans, etc.). Outside ethical and legal perspectives, it is also worth researching the economic and financial benefits of pursuing such efforts. Through surveys of purchasing and supply chain managers in their current roles as well as review of some case studies on supplier based D&I programs, it becomes apparent that a financial return on investment is to be expected as well for companies who make a concerted effort to grow their D&I programs. The study explores the levers to increase shareholder value and business efficiencies. Finally, the research highlights the competitive advantage related to a broad minority based supplier network. The benefits manifest themselves in the areas of competitiveness, innovation, and collaboration. The economic reward ends up being at the forefront of those programs while being an opportunity for organizations to become 'a good citizen'.

Keywords: diversity, inclusion, purchasing, supplier

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Authors: Huma Sarwar, Muhammad Ishtiaq Ishaq, Junaid Aftab

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The hospitality sector contributes significantly to the global economy but it is also responsible for imposing adverse influences both environmentally and socially. The objective of this research is two-fold: (1) examining the direct impact of internal CSR and external CSR and indirect impact via organizational identification on creative performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and (2) determining the moderating role of ethical leadership in the relationships of internal- and external- CSR with organizational identification in a cross-cultural context. The data was were collected using multi-respondents and time-lagged data from 260 Pakistani and 239 UK respondents working in upscale hotels of the United Kingdom and Pakistan. The results demonstrate significant differences in both cultures as external CSR has a more substantial impact on organizational identification in the UK, whereas organizational identification has a relatively stronger influence on OCB and creative performance in collectivistic culture (i.e., Pakistan). The findings also confirmed that ethical leadership significantly moderates the relationship of internal- and external - CSR on organizational identification.

Keywords: Huma Sarwar, Muhammad Ishtiaq Ishaq, Junaid Aftab

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Authors: Adriano Valdes-Gomez, Francisco Javier Sevilla

Abstract:

We devise a numerical algorithm to simulate the diffusion of a Brownian particle restricted to the surface of a three-dimensional sphere when the particle is under the effects of an external potential that is coupled linearly. It is obtained using elementary geometry, yet, it converges, in the weak sense, to the solutions to the Smoluchowski equation. Rotations on the sphere, which are the analogs of linear displacements in euclidean spaces, are calculated using algebraic operations and then by a proper scaling, which makes the algorithm efficient and quite simple, especially to what may be the short-time propagator approach. Our findings prove that the global effects of curvature are taken into account in both dynamic and stationary processes, and it is not restricted to work in configuration space, neither restricted to the overdamped limit. We have generalized it successfully to simulate the Kramers or the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, where it is necessary to work directly in phase space, and it may be adapted to other two dimensional surfaces with non-constant curvature.

Keywords: diffusion on the sphere, Fokker-Planck equation on the sphere, non equilibrium processes on the sphere, numerical methods for diffusion on the sphere

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Authors: Pouira Askary

Abstract:

Indeed, in our globalized world which is facing with various international crises, the transnational corporations and other business enterprises have the capacity to foster economic well-being, development, technological improvement and wealth, as well as causing adverse impacts on human rights. The UN Human Rights Council declared that although the primary responsibility to protect human rights lie with the State but the transnational corporations and other business enterprises have also a responsibility to respect and protect human rights in the framework of corporate social responsibility. In 2011, the Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, a set of guidelines that define the key duties and responsibilities of States and business enterprises with regard to business-related human rights abuses. In UN’s view, the Guiding Principles do not create new legal obligations but constitute a clarification of the implications of existing standards, including under international human rights law. In 2014 the UN Human Rights Council decided to establish a working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises whose mandate shall be to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. Extremely difficult task for the working group to codify a legally binding document to regulate the behavior of corporations on the basis of the norms of international law! Concentration of this paper is on the origins of those human rights applicable on business enterprises. The research will discuss that the social and ethical roots of the CSR are much more institutionalized and elaborated than the legal roots. Therefore, the first step is to determine whether and to what extent corporations, do have an ethical responsibility to respect human rights and if so, by which means this ethical and social responsibility is convertible to legal commitments.

Keywords: CSR, ethics, international law, human rights, development, sustainable business

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Authors: Fateme Nokhodchi Bonab

Abstract:

Studies related to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and drug delivery are reviewed in this study to demonstrate the role of transport theory in porous media in facilitating advances in biomedical applications. Diffusion processes are believed to be important in many therapeutic modalities such as: B. Delivery of drugs to the brain. We analyse the progress in the development of diffusion equations using the local volume average method and the evaluation of applications related to diffusion equations. Torsion and porosity have significant effects on diffusive transport. In this study, various relevant models of torsion are presented and mathematical modeling of drug release from biodegradable delivery systems is analysed. In this study, a new model of drug release kinetics from porous biodegradable polymeric microspheres under bulk and surface erosion of the polymer matrix is presented. Solute drug diffusion, drug dissolution from the solid phase, and polymer matrix erosion have been found to play a central role in controlling the overall drug release process. This work paves the way for MRI and drug delivery researchers to develop comprehensive models based on porous media theory that use fewer assumptions compared to other approaches.

Keywords: MRI, porous media, drug delivery, biomedical applications

Procedia PDF Downloads 84