Search results for: total quality environmental management (TQEM)

Authors: Tshimangadzo Oscar Magadze

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For successful re-integration, the individual offender must adapt and transform, which requires that the offender should adopt and internalise socially approved norms, attitudes, values, and beliefs. However, the offender’s labelling and community stigmatisation decide the destination of the offender. Community involvement in ex-offenders’ re-integration is an important issue in efforts to reduce recidivism and to control overcrowding in our correctional facilities. Crime is a social problem that requires society to come together to fight against it. This study was conducted in the Limpopo Province in Vhembe District Municipality within four local municipalities, namely Musina, Makhado, Mutale, and Thulamela. A total number of 30 participants were interviewed, and all were members of the Community Corrections Forums. This was necessitated by the fact that Musina is a very small area, which compelled the Department of Correctional Services to combine the two (Musina and Makhado) into one social re-integration entity. This is a qualitative research study where participants were selected through the use of purposive sampling. Participants were selected based on the value they would add to this study in order to achieve the objectives. The data collection method of this study was the focus group, which comprised of three groups of 10 participants each. Thulamela and Mutale local municipalities formed a group with (10) participants each, whereas Musina (2) and Makhado (8) formed another. Results indicate that the current situation is not conducive for re-integration to be successful. Participants raised many factors that need serious redress, namely offenders’ discrimination, lack of forgiveness by members of the community, which is fuelled by lack of community awareness due to the failure of the Department of Correctional Services in educating communities on ex-offenders’ re-integration.

Keywords: ex-offender, labeling, re-integration, stigmatization

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Authors: Maged El Osta, Milad Masoud

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Al Jabal Al Akhdar in the north-eastern part of Libya represents a region with promising ecological underpinning for grazing and other agricultural developments. The groundwater potential of both Upper Cretaceous and Eocene aquifers was studied based the available literature and a complete database for about 112 water wells drilled in the period 2003-2009. In this research, the hydrogeological methods will be integrated with the Geographic Information System (GIS) that played a main role in highlighting the spatial characteristics of the groundwater system. The results indicate that the depth to water for the Upper Cretaceous aquifer ranges from 150 to 458 m, and the piezometric surface decreases from over 500 m (m.s.l) in the northern parts to -20 m (m.s.l) in southeastern part. Salinity ranges between 303 and 1329 mg/l indicating that groundwater belongs to the slightly fresh water class. In the Eocene aquifer, the depth to groundwater ranges from 120 to 290.5 m and the potentiometric level decreases gradually southwards from 220 to -51 m (m.s.l) and characterized by steep slope in the southeastern part of the study area, where the aquifer characterized by relatively high productivity (specific capacity ranges between 10.08 and 332.3 m2/day). The groundwater salinity within this aquifer ranges between 198 and 2800 mg/l (fresh to brackish water class). The annual average rainfall (from 280 to 500 mm) plays a significant role in the recharge of the two aquifers. The priority of groundwater quality and potentiality increases towards the central and northern portions of the concerned area.

Keywords: Eocene and Upper Cretaceous aquifers, rainfall, potentiality, Geographic Information System (GIS)

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Authors: Touil Djamal, Fergani Zineb

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In this study, an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) with Cyclohexane working fluid is proposed for cogeneration in the cement industry. In this regard: first, a parametric study is conducted to evaluate the effects of some key parameters on the system performances. Next, single and multi-objective optimizations are performed to achieve the system optimal design. The optimization considers the exergy efficiency, the cost per exergy unit and the environmental impact of the net produced power as objective functions. Finally, exergy, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental analysis of the cycle is carried out at the optimum operating conditions. The results show that the turbine inlet pressure, the pinch point temperature difference and the heat transfer fluid temperature have significant effects on the performances of the ORC system.

Keywords: organic rankine cycle, multi-objective optimization, exergy, exergoeconomic, exergoenvironmental, multi-objective optimisation, organic rankine cycle, cement plant

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Authors: Pyi Phyo Maung

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In the study, the calculations of the permeability coefficient, values of the volume and porosity of a unit cell of a woven fabric before and after deformation based on the geometrical parameters are presented. Two types of carbon woven fabric structures were investigated: standard type, which integrated the filament, has a cross sectional shape of a cylinder and spread tow type, which has a rectangular cross sectional shape. The space antennas reflector, which distinctive feature is the presence of the surface of double curvature, is considered as the object of the research. Modeling of the kinetics of the process of impregnation of the reflector for the two types of carbon fabric’s unit cell structures was performed using software RAM-RTM. This work also investigated the influence of the grid angle between warp and welt of the unit cell on the duration of impregnation process. The results showed that decreasing the angle between warp and welt of the unit cell, the decreasing of the permeability values were occurred. Based on the results of calculation samples of the reflectors, their quality was determined. The comparisons of the theoretical and experimental results have been carried out. Comparison of the two textile structures (standard and spread tow) showed that the standard textiles with circular cross section were impregnated faster than spread tows, which have a rectangular cross section.

Keywords: vacuum assistant resin infusion, impregnation time, shear angle, reflector and modeling

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Authors: Prabukusumo Prakoso

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The topic research aims to analyze the influence of employer branding towards the voluntary turnover intention on employee by projecting the variable of organization commitment and employee satisfaction. To measure each components of employer branding, the author conducted an exploratory study to confirm the items in the questionnaire. There are 80 respondents that are mostly permanent employees at an IT company in Indonesia, including partner and clients to get external viewpoints of employer branding. The result of this research indicates that employer branding has an influence on the voluntary turnover. Furthermore, to maintain the organization commitment in the company, the management can develop employer branding strategy in order to increase employee’s organization commitment.

Keywords: employer branding, organization commitment, employee satisfaction, voluntary intention turnover

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Authors: Abdalaziz M. Alsalhabi, Loai M. Alowa

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This paper investigates Weld Rejection Rate (WRR) limits and tracer effects in construction projects, with a specific focus on a Gas Plant Project, a mega-project held by Saudi Aramco (SA) in Saudi Arabia. The study included a comprehensive examination of various factors impacting WRR limits. It commenced by comparing the Company practices with ASME standards, followed by an in-depth analysis of both weekly and cumulative projects' historical WRR data, evaluation of Radiographic Testing (RT) reports for rejected welds, and proposal of mitigation methods to eliminate future rejections. Additionally, the study revealed the causes of fluctuation in WRR data and benchmarked with the industry practices. Furthermore, a case study was conducted to explore the impact of tracers on WRR, providing insights into their influence on the welding process. This paper aims to achieve three primary objectives. Firstly, it seeks to validate the existing practices of WRR limits and advocate for their inclusion within relevant International Industry Standards. Secondly, it aims to validate the effectiveness of the WRR formula that incorporates tracer effects, ensuring its reliability in assessing weld quality. Lastly, this study aims to identify opportunities for process improvement in WRR control, with the ultimate goal of enhancing project processes and ensuring the integrity, safety, and efficiency of constructed assets.

Keywords: weld rejection rate, weld repair rate in joint and linear basis, tracers effects, construction projects

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Authors: Mohamed Bendoukha, Mustapha Mosbah

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The Radiographic apparent assumed that the asymptomatic adjacent segment disease ASD is common after lumbar fusion, but this does not correlate with the functional outcomes while compensatory increased motion and stresses at the adjacent level of fusion is well-known to be associated to ASD. Newly developed, the hybrid stabilization are allocated to substituted for mostly the superior level of the fusion in an attempt to reduce the number of fusion levels and likelihood of degeneration process at the adjacent levels during the fusion with pedicle screws. Nevertheless, its biomechanical efficiencies still remain unknown and complications associated with failure of constructs such screw loosening and toggling should be elucidated In the current study, a finite element (FE) study was performed using a validated L2/S1 model subjected to a moment of 7.5 Nm and follower load of 400 N to assess the biomedical behavior of hybrid constructs based on dynamic topping off, semi rigid fusion. The residual range of motion (ROM), stress distribution at the fused and adjacent levels, stress distribution at the disc and the cage-endplate interface with respect to changes of bone quality were investigated. The hybrid instrumentation was associated with a reduction in compressive stresses compared to the fusion construct in the adjacent-level disc and showed high substantial axial force in the implant while fusion instrumentation increased the motion for both flexion and extension.

Keywords: intervertebral disc, lumbar spine, degenerative nuclesion, L4-L5, range of motion finite element model, hyperelasticy

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Authors: S.K. Bhandari, E. Veneklaas, L. McCaw, R. Mazanec, K. Whitford, M. Renton

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Eucalyptus marginata, E. diversicolor and Corymbia calophylla form widespread forests in south-west Western Australia (SWWA). These forests have economic and ecological importance, and therefore, tree growth and sustainable management are of high priority. This paper aimed to analyse and model the growth of these species at both stand and individual levels, but this presentation will focus on predicting the growth of E. Marginata at the individual tree level. More specifically, the study wanted to investigate how well individual E. marginata tree growth could be predicted by considering the diameter and height of the tree at the start of the growth period, and whether this prediction could be improved by also accounting for the competition from neighbouring trees in different ways. The study also wanted to investigate how many neighbouring trees or what neighbourhood distance needed to be considered when accounting for competition. To achieve this aim, the Pearson correlation coefficient was examined among competition indices (CIs), between CIs and dbh growth, and selected the competition index that can best predict the diameter growth of individual trees of E. marginata forest managed under different thinning regimes at Inglehope in SWWA. Furthermore, individual tree growth models were developed using simple linear regression, multiple linear regression, and linear mixed effect modelling approaches. Individual tree growth models were developed for thinned and unthinned stand separately. The developed models were validated using two approaches. In the first approach, models were validated using a subset of data that was not used in model fitting. In the second approach, the model of the one growth period was validated with the data of another growth period. Tree size (diameter and height) was a significant predictor of growth. This prediction was improved when the competition was included in the model. The fit statistic (coefficient of determination) of the model ranged from 0.31 to 0.68. The model with spatial competition indices validated as being more accurate than with non-spatial indices. The model prediction can be optimized if 10 to 15 competitors (by number) or competitors within ~10 m (by distance) from the base of the subject tree are included in the model, which can reduce the time and cost of collecting the information about the competitors. As competition from neighbours was a significant predictor with a negative effect on growth, it is recommended including neighbourhood competition when predicting growth and considering thinning treatments to minimize the effect of competition on growth. These model approaches are likely to be useful tools for the conservations and sustainable management of forests of E. marginata in SWWA. As a next step in optimizing the number and distance of competitors, further studies in larger size plots and with a larger number of plots than those used in the present study are recommended.

Keywords: competition, growth, model, thinning

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Authors: M. Bahari Mehrabani, Hua-Peng Chen

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Management and maintenance of coastal defence structures during the expected life cycle have become a real challenge for decision makers and engineers. Accurate evaluation of the current condition and future performance of flood defence structures is essential for effective practical maintenance strategies on the basis of available field inspection data. Moreover, as coastal defence structures age, it becomes more challenging to implement maintenance and management plans to avoid structural failure. Therefore, condition inspection data are essential for assessing damage and forecasting deterioration of ageing flood defence structures in order to keep the structures in an acceptable condition. The inspection data for flood defence structures are often collected using discrete visual condition rating schemes. In order to evaluate future condition of the structure, a probabilistic deterioration model needs to be utilised. However, existing deterioration models may not provide a reliable prediction of performance deterioration for a long period due to uncertainties. To tackle the limitation, a time-dependent condition-based model associated with a transition probability needs to be developed on the basis of condition grade scheme for flood defences. This paper presents a probabilistic method for predicting future performance deterioration of coastal flood defence structures based on condition grading inspection data and deterioration curves estimated by expert judgement. In condition-based deterioration modelling, the main task is to estimate transition probability matrices. The deterioration process of the structure related to the transition states is modelled according to Markov chain process, and a reliability-based approach is used to estimate the probability of structural failure. Visual inspection data according to the United Kingdom Condition Assessment Manual are used to obtain the initial condition grade curve of the coastal flood defences. The initial curves then modified in order to develop transition probabilities through non-linear regression based optimisation algorithms. The Monte Carlo simulations are then used to evaluate the future performance of the structure on the basis of the estimated transition probabilities. Finally, a case study is given to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method under no-maintenance and medium-maintenance scenarios. Results show that the proposed method can provide an effective predictive model for various situations in terms of available condition grading data. The proposed model also provides useful information on time-dependent probability of failure in coastal flood defences.

Keywords: condition grading, flood defense, performance assessment, stochastic deterioration modelling

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Authors: Taiwo Ebenezer Abioye, Alexis Medrano-Tellez, Peter Kayode Farayibi, Peter Kayode Oke,

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Laser metal deposition by wire feedstock has been established as a process which can provide a high material deposition rate with good quality. Sound mechanical properties of the deposited parts are the pre-requisites for the real applications of this process. This paper investigates the laser metal deposition of 308LSi stainless steel wire within a process window. Single tracks and multiple layer thin-walls of 308LSi stainless steel wire were deposited on 304 stainless steel substrate. The grain structures of the built walls were examined using optical microscopy. The mechanical properties of the built walls including the micro-hardness and tensile properties along the transverse and longitudinal directions were investigated using Vickers hardness tester and tensile test machine. Long columnar grains were found growing in the wall building direction (transverse) and nucleation were observed at the boundary between two deposited layers due to remelting of the previously deposited layers. The results showed that the hardness values of the deposited walls (ranging between 194 HV and 167 HV) decreased from the track-substrate interface to the top of the wall. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the wall (518 ± 7 MPa) showed dependence on wall building directions.

Keywords: laser metal deposition, ultimate tensile strength, hardness, wall, microstructure

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Authors: Ari S. Prabowo, Nia Febriyanti, Haryono B. Santosa

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Security function that is called as Physical Protection Systems (PPS) has functions to detect, delay and response. Physical Protection Systems (PPS) in Detection and Radiation Measurement Laboratory needs to be improved continually by using internal resources. The nuclear security culture provides some potentials to support this research. The study starts by identifying the security function’s weaknesses and its strengths of security culture as a purpose. Secondly, the strengths of security culture are implemented in the laboratory management. Finally, a simulation was done to measure its effectiveness. Some changes were happened in laboratory personnel behaviors and procedures. All became more prudent. The results showed a good influence of nuclear security culture in laboratory security functions.

Keywords: laboratory, physical protection system, security culture, security function

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Authors: Evgeny Chugunnyy, Alena Gerasimova, Kirill Chernyavskiy, Alexander Krasnov

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One of the primary component of Continuous deployment (CD) is a binary artifact repository — the place where artifacts are stored with metadata in a structured way. The binary artifact repository manager (BARM) is a software, which implements this repository logic and exposes a public application programming interface (API) for managing these artifacts. Almost every programming language ecosystem has its own artifact repository kind. During creating Artipie — BARM constructor and server, we analyzed and implemented a lot of different artifact repositories. In this paper we present criterias for comparing artifact repositories, and analyze the most popular repositories using these metrics. We also describe some of the notable features of different repositories. This paper aimed to help people who are creating, maintaining or optimizing software repository and CI tools.

Keywords: artifact, repository, continuous deployment, build automation, artifacts management

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Authors: Abeer Hashem, Khalid F. Almutairi, Ulkar Ibrahimova, Elsayed Fathi Abdallah

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Salinity poses a significant challenge to wheat production, necessitating the exploration of strategies to mitigate its adverse effects. The present investigation aims to study the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) application to improve plant tolerance in terms of growth, carbohydrate, photosynthetic characteristics, and antioxidant enzyme activities under salt stress conditions. So, a randomized complete block design with five replications was employed comprising various treatments of AMF application under salinity stress (200mM), and control samples were used for each treatment. The obtained results demonstrated significantly that AMF used in this study showed beneficial impacts in all parameters used as sensitive monitor for relation of plant-salt microbe interaction. The root colonization by AMF showed the highest plant growth criteria, relative water content, soluble sugar, starch, and total non-structural carbohydrates under both control and salinity stress conditions. Moreover, the application of AMF-treated plants showed the highest soluble protein concentration and activity in leaves and antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase, guaiacol peroxidase). These findings highlight the potential impact of AMF application as a biologically based strategy to manage the mitigation of salt stress on wheat, which increases the availability of many salt marsh habitats for sustainable agriculture of such strategy crops.

Keywords: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, salt stress, plant growth criteria, soluble protein, antioxidant enzymes, wheat plant

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Authors: Joonas Pääkkönen

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In sports, individuals and teams are typically interested in final rankings. Final results, such as times or distances, dictate these rankings, also known as places. Places can be further associated with ordered random variables, commonly referred to as order statistics. In this work, we introduce a simple, yet accurate order statistical ordinal regression function that predicts relay race places with changeover-times. We call this function the Fenton-Wilkinson Order Statistics model. This model is built on the following educated assumption: individual leg-times follow log-normal distributions. Moreover, our key idea is to utilize Fenton-Wilkinson approximations of changeover-times alongside an estimator for the total number of teams as in the notorious German tank problem. This original place regression function is sigmoidal and thus correctly predicts the existence of a small number of elite teams that significantly outperform the rest of the teams. Our model also describes how place increases linearly with changeover-time at the inflection point of the log-normal distribution function. With real-world data from Jukola 2019, a massive orienteering relay race, the model is shown to be highly accurate even when the size of the training set is only 5% of the whole data set. Numerical results also show that our model exhibits smaller place prediction root-mean-square-errors than linear regression, mord regression and Gaussian process regression.

Keywords: Fenton-Wilkinson approximation, German tank problem, log-normal distribution, order statistics, ordinal regression, orienteering, sports analytics, sports modeling

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Authors: Saadia Khalid

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This paper discusses the various leadership styles of project manager which lead to the success of a project since it is important for a project manager to understand and adopt the skills required to cope up with the modern challenges of any project. A project manager must be able to handle a project effectively and efficiently and be ready to assess the factors effecting success or failure of the project. A project manager must be capable of handling a project by managing, directing and leading the projects with requisite knowledge and skills. In this paper a project manager’s characteristics linkage to project success have been developed and analyzed for three different projects/industries. A web-based survey has also been carried out which revealed that specific leadership styles/traits can lead to better performance and success of organizations. Some basic factors like project complexity, the age, gender and nationality of the project manager and type of project also play a vital role in success of a project.

Keywords: leadership style, project success, project management, project manager

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Authors: Raju Murugan, Pankaj S. Kolhe

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The present study is mainly focusing on the numerical simulation of Flow Blurring (FB) twin fluid injection concept was proposed by Ganan-Calvo, which involves back flow atomization based on global bifurcation of liquid and gas streams, thus creating two-phase flow near the injector exit. The interesting feature of FB injector spray is an insignificant effect of variation in atomizing air to liquid ratio (ALR) on a spray cone angle. Besides, FB injectors produce a nearly uniform spatial distribution of mean droplet diameter and are least susceptible to variation in thermo-physical properties of fuels, making it a perfect candidate for fuel flexible combustor development. The FB injector working principle has been realized through experimental flow visualization techniques only. The present study explores potential of ANSYS Fluent based Large Eddy Simulation(LES) with volume of fluid (VOF) method to investigate two-phase flow just upstream of injector dump plane and spray quality immediate downstream of injector dump plane. Note that, water and air represent liquid and gas phase in all simulations and ALR is varied by changing the air mass flow rate alone. Preliminary results capture two phase flow just upstream of injector dump plane and qualitative agreement is observed with the available experimental literature.

Keywords: flow blurring twin fluid atomization, large eddy simulation, volume of fluid, air to liquid ratio

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Authors: Hakim T. Kadhim, Faris A. Jabbar, Aldo Rona, Audrius Bagdanaviciu

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Computer-based optimization techniques can be employed to improve the efficiency of energy conversions processes, including reducing the aerodynamic loss in a thermal power plant turbomachine. In this paper, towards mitigating secondary flow losses, a design optimization workflow is implemented for the casing geometry of a 1.5 stage axial flow turbine that improves the turbine isentropic efficiency. The improved turbine is used in an open thermodynamic gas cycle with regeneration and cogeneration. Performance estimates are obtained by the commercial software Cycle – Tempo. Design and off design conditions are considered as well as variations in inlet air temperature. Reductions in both the natural gas specific fuel consumption and in CO₂ emissions are predicted by using the gas turbine cycle fitted with the new casing design. These gains are attractive towards enhancing the competitiveness and reducing the environmental impact of thermal power plant.

Keywords: axial flow turbine, computational fluid dynamics, gas turbine power plant, optimization

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Authors: Hatice Özbek, Caner Çil, Ahmet Rodoplu

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Automotive lighting is the leading function in the configuration of vehicle architecture. Especially headlights and taillights from external lighting functions are among the structures that determine the stylistic character of the vehicle. At the same time, the fact that lighting functions are related to many other functions brings along difficulties in design. Customers expect maximum quality from the vehicle. In these circumstances, it is necessary to make designs that aim to keep the performance of bulbs with limited working lives at the highest level. With this study, the factors that influence the working lives of filament lamps were examined and bulb explosions that can occur sooner than anticipated in the future were prevented while the vehicle was still in the design phase by determining the relations with electrical, dynamical and static variables. Especially the filaments of the bulbs used in the front lighting of the vehicle are deformed in a shorter time due to the high voltage requirement. In addition to this, rear lighting lamps vibrate as a result of the tailgate opening and closing and cause the filaments to be exposed to high stress. With this study, the findings that cause bulb explosions were evaluated. Among the most important findings: 1. The structure of the cables to the lighting functions of the vehicle and the effect of the voltage values are drawn; 2. The effect of the vibration to bulb throughout the life of the vehicle; 3 The effect of the loads carried to bulb while the vehicle doors are opened and closed. At the end of the study, the maximum performance was established in the bulb lifetimes with the optimum changes made in the vehicle architecture based on the findings obtained.

Keywords: vehicle architecture, automotive lighting functions, filament lamps, bulb lifetime

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Authors: Carolina Aparicio-Fernández, Alejandro Vilar Abad, Mar Cañada Soriano, Jose-Luis Vivancos

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The building sector is responsible for 40% of the total energy consumption in the European Union (EU). Thus, implementation of strategies for quantifying and reducing buildings energy consumption is indispensable for reaching the EU’s carbon neutrality and energy efficiency goals. Each Member State has transposed the European Directives according to its own peculiarities: existing technical legislation, constructive solutions, climatic zones, etc. Therefore, in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Member States have developed different Energy Performance Certificate schemes, using proposed energy simulation software-tool for each national or regional area. Energy Performance Certificates provide a powerful and comprehensive information to predict, analyze and improve the energy demand of new and existing buildings. Energy simulation software and databases allow a better understanding of the current constructive reality of the European building stock. However, Energy Performance Certificates still have to face several issues to consider them as a reliable and global source of information since different calculation tools are used that do not allow the connection between them. In this document, TRNSYS (TRaNsient System Simulation program) software is used to calculate the energy demand of a building, and it is compared with the energy labeling obtained with Spanish Official software-tools. We demonstrate the possibility of using not official software-tools to calculate the Energy Performance Certificate. Thus, this approach could be used throughout the EU and compare the results in all possible cases proposed by the EU Member States. To implement the simulations, an isolated single-family house with different construction solutions is considered. The results are obtained for every climatic zone of the Spanish Technical Building Code.

Keywords: energy demand, energy performance certificate EPBD, trnsys, buildings

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Authors: Dipti Parida, Atasi Mohanty

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The focus of this research is to examine the interaction effect of flipped teaching and traditional teaching mode across two different medium (English and Odia) of instructional groups. Both Science and History subjects were taken to be taught in the Class- VIII in two different instructional mode/s. In total, 180 students of Class-VIII of both Odia and English medium schools were taken as the samples of this study; 90 participants (each group) were from both English and Odia medium schools ; 45 participants of each of these two groups were again assigned either to flip or traditional teaching method. We have two independent variables and each independent variable with two levels. Medium and mode of instruction are the two independent variables. Medium of instruction has two levels of Odia medium and English medium groups. The mode of instruction has also two levels of flip and traditional teaching method. Here we get 4 different groups, such as Odia medium students with traditional mode of teaching (O.M.T), Odia medium students with flipped mode of teaching (O.M.F), English medium students with traditional mode of teaching (E.M.T) and English medium students with flipped mode of teaching (E.M.F). Before the instructional administration, these four groups were given a test on the concerned topic to be taught. Based on this result, a one-way ANOVA was computed and the obtained result showed that these four groups don’t differ significantly from each other at the beginning. Then they were taught the concerned topic either in traditional or flip mode of teaching method. After that a 2×2×2 repeated measures ANOVA was done to analyze the group differences as well as the learning outcome before and after the teaching. The result table also shows that in post-test the learning outcome is highest in case of English medium students with flip mode of instruction. From the statistical analysis it is clear that the flipped mode of teaching is as effective for Odia medium students as it is for English medium students.

Keywords: medium of instruction, mode of instruction, test mode, vernacular medium

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Authors: Efuwape Bamidele Michael, Efuwape Oluwabunmi Asake

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Nigeria has some deep rural environments that seem secluded from most of the technological amenities for convenient living and learning. Most schools in such environments are yet to be captured in the educational applications of technological facilities. The study explores the facilitation of basic technology instructions with micro-learning and gamification among students in rural Junior Secondary Schools in the Ipokia Local Government Area (LGA) of Ogun state. The study employed a quasi-experimental design, specifically the pre-test and post-test control group design. The study population comprised all Junior Secondary School students in the LGA. Four Junior Secondary Schools in the LGA were randomly selected for the study and classified into two experimental and two control groups. A total sample of 156 students participated in the study. Basic Technology Achievement Test and Junior School Students’ Attitudinal Scale were instruments used for data collection in the study with reliability coefficients of 0.87 and 0.83, respectively. Five hypotheses guided the study and were tested using Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings from the study established significant marginal differences in students’ academic performance (F = 644.301; p = .000), learning retention (F = 583.335; p = .000), and attitude towards learning basic technology (F = 491.226; p = .000) between the two groups in favour of the experimental group exposed to micro-learning and gamification. As a recommendation, adequate provisions for inclusive educational practices with technological applications should be ensured for all children irrespective of location within the country, especially to encourage effective learning in rural schools.

Keywords: inclusive education, educational technology, basic technology students, rural areas in Nigeria, micro-learning, gamification

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Authors: Suriyani Ariffin, Nor Aziah Alias, Khairil Iskandar Othman, Haslinda Yusoff

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An Integrated Cumulative Grade Point Average (iCGPA) is a mechanism and strategy to ensure the curriculum of an academic programme is constructively aligned to the expected learning outcomes and student performance based on the attainment of those learning outcomes that is reported objectively in a spider web. Much effort and time has been spent to develop a viable mechanism and trains academics to utilize the platform for reporting. The question is: How well do learners conceive the idea of their achievement via iCGPA and whether quality learner attributes have been nurtured through the iCGPA mechanism? This paper presents the architecture of an integrated CGPA mechanism purported to address a holistic evaluation from the evaluation of courses learning outcomes to aligned programme learning outcomes attainment. The paper then discusses the students’ understanding of the mechanism and evaluation of their achievement from the generated spider web. A set of questionnaires were distributed to a group of students with iCGPA reporting and frequency analysis was used to compare the perspectives of students on their performance. In addition, the questionnaire also explored how they conceive the idea of an integrated, holistic reporting and how it generates their motivation to improve. The iCGPA group was found to be receptive to what they have achieved throughout their study period. They agreed that the achievement level generated from their spider web allows them to develop intervention and enhance the programme learning outcomes before they graduate.

Keywords: learning outcomes attainment, iCGPA, programme learning outcomes, spider web, iCGPA reporting skills

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Authors: Olalekan Sunday Alabi, Titus Adeyemi Alonge, Olumuyiwa Idowu Ojo

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Agricultural land suitability analysis and mapping play an imperative role for sustainable utilization of scarce physical land resources. The objective of this study was to prepare spatial database of physical land resources for irrigated agriculture and to assess land suitability for irrigation and developing suitable area map of the study area. The study was conducted at Kampe-Omi irrigation scheme located at Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. Temperature and rainfall data of the study area were collected for 10 consecutive years (2005-2014). Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques were used to develop irrigation land suitability map of the study area. Attribute parameters such as the slope, soil properties, topography of the study area were used for the analysis. The available data were arranged, proximity analysis of Arc-GIS was made, and this resulted into five mapping units. The final agricultural land suitability map of the study area was derived after overlay analysis. Based on soil composition, slope, soil properties and topography, it was concluded that; Kampe-Omi has rich sandy loam soil, which is viable for agricultural purpose, the soil composition is made up of 60% sand and 40% loam. The land-use pattern map of Kampe-Omi has vegetal area and water-bodies covering 55.6% and 19.3% of the total assessed area respectively. The landform of Kampe-Omi is made up of 41.2% lowlands, 37.5% normal lands and 21.3% highlands. Kampe-Omi is adequately suitable for agricultural purpose while an extra of 20.2% of the area is highly suitable for agricultural purpose making 72.6% while 18.7% of the area is slightly suitable.

Keywords: remote sensing, GIS, Kampe–Omi, land suitability, mapping

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Authors: Eleni Panagiotarakou

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This paper argues that humans have a collective moral responsibility to help wild animals during the Anthropocene era. Seen from the perspective of deontic logic, this moral responsibility did not exist in the Holocene era (ca. 11,700 BC-1945 AD) on account of humanity’s limited impact on the natural environment. By contrast in the Anthropocene, human activities are causing significant disturbances to planetary ecosystems and by inference to wildlife communities. Under these circumstances controversial and deeply regrettable interventional methods such as Managed Relocations (MR) and synthetic biology should be expanded and become policy measures despite their known and unknown risks. The main rationale for the above stems from the fact that traditional management strategies are simply insufficient in the Anthropocene. If the same anthropogenic activities continue unabated they risk triggering a sixth mass species extinction.

Keywords: anthropocene, humanitarian interventions, managed relocations, species extinctions, synthetic biology

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Authors: Feroz A. Shah, M. H. Balkhi

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The study was aimed at to record the distribution and prevalence of various metazoan parasites of fish from hill stream/coldwater fishes of various water bodies of northwest Himalayan region of India. Snow trout (Schizoth oracids) from eutrophic lakes and fresh water streams were collected from January to December 2012, to study the impact of environmental factors on the dynamics and distribution of parasitic infection. The prevalence of helminth parasites was correlated with available physico-chemical parameters including water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO). The most abundant parasitic infection recorded during this study was Adenoscolex sp. (Cestode parasite) which showed positive correlation with pH (significant p≤0.05) negative correlation with temperature. The Bothriocephalus was having positive correlation with water temperature while as negative correlation was observed with pH and DO. The correlation between Diplozoon sp. and Clinostomum sp. with the physiochemical parameters were non-significant.

Keywords: hill stream fishes, parasites, Western Himalayas, prevelance

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Authors: Niranjan Das

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‘Geographical indication’ is a sign which is used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. Geographical Indication is primarily granted to agricultural, natural, manufactured, handicrafts originating from a definite geographical territory. It is defined in Article 22(1) of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 1995 Agreement on ‘Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)’. Assam is literally a ‘Silk country’ where silk culture is rooted in the rural life and culture of Assamese people. This is the only state in India and the world where Muga silk (Antheraea assamensis) is grown. Out of the total production of India’s Muga silk, Assam has the credit of being the sole producer of this 100 percent output, and thus occupies a unique position in the sericulture map of the world. Muga production has been an effective means for generating gainful employment in rural Assam and it has enormous potential in the context of building the rural economy and generating livelihood of this region. Muga, the unique golden-yellow silk of Assam was granted the ‘Geographical Indication (GI)’ registration in 2007. It is the first item from the state of Assam to obtain the GI tag. Besides manufacturing of Muga Silk cloths, the industry is also giving employment to thousands of people, and the silk industry is playing a leading role in the economy of the state. As Brahmaputra Valley is also known for tourist destination, tourists are visiting the valley every year and now the Muga Silk has reached each corner of the country and also in the other parts of the world. This paper tries to emphasizes how the Geographical Indication tag is protecting the traditional right of the Muga Silk of Assam as it has been practised by the Assamese people since times immemorial.

Keywords: Geographical Indication, environment, Muga silk, traditional right and livelihood

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Authors: I. Szer, J. Szer, M. Pieńko, A. Robak, P. Jamińska-Gadomska

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Work at height, such as construction works on scaffoldings, is associated with a considerable risk. Scaffolding workers are usually exposed to changing weather conditions what can additionally increase the risk of dangerous situations. Therefore, it is very important to foresee the risk of adverse conditions to which the worker may be exposed. The data from meteorological stations may be used to asses this risk. However, the dependency between weather conditions on a scaffolding and in the vicinity of meteorological station, should be determined. The paper presents an analysis of two selected environmental parameters which have influence on the behavior of workers – air temperature and wind speed. Measurements of these parameters were made between April and November of 2016 on ten scaffoldings located in different parts of Poland. They were compared with the results taken from the meteorological stations located closest to the studied scaffolding. The results gathered from the construction sites and meteorological stations were not the same, but statistical analyses have shown that they were correlated.

Keywords: scaffolding, health and safety at work, temperature, wind velocity

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Authors: Hamda M. Al-Ali

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The ultimate aim of space exploration has been centralized around the possibility of life on other planets in the solar system. This aim is driven by the detrimental effects that climate change could potentially have on human survival on Earth in the future. This drives humans to search for feasible solutions to increase environmental and economical sustainability on Earth and to evaluate and explore the ability of human survival on other planets such as Mars. To do that, frequent space missions are required to meet the ambitious human goals. This means that reliable and affordable access to space is required, which could be largely achieved through the use of reusable spacecrafts. Therefore, materials and resources must be used wisely to meet the increasing demand. Space missions are currently extremely expensive to operate. However, reusing materials hence spacecrafts, can potentially reduce overall mission costs as well as the negative impact on both space and Earth environments. This is because reusing materials leads to less waste generated per mission, and therefore fewer landfill sites are required. Reusing materials reduces resource consumption, material production, and the need for processing new and replacement spacecraft and launch vehicle parts. Consequently, this will ease and facilitate human access to outer space as it will reduce the demand for scarce resources, which will boost material efficiency in the space industry. Material efficiency expresses the extent to which resources are consumed in the production cycle and how the waste produced by the industrial process is minimized. The strategies proposed in this paper to boost material efficiency in the space sector are the introduction of key performance indicators that are able to measure material efficiency as well as the introduction of clearly defined policies and legislation that can be easily implemented within the general practices in the space industry. Another strategy to improve material efficiency is by amplifying energy and resource efficiency through reusing materials. The circularity of various spacecraft materials such as Kevlar, steel, and aluminum alloys could be maximized through reusing them directly or after galvanizing them with another layer of material to act as a protective coat. This research paper has an aim to investigate and discuss how to improve material efficiency in space missions considering circular economy concepts so that space and Earth become more economically and environmentally sustainable. The circular economy is a transition from a make-use-waste linear model to a closed-loop socio-economic model, which is regenerative and restorative in nature. The implementation of a circular economy will reduce waste and pollution through maximizing material efficiency, ensuring that businesses can thrive and sustain. Further research into the extent to which reusable launch vehicles reduce space mission costs have been discussed, along with the environmental and economic implications it could have on the space sector and the environment. This has been examined through research and in-depth literature review of published reports, books, scientific articles, and journals. Keywords such as material efficiency, circular economy, reusable launch vehicles and spacecraft materials were used to search for relevant literature.

Keywords: circular economy, key performance indicator, material efficiency, reusable launch vehicles, spacecraft materials

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Authors: Maria Medrano, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez, Maddi Oses, Lide Arenaza, Maria Amasene, Idoia Labayen

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The COVID-19 outbreak began in December 2019 in China and was rapidly expanded globally. Emergency measures, such as social distance or home confinement, were adopted by many country governments to prevent its transmission. In Spain, one of the most affected countries, the schools were closed, and one of the most severe mandatory home confinement was established for children from 14th March to 26th April 2020. The hypothesis of this study was that the measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected physical activity and screen time of children. However, few studies have examined the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle behaviours. Thus, the aim of the current work was to analyse the effects of the COVID-19 confinement on physical activity and screen time in Spanish children. For the current purpose, a total of 113 children and adolescents (12.0 ± 2.6 yr., 51.3% boys, 24.0% with overweight/obesity according to the World Obesity Federation) of the MUGI project were included in the analyses. Physical activity and screen time were longitudinally assessed by 'The Youth Activity Profile' questionnaire (YAP). Differences in physical activity and screen time before and during the confinement were assessed by dependent t-test. Before the confinement, 60% did not meet physical activity recommendations ( ≥ 60/min/day of moderate to vigorous physical activity), and 61% used screens ≥ 2 h/day. During the COVID-19 confinement, children decreased their physical activity levels (-91 ± 55 min/day, p < 0.001) and increased screen time ( ± 2.6 h/day, p < 0.001). The prevalence of children that worsened physical activity and screen time during the COVID-19 confinement were 95.2% and 69.8%, respectively. The current study evidence the negative effects of the COVID-19 confinement on physical activity and screen time in Spanish children. These findings should be taken into account to develop and implement future public health strategies for preserving children's lifestyle behaviours and health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, lifestyle changes, paediatric, physical activity, screen time

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Authors: Frazer Kirk, Matthew Yong, Peter Williams, Andrie Strobel

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Pulmonary valve papillary fibroelastoma is an exceedingly rare pathology. The experience and literature regarding them are largely anecdotal and based on sporadic, single case reports. Throughout their known history, two features remain salient that they are classically asymptomatic and found incidentally. The demographic profile of those affected is unclear, as reports regarding those affected are mixed, and there is no clear gender or age predominance, although there is some suggestion of a predisposition to affect females. Nor has there been a well-structured epidemiological study of the entity. Interestingly they are becoming more common on peri-mortum examination. Here-after we describe our experience with a symptomatic presentation of pulmonary papillary fibroelastoma masquerading as a pulmonary embolism and its subsequent assessment and management, with intraoperative photography and echocardiography for reference.

Keywords: cardiac tumor, pulmonary valve, fibroelastoma, cardiac surgery

Procedia PDF Downloads 199