Search results for: meta research in communication

Authors: Horesh Reinman Netta

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Objectives: To examine the relationship between stressful life events and recurrent major depressive disorders Methods: Three groups of 50 subjects were assessed. One group had a recurrent major depressive disorder with melancholic features; the second group met the criteria for borderline personality disorder, and the third consisted of healthy controls. The Structured Clinical Interview for AXIS I DSM-IV Disorders sand the Structured Clinical Interview for AXIS II DSM-IV Disorders were used for diagnosis. The Israel Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview (IPERI) Life Event Scale and the Coddington Life Events Schedule (CLES) were used to measure life events which were confirmed with a confirmatory semi-structured interview. The Beck Depression Inventory and the Satisfaction from Life scales were also administered. Results : The total number of loss-related events in childhood and in the year preceding the first episode was significantly higher in the affective disorder group than in the two control groups. Total number of LE, uncontrolled and independent events were also more common in the depressed patients in the year preceding the first episode. No category of SLE was differentiated among any of the three groups during any period of time following the first depressive episode. Conclusions: SLE play an important role in the onset of affective disorders. There appear to be specific kinds of SLE occurring in childhood and in the year preceding a first episode that have particular significance. SLE may have a lesser role in the maintenance of this illness.

Keywords: modd dosorders, recurrent depression, stress, life events

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Authors: Yi-Xuan Huang, Kung-Ming Chung, Ping-Han Chung

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Pressure sensitive paint (PSP), which relies on the oxygen quenching of a luminescent molecule, is an optical technique used in wind-tunnel models. A full-field pressure pattern with low aerodynamic interference can be obtained, and it is becoming an alternative to pressure measurements using pressure taps. In this study, a polymer-ceramic PSP was used, using toluene as a solvent. The porous particle and polymer were silica gel (SiO₂) and RTV-118 (3g:7g), respectively. The compound was sprayed onto the model surface using a spray gun. The absorption and emission spectra for Ru(dpp) as a luminophore were respectively 441-467 nm and 597 nm. A Revox SLG-55 light source with a short-pass filter (550 nm) and a 14-bit CCD camera with a long-pass (600 nm) filter were used to illuminate PSP and to capture images. This study determines surface pressure patterns for a forebody of an AGARD B model in a compressible flow. Since there is no experimental data for surface pressure distributions available, numerical simulation is conducted using ANSYS Fluent. The lift and drag coefficients are calculated and in comparison with the data in the open literature. The experiments were conducted using a transonic wind tunnel at the Aerospace Science and Research Center, National Cheng Kung University. The freestream Mach numbers were 0.83, and the angle of attack ranged from -4 to 8 degree. Deviation between PSP and numerical simulation is within 5%. However, the effect of the setup of the light source should be taken into account to address the relative error.

Keywords: pressure sensitive paint, forebody, surface pressure, compressible flow

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Authors: Arth Bohra, Marwa Mahmoud

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In this paper, we utilize computer vision to develop a tool for youth coaches to formulate set-piece tactics for their players. We used the Soccernet database to extract the ResNet features and camera calibration data for over 3000 corner kick across 500 professional matches in the top 6 European leagues (English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Ligue 1, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga). Leveraging the provided homography matrix, we construct a feature vector representing the formation of players on these corner kicks. Additionally, labeling the videos manually, we obtained the pass-trajectory of each of the 3000+ corner kicks by segmenting the field into four zones. Next, after determining the localization of the players and ball, we used event data to give the corner kicks a rating on a 1-4 scale. By employing a Convolutional Neural Network, our model managed to predict the success of a corner kick given the formations of players. This suggests that with the right formations, teams can optimize the way they approach corner kicks. By understanding this, we can help coaches formulate set-piece tactics for their own teams in order to maximize the success of their play. The proposed model can be easily extended; our method could be applied to even more game situations, from free kicks to counterattacks. This research project also gives insight into the myriad of possibilities that artificial intelligence possesses in transforming the domain of sports.

Keywords: soccer, corner kicks, AI, computer vision

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Authors: T. Hari Prasath, P. Ithaya Rani

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In the world of visual technology, recognizing emotions from the face images is a challenging task. Several related methods have not utilized the dynamic facial features effectively for high performance. This paper proposes a method for emotions recognition using dynamic facial features with high performance. Initially, local features are captured by Gabor filter with different scale and orientations in each frame for finding the position and scale of face part from different backgrounds. The Gabor features are sent to the ensemble classifier for detecting Gabor facial features. The region of dynamic features is captured from the Gabor facial features in the consecutive frames which represent the dynamic variations of facial appearances. In each region of dynamic features is normalized using Z-score normalization method which is further encoded into binary pattern features with the help of threshold values. The binary features are passed to Multi-class AdaBoost classifier algorithm with the well-trained database contain happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust, and neutral expressions to classify the discriminative dynamic features for emotions recognition. The developed method is deployed on the Ryerson Multimedia Research Lab and Cohn-Kanade databases and they show significant performance improvement owing to their dynamic features when compared with the existing methods.

Keywords: detecting face, Gabor filter, multi-class AdaBoost classifier, Z-score normalization

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Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, Huda Mazeed, Eman Saad

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The study aims to identify the extent of the effectiveness of the artistic formation program using some types of pastes to reduce the hyperactivity of the kindergarten child. The researcher has discussed the effectiveness of the artistic program using some types of pastes in reducing the hyperactivity of the kindergarten child. The research sample included 120 children of ages between 5 to 6 years old from the five schools for special needs section learning disability, Cairo Province. The study used the empirical like curriculum which depends on designing one group using the before and after application measurement for the group to validate the fidelity of both the hypothesis and the effectiveness of the program. The variables of the study were specified as follows; artistic formation program using paper Mache as an independent variable and its effect on skills of kindergarten child with learning disabilities as a subsequent variable. The researchers depended on applying a group of artistic formation program using pulp melding skills for kindergarten children with learning disabilities. The tools of the study, designed by the researcher, included: recording card used for recording the Effective program using pulp molding skills for kindergarten children with learning disabilities during practicing the artistic formation activity. In additional, there was a program using pulp molding skills for kindergarten children with learning disabilities. The results proved the effectiveness of the program using pulp molding skills for kindergarten children with learning disabilities.

Keywords: artistic program, developing skills, kindergarten, children, learning disabilities

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Authors: Hossam E. Emam

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The functional textiles development history in the military field could be ascribed as a uniquely interesting research topic. Soldiers are like a high-performance athletes, where monitoring their physical and physiological capabilities is a vital requirement. Functional clothes represent a “second skin” that has a close, “intimate” relationship with the human body. For the application of textiles in military purposes, which is normally required in difficult weather and environmental conditions, several functions are required. The requirements for designing functional military textiles for soldier's protection can be categorized into three categories; i) battle field (protection from chemical warfare agents, flames, and thermal radiation), ii) environmental (water proof, air permeable, UV-protection, antibacterial), iii) physiological (minimize heat stress, low weight, insulative, durability). All of these requirements are important, but the means to fulfill these requirements are not simple and straight forward. Additionally, the combination of more than one function is reported to be very expensive and requires many complicated steps, and the final product is found to be low durability. Not only do all of these requirements are overlapping, but they are also contradicting each other at various levels. Thus, we plan to produce multi-functional textiles (e.g., anti-microbial, UV-protection, fire retardant, photoluminescent) to be applied in military clothes. The current project aims to use quite a simple and applicable technique through the modification of textiles with different coordination polymers and functionalized coordination polymers.

Keywords: functional textiles, military clothes, coordination polymers, antimicrobial, fire retardant, photolumenscent

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Authors: Shiuh-Jer Huang, Chen-Zon Yan, C. K. Huang, Chun-Chien Ting

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Since the vision system application in industrial environment for autonomous purposes is required intensely, the image recognition technique becomes an important research topic. Here, deep learning algorithm is employed in image system to recognize the industrial object and integrate with a 7A6 Series Manipulator for object automatic gripping task. PC and Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) are chosen to construct the 3D Vision Recognition System. Depth Camera (Intel RealSense SR300) is employed to extract the image for object recognition and coordinate derivation. The YOLOv2 scheme is adopted in Convolution neural network (CNN) structure for object classification and center point prediction. Additionally, image processing strategy is used to find the object contour for calculating the object orientation angle. Then, the specified object location and orientation information are sent to robotic controller. Finally, a six-axis manipulator can grasp the specific object in a random environment based on the user command and the extracted image information. The experimental results show that YOLOv2 has been successfully employed to detect the object location and category with confidence near 0.9 and 3D position error less than 0.4 mm. It is useful for future intelligent robotic application in industrial 4.0 environment.

Keywords: deep learning, image processing, convolution neural network, YOLOv2, 7A6 series manipulator

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Authors: Mohammad Al-Dawoody

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This study aims at exploring if priming is affected by gender in Modern Standard Arabic and if it is restricted solely to subjects with no specific language impairment (SLI). The sample in this study consists of 74 subjects, between the ages of 11;1 and 11;10, distributed into (a) 2 SLI experimental groups of 38 subjects divided into two gender groups of 18 females and 20 males and (b) 2 non-SLI control groups of 36 subjects divided into two gender groups of 17 females and 19 males. Employing a mixed research design, the researcher conducted this study within the framework of the relevance theory (RT) whose main assumption is that human beings are endowed with a biological ability to magnify the relevance of the incoming stimuli. Each of the four groups was given two different priming stimuli: audio-visual priming (T1) and syntactic priming (T2). The results showed that the priming effect was sheer distinct among SLI participants especially when retrieving typical responses (TR) in T1 and T2 with slight superiority of males over females. The results also revealed that non-SLI females showed stronger original response (OR) priming in T1 than males and that non-SLI males in T2 excelled in OR priming than females. Furthermore, the results suggested that the audio-visual priming has a stronger effect on SLI females than non-SLI females and that syntactic priming seems to have the same effect on the two groups (non-SLI and SLI females). The conclusion is that the priming effect varies according to gender and is not confined merely to non-SLI subjects.

Keywords: specific language impairment, relevance theory, audio-visual priming, syntactic priming, modern standard Arabic

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Authors: Xuan Sun, Mingbo Tong

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In order to study the effect of hydrothermal environment on the fatigue properties of carbon fiber fabric composites, the experiments on fatigue and residual compressive strength with the center-hole laminates were carried out. For the experiments on fatigue in hydrothermal environment, an environmental chamber used for hydrothermal environment was designed, and the FLUENT was used to simulate the field of temperature in the environmental chamber, it proved that the design met the test requirements. In accordance with ASTM standard, the fatigue test fixture and compression test fixture were designed and produced. Then the tension-compression fatigue tests were carried out in conditions of standard environment (temperature of 23+2℃, relative humidity of 50+/-5%RH) and hydrothermal environment (temperature of 70 +2℃, relative humidity of 85+/-5%RH). After that, the residual compressive strength tests were carried out, respectively. The residual compressive strength after fatigue in condition of standard environment was set as a reference value, compared with the value in condition of hydrothermal environment, calculating the difference between them. According to the result of residual compressive strength tests, it shows that the residual compressive strength after fatigue in condition of hydrothermal environment was decreased by 13.5%,so the hydrothermal environment has little effect on the residual compressive strength of carbon fiber fabric composites laminates after fatigue under load spectrum in this research.

Keywords: carbon fiber, hydrothermal environment, fatigue, residual compressive strength

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Authors: Vladimir Kulyukin, Tanwir Zaman, Sarat Kiran Andhavarapu

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Research on nutrition label use identifies four factors that impede comprehension and retention of nutrition information by consumers: label’s location on the package, presentation of information within the label, label’s surface size, and surrounding visual clutter. In this paper, a system is presented that makes nutrition label use more effective for nutrition information comprehension and retention. The system’s front end is a smartphone application. The system’s back end is a four node Linux cluster for image recognition and data storage. Image frames captured on the smartphone are sent to the back end for skewed or aligned barcode recognition. When barcodes are recognized, corresponding nutrition labels are retrieved from a cloud database and presented to the user on the smartphone’s touchscreen. Each displayed nutrition label is positioned centrally on the touchscreen with no surrounding visual clutter. Wikipedia links to important nutrition terms are embedded to improve comprehension and retention of nutrition information. Standard touch gestures (e.g., zoom in/out) available on mainstream smartphones are used to manipulate the label’s surface size. The nutrition label database currently includes 200,000 nutrition labels compiled from public web sites by a custom crawler. Stress test experiments with the node cluster are presented. Implications for proactive nutrition management and food policy are discussed.

Keywords: mobile computing, cloud computing, nutrition label use, nutrition management, barcode scanning

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Authors: Kusuma Urs M. B., Navakant Bhat, Vinayak B. Kamble

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Metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) are known to be excellent candidates for solid-state gas sensor devices. However, in spite of high sensitivities, their high operating temperatures and lack of selectivity is a big concern limiting their practical applications. A lot of research has been devoted so far to enhance their sensitivity and selectivity, often empirically. Some of the promising routes to achieve the same are reducing dimensionality and formation of heterostructures. These heterostructures offer improved sensitivity, selectivity even at relatively low operating temperatures compared to bare metal oxides. Thus, a combination of n-type and p-type metal oxides leads to the formation of p-n junction at the interface resulting in the diffusion of the carriers across the barrier along with the surface adsorption. In order to achieve this and to study their sensing mechanism, we have designed and lithographically fabricated a suspended nanobeam of NiO, which is a p-type semiconductor. The response of the same has been studied for various gases and is found to exhibit selective response towards hydrogen gas at room temperature. Further, the same has been radially coated with TiO₂ shell of varying thicknesses, in order to study the effect of radial p-n junction thus formed. Subsequently, efforts have been made to study the effect of shell thickness on the space charge region and to shed some light on the basic mechanism involved in gas sensing of MOS sensors.

Keywords: gas sensing, heterostructure, metal oxide semiconductor, space charge region

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Authors: Ryotaro Ishikawa

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Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is marked by the persistent fear of social or performance situations in which embarrassment may occur. In contrast, SA in Japan and in China is understood differently. Taijin Kyofusho (TKS) is a culture-bound subtype of SAD which has been the focus of recent research. TKS refers to a unique form of SAD found in Japanese and East Asian cultures characterized by a fear of offending others, in contrast to prototypical SAD in which the source of fear is typically concerned about one’s own embarrassment, humiliation, or rejection by others. Criteria for TKS partially overlap with but are distinct from SAD; a primary factor distinguishing TKS from SAD appears to be individualistic versus interdependent or collectivistic self-construals. The aim of this study was to develop a scale to assess the typical SAD and offensive type of SAD (TKS). This study aimed to test the internal consistency and validity of the scale (Dimensional Social Anxiety Scale: DSAS) using university students sample. For this, 148 university students were enrolled (male=90, female=58, age=19.77, Standard Deviation=1.04). As a result of confirmatory factor analysis, three-factor models of DSAS were verified (χ2(74) =128.36). These three factors were named ‘general’, ‘perfomance’, and ‘offensive’. DSAS were significantly correlated with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (r = .538, p < .001). Good internal consistencies were indicated on the three subscales (α = .76 to 89). In conclusion, this study indicated DSAS has adequate internal consistency and validity for assessing of multi-type of SADs.

Keywords: social anxiety, cognitive theory, assessment, anxiety disorder

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Authors: Hye Lin Yang, Clifton R. Emery

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of intimate partner violence on child abuse, whether patriarchal attitude and informal social control moderate the relationship between intimate partner violence and child abuse. This study was conducted with data from The Seoul Families and Neighborhoods Study (SFNS). The SFNS is a representative random probability 3-stage cluster sample of 541 cohabiting couples in Seoul, South Korea collected in 2012. To verify research models, Random effect analysis were used. All analyses were performed using the Stata program. Results: Crucial findings are the following. First, intimate partner violence showed a significantly positive relationship with Child abuse. Second, there are significant moderating effects of informal social control on intimate partner violence - child abuse. Third, there are significant moderating effects of patriarchal attitude on intimate partner violence - child abuse. In other words, Patriarchal attitude is a significant risk factor of child abuse and informal social control is a significant Protection factor of child abuse. Based on results, the policy and practical implications for preventing child abuse, promoting informal social control were discussed.

Keywords: Intimate partner violence, child abuse, informal social control, patriarchal attitude

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Authors: Byoungjoon Yu, Jihwan Park, Sujung Sin, Junghyun Im, Minsoo Park, Sehwan Park, Seunghee Park

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In this paper, we propose a technology to monitor the soundness of an Internet-based bridge using a non-conductive inspection function. There has been a collapse accident due to the aging of the bridge structure, and it is necessary to prepare for the deterioration of the bridge. The NDT/SHM system for maintenance of existing bridge structures requires a large number of inspection personnel and expensive inspection costs, and access of expensive and large equipment to measurement points is required. Because current drone inspection equipment can only be inspected through camera, it is difficult to inspect inside damage accurately, and the results of an internal damage evaluation are subjective, and it is difficult for non-specialists to recognize the evaluation results. Therefore, it is necessary to develop NDT/SHM techniques for maintenance of new-concept bridge structures that allow for free movement and real-time evaluation of measurement results. This work is financially supported by Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) as 'Smart City Master and Doctor Course Grant Program' and a grant (14SCIP-B088624-01) from Construction Technology Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Keywords: Structural Health Monitoring, SHM, non-contact sensing, nondestructive testing, NDT, Internet of Things, autonomous self-driving drone

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Authors: W. Wararam, K. Angchanpen, T. Pattamapitoon, K. Chunkao, O. Phewnil, M. Srichomphu, T. Jinjaruk

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The research focused on the efficiency for treating high organic wastewater from pla-som production process by anaerobic tanks, oxidation ponds and constructed wetland treatment systems (APCW). The combined system consisted of 50-mm plastic screen, five 5.8 m3 oil-grease trap tanks (2-day hydraulic retention time; HRT), four 4.3 m3 anaerobic tanks (1-day HRT), 16.7 m3 oxidation pond no.1 (7-day HRT), 12.0 m3 oxidation pond no.2 (3-day HRT), and 8.2 m3 constructed wetland plot (1-day HRT). After washing fresh raw fishes, they were sliced in small pieces and were converted into ground fish meat by blender machine. The fish meat was rinsed for 8 rounds: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 by tap water and 4 and 8 by rice-wash-water, before mixing with salt, garlic, steamed rice and monosodium glutamate, followed by plastic wrapping for 72-hour of edibility. During pla-som production processing, the rinsed wastewater about 5 m3/day was fed to the treatment systems and fully stagnating storage in its components. The result found that, 1) percentage of treatment efficiency for BOD, COD, TDS and SS were 93, 95, 32 and 98 respectively, 2) the treatment was conducted with 500-kg raw fishes along with full equipment of high organic wastewater treatment systems, 3) the trend of the treatment efficiency and quantity in all indicators was similarly processed and 4) the small pieces of fish meat and fish blood were needed more than 3-day HRT in anaerobic digestion process.

Keywords: organic substance, Pla-Som family industry, wastewater, APCW system

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Authors: Mahmood Al Ramahi, G. Keszthelyi-Szabo, S. Beszedes

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Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a thermochemical reaction that utilizes saturated water and vapor pressure to convert waste biomass to C-rich products This work evaluated the effect of HTC as a pre- and post-treatment technique to anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy sludge, as information in this field is still in its infancy, with many research and methodological gaps. HTC effect was evaluated based on energy recovery, nutrients transformation, and sludge biodegradability. The first treatment approach was executed by applying hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) under a range of temperatures, prior to mesophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) of dairy sludge. Results suggested an optimal pretreatment temperature at 210 °C for 30 min. HTC pretreatment increased methane yield and chemical oxygen demand removal. The theoretical model based on Boyle’s equation had a very close match with the experimental results. On the other hand, applying HTC subsequent to AD increased total energy production, as additional energy yield was obtained by the solid fuel (hydrochar) beside the produced biogas. Furthermore, hydrothermal carbonization of AD digestate generated liquid products (HTC digestate) with improved chemical characteristics suggesting their use as liquid fertilizers.

Keywords: hydrothermal carbonization, anaerobic digestion, energy balance, sludge biodegradability, biogas

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Authors: Sun Gang

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A variety of functional spaces are distributed on the vast mountain waterfront. Their functional positioning presents a spontaneous form of settlement space, and the construction features show a passive impact on the natural environment. As the precious heritage of inheriting human civilization and promoting historical culture, the traditional settlement space in mountainous areas is also the local expression of landscape pattern pattern gene. Under the impact of rapid urban construction and the stimulation of the transformation of social consumption demand, the original texture, scale and ecology of the traditional mountain settlement space, especially the historical and cultural settlement space, have been affected, and the decline of characteristics hinders the development. This paper selects Anju Ancient Town, the fourth largest ancient city in China, which is located in the city of mountains and waters as the research object, and combines spatial analysis and other methods to study the characteristics and causes of its spatial morphology, analyze the internal logic in its formation and development process, build a genetic analysis map, explore the possibility of settlement inheritance and development, and provide reference for the construction, protection and inheritance of traditional mountain settlements.

Keywords: mountain traditional settlement, historical and cultural settlement space, spatial form, spatial gene

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Authors: Gina Zavaleta-Espejo, Segundo R. Jáuregui-Rosas, Fanny V. Samanamud-Moreno, José Saldaña Jiménez, Anibal Felix-Quintero, Víctor Montero-Del Aguila, Elsi Mejía-Uriarte

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Vicugnapacos "alpaca" fabrics are considered special for their finesse, and the garments in the textile market are very luxurious. It has many special characteristics such as antiallergic, soft, hygroscopic, among others. In this sense, the research aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of alpaca fabrics functionalized with silver nanoparticles on the bacteria Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923. For the functionalization of the fabrics, AgNO3 and different concentrations of trisodium citrate (TSC) 2, 6, and 10 mg. Tissue characterization was performed using Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The determination of the antimicrobial activity of the alpaca tissues was made by the Kirby-Bauer method with alpaca tissue discs functionalized with silver nanoparticles, an experimental design was made in completely randomized blocks with three treatments and a negative control with three repetitions. The results showed that inhibition halos were formed for both bacteria, therefore, the functionalized tissues have a high antimicrobial activity, whose mechanism of action is attributed to the free radicals (ROS) generated by the nanoparticles that cause oxidative damage to the bacteria. proteins and lipids of the bacterial cell wall.

Keywords: antimicrobial, animal fibers, fabrics, functionalization, trisodium citrate

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Authors: Jing Zhao, Dayong Liu, Shihao Wang, Xinghua Zhu, Delong Li

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Uhumanned Underwater Vehicles generally operate in the deep sea, which has its own unique working conditions. Lithium-ion power batteries should have the necessary stability and endurance for use as an underwater vehicle’s power source. Therefore, it is essential to accurately forecast how long lithium-ion batteries will last in order to maintain the system’s reliability and safety. In order to model and forecast lithium battery Remaining Useful Life (RUL), this research suggests a model based on Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive noise-Temporal Convolutional Net (CEEMDAN-TCN). In this study, two datasets, NASA and CALCE, which have a specific gap in capacity data fluctuation, are used to verify the model and examine the experimental results in order to demonstrate the generalizability of the concept. The experiments demonstrate the network structure’s strong universality and ability to achieve good fitting outcomes on the test set for various battery dataset types. The evaluation metrics reveal that the CEEMDAN-TCN prediction performance of TCN is 25% to 35% better than that of a single neural network, proving that feature expansion and modal decomposition can both enhance the model’s generalizability and be extremely useful in industrial settings.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery, remaining useful life, complete EEMD with adaptive noise, temporal convolutional net

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Authors: Klaudia Gołębiowska

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This article analyzes the actions of Poland's ruling party facing two refugee crises. These crises emerged almost one after the other within a few months. The first concerned irregular migrants from various countries, including the Middle East, seeking to cross the Polish border from the territory of Belarus. The second was caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I aim to show the evolution of the discourse and law towards immigrants and refugees by the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS, ang. Law and Justice), which has been in power in Poland since 2015. The authorities, in power since 2015, have radically changed its anti-immigrant discourse towards the exodus of civilians from Ukraine. Research questions are the following: What were the roots of the refugee crises in Poland in 2021 and 2022? What legal or illegal measures were taken in Poland to deal with the refugee crises? The methods of qualitative source analysis and process tracing. From the first days of the war in Ukraine, not only was aid organised for Ukrainians, but they were also given access to public services and education. All refugees were granted temporary international protection. At the same time, the basic physiological needs of those on the Polish-Belarusian border were ignored. Moreover, illegal pushbacks were used against those coming mainly from the Middle East, pushing them into the territory of Belarus, where they were often subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. The Polish government justified such treatment on the grounds that these people were part of a 'hybrid war' waged by Russia and Belarus using migrants. Only Ukrainians were treated as 'real' refugees in the analyzed crises at the Polish borders.

Keywords: refugee, irregular migrants, hybrid war, migrants

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Authors: Neveen Ali-Saleh Darawsha

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Exposure to community violence (CV) is alarmingly high and emphasizes negative consequences. The present study examines the rates and consequences of exposure to community violence, among Palestinian adolescents from Israel, age ranged 14-18. Specifically, it examines whether exposure to community violence is indirectly related to academic achievement through internalizing and externalizing symptoms among adolescents; and whether the indirect effects of exposure to CV and academic achievements will differ when the parents have different levels of psychological well-being. Method: Semi systematic random sample of 760 Palestinian adolescents in Israel, (320 boys, and 440 girls) filled out a self-administration questionnaire. Most of the adolescents had witnessed community violence during the last year and during their lifetime, and more than one third had directly experienced such violence during lifetime compared with 19.6% during the last year. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the indirect effects of exposure to CV and academic achievement. Results revealed that externalizing symptoms mediated the association between exposure to CV and academic achievement. There were no indirect effects through internalizing symptoms. Moreover, parental psychological well-being moderated the indirect effects between externalizing symptoms and academic achievements. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of targeting externalizing symptoms for adolescents that could improve their behaviors and also their academic achievements as well. limitations of the study, implications for the practice and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Keywords: community violence, witnessing violence, direct personal experiencing, academic achievement, psychological well-being, Palestinian adolescents

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Authors: Mohamed Muse Hassan

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Selling through the Internet is changing the norms of doing business globally. Today, selling and buying from the Internet is not only an option but the dominant form of shopping. But, this phenomenon is not thriving in the developing countries, mainly in Africa. Therefore, although previous studies focused on the e-retailers’ side, this study investigates the effect of consumer trust and online payment options on the awareness and perception of e-commerce in Africa. We developed a five-construct model and empirically tested the model by targeting professionals and college students who reside in Somalia. We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) technique for path analysis to probe answers for the variables under study. The main findings of the study show that there is significant evidence that online payment option impacts both the awareness level and perception of e-commerce in Somalia. Consumer trust was also found to determine both the awareness and perception of online shopping in the country. Moreover, the current global payment options available ignore local technologies popular in Africa. For example, the inclusion of a mobile payment option alone would make a big difference in Africa. The paper also determined that consumer trust toward online retailers is very low and this can be solved if consumers are given assurances for their financial transactions. The paper concludes that increased online payment options are needed in Somalia and, in Africa, in general. Limitations and further research suggestions are also included at the end of this paper.

Keywords: Africa, consumer trust, e-commerce, online payment

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Authors: Satyananda Patra, Venugopal Rayasam

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The quality of pellets produced is affected by quality and type of green pellets, amount of addition of binders and fluxing agents along with the provided firing conditions. The green pellet quality depends upon chemistry, mineralogy and granulometry of fines used for pellet making, the feed size, its moisture content and porosity. During firing of green pellets, ingredients present within reacts to form different phases and microstructure. So in turn, physical and metallurgical properties of pellets are influenced by amount and type of binder and flux addition, induration time and temperature. During iron making process, the metallurgical properties of fired pellets are decided by the type and amount of these phases and their chemistry. Green pelletizing and induration studies have been already carried out with magnetite and hematite ore fines but for Indian iron ores of high alumina content showing different pelletizing characters, these studies cannot be directly interpreted. The main objective of proposed research work is to understand the green pelletizing process and determine the water bentonite interaction at different levels. Swelling behavior of bentonite and microstructure of the green pellet are investigated. Conversion of iron ore fines into pellets, the key raw material and process variables that influence the pellet quality needs to be identified and a correlation should be established between them.

Keywords: iron ore, pelletization, binders, green pellets, microstructure

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Authors: Basem Kamal Abasakhiroun Farag

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Fashion, like many other areas of design, has undergone numerous developments over the centuries. The aim of the article is to recognize and evaluate the importance of advanced technologies in fashion design and to examine how they are transforming the role of contemporary fashion designers by transforming the creative process. It also discusses how contemporary culture is involved in such developments and how it influences fashion design in terms of conceptualization and production. The methodology used is based on examining various examples of the use of technology in fashion design and drawing parallels between what was feasible then and what is feasible today. Comparison of case studies, examples of existing fashion designs and experiences with craft methods; We therefore observe patterns that help us predict the direction of future developments in this area. Discussing the technological elements in fashion design helps us understand the driving force behind the trend. The research presented in the article shows that there is a trend towards significantly increasing interest and progress in the field of fashion technology, leading to the emergence of hybrid artisanal methods. In summary, as fashion technologies advance, their role in clothing production is becoming increasingly important, extending far beyond the humble sewing machine.

Keywords: fashion, identity, such, textiles ambient intelligence, proximity sensors, shape memory materials, sound sensing garments, wearable technology bio textiles, fashion trends, nano textiles, new materials, smart textiles, techno textiles fashion design, functional aesthetics, 3D printing.

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Authors: Dina L. DiSantis

Abstract:

Development and implementation of a place-based watershed science course for high school students will prove to be a valuable experience for both student and teacher. By having students study and assess the watershed dynamics of a local stream, they will better understand how human activities affect this valuable resource. It is important that students gain tangible skills that will help them to have an understanding of water quality analysis and the importance of preserving our Earth's water systems. Having students participate in real world practices is the optimal learning environment and can offer students a genuine learning experience, by cultivating a knowledge of place, while promoting education for sustainability. Additionally, developing a watershed science course for high school students will give them a hands-on approach to studying science; which is both beneficial and more satisfying to students. When students conduct their own research, collect and analyze data, they will be intimately involved in addressing water quality issues and solving critical water quality problems. By providing students with activities that take place outside the confines of the indoor classroom, you give them the opportunity to gain an appreciation of the natural world. Placed-based learning provides students with problem-solving skills in everyday situations while enhancing skills of inquiry. An overview of a place-based watershed science course and its impact on student learning will be presented.

Keywords: education for sustainability, place-based learning, watershed science, water quality

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Authors: Aïssa Rezzoug

Abstract:

This paper is aimed to bring new elements that demonstrate the tide caused the groundwater to rise in the shoreline band, on which the urban areas occurs, especially in the western coastal cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia like Jeddah. The reason for the last events of Jeddah inundation was the groundwater rise in the city coupled at the same time to a strong precipitation event. This paper will illustrate the tide participation in increasing the groundwater level significantly. It shows that the reason for internal groundwater recharge within the urban area is not only the excess of the water supply coming from surrounding areas, due to the human activity, with lack of sufficient and efficient sewage system, but also due to tide effect. The research study follows a quantitative method to assess groundwater level rise risks through many in-situ measurements and mathematical modelling. The proposed approach highlights groundwater level, in the urban areas of the city on the shoreline band, reaching the high tide level without considering any input from precipitation. Despite the small tide in the Red Sea compared to other oceanic coasts, the groundwater level is considerably enhanced by the tide from the seaside and by the freshwater table from the landside of the city. In these conditions, the groundwater level becomes high in the city and prevents the soil to evacuate quickly enough the surface flow caused by the storm event, as it was observed in the last historical flood catastrophe of Jeddah in 2009.

Keywords: flood, groundwater rise, Jeddah, tide

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Authors: Minaj Ranjita Singh, Meghna Mukherjee, Abhijeet Jadhav

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This is an exploratory qualitative study with an objective to understand the bathing practices followed by rural women and its consequences. Access to safe bathing spaces in rural India is a neglected issue due to which women are affected in various ways. Today, government policies are largely focused towards the building of toilets, but no importance has been given to the construction of bathrooms. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected using in-depth interviews and focused group discussions with rural women in six villages of Odisha, India. The study was approved by an Institutional Research and Ethics Committee, and informed consent was taken from participants. For most of the participants, the access to water, bathing space and toilet was compromised posing various challenges in their daily lives. Women's daily schedule, hygiene practices, dignity, and health are greatly affected due to this lack. Since bathing in the open has been an ancient practice, the community's perception is benign towards the hardship of women. Lack of exposure to concealed bathing, necessary funds, and competing priorities are some of the household level factors which never let them think about having bathrooms and the lack of water supply, proper drainage system, subsidy or financial support are the governance and policy related factors which prevent their access to secured bathing spaces.

Keywords: bathrooms, dignity, exploratory, rural, qualitative, women's health, women

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Authors: Mangaka C. Matoetoe, Fredrick O. Okumu

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Metal nanoparticles have attracted a great interest in scientific research and industrial applications, owing to their unique large surface area-to-volume ratios and quantum-size effects. Supported metal nanoparticles play a pivotal role in areas such as nanoelectronics, energy storage and as catalysts for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. Monometallics (Ag, Pt) and Silver-platinum (Ag-Pt) bimetallic (BM) nanoparticles (NPs) with a mole fraction (1:1) were prepared by reduction / co-reduction of hexachloroplatinate and silver nitrate with sodium citrate. The kinetics of the nanoparticles formation was monitored using UV-visible spectrophotometry. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used for size, film morphology as well as elemental composition study. Fast reduction processes was noted in Ag NPs (0.079 s-1) and Ag-Pt NPs 1:1 (0.082 s-1) with exception of Pt NPs (0.006 s-1) formation. The UV-visible spectra showed characteristic peaks in Ag NPs while the Pt NPs and Ag-Pt NPs 1:1 had no observable absorption peaks. UV visible spectra confirmed chemical reduction resulting to formation of NPs while TEM images depicted core-shell arrangement in the Ag-Pt NPs 1:1 with particle size of 20 nm. Monometallic Ag and Pt NPs reported particle sizes of 60 nm and 2.5 nm respectively. The particle size distribution in the BM NPs was found to directly depend on the concentration of Pt NPs around the Ag core. EDX elemental composition analysis of the nanoparticle suspensions confirmed presence of the Ag and Pt in the Ag-Pt NPs 1:1. All the spectroscopic analysis confirmed the successful formation of the nanoparticles.

Keywords: kinetics, morphology, nanoparticles, platinum, silver

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Authors: E. Montesinos-Pedro, L. G. Toscano-Flores, N. Domínguez-Ramírez

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Water scarcity is a worldwide issue, coupled with climate change is a relevant problem, that affect not only large cities, but also rural areas. The Municipality of Santiago Tilantongo belongs to the district of Nochixtlán Oaxaca, it’s built up from 14 communities, one of them San Martin de las Palmas. This community was founded in 1900, at that time the inhabitants were supplied with water through rivers of the region which were abundant (they used containers filled in the river for that purpose); However, over the years the level of the rivers began to drop and in 1994 specific wells were located to store water and at the same time make it drinkable, this whit support of the state of Oaxaca and the program Procampo. By the year 2000 the shortage of water in the supply sources was notorious, the community requested support from the Oaxaca State government to solve the problem. The government’s response consisted in the implementation of ferro-cement tanks (2005) and water wells (2010), both for rainwater collection, Hower, it was not enough. Now days the community has a population of 60 inhabitants who have resisted and adapted to water scarcity, not only with the programs implemented by the government, but they also have implemented important structural analysis strategies. The objective of this research is to know the adaptation strategies used by the community to analyze them and propose improvements for water conservation and mitigation of this scarcity.

Keywords: adaptation, climate change, mitigation, resiliencia

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Authors: Anne Mette Nyvad, Ken Ramshøj Christensen

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In the syntax literature, it has standardly been assumed that relative clauses and complement wh-clauses are islands for extraction in English, and that constraints on extraction from syntactic islands are universal. However, the Mainland Scandinavian languages has been known to provide counterexamples. Previous research on Danish has shown that neither relative clauses nor embedded questions are strong islands in Danish. Instead, extraction from this type of syntactic environment is degraded due to structural complexity and it interacts with nonstructural factors such as the frequency of occurrence of the matrix verb, the possibility of temporary misanalysis leading to semantic incongruity and exposure over time. We argue that these facts can be accounted for with parametric variation in the availability of CP-recursion, resulting in the patterns observed, as Danish would then “suspend” the ban on movement out of relative clauses and embedded questions. Given that Danish does not seem to adhere to allegedly universal syntactic constraints, such as the Complex NP Constraint and the Wh-Island Constraint, what happens in L2 English? We present results from a study investigating how native Danish speakers judge extractions from island structures in L2 English. Our findings suggest that Danes transfer their native language parameter setting when asked to judge island constructions in English. This is compatible with the Full Transfer Full Access Hypothesis, as the latter predicts that Danish would have difficulties resetting their [+/- CP-recursion] parameter in English because they are not exposed to negative evidence.

Keywords: syntax, islands, second language acquisition, danish

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