Search results for: open source geographic information science (OS GIS)
Commenced in January 2007
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Edition: International
Paper Count: 19032

Search results for: open source geographic information science (OS GIS)

252 Effects of Temperature and Mechanical Abrasion on Microplastics

Authors: N. Singh, G. K. Darbha

Abstract:

Since the last decade, a wave of research has begun to study the prevalence and impact of ever-increasing plastic pollution in the environment. The wide application and ubiquitous distribution of plastic have become a global concern due to its persistent nature. The disposal of plastics has emerged as one of the major challenges for waste management landfills. Microplastics (MPs) have found its existence in almost every environment, from the high altitude mountain lake to the deep sea sediments, polar icebergs, coral reefs, estuaries, beaches, and river, etc. Microplastics are fragments of plastics with size less than 5 mm. Microplastics can be classified as primary microplastics and secondary microplastics. Primary microplastics includes purposefully introduced microplastics into the end products for consumers (microbeads used in facial cleansers, personal care product, etc.), pellets (used in manufacturing industries) or fibres (from textile industries) which finally enters into the environment. Secondary microplastics are formed by disintegration of larger fragments under the exposure of sunlight, mechanical abrasive forces by rain, waves, wind and/or water. A number of factors affect the quantity of microplastic present in freshwater environments. In addition to physical forces, human population density proximal to the water body, proximity to urban centres, water residence time, and size of the water body also affects plastic properties. With time, other complex processes in nature such as physical, chemical and biological break down plastics by interfering with its structural integrity. Several studies demonstrate that microplastics found in wastewater sludge being used as manure for agricultural fields, thus having the tendency to alter the soil environment condition influencing the microbial population as well. Inadequate data are available on the fate and transport of microplastics under varying environmental conditions that are required to supplement important information for further research. In addition, microplastics have the tendency to absorb heavy metals and hydrophobic organic contaminants such as PAHs and PCBs from its surroundings and thus acting as carriers for these contaminants in the environment system. In this study, three kinds of microplastics (polyethylene, polypropylene and expanded polystyrene) of different densities were chosen. Plastic samples were placed in sand with different aqueous media (distilled water, surface water, groundwater and marine water). It was incubated at varying temperatures (25, 35 and 40 °C) and agitation levels (rpm). The results show that the number of plastic fragments enhanced with increase in temperature and agitation speed. Moreover, the rate of disintegration of expanded polystyrene is high compared to other plastics. These results demonstrate that temperature, salinity, and mechanical abrasion plays a major role in degradation of plastics. Since weathered microplastics are more harmful as compared to the virgin microplastics, long-term studies involving other environmental factors are needed to have a better understanding of degradation of plastics.

Keywords: environmental contamination, fragmentation, microplastics, temperature, weathering

Procedia PDF Downloads 169
251 Assessing Sustainability of Bike Sharing Projects Using Envision™ Rating System

Authors: Tamar Trop

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Bike sharing systems can be important elements of smart cities as they have the potential for impact on multiple levels. These systems can add a significant alternative to other modes of mass transit in cities that are continuously looking for measures to become more livable and maintain their attractiveness for citizens, businesses and tourism. Bike-sharing began in Europe in 1965, and a viable format emerged in the mid-2000s thanks to the introduction of information technology. The rate of growth in bike-sharing schemes and fleets has been very rapid since 2008 and has probably outstripped growth in every other form of urban transport. Today, public bike-sharing systems are available on five continents, including over 700 cities, operating more than 800,000 bicycles at approximately 40,000 docking stations. Since modern bike sharing systems have become prevalent only in the last decade, the existing literature analyzing these systems and their sustainability is relatively new. The purpose of the presented study is to assess the sustainability of these newly emerging transportation systems, by using the Envision™ rating system as a methodological framework and the Israeli 'Tel -O-Fun' – bike sharing project as a case study. The assessment was conducted by project team members. Envision™ is a new guidance and rating system used to assess and improve the sustainability of all types and sizes of infrastructure projects. This tool provides a holistic framework for evaluating and rating the community, environmental, and economic benefits of infrastructure projects over the course of their life cycle. This evaluation method has 60 sustainability criteria divided into five categories: Quality of life, leadership, resource allocation, natural world, and climate and risk. 'Tel -O-Fun' project was launched in Tel Aviv-Yafo on 2011 and today provides about 1,800 bikes for rent, at 180 rental stations across the city. The system is based on a complex computer terminal that is located in the docking stations. The highest-rated sustainable features that the project scored include: (a) Improving quality of life by: offering a low cost and efficient form of public transit, improving community mobility and access, enabling the flexibility of travel within a multimodal transportation system, saving commuters time and money, enhancing public health and reducing air and noise pollution; (b) improving resource allocation by: offering inexpensive and flexible last-mile connectivity, reducing space, materials and energy consumption, reducing wear and tear on public roads, and maximizing the utility of existing infrastructure, and (c) reducing of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Overall, 'Tel -O-Fun' project was highly scored as an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable infrastructure. The use of this practical framework for evaluation also yielded various interesting insights on the shortcoming of the system and the characteristics of good solutions. This can contribute to the improvement of the project and may assist planners and operators of bike sharing systems to develop a sustainable, efficient and reliable transportation infrastructure within smart cities.

Keywords: bike sharing, Envision™, sustainability rating system, sustainable infrastructure

Procedia PDF Downloads 340
250 Expanding Entrepreneurial Capabilities through Business Incubators: A Case Study of Idea Hub Nigeria

Authors: Kenechukwu Ikebuaku

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Entrepreneurship has long been offered as the panacea for poor economic growth and high rate of unemployment. Business incubation is considered an effective means for enhancing entrepreneurial actitivities while engendering socio-economic development. Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA), is a software business incubation programme established by the Nigerian government as a means of boosting digital entrepreneurship activities and reducing unemployment in the country. This study assessed the contribution of iDEA Nigeria’s entrepreneurship programmes towards enhancing the capabilities of its tenants. Using the capability approach and the sustainable livelihoods approach, the study analysed iDEA programmes’ contribution towards the expansion of participants’ entrepreneurial capabilities. Apart from identifying a set of entrepreneurial capabilities from both the literature and empirical analysis, the study went further to ascertain how iDEA incubation has helped to enhance those capabilities for its tenants. It also examined digital entrepreneurship as a valued functioning and as an intermediate functioning leading to other valuable functioning. Furthermore, the study examined gender as a conversion factor in digital entrepreneurship. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for the study, and measurement of key variables was made. While the entire population was utilised to collect data for the quantitative research, purposive sampling was used to select respondents for semi-structured interviews in the qualitative research. However, only 40 beneficiaries agreed to take part in the survey while 10 respondents were interviewed for the study. Responses collected from questionnaires administered were subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS. The study developed indexes to measure the perception of the respondents, on how iDEA programmes have enhanced their entrepreneurial capabilities. The Capabilities Enhancement Perception Index (CEPI) computed indicated that the respondents believed that iDEA programmes enhanced their entrepreneurial capabilities. While access to power supply and reliable internet have the highest positive deviations around mean, negotiation skills and access to customers/clients have the highest negative deviation. These were well supported by the findings of the qualitative analysis in which the participants unequivocally narrated how the resources provided by iDEA aid them in their entrepreneurial endeavours. It was also found that iDEA programmes have a significant effect on the tenants’ access to networking opportunities, both with other emerging entrepreneurs and established entrepreneurs. While assessing gender as a conversion factor, it was discovered that there was very low female participation within the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem. The root cause of this gender disparity was found in unquestioned cultural beliefs and social norms which relegate women to a subservient position and household duties. The findings also showed that many of the entrepreneurs could be considered opportunity-based entrepreneurs rather than necessity entrepreneurs, and that digital entrepreneurship is a valued functioning for iDEA tenants. With regards to challenges facing digital entrepreneurship in Nigeria, infrastructural/institutional inadequacies, lack of funding opportunities, and unfavourable government policies, were considered inimical to entrepreneurial capabilities in the country.

Keywords: entrepreneurial capabilities, unemployment, business incubators, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 235
249 Environmental Management Accounting Practices and Policies within the Higher Education Sector: An Exploratory Study of the University of KwaZulu Natal

Authors: Kiran Baldavoo, Mishelle Doorasamy

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Universities have a role to play in the preservation of the environment, and the study attempted to evaluate the environmental management accounting (EMA) processes at UKZN. UKZN, a South African university, generates the same direct and indirect environmental impacts as the higher education sector worldwide. This is significant within the context of the South African environment which is constantly plagued by having to effectively manage the already scarce resources of water and energy, evident through the imposition of water and energy restrictions over the recent years. The study’s aim is to increase awareness of having a structured approach to environmental management in order to achieve the strategic environmental goals of the university. The research studied the experiences of key managers within UKZN, with the purpose of exploring the potential factors which influence the decision to adopt and apply EMA within the higher education sector. The study comprised two objectives, namely understanding the current state of accounting practices for managing major environmental costs and identifying factors influencing EMA adoption within the university. The study adopted a case study approach, comprising semi-structured interviews of key personnel involved in Management Accounting, Environmental Management, and Academic Schools within the university. Content analysis was performed on the transcribed interview data. A Theoretical Framework derived from literature was adopted to guide data collection and focus the study. Contingency and Institutional theory was the resultant basis of the derived framework. The findings of the first objective revealed that there was a distinct lack of EMA utilization within the university. There was no distinct policy on EMA, resulting in minimal environmental cost information being brought to the attention of senior management. The university embraced the principles of environmental sustainability; however, efforts to improve internal environmental accountability primarily from an accounting perspective was absent. The findings of the second objective revealed that five key barriers contributed to the lack of EMA utilization within the university. The barriers being attitudinal, informational, institutional, technological, and lack of incentives (financial). The results and findings of this study supported the use and application of EMA within the higher education sector. Participants concurred that EMA was underutilized and if implemented, would realize significant benefits for both the university and environment. Environmental management accounting is being widely acknowledged as a key management tool that can facilitate improved financial and environmental performance via the concept of enhanced environmental accountability. Historically research has been concentrated primarily on the manufacturing industry, due to it generating the greatest proportion of environmental impacts. Service industries are also an integral component of environmental management as they contribute significant environmental impacts, both direct and indirect. Educational institutions such as universities form part of the service sector and directly impact on the environment through the consumption of paper, energy, and water and solid waste generated, with the associated demands.

Keywords: environmental management accounting, environmental impacts, higher education, Southern Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 123
248 A Randomised Controlled Trial and Process Evaluation of the Lifestart Parenting Programme

Authors: Sharon Millen, Sarah Miller, Laura Dunne, Clare McGeady, Laura Neeson

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This paper presents the findings from a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and process evaluation of the Lifestart parenting programme. Lifestart is a structured child-centred programme of information and practical activity for parents of children aged from birth to five years of age. It is delivered to parents in their own homes by trained, paid family visitors and it is offered to parents regardless of their social, economic or other circumstances. The RCT evaluated the effectiveness of the programme and the process evaluation documented programme delivery and included a qualitative exploration of parent and child outcomes. 424 parents and children participated in the RCT: 216 in the intervention group and 208 in the control group across the island of Ireland. Parent outcomes included: parental knowledge of child development, parental efficacy, stress, social support, parenting skills and embeddedness in the community. Child outcomes included cognitive, language and motor development and social-emotional and behavioural development. Both groups were tested at baseline (when children were less than 1 year old), mid-point (aged 3) and at post-test (aged 5). Data were collected during a home visit, which took two hours. The process evaluation consisted of interviews with parents (n=16 at baseline and end-point), and focus groups with Lifestart Coordinators (n=9) and Family Visitors (n=24). Quantitative findings from the RCT indicated that, compared to the control group, parents who received the Lifestart programme reported reduced parenting-related stress, increased knowledge of their child’s development, and improved confidence in their parenting role. These changes were statistically significant and consistent with the hypothesised pathway of change depicted in the logic model. There was no evidence of any change in parents’ embeddedness in the community. Although four of the five child outcomes showed small positive change for children who took part in the programme, these were not statistically significant and there is no evidence that the programme improves child cognitive and non-cognitive skills by immediate post-test. The qualitative process evaluation highlighted important challenges related to conducting trials of this magnitude and design in the general population. Parents reported that a key incentive to take part in study was receiving feedback from the developmental assessment, which formed part of the data collection. This highlights the potential importance of appropriate incentives in relation to recruitment and retention of participants. The interviews with intervention parents indicated that one of the first changes they experienced as a result of the Lifestart programme was increased knowledge and confidence in their parenting ability. The outcomes and pathways perceived by parents and described in the interviews are also consistent with the findings of the RCT and the theory of change underpinning the programme. This hypothesises that improvement in parental outcomes, arising as a consequence of the programme, mediate the change in child outcomes. Parents receiving the Lifestart programme reported great satisfaction with and commitment to the programme, with the role of the Family Visitor being identified as one of the key components of the programme.

Keywords: parent-child relationship, parental self-efficacy, parental stress, school readiness

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247 A Functional Analysis of a Political Leader in Terms of Marketing

Authors: Aşina Gülerarslan, M. Faik Özdengül

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The new economic, social and political world order has led to the emergence of a wide range of persuasion strategies and practices based on an ever expanding marketing axis that involves organizations, ideas and persons as well as products and services. It is seen that since the 1990's, a wide variety of competitive marketing ideas have been offered systematically to target audiences in the field of politics as in other fields. When the components of marketing are taken into consideration, all kinds of communication efforts involving “political leaders”, who are conceptualized as products in terms of political marketing, serve a process of social persuasion, which cannot be restricted to election periods only, and a manageable “image”. In this context, image, which is concerned with how the political product is perceived, involves not only the political discourses shared with the public but also all kinds of biographical information about the leader, the leader’s specific way of living and routines and his/her attitudes and behaviors in their private lives, and all these are regarded as components of the “product image”. While on the one hand the leader’s verbal or supra-verbal references serve the way the “spirit of the product” is perceived –just as in brand positioning- they also show their self-esteem levels, in other words how they perceive themselves on the other hand. Indeed, their self-esteem levels are evaluated in three fundamental categories in the “Functional Analysis”, namely parent, child and adult, and it is revealed that the words, tone of voice and body language a person uses makes it easy to understand at what self-esteem level that person is. In this context, words, tone of voice and body language, which provide important clues as to the “self” of the person, are also an indication of how political leaders evaluate both “themselves” and “the mass/audience” in the communication they establish with their audiences. When the matter is taken from the perspective of Turkey, the levels of self-esteem in the relationships that the political leaders establish with the masses are also important in revealing how our society is seen from the perspective of a specific leader. Since the leader is a part of the marketing strategy of a political party as a product, this evaluation is significant in terms of the forms of relationships between political institutions in our country with the society. In this study, the self-esteem level in the documentary entitled “Master’s Story”, where Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s life history is told, is analyzed in the context of words, tone of voice and body language. Within the scope of the study, at what level of self-esteem Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in the “Master’s Story”, a documentary broadcast on Beyaz TV, was investigated using the content analysis method. First, based on the Functional Analysis Literature, a transactional approach scale was created regarding parent, adult and child self-esteem levels. On the basis of this scale, the prime minister’s self-esteem level was determined in three basic groups, namely “tone of voice”, “the words he used” and “body language”. Descriptive analyses were made to the data within the framework of these criteria and at what self-esteem level the prime minister spoke throughout the documentary was revealed.

Keywords: political marketing, leader image, level of self-esteem, transactional approach

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246 The Effect of Music Therapy on Anxiety, Fear and Pain Management in 6-12 Year Old Children Undergoing Surgery

Authors: Özgür Bahadir, Meltem Kurtuncu

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The study was designed as quasi-experimental and conducted to determine the effect of music therapy on anxiety, fear and pain management in 6-12-year-old children undergoing surgery. The present study was carried out between 01.01.2016 and 19.08.2016 in BEU. Application and Research Center. The children aged 6 -12 who applied for surgery between the mentioned dates constituted the universe of the study. In the quasi-experimental study that was conducted in the clinics where children received operational treatment, two groups were formed: experimental group (the children who received musical therapy before the surgery) and control group (the children who were administered surveys and the surgery service routines only). Each group consisted of 30 children, and the participants of the study were 60 children in total. Necessary permissions were obtained from the parents of the children hospitalized before the beginning of the implementation. The data was collected through Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI), “Fear In Medical Treatment Scale”, Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale (FLACC), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Participant Information Form. In the analysis of the data, Kolmogorov-Smirnov distribution scale was used to examine the normality of the distribution along with descriptive statistics methods (Frequency, Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation). Data was presented in the tables in numbers and percentages. Means were demonstrated along with the standard deviations. The research compared children received; case and control groups include socio-demographic perspective, non-significant difference statistically among similar groups are intertwined. The general level of fear regarding the medical processes before returning to service after the operation and 30 minutes before getting discharged was found to be significantly low in the experimental group compared to control group (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between experimental and control groups in terms of general level of fear regarding the medical processes before the operation, during the operation day and in the recovery room after the operation (p>0.05). Total CASI AD (anxiety sensitivity) levels before the operation, day of the operation and 30 minutes before the discharge for patients in experimental group was found to be significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the total CASI AD levels for the post-operative recovery room and for returning to the service room after the operation (p>0.05). VAS levels for patients in the experimental group in the post-operative recovery room was significantly higher than the control group (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of VAS findings in returning to service room after the operation and in 30 minutes before the discharge (p>0.05). As a result of the research; applied children music therapy in the experimental group anxiety, fear, and pain of the scales, their scores average, is lower than the control group children in this situation an increase in the satisfaction of children and parents was observed. In line with this, music therapy preoperative anxiety, fear, and can be used as an effective method of decreasing postoperative pain clinics is suggested.

Keywords: anxiety, children, fear, music therapy, pain

Procedia PDF Downloads 222
245 Awareness and Willingness of Signing 'Consent Form in Palliative Care' in Elderly Patients with End Stage Renal Disease

Authors: Hsueh Ping Peng

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End-stage renal disease most commonly occurs in the elderly population. Elderly people are approaching the end of their lives, and when facing major life-threatening situations, apart from aggressive medical treatment, they can also choose treatment methods such as hospice care to improve their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors associated with the awareness and willingness to sign hospice and palliative care consent forms in elderly with end-stage renal disease. This study used both quantitative, cross-sectional study designs. In the quantitative section, 110 elderly patients (aged 65 or above) with end-stage renal disease receiving conventional hemodialysis were recruited as study participants from a medical center in Taipei City. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Study tools included basic demographic data, questionnaires on the awareness and perception of hospice and palliative care, etc. After collecting the data, data analysis was conducted using SPSS 20.0 statistical software, including descriptive statistics, chi-square test, logistic regression, and other inferential statistics. The results showed that the average age of participants was 71.6 years old, more males than females, average years of dialysis was 6.1 years and most subjects rated their self-perceived health status as fair. Results of the study are summarized as follows: Elderly people with end-stage renal disease did not have sufficient knowledge and awareness about hospice and palliative care. Influencing factors included level of education, marital status, years of dialysis and age, etc. Demographic factors influencing the signing of consent forms included gender, marital status, and age, which all showed significant impacts. Factors taken into consideration when signing consent forms included awareness of hospice care, understanding the relevant definitions of hospice care, and understanding that consent may be modified or cancelled at any time; it was predicted that people who knew more about ways to receive hospice care or more related definitions were more willing to sign the consent forms. In the qualitative study section, 10 participants who signed the consent form, five male, and 5 female, between the ages of 65-90, have completed the semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the interviews revealed six themes: (1) passing away peacefully, (2) autonomy on arrangements of life and death, (3) unwillingness to increase family and social burden, (4) friends and relatives’ experience influencing the decision to give consent, (5) sharing information to facilitate the giving of consent, (6) facing each day with ease, to reflect the experience and factors of consideration for elderly with end-stage renal disease when signing consent forms. The results of this study provides the awareness, thoughts and feelings of elderly with end-stage renal disease on signing consent forms, and serve as a future reference for the dialysis unit to enhance the promotion of hospice and palliative care and related caregiving measures, thereby improving the quality of life and care for elderly people with end-stage renal disease.

Keywords: end-stage renal disease, hemodialysis, hospice and palliative care, awareness, willingness

Procedia PDF Downloads 167
244 Exploring the Application of IoT Technology in Lower Limb Assistive Devices for Rehabilitation during the Golden Period of Stroke Patients with Hemiplegia

Authors: Ching-Yu Liao, Ju-Joan Wong

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Recent years have shown a trend of younger stroke patients and an increase in ischemic strokes with the rise in stroke incidence. This has led to a growing demand for telemedicine, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has made the need for telemedicine even more urgent. This shift in healthcare is also closely related to advancements in Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Stroke-induced hemiparesis is a significant issue for patients. The medical community believes that if intervention occurs within three to six months of stroke onset, 80% of the residual effects can be restored to normal, a period known as the stroke golden period. During this time, patients undergo treatment and rehabilitation, and neural plasticity is at its best. Lower limb rehabilitation for stroke generally includes exercises such as support standing and walking posture, typically involving the healthy limb to guide the affected limb to achieve rehabilitation goals. Existing gait training aids in hospitals usually involve balance gait, sitting posture training, and precise muscle control, effectively addressing issues of poor gait, insufficient muscle activity, and inability to train independently during recovery. However, home training aids, such as braced and wheeled devices, often rely on the healthy limb to pull the affected limb, leading to lower usage of the affected limb, worsening circular walking, and compensatory movement issues. IoT technology connects devices via the internet to record, receive data, provide feedback, and adjust equipment for intelligent effects. Therefore, this study aims to explore how IoT can be integrated into existing gait training aids to monitor and sensor home rehabilitation movements, improve gait training compensatory issues through real-time feedback, and enable healthcare professionals to quickly understand patient conditions and enhance medical communication. To understand the needs of hemiparetic patients, a review of relevant literature from the past decade will be conducted. From the perspective of user experience, participant observation will be used to explore the use of home training aids by stroke patients and therapists, and interviews with physical therapists will be conducted to obtain professional opinions and practical experiences. Design specifications for home training aids for hemiparetic patients will be summarized. Applying IoT technology to lower limb training aids for stroke hemiparesis can help promote walking function recovery in hemiparetic patients, reduce muscle atrophy, and allow healthcare professionals to immediately grasp patient conditions and adjust gait training plans based on collected and analyzed information. Exploring these potential development directions provides a valuable reference for the further application of IoT technology in the field of medical rehabilitation.

Keywords: stroke, hemiplegia, rehabilitation, gait training, internet of things technology

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243 Three-Stage Least Squared Models of a Station-Level Subway Ridership: Incorporating an Analysis on Integrated Transit Network Topology Measures

Authors: Jungyeol Hong, Dongjoo Park

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The urban transit system is a critical part of a solution to the economic, energy, and environmental challenges. Furthermore, it ultimately contributes the improvement of people’s quality of lives. For taking these kinds of advantages, the city of Seoul has tried to construct an integrated transit system including both subway and buses. The effort led to the fact that approximately 6.9 million citizens use the integrated transit system every day for their trips. Diagnosing the current transit network is a significant task to provide more convenient and pleasant transit environment. Therefore, the critical objective of this study is to establish a methodological framework for the analysis of an integrated bus-subway network and to examine the relationship between subway ridership and parameters such as network topology measures, bus demand, and a variety of commercial business facilities. Regarding a statistical approach to estimate subway ridership at a station level, many previous studies relied on Ordinary Least Square regression, but there was lack of studies considering the endogeneity issues which might show in the subway ridership prediction model. This study focused on both discovering the impacts of integrated transit network topology measures and endogenous effect of bus demand on subway ridership. It could ultimately contribute to developing more accurate subway ridership estimation accounting for its statistical bias. The spatial scope of the study covers Seoul city in South Korea, and it includes 243 subway stations and 10,120 bus stops with the temporal scope set during twenty-four hours with one-hour interval time panels each. The subway and bus ridership information in detail was collected from the Seoul Smart Card data in 2015 and 2016. First, integrated subway-bus network topology measures which have characteristics regarding connectivity, centrality, transitivity, and reciprocity were estimated based on the complex network theory. The results of integrated transit network topology analysis were compared to subway-only network topology. Also, the non-recursive approach which is Three-Stage Least Square was applied to develop the daily subway ridership model as capturing the endogeneity between bus and subway demands. Independent variables included roadway geometry, commercial business characteristics, social-economic characteristics, safety index, transit facility attributes, and dummies for seasons and time zone. Consequently, it was found that network topology measures were significant size effect. Especially, centrality measures showed that the elasticity was a change of 4.88% for closeness centrality, 24.48% for betweenness centrality while the elasticity of bus ridership was 8.85%. Moreover, it was proved that bus demand and subway ridership were endogenous in a non-recursive manner as showing that predicted bus ridership and predicted subway ridership is statistically significant in OLS regression models. Therefore, it shows that three-stage least square model appears to be a plausible model for efficient subway ridership estimation. It is expected that the proposed approach provides a reliable guideline that can be used as part of the spectrum of tools for evaluating a city-wide integrated transit network.

Keywords: integrated transit system, network topology measures, three-stage least squared, endogeneity, subway ridership

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242 Improving the Efficiency of a High Pressure Turbine by Using Non-Axisymmetric Endwall: A Comparison of Two Optimization Algorithms

Authors: Abdul Rehman, Bo Liu

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Axial flow turbines are commonly designed with high loads that generate strong secondary flows and result in high secondary losses. These losses contribute to almost 30% to 50% of the total losses. Non-axisymmetric endwall profiling is one of the passive control technique to reduce the secondary flow loss. In this paper, the non-axisymmetric endwall profile construction and optimization for the stator endwalls are presented to improve the efficiency of a high pressure turbine. The commercial code NUMECA Fine/ Design3D coupled with Fine/Turbo was used for the numerical investigation, design of experiments and the optimization. All the flow simulations were conducted by using steady RANS and Spalart-Allmaras as a turbulence model. The non-axisymmetric endwalls of stator hub and shroud were created by using the perturbation law based on Bezier Curves. Each cut having multiple control points was supposed to be created along the virtual streamlines in the blade channel. For the design of experiments, each sample was arbitrarily generated based on values automatically chosen for the control points defined during parameterization. The Optimization was achieved by using two algorithms i.e. the stochastic algorithm and gradient-based algorithm. For the stochastic algorithm, a genetic algorithm based on the artificial neural network was used as an optimization method in order to achieve the global optimum. The evaluation of the successive design iterations was performed using artificial neural network prior to the flow solver. For the second case, the conjugate gradient algorithm with a three dimensional CFD flow solver was used to systematically vary a free-form parameterization of the endwall. This method is efficient and less time to consume as it requires derivative information of the objective function. The objective function was to maximize the isentropic efficiency of the turbine by keeping the mass flow rate as constant. The performance was quantified by using a multi-objective function. Other than these two classifications of the optimization methods, there were four optimizations cases i.e. the hub only, the shroud only, and the combination of hub and shroud. For the fourth case, the shroud endwall was optimized by using the optimized hub endwall geometry. The hub optimization resulted in an increase in the efficiency due to more homogenous inlet conditions for the rotor. The adverse pressure gradient was reduced but the total pressure loss in the vicinity of the hub was increased. The shroud optimization resulted in an increase in efficiency, total pressure loss and entropy were reduced. The combination of hub and shroud did not show overwhelming results which were achieved for the individual cases of the hub and the shroud. This may be caused by fact that there were too many control variables. The fourth case of optimization showed the best result because optimized hub was used as an initial geometry to optimize the shroud. The efficiency was increased more than the individual cases of optimization with a mass flow rate equal to the baseline design of the turbine. The results of artificial neural network and conjugate gradient method were compared.

Keywords: artificial neural network, axial turbine, conjugate gradient method, non-axisymmetric endwall, optimization

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241 Implementation of Hybrid Curriculum in Canadian Dental Schools to Manage Child Abuse and Neglect

Authors: Priyajeet Kaur Kaleka

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Introduction: A dentist is often the first responder in the battle for a patient’s healthy body and maybe the first health professional to observe signs of child abuse, be it physical, emotional, and/or sexual mistreatment. Therefore, it is an ethical responsibility for the dental clinician to detect and report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect (CAN). The main reasons for not reporting suspected cases of CAN, with special emphasis on the third: 1) Uncertainty of the diagnosis, 2) Lack of knowledge of the reporting procedure, and 3) Child abuse and neglect somewhat remained the subject of ignorance among dental professionals because of a lack of advance clinical training. Given these epidemic proportions, there is a scope of further research about dental school curriculum design. Purpose: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of dentists in Canada regarding signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect (CAN), reporting procedures, and whether educational strategies followed by dental schools address this sensitive issue. In pursuit of that aim, this abstract summarizes the evidence related to this question. Materials and Methods: Data was collected through a specially designed questionnaire adapted and modified from the author’s previous cross-sectional study on (CAN), which was conducted in Pune, India, in 2016 and is available on the database of PubMed. Design: A random sample was drawn from the targeted population of registered dentists and dental students in Canada regarding their knowledge, professional responsibilities, and behavior concerning child abuse. Questionnaire data were distributed to 200 members. Out of which, a total number of 157 subjects were in the final sample for statistical analysis, yielding response of 78.5%. Results: Despite having theoretical information on signs and symptoms, 55% of the participants indicated they are not confident to detect child physical abuse cases. 90% of respondents believed that recognition and handling the CAN cases should be a part of undergraduate training. Only 4.5% of the participants have correctly identified all signs of abuse due to inadequate formal training in dental schools and workplaces. Although nearly 96.3% agreed that it is a dentist’s legal responsibility to report CAN, only a small percentage of the participants reported an abuse case in the past. While 72% stated that the most common factor that might prevent a dentist from reporting a case was doubt over the diagnosis. Conclusion: The goal is to motivate dental schools to deal with this critical issue and provide their students with consummate training to strengthen their capability to care for and protect children. The educational institutions should make efforts to spread awareness among dental students regarding the management and tackling of CAN. Clinical Significance: There should be modifications in the dental school curriculum focusing on problem-based learning models to assist graduates to fulfill their legal and professional responsibilities. CAN literacy should be incorporated into the dental curriculum, which will eventually benefit future dentists to break this intergenerational cycle of violence.

Keywords: abuse, child abuse and neglect, dentist knowledge, dental school curriculum, problem-based learning

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240 Climate Change Scenario Phenomenon in Malaysia: A Case Study in MADA Area

Authors: Shaidatul Azdawiyah Abdul Talib, Wan Mohd Razi Idris, Liew Ju Neng, Tukimat Lihan, Muhammad Zamir Abdul Rasid

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Climate change has received great attention worldwide due to the impact of weather causing extreme events. Rainfall and temperature are crucial weather components associated with climate change. In Malaysia, increasing temperatures and changes in rainfall distribution patterns lead to drought and flood events involving agricultural areas, especially rice fields. Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA) is the largest rice growing area among the 10 granary areas in Malaysia and has faced floods and droughts in the past due to changing climate. Changes in rainfall and temperature patter affect rice yield. Therefore, trend analysis is important to identify changes in temperature and rainfall patterns as it gives an initial overview for further analysis. Six locations across the MADA area were selected based on the availability of meteorological station (MetMalaysia) data. Historical data (1991 to 2020) collected from MetMalaysia and future climate projection by multi-model ensemble of climate model from CMIP5 (CNRM-CM5, GFDL-CM3, MRI-CGCM3, NorESM1-M and IPSL-CM5A-LR) have been analyzed using Mann-Kendall test to detect the time series trend, together with standardized precipitation anomaly, rainfall anomaly index, precipitation concentration index and temperature anomaly. Future projection data were analyzed based on 3 different periods; early century (2020 – 2046), middle century (2047 – 2073) and late-century (2074 – 2099). Results indicate that the MADA area does encounter extremely wet and dry conditions, leading to drought and flood events in the past. The Mann-Kendall (MK) trend analysis test discovered a significant increasing trend (p < 0.05) in annual rainfall (z = 0.40; s = 15.12) and temperature (z = 0.61; s = 0.04) during the historical period. Similarly, for both RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios, a significant increasing trend (p < 0.05) was found for rainfall (RCP 4.5: z = 0.15; s = 2.55; RCP 8.5: z = 0.41; s = 8.05;) and temperature (RCP 4.5: z = 0.84; s = 0.02; RCP 8.5: z = 0.94; s = 0.05). Under the RCP 4.5 scenario, the average temperature is projected to increase up to 1.6 °C in early century, 2.0 °C in the middle century and 2.4 °C in the late century. In contrast, under RCP 8.5 scenario, the average temperature is projected to increase up to 1.8 °C in the early century, 3.1 °C in the middle century and 4.3 °C in late century. Drought is projected to occur in 2038 and 2043 (early century); 2052 and 2069 (middle century); and 2095, 2097 to 2099 (late century) under RCP 4.5 scenario. As for RCP 8.5 scenario, drought is projected to occur in 2021, 2031 and 2034 (early century); and 2069 (middle century). No drought is projected to occur in the late century under the RCP 8.5 scenario. Thus, this information can be used for the analysis of the impact of climate change scenarios on rice growth and yield besides other crops found in MADA area. Additionally, this study, it would be helpful for researchers and decision-makers in developing applicable adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of climate change.

Keywords: climate projection, drought, flood, rainfall, RCP 4.5, RCP 8.5, temperature

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239 Rainwater Harvesting is an Effective Tool for City’s Storm Water Management and People’s Willingness to Install Rainwater Harvesting System in Buildings: A Case Study in Kazipara, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Authors: M. Abu Hanif, Anika Tabassum, Fuad Hasan Ovi, Ishrat Islam

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Water is essential for life. Enormous quantities of water are cycled each year through hydrologic cycle but only a fraction of circulated water is available each year for human use. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh is the 19th mega city in the world with a population of over 14 million (World City Information, 2011). As a result the growth of urban population is increasing rapidly; the city is not able to manage with altering situations due to resource limitations and management capacity. Water crisis has become an acute problem faced by the inhabitants of Dhaka city. It is found that total water demand in Dhaka city is 2,240 million liter per day (MLD) whereas supply is 2,150 (MLD). According to Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority about 87 percent of this supply comes from groundwater resources and rest 13 percent from surface water. According to Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority it has been found that the current groundwater depletion rate is 3.52 meter per year. Such a fast depletion of the water table will result in intrusion of southern saline water into the groundwater reservoir, depriving this mega city of pure drinking water. This study mainly focus on the potential of Rainwater Harvesting System(RWHS) in Kazipara area of Dhaka city, determine the perception level of local people in installation of rainwater harvesting system in their building and identify the factors regarding willingness of owner in installing rainwater harvesting system. As most of the residential area of Dhaka city is unplanned with small plots, Kazipara area has been chosen as study area which depicts similar characteristics. In this study only roof top area is considered as catchment area and potential of rainwater harvesting has been calculated. From the calculation it is found that harvested rainwater can serve the 66% of demand of water for toilet flushing and cleaning purposes for the people of Kazipara. It is also observed that if only rooftop rainwater harvesting applied to all the structures of the study area then two third of surface runoff would be reduced than present surface runoff. In determining the perception of local people only owners of the buildings were. surveyed. From the questionnaire survey it is found that around 75% people have no idea about the rainwater harvesting system. About 83% people are not willing to install rainwater harvesting system in their dwelling. The reasons behind the unwillingness are high cost of installation, inadequate space, ignorance about the system, etc. Among 16% of the willing respondents who are interested in installing RWHS system, it was found that higher income, bigger size of buildings are important factors in willingness of installing rainwater harvesting system. Majority of the respondents demanded for both technical and economical support to install the system in their buildings. Government of Bangladesh has taken some initiatives to promote rainwater harvesting in urban areas. It is very much necessary to incorporate rainwater harvesting device and artificial recharge system in every building of Dhaka city to make Dhaka city self sufficient in water supply management and to solve water crisis problem of megacity like as Dhaka city.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting, water table, willingness, storm water

Procedia PDF Downloads 242
238 Inferring Influenza Epidemics in the Presence of Stratified Immunity

Authors: Hsiang-Yu Yuan, Marc Baguelin, Kin O. Kwok, Nimalan Arinaminpathy, Edwin Leeuwen, Steven Riley

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Traditional syndromic surveillance for influenza has substantial public health value in characterizing epidemics. Because the relationship between syndromic incidence and the true infection events can vary from one population to another and from one year to another, recent studies rely on combining serological test results with syndromic data from traditional surveillance into epidemic models to make inference on epidemiological processes of influenza. However, despite the widespread availability of serological data, epidemic models have thus far not explicitly represented antibody titre levels and their correspondence with immunity. Most studies use dichotomized data with a threshold (Typically, a titre of 1:40 was used) to define individuals as likely recently infected and likely immune and further estimate the cumulative incidence. Underestimation of Influenza attack rate could be resulted from the dichotomized data. In order to improve the use of serosurveillance data, here, a refinement of the concept of the stratified immunity within an epidemic model for influenza transmission was proposed, such that all individual antibody titre levels were enumerated explicitly and mapped onto a variable scale of susceptibility in different age groups. Haemagglutination inhibition titres from 523 individuals and 465 individuals during pre- and post-pandemic phase of the 2009 pandemic in Hong Kong were collected. The model was fitted to serological data in age-structured population using Bayesian framework and was able to reproduce key features of the epidemics. The effects of age-specific antibody boosting and protection were explored in greater detail. RB was defined to be the effective reproductive number in the presence of stratified immunity and its temporal dynamics was compared to the traditional epidemic model using use dichotomized seropositivity data. Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) was used to measure the fitness of the model to serological data with different mechanisms of the serological response. The results demonstrated that the differential antibody response with age was present (ΔDIC = -7.0). The age-specific mixing patterns with children specific transmissibility, rather than pre-existing immunity, was most likely to explain the high serological attack rates in children and low serological attack rates in elderly (ΔDIC = -38.5). Our results suggested that the disease dynamics and herd immunity of a population could be described more accurately for influenza when the distribution of immunity was explicitly represented, rather than relying only on the dichotomous states 'susceptible' and 'immune' defined by the threshold titre (1:40) (ΔDIC = -11.5). During the outbreak, RB declined slowly from 1.22[1.16-1.28] in the first four months after 1st May. RB dropped rapidly below to 1 during September and October, which was consistent to the observed epidemic peak time in the late September. One of the most important challenges for infectious disease control is to monitor disease transmissibility in real time with statistics such as the effective reproduction number. Once early estimates of antibody boosting and protection are obtained, disease dynamics can be reconstructed, which are valuable for infectious disease prevention and control.

Keywords: effective reproductive number, epidemic model, influenza epidemic dynamics, stratified immunity

Procedia PDF Downloads 260
237 Academic Mobility within EU as a Voluntary or a Necessary Move: The Case of German Academics in the UK

Authors: Elena Samarsky

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According to German national records and willingness to migrate surveys, emigration is much more attractive for better educated citizens employed in white-collar positions, with academics displaying the highest migration rate. The case study of academic migration from Germany is furthermore intriguing due to the country's financial power, competitive labour market and relatively good life-standards, working conditions and high wage rates. Investigation of such mobility challenges traditional economic view on migration, as it raises the question of why people chose to leave their highly-industrialized countries known for their high life-standards, stable political scene and prosperous economy. Within the regional domain, examining mobility of Germans contributes to the ongoing debate over the extent of influence of the EU mobility principle on migration decision. The latter is of particular interest, as it may shed the light on the extent to which it frames individual migration path, defines motivations and colours the experiences of migration action itself. The paper is based on the analysis of the migration decisions obtained through in-depth interviews with German academics employed in the UK. These retrospective interviews were conducted with German academies across selected universities in the UK, employed in a variety of academic fields, and different career stages. Interviews provide a detailed description of what motivated people to search for a post in another country, which attributes of such job are needed to be satisfied in order to facilitate migration, as well as general information on particularities of an academic career and institutions involved. In the course of the project, it became evident that although securing financial stability was non-negotiable factor in migration (e.g., work contract singed before relocation) non-pecuniary motivations played significant role as well. Migration narratives of this group - the highly skilled, whose human capital is transferable, and whose expertise is positively evaluated by countries, is mainly characterised by search for personal development and career advancement, rather than a direct increase in their income. Such records are also consistent in showing that in case of academics, scientific freedom and independence are the main attributes of a perfect job and are a substantial motivator. On the micro level, migration is rather depicted as an opportunistic action addressed in terms of voluntary and rather imposed decision. However, on the macro level, findings allow suggesting that such opportunities are rather an outcome embedded in the peculiarities of academia and its historical and structural developments. This, in turn, contributes significantly to emergence of a scene in which migration action takes place. The paper suggest further comparative research on the intersection of the macro and micro level, and in particular how both national academic institutions and the EU mobility principle shape migration of academics. In light of continuous attempts to make the European labour market more mobile and attractive such findings ought to have direct implications on policy.

Keywords: migration, EU, academics, highly skilled labour

Procedia PDF Downloads 255
236 Modern Detection and Description Methods for Natural Plants Recognition

Authors: Masoud Fathi Kazerouni, Jens Schlemper, Klaus-Dieter Kuhnert

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Green planet is one of the Earth’s names which is known as a terrestrial planet and also can be named the fifth largest planet of the solar system as another scientific interpretation. Plants do not have a constant and steady distribution all around the world, and even plant species’ variations are not the same in one specific region. Presence of plants is not only limited to one field like botany; they exist in different fields such as literature and mythology and they hold useful and inestimable historical records. No one can imagine the world without oxygen which is produced mostly by plants. Their influences become more manifest since no other live species can exist on earth without plants as they form the basic food staples too. Regulation of water cycle and oxygen production are the other roles of plants. The roles affect environment and climate. Plants are the main components of agricultural activities. Many countries benefit from these activities. Therefore, plants have impacts on political and economic situations and future of countries. Due to importance of plants and their roles, study of plants is essential in various fields. Consideration of their different applications leads to focus on details of them too. Automatic recognition of plants is a novel field to contribute other researches and future of studies. Moreover, plants can survive their life in different places and regions by means of adaptations. Therefore, adaptations are their special factors to help them in hard life situations. Weather condition is one of the parameters which affect plants life and their existence in one area. Recognition of plants in different weather conditions is a new window of research in the field. Only natural images are usable to consider weather conditions as new factors. Thus, it will be a generalized and useful system. In order to have a general system, distance from the camera to plants is considered as another factor. The other considered factor is change of light intensity in environment as it changes during the day. Adding these factors leads to a huge challenge to invent an accurate and secure system. Development of an efficient plant recognition system is essential and effective. One important component of plant is leaf which can be used to implement automatic systems for plant recognition without any human interface and interaction. Due to the nature of used images, characteristic investigation of plants is done. Leaves of plants are the first characteristics to select as trusty parts. Four different plant species are specified for the goal to classify them with an accurate system. The current paper is devoted to principal directions of the proposed methods and implemented system, image dataset, and results. The procedure of algorithm and classification is explained in details. First steps, feature detection and description of visual information, are outperformed by using Scale invariant feature transform (SIFT), HARRIS-SIFT, and FAST-SIFT methods. The accuracy of the implemented methods is computed. In addition to comparison, robustness and efficiency of results in different conditions are investigated and explained.

Keywords: SIFT combination, feature extraction, feature detection, natural images, natural plant recognition, HARRIS-SIFT, FAST-SIFT

Procedia PDF Downloads 275
235 Testing Two Actors Contextual Interaction Theory in a Multi Actors Context: Case of COVID-19 Disease Prevention and Control Policy

Authors: Muhammad Fayyaz Nazir, Ellen Wayenberg, Shahzadaah Faahed Qureshi

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Introduction: The study is based on the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) constructs to explore the role of policy actors in implementing the COVID-19 Disease Prevention and Control (DP&C) Policy. The study analyzes the role of healthcare workers' contextual factors, such as cognition, motives, and resources, and their interactions in implementing Social Distancing (SD). In this way, we test a two actors policy implementation theory, i.e., the CIT in a three-actor context. Methods: Data was collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews. For a qualitative study design, interviews were conducted with questions on cognition, motives, and resources from the healthcare workers involved in implementing SD in the local context in Multan – Pakistan. The possible interactions resulting from contextual factors of the policy actors – healthcare workers were identified through framework analysis protocol guided by CIT and supported by trustworthiness criterion and data saturation. Results: This inquiry resulted in theory application, addition, and enrichment. The theoretical application in the three actor's contexts illustrates the different levels of motives, cognition, and resources of healthcare workers – senior administrators, managers, and healthcare professionals. The senior administrators working in National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), Provincial Technical Committees (PTCs), and Districts Covid Teams (DCTs) were playing their role with high motivation. They were fully informed about the policy and moderately resourceful. The policy implementors: healthcare managers working on implementing the SD within their respective hospitals were playing their role with high motivation and were fully informed about the policy. However, they lacked the required resources to implement SD. The target medical and allied healthcare professionals were moderately motivated but lack of resources and information. The interaction resulted in cooperation and the need for learning to manage the future healthcare crisis. However, the lack of resources created opposition to the implementation of SD. Objectives of the Study: The study aimed to apply a two actors theory in a multi actors context. We take this as an opportunity to qualitatively test the theory in a novel situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and make way for its quantitative application by designing a survey instrument so that implementation researchers can apply CIT through multivariate analyses or higher-order statistical modeling. Conclusion: Applying two actors' implementation theory in exploring a complex case of healthcare intervention in three actors context is a unique work that has never been done before, up to the best of our knowledge. So, the work will contribute to the policy implementation studies by applying, extending, and enriching an implementation theory in a novel case of the Covi-19 pandemic, ultimately fulfilling the gap in implementation literature. Policy institutions and other low or middle-income countries can learn from this research and improve SD implementation by working on the variables with weak significance levels.

Keywords: COVID-19, disease prevention and control policy, implementation, policy actors, social distancing

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234 European Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive Applied to Astronomical Observatories

Authors: Oibar Martinez, Clara Oliver

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The Cherenkov Telescope Array Project (CTA) aims to build two different observatories of Cherenkov Telescopes, located in Cerro del Paranal, Chile, and La Palma, Spain. These facilities are used in this paper as a case study to investigate how to apply standard Directives on Electromagnetic Compatibility to astronomical observatories. Cherenkov Telescopes are able to provide valuable information from both Galactic and Extragalactic sources by measuring Cherenkov radiation, which is produced by particles which travel faster than light in the atmosphere. The construction requirements demand compliance with the European Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive. The largest telescopes of these observatories, called Large Scale Telescopes (LSTs), are high precision instruments with advanced photomultipliers able to detect the faint sub-nanosecond blue light pulses produced by Cherenkov Radiation. They have a 23-meter parabolic reflective surface. This surface focuses the radiation on a camera composed of an array of high-speed photosensors which are highly sensitive to the radio spectrum pollution. The camera has a field of view of about 4.5 degrees and has been designed for maximum compactness and lowest weight, cost and power consumption. Each pixel incorporates a photo-sensor able to discriminate single photons and the corresponding readout electronics. The first LST is already commissioned and intends to be operated as a service to Scientific Community. Because of this, it must comply with a series of reliability and functional requirements and must have a Conformité Européen (CE) marking. This demands compliance with Directive 2014/30/EU on electromagnetic compatibility. The main difficulty of accomplishing this goal resides on the fact that Conformité Européen marking setups and procedures were implemented for industrial products, whereas no clear protocols have been defined for scientific installations. In this paper, we aim to give an answer to the question on how the directive should be applied to our installation to guarantee the fulfillment of all the requirements and the proper functioning of the telescope itself. Experts in Optics and Electromagnetism were both needed to make these kinds of decisions and match tests which were designed to be made over the equipment of limited dimensions on large scientific plants. An analysis of the elements and configurations most likely to be affected by external interferences and those that are most likely to cause the maximum disturbances was also performed. Obtaining the Conformité Européen mark requires knowing what the harmonized standards are and how the elaboration of the specific requirement is defined. For this type of large installations, one needs to adapt and develop the tests to be carried out. In addition, throughout this process, certification entities and notified bodies play a key role in preparing and agreeing the required technical documentation. We have focused our attention mostly on the technical aspects of each point. We believe that this contribution will be of interest for other scientists involved in applying industrial quality assurance standards to large scientific plant.

Keywords: CE marking, electromagnetic compatibility, european directive, scientific installations

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233 Investigation of Software Integration for Simulations of Buoyancy-Driven Heat Transfer in a Vehicle Underhood during Thermal Soak

Authors: R. Yuan, S. Sivasankaran, N. Dutta, K. Ebrahimi

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This paper investigates the software capability and computer-aided engineering (CAE) method of modelling transient heat transfer process occurred in the vehicle underhood region during vehicle thermal soak phase. The heat retention from the soak period will be beneficial to the cold start with reduced friction loss for the second 14°C worldwide harmonized light-duty vehicle test procedure (WLTP) cycle, therefore provides benefits on both CO₂ emission reduction and fuel economy. When vehicle undergoes soak stage, the airflow and the associated convective heat transfer around and inside the engine bay is driven by the buoyancy effect. This effect along with thermal radiation and conduction are the key factors to the thermal simulation of the engine bay to obtain the accurate fluids and metal temperature cool-down trajectories and to predict the temperatures at the end of the soak period. Method development has been investigated in this study on a light-duty passenger vehicle using coupled aerodynamic-heat transfer thermal transient modelling method for the full vehicle under 9 hours of thermal soak. The 3D underhood flow dynamics were solved inherently transient by the Lattice-Boltzmann Method (LBM) method using the PowerFlow software. This was further coupled with heat transfer modelling using the PowerTHERM software provided by Exa Corporation. The particle-based LBM method was capable of accurately handling extremely complicated transient flow behavior on complex surface geometries. The detailed thermal modelling, including heat conduction, radiation, and buoyancy-driven heat convection, were integrated solved by PowerTHERM. The 9 hours cool-down period was simulated and compared with the vehicle testing data of the key fluid (coolant, oil) and metal temperatures. The developed CAE method was able to predict the cool-down behaviour of the key fluids and components in agreement with the experimental data and also visualised the air leakage paths and thermal retention around the engine bay. The cool-down trajectories of the key components obtained for the 9 hours thermal soak period provide vital information and a basis for the further development of reduced-order modelling studies in future work. This allows a fast-running model to be developed and be further imbedded with the holistic study of vehicle energy modelling and thermal management. It is also found that the buoyancy effect plays an important part at the first stage of the 9 hours soak and the flow development during this stage is vital to accurately predict the heat transfer coefficients for the heat retention modelling. The developed method has demonstrated the software integration for simulating buoyancy-driven heat transfer in a vehicle underhood region during thermal soak with satisfying accuracy and efficient computing time. The CAE method developed will allow integration of the design of engine encapsulations for improving fuel consumption and reducing CO₂ emissions in a timely and robust manner, aiding the development of low-carbon transport technologies.

Keywords: ATCT/WLTC driving cycle, buoyancy-driven heat transfer, CAE method, heat retention, underhood modeling, vehicle thermal soak

Procedia PDF Downloads 152
232 Evaluating the Social Learning Processes Involved in Developing Community-Informed Wildfire Risk Reduction Strategies in the Prince Albert Forest Management Area

Authors: Carly Madge, Melanie Zurba, Ryan Bullock

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The Boreal Forest has experienced some of the most drastic climate change-induced temperature rises in Canada, with average winter temperatures increasing by 3°C since 1948. One of the main concerns of the province of Saskatchewan, and particularly wildfire managers, is the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change. With these concerns in mind Sakaw Askiy Management Inc., a forestry corporation located in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan with operations in the Boreal Forest biome, is developing wildfire risk reduction strategies that are supported by the shareholders of the corporation as well as the stakeholders of the Prince Albert Forest Management Area (which includes citizens, hunters, trappers, cottage owners, and outfitters). In the past, wildfire management strategies implemented through harvesting have been received with skepticism by some community members of Prince Albert. Engagement of the stakeholders of the Prince Albert Management Area through the development of the wildfire risk reduction strategies aims to reduce this skepticism and rebuild some of the trust that has been lost between industry and community. This research project works with the framework of social learning, which is defined as the learning that occurs when individuals come together to form a group with the purpose of understanding environmental challenges and determining appropriate responses to them. The project evaluates the social learning processes that occur through the development of the risk reduction strategies and how the learning has allowed Sakaw to work towards implementing the strategies into their forest harvesting plans. The incorporation of wildfire risk reduction strategies works to increase the adaptive capacity of Sakaw, which in this case refers to the ability to adjust to climate change, moderate potential damages, take advantage of opportunities, and cope with consequences. Using semi-structured interviews and wildfire workshop meetings shareholders and stakeholders shared their knowledge of wildfire, their main wildfire concerns, and changes they would like to see made in the Prince Albert Forest Management Area. Interviews and topics discussed in the workshops were inductively coded for themes related to learning, adaptive capacity, areas of concern, and preferred methods of wildfire risk reduction strategies. Analysis determined that some of the learning that has occurred has resulted through social interactions and the development of networks oriented towards wildfire and wildfire risk reduction strategies. Participants have learned new knowledge and skills regarding wildfire risk reduction. The formation of wildfire networks increases access to information on wildfire and the social capital (trust and strengthened relations) of wildfire personnel. Both factors can be attributed to increases in adaptive capacity. Interview results were shared with the General Manager of Sakaw, where the areas of concern and preferred strategies of wildfire risk reduction will be considered and accounted for in the implementation of new harvesting plans. This research also augments the growing conceptual and empirical evidence of the important role of learning and networks in regional wildfire risk management efforts.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, community-engagement, social learning, wildfire risk reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 145
231 Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases among Bangladeshi Adults: Findings from a Cross Sectional Study

Authors: Fouzia Khanam, Belal Hossain, Kaosar Afsana, Mahfuzar Rahman

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Aim: Although cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has already been recognized as a major cause of death in developed countries, its prevalence is rising in developing countries as well, and engendering a challenge for the health sector. Bangladesh has experienced an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases over the last few decades. So, the rising prevalence of CVD and its risk factors are imposing a major problem for the country. We aimed to examine the prevalence of CVDs and socioeconomic and lifestyle factors related to it from a population-based survey. Methods: The data used for this study were collected as a part of a large-scale cross-sectional study conducted to explore the overall health status of children, mothers and senior citizens of Bangladesh. Multistage cluster random sampling procedure was applied by considering unions as clusters and households as the primary sampling unit to select a total of 11,428 households for the base survey. Present analysis encompassed 12338 respondents of ≥ 35 years, selected from both rural areas and urban slums of the country. Socio-economic, demographic and lifestyle information were obtained through individual by a face-to-face interview which was noted in ODK platform. And height, weight, blood pressure and glycosuria were measured using standardized methods. Chi-square test, Univariate modified Poisson regression model, and multivariate modified Poisson regression model were done using STATA software (version 13.0) for analysis. Results: Overall, the prevalence of CVD was 4.51%, of which 1.78% had stroke and 3.17% suffered from heart diseases. Male had higher prevalence of stroke (2.20%) than their counterparts (1.37%). Notably, thirty percent of respondents had high blood pressure and 5% population had diabetes and more than half of the population was pre-hypertensive. Additionally, 20% were overweight, 77% were smoker or consumed smokeless tobacco and 28% of respondents were physically inactive. Eighty-two percent of respondents took extra salt while eating and 29% of respondents had deprived sleep. Furthermore, the prevalence of risk factor of CVD varied according to gender. Women had a higher prevalence of overweight, obesity and diabetes. Women were also less physically active compared to men and took more extra salt. Smoking was lower in women compared to men. Moreover, women slept less compared to their counterpart. After adjusting confounders in modified Poisson regression model, age, gender, occupation, wealth quintile, BMI, extra salt intake, daily sleep, tiredness, diabetes, and hypertension remained as risk factors for CVD. Conclusion: The prevalence of CVD is significant in Bangladesh, and there is an evidence of rising trend for its risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes especially in older population, women and high-income groups. Therefore, in this current epidemiological transition, immediate public health intervention is warranted to address the overwhelming CVD risk.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, stroke

Procedia PDF Downloads 381
230 We Have Never Seen a Dermatologist. Prisons Telederma Project Reaching the Unreachable Through Teledermatology

Authors: Innocent Atuhe, Babra Nalwadda, Grace Mulyowa, Annabella Habinka Ejiri

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Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most prevalent and growing chronic inflammatory skin diseases in African prisons. AD care is limited in African due to a lack of information about the disease amongst primary care workers, limited access to dermatologists, lack of proper training of healthcare workers, and shortage of appropriate treatments. We designed and implemented the Prisons Telederma project based on the recommendations of the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis. We aimed at; i) increase awareness and understanding of teledermatology among prison health workers and ii) improve treatment outcomes of prisoners with atopic dermatitis through increased access to and utilization of consultant dermatologists through teledermatology in Uganda prisons. Approach: We used Store-and-forward Teledermatology (SAF-TD) to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners and prison staff with AD. We conducted five days of training for prison health workers using an adapted WHO training guide on recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin together with an adapted American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Childhood AD Basic Dermatology Curriculum designed to help trainees develop a clinical approach to the evaluation and initial management of patients with AD. This training was followed by blended e-learning, webinars facilitated by consultant Dermatologists with local knowledge of medication and local practices, apps adjusted for pigmented skin, WhatsApp group discussions, and sharing pigmented skin AD pictures and treatment via zoom meetings. We hired a team of Ugandan Senior Consultant dermatologists to draft an iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin and shared this atlas with prison health staff for use as a job aid. We had planned to use MySkinSelfie mobile phone application to take and share skin pictures of prisoners with AD with Consultant Dermatologists, who would review the pictures and prescribe appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, the National Health Service withdrew the app from the market due to technical issues. We monitored and evaluated treatment outcomes using the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) tool. We held four advocacy meetings to persuade relevant stakeholders to increase supplies and availability of first-line AD treatments such as emollients in prison health facilities. Results: We have the very first iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin. We increased; i) the proportion of prison health staff with adequate knowledge of AD and teledermatology from 20% to 80%; ii) the proportion of prisoners with AD reporting improvement in disease severity (POEM scores) from 25% to 35% in one year; iii) increased proportion of prisoners with AD seen by consultant dermatologist through teledermatology from 0% to 20% in one year and iv)Increased the availability of AD recommended treatments in prisons health facilities from 5% to 10% in one year. Our study contributes to the use, evaluation, and verification of the use of teledermatology to increase access to specialist dermatology services to the most hard to reach areas and vulnerable populations such as that of prisoners.

Keywords: teledermatology, prisoners, reaching, un-reachable

Procedia PDF Downloads 101
229 The Effect of Photochemical Smog on Respiratory Health Patients in Abuja Nigeria

Authors: Christabel Ihedike, John Mooney, Monica Price

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Summary: This study aims to critically evaluate effect of photochemical smog on respiratory health in Nigeria. Cohort of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients was recruited from two large hospitals in Abuja Nigeria. Respiratory health questionnaires, daily diaries, dyspnoea scale and lung function measurement were used to obtain health data and investigate the relationship with air quality data (principally ozone, NOx and particulate pollution). Concentrations of air pollutants were higher than WHO and Nigerian air quality standard. The result suggests a correlation between measured air quality and exacerbation of respiratory illness. Introduction: Photochemical smog is a significant health challenge in most cities and its effect on respiratory health is well acknowledged. This type of pollution is most harmful to the elderly, children and those with underlying respiratory disease. This study aims to investigate impact of increasing temperature and photo-chemically generated secondary air pollutants on respiratory health in Abuja Nigeria. Method and Result: Health data was collected using spirometry to measure lung function on routine attendance at the clinic, daily diaries kept by patients and information obtained using respiratory questionnaire. Questionnaire responses (obtained using an adapted and internally validated version of St George’s Hospital Respiratory Questionnaire), shows that ‘time of wheeze’ showed an association with participants activities: 30% had worse wheeze in the morning: 10% cannot shop, 15% take long-time to get washed, 25% walk slower, 15% if hurry have to stop and 5% cannot take-bath. There was also a decrease in Forced expiratory volume in the first second and Forced Vital Capacity, and daily change in the afternoon–morning may be associated with the concentration level of pollutants. Also, dyspnoea symptoms recorded that 60% of patients were on grade 3, 25% grade 2 and 15% grade 1. Daily frequency of the number of patients in the cohort that cough /brought sputum is 78%. Air pollution in the city is higher than Nigerian and WHO standards with NOx and PM10 concentrations of 693.59ug/m-3 and 748ugm-3 being measured respectively. The result shows that air pollution may increase occurrence and exacerbation of respiratory disease. Conclusion: High temperature and local climatic conditions in urban Nigeria encourages formation of Ozone, the major constituent of photochemical smog, resulting also in the formation of secondary air pollutants associated with health challenges. In this study we confirm the likely potency of the pattern of secondary air pollution in exacerbating COPD symptoms in vulnerable patient group in urban Nigeria. There is need for better regulation and measures to reduce ozone, particularly when local climatic conditions favour development of photochemical smog in such settings. Climate change and likely increasing temperatures add impetus and urgency for better air quality standards and measures (traffic-restrictions and emissions standards) in developing world settings such as Nigeria.

Keywords: Abuja-Nigeria, effect, photochemical smog, respiratory health

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228 The Senior Traveler Market as a Competitive Advantage for the Luxury Hotel Sector in the UK Post-Pandemic

Authors: Feyi Olorunshola

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Over the last few years, the senior travel market has been noted for its potential in the wider tourism industry. The tourism sector includes the hotel and hospitality, travel, transportation, and several other subdivisions to make it economically viable. In particular, the hotel attracts a substantial part of the expenditure in tourism activities as when people plan to travel, suitable accommodation for relaxation, dining, entertainment and so on is paramount to their decision-making. The global retail value of the hotel as of 2018 was significant for tourism. But, despite indications of the hotel to the tourism industry at large, very few empirical studies are available to establish how this sector can leverage on the senior demographic to achieve competitive advantage. Predominantly, studies on the mature market have focused on destination tourism, with a limited investigation on the hotel which makes a significant contribution to tourism. Also, several scholarly studies have demonstrated the importance of the senior travel market to the hotel, yet there is very little empirical research in the field which has explored the driving factors that will become the accepted new normal for this niche segment post-pandemic. Giving that the hotel already operates in a highly saturated business environment, and on top of this pre-existing challenge, the ongoing global health outbreak has further put the sector in a vulnerable position. Therefore, the hotel especially the full-service luxury category must evolve rapidly for it to survive in the current business environment. The hotel can no longer rely on corporate travelers to generate higher revenue since the unprecedented wake of the pandemic in 2020 many organizations have invented a different approach of conducting their businesses online, therefore, the hotel needs to anticipate a significant drop in business travellers. However, the rooms and the rest of the facilities must be occupied to keep their business operating. The way forward for the hotel lies in the leisure sector, but the question now is to focus on the potential demographics of travelers, in this case, the seniors who have been repeatedly recognized as the lucrative market because of increase discretionary income, availability of time and the global population trends. To achieve the study objectives, a mixed-method approach will be utilized drawing on both qualitative (netnography) and quantitative (survey) methods, cognitive and decision-making theories (means-end chain) and competitive theories to identify the salient drivers explaining senior hotel choice and its influence on their decision-making. The target population are repeated seniors’ age 65 years and over who are UK resident, and from the top tourist market to the UK (USA, Germany, and France). Structural equation modelling will be employed to analyze the datasets. The theoretical implication is the development of new concepts using a robust research design, and as well as advancing existing framework to hotel study. Practically, it will provide the hotel management with the latest information to design a competitive marketing strategy and activities to target the mature market post-pandemic and over a long period.

Keywords: competitive advantage, covid-19, full-service hotel, five-star, luxury hotels

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227 Forest Fire Burnt Area Assessment in a Part of West Himalayan Region Using Differenced Normalized Burnt Ratio and Neural Network Approach

Authors: Sunil Chandra, Himanshu Rawat, Vikas Gusain, Triparna Barman

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Forest fires are a recurrent phenomenon in the Himalayan region owing to the presence of vulnerable forest types, topographical gradients, climatic weather conditions, and anthropogenic pressure. The present study focuses on the identification of forest fire-affected areas in a small part of the West Himalayan region using a differential normalized burnt ratio method and spectral unmixing methods. The study area has a rugged terrain with the presence of sub-tropical pine forest, montane temperate forest, and sub-alpine forest and scrub. The major reason for fires in this region is anthropogenic in nature, with the practice of human-induced fires for getting fresh leaves, scaring wild animals to protect agricultural crops, grazing practices within reserved forests, and igniting fires for cooking and other reasons. The fires caused by the above reasons affect a large area on the ground, necessitating its precise estimation for further management and policy making. In the present study, two approaches have been used for carrying out a burnt area analysis. The first approach followed for burnt area analysis uses a differenced normalized burnt ratio (dNBR) index approach that uses the burnt ratio values generated using the Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) band and Near Infrared (NIR) bands of the Sentinel-2 image. The results of the dNBR have been compared with the outputs of the spectral mixing methods. It has been found that the dNBR is able to create good results in fire-affected areas having homogenous forest stratum and with slope degree <5 degrees. However, in a rugged terrain where the landscape is largely influenced by the topographical variations, vegetation types, tree density, the results may be largely influenced by the effects of topography, complexity in tree composition, fuel load composition, and soil moisture. Hence, such variations in the factors influencing burnt area assessment may not be effectively carried out using a dNBR approach which is commonly followed for burnt area assessment over a large area. Hence, another approach that has been attempted in the present study utilizes a spectral mixing method where the individual pixel is tested before assigning an information class to it. The method uses a neural network approach utilizing Sentinel-2 bands. The training and testing data are generated from the Sentinel-2 data and the national field inventory, which is further used for generating outputs using ML tools. The analysis of the results indicates that the fire-affected regions and their severity can be better estimated using spectral unmixing methods, which have the capability to resolve the noise in the data and can classify the individual pixel to the precise burnt/unburnt class.

Keywords: categorical data, log linear modeling, neural network, shifting cultivation

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226 Prevalence of Occupational Asthma Diagnosed by Specific Challenge Test in 5 Different Working Environments in Thailand

Authors: Sawang Saenghirunvattana, Chao Saenghirunvattana, Maria Christina Gonzales, Wilai Srimuk, Chitchamai Siangpro, Kritsana Sutthisri

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Introduction: Thailand is one of the fastest growing countries in Asia. It has emerged from agricultural to industrialized economy. Work places have shifted from farms to factories, offices and streets were employees are exposed to certain chemicals and pollutants causing occupational diseases particularly asthma. Work-related diseases are major concern and many studies have been published to demonstrate certain professions and their exposures that elevate the risk of asthma. Workers who exhibit coughing, wheezing and difficulty of breathing are brought to a health care setting where Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) is performed and based from results, they are then diagnosed of asthma. These patients, known to have occupational asthma eventually get well when removed from the exposure of the environment. Our study, focused on performing PFT or specific challenge test in diagnosing workers of occupational asthma with them executing the test within their workplace, maintaining the environment and their daily exposure to certain levels of chemicals and pollutants. This has provided us with an understanding and reliable diagnosis of occupational asthma. Objective: To identify the prevalence of Thai workers who develop asthma caused by exposure to pollutants and chemicals from their working environment by conducting interview and performing PFT or specific challenge test in their work places. Materials and Methods: This study was performed from January-March 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. The percentage of abnormal symptoms of 940 workers in 5 different areas (factories of plastic, fertilizer, animal food, office and streets) were collected through a questionnaire. The demographic information, occupational history, and the state of health were determined using a questionnaire and checklists. PFT was executed in their work places and results were measured and evaluated. Results: Pulmonary Function test was performed by 940 participants. The specific challenge test was done in factories of plastic, fertilizer, animal food, office environment and on the streets of Thailand. Of the 100 participants working in the plastic industry, 65% complained of having respiratory symptoms. None of them had an abnormal PFT. From the participants who worked with fertilizers and are exposed to sulfur dioxide, out of 200 participants, 20% complained of having symptoms and 8% had abnormal PFT. The 300 subjects working with animal food reported that 45% complained of respiratory symptoms and 15% had abnormal PFT results. From the office environment where there is indoor pollution, Out of 140 subjects, 7% had symptoms and 4% had abnormal PFT. The 200 workers exposed to traffic pollution, 24% reported respiratory symptoms and 12% had abnormal PFT. Conclusion: We were able to identify and diagnose participants of occupational asthma through their abnormal lung function test done at their work places. The chemical agents and exposures were determined therefore effective management of workers with occupational asthma were advised to avoid further exposure for better chances of recovery. Further studies identifying the risk factors and causative agents of asthma in workplaces should be developed to encourage interventional strategies and programs that will prevent occupation related diseases particularly asthma.

Keywords: occupational asthma, pulmonary function test, specific challenge test, Thailand

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225 High-Fidelity Materials Screening with a Multi-Fidelity Graph Neural Network and Semi-Supervised Learning

Authors: Akeel A. Shah, Tong Zhang

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Computational approaches to learning the properties of materials are commonplace, motivated by the need to screen or design materials for a given application, e.g., semiconductors and energy storage. Experimental approaches can be both time consuming and costly. Unfortunately, computational approaches such as ab-initio electronic structure calculations and classical or ab-initio molecular dynamics are themselves can be too slow for the rapid evaluation of materials, often involving thousands to hundreds of thousands of candidates. Machine learning assisted approaches have been developed to overcome the time limitations of purely physics-based approaches. These approaches, on the other hand, require large volumes of data for training (hundreds of thousands on many standard data sets such as QM7b). This means that they are limited by how quickly such a large data set of physics-based simulations can be established. At high fidelity, such as configuration interaction, composite methods such as G4, and coupled cluster theory, gathering such a large data set can become infeasible, which can compromise the accuracy of the predictions - many applications require high accuracy, for example band structures and energy levels in semiconductor materials and the energetics of charge transfer in energy storage materials. In order to circumvent this problem, multi-fidelity approaches can be adopted, for example the Δ-ML method, which learns a high-fidelity output from a low-fidelity result such as Hartree-Fock or density functional theory (DFT). The general strategy is to learn a map between the low and high fidelity outputs, so that the high-fidelity output is obtained a simple sum of the physics-based low-fidelity and correction, Although this requires a low-fidelity calculation, it typically requires far fewer high-fidelity results to learn the correction map, and furthermore, the low-fidelity result, such as Hartree-Fock or semi-empirical ZINDO, is typically quick to obtain, For high-fidelity outputs the result can be an order of magnitude or more in speed up. In this work, a new multi-fidelity approach is developed, based on a graph convolutional network (GCN) combined with semi-supervised learning. The GCN allows for the material or molecule to be represented as a graph, which is known to improve accuracy, for example SchNet and MEGNET. The graph incorporates information regarding the numbers of, types and properties of atoms; the types of bonds; and bond angles. They key to the accuracy in multi-fidelity methods, however, is the incorporation of low-fidelity output to learn the high-fidelity equivalent, in this case by learning their difference. Semi-supervised learning is employed to allow for different numbers of low and high-fidelity training points, by using an additional GCN-based low-fidelity map to predict high fidelity outputs. It is shown on 4 different data sets that a significant (at least one order of magnitude) increase in accuracy is obtained, using one to two orders of magnitude fewer low and high fidelity training points. One of the data sets is developed in this work, pertaining to 1000 simulations of quinone molecules (up to 24 atoms) at 5 different levels of fidelity, furnishing the energy, dipole moment and HOMO/LUMO.

Keywords: .materials screening, computational materials, machine learning, multi-fidelity, graph convolutional network, semi-supervised learning

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224 Tracing Graduates of Vocational Schools with Transnational Mobility Experience: Conclusions and Recommendations from Poland

Authors: Michal Pachocki

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This study investigates the effects of mobility in the context of a different environment and work culture through analysing the learners perception of their international work experience. Since this kind of professional training abroad is becoming more popular in Europe, mainly due to the EU funding opportunities, it is of paramount importance to assess its long-term impact on educational and career paths of former students. Moreover, the tracer study aimed at defining what professional, social and intercultural competencies were gained or developed by the interns and to which extent those competences proved to be useful meeting the labor market requirements. Being a populous EU member state which actively modernizes its vocational education system (also with European funds), Poland can serve as an illustrative case study to investigate the above described research problems. However, the examined processes are most certainly universal, wherever mobility is included in the learning process. The target group of this research was the former mobility participants and the study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods, such as the online survey with over 2 600 questionnaires completed by the former mobility participants; -individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) with 20 Polish graduates already present in the labour market; - 5 focus group interviews (FGIs) with 60 current students of the Polish vocational schools, who have recently returned from the training abroad. As the adopted methodology included a data triangulation, the collected findings have also been supplemented with data obtained by the desk research (mainly contextual information and statistical summary of mobility implementation). The results of this research – to be presented in full scope within the conference presentation – include the participants’ perception of their work mobility. The vast majority of graduates agrees that such an experience has had a significant impact on their professional careers and claims that they would recommend training abroad to persons who are about to enter the labor market. Moreover, in their view, such form of practical training going beyond formal education provided them with an opportunity to try their hand in the world of work. This allowed them – as they accounted for them – to get acquainted with a work system and context different from the ones experienced in Poland. Although the work mobility becomes an important element of the learning process in the growing number of Polish schools, this study reveals that many sending institutions suffer from a lack of the coherent strategy for planning domestic and foreign training programmes. Nevertheless, the significant number of graduates claims that such a synergy improves the quality of provided training. Despite that, the research proved that the transnational mobilities exert an impact on their future careers and personal development. However, such impact is, in their opinion, dependant on other factors, such as length of the training period, the nature and extent of work, recruitment criteria and the quality of organizational arrangement and mentoring provided to learners. This may indicate the salience of the sending and receiving institutions organizational capacity to deal with mobility.

Keywords: learning mobility, transnational training, vocational education and training graduates, tracer study

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223 The Influence of Perinatal Anxiety and Depression on Breastfeeding Behaviours: A Qualitative Systematic Review

Authors: Khulud Alhussain, Anna Gavine, Stephen Macgillivray, Sushila Chowdhry

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Background: Estimates show that by the year 2030, mental illness will account for more than half of the global economic burden, second to non-communicable diseases. Often, the perinatal period is characterised by psychological ambivalence and a mixed anxiety-depressive condition. Maternal mental disorder is associated with perinatal anxiety and depression and affects breastfeeding behaviors. Studies also indicate that maternal mental health can considerably influence a baby's health in numerous aspects and impact the newborn health due to lack of adequate breastfeeding. However, studies reporting factors associated with breastfeeding behaviors are predominantly quantitative. Therefore, it is not clear what literature is available to understand the factors affecting breastfeeding and perinatal women’s perspectives and experiences. Aim: This review aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of women with perinatal anxiety and depression, as well as how these experiences influence their breastfeeding behaviours. Methods: A systematic literature review of qualitative studies in line with the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ). Four electronic databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, and Google Scholar) were explored for relevant studies using a search strategy. The search was restricted to studies published in the English language between 2000 and 2022. Findings from the literature were screened using a pre-defined screening criterion and the quality of eligible studies was appraised using the Walsh and Downe (2006) checklist. Findings were extracted and synthesised based on Braun and Clark. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (Ref: CRD42022319609). Result: A total of 4947 studies were identified from the four databases. Following duplicate removal and screening 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included 87 pregnant and 302 post-partum women from 12 countries. The participants were from a variety of economic, regional, and religious backgrounds, mainly from the age of 18 to 45 years old. Three main themes were identified: Barriers to breastfeeding, breastfeeding facilitators, emotional disturbance, and breastfeeding. Seven subthemes emerged from the data: expectation versus reality, uncertainly about maternal competencies, body image and breastfeeding, lack of sufficient breastfeeding support for family and caregivers’ support, influences positive breastfeeding practices, breastfeeding education, and causes of mental strain among breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding duration is affected in women with mental health disorders, irrespective of their desire to breastfeed. Conclusion: There is significant empirical evidence that breastfeeding behaviour and perinatal mental disturbance are linked. However, there is a lack of evidence to apply the findings to Saudi women due to lack of empirical qualitative information. To improve the psychological well-being of mothers, it is crucial to explore and recognise any concerns with their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Therefore, robust research is needed so that breastfeeding intervention researchers and policymakers can focus on specifically what needs to be done to help mentally distressed perinatal women and their new-born.

Keywords: pregnancy, perinatal period, anxiety, depression, emotional disturbance, breastfeeding

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