Search results for: communication strategy

Authors: Hannah S. Waldron

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Background: The government has proposed sugar reduction targets in an effort to tackle childhood obesity, focussing on those of low socioeconomic status (SES). Supermarkets are a key location for reducing the amount of sugar purchased, but success so far in this environment has been limited. Building on previous research, this study will assess the impact of restricting the availability of higher sugar biscuits as a strategy to encourage lower sugar biscuit purchasing, and whether the effects vary by customer SES. Method: 14 supermarket convenience stores were divided between control (n=7) and intervention (n=7) groups. In the intervention stores, biscuits with sugar above the government’s target (26.2g/100g) were removed from sale and replaced with lower sugar ( < 26.2g sugar/100g) alternatives. Sales and customer demographic information were collected using loyalty card data and point-of-sale transaction data for 8-weeks pre and post the intervention for lower sugar biscuits, total biscuits, alternative higher sugar products, and all products. Results were analysed using three-way and two-way mixed ANOVAs. Results: The intervention resulted in a significant increase in lower sugar biscuit purchasing (p < 0.001) and a significant decline in overall biscuit sales (p < 0.001) between the time periods compared to control stores. Sales of higher sugar products and all products increased significantly between the two time periods in both the intervention and control stores (p < 0.05). SES showed no significant effect on any of the reported outcomes (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Restricting the availability of higher sugar products may be a successful strategy for encouraging lower sugar purchasing across all SES groups. However, larger-scale interventions are required in additional categories to assess the long term implications for both consumers and retailers.

Keywords: biscuits, nudging, sugar, supermarket

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Authors: Chejarla Raghunathababu, E. Logashanmugam

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An antenna is an assortment of linked devices that function together to transmit and receive radio waves as a single antenna. Antennas occur in a variety of sizes and forms, but the microstrip patch antenna outperforms other types in terms of effectiveness and prediction. These antennas are easy to generate with discreet benefits. Nevertheless, the antenna's effectiveness will be affected because of the patch's shape above a thick dielectric substrate. As a result, a double-pole rectangular microstrip antenna with nanofillers was suggested in this study. By employing nano-composite substances (Fumed Silica and Aluminum Oxide), which are composites of graphene with nanofillers, the physical characteristics of the microstrip antenna, that is, the elevation of the microstrip antenna substrate and the width of the patch microstrip antenna have been improved in this research. The surface conductivity of graphene may be modified to function at specific frequencies. In order to prepare for future wireless communication technologies, a microstrip patch antenna operating at 93 GHz resonant frequency is constructed and investigated. The goal of this study was to reduce VSWR and increase gain. The simulation yielded results for the gain and VSWR, which were 8.26 dBi and 1.01, respectively.

Keywords: graphene, microstrip patch antenna, substrate material, wireless communication, nanocomposite material

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Authors: Anoff Anim, Lila Mahmound, Maria Katsikogianni, Sanjit Nayak

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Sustained and controlled delivery of antimicrobial drugs have been largely studied recently using metal organic frameworks (MOFs)and different polymers. However, much attention has not been given to combining both MOFs and biodegradable polymers which would be a good strategy in providing a sustained gradual release of the drugs. Herein, we report a comparative study of the sustained and controlled release of widely used antibacterial drugs, cephalexin and metronidazole, from zinc-based MOF-5 incorporated in biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly-lactic glycolic acid (PLGA) membranes. Cephalexin and metronidazole were separately incorporated in MOF-5 post-synthetically, followed by their integration into biodegradable PLGA and PCL membranes. The pristine MOF-5 and the loaded MOFs were thoroughly characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TGA and PXRD. Drug release studies were carried out to assess the release rate of the drugs in PBS and distilled water for up to 48 hours using UV-Vis Spectroscopy. Four bacterial strains from both the Gram-positive and Gram-negative types, Staphylococus aureus, Staphylococuss epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumanii, were tested against the pristine MOF, pure drugs, loaded MOFs and the drug-loaded MOF-polymer composites. Metronidazole-loaded MOF-5 composite of PLGA (PLGA-Met@MOF-5) was found to show highest efficiency to inhibit the growth of S. epidermidis compared to the other bacteria strains while maintaining a sustained minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). This study demonstrates that the combination of biodegradable MOF-polymer composites can provide an efficient platform for sustained and controlled release of antimicrobial drugs, and can be a potential strategy to integrate them in biomedical devices.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, biodegradable polymers, cephalexin, drug release metronidazole, MOF-5, PCL, PLGA

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Authors: Lucy Tsado

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As cybercrime and cyberattacks continue to increase, the need to respond will follow suit. When cybercrimes occur, the duty to respond sometimes falls on law enforcement. However, criminal justice students are not taught concepts in cybersecurity and digital forensics. There is, therefore, an urgent need for many more institutions to begin teaching cybersecurity and related courses to social science students especially criminal justice students. However, many faculty in universities, colleges, and high schools are not equipped to teach these courses or do not have the knowledge and resources to teach important concepts in cybersecurity or digital forensics to criminal justice students. This research intends to develop curricula and training programs to equip faculty with the skills to meet this need. There is a current call to involve non-technical fields to fill the cybersecurity skills gap, according to experts. There is a general belief among non-technical fields that cybersecurity education is only attainable within computer science and technologically oriented fields. As seen from current calls, this is not entirely the case. Transitioning into the field is possible through curriculum development, training, certifications, internships and apprenticeships, and competitions. There is a need to identify how a cybersecurity eco-system can be created at a university to encourage/start programs that will lead to an interest in cybersecurity education as well as attract potential students. A short-term strategy can address this problem through curricula development, while a long-term strategy will address developing training faculty to teach cybersecurity and digital forensics. Therefore this research project addresses this overall problem in two parts, through curricula development for the criminal justice discipline; and training of faculty in criminal justice to teaching the important concepts of cybersecurity and digital forensics.

Keywords: cybersecurity education, criminal justice, curricula development, nontechnical cybersecurity, cybersecurity, digital forensics

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Authors: Lily Chimuanya, Ehioghae Esther

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Language, a versatile and sophisticated tool, is fundamentally sacrosanct to mankind especially within the realm of politics. In this dynamic world, political leaders adroitly use language to engage in a strategic show aimed at manipulating or mechanising the opinion of discerning people. This nuanced synergy is marked by different rhetorical strategies, meticulously synced with contextual factors ranging from cultural, ideological, and political to achieve multifaceted persuasive objectives. This study investigates the (de)legitimation strategies inherent in African presidential inaugural speeches, as African leaders not only state their policy agenda through inaugural speeches but also subtly indulge in a dance of legitimation and delegitimation, performing a twofold objective of strengthening the credibility of their administration and, at times, undermining the performance of the past administration. Drawing insights from two different legitimation models and a dataset of 4 African presidential inaugural speeches obtained from authentic websites, the study describes the roles of authorisation, rationalisation, moral evaluation, altruism, and mythopoesis in unmasking the structure of political discourse. The analysis takes a mixed-method approach to unpack the (de)legitimation strategy embedded in the carefully chosen speeches. The focus extends beyond a superficial exploration and delves into the linguistic elements that form the basis of presidential discourse. In conclusion, this examination goes beyond the nuanced landscape of language as a potent tool in politics, with each strategy contributing to the overall rhetorical impact and shaping the narrative. From this perspective, the study argues that presidential inaugural speeches are not only linguistic exercises but also viable weapons that influence perceptions and legitimise authority.

Keywords: CDA, legitimation, inaugural speeches, delegitmation

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Authors: Sawsan Kamal Kalil El Galad, Heba Shafik Ibrahim Mohamed, Rania Ismail Moussa

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New developments in the technological world have made the internet an innovative way for individuals and families to communicate. Social media sites help in fulfilling communication needs and wants of their users. The use of social media may have an effect on the family relation either in a positive or negative manner. This study aimed to investigate the family relationships among users and non users of social media. The study followed a cross- sectional descriptive comparative research design. It was conducted on 360 employees, at Damanhour University in Elbeheira, Egypt. Brief Family Relationship Scale (BFRS) was used to collect the data of this study. The results revealed that the mean score of the social media users is slightly increased in relation to the non users of social media mean score with no significant difference between both groups. It was concluded that using social media for short time has no effect on the family relationship, sitting with family in daily base satisfy the social and emotional needs of its member and enhance family relations. Recommendations encompassed that the time spent on social media should be assessed regularly to prevent being isolated from the family members. Educational programs to increase the parent’s awareness how to deal with their children regarding social media and its risks.

Keywords: social media, family relationships, communication needs, culture

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Authors: Apipol Penkitti

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The new normal or a new way of life stemmed from the COVID-19 outbreak, gave rise to a new form of social media: audio-based social platforms (ABSPs), known as Clubhouse, Twitter space, and Facebook live audio room. These platforms, on which audio-based communication is featured, became popular in a short span of time. The objective of the research study is to understand ABSPs users’ behaviors in Thailand. The study, in which functional attitude theory, uses and gratifications theory, and social influence theory are referred to, is conducted through consumer perceived utilitarian, hedonic, and social value that affect engagement. This research study is mixed method paradigm, utilizing Model of Triangulation as its framework. The data acquisition is proceeded through questionnaires from a sample of 384 male, female and LGBTQA+ individuals aged 25 - 34 who, from various occupations, have used audio-based social platform applications. This research study employs the structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between variables, and it uses the semi - structured interviewing to comprehend the rationality of the variables in the study. The study found that hedonic value directly affects engagement.

Keywords: audio based social platform, engagement, hedonic, perceived value, social, utilitarian

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Authors: Chie Urawa

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Cautionary statements or disclaimers in corporate annual reports need to be carefully designed because clear cautionary statements may protect a company in the case of legal disputes and may undermine positive impressions. This study compares the language of cautionary statements using two corpora, Sony’s cautionary statement corpus (S-corpus) and Panasonic’s cautionary statement corpus (P-corpus), illustrating the differences and similarities in relation to the use of meaningful cautionary statements and critically analyzing why practitioners use the way. The findings describe the distinct differences between the two companies in the presentation of the risk factors and the way how they make the statements. The word ability is used more for legal protection in S-corpus whereas the word possibility is used more to convey a better impression in P-corpus. The main similarities are identified in the use of lexical words and pronouns, and almost the same wordings for eight years. The findings show how they make the statements unique to the company in the presentation of risk factors, and the characteristics of specific genre of professional communication. Important implications of this study are that more comprehensive approach can be applied in other contexts, and be used by companies to reflect upon their cautionary statements.

Keywords: cautionary statements, corporate annual reports, corpus, risk factors

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Authors: Manvender Kaur Sarjit Singh

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There is a crucial mismatch between classroom written language tasks and real world written language requirements. Realizing the importance of reducing the gap between the professional needs of the legal practitioners and the higher learning institutions that offer the legislative education in Malaysia, it is deemed necessary to develop a framework that integrates real-life written communication with the teaching of content-based legislative discourse to future legal practitioners. By highlighting the actual needs of the legal practitioners in the country, the present teaching practices will be enhanced and aligned with the actual needs of the learners thus realizing the vision and aspirations of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 and Legal Profession Qualifying Board. The need to focus future education according to the actual needs of the learners can be realized by developing a teaching framework which is designed within the prospective requirements of its real-life context. This paper presents the steps taken to develop a specific teaching framework that fulfills the fundamental real-life context of the prospective legal practitioners. The teaching framework was developed based on real-life written communication from the legal profession in Malaysia, using the specific genre analysis approach which integrates a corpus-based approach and a structural linguistics analysis. This approach was adopted due to its fundamental nature of intensive exploration of the real-life written communication according to the established strategies used. The findings showed the use of specific moves and parts-of-speech by the legal practitioners, in order to prepare the selected genre. The teaching framework is hoped to enhance the teachings of content-based law courses offered at present in the higher learning institutions in Malaysia.

Keywords: linguistics analysis, corpus analysis, genre analysis, legislative discourse

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Authors: Xing Lyu

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Multimodal metaphor promotes the further development and refinement of multimodal discourse study. Cultural aspects matter a lot not only in creating but also in comprehending multimodal metaphor. By analyzing the target domain and the source domain in 10 public service advertisements of China and Germany about environmental protection, this paper compares the source when the target is alike in each multimodal metaphor in order to seek similarities and differences across cultures. The findings are as follows: first, the multimodal metaphors center around three major topics: the earth crisis, consequences of environmental damage, and appeal for environmental protection; second, the multimodal metaphors mainly grounded in three universal conceptual metaphors which focused on high level is up; earth is mother and all lives are precious. However, there are five Chinese culture-specific multimodal metaphors which are not discovered in Germany ads: east is high leve; a purposeful life is a journey; a nation is a person; good is clean, and water is mother. Since metaphors are excellent instruments on studying ideology, this study can be helpful on intercultural/cross-cultural communication.

Keywords: multimodal metaphor, cultural aspects, public service advertising, cross-cultural communication

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Authors: Ubaidillah Zuhdi, Shunsuke Mori, Kazuhisa Kamegai

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The purpose of this study is to forecast the influences of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the structural changes of Japanese economies based on Leontief Input-Output (IO) coefficients. This study establishes a statistical analysis to predict the future interrelationships among industries. We employ the Constrained Multivariate Regression (CMR) model to analyze the historical changes of input-output coefficients. Statistical significance of the model is then tested by Likelihood Ratio Test (LRT). In our model, ICT is represented by two explanatory variables, i.e. computers (including main parts and accessories) and telecommunications equipment. A previous study, which analyzed the influences of these variables on the structural changes of Japanese industrial sectors from 1985-2005, concluded that these variables had significant influences on the changes in the business circumstances of Japanese commerce, business services and office supplies, and personal services sectors. The projected future Japanese economic structure based on the above forecast generates the differentiated direct and indirect outcomes of ICT penetration.

Keywords: forecast, ICT, industrial structural changes, statistical analysis

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Authors: Mohamed R. Mhereeg

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The paper discusses the implementation of the MultiAgent classification System (MACS) and utilizing it to provide an automated and accurate classification of end users developing applications in the spreadsheet domain. However, different technologies have been brought together to build MACS. The strength of the system is the integration of the agent technology with the FIPA specifications together with other technologies, which are the .NET widows service based agents, the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services, the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and Oracle Data Mining (ODM). Microsoft's .NET windows service based agents were utilized to develop the monitoring agents of MACS, the .NET WCF services together with SOA approach allowed the distribution and communication between agents over the WWW. The Monitoring Agents (MAs) were configured to execute automatically to monitor excel spreadsheets development activities by content. Data gathered by the Monitoring Agents from various resources over a period of time was collected and filtered by a Database Updater Agent (DUA) residing in the .NET client application of the system. This agent then transfers and stores the data in Oracle server database via Oracle stored procedures for further processing that leads to the classification of the end user developers.

Keywords: MACS, implementation, multi-agent, SOA, autonomous, WCF

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Authors: Shankaran Sitarama

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Teamwork is an extremely effective pedagogical tool in engineering education. New Product Development (NPD) has been an effective strategy of companies to streamline and bring innovative products and solutions to customers. Thus, Engineering curriculum in many schools, some collaboratively with business schools, have brought NPD into the curriculum at the graduate level. Teamwork is invariably used during instruction, where students work in teams to come up with new products and solutions. There is a significant emphasis of grade on the semester long teamwork for it to be taken seriously by students. As the students work in teams and go through this process to develop the new product prototypes, their effectiveness and learning to a great extent depends on how they function as a team and go through the creative process, come together, and work towards the common goal. A core attribute of a successful NPD team is their creativity and innovation. The team needs to be creative as a group, generating a breadth of ideas and innovative solutions that solve or address the problem they are targeting and meet the user’s needs. They also need to be very efficient in their teamwork as they work through the various stages of the development of these ideas resulting in a POC (proof-of-concept) implementation or a prototype of the product. The simultaneous requirement of teams to be creative and at the same time also converge and work together imposes different types of tensions in their team interactions. These ideational tensions / conflicts and sometimes relational tensions / conflicts are inevitable. Effective teams will have to deal with the Team dynamics and manage it to be resilient enough and yet be creative. This research paper provides a computational analysis of the teams’ communication that is reflective of the team dynamics, and through a superimposition of latent semantic analysis with social network analysis, provides a computational methodology of arriving at patterns of visual interaction. These team interaction patterns have clear correlations to the team dynamics and provide insights into the functioning and thus the effectiveness of the teams. 23 student NPD teams over 2 years of a course on Managing NPD that has a blend of engineering and business school students is considered, and the results are presented. It is also correlated with the teams’ detailed and tailored individual and group feedback and self-reflection and evaluation questionnaire.

Keywords: team dynamics, social network analysis, team interaction patterns, new product development teamwork, NPD teams

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Authors: Ana Bilandzic, Marcus Foth, Greg Hearn

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In a narrow sense, innovation is the invention and commercialisation of a new product or service in the marketplace. The literature suggests places that support knowledge exchange and social interaction, e.g. coffee shops, to nurture innovative ideas. With the widespread success of Internet, interpersonal communication and interaction changed. Online platforms complement physical places for idea exchange and innovation – the rise of hybrid, ‘net localities.’ Further, since its introduction in 2003 by Chesbrough, the concept of open innovation received increased attention as a topic in academic research as well as an innovation strategy applied by companies. Open innovation allows companies to seek and release intellectual property and new ideas from outside of their own company. As a consequence, the innovation process is no longer only managed within the company, but it is pursued in a co-creation process with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Quirky.com (Quirky), a company founded by Ben Kaufman in 2009, recognised the opportunity given by the Internet for knowledge exchange and open innovation. Quirky developed an online platform that makes innovation available to everyone. This paper reports on a study that analysed Quirky’s business process in an extended event-driven process chain (eEPC). The aim was to determine how the platform enabled crowdsourced innovation for physical products on the Internet. The analysis reveals that key elements of the business model are based on open innovation. Quirky is an example of how open innovation can support crowdsourced and crowdfunded product ideation, development and selling. The company opened up various stages in the innovation process to its members to contribute in the product development, e.g. product ideation, design, and market research. Throughout the process, members earn influence through participating in the product development. Based on the influence they receive, shares on the product’s turnover. The outcomes of the study’s analysis highlighted certain benefits of open innovation for product development. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research to look into opportunities of open innovation approaches to be adopted by tertiary institutions as a novel way to commercialise research intellectual property.

Keywords: business process, crowdsourced innovation, open innovation, Quirky

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Authors: Terada Pinyo

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This study is a survey research designed to evaluate the quality of graduate students and factors influencing their quality. The sample group consists of 240 students. The data are collected from stratified sampling and are analyzed and calculated by instant computer program. Statistics used are percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient, Cramer’s V and logistic regression analysis. It is found that the graduate students’ opinions regarding their characteristics according to the Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF) are at high score range both overall and specific category. The top categories that received the top score are interpersonal skills and responsibility, ethics and morals, knowledge, cognitive skills, numerical analysis with communication and information technology skills, respectively. On the other hand, factors affecting the quality of graduate students are cognitive skills, numerical analysis with communication and information technology, knowledge, interpersonal skills and responsibility, ethics and morals, and career regarding sales/business, respectively.

Keywords: student quality evaluation, Thai qualifications framework for higher education, graduate school, cognitive skills

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Authors: Timo Miebach, Kirsten Hoeper, Carolin Felix

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In times of competitive pressures and demographic change, hospitals have to reconsider their strategies as a company. Due to the fact, that operations are one of the main income and one of the primary cost drivers otherwise, a process-oriented approach and an efficient use of resources seems to be the right way for getting a consistent market position. Thus, the efficient operation room occupancy planning is an important cause variable for the success and continued the existence of these institutions. A high utilization of resources is essential. This means a very high, but nevertheless sensible capacity-oriented utilization of working systems that can be realized by avoiding downtimes and a thoughtful occupancy planning. This engineering approach should help hospitals to reach her break-even point. Firstly, the aim is to establish a strategy point, which can be used for the generation of a planned throughput time. Secondly, the operation planning and control should be facilitated and implemented accurately by the generation of time modules. More than 100,000 data records of the Hannover Medical School were analyzed. The data records contain information about the type of conducted operation, the duration of the individual process steps, and all other organizational-specific data such as an operating room. Based on the aforementioned data base, a generally valid model was developed by an analysis to define a strategy point which takes the conflict of capacity utilization and low overtime into account. Furthermore, time modules were generated in this work, which allows a simplified and flexible operation planning and control for the operation manager. By the time modules, it is possible to reduce a high average value of the idle times of the operation rooms. Furthermore, the potential is used to minimize the idle time spread.

Keywords: capacity, operating room, surgery planning and control, utilization

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Authors: Mandeep Kaur, Jitendra K. Bera

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The search for atom-economical and green synthetic methods for the synthesis of functionalized molecules has attracted much attention. Metal ligand cooperation (MLC) plays a pivotal role in organometallic catalysis to activate C−H, H−H, O−H, N−H and B−H bonds through reversible bond breaking and bond making process. Towards this goal, a bifunctional N─heterocyclic carbene (NHC) based pyridyl-functionalized amide ligand precursor, and corresponding dearomatized iridium complex was synthesized. The NMR and UV/Vis acid titration study have been done to prove the proton response nature of the iridium complex. Further, the dearomatized iridium complex explored as a catalyst on the platform of MLC via dearomatzation/aromatization mode of action towards atom economical α and β─alkylation of ketones and secondary alcohols by using primary alcohols through hydrogen borrowing methodology. The key features of the catalysis are high turnover frequency (TOF) values, low catalyst loading, low base loading and no waste product. The greener syntheses of quinoline, lactone derivatives and selective alkylation of drug molecules like pregnenolone and testosterone were also achieved successfully. Another structurally similar iridium complex was also synthesized with modified ligand precursor where a pendant amide unit was absent. The inactivity of this analogue iridium complex towards catalysis authenticated the participation of proton responsive imido sidearm of the ligand to accelerate the catalytic reaction. The mechanistic investigation through control experiments, NMR and deuterated labeling study, authenticate the borrowing hydrogen strategy.

Keywords: C-C bond formation, hydrogen borrowing, metal ligand cooperation (MLC), n-heterocyclic carbene

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Authors: Sumara Khanzada

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This research investigated how much stress is induced by various study-related factors, in undergraduate students belonging to a renowned university in Karachi along with the unhealthy coping strategy the students use to manage the stress. The study related factors considered for the purpose of the study were curriculum and instruction based stress, teacher-student relationship, assessment system and different components related to academic work. A survey in which questionnaires were administered to hundred students was conducted. The data were analyzed quantitatively to determine the percentages of stress induced by the various factors. The study found that student-teacher relationship is the strongest factor that causes stress in the undergraduate students specifically when teachers do not deliver the lectures effectively and give assignments and presentations to students without clear guidelines and instructions. The second important factor that causes stress was the different components of academic life, such as, parental expectations and pressures to achieve one's goals. Assessment system was found to be the third key factor inducing stress and affecting students' cognitive and psychological functioning. The most commonly used unhealthy coping strategy for stress management was procrastination. In light of the findings, it is recommended that importance be given to teacher training to ensure that instruction is proper and healthy teacher student relationship exists. Effective support programs, workshops, seminars, and different awareness programs should be arranged for promoting awareness regarding mental health in educational institutions. Moreover, additional zero credit courses should be offered to teach students how to learn stress management and healthy coping skills. Sumara Khanzada Clinical Psychologist [email protected]

Keywords: Stress, coping stretigies, acadamic stress, relationship

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Authors: Yoko Yamada, Chizumi Yamada

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Narrative psychology is based on the dialogical relationship between self and other. The dialogue can consist of divided, competitive, or opposite communication between self and other. We constructed models of coexistent dialogue in which self and other were positioned side by side and communicated sympathetically. We propose new mediation models for narrative relationships. The mediation models are based on triadic relationships that incorporate a medium or a mediator along with self and other. We constructed three types of mediation model. In the first type, called the “Joint Attention Model”, self and other are positioned side by side and share attention with the medium. In the second type, the “Triangle Model”, an agent mediates between self and other. In the third type, the “Caring Model”, a caregiver stands beside the communication between self and other. We apply the three models to the illness narratives of medical professionals and patients. As these groups have different views and experiences of disease or illness, triadic mediation facilitates the ability to see things from the other person’s perspective and to bridge differences in people’s experiences and feelings. These models would be useful for medical education in various situations, such as in considering the relationships between senior and junior doctors and between old and young patients.

Keywords: illness narrative, mediation, psychology, model, medical education

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Authors: Naman Solanki, Souraj Mondal

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With the world moving towards online communication, the video datastore has exploded in the past few years. Consequently, it has become crucial to analyse participant’s engagement levels in online communication videos. Engagement prediction of people in videos can be useful in many domains, like education, client meetings, dating, etc. Video-level or frame-level prediction of engagement for a user involves the development of robust models that can capture facial micro-emotions efficiently. For the development of an engagement prediction model, it is necessary to have a widely-accepted standard dataset for engagement analysis. DAiSEE is one of the datasets which consist of in-the-wild data and has a gold standard annotation for engagement prediction. Earlier research done using the DAiSEE dataset involved training and testing standard models like CNN-based models, but the results were not satisfactory according to industry standards. In this paper, a multi-level classification approach has been introduced to create a more robust model for engagement analysis using the DAiSEE dataset. This approach has recorded testing accuracies of 0.638, 0.7728, 0.8195, and 0.866 for predicting boredom level, engagement level, confusion level, and frustration level, respectively.

Keywords: computer vision, engagement prediction, deep learning, multi-level classification

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Authors: Aishatu Ibrahim Birma, Aminu Tukur, Abdulkarim Abbass Gora

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Machine translation plays a vital role in the Field of Natural Language Processing (NLP), breaking down language barriers and enabling communication across diverse communities. In the context of Hausa, a widely spoken language in West Africa, mainly in Nigeria, effective translation systems are essential for enabling seamless communication and promoting cultural exchange. However, due to the unique linguistic characteristics of Hausa, accurate translation remains a challenging task. The research proposes an approach to improving the machine learning translation of Hausa by integrating Named Entity Recognition (NER) techniques. Named entities, such as person names, locations, organizations, and dates, are critical components of a language's structure and meaning. Incorporating NER into the translation process can enhance the quality and accuracy of translations by preserving the integrity of named entities and also maintaining consistency in translating entities (e.g., proper names), and addressing the cultural references specific to Hausa. The NER will be incorporated into Neural Machine Translation (NMT) for the Hausa to English Translation.

Keywords: machine translation, natural language processing (NLP), named entity recognition (NER), neural machine translation (NMT)

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Authors: O. B. Iskender, K. V. Ling, V. Dubanchet, L. Simonini

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This paper presents a Guidance and Control (G&C) strategy to address spacecraft maneuvering problem for future Rendezvous and Docking (RVD) missions. The proposed strategy allows safe and propellant efficient trajectories for space servicing missions including tasks such as approaching, inspecting and capturing. This work provides the validation test results of the G&C laws using a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) setup with two robotic mockups representing the chaser and the target spacecraft. Through this paper, the challenges of the relative motion control in space are first summarized, and in particular, the constraints imposed by the mission, spacecraft and, onboard processing capabilities. Second, the proposed algorithm is introduced by presenting the formulation of constrained Model Predictive Control (MPC) to optimize the fuel consumption and explicitly handle the physical and geometric constraints in the system, e.g. thruster or Line-Of-Sight (LOS) constraints. Additionally, the coupling between translational motion and rotational motion is addressed via dual quaternion based kinematic description and accordingly explained. The resulting convex optimization problem allows real-time implementation capability based on a detailed discussion on the computational time requirements and the obtained results with respect to the onboard computer and future trends of space processors capabilities. Finally, the performance of the algorithm is presented in the scope of a potential future mission and of the available equipment. The results also cover a comparison between the proposed algorithms with Linear–quadratic regulator (LQR) based control law to highlight the clear advantages of the MPC formulation.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles, embedded optimization, real-time experiment, rendezvous and docking, space robotics

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Authors: Walid Hassairi, Moncef Bousselmi, Mohamed Abid

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Functional verification is a major part of today’s system design task. Several approaches are available for verification on a high abstraction level, where designs are often modeled using MATLAB/Simulink. However, different approaches are a barrier to a unified verification flow. In this paper, we propose a co-simulation interface between SystemC and MATLAB and Simulink to enable functional verification of multi-abstraction levels designs. The resulting verification flow is tested on JPEG compression algorithm. The required synchronization of both simulation environments, as well as data type conversion is solved using the proposed co-simulation flow. We divided into two encoder jpeg parts. First implemented in SystemC which is the DCT is representing the HW part. Second, consisted of quantization and entropy encoding which is implemented in Matlab is the SW part. For communication and synchronization between these two parts we use S-Function and engine in Simulink matlab. With this research premise, this study introduces a new implementation of a Hardware SystemC of DCT. We compare the result of our simulation compared to SW / SW. We observe a reduction in simulation time you have 88.15% in JPEG and the design efficiency of the supply design is 90% in SDR.

Keywords: hardware/software, co-design, co-simulation, systemc, matlab, s-function, communication, synchronization

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Authors: Thomas Kipkurgat, Silahs Chemwaina

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Communication and ICT is a crucial component in realization of vision 2030, radio has played a key role in dissemination of information to mass audience. Since time immemorial, mass media has played a vital role in passing information on agricultural development issues both locally and internationally. This paper aimed at assessing the role of community radio stations in enhancing agricultural development in Kenya. The paper sought to identify the main contributions of KASS FM radio in the agricultural development especially in rural areas, the study also aimed to establish the appropriate adjustments in editorial policies of KASS FM radio in helping to promote agricultural development related programmes in rural areas. Despite some weaknesses in radio programming and the mode of interaction with the rural people, the findings of this study showed that the rural communities are better off today than in the old days when FM radios were non-existent. KASS FM has come up with different developmental programmes that have positively contributed to changing the rural people’s ways of life. These programmes include farming, health, marital values, environment, cultural issues, human rights, democracy, religious teachings, peace and reconciliation. Such programmes feature experts, professionals and opinion leaders who address numerous topics of interest to the community. The local people participate in the production of these programmes through letters to the editor, and phone-ins, among others. Programmes such as political talk shows, which feature in KASS FM, has become one of the most important ways of community participation. The interpretation and conclusions are based on the empirical data analysis and the theories of development advanced by international development communication scholars, as presented in the paper. The study ends with some recommendations on how KASS FM can best serve the interests of the poor people in rural areas, and helps improve their lives.

Keywords: agriculture, development, communication, KASS FM, radio, rural areas, Kenya

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Authors: Sibusiso Buthelezi, Rugira Regis Marie-Modeste, Deliwe Rene Phetlhu

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Introduction: Mother-to-child transmission persists owing to inadequate implementation of prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes, particularly in rural areas. To achieve a target of zero new HIV infection in children born from women living with HIV, the involvement of mothers and caregivers is undeniable. Therefore, there is a need to explore the views of the mothers because of the role they play in their own right when it comes to preventing their children from contracting HIV by consistently adhering to the guidelines of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme. Thus, this study sought to explore and describe the perceptions of mothers on their role in the prevention of HIV to their children exposed to HIV and further explore their perceptions of the childcare received in the healthcare facility. Methods: The study was conducted in November-December 2019 in Ngaka Modiri Molema in North West Province in South Africa. A qualitative exploratory, descriptive research design was used. Purposive sampling was used to select the mothers of children exposed to HIV during the mother`s clinic attendance. Data collection was done through semi-structured individual interviews with mothers of children exposed to HIV. Colaizzi`s method of data analysis was used to analyse data in this study. Results: Seven themes emerged from data analysis, namely: health benefits from coming to the healthcare facility, communication, information needs, attitude of healthcare workers, healthcare administration system, the role of a mother, and disclosure of HIV status. Conclusion: This study revealed systematic gaps that exist in the programme, which hinder the childcare services of children exposed to HIV and socio-economically related hindrances. Mothers’ roles, such as exclusive breastfeeding, taking their own medication, and child follow-up visits, remain inadequate. The study findings show that there is a need to develop a contextual-tailored intervention strategy that would improve the implementation of prevention of mother-to-child transmission in rural areas.

Keywords: children exposed to HIV, mothers’ role to prevent MTCT, mothers’ perceptions on childcare, PMTCT in rural areas

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Authors: First A. Lahmar Lahbib, Second B. Abdeldjebar Rabiâ, Third C. Moudden B, forth D. Missoum L

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Vibration tests are used to identify the elasticity modulus in two directions. This strategy is applied to composite materials glass / polyester. Experimental results made on a specimen in free vibration showed the efficiency of this method. Obtained results were validated by a comparison to results stemming from static tests.

Keywords: beam, characterization, composite, elasticity modulus, vibration.

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Authors: Leila Mohammadi

Abstract:

This article discusses the technology of social egg freezing in the context of existing literature on medicalization, motherhood, and marketing. The social egg freezing technique offers to preserve some healthy eggs for age-related fertility decline in the future. The study draws on a qualitative analysis and participants observation of media publications, including text, images, or audio-visual about social egg freezing technology and postpone maternity, to identify and compare their communication strategies from a framing theory perspective. Using 442 surveys and 158 pieces of publications in Spanish media, this study demonstrated that the narratives used by these publications and their structures follow a marketing objective to medicalize motherhood. Within these frames, the market of preserving fertility is cast to show compassion and concern about women. In the opinion of participants, egg freezing technology liberates, empowers, and automates women from patriarchal control, and also gives them the responsibility of taking care of their body and reproductive system. This study showed this opinion is significantly influenced by media and their communication strategies supported by providers of this business.

Keywords: motherhood, social egg freezing, medicalization, marketing, media frames, fertility, assisted reproductive system

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Authors: Sana Shokat, Rabia Riaz, Raja Shoaib Hussain, Saba Shabir

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Digital divide is usually measured in terms of gap between those who can efficiently use new technological tools, such as Internet, and those who cannot. It is also hypothesized that web 2.0 tools motivate people to use technology i.e. Social networking sites can play an important role in bridging digital gap. This study was to determine the presence of digital divide in urban and rural areas of district Muzaffrabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir taking internet usage as the key element. A cross-sectional community based survey was conducted involving 384 respondents from city Muzaffrabad and village Garhi Doppta. The existence of digital divide was accessed on the basis of the questionnaires given. Chi- square test was used to find the association of different demographic and ICT related factors with internet usage. Age based and area based divide still exist among the targeted population but gender based digital divide is vanishing from the intended area of study. Outcomes of the survey also revealed that web 2.0-based web sites are also becoming popular and attracting people to use internet. Trend of using internet and communication technologies can be increased by solving the highlighted problems.

Keywords: Azad Jammu and Kashmir, digital divide, ICT, information and communication technology, Web2.0

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Authors: Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi, Mairas Abd Rahman

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Traditionally, literacy has been commonly defined as the ability to read and write at an adequate level of proficiency that is necessary for communication. However, as time goes by, literacy has started to refer to reading and writing at a level adequate for communication, or at a level that lets one understand and communicate ideas in a literate society, so as to take part in that society. Meanwhile, visual literacy is a set of abilities that enables an individual to effectively find, interpret, evaluate, use, and create images and visual media. This study aims to investigate the collaboration between visual literacy and literature, eventually to determine how visual literacy can enhance learner’s ability to comprehend literary texts such as poems and short stories and develop his intellectuality, especially critical and creative thinking skills, and also to find out the different impacts of literature in visual literacy at four levels of education: pre-school, primary and secondary schools and university. This study is based on Malaysian environment and involves a qualitative method consisting of observation and interviews. The initial findings show that people with different levels of education grasp visual literacy differently but all levels show outstanding impacts of using literature.

Keywords: visual literacy, literature, language studies, higher education

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Authors: Denise Levy, Gian M. A. A. Sordi

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This web based project focuses on continuing corporate education and improving workers' skills in Brazilian radioactive facilities throughout the country. The potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) shall contribute to improve the global communication in this very large country, where it is a strong challenge to ensure high quality professional information to as many people as possible. The main objective of this system is to provide Brazilian radioactive facilities a complete web-based repository - in Portuguese - for research, consultation and information, offering conditions for learning and improving professional and personal skills. UNIPRORAD is a web based system to offer unified programs and inter-related information about radiological protection programs. The content includes the best practices for radioactive facilities in order to meet both national standards and international recommendations published by different organizations over the past decades: International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). The website counts on concepts, definitions and theory about optimization and ionizing radiation monitoring procedures. Moreover, the content presents further discussions related to some national and international recommendations, such as potential exposure, which is currently one of the most important research fields in radiological protection. Only two publications of ICRP develop expressively the issue and there is still a lack of knowledge of fail probabilities, for there are still uncertainties to find effective paths to quantify probabilistically the occurrence of potential exposures and the probabilities to reach a certain level of dose. To respond to this challenge, this project discusses and introduces potential exposures in a more quantitative way than national and international recommendations. Articulating ICRP and AIEA valid recommendations and official reports, in addition to scientific papers published in major international congresses, the website discusses and suggests a number of effective actions towards safety which can be incorporated into labor practice. The WEB platform was created according to corporate public needs, taking into account the development of a robust but flexible system, which can be easily adapted to future demands. ICTs provide a vast array of new communication capabilities and allow to spread information to as many people as possible at low costs and high quality communication. This initiative shall provide opportunities for employees to increase professional skills, stimulating development in this large country where it is an enormous challenge to ensure effective and updated information to geographically distant facilities, minimizing costs and optimizing results.

Keywords: distance learning, information and communication technology, nuclear science, radioactive facilities

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