Search results for: distance knowledge sharing centers

Authors: Obasanjo Afolabi Bolarinwa

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This study assesses the levels of knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among unmarried youths in Nigeria; examines the pattern of high risk sex among unmarried youths in Nigeria; investigate the socio-demographic factors (age, place of residence, religion, level of education, wealth index and employment status) affecting the practice of high-risk sexual behaviour and ascertain the relationships between knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and practice of high risk sex. The goal of the study is to identify the factors associated with the practice of high risk sex among youth. These were with a view to identifying critical actions needed to reduce high risk sexual behaviour among youths. The study employed secondary data. The data for the study were extracted from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The 2013 NDHS collected information from 38,948 Women ages 15-49 years and 17,359 men ages 15-49. A total of 7,744 female and 6,027 male respondents were utilized in the study. In order to adjust for the effect of oversampling of the population, the weighting factor provided by Measure DHS was applied. The data were analysed using frequency distribution and logistic regression. The results show that both male (92.2%) and female (93.6%) have accurate knowledge of sexually transmitted infections. The study also revealed that prevalence of high risk sexual behavior is high among Nigerian youths; this is evident as 77.7% (female) and 78.4% (male) are engaging in high risk sexual behavior. The bivariate analysis shows that age of respondent (χ2=294.2; p < 0.05), religion (χ2=136.64; p < 0.05), wealth index (χ2=17.38; p < 0.05), level of education (χ2=34.73; p < 0.05) and employment status (χ2=94.54; p < 0.05) were individual factors significantly associated with high risk sexual behaviour among male while age of respondent (χ2=327.07; p < 0.05), place of residence (χ2=6.71; p < 0.05), religion (χ2=81.04; p < 0.05), wealth index (χ2=7.41; p < 0.05), level of education (χ2=18.12; p < 0.05) and employment status (χ2=51.02; p < 0.05) were individual factors significantly associated with high risk sexual behaviour among female. Furthermore, the study shows that there is a relationship between knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and high risk sex among male (χ2=38.32; p < 0.05) and female (χ2=18.37; p < 0.05). At multivariate level, the study revealed that individual characteristics such as age, religion, place of residence, wealth index, levels of education and employment status were statistically significantly related with high risk sexual behaviour among male and female (p < 0.05). Lastly, the study shows that knowledge of sexually transmitted infection was significantly related to high risk sexual behaviour among youths (p < 0.05). The study concludes that there is a high level of knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among unmarried youths in Nigeria. The practice of high risk sex is high among unmarried youths but higher among male youths. The prevalence of high risk sexual activity is higher for males when they are at disadvantage and higher for females when they are at advantage. Socio-demographic factors like age of respondents, religion, wealth index, place of residence, employment status and highest level of education are factors influencing high risk sexual behaviour among youths.

Keywords: high risk sex, wealth index, sexual behaviour, knowledge

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Authors: Balasooriya B. M. C. M., Sujeeva N., Thowfeek Z., Siddiqa Omo, Liyanagunawardana J. E., Jayawardana Saiu, Manathunga S. S., Katulanda G. W.

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Introduction and objectives: Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is the gold standard to discriminate unilateral primary aldosteronism (UPA) from bilateral disease (BPA). AVS is technically demanding and only performed in a limited number of centers worldwide. To the best of our knowledge, Except for one study conducted in India, no other research studies on this area have been conducted in South Asia. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of AVS in the management of primary aldosteronism. Methods: A total of 32 patients who underwent AVS at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka from April 2021 to April 2023 were enrolled. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained retrospectively. A procedure was considered successful when adequate cannulation of both adrenal veins was demonstrated. Cortisol gradient across the adrenal vein (AV) and the peripheral vein was used to establish the success of venous cannulation. Lateralization was determined by the aldosterone gradient between the two sides. Continuous and categorical variables were summarized with mean, SD, and proportions, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the contralateral suppression index (CSI) were estimated with an intercept-only Bayesian inference model. Results: Of the 32 patients, the average age was 52.47 +26.14 and 19 (59.4%) were males. Both AVs were successfully cannulated in 12 (37.5%). Among them, lateralization was demonstrated in 11(91.7%), and one was diagnosed as a bilateral disease. There were no total failures. Right AV cannulation was unsuccessful in 18 (56.25%), of which lateralization was demonstrated in 9 (50%), and others were inconclusive. Left AV cannulation was unsuccessful only in 2 (6.25%); one was lateralized, and the other remained inconclusive. The estimated mean of the CSI was 0.33 (89% credible interval 0.11-0.86). Seven patients underwent unilateral adrenalectomy and demonstrated significant improvement in blood pressure during follow-up. Two patients await surgery. Others were treated medically. Conclusions: Despite failure due to procedural difficulties, AVS remained useful in the management of patients with PA. Moreover, the success of the procedure needs experienced hands and advanced equipment to achieve optimal outcomes in PA.

Keywords: adrenal venous sampling, lateralization, contralateral suppression index, primary aldosteronism

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Authors: Sharib Ahmed, Mansoor Rafi, Kamran Ali Awan, Faraz Khaskhali, Amir Maqbool, Altaf Hashmi

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Medical linear accelerators (LINAC’s) used in radiotherapy treatments produce undesired neutrons when they are operated at energies above 8 MeV, both in electron and photon configuration. Neutrons are produced by high-energy photons and electrons through electronuclear (e, n) a photonuclear giant dipole resonance (GDR) reactions. These reactions occurs when incoming photon or electron incident through the various materials of target, flattening filter, collimators, and other shielding components in LINAC’s structure. These neutrons may reach directly to the patient, or they may interact with the surrounding materials until they become thermalized. A work has been set up to study the effect of different parameter on the production of neutron around the room by photonuclear reactions induced by photons above ~8 MeV. One of the commercial available neutron detector (Ludlum Model 42-31H Neutron Detector) is used for the detection of thermal and fast neutrons (0.025 eV to approximately 12 MeV) inside and outside of the treatment room. Measurements were performed for different field sizes at 100 cm source to surface distance (SSD) of detector, at different distances from the isocenter and at the place of primary and secondary walls. Other measurements were performed at door and treatment console for the potential radiation safety concerns of the therapists who must walk in and out of the room for the treatments. Exposures have taken place from Elekta Synergy® linear accelerators for two different energies (10 MV and 18 MV) for a given 200 MU’s and dose rate of 600 MU per minute. Results indicates that neutron doses at 100 cm SSD depend on accelerator characteristics means jaw settings as jaws are made of high atomic number material so provides significant interaction of photons to produce neutrons, while doses at the place of larger distance from isocenter are strongly influenced by the treatment room geometry and backscattering from the walls cause a greater doses as compare to dose at 100 cm distance from isocenter. In the treatment room the ambient dose equivalent due to photons produced during decay of activation nuclei varies from 4.22 mSv.h−1 to 13.2 mSv.h−1 (at isocenter),6.21 mSv.h−1 to 29.2 mSv.h−1 (primary wall) and 8.73 mSv.h−1 to 37.2 mSv.h−1 (secondary wall) for 10 and 18 MV respectively. The ambient dose equivalent for neutrons at door is 5 μSv.h−1 to 2 μSv.h−1 while at treatment console room it is 2 μSv.h−1 to 0 μSv.h−1 for 10 and 18 MV respectively which shows that a 2 m thick and 5m longer concrete maze provides sufficient shielding for neutron at door as well as at treatment console for 10 and 18 MV photons.

Keywords: equivalent doses, neutron contamination, neutron detector, photon energy

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Authors: Naci Büyükkaracığan, Yıldırım Akyol

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Information technology is called the technology which provides transmission of information elsewhere regardless of time, location, distance. Today, information technology is providing the occurrence of ground breaking changes in all areas of our daily lives. Information can be reached quickly to millions of people with help of information technology. In this Study, effects of information technology on students for educations and their learning preferences were demonstrated with using data obtained from questionnaires administered to students of 2015-2016 academic year at Selcuk University Kadınhanı Faik İçil Vocational School Construction Department. The data was obtained by questionnaire consisting of 30 questions that was prepared by the researchers. SPSS 21.00 package programme was used for statistical analysis of data. Chi-square tests, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used in the data analysis for Descriptiving statistics. In a study conducted with the participation of 61 students, 93.4% of students' reputation of their own information communication device (computer, smart phone, etc.) That have been shown to be at the same rate and to the internet. These are just a computer of itself, then 45.90% of the students. The main reasons for the students' use of the Internet, social networking sites are 85.24%, 13.11% following the news of the site, as seen. All student assignments in information technology, have stated that they use in the preparation of the project. When students acquire scientific knowledge in the profession regarding their preferred sources evaluated were seen exactly when their preferred internet. Male students showed that daily use of information technology while compared to female students was statistically significantly less. Construction Package program where students are eager to learn about the reputation of 72.13% and 91.80% identified in the well which they agreed that an indispensable element in the professional advancement of information technology.

Keywords: information technologies, computer, construction, internet, learning systems

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Authors: Monica Plechero

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Many firms belonging to Italian industrial districts faced a crisis starting from 2000 and upsurging during 2008-2014. To remain competitive in the global market, these firms and their local systems need to renovate their traditional competitive advantages, strengthen their link with global flows of knowledge. This may be particularly relevant in sectors such as the mechatronics, that combine traditional knowledge domain with new knowledge domains (e.g. mechanics, electronics, and informatics). This sector is nowadays one of the key sectors within the so-called ‘smart specialization strategy’ that can lead part of the Italian traditional industry towards new economic developmental opportunities. This paper, by investigating the mechatronics district of the Veneto region, wants to shed new light on how firms of a local system can gain from the globalization of innovation and innovation networks. Methodologically, the paper relies on primary data collected through a survey targeting firms of the local system, as well as on a number of qualitative case studies. The relevant role of medium size companies in the district emerges as evident, as they have wider opportunities to be involved in different processes of globalization of innovation. Indeed, with respect to small companies, the size of medium firms allows them to exploit strategically international markets and globally distributed knowledge. Supporting medium firms’ global innovation strategies, and incentivizing their role as district gatekeepers, may strengthen the competitive capability of the local system and provide new opportunities to positively face global competition.

Keywords: global innovation network, industrial district, internationalization, innovation, mechatronics, Veneto region

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Authors: Rakesh Dogra, Arun Kumar, Arvind Kumar Sharma

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This paper reports the thermoluminescence as well as optical properties of rare earth doped lithium fluoride (LiF) nanophosphor, synthesized via chemical route. The rare earth impurities (Yb and Sm) have been observed to increase the deep trap center capacity, which, in turn, enhance the radiation resistance of the LiF. This suggests the viability of these materials to be used as high dose thermoluminescent detectors at high temperature. Further, optical absorption measurements revealed the formation of radiation induced stable color centers in LiF at room temperature, which are independent of the rare earth dopant.

Keywords: lithium flouride, thermoluminescence, UV-VIS spectroscopy, Gamma radiations

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Authors: Abhishek Bhardwaj, Manish Kumar Bajpai

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An image with its content and schema of colors presents an effective mode of information sharing and processing. By changing its color schema different visions and prospect are discovered by the users. This phenomenon of color transfer is being used by Social media and other channel of entertainment. Reinhard et al’s algorithm was the first one to solve this problem of color transfer. In this paper, we make this algorithm efficient by introducing domain parallelism among different processors. We also comment on the factors that affect the speedup of this problem. In the end by analyzing the experimental data we claim to propose a novel and efficient parallel Reinhard’s algorithm.

Keywords: Reinhard et al’s algorithm, color transferring, parallelism, speedup

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Authors: Dimakatso Machetele, Kowiyou Yessoufou

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Whilst several studies indicated that road accident events might be more complex than thought, we have a limited scientific understanding of this complexity in South Africa. The present project proposes and tests a more comprehensive metamodel that integrates multiple causality relationships among variables previously linked to road accidents. This was done by fitting a structural equation model (SEM) to the data collected from various sources. The study also fitted the GARCH Model (Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) to predict the future of road accidents in the country. The analysis shows that the number of road accidents has been increasing since 1935. The road fatality rate follows a polynomial shape following the equation: y = -0.0114x²+1.2378x-2.2627 (R²=0.76) with y = death rate and x = year. This trend results in an average death rate of 23.14 deaths per 100,000 people. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the number of crashes could be significantly explained by the total number of vehicles (P < 0.001), number of registered vehicles (P < 0.001), number of unregistered vehicles (P = 0.003) and the population of the country (P < 0.001). As opposed to expectation, the number of driver licenses issued and total distance traveled by vehicles do not correlate significantly with the number of crashes (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the analysis reveals that the number of casualties could be linked significantly to the number of registered vehicles (P < 0.001) and total distance traveled by vehicles (P = 0.03). As for the number of fatal crashes, the analysis reveals that the total number of vehicles (P < 0.001), number of registered (P < 0.001) and unregistered vehicles (P < 0.001), the population of the country (P < 0.001) and the total distance traveled by vehicles (P < 0.001) correlate significantly with the number of fatal crashes. However, the number of casualties and again the number of driver licenses do not seem to determine the number of fatal crashes (P > 0.05). Finally, the number of crashes is predicted to be roughly constant overtime at 617,253 accidents for the next 10 years, with the worse scenario suggesting that this number may reach 1 896 667. The number of casualties was also predicted to be roughly constant at 93 531 overtime, although this number may reach 661 531 in the worst-case scenario. However, although the number of fatal crashes may decrease over time, it is forecasted to reach 11 241 fatal crashes within the next 10 years, with the worse scenario estimated at 19 034 within the same period. Finally, the number of fatalities is also predicted to be roughly constant at 14 739 but may also reach 172 784 in the worse scenario. Overall, the present study reveals the complexity of road accidents and allows us to propose several recommendations aimed to reduce the trend of road accidents, casualties, fatal crashes, and death in South Africa.

Keywords: road accidents, South Africa, statistical modelling, trends

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Authors: Michael C. Barbecho, Romeo B. Morcilla

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This study focused on the development of a solar powered front wheel drive electric trike for personal use and short distance travel, utilizing solar power and a variable speed transmission to adapt in places where varying road grades and unavailability of plug-in charging stations are of great problems. The actual performance of the vehicle was measured in terms of duration of charging using solar power, distance travel and battery power duration, top speed developed at full power, and load capacity. This project followed the research and development process which involved planning, designing, construction, and testing. Solar charging tests revealed that the vehicle requires 6 to 8 hours sunlight exposure to fully charge the batteries. At full charge, the vehicle can travel 35 km utilizing battery power down to 42%. Vehicle showed top speed of 25 kph at 0 to 3% road grade carrying a maximum load of 122 kg. The maximum climbing grade was 23% with the vehicle carrying a maximum load of 122 kg. Technically the project was feasible and can be a potential model for possible conversion of traditional Philippine made “pedicabs” and gasoline engine powered tricycle into modern electric vehicles. Moreover, it has several technical features and advantages over a commercialized electric vehicle such as the use solar charging system and variable speed power transmission and front drive power train for adaptability in any road gradient.

Keywords: electric vehicle, solar vehicles, front drive, solar, solar power

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Authors: Ivan Stanev, Maria Koleva

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Automated software development issues are addressed in this paper. Layers and packages of a Common Platform for Automated Programming (CPAP) are defined based on Service Oriented Architecture, Cloud computing, Knowledge based automated software engineering (KBASE) and Method of automated programming. Tools of seven leading companies (AWS of Amazon, Azure of Microsoft, App Engine of Google, vCloud of VMWare, Bluemix of IBM, Helion of HP, OCPaaS of Oracle) are analyzed in the context of CPAP. Based on the results of the analysis CPAP requirements are formulated

Keywords: automated programming, cloud computing, knowledge based software engineering, service oriented architecture

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Authors: Marah Joy A. Nanglegan

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A survey was conducted to describe knowledge, attitude, practices, information needs, and information seeking behavior of small-scale farmers on Organic Agriculture Production (OAP) in a rural community in Ifugao, Philippines. Respondents’ age ranged from 23-67 years old. Most of them are male, married, and have reached high school level. The major source of income is farming with an average monthly income of less than Php 5,000 for a household size of seven. More than fifty percent of the respondents are members of a farmer’s organization. Farm size is less than one hectare. Majority of them own their farms and have been farming for more than twenty years. Very few attended training on Organic Agriculture Production (OAP). Most of them are not aware of any OAP program in their community. Hence, their farming practices are mostly conventional. The overall level of knowledge on OAP among all respondents was below the average. On attitude, most of the respondents agreed that organic farming would decrease production costs by reducing input purchases. They believe it benefits both the consumer and the producer. In fact, they are aware of the many benefits of organic farming, especially on health. Likewise, many of them agreed on the benefits of organic farming to soil fertility, to the environment, and to increase the income of farmers. Many of them, however, see organic farming as troublesome and difficult in terms of time and effort, obtaining organic inputs, limited production, and marketing aspects. They also have heavy reliance on pesticides and herbicides to control pests and diseases. On practices, majority of the respondents stated that they practiced crop rotation, manual weeding, and the use of animal manure. Most of them desired to do organic farming but needed information such as production techniques, costs, and marketing opportunities. Their most preferred communication channel is through extension agents and contact farmers. Their most preferred communication method is through trainings and seminars as well as through farm demonstrations. Results of this study will serve as a basis for developing appropriate communication strategies to improve knowledge, attitude, and practices of respondents on organic agriculture as well as enhance the promotion of organic agriculture production in the community.

Keywords: Ifugao, knowledge attitude practices, organic agriculture, Philippines

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Authors: Michael Campbell, Malaz Elsaddig, Kevin Jones

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Background: Despite encouraging progress, global maternal mortality has remained stubbornly high since the declaration of the Millennium development goals. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for well over half of maternal deaths with Post-Partum Haemorrhage (PPH) being the lead cause. ‘In house’ simulation training delivered by local doctors may be a sustainable approach for improving emergency obstetric care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a Train-the-Trainer (TtT) model in a rural Ugandan hospital to ascertain whether it can feasibly improve practitioners’ management of PPH. Methods: Three Ugandan doctors underwent a training course to enable them to design and deliver simulation training. These doctors used MamaNatalie® models to simulate PPH scenarios for midwives, nurses and medical students. The main outcome was improvement in participants’ knowledge and confidence, assessed using self-reported scores on a 10-point scale. Results: The TtT model produced significant improvements in the confidence and knowledge scores of the ten participants. The mean confidence score rose significantly (p=0.0005) from 6.4 to 8.6 following the simulation training. There was also a significant increase in the mean knowledge score from 7.2 to 9.0 (p=0.04). Medical students demonstrated the greatest overall increase in confidence scores whilst increases in knowledge scores were largest amongst nurses. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that a TtT model can be used in a low resource setting to improve healthcare professionals’ confidence and knowledge in managing obstetric emergencies. This Train-the-Trainer model represents a sustainable approach to addressing skill deficits in low resource settings. We believe that its expansion across healthcare institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa will help to reduce the region’s high maternal mortality rate and step closer to achieving the ambitions of the Millennium development goals.

Keywords: low resource setting, post-partum haemorrhage, simulation training, train the trainer

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Authors: A. Brahma

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Analysis of deferred deformations of concrete under sustained load shows that the creep has a leading role on deferred deformations of concrete structures. Knowledge of the creep characteristics of concrete is a Necessary starting point in the design of structures for crack control. Such knowledge will enable the designer to estimate the probable deformation in pre-stressed concrete or reinforced and the appropriate steps can be taken in design to accommodate this movement. In this study, we propose a prediction model that involves the acting principal parameters on the deferred behaviour of concrete structures. For the estimation of the model parameters Levenberg-Marquardt method has proven very satisfactory. A confrontation between the experimental results and the predictions of models designed shows that it is well suited to describe the evolution of the creep of concrete structures.

Keywords: concrete structure, creep, modelling, prediction

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Authors: Kulveer Sandhu

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Background: In 1999, the Government of Canada legalized the use of cannabis for the therapeutic purpose (CTP); however, its users remain highly vulnerable to stigma and are judged by care providers and nonusers of cannabis. Findings from a literature review suggest health care providers (HCPs), including nurses in palliative care settings, lack knowledge about medical cannabis. For this reason, it is important to enhance HCPs’awarenessand knowledge of medical cannabis. Significance of the Project: Nurses are the first point of contact and spend more time with patients than other care providers; it is, therefore, important for them to be informed about CTPto provide quality and equitable care for medical cannabis users. Although nurses and other HCPs want information on CTP, the topic is rarely included in their educational curriculum. The purpose of this project is to create an evidence informed Package designed to increase knowledge among palliative care nurses about CTP. The information package will empower palliative nurses to help palliative patients make informed decisions about their treatment plan. Method: The information package will include a basic overview of the endocannabinoid system, common cannabis plants and products, and methods of consumption, as well as information to help nurses better understand consumption and harm reduction. The package will also include a set of cannabis fact sheets for nurses. Each fact sheet will comprise a high-level overview with graphics followed by a description of medical cannabis with links and references. At the end of the learning package, there are five self-reflection questions that allow nurses to examine their personal values, attitudes, and practices regarding medical cannabis. These questions will help each nurse understand their personal approach towards CTP and its users.

Keywords: medical cannabis, improve knowledge, cannabis for therapeutic purpose (CTP), patient experience, palliative care

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Authors: Boonyarat Chaleephay

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The purpose of this research paper was to describe the relationship of acupressure points on the anterior surface of the upper limb in accordance with Applied Thai Traditional Massage (ATTM) and the deep structures located at those acupressure points. There were 2 population groups; normal subjects and cadaver specimens. Eighteen males with age ranging from 20-40 years old and seventeen females with ages ranging from 30-97 years old were studies. This study was able to obtain a fundamental knowledge concerning acupressure point and the deep structures that related to those acupressure points. It might be used as the basic knowledge for clinically applying and planning treatment as well as teaching in ATTM.

Keywords: acupressure point (AP), applie Thai traditional medicine (ATTM), paresthesia, numbness

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Authors: Yusuf Umar Madugu

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Since its creation in 1967, Kano has tremendously undergone political, social and economic transformations. Public urban transportation has been playing a vital role in sustaining economic growth of Kano metropolis, especially with the existence of modern buses with the regular network of roads, in all the main centers of trade. This study, therefore, centers on the role of intra-city buses in molding the economy of Kano. Its main focus is post-colonial Kano (i.e. 1967-2015), a period that witnessed rapid expansion of commercial activities and ever increasing urbanization which goes along with it population explosion. The commuters patronized the urban transport, a situation that made the business lucrative. More so, the traders who had come from within and outside Kano relied heavily on commercial vehicles to transport their merchandise to their various destinations. Commercial road transport system, therefore, had become well organized in Kano with a significant number of people earning their means of livelihood from it. It also serves as a source of revenue to governments at different levels. However, the study of transport and development as an academic discipline is inter-disciplinary in nature. This study, therefore, employs the services and the methodologies of other disciplines such as Geography, History, Urban and Regional Planning, Engineering, Computer Science, Economics, etc. to provide a comprehensive picture of the issues under investigation. The source materials for this study included extensive use of written literature and oral information. In view of the crucial importance of intra-city commercial transport services, this study demonstrates its role in the overall economic transformation of the study area. It generally also, contributed in opening up a new ground and looked into the history of commercial transport system. At present, Kano Metropolitan area is located between latitude 110 50’ and 12007’, and longitude 80 22’ and 80 47’ within the Semi-Arid Sudan Savannah Zone of West Africa about 840kilometers of the edge of the Sahara desert. The Metropolitan area has expanded over the years and has become the third largest conurbation in Nigeria with a population of about 4million. It is made up of eight local government areas viz: Kano Municipal, Gwale, Dala, Tarauni, Nasarawa, Fage, Ungogo, and Kumbotso.

Keywords: assessment, buses, city, mobility, sustainable

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Authors: S. Nandagopalan, N. Pradeep

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The aim of this paper is to propose a general framework for storing, analyzing, and extracting knowledge from two-dimensional echocardiographic images, color Doppler images, non-medical images, and general data sets. A number of high performance data mining algorithms have been used to carry out this task. Our framework encompasses four layers namely physical storage, object identification, knowledge discovery, user level. Techniques such as active contour model to identify the cardiac chambers, pixel classification to segment the color Doppler echo image, universal model for image retrieval, Bayesian method for classification, parallel algorithms for image segmentation, etc., were employed. Using the feature vector database that have been efficiently constructed, one can perform various data mining tasks like clustering, classification, etc. with efficient algorithms along with image mining given a query image. All these facilities are included in the framework that is supported by state-of-the-art user interface (UI). The algorithms were tested with actual patient data and Coral image database and the results show that their performance is better than the results reported already.

Keywords: active contour, bayesian, echocardiographic image, feature vector

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Authors: L. Janská, J. Kubrický

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The article describes a research focused on the influence of the information and communication technology (ICT) on the pupils' learning. The investigation deals with the influences that distinguish between the group of pupils influenced by ICT and the group of pupils not influenced by ICT. The group influenced by ICT should evince a different approach in number of areas (in managing of two and more activities at once, in a quick orientation and searching for information on the Internet, in an ability to quickly and effectively assess the data sources, in the assessment of attitudes and opinions of the other users of the network, in critical thinking, in the preference to work in teams, in the sharing of information and personal data via the virtual social networking, in insisting on the immediate reaction on their every action etc.).

Keywords: ICT influence, digital natives, pupil´s learning

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Authors: Araya Yordchim, Rosjana Chandhasa, Suwaree Yordchim

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This research aims to study guidelines on the development of management process for research journals in order to develop Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University to international standards. This research investigated affecting elements ranging from the format of the article, evaluation form for research article quality, the process of creating a scholarly journal, satisfaction level of those with knowledge and competency to conduct research, arisen problems, and solutions. Drawing upon the sample size of 40 persons who had knowledge and competency in conducting research and creating scholarly journal articles at an international level, the data for this research were collected using questionnaires as a tool. Through the usage of computer software, data were analyzed by using the statistics in the forms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. The majority of participants were civil servants with a doctorate degree, followed by civil servants with a master's degree. Among them, the suitability of the article format was rated at a good level while the evaluation form for research articles quality was assessed at a good level. Based on participants' viewpoints, the process of creating scholarly journals was at a good level, while the satisfaction of those who had knowledge and competency in conducting research was at a satisfactory level. The problems encountered were the difficulty in accessing the website. The solution to the problem was to develop a website with user-friendly accessibility, including setting up a Google scholar profile for the purpose of references counting and the articles being used for reference in real-time. Research article format influenced the level of satisfaction of those who had the knowledge and competency to conduct research with statistical significance at the 0.01 level. The research article quality assessment form (preface section, research article writing section, preparation for research article manuscripts section, and the original article evaluation form for the author) affected the satisfaction of those with knowledge and competency to conduct research with the statistical significance at the level of 0.01. The process of establishing journals had an impact on the satisfaction of those with knowledge and ability to conduct research with statistical significance at the level of .05

Keywords: guidelines, development of management, research journals, international standards

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Authors: P. Vanichkobchinda

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The Logistics Transportation techniques, Open Vehicle Routing (OVR) is an approach toward transportation cost reduction, especially for long distance pickup and delivery nodes. The outstanding characteristic of OVR is that the route starting node and ending node are not necessary the same as in typical vehicle routing problems. This advantage enables the routing to flow continuously and the vehicle does not always return to its home base. This research aims to develop a heuristic for the open vehicle routing problem with pickup and delivery under time window and loading capacity constraints to minimize the total distance. The proposed heuristic is developed based on the Insertion method, which is a simple method and suitable for the rapid calculation that allows insertion of the new additional transportation requirements along the original paths. According to the heuristic analysis, cost comparisons between the proposed heuristic and companies are using method, nearest neighbor method show that the insertion heuristic. Moreover, the proposed heuristic gave superior solutions in all types of test problems. In conclusion, the proposed heuristic can effectively and efficiently solve the open vehicle routing. The research indicates that the improvement of new transport's calculation and the open vehicle routing with "Insertion Heuristic" represent a better outcome with 34.3 percent in average. in cost savings. Moreover, the proposed heuristic gave superior solutions in all types of test problems. In conclusion, the proposed heuristic can effectively and efficiently solve the open vehicle routing.

Keywords: business competitiveness, cost reduction, SMEs, logistics transportation, VRP

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Authors: Narumon Piaseu

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This survey research was aimed to describe and compare consumption behavior of health risk food among students in Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. Sample included 400 undergraduate students enrolled in the first semester of 2008 academic year. Data were collected by using self reported questionnaire developed by the researcher. Data were then analyzed by descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and inferential statistics including independent t-test, and Oneway ANOVA. Results revealed that most of the sample were women (67%), enrolled in social related programs (74%). Approximately half of them (45.5%) stayed in dormitory. The mean of monthly income was 5,164 Baht and daily food expenditure was 114.55 Baht. Majority of them (83%) had ready-to-eat food. A major factor influencing their food selection was their parents (61%). A main reason for their food selection was food that looks good (70.75%). Almost half of them (46.25%) had heavy exercise less than 3 times per week. Regarding knowledge on health risk food, 43.5% of the sample had good knowledge. The followings were moderate (41%) and poor (41%). Most of the sample (60.75%) had consumption behavior at low risk. The following was at moderate risk (37.25%). Only 2% were at high risk. Among the sample, consumption behavior of health risk food were significantly different in years of study (F = 3.168, p = .024), daily food expenditure (F = 8.950, p <.001), and knowledge on health risk food (F = 37.856, p <.001), while no significant difference in consumption behavior of health risk food was found in those with a difference in gender, program of study, living place, and monthly income. Results indicate the importance of providing knowledge regarding health risk food for students and their parents in order to promote appropriate food consumption behavior among the students.

Keywords: food consumption, risky behavior, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, health risk

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Authors: M. F. M. Ali, A. R. Ismail, B. M. Deros

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Soccer is very popular and ranked as the top sports in the world as well as in Malaysia. Although soccer sport in Malaysia is currently professionalized, but it’s plunging achievements within recent years continue and are not to be proud of. After review, the Malaysian soccer players are still weak in terms of kicking techniques. The instep kick is a technique, which is often used in soccer for the purpose of short passes and making a scoring. This study presents the 3D biomechanics analysis on a soccer player during performing instep kick. This study was conducted to determine the optimization value for approach angle, distance of supporting leg from the ball and ball internal pressure respect to the knee angular velocity of the ball on the kicking leg. Six subjects from different categories using dominant right leg and free from any injury were selected to take part in this study. Subjects were asked to perform one step instep kick according to the setting for the variables with different parameter. Data analysis was performed using 3 Dimensional “Qualisys Track Manager” system and will focused on the bottom of the body from the waist to the ankle. For this purpose, the marker will be attached to the bottom of the body before the kicking is perform by the subjects. Statistical analysis was conducted by using Minitab software using Response Surface Method through Box-Behnken design. The results of this study found the optimization values for all three parameters, namely the approach angle, 53.6º, distance of supporting leg from the ball, 8.84sm and ball internal pressure, 0.9bar with knee angular velocity, 779.27 degrees/sec have been produced.

Keywords: biomechanics, instep kick, soccer, optimization

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Authors: T. Rocha, P. Carvalho, S. Paredes, J. Henriques, A. Bianchi, V. Traver, A. Martinez

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The main goal of LINK project is to join competences in intelligent processing in order to create a research ecosystem to address two central scientific and technical challenges for personal health care (PHC) deployment: i) how to merge clinical evidence knowledge in computational decision support systems for PHC management and ii) how to provide achieve personalized services, i.e., solutions adapted to the specific user needs and characteristics. The final goal of one of the work packages (WP2), designated Sustainable Linking and Synergies for Excellence, is the definition, implementation and coordination of the necessary activities to create and to strengthen durable links between the LiNK partners. This work focuses on the strategy that has been followed to achieve the definition of the Research Tracks (RT), which will support a set of actions to be pursued along the LiNK project. These include common research activities, knowledge transfer among the researchers of the consortium, and PhD student and post-doc co-advisement. Moreover, the RTs will establish the basis for the definition of concepts and their evolution to project proposals.

Keywords: LiNK Twin European Project, personal health care, cardiovascular diseases, research tracks

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Authors: Yu-Shi Ye, Jia-Min Wu, Jhih-Ci Li

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Background: Most orthopedic inpatients and primary caregivers are elderly, and patients are at high risk of falls. We set up a quality control team to analyze the root cause and found the following issues: 1. The nursing staff did not conduct cognitive assessments of patients and their primary caregivers to ensure that health education content was understood. 2. Nurses prefer to use spoken language in health education but lack the skills to use diverse teaching materials. 3. Newly recruited nurses have insufficient awareness of fall prevention. Methods: The study subjects were 16 nurses in the orthopedic ward of a teaching hospital in central Taiwan. We implemented the following strategies: 1. Developed a fall simulation teaching plan and conducted teaching courses and assessments in the morning meeting; 2. Designed and used a "fall prevention awareness card" to improve the prevention awareness of elderly patients; 3. All staff (including new staff) received experiential education training. Results: In 2021, 40% of patients in the orthopedic wards were aged 60-79 years (792/1979) with a high risk of falls. According to data collection, the incidence of falls in hospitalized patients was 0.04% (5/12651), which exceeded the threshold of 0.02% in our ward. After completing the on-the-job education training in October, the nursing staff expressed that they were more aware of the special situation of fall prevention. Through practical sharing and drills, combined with experiential teaching strategies, nurses can reconstruct the safety awareness of fall prevention and deepen their cognitive memory. Participants scored between 30 and 80 on the pretest (16 students, mean: 72.6) and between 90 and 100 on the post-test (16 students, mean: 92.6), resulting in a 73.8% improvement in overall scores. We have a total of 4 new employees who have all completed the first 3 months of compulsory PGY courses. From January to April 2022, the incidence of falls in hospitalized patients was 0.025% (1/3969). We have made good improvements and will continue to track the outcome. Discussion: In addition to enhancing the awareness of falls among nursing staff, how-to guide patients and primary caregivers to prevent falls is also the focus of improvement. The proper way of health education can be better understood through practical exercises and case sharing.

Keywords: experiential teaching strategies, fall prevention, cognitive card, elderly patients, orthopedic wards

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Authors: Alina Svechkina, Boris A. Portnov

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In line with a rapid increase in pollution sources and enforcement of stricter air pollution regulation, which lowers pollution levels, it becomes more difficult to identify actual risk sources behind the observed morbidity patterns, and new approaches are required to identify potential risks and take preventive actions. In the present study, we discuss a probabilistic approach to the spatial identification of a priori unidentified environmental health hazards. The underlying assumption behind the tested approach is that the observed adverse health patterns (morbidity, mortality) can become a source of information on the geographic location of environmental risk factors that stand behind them. Using this approach, we analyzed sources of environmental exposure using data on mortality rates available for the year 2015 for NUTS 3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) subdivisions of the European Union. We identified several areas in the southwestern part of Europe as primary risk sources for the observed mortality patterns. Multivariate regressions, controlled by geographical location, climate conditions, GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, dependency ratios, population density, and the level of road freight revealed that mortality rates decline as a function of distance from the identified hazard location. We recommend the proposed approach an exploratory analysis tool for initial investigation of regional patterns of population morbidity patterns and factors behind it.

Keywords: mortality, environmental hazards, air pollution, distance decay gradient, multi regression analysis, Europe, NUTS3

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Authors: Somruedee Pongsena

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The purpose of this study is to follow up on the graduated students of Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics from Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University (SSRU) during the 1999 – 2012 academic years and to provide the fundamental guideline for developing the current curriculum according to Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF: HEd). The sample was collected from 75 graduates by interview and online questionnaire. The content covered 5 subjects: ethics and moral, knowledge, cognitive skills, interpersonal skills and responsibility, numerical analysis as well as communication and information technology skills. Data were analyzed by using statistical methods as percentiles, means, standard deviation, t-tests, and F-tests. The findings showed that samples were mostly females younger than 26 years old. The majority of graduates had income in the range of 10,001-20,000 Baht and their experience range was 2-5 years. In addition, overall opinions from receiving knowledge to apply to work were at agree; mean score was 3.97 and standard deviation was 0.40. In terms of opinion difference, the hypothesis' testing results indicate gender only had different opinion at a significant level of 0.05.

Keywords: follow-up, graduates, knowledge, opinion, work performance.

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Authors: N. Yachou, R. Aboulaich

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Home is a basic necessity for human life, that why home financing takes a large chunk of people’s income. Therefore, Islamic and Conventional Banks try to offer new product in order to respond to customer needs related to home financing. Basing on this fact, we propose a Modified Diminishing Partnership model based on profit and loss sharing to reduce the duration of getting the full shares in the house property. Our proposition will be represented by the rental that customer has to give every month to the bank with redemption to increase his shares on the property of the house.

Keywords: home financing, interest rate, rental rate, modified diminishing partnership

Procedia PDF Downloads 329

Authors: Dyah Adi Sriwahyuni

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Institutional work has become a prominent and contemporary institutional theory perspective in organization studies. A wealth of studies in organizations have explored actor activities in creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutions at the field level. However, the exploration of the work of actors in creating new management practices at the organizational level has been somewhat limited. The current institutional work literature mostly describes the work of actors at the field level and ignores organizational actors who work to realize management practices. Organizational actors here are defined as actors in organizations who work to institutionalize a particular management practice within the organizations. The extant literature has also generalized the types of management practices, which meant overlooking the unique characteristics of each management fashion as well as a management practice. To fill these gaps, this study aims to provide empirical evidence so as to contribute theoretically to institutional work through a comparative case study on organizational actors’ creation of knowledge management (KM) practice in two public sector organizations in Indonesia. KM is a contemporary management practice employed to manage individual and organizational knowledge in order to improve organizational performance. This practice presents a suitable practical setting with which to provide a rich understanding of the organizational actors’ institutional work and their connection with technology. Drawing on and extending the work of Perkmann and Spicer (2008), this study explores the forms of institutional work performed by organizational actors, including their motivation, skills, challenges, and opportunities. The primary data collection is semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable actors and document analysis for validity and triangulation. Following Eisenhardt's cross-case patterns, the researcher analyzed the collected data focusing on within-group similarities and intergroup differences. The researcher coded interview data using NVivo and used documents to corroborate the findings. The study’s findings add to the wealth of institutional theory literature in organization studies, particularly institutional work related to management practices. This study builds a theory about the work of organizational actors in creating knowledge management practices. Using the perspective of institutional work, research can show the roles of the various actors involved, their practices, and their relationship to technology (materiality), not only focusing on actors with a power which has been the theorizing of institutional entrepreneurship. The development of knowledge management practices in the Indonesian public sector is also a significant additional contribution, given that the current KM literature is dominated by conceptualizing the KM framework and the impact of KM on organizations. The public sector, which is the research setting, also provides important lessons on how actors in a highly institutionalized context are creating an institution, in this case, a knowledge management practice.

Keywords: institutional work, knowledge management, case study, public sector organizations

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Authors: Zahra Hamidi

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Promoting cycling, as an affordable environmentally friendly mode of transport to replace private car use has been central to sustainable transport policies. Cycling is faster than walking and combined with public transport has the potential to extend the opportunities that people can access. In other words, cycling, besides direct positive health impacts, can improve people mobility and ultimately their quality of life. Transport literature well supports the close relationship between mobility, quality of life, and, well being. At the same time inequity in the distribution of access and mobility has been associated with the key aspects of injustice and social exclusion. The pattern of social exclusion and inequality in access are also often related to population characteristics such as age, gender, income, health, and ethnic background. Therefore, while investing in transport infrastructure it is important to consider the equity of provided access for different population groups. This paper proposes a method to evaluate the equity of cycling in a city from Rawls egalitarian perspective. Since this perspective is concerned with the difference between individuals and social groups, this method combines accessibility measures and Theil index of inequality that allows capturing the inequalities ‘within’ and ‘between’ groups. The paper specifically focuses on two population characteristics as gender and ethnic background. Following Rawls equity principles, this paper measures accessibility by bikes to a selection of urban activities that can be linked to the concept of the social primary goods. Moreover, as growing number of cities around the world have launched bike-sharing systems (BSS) this paper incorporates both private and public bikes networks in the estimation of accessibility levels. Additionally, the typology of bike lanes (separated from or shared with roads), the presence of a bike sharing system in the network, as well as bike facilities (e.g. parking racks) have been included in the developed accessibility measures. Application of this proposed method to a real case study, the city of Malmö, Sweden, shows its effectiveness and efficiency. Although the accessibility levels were estimated only based on gender and ethnic background characteristics of the population, the author suggests that the analysis can be applied to other contexts and further developed using other properties, such as age, income, or health.

Keywords: accessibility, cycling, equity, gender

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Authors: B. Mack, K. Tampe-Mai, E. Diesch

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Findings of an ongoing discrete choice study of future transport mode choice will be presented. Many urban centers face the triple challenge of having to cope with ever increasing traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and greenhouse gas emission brought about by private car use. In principle, private car use may be diminished by extending public transport systems like bus lines, trams, tubes, and trains. However, there are limits to increasing the (perceived) spatial and temporal flexibility and reducing peak-time crowding of classical public transport systems. An emerging new type of system, publicly or privately operated on-demand shuttle bus services, seem suitable to ameliorate the situation. A fleet of on-demand shuttle busses operates without fixed stops and schedules. It may be deployed efficiently in that each bus picks up passengers whose itineraries may be combined into an optimized route. Crowding may be minimized by limiting the number of seats and the inter-seat distance for each bus. The study is conducted as a discrete choice experiment. The choice between private car, public transport, and shuttle service is registered as a function of several push and pull factors (financial costs, travel time, walking distances, mobility tax/congestion charge, and waiting time/parking space search time). After the completion of the discrete choice items, the study participant is asked to rate the three modes of transport with regard to the pull factors of comfort, safety, privacy, and opportunity to engage in activities like reading or surfing the internet. These ratings are entered as additional predictors into the discrete choice experiment regression model. The study is conducted in the region of Stuttgart in southern Germany. N=1000 participants are being recruited. Participants are between 18 and 69 years of age, hold a driver’s license, and live in the city or the surrounding region of Stuttgart. In the discrete choice experiment, participants are asked to assume they lived within the Stuttgart region, but outside of the city, and were planning the journey from their apartment to their place of work, training, or education during the peak traffic time in the morning. Then, for each item of the discrete choice experiment, they are asked to choose between the transport modes of private car, public transport, and on-demand shuttle in the light of particular values of the push and pull factors studied. The study will provide valuable information on the potential of switching from private car use to the use of on-demand shuttles, but also on the less desirable potential of switching from public transport to on-demand shuttle services. Furthermore, information will be provided on the modulation of these switching potentials by pull and push factors.

Keywords: determinants of travel mode choice, on-demand shuttle services, private car use, public transport

Procedia PDF Downloads 161