Search results for: biomedical research involving human beings

Authors: Joshua Osondu

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This research explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be utilized as a policy response to address teaching and learning (TL) issues in education in Ghana. The dual (AI and human) instructor model is used as a theoretical framework to examine how AI can be employed to improve teaching and learning processes and to equip learners with the necessary skills in the emerging AI society. A qualitative research design was employed to assess the impact of AI on various TL issues, such as teacher workloads, a lack of qualified educators, low academic performance, unequal access to education and educational resources, a lack of participation in learning, and poor access and participation based on gender, place of origin, and disability. The study concludes that AI can be an effective policy response to TL issues in Ghana, as it has the potential to increase students’ participation in learning, increase access to quality education, reduce teacher workloads, and provide more personalized instruction. The findings of this study are significant for filling in the gaps in AI research in Ghana and other developing countries and for motivating the government and educational institutions to implement AI in TL, as this would ensure quality, access, and participation in education and help Ghana industrialize.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, teacher, learner, students, policy response

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Authors: Md. M. Hossain, Regan Roat, Jenica Christopherson, Colette Free, Zhiguang Guo

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Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) mediated post-transcriptional gene regulation, and their epigenetic landscapes have been shown to be involved in many human diseases. However, their regulation in diabetes through governing islet’s β-cell function and survival needs to be elucidated. Due to the technical and ethical constraints, it is difficult to study their role in β-cell function and survival in human under in vivo condition. In this study, humanized mice have been developed through transplanting human pancreatic islet under the kidney capsule of NOD.SCID mice and induced β-cell death leading to diabetes condition to study lncRNA mediated regulation. For this, human islets from 3 donors (3000 IEQ, purity > 80%) were transplanted under the kidney capsule of STZ induced diabetic NOD.scid mice. After at least 2 weeks of normoglycecemia, lymphocytes from diabetic NOD mice were adoptively transferred and islet grafts were collected once blood glucose reached > 200 mg/dl. RNA from human donor islets, islet grafts from humanized mice with either adoptive lymphocyte transfer (ALT) or PBS control (CTL) were ribodepleted; barcoded fragment libraries were constructed and sequenced on the Ion Proton sequencer. lncRNA expression in isolated human islets, islet grafts from humanized mice with and without induced β-cell death and their regulation in human islets function in vitro under glucose challenge, cytokine mediated inflammation and induced apoptotic condition were investigated. Out of 3155 detected lncRNAs, 299 that highly expressed in islets were found to be significantly downregulated and 224 upregulated in ALT compared to CTL. Most of these are found to be collocated within 5 kb upstream and 1 kb downstream of 788 up- and 624 down-regulated mRNAs. Genomic Regions Enrichment of Annotations Analysis revealed deregulated and collocated genes are related to pancreas endocrine development; insulin synthesis, processing, and secretion; pancreatitis and diabetes. Many of them, that found to be located within enhancer domains for islet specific gene activity, are associated to the deregulation of known islet/βcell specific transcription factors and genes that are important for β-cell differentiation, identity, and function. RNA sequencing analysis revealed aberrant lncRNA expression which is associated to the deregulated mRNAs in β-cell function as well as in molecular pathways related to diabetes. A distinct set of candidate lncRNA isoforms were identified as highly enriched and specific to human islets, which are deregulated in human islets from donors with different BMIs and with type 2 diabetes. These RNAs show an interesting regulation in cultured human islets under glucose stimulation and with induced β-cell death by cytokines. Aberrant expression of these lncRNAs was detected in the exosomes from the media of islets cultured with cytokines. Results of this study suggest that the islet specific lncRNAs are deregulated in human islet with β-cell death, hence important in diabetes. These lncRNAs might be important for human β-cell function and survival thus could be used as biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for diabetes.

Keywords: β-cell, humanized mouse, pancreatic islet, LncRNAs

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Authors: Fakhrosadat Sajjadian

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In the USA, about 5% of women diagnosed with breast cancer annually are affected by Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC), which is a highly aggressive type of Locally Advanced Breast Cancer (LABC). It is a type of LABC that is clinically and pathologically different, known for its rapid growth, invasiveness, and ability to promote the growth of blood vessels. Almost all women are found to have lymph nodes affected upon diagnosis, while around 36% show obvious distant metastases. Even with the latest improvements in multimodality therapies, the outlook for patients with IBC remains bleak, as the average disease-free survival time is less than 2.5 years. Recent research on the genetic factors responsible for the IBC phenotype has resulted in the discovery of genes that play a role in the advancement of this illness. The development of primary human cell lines and animal models has assisted in this research. These advancements offer new possibilities for future actions in identifying and treating IBC.

Keywords: breast cancer, inflammation, diagnosis, IBC, LABC

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Authors: S. Curteanu, F. Leon, M. Gavrilescu, S. A. Floria

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Optimization algorithms inspired from human behavior were applied in this approach, associated with neural networks models. The algorithms belong to human behaviors of learning and cooperation and human competitive behavior classes. For the first class, the main strategies include: random learning, individual learning, and social learning, and the selected algorithms are: simplified human learning optimization (SHLO), social learning optimization (SLO), and teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO). For the second class, the concept of learning is associated with competitiveness, and the selected algorithms are sports-inspired algorithms (with Football Game Algorithm, FGA and Volleyball Premier League, VPL) and Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA). A real process, the synthesis of polyacrylamide-based multicomponent hydrogels, where some parameters are difficult to obtain experimentally, is considered as a case study. Reaction yield and swelling degree are predicted as a function of reaction conditions (acrylamide concentration, initiator concentration, crosslinking agent concentration, temperature, reaction time, and amount of inclusion polymer, which could be starch, poly(vinyl alcohol) or gelatin). The experimental results contain 175 data. Artificial neural networks are obtained in optimal form with biologically inspired algorithm; the optimization being perform at two level: structural and parametric. Feedforward neural networks with one or two hidden layers and no more than 25 neurons in intermediate layers were obtained with values of correlation coefficient in the validation phase over 0.90. The best results were obtained with TLBO algorithm, correlation coefficient being 0.94 for an MLP(6:9:20:2) – a feedforward neural network with two hidden layers and 9 and 20, respectively, intermediate neurons. Good results obtained prove the efficiency of the optimization algorithms. More than the good results, what is important in this approach is the simulation methodology, including neural networks and optimization biologically inspired algorithms, which provide satisfactory results. In addition, the methodology developed in this approach is general and has flexibility so that it can be easily adapted to other processes in association with different types of models.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, human behaviors of learning and cooperation, human competitive behavior, optimization algorithms

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Authors: Muhadam Labolo, Afdal R. Anwar, Sucia Miranti Sipisang

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Electronic Local Finance Management Information System (ELFMIS) is integrated application that was used as a tool for local governments to improve the effectiveness of the implementation of the various areas of financial management regulations. Appropriate With Exceptions Opinion (WDP) of Indonesia Audit Agency (BPK) for local governments Mempawah is a financial management problem that must be improved to avoid mistakes in decision-making. The use of Electronic Local Finance Management Information System (ELFMIS) by Mempawah authority has not yet performed maximally. These problems became the basis for research in measuring the effectiveness LFMIS in Mempawah regency. This research uses an indicator variable for measuring information systems effectiveness proposed by Bodnar. This research made use descriptive with inductive approach. Data collection techniques were mixed from qualitative and quantitative techniques, used questionnaires, interviews and documentation. The obstacles in Local Finance Board (LFB) for the application of ELFMIS such as connection, the quality and quantity of human resources, realization of financial resources, absence of maintenance and another facilities of ELFMIS and verification for financial information.

Keywords: effectiveness, E-LFMIS, finance, local government, system

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Authors: Teklu Urgessa, Joong Seek Lee

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Social media is becoming the primary choice of activists to make their voices heard. This fact is coupled by two main reasons. The first reason is the emergence web 2.0, which gave the users opportunity to become content creators than passive recipients. Secondly the control of the mainstream mass media outlets by the governments and individuals with their political and economic interests. This paper aimed at exploring twitter data of network actors talking about the marathon silver medalists on Rio2016, who showed solidarity with the Oromo protesters in Ethiopia on the marathon race finish line when he won silver. The aim is to discover important insight using social network analysis and mining. The hashtag #FeyisaLelisa was used for Twitter network search. The actors’ network was visualized and analyzed. It showed the central influencers during first 10 days in August, were international media outlets while it was changed to individual activist in September. The degree distribution of the network is scale free where the frequency of degrees decay by power low. Text mining was also used to arrive at meaningful themes from tweet corpus about the event selected for analysis. The semantic network indicated important clusters of concepts (15) that provided different insight regarding the why, who, where, how of the situation related to the event. The sentiments of the words in the tweets were also analyzed and indicated that 95% of the opinions in the tweets were either positive or neutral. Overall, the finding showed that Olympic stage protest of the marathoner brought the issue of Oromo protest to the global stage. The new research framework is proposed based for event-based social network analysis and mining based on the practical procedures followed in this research for event-based social media sense making.

Keywords: human rights, Olympics, social media, network analysis, social network ming

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Authors: O. R. Razanakoto, L. Temple

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Living in a least developed country, the Malagasy society has a weak capacity to internalize progress, including health concerns. Since the arrival in the fifteenth century of Arabic script, called Sorabe, that was mainly dedicated to the aristocracy, until the colonial era beginning at the end of the nineteenth century and that has popularized the current usual script of the occidental civilization, the upcoming manuscripts that deal with apparent scientific or at least academic issue have been slowly established. So that, the Malagasy communities’ way of life is not well documented yet to allow a precise understanding of the major concerns, reason, and purpose of the existence of the farmers that compose them. A question arises, according to literature, how does Malagasy community that is dominated by agrarian society conceive the conservation of its wellbeing? This study aims to emphasize the scope and the limits of the « One Health » concept or of the Health Integrated Approach (HIA) that evolves at global scale, with regard to the specific context of local Malagasy smallholder farms. It is expected to identify how this society represents linked risks and the mechanisms between human health, animal health, plant health, and ecosystem health within the last 100 years. To do so, the framework to conduct systematic review for agricultural research has been deployed to access available literature. This task has been coupled with the reading of articles that are not indexed by online scientific search engine but that mention part of a history of agriculture and of farmers in Madagascar. This literature review has informed the interactions between human illnesses and those affecting animals and plants (breeded or wild) with any unexpected event (ecological or economic) that has modified the equilibrium of the ecosystem, or that has disturbed the livelihoods of agrarian communities. Besides, drivers that may either accentuate or attenuate the devasting effects of these illnesses and changes were revealed. The study has established that the reasons of human worries are not only physiological. Among the factors that regulate global health, food system and contemporary medicine have helped to the improvement of life expectancy from 55 to 63 years in Madagascar during the last 50 years. However, threats to global health are still occurring. New human or animal illnesses and livestock / plant pathology or enemies may also appear, whereas ancient illnesses that are supposed to have disappeared may be back. This study has highlighted how much important are the risks associated to the impact of unmanaged externalities that weaken community’s life. Many risks, and also solutions, come from abroad and have long term effects even though those happen as punctual event. Thus, a constructivist strategy is suggested to the « One Health » global concept throughout the record of local facts. This approach should facilitate the exploration of methodological pathways and the identification of relevant indicators for research related to HIA.

Keywords: agrarian system, health integrated approach, history, madagascar, resilience, risk

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Authors: Hadas Sopher, Davide Schaumann, Yehuda E. Kalay

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This paper addresses the shortcomings of architectural computation tools in representing human behavior in built environments, prior to construction and occupancy of those environments. Evaluating whether a design fits the needs of its future users is currently done solely post construction, or is based on the knowledge and intuition of the designer. This issue is of high importance when designing complex buildings such as hospitals, where the quality of treatment as well as patient and staff satisfaction are of major concern. Existing computational pre-occupancy human behavior evaluation methods are geared mainly to test ergonomic issues, such as wheelchair accessibility, emergency egress, etc. As such, they rely on Agent Based Modeling (ABM) techniques, which emphasize the individual user. Yet we know that most human activities are social, and involve a number of actors working together, which ABM methods cannot handle. Therefore, we present an event-based model that manages the interaction between multiple Actors, Spaces, and Activities, to describe dynamically how people use spaces. This approach requires expanding the computational representation of Actors beyond their physical description, to include psychological, social, cultural, and other parameters. The model presented in this paper includes cognitive abilities and rules that describe the response of actors to their physical and social surroundings, based on the actors’ internal status. The model has been applied in a simulation of hospital wards, and showed adaptability to a wide variety of situated behaviors and interactions.

Keywords: agent based modeling, architectural design evaluation, event modeling, human behavior simulation, spatial cognition

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Authors: Tempe S. F. Adams, Michael J. Chase, Tracey L. Rogers, Keith E. A. Leggett

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Transfrontier wildlife corridors can be successful conservation tools, connecting protected areas and reducing the impact of habitat fragmentation on mobile species. Urban wildlife corridors have been proposed as a potential mitigation tool to facilitate the passage of elephants through towns without causing conflict with urban communities. However, because such corridors are typically narrow and close to human development, wildlife (particularly large mammals) may be less likely to use them. We used remote-sensor camera traps and global positioning system collars to identify the movement patterns of African elephants Loxondonta africana through narrow, urban corridors in Botswana. The corridors were in three types of human-dominated land-use designations with varying levels of human activity: agricultural, industrial and open space recreational land. We found that elephants used the corridors within all three land-use designations and we identified, using a model selection approach, that season, time of day and rainfall were important factors in determining the presence of elephants in the corridors. Elephants moved more slowly through the narrow corridors compared with their movement patterns through broader, wide-ranging corridors. Our results indicate that urban wildlife corridors are useful for facilitating elephants to pass through urban areas.

Keywords: camera traps, conservation, human-elephant coexistence, land management, urban wildlife corridors

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Authors: Ahmed A. Freewan

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The current research explored the quality of daylight and classroom visual environments and their impact on human performance and visual comfort in hot climates like Jordan. The research used multiple methods, including real experiments, simulation, focus groups and questionnaires. Therefore, seven different designs and visual environments have been implemented in south-facing classrooms with high WWR in recently constructed modern schools in Jordan. These visual environments have been created by applying various innovative shading systems in the seven classrooms to enable real interaction with the users of these spaces: students and teachers. The main aims of the research were to introduce distinct measures for daylight quality and to expand the scope of daylight studies in schools by connecting directly with students and teachers through focus groups or questionnaires. The main findings of this research showed the importance of studying uniformity not only across the entire classroom but also in different zones in relation to the windows and the front wall where the whiteboard is located, and the teacher stands. Moreover, it has been found that uniformity analysis in classrooms extends beyond just the horizontal plane, encompassing the relationship with the illuminance level on the front wall as well. Study the fenestration design impact on critical function requirements in addition to studying the dynamic of daylight over time, especially glare, uniformity and veiling reflection.

Keywords: daylight, uniformity, WWR, innovative shading systems

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Authors: Thirayu Jumsai na Ayudhya

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Initial attempts to understand about what architecture means to people as they go about their everyday life through my previous research revealed that knowledge such as environmental psychology, environmental perception, environmental aesthetics, did not adequately address a perceived need for the contextualized and holistic theoretical framework. In my previous research, it is found that people’s making senses of their everyday architecture can be described in terms of four super‐ordinate themes; (1) building in urban (text), (2) building in (text), (3) building in human (text), (4) and building in time (text). For more comprehensively understanding of how people make sense of their everyday architectural experience, in this ongoing research Phuket Old town was selected as the focal urban context where the distinguish character of Chino-Portuguese is remarkable. It is expected that in a unique urban context like Phuket old town unprecedented super-ordinate themes will be unveiled through the reflection of people’s everyday experiences. The ongoing research of people’s architectural experience conducted in Phuket Island, Thailand, will be presented succinctly. The research will address the question of how do people make sense of their everyday architecture/buildings especially in a unique urban context, Phuket Old town, and identify ways in which people make sense of their everyday architecture. Participant-Produced-Photograph (PPP) and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) are adopted as main methodologies. PPP allows people to express experiences of their everyday urban context freely without any interference or forced-data generating by researchers. With IPA methodology a small pool of participants is considered desirable given the detailed level of analysis required and its potential to produce a meaningful outcome.

Keywords: architectural experience, the everyday architecture, Phuket, Thailand

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Authors: Philippa Hunter

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How might history education support teachers and students to see the past as a provocation, be open to possible futures, and act differently? As teacher educators in an age of diversity and uncertainty, we need to question history’s curriculum nature, pedagogy, and policy intent. The cultural politics of history’s identity in the senior secondary curriculum influences educational socialization (disciplinary, professional, research) and engagement with curriculum decision-making. This paper reflects on curriculum disturbance that shaped a critical pedagogy stance to problematize school history’s certainties. The context is situated in an Aotearoa New Zealand university-based initial teacher education programme. A pedagogic innovation was activated whereby problematized history pedagogy [PHP] was conceptualized as the phenomenon and method of inquiry and storied in doctoral work. The PHP was a reciprocal research process involving history class’ participants and the teacher as researcher, in fashioning teaching identities, identifying with, and thinking critically about history pedagogy. PHP findings revealed evocative discourses of embodiment, nostalgia, and connectedness about living ‘inside the past’. Participants expressed certainty about their abilities as teachers living ‘outside the past’ to interpret historical perspectives. However, discomfort was evident in relation to ‘difficult knowledge’ or unfamiliar contexts of the past that exposed exclusion, powerlessness, or silenced voices. Participants identified history programmes as strongly masculine and conflict-focused. A normalized inquiry-transmission approach to history pedagogy was identified and critiqued. Individuals’ reflexive accounts of PHP implemented whilst on practicum indicate possibilities of history pedagogy as; inclusive and democratic, social and ethical reconstruction, and as a critical project. The PHP sought to reimagine history curriculum and identify spaces of possibility in secondary postgraduate teacher education.

Keywords: curriculum, pedagogy, problematise, reciprocal

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Authors: Ukpaka Paschal

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Margret Boden argues that a creative product is one that is new, surprising, and valuable as a result of the combination, exploration, or transformation involved in producing it. Boden uses examples of artificial intelligence systems that fit all of these criteria and argues that real creativity involves autonomy, intentionality, valuation, emotion, and consciousness. This paper provides an analysis of all these elements in order to try to understand whether they are sufficient to account for creativity, especially human creativity. This paper focuses on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), which is a class of artificial intelligence algorithms that are said to have disproved the common perception that creativity is something that only humans possess. This paper will then argue that Boden’s listed properties of creativity, which capture the creativity exhibited by GANs, are not sufficient to account for human creativity, and this paper will further identify “first-person phenomenological experience” as an essential property of human creativity. The rationale behind the proposed essential property is that if creativity involves comprehending our experience of the world around us into a form of self-expression, then our experience of the world really matters with regard to creativity.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, creativity, GANs, first-person experience

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Authors: Konstantina Georgali

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The present study explores Greek teachers’ understandings of typical language development and of language difficulties. Its core aim was to highlight that teachers need to have a thorough understanding of educational linguistics, that is of how language figures in education. They should also be aware of how language should be taught so as to promote language development for all students while at the same time support the needs of children with language difficulties in an inclusive ethos. The study, thus argued that language can be a dynamic learning mechanism in the minds of all children and a powerful teaching tool in the hands of teachers and provided current research evidence to show that structural and morphological particularities of native languages- in this case, of the Greek language- can be used by teachers to enhance children’s understanding of language and simultaneously improve oral language skills for children with typical language development and for those with language difficulties. The research was based on a Sequential Exploratory Mixed Methods Design deployed in three consecutive and integrative phases. The first phase involved 18 exploratory interviews with teachers. Its findings informed the second phase involving a questionnaire survey with 119 respondents. Contradictory questionnaire results were further investigated in a third phase employing a formal testing procedure with 60 children attending Y1, Y2 and Y3 of primary school (a research group of 30 language impaired children and a comparison group of 30 children with typical language development, both identified by their class teachers). Results showed both strengths and weaknesses in teachers’ awareness of educational linguistics and of language difficulties. They also provided a different perspective of children’s language needs and of language teaching approaches that reflected current advances and conceptualizations of language problems and opened a new window on how best they can be met in an inclusive ethos. However, teachers barely used teaching approaches that could capitalize on the particularities of the Greek language to improve language skills for all students in class. Although they seemed to realize the importance of oral language skills and their knowledge base on language related issues was adequate, their practices indicated that they did not see language as a dynamic teaching and learning mechanism that can promote children’s language development and in tandem, improve academic attainment. Important educational implications arose and clear indications of the generalization of findings beyond the Greek educational context.

Keywords: educational linguistics, inclusive ethos, language difficulties, typical language development

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Authors: Pauline Cuenin, Marcelo Leles Romarco Oliveira

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Based on their localities and following their ecological rationality, family-based farmers have experimented, adapted and innovated to improve their production systems continuously for millennia. With the technological package transfer processes of the so-called Green Revolution for agricultural holdings, farmers have become increasingly dependent on ready-made "recipes" built from so-called "universal" and global knowledge to face the problems that emerge in the management of local agroecosystems, thus reducing their creative and experiential capacities. However, the production of novelties within farms is fundamental to the transition to more sustainable agro food systems. In fact, as the fruits of local knowledge and / or the contextualization of exogenous knowledge, novelties are seen as seeds of transition. By presenting new techniques, new organizational forms and epistemological approaches, agroecology was pointed out as a way to encourage and promote the creative capacity of farmers. From this perspective, this theoretical work aims to analyze how agroecology encourages the innovative capacity of farmers, and in general, the production of novelties. For this, an analysis was made of the theoretical and methodological bases of agroecology through a literature review, specifically looking for the way in which it articulates the local with the global, complemented by an analysis of agro ecological Brazilian experiences. It was emphasized that, based on the peasant way of doing agriculture, that is, on ecological / social co-evolution or still called co-production (interaction between human beings and living nature), agroecology recognizes and revalues peasant involves the deep interactions of the farmer with his site (bio-physical and social). As a "place science," practice and movement, it specifically takes into consideration the local and empirical knowledge of farmers, which allows questioning and modifying the paradigms that underpin the current agriculture that have disintegrated farmers' creative processes. In addition to upgrade the local, agroecology allows the dialogue of local knowledge with global knowledge, essential in the process of changes to get out of the dominant logic of thought and give shape to new experiences. In order to reach this articulation, agroecology involves new methodological focuses seeking participatory methods of study and intervention that express themselves in the form of horizontal spaces of socialization and collective learning that involve several actors with different knowledge. These processes promoted by agroecology favor the production of novelties at local levels for expansion at other levels, such as the global, through trans local agro ecological networks.

Keywords: agroecology, creativity, global, local, novelty

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Authors: Alireza Yavar, Sukiman Sarmani, Khoo Kok Siong

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The residents of villages in Kandal province of Cambodia, because of dietary habits, lifestyle and ecological conditions, are exposed to toxic elements like arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg). For comparison purpose, scalp hair samples of 12-17 school children from three villages of Anglong Romiot (AR), Svay Romiot (SR) and Kampong Kong (KK) in Kandal province of Cambodia were considered using k0- instrumental neutron activation method (k0-INAA). The samples irradiated 6 hours with 750 kW power in Malaysian nuclear agency (MNA) research reactor and subsequently found gamma peaks of radionuclides in samples using HPGe detector. The average values of arsenic and mercury were 0.0 and 3.52 (mg/kg) in AR; 1.88 and 4.26 (mg/kg) in SR; 2.81 and 3.37 (mg/kg) in KK, respectively. The results indicate KK, SR, and AR villages were in high, medium and control level of arsenic pollution, respectively. However, Hg concentration were highest in SR, then KK and AR villages, respectively. The accuracy of the method was assessed by analyzing ERM-DB001-human hair as certified reference materials (CRMs), which experimental result of ERM-DB001 was consistent with certified values. In addition, correlation between As and Hg levels was found by Pearson’s correlation test.

Keywords: Kandal province of Cambodia, k0- instrumental neutron activation method., scalp human hair, arsenic and mercury

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Authors: Davoud Maleki

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Today, education and investment in human capital is a long-term investment without which the economy will be stagnant Stayed. Higher education represents a type of investment in human resources by providing and improving knowledge, skills and Attitudes help economic development. Providing efficient human resources by increasing the efficiency and productivity of people and on the other hand with Expanding the boundaries of knowledge and technology and promoting technology such as the responsibility of training human resources and increasing productivity and efficiency in High specialized levels are the responsibility of universities. Therefore, the university plays an infrastructural role in economic development and growth because education by creating skills and expertise in people and improving their ability.In recent decades, Iran's higher education system has been faced with many problems, therefore, scholars have looked for it is to identify and validate the causal factors affecting the responsiveness and productivity of non-governmental universities. The data in the qualitative part is the result of semi-structured interviews with 25 senior and middle managers working in the units It was Islamic Azad University of Tehran province, which was selected by theoretical sampling method. In data analysis, stepwise method and Analytical techniques of Strauss and Corbin (1992) were used. After determining the central category (answering for the sake of the beneficiaries) and using it in order to bring the categories, expressions and ideas that express the relationships between the main categories and In the end, six main categories were identified as causal factors affecting the university's responsiveness and productivity.They are: 1- Scientism 2- Human resources 3- Creating motivation in the university 4- Development based on needs assessment 5- Teaching process and Learning 6- University quality evaluation. In order to validate the response model obtained from the qualitative stage, a questionnaire The questionnaire was prepared and the answers of 146 students of Master's degree and Doctorate of Islamic Azad University located in Tehran province were received. Quantitative data in the form of descriptive data analysis, first and second stage factor analysis using SPSS and Amos23 software were analyzed. The findings of the research indicated the relationship between the central category and the causal factors affecting the response The results of the model test in the quantitative stage confirmed the generality of the conceptual model.

Keywords: accountability, productivity, non-governmental, universities, foundation data theory

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Authors: Jessica J. Gillies

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Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights and thus invokes a strong response particularly throughout the global academic community. A longstanding tension throughout academic debate remains the question of a relationship between anti-trafficking policy and sex industry policy. In Australia, over the previous decade, many human trafficking investigations have related to the sexual exploitation of female victims, and convictions in Australia to date have often been for trafficking women from Thailand. Sex industry policy in Australia varies between states, providing a rich contextual landscape in which to explore this relationship. The purpose of this study was to deconstruct how meaning is constructed surrounding human trafficking throughout these supposedly related political discourses in Australia. In order to analyse the discursive construction of the problem of human trafficking in relation to sex industry policy, a discursive analysis was conducted. The methodology of the study was informed by a feminist theoretical framework, and included academic sources and grey literature such as organisational reports and policy statements regarding anti-trafficking initiatives. The scope of grey literature was restricted to Australian and Thai government and non-government organisation texts. The chosen methodology facilitated a qualitative exploration of the influence of feminist discourses over political discourse in this arena. The discursive analysis exposed clusters of active feminist debates interacting with sex industry policy within individual states throughout Australia. Additionally, strongly opposed sex industry perspectives were uncovered within these competing feminist frameworks. While the influence these groups may exert over policy differs, the debate constructs a discursive relationship between human trafficking and sex industry policy. This is problematic because anti-trafficking policy is drawn to some extent from this discursive construction, therefore affecting support services for survivors of human trafficking. The discursive analysis further revealed misalignment between government and non-government priorities, Australian government anti-trafficking policy appears to favour criminal justice priorities; whereas non-government settings preference human rights protections. Criminal justice priorities invoke questions of legitimacy, leading to strict eligibility policy for survivors seeking support following exploitation in the Australian sex industry, undermining women’s agency and human rights. In practice, these two main findings demonstrate a construction of policy that has serious outcomes on typical survivors in Australia following a lived experience of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The discourses constructed by conflicting feminist arguments influence political discourses throughout Australia. The application of a feminist theoretical framework to the discursive analysis of the problem of human trafficking is unique to this study. The study has exposed a longstanding and unresolved feminist debate that has filtered throughout anti-trafficking political discourse. This study illuminates the problematic construction of anti-trafficking policy, and the implications in practice on survivor support services. Australia has received international criticism for the focus on criminal justice rather than human rights throughout anti-trafficking policy discourse. The outcome of this study has the potential to inform future language and constructive conversations contributing to knowledge around how policy effects survivors in the post trafficking experience.

Keywords: Australia, discursive analysis, government, human trafficking, non-government, Thailand

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Authors: Jing Zhang

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To reduce the carbon footprint of mankind and become more sustainable is one of the major challenges in our era. Internet of Things (IoT) mainly resolves three problems: Things to Things (T2T), Human to Things, H2T), and Human to Human (H2H). Borrowing the classification of IoT, we can find carbon prints of industries also can be divided in these three ways. Therefore, monitoring the routes of generation and circulation of products may help calculate product carbon print. This paper does not consider any technique used by IoT itself, but the ideas of it look at the connection of products. Carbon prints are like a gene or mark of a product from raw materials to the final products, which never leave the products. The contribution of this paper is to combine the characteristics of IoT and the methodology of network science to find a way to calculate the product's carbon footprint. Life cycle assessment, LCA is a traditional and main tool to calculate the carbon print of products. LCA is a traditional but main tool, which includes three kinds.

Keywords: product carbon footprint, Internet of Things, network science, life cycle assessment

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Authors: James Semmens, James Boyd, Anna Ferrante, Katrina Spilsbury, Sean Randall, Adrian Brown

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‘Big data’ is a relatively new concept that describes data so large and complex that it exceeds the storage or computing capacity of most systems to perform timely and accurate analyses. Health services generate large amounts of data from a wide variety of sources such as administrative records, electronic health records, health insurance claims, and even smart phone health applications. Health data is viewed in Australia and internationally as highly sensitive. Strict ethical requirements must be met for the use of health data to support health research. These requirements differ markedly from those imposed on data use from industry or other government sectors and may have the impact of reducing the capacity of health data to be incorporated into the real time demands of the Big Data environment. This ‘big data revolution’ is increasingly supported by national governments, who have invested significant funds into initiatives designed to develop and capitalize on big data and methods for data integration using record linkage. The benefits to health following research using linked administrative data are recognised internationally and by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy Roadmap, which outlined a multi-million dollar investment strategy to develop national record linkage capabilities. This led to the establishment of the Population Health Research Network (PHRN) to coordinate and champion this initiative. The purpose of the PHRN was to establish record linkage units in all Australian states, to support the implementation of secure data delivery and remote access laboratories for researchers, and to develop the Centre for Data Linkage for the linkage of national and cross-jurisdictional data. The Centre for Data Linkage has been established within Curtin University in Western Australia; it provides essential record linkage infrastructure necessary for large-scale, cross-jurisdictional linkage of health related data in Australia and uses a best practice ‘separation principle’ to support data privacy and security. Privacy preserving record linkage technology is also being developed to link records without the use of names to overcome important legal and privacy constraint. This paper will present the findings of the first ‘Proof of Concept’ project selected to demonstrate the effectiveness of increased record linkage capacity in supporting nationally significant health research. This project explored how cross-jurisdictional linkage can inform the nature and extent of cross-border hospital use and hospital-related deaths. The technical challenges associated with national record linkage, and the extent of cross-border population movements, were explored as part of this pioneering research project. Access to person-level data linked across jurisdictions identified geographical hot spots of cross border hospital use and hospital-related deaths in Australia. This has implications for planning of health service delivery and for longitudinal follow-up studies, particularly those involving mobile populations.

Keywords: data integration, data linkage, health planning, health services research

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Authors: Zach Banzon, Marina Caculitan, Gianne Laisac, Stephanie Lopez, Marguerite Villegas

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The role of incidental positive emotions and gender on people’s trust decisions have been established by existing research. The aim of this experiment is to address the gap in the literature by examining whether these factors will have a similar effect on trust behavior even after the experience of betrayal. A total of 144 undergraduate students participated in a trust game involving the anonymous interaction of a participant and a transgressor. Of these participants, only 125 (63 males and 62 females) were included in the data analyses. A story was used to prime incidental positive emotions or emotions originally unrelated to the trustee. Recovered trust was measured by relating the proportion of the money passed before and after betrayal. Data was analyzed using two-way analysis of variance having two levels for gender (male, female) and two for priming (with, without), with trust propensity scores entered as a covariate. It was predicted that trust recovery will be more apparent in females than in males but the data obtained was not significantly different between the genders. Induced positive emotions, however, had a statistically significant effect on trust behavior even after betrayal. No significant interaction effect was found between induced positive emotion and gender. The experiment provides evidence that the manipulation of situational variables, to a certain extent, can facilitate the reparation of trust.

Keywords: gender effect, positive emotions, trust game, trust recovery

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Authors: Diego De Almeida Pereira, Diana Borchenko

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Artificial neural networks are used for many applications as they are able to learn complex nonlinear relationships between input and output data. As the number of neurons and layers in a neural network increases, it is possible to represent more complex behaviors. The present study proposes that artificial neural networks are a valuable tool for architecture and engineering professionals concerned with understanding how buildings influence human and social well-being based on theories of environmental psychology.

Keywords: environmental psychology, architecture, neural networks, human and social well-being

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Authors: Abdelmessih Malak Sadek Labib

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Ceramic materials are known for their stability in harsh environments and excellent electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. They have been widely used in various applications despite the emergence of new materials such as plastics and composites. However, ceramics are often brittle, which can lead to catastrophic failure. The fragility of ceramics and the mechanisms behind their failure have been a topic of extensive research, particularly in load-bearing applications like veneers. Porcelain, a type of traditional pottery, is commonly used in such applications. Traditional pottery consists of clay, silica, and feldspar, and the presence of quartz in the ceramic body can lead to microcracks and stress concentrations. The mullite hypothesis suggests that the strength of porcelain can be improved by increasing the interlocking of mullite needles in the ceramic body. However, there is a lack of reports on Young's moduli in the literature, leading to erroneous conclusions about the mechanical behavior of porcelain. This project aims to investigate the role of quartz and mullite on the mechanical strength of various porcelains while considering factors such as particle size, flexural strength, and fractographic forces. Research Aim: The aim of this research project is to assess the role of quartz and mullite in enhancing the mechanical strength of different porcelains. The project will also explore the effect of reducing particle size on the properties of porcelain, as well as investigate flexural strength and fractographic techniques. Methodology: The methodology for this project involves using scientific expressions and a mix of modern English to ensure the understanding of all attendees. It will include the measurement of Young's modulus and the evaluation of the mechanical behavior of porcelains through various experimental techniques. Findings: The findings of this study will provide a realistic assessment of the role of quartz and mullite in strengthening and reducing the fragility of porcelain. The research will also contribute to a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of ceramics, specifically in load-bearing applications. Theoretical Importance: The theoretical importance of this research lies in its contribution to the understanding of the factors influencing the mechanical strength and fragility of ceramics, particularly porcelain. By investigating the interplay between quartz, mullite, and other variables, this study will enhance our knowledge of the properties and behavior of traditional ceramics. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: Data for this research will be collected through experiments involving the measurement of Young's modulus and other mechanical properties of porcelains. The effects of quartz, mullite, particle size, flexural strength, and fractographic forces will be examined and analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques and fractographic analysis. Questions Addressed: This research project aims to address the following questions: (1) How does the presence of quartz and mullite affect the mechanical strength of porcelain? (2) What is the impact of reducing particle size on the properties of porcelain? (3) How do flexural strength and fractographic forces influence the behavior of porcelains? Conclusion: In conclusion, this research project aims to enhance the understanding of the role of quartz and mullite in strengthening and reducing the fragility of porcelain. By investigating the mechanical properties of porcelains and considering factors such as particle size, flexural strength, and fractographic forces, this study will contribute to the knowledge of traditional ceramics and their potential applications. The findings will have practical implications for the use of ceramics in various fields.

Keywords: stability, harsh environments, electrical, techniques, mechanical disadvantages, materials

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Authors: Shaheeb Abdul Azeez, Siong-Choy Chong

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Background: Talent retention is increasingly becoming a major challenge for many industries due to the high turnover rate. Public higher learning institutions in the Maldives have a similar situation with the turnover of their employees'. This paper is to identify whether Human Resource Management (HRM) practices have any impact on employee retention in public higher learning institutions in the Maldives. Purpose: This paper aims to identify the influence of HRM practices on employee retention in public higher learning institutions in the Maldives. A total of 15 variables used in this study; 11 HRM practices as independent variables (leadership, rewards, salary, employee participation, compensation, training and development, career development, recognition, appraisal system and supervisor support); job satisfaction and motivation as mediating variables; demographic profile as moderating variable and employee retention as dependent variable. Design/Methodology/Approach: A structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of 300 respondents were selected as the study sample, representing the academic and administrative from public higher learning institutions using a stratified random sampling method. AMOS was used to test the hypotheses constructed. Findings: The results suggest that there is no direct effect between the independent variable and dependent variable. Also, the study concludes that no moderate effects of demographic profile between independent and dependent variables. However, the mediating effects of job satisfaction and motivation in the relationship between HRM practices and employee retention were significant. Salary had a significant influence on job satisfaction, whilst both compensation and recognition have significant influence on motivation. Job satisfaction and motivation were also found to significantly influence employee retention. Research Limitations: The study consists of many variables more time consuming for the respondents to answer the questionnaire. The study is focussed only on public higher learning institutions in the Maldives due to no participation from the private sector higher learning institutions. Therefore, the researcher is unable to identify the actual situation of the higher learning industry in the Maldives. Originality/Value: To our best knowledge, no study has been conducted using the same framework throughout the world. This study is the initial study conducted in the Maldives in this study area and can be used as a baseline for future researches. But there are few types of research conducted on the same subject throughout the world. Some of them concluded with positive findings while others with negative findings. Also, they have used 4 to 7 HRM practices as their study framework.

Keywords: human resource management practices, employee retention, motivation, job satisfaction

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Authors: Chetan Gupta, Ramesh Gupta

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Unmanned aerial vehicles, of all sizes, are prime targets of the wing morphing concept as their lightweight structures demand high aerodynamic stability while traversing unsteady atmospheric conditions. In this research study, a hybrid morphing technology is developed to aid the trailing edge of the aircraft wing to alter its camber as a monolithic element rather than functioning as conventional appendages like flaps. Kinematic tailoring, actuation techniques involving shape memory alloys (SMA), piezoelectrics – individually fall short of providing a simplistic solution to the conundrum of morphing aircraft wings. On the other hand, the feature of negligible hysteresis while actuating using compliant mechanisms has shown higher levels of applicability and deliverability in morphing wings of even large aircrafts. This research paper delves into designing a wing section model with a periodic, multi-stable compliant structure requiring lower orders of topological optimization. The design is sub-divided into three smaller domains with external hyperelastic connections to achieve deflections ranging from -15° to +15° at the trailing edge of the wing. To facilitate this functioning, a hybrid actuation system by combining the larger bandwidth feature of piezoelectric macro-fibre composites and relatively higher work densities of shape memory alloy wires are used. Finite element analysis is applied to optimize piezoelectric actuation of the internal compliant structure. A coupled fluid-surface interaction analysis is conducted on the wing section during morphing to study the development of the velocity boundary layer at low Reynold’s numbers of airflow.

Keywords: compliant mechanism, hybrid morphing, piezoelectrics, shape memory alloys

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Authors: Mina Adel Shokry Fahim, Jūratė Sužiedelytė Visockienė

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With the growing concern over air pollution (AP), it is clear that this has gained more prominence than ever before. The level of consciousness has increased and a sense of knowledge now has to be forwarded as a duty by those enlightened enough to disseminate it to others. This realisation often comes after an understanding of how poor air quality indices (AQI) damage human health. The study focuses on assessing air pollution prediction models specifically for Lithuania, addressing a substantial need for empirical research within the region. Concentrating on Vilnius, it specifically examines particulate matter concentrations 10 micrometers or less in diameter (PM10). Utilizing Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Regression Tree Ensemble, and Regression Tree methodologies, predictive forecasting models are validated and tested using hourly data from January 2020 to December 2022. The study explores the classification of AP data into anthropogenic and natural sources, the impact of AP on human health, and its connection to cardiovascular diseases. The study revealed varying levels of accuracy among the models, with GPR achieving the highest accuracy, indicated by an RMSE of 4.14 in validation and 3.89 in testing.

Keywords: air pollution, anthropogenic and natural sources, machine learning, Gaussian process regression, tree ensemble, forecasting models, particulate matter

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Authors: M. Erhan Orhan, Onur Ozdemir

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Expansion of area of operation and increasing diversity of threats forced the military organizations to change in many ways. However, tacit knowledge still is the most fundamental component of organizational knowledge. Since it is human oriented and in warfare human stands at the core of the organization. Therefore, military organizations should find effective ways of systematically utilizing tacit knowledge. In this context, this article suggest some methods for turning tacit knowledge into explicit in military organizations.

Keywords: tacit knowledge, military, knowledge management, warfare, technology

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Authors: Chisakan Papapankiad

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The purposes of this research were 1) to study the competency of condominium managers, 2) to create the training curriculum via electronic media for condominium managers, and 3) to evaluate the training curriculum for condominium managers. The research methods included document analysis, interview, questionnaire, and a try-out. A total of 20 experts were selected to collect data by using Delphi technique. The designed curriculum was tried out with 30 condominium managers. The important steps of conducting this research included analyzing and synthesizing, creating interview questions, conducting factor analysis and developing the training curriculum, editing by experts, and trying out with sample groups. The findings revealed that there were five core competencies: leadership, human resources management, management, communication, and self-development. The training curriculum was designed and all the learning materials were put into a CD. The evaluation of the training curriculum was performed by five experts and the training curriculum was found to be cohesive and suitable for use in the real world. Moreover, the findings also revealed three important issues: 1) the competencies of the respondents after the experiment were higher than before the experiment and this had a level of significance of 0.01, 2) the competencies remained with the respondents at least 12 weeks and this also had a level of significance of 0.01, and 3) the overall level of satisfaction from the respondents were 'the highest level'.

Keywords: competency training curriculum, condominium managers, electronic media

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Authors: Marie E. Docken

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At some point in the lifecycle of a country, patterns of political and social unrest of varying degrees are observed. Events involving public disorder or civil disobedience may produce effects that range a wide spectrum of varying outcomes, depending on the level of unrest. Many previous studies, primarily theoretical in nature, have attempted to measure public disorder in answering why or how it occurs in society by examining causal factors or underlying issues in the social or political position of a population. The main objective in doing so is to understand how these activities evolve or seek some predictive capability for the events. In contrast, this research involves the fusion of analytics and social studies to provide more knowledge of the public disorder and civil disobedience intensity in populations. With a greater understanding of the magnitude of these events, it is believed that we may learn how they relate to extreme actions such as mass migration or violence. Upon establishing a model for measuring civil unrest based upon empirical data, a case study on various Latin American countries is performed. Interpretations of historical events are combined with analytical results to provide insights regarding the magnitude and effect of social and political activism.

Keywords: public disorder, civil disobedience, Latin America, metrics, data analysis

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Authors: Vinicius G. Goecks, Gregory M. Gremillion, William D. Nothwang

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Modern approaches to train intelligent agents rely on prolonged training sessions, high amounts of input data, and multiple interactions with the environment. This restricts the application of these learning algorithms in robotics and real-world applications, in which there is low tolerance to inadequate actions, interactions are expensive, and real-time processing and action are required. This paper addresses this issue introducing CyberSteer, a novel approach to efficiently design intrinsic reward functions based on human intention to guide deep reinforcement learning agents with no environment-dependent rewards. CyberSteer uses non-expert human operators for initial demonstration of a given task or desired behavior. The trajectories collected are used to train a behavior cloning deep neural network that asynchronously runs in the background and suggests actions to the deep reinforcement learning module. An intrinsic reward is computed based on the similarity between actions suggested and taken by the deep reinforcement learning algorithm commanding the agent. This intrinsic reward can also be reshaped through additional human demonstration or critique. This approach removes the need for environment-dependent or hand-engineered rewards while still being able to safely shape the behavior of autonomous robotic agents, in this case, based on human intention. CyberSteer is tested in a high-fidelity unmanned aerial vehicle simulation environment, the Microsoft AirSim. The simulated aerial robot performs collision avoidance through a clustered forest environment using forward-looking depth sensing and roll, pitch, and yaw references angle commands to the flight controller. This approach shows that the behavior of robotic systems can be shaped in a reduced amount of time when guided by a non-expert human, who is only aware of the high-level goals of the task. Decreasing the amount of training time required and increasing safety during training maneuvers will allow for faster deployment of intelligent robotic agents in dynamic real-world applications.

Keywords: human-robot interaction, intelligent robots, robot learning, semisupervised learning, unmanned aerial vehicles

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