Search results for: regional innovation strategy

Authors: Gonzalez Carlos, Martinez Fransisco

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There are various types of analysis that allow us to involve seismic phenomena that cause strong requirements for structures that are designed by society; one of them is a probabilistic analysis which works from prediction equations that have been created based on metadata seismic compiled in different regions. These equations form models that are used to describe the 5% damped pseudo spectra response for the various zones considering some easily known input parameters. The biggest problem for the creation of these models requires data with great robust statistics that support the results, and there are several places where this type of information is not available, for which the use of alternative methodologies helps to achieve adjustments to different models of seismic prediction.

Keywords: GMPM, 5% damped pseudo-response spectra, models of seismic prediction, PSHA

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Authors: Nynke de Jong, Inge G. P. Duimel-Peeters

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The flipped classroom as an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, off- and online, in- and outside the classroom, has been implemented in a 4-weeks module focusing on ageing in Europe at the Maastricht University. The main aim regarding the organization of this module was implementing flipped classroom-principles in order to create meaningful learning opportunities, while educational technologies are used to deliver content outside of the classroom. Technologies used in this module were an online interactive real time lecture from England, two interactive face-to-face lectures with visual supports, one group session including role plays and team-based learning meetings. The cohort of 2015-2016, using educational technologies, was compared with the cohort of 2014-2015 on module evaluation such as organization and instructiveness of the module, who studied the same content, although conforming the problem-based educational strategy, i.e. educational base of the Maastricht University. The cohort of 2015-2016 with its specific organization, was also more profound evaluated on outcomes as (1) experienced duration of the lecture by students, (2) experienced content of the lecture, (3) experienced the extent of the interaction and (4) format of lecturing. It was important to know how students reflected on duration and content taken into account their background knowledge so far, in order to distinguish between sufficient enough regarding prior knowledge and therefore challenging or not fitting into the course. For the evaluation, a structured online questionnaire was used, whereby above mentioned topics were asked for to evaluate by scoring them on a 4-point Likert scale. At the end, there was room for narrative feedback so that interviewees could express more in detail, if they wanted, what they experienced as good or not regarding the content of the module and its organization parts. Eventually, the response rate of the evaluation was lower than expected (54%), however, due to written feedback and exam scores, we dare to state that it gives a good and reliable overview that encourages to work further on it. Probably, the response rate may be explained by the fact that resit students were included as well, and that there maybe is too much evaluation as some time points in the program. However, overall students were excited about the organization and content of the module, but the level of self-directed behavior, necessary for this kind of educational strategy, was too low. They need to be more trained in self-directness, therefore the module will be simplified in 2016-2017 with more clear and fewer topics and extra guidance (step by step procedure). More specific information regarding the used technologies will be explained at the congress, as well as the outcomes (min and max rankings, mean and standard deviation).

Keywords: blended learning, flipped classroom, public health, self-directness

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Authors: Leyi Wang

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The effect of religion on conflicts is usually over-focused. Religion is not the root cause of conflicts. There are always social, political or economic factors pushing the acceleration of conflicts. Meanwhile, the charisma of religion on calling for adherents is often utilized by political leaders as a tool of providing legitimacy to the initiating of violence and mobilizing the public during conflicts. What people identify from the connections between religion and conflicts is fake. There are some strategies used by politicians to upgrade the conflicts into violence. Consequently, there are some assumptions of which try to limit the religion’s effects on accelerating conflicts. This essay aims to discuss the roles of religion in international relations and argues that the religion difference is not the real source of conflicts in the globe, by reviewing the relevant literature for understanding the research background and gap of this topic. Also, this essay will suggest some implementations on dealing with the regional conflicts.

Keywords: religion, conflicts, criticism, international relations

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Authors: Bhargavi G. Iyer, Ojaswi Bhagat

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It is often noted that the value of a novel idea lies in its successful implementation. However, successful implementation requires the nurturing and encouragement of innovation. Nascent competitors are a true representation of innovation in any given industry. A nascent competitor is an entity whose prospective innovation poses a future threat to an incumbent dominant competitor. While a nascent competitor benefits in several ways, it is also exposed significantly and is at greater risk of facing the brunt of exclusionary practises and abusive conduct by dominant incumbent competitors in the industry. This research paper aims to explore the risks and threats faced by nascent competitors and analyse the benefits they accrue as well as the advantages they proffer to the economy; through an analytical, critical study. In such competitive market environments, a rise of the acquisitions of nascent competitors by the incumbent dominants is observed. Therefore, this paper will examine the dynamics of nascent acquisition. Further, this paper hopes to specifically delve into the role of antitrust bodies in regulating nascent acquisition. This paper also aspires to deal with the question how to distinguish harmful from harmless acquisitions in order to facilitate ideal enforcement practice. This paper proposes mechanisms of scrutiny in order to ensure healthy market practises and efficient merger control in the context of nascent acquisitions. Taking into account the scope and nature of the topic, as well as the resources available and accessible, a combination of the methods of doctrinal research and analytical research were employed, utilising secondary sources in order to assess and analyse the subject of research. While legally evaluating the Killer Acquisition theory and the Nascent Potential Acquisition theory, this paper seeks to critically survey the precedents and instances of nascent acquisitions. In addition to affording a compendious account of the legislative framework and regulatory mechanisms in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union; it hopes to suggest an internationally practicable legal foundation for domestic legislation and enforcement to adopt. This paper hopes to appreciate the complexities and uncertainties with respect to nascent acquisitions and attempts to suggest viable and plausible policy measures in antitrust law. It additionally attempts to examine the effects of such nascent acquisitions upon the consumer and the market economy. This paper weighs the argument of shifting the evidentiary burden on to the merging parties in order to improve merger control and regulation and expounds on its discovery of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. It is posited that an effective combination of factual, legal, and economic analysis of both the acquired and acquiring companies possesses the potential to improve ex post and ex ante merger review outcomes involving nascent companies; thus, preventing anti-competitive practises. This paper concludes with an analysis of the possibility and feasibility of industry-specific identification of anti-competitive nascent acquisitions and implementation of measures accordingly.

Keywords: acquisition, antitrust law, exclusionary practises merger control, nascent competitor

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Authors: Sergio Andres Rojas, Julian Benavides Franco, Juan Tomas Sayago

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An increasing amount of research demonstrates how market mood affects financial markets, but their primary goal is to demonstrate how Trump's tweets impacted US interest rate volatility. Following that lead, this work evaluates the effect that Trump's tweets had during his presidency on local and international stock markets, considering not just volatility but the direction of the movement. Three indexes for Trump's tweets were created relating his activity with movements in the S&P500 using natural language analysis and machine learning algorithms. The indexes consider Trump's tweet activity and the positive or negative market sentiment they might inspire. The first explores the relationship between tweets generating negative movements in the S&P500; the second explores positive movements, while the third explores the difference between up and down movements. A pseudo-investment strategy using the indexes produced statistically significant above-average abnormal returns. The findings also showed that the pseudo strategy generated a higher return in the local market if applied to intraday data. However, only a negative market sentiment caused this effect on daily data. These results suggest that the market reacted primarily to a negative idea reflected in the negative index. In the international market, it is not possible to identify a pervasive effect. A rolling window regression model was also performed. The result shows that the impact on the local and international markets is heterogeneous, time-changing, and differentiated for the market sentiment. However, the negative sentiment was more prone to have a significant correlation most of the time.

Keywords: market sentiment, Twitter market sentiment, machine learning, natural dialect analysis

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Authors: Sharifa Alduraibi, Abir El Sadik, Ahmed Elzainy, Alaa Alduraibi, Ahmed Alsolai

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Introduction: Problem-based learning (PBL) is an active student-centered educational modality, influenced by the students' interest that required continuous motivation to improve their engagement. The new era of professional information technology facilitated the utilization of educational multimedia, such as videos, soundtracks, and photographs promoting students' learning. The aim of the present study was to introduce multimedia-enriched PBL scenarios for the first time in college of medicine, Qassim University, as an incentive for better students' engagement. In addition, students' performance and satisfaction were evaluated. Methodology: Two multimedia-enhanced PBL scenarios were implemented to the third years' students in the urinary system block. Radiological images, plain CT scan, and X-ray of the abdomen and renal nuclear scan correlated with their pathological gross photographs were added to the scenarios. One week before the first sessions, pre-recorded orientation videos for PBL tutors were submitted to clarify the multimedia incorporated in the scenarios. Other two traditional PBL scenarios devoid of multimedia demonstrating the pathological and radiological findings were designed. Results and Discussion: Comparison between the formative assessments' results by the end of the two PBL modalities was done. It revealed significant increase in students' engagement, critical thinking and practical reasoning skills during the multimedia-enhanced sessions. Students' perception survey showed great satisfaction with the new strategy. Conclusion: It could be concluded from the current work that multimedia created technology-based teaching strategy inspiring the student for self-directed thinking and promoting students' overall achievement.

Keywords: multimedia, pathology and radiology images, problem-based learning, videos

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Authors: Belachew Gebrewold

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The Horn of Africa is marred by complex and systematic internal and external political, economic and social-cultural causes of conflict that result in internal displacement and migration. This paper engages with them and shows how such a study can help us to understand migration, both in this region and more generally. The conflict has occurred within states, between states, among proxies, between armies. Human insecurities as a result of the state collapse of Somalia, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the whole region, recurrent drought affecting the livelihoods of subsistence farmers as well as nomads, exposure to hunger, environmental degradation, youth unemployment, rapid growth of slums around big cities, and political repression (especially in Eritrea) have been driving various segments of the regional population into regional and international migration. Eritrea has been going through a brutal dictatorship which pushes many Eritreans to flee their country and be exposed to human trafficking, torture, detention, and agony on their way to Europe mainly through Egypt, Libya and Israel. Similarly, Somalia has been devastated since 1991 by unending civil war, state collapse, and radical Islamists. There are some important aspects to highlight in the conflict-migration nexus in the Horn of Africa: first, the main push factor for the Somalis and Eritreans to leave their countries and risk their lives is the physical insecurity they have been facing in their countries. Secondly, as a result of the conflict the economic infrastructure is massively destroyed. Investment is rare; job opportunities are out of sight. Thirdly, in such a grim situation the politically and economically induced decision to migrate is a household decision, not only an individual decision. Based on this third point this research study took place in the Horn of Africa between 2014 and 2016 during different occasions. The main objective of the research was to understanding how the increasing migration is affecting the socio-economic and socio-political environment, and conversely how the socio-economic and socio-political environments are increasing migration decisions; and whether and how these decisions are individual or family decisions. The main finding is the higher the human insecurity, the higher the family decision; the lower the human insecurity, the higher the individual decision. These findings apply not only to the Eritrean, Somali migrants but also to Ethiopian migrants. But the general impacts of migration on sending countries’ human security is quite mixed and complex.

Keywords: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Horn of Africa, insecurity, migration, Somalia

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Authors: H. A. Alzomor, B. K. Ouda, A. M. Eldeib

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Successful regional anesthesia depends upon precise location of the peripheral nerve or nerve plexus. Locating peripheral nerves is preferred to be done using nerve stimulation. In order to generate a nerve impulse by electrical means, a minimum threshold stimulus of current “rheobase” must be applied to the nerve. The technique depends on stimulating muscular twitching at a close distance to the nerve without actually touching it. Success rate of this operation depends on the accuracy of current intensity pulses used for stimulation. In this paper, we will discuss a circuit and algorithm for closed loop control for the current, theoretical analysis and test results and compare them with previous techniques.

Keywords: Close Loop Control (CLC), constant current, nerve locator, rheobase

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Authors: Fatemeh Nemati, Lucinda Leonard, Gwyn Lintern, Richard Thomson

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In this study, we will use modern numerical modeling approaches to estimate tsunami risks to the southern coast of British Columbia from landslides. Wave generation is to be simulated using the NHWAVE model, which solves the Navier-Stokes equations due to the more complex behavior of flow near the landslide source; far-field wave propagation will be simulated using the simpler model FUNWAVE_TVD with high-order Boussinesq-type wave equations, with a focus on the accurate simulation of wave propagation and regional- or coastal-scale inundation predictions.

Keywords: FUNWAVE-TVD, landslide-generated tsunami, NHWAVE, tsunami risk

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Authors: Kiana Taheri

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Rural tourism has garnered significant attention as a catalyst for rural development and sustainability, particularly in regions like Tuscany, Italy, where the convergence of cultural heritage, picturesque landscapes, and agricultural traditions provides a fertile ground for tourism activities. This paper investigates the pivotal role of women entrepreneurs in driving sustainable rural tourism development, with a specific focus on Tuscany. Drawing upon a synthesis of literature on rural tourism, entrepreneurship, and gender studies, this research offers insights into how women entrepreneurs contribute to the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of rural tourism in Tuscany. The conceptual framework of this study is rooted in the evolving landscape of rural development, shaped by shifting paradigms in agricultural policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. This framework underscores the transition from traditional agrarian economies to dynamic rural tourism destinations characterized by a consumer-centric approach and a focus on sustainable development. Against this backdrop, the study delves into the multifaceted contributions of women entrepreneurs within the rural tourism sector. Central to the analysis is the recognition of rural tourism as a nexus of social, cultural, economic, and environmental interactions, wherein women entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in leveraging local resources, preserving cultural heritage, and fostering community engagement. By capitalizing on their unique perspectives, skills, and networks, women entrepreneurs drive innovation, diversification, and inclusivity within the tourism sector, thereby enhancing its resilience and long-term viability. Moreover, the study highlights the symbiotic relationship between rural tourism development and women's empowerment, as evidenced by the increasing prominence of women entrepreneurs in Tuscany's rural economy. Through their leadership roles in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and agritourism ventures, women entrepreneurs not only contribute to economic growth but also challenge traditional gender norms and empower local communities. A key empirical focus of this research is a comprehensive case study of Tuscany, renowned for its successful rural tourism model and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through qualitative interviews, surveys, and archival analysis, the study elucidates the strategies, challenges, and impacts of women entrepreneurs on sustainable rural tourism development in Tuscany. By examining the experiences of women entrepreneurs across diverse sectors of rural tourism, including hospitality, gastronomy, and cultural heritage, the study offers nuanced insights into their contributions to regional development and empowerment. In conclusion, this research contributes to the burgeoning scholarship on rural tourism, entrepreneurship, and gender studies by shedding light on the transformative role of women entrepreneurs in driving sustainable development agendas in rural areas. By elucidating the interplay between gender dynamics, entrepreneurial activities, and tourism development, this study seeks to inform policy interventions and strategic initiatives aimed at fostering inclusive and sustainable rural tourism ecosystems.

Keywords: rural tourism, women empowerment, entrepreneurship, sustainable development, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

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Authors: Paria Saadatjoo

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Given that HVAC systems are the main sources of carbon dioxide producers, developing ways to reduce dependence on these systems and making use of natural resources is too important to achieve environmentally friendly buildings. A major part of building potential in terms of using natural energy resources depends on its physical features. So architectural decisions at the first step of the design process can influence the building's energy efficiency significantly. Implementation of semi-open spaces into solid apartment blocks inspired by the concept of courtyard in ancient buildings as a passive cooling strategy is currently enjoying great popularity. However, the analysis of these features and their effect on wind behavior at initial design steps is a difficult task for architects. The main objective of this research was to investigate the influence of semi-open to closed space ratio on airflow patterns in and around midrise buildings and introduce the best ratio in terms of harnessing natural ventilation. The main strategy of this paper was semi-experimental, and the research methodology was descriptive statistics. At the first step, by changing the terrace area, 6 models with various open to closed space ratios were created. These forms were then transferred to CFD software to calculate the primary indicators of natural ventilation potentials such as wind force coefficient, air flow rate, age of air distribution, etc. Investigations indicated that modifying the terrace area and, in other words, the open to closed space ratio influenced the wind force coefficient, airflow rate, and age of air distribution.

Keywords: natural ventilation, wind, midrise, open space, energy

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Authors: Sabine A. Zauchner-Studnicka

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As the term indicates, reverse-mentoring flips the classical roles of mentoring: In school, students take over the role of mentors for adults, i.e. teachers or parents. Originally reverse-mentoring stems from US enterprises, which implemented this innovative method in order to benefit from the resources of skilled younger employees for the enhancement of IT competences of senior colleagues. However, reverse-mentoring in schools worldwide is rare. Based on empirical studies and theoretical approaches, in this article an implementation model for reverse-mentoring is developed in order to bring the significant potential reverse-mentoring has for education into practice.

Keywords: reverse-mentoring, innovation in education, implementation model, school education

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Authors: Raymond Awinbilla

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The call for tree planting has long been set in motion by the government of Ghana. The Forestry Commission encourages plantation development through numerous interventions including formulating policies and enacting legislations. However, forest policies have failed and that has generated a major concern over the vast gap between the intentions of national policies and the realities established. This study addresses three objectives;1) Assessing the farmers' response and contribution to the tree planting initiative, 2) Identifying socio-economic factors hindering the development of smallholder plantations as a livelihood strategy, and 3) Determining the level of support available for smallholder tree growers and the factors influencing it. The field work was done in 12 farming communities in Ghana. The article illuminates that farmers have responded to the call for tree planting and have planted both exotic and indigenous tree species. Farmers have converted 17.2% (369.48ha) of their total land size into plantations and have no problem with land tenure. Operations and marketing constraints include lack of funds for operations, delay in payment, low price of wood, manipulation of price by buyers, documentation by buyers, and no ready market for harvesting wood products. Environmental institutions encourage tree planting; the only exception is with the Lands Commission. Support availed to farmers includes capacity building in silvicultural practices, organisation of farmers, linkage to markets and finance. Efforts by the Government of Ghana to enhance forest resources in the country could rely on the input of local populations.

Keywords: livelihood strategy, marketing constraints, environmental institutions, silvicultural practices

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Authors: R. Barros, J. Azevedo, P. Padrão, M. Gregório, I. Pádua, C. Almeida, C. Rodrigues, P. Fontes, A. Coelho

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Recent evidence shows a positive association between nutritional literacy and healthy eating. Traditional nutrition education strategies for childhood obesity prevention have shown weak effect. The Nutriscience project aims to create and evaluate an innovative and multidisciplinary strategy for promoting effective and accessible nutritional information to children, their families, and educators. Nutriscience is a one-year prospective follow-up evaluation study including pre-school children (3-5 y), who attend national schools’ network (29). The project is structured around a web-based intervention, using an on-line interactive platform, and focus on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and reducing sugar and salt intake. The platform acts as a social network where educational materials, games, and nutritional challenges are proposed in a gamification approach that promotes family and community social ties. A nutrition Massive Online Open Course is developed for educators, and a national healthy culinary contest will be promoted on TV channel. A parental self-reported questionnaire assessing sociodemographic and nutritional literacy (knowledge, attitudes, skills) is administered (baseline and end of the intervention). We expect that results on nutritional literacy from the presented strategy intervention will give us important information about the best practices for health intervention with kindergarten families. This intervention program using a digital interactive platform could be an educational tool easily adapted and disseminated for childhood obesity prevention.

Keywords: childhood obesity, educational tool, nutritional literacy, web-based intervention

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Authors: Jarrod Haar, David Brougham

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The present study explores the links between supporting employee well-being and the potential benefits to employee performance. We focus on employee innovative work behaviors (IWBs), which have three stages: (1) development, (2) adoption, and (3) implementation of new ideas and work methods. We explore the role of organizational support focusing on employee well-being via High-Performance Work Systems (HPWS). HPWS are HR practices that are designed to enhance employees’ skills, commitment, and ultimately, productivity. HPWS influence employee performance through building their skills, knowledge, and abilities and there is meta-analytic support for firm-level HPWS influencing firm performance, but less attention towards employee outcomes, especially innovation. We explore HPWS-wellbeing being offered (e.g., EAPs, well-being App, etc.) to capture organizational commitment to employee well-being. Under social exchange theory, workers should reciprocate their firm's offering of HPWS-wellbeing with greater efforts towards IWBs. Further, we explore playful work design as a mediator, which represents employees proactively creating work conditions that foster enjoyment/challenge but don’t require any design change to the job itself. We suggest HPWS-wellbeing can encourage employees to become more playful, and ultimately more innovative. Finally, beyond direct effects, we examine whether these relations are similar by gender and ultimately test a moderated mediation model. Using N=1135 New Zealand employees, we established measures with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and all measures had good psychometric properties (α>.80). We controlled for age, tenure, education, and hours worked and analyzed data using the PROCESS macro (version 4.2) specifically model 8 (moderated mediation). We analyzed overall IWB, and then again across the three stages. Overall, we find HPWS-wellbeing is significantly related to overall IWBs and the three stages (development, adoption, and implementation) individually. Similarly, HPWS-wellbeing shapes playful work design and playful work design predicts overall IWBs and the three stages individually. It only partially mediates the effects of HPWS-wellbeing, which retains a significant indirect effect. Moderation effects are supported, with males reporting a more significant effect from HPWS-wellbeing on playful work design but not IWB (or any of the three stages) than females. Females report higher playful work design when HPWS-wellbeing is low, but the effects are reversed when HPWS-wellbeing is high (males higher). Thus, males respond stronger under social exchange theory from HPWS-wellbeing, at least towards expressing playful work design. Finally, evidence of moderated mediation effects is found on overall IWBs and the three stages. Males report a significant indirect effect from HPWS-wellbeing on IWB (through playful work design), while female employees report no significant indirect effect. The benefits of playful work design fully account for their IWBs. The models account for small amounts of variance towards playful work design (12%) but larger for IWBs (26%). The study highlights a gap in the literature on HPWS-wellbeing and provides empirical evidence of their importance towards worker innovation. Further, gendered effects suggest these benefits might not be equal. The findings provide useful insights for organizations around how providing HR practices that support employee well-being are important, although how they work for different genders needs further exploration.

Keywords: human resource practices, wellbeing, innovation, playful work design

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Authors: Jonathan Munyoro, Takawira Machimbidza, Stephen Mutula

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The study investigates the current status of Intellectual Property (IP) information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries. Specifically, the study assesses the current IP information services offered in Zimbabwe’s university libraries, identifies challenges to the development of comprehensive IP information services in Zimbabwe’s university libraries, and suggests solutions for the development of IP information services in Zimbabwe’s university libraries. The study is born out of a realisation that research on IP information services in university libraries has received little attention, especially in developing country contexts, despite the fact that there are calls for heightened participation of university libraries in IP information services. In Zimbabwe, the launch of the National Intellectual Property Policy and Implementation Strategy 2018-2022 and the introduction of the Education 5.0 concept are set to significantly change the IP landscape in the country. Education 5.0 places more emphasis on innovation and industrialisation (in addition to teaching, community service, and research), and has the potential to shift the focus and level of IP output produced in higher and tertiary education institutions beyond copyrights and more towards commercially exploited patents, utility models, and industrial designs. The growing importance of IP commercialisation in universities creates a need for appropriate IP information services to assist students, academics, researchers, administrators, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and inventors. The critical challenge for university libraries is to reposition themselves and remain relevant in the new trajectory. Designing specialised information services to support increased IP generation and commercialisation appears to be an opportunity for university libraries to stay relevant in the knowledge economy. However, IP information services in Zimbabwe’s universities appear to be incomplete and focused mostly on assisting with research publications and copyright-related activities. Research on the existing status of IP services in university libraries in Zimbabwe is therefore necessary to help identify gaps and provide solutions in order to stimulate the growth of new forms of such services. The study employed a quantitative approach. An online questionnaire was administered to 57 academic librarians from 15 university libraries. Findings show that the current focus of the surveyed institutions is on providing scientific research support services (15); disseminating/sharing university research output (14); and copyright activities (12). More specialised IP information services such as IP education and training, patent information services, IP consulting services, IP online service platforms, and web-based IP information services are largely unavailable in Zimbabwean university libraries. Results reveal that the underlying challenge in the development of IP information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries is insufficient IP knowledge among academic librarians, which is exacerbated by inadequate IP management frameworks in university institutions. The study proposes a framework for the entrenchment of IP information services in Zimbabwe's university libraries.

Keywords: academic libraries, information services, intellectual property, IP knowledge, university libraries, Zimbabwe

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Authors: Zenaida Chitu, Roxana Bojariu, Liliana Velea, Roxana Burcea

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A number of studies show that extreme air temperature affects mortality related to cardiovascular diseases, particularly among elderly people. In Romania, the summer thermal discomfort expressed by Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) is highest in the Southern part of the country, where Bucharest, the largest Romanian urban agglomeration, is also located. The urban characteristics such as high building density and reduced green areas enhance the increase of the air temperature during summer. In Bucharest, as in many other large cities, the effect of heat urban island is present and determines an increase of air temperature compared to surrounding areas. This increase is particularly important during heat wave periods in summer. In this context, the researchers performed a temperature-mortality analysis based on daily deaths related to cardiovascular diseases, recorded between 2010 and 2019 in Bucharest. The temperature-mortality relationship was modeled by applying distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) that includes a bi-dimensional cross-basis function and flexible natural cubic spline functions with three internal knots in the 10th, 75th and 90th percentiles of the temperature distribution, for modelling both exposure-response and lagged-response dimensions. Firstly, this study applied this analysis for the present climate. Extrapolation of the exposure-response associations beyond the observed data allowed us to estimate future effects on mortality due to temperature changes under climate change scenarios and specific assumptions. We used future projections of air temperature from five numerical experiments with regional climate models included in the EURO-CORDEX initiative under the relatively moderate (RCP 4.5) and pessimistic (RCP 8.5) concentration scenarios. The results of this analysis show for RCP 8.5 an ensemble-averaged increase with 6.1% of heat-attributable mortality fraction in future in comparison with present climate (2090-2100 vs. 2010-219), corresponding to an increase of 640 deaths/year, while mortality fraction due to the cold conditions will be reduced by 2.76%, corresponding to a decrease by 288 deaths/year. When mortality data is stratified according to the age, the ensemble-averaged increase of heat-attributable mortality fraction for elderly people (> 75 years) in the future is even higher (6.5 %). These findings reveal the necessity to carefully plan urban development in Bucharest to face the public health challenges raised by the climate change. Paper Details: This work is financed by the project URCLIM which is part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, and funded by Ministry of Environment, Romania with co-funding by the European Union (Grant 690462). A part of this work performed by one of the authors has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme from the project EXHAUSTION under grant agreement No 820655.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, climate change, extreme air temperature, mortality

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Authors: Mathumalar Loganathan, Lina Syazana, Bryony Dean Franklin

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Background: The therapeutic benefit of self-administered medication for long-term use is limited by an average 50% non-adherence rate. Patient forgetfulness is a common factor in unintentional non-adherence. With a growing ageing population, strategies to improve self-administration of medication adherence are essential. Our aim was to review systematically the effects of interventions to optimise self-administration of medication. Method: Database searched were MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsynINFO, CINAHL from 1980 to 31 October 2013. Search terms included were ‘self-administration’, ‘self-care’, ‘medication adherence’, and ‘intervention’. Two independent reviewers undertook screening and methodological quality assessment, using the Downs and Black rating scale. Results: The search strategy retrieved 6 studies that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Three intervention strategies were identified: self-administration medication programme (SAMP), nursing education and medication packaging (pill calendar). A nursing education programme focused on improving patients’ behavioural self-management of drug prescribing. This was the most studied area and three studies highlighting an improvement in self-administration of medication. Conclusion: Results are mixed and there is no one interventional strategy that has proved to be effective. Nevertheless, self-administration of medication programme seems to show most promise. A multi-faceted approach and clearer policy guideline are likely to be required to improve prescribing for these vulnerable patients. Mixed results were found for SAMP. Medication packaging (pill calendar) was evaluated in one study showing a significant improvement in self-administration of medication. A meta-analysis could not be performed due to heterogeneity in the outcome measures.

Keywords: self-administered medication, intervention, prescribing, older patients

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Authors: Samer Abu Ghazaleh, Jawdat Gousous

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E-learning in general started in Jordan around ten years ago in universities and at different departments and colleges. This paper will investigate the possibility to apply e-learning in architecture department at University of Jordan. As known architecture departments in general depend greatly in its syllabus upon design courses and studios, which consists nearly one third of its total credit hours. A survey has been conducted for architectural students at the University of Jordan and several conclusions have been reached irrespective of age, gender and nationality of the students, where the main problem was the way of the communication between the tutor and the student.

Keywords: cellular telephone, design courses, e-learning, internet

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Authors: Karolina Wieczorek, Zofia Przypaśniak

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Climate change is a rapidly growing threat to global health, and part of the responsibility to combat it lies within the healthcare sector itself, including adequate education of future medical professionals. To mitigate the consequences, the General Medical Council (GMC) has equipped medical schools with a list of outcomes regarding sustainability teaching. Students are expected to analyze the impact of the healthcare sector’s emissions on climate change. The delivery of the related teaching content is, however, often inadequate and insufficient time is devoted for exploration of the topics. Teaching curricula lack in-depth exploration of the learning objectives. This study aims to assess the extent and characteristics of climate change and sustainability subjects teaching in the curriculum of a chosen UK medical school (Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry). It compares the data to the national average scores from the Climate Change and Sustainability Teaching (C.A.S.T.) in Medical Education Audit to draw conclusions about teaching on a regional level. This is a single-center audit of the timetabled sessions of teaching in the medical course. The study looked at the academic year 2020/2021 which included a review of all non-elective, core curriculum teaching materials including tutorials, lectures, written resources, and assignments in all five years of the undergraduate and graduate degrees, focusing only on mandatory teaching attended by all students (excluding elective modules). The topics covered were crosschecked with GMC Outcomes for graduates: “Educating for Sustainable Healthcare – Priority Learning Outcomes” as gold standard to look for coverage of the outcomes and gaps in teaching. Quantitative data was collected in form of time allocated for teaching as proxy of time spent per individual outcomes. The data was collected independently by two students (KW and ZP) who have received prior training and assessed two separate data sets to increase interrater reliability. In terms of coverage of learning outcomes, 12 out of 13 were taught (with the national average being 9.7). The school ranked sixth in the UK for time spent per topic and second in terms of overall coverage, meaning the school has a broad range of topics taught with some being explored in more detail than others. For the first outcome 4 out of 4 objectives covered (average 3.5) with 47 minutes spent per outcome (average 84 min), for the second objective 5 out of 5 covered (average 3.5) with 46 minutes spent (average 20), for the third 3 out of 4 (average 2.5) with 10 mins pent (average 19 min). A disproportionately large amount of time is spent delivering teaching regarding air pollution (respiratory illnesses), which resulted in the topic of sustainability in other specialties being excluded from teaching (musculoskeletal, ophthalmology, pediatrics, renal). Conclusions: Currently, there is no coherent strategy on national teaching of climate change topics and as a result an unstandardized amount of time spent on teaching and coverage of objectives can be observed.

Keywords: audit, climate change, sustainability, education

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Authors: Ahmed M. Debela, Mayreli Ortiz , Ciara K. O´Sullivan

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The completion of the human genome Project (HGP) has paved the way for mapping the diversity in the overall genome sequence which helps to understand the genetic causes of inherited diseases and susceptibility to drugs or environmental toxins. Arrayed primer extension (APEX) is a microarray based minisequencing strategy for screening disease causing mutations. It is derived from Sanger DNA sequencing and uses fluorescently dideoxynucleotides (ddNTPs) for termination of a growing DNA strand from a primer with its 3´- end designed immediately upstream of a site where single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) occurs. The use of DNA polymerase offers a very high accuracy and specificity to APEX which in turn happens to be a method of choice for multiplex SNP detection. Coupling the high specificity of this method with the high sensitivity, low cost and compatibility for miniaturization of electrochemical techniques would offer an excellent platform for detection of mutation as well as sequencing of DNA templates. We are developing an electrochemical APEX for the analysis of SNPs found in the MYH7 gene for group of cardiomyopathy patients. ddNTPs were labeled with four different redox active compounds with four distinct potentials. Thiolated oligonucleotide probes were immobilised on gold and glassy carbon substrates which are followed by hybridisation with complementary target DNA just adjacent to the base to be extended by polymerase. Electrochemical interrogation was performed after the incorporation of the redox labelled dedioxynucleotide. The work involved the synthesis and characterisation of the redox labelled ddNTPs, optimisation and characterisation of surface functionalisation strategies and the nucleotide incorporation assays.

Keywords: array based primer extension, labelled ddNTPs, electrochemical, mutations

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Authors: Tebogo Sethibe, Jabulile Mabuza

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The COVID-19 pandemic has been commonly referred to as a ‘black swan event’; it has changed the world, from how people live, learn, work and socialise. It is believed that the pandemic has fast-tracked the adoption of technology in many organisations to ensure business continuity and business sustainability; broadly said, the pandemic has fast-tracked digital transformation (DT) in different organisations. This paper aims to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on DT in organisations in South Africa by focusing on the changes in IT capabilities in the DT framework. The research design is qualitative. The data collection was through semi-structured interviews with information communication technology (ICT) leaders representing different organisations in South Africa. The data were analysed using the thematic analysis process. The results from the study show that, in terms of ICT in the organisation, the pandemic had a direct and positive impact on ICT strategy and ICT operations. In terms of IT capability transformation, the pandemic resulted in the optimisation and expansion of existing IT capabilities in the organisation and the building of new IT capabilities to meet emerging business needs. In terms of the focus of activities during the pandemic, there seems to be a split in organisations between the primary focus being on ‘digital IT’ or ‘traditional IT’. Overall, the findings of the study show that the pandemic had a positive and significant impact on DT in organisations. However, a definitive conclusion on this would require expanding the scope of the research to all the components of a comprehensive DT framework. This study is significant because it is one of the first studies to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on organisations, on ICT in the organisation, on IT capability transformation and, to a greater extent, DT. The findings from the study show that in response to the pandemic, there is a need for: (i) agility in organisations; (ii) organisations to execute on their existing strategy; (iii) the future-proofing of IT capabilities; (iv) the adoption of a hybrid working model; and for (v) organisations to take risks and embrace new ideas.

Keywords: digital transformation, COVID-19, bimodal-IT, digital transformation framework

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Authors: Reza Mokhtari Malek Abadi, Mohsen Saghaei, Fatemeh Iman

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This paper investigates the indices of a creative city in Isfahan. Its main aim is to evaluate quantitative status of the creative city indices in Isfahan city, analyze the dispersion and distribution of these indices in Isfahan city. Concerning these, this study tries to analyze the creative city indices in fifteen area of Isfahan through secondary data, questionnaire, TOPSIS model, Shannon entropy and SPSS. Based on this, the fifteen areas of Isfahan city have been ranked with 12 factors of creative city indices. The results of studies show that fifteen areas of Isfahan city are not equally benefiting from creative indices and there is much difference between the areas of Isfahan city.

Keywords: grading, creative city, creative city evaluation indicators, regional planning model

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Authors: Hani Malik

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Background: Clinician burnout is a growing phenomenon in current health systems worldwide. Increasing emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment threaten the effective delivery of healthcare. This can potentially be mitigated by mindfulness practice, which has shown promising results in reducing burnout, restoring compassion, and preventing moral injury in clinicians. Objectives: To conduct a scoping review and identify high-quality studies on mindfulness practice in clinician burnout, synthesize themes that emerge from these studies, and discuss the implications of the results to healthcare leadership and innovation. Methodology: A focused scoping review was carried out to investigate the effects of mindfulness practice on clinician burnout. High-ranking journals were targeted to analyse high-quality studies and synthesize common themes in the literature. Studies conducted on current, practicing physicians were included. Mindfulness practice of varying forms was the main intervention studied. Grey literature and studies conducted only on allied health personnel were excluded from this review. Analysis:31 studies were included in this scoping review. Mindfulness practice was found to decrease emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation while improving mood, responses to stress, and vigour. Self-awareness, compassion, and empathy were also increased in study participants. From this review, four themes emerged which include: innovations in mindfulness practice, mindfulness and positive psychology, the impact of mindfulness on work and patient care, and barriers and facilitators to clinician mindfulness practice. Conclusion: Mindfulness had widely been reported to benefit mental health and well-being, but the studies reviewed seemed to adopt a mono focus and omitted key considerations to healthcare leadership, systems-level culture, and practices. Mindfulness practice is a quintessential component of positive psychology and is inherently linked to effective leadership. A mindful and compassionate clinician leader will play a crucial role in addressing gaps in current practice, prioritise staff mental health, and provide a supportive platform for innovation.

Keywords: mindfulness practice, clinician burnout, healthcare leadership, COVID-19

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Authors: Luiz G. Véras, Felipe L. Medeiros, Lamartine F. Guimarães

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This work approaches the automatic planning of paths for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) through the application of the Rapidly Exploring Random Tree Star-Smart (RRT*-Smart) algorithm. RRT*-Smart is a sampling process of positions of a navigation environment through a tree-type graph. The algorithm consists of randomly expanding a tree from an initial position (root node) until one of its branches reaches the final position of the path to be planned. The algorithm ensures the planning of the shortest path, considering the number of iterations tending to infinity. When a new node is inserted into the tree, each neighbor node of the new node is connected to it, if and only if the extension of the path between the root node and that neighbor node, with this new connection, is less than the current extension of the path between those two nodes. RRT*-smart uses an intelligent sampling strategy to plan less extensive routes by spending a smaller number of iterations. This strategy is based on the creation of samples/nodes near to the convex vertices of the navigation environment obstacles. The planned paths are smoothed through the application of the method called quintic pythagorean hodograph curves. The smoothing process converts a route into a dynamically-viable one based on the kinematic constraints of the vehicle. This smoothing method models the hodograph components of a curve with polynomials that obey the Pythagorean Theorem. Its advantage is that the obtained structure allows computation of the curve length in an exact way, without the need for quadratural techniques for the resolution of integrals.

Keywords: path planning, path smoothing, Pythagorean hodograph curve, RRT*-Smart

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Authors: Kumiko Inagaki

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Japanese society is experiencing an aging population and declining birth rate along with the popularization of higher education, spread of economic globalization, rapid progress in technical innovation, changes in employment conditions, and emergence of a knowledge-based society. Against this background, interest in career education at Japanese universities has increased in recent years. This paper describes how the government has implemented career education policies in Japan, and introduces the cases of two universities that have successfully linked career education to university education in Japan.

Keywords: career education, employability, higher education, japanese university, university education

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Authors: Hannah S. Waldron

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

Keywords: biscuits, nudging, sugar, supermarket

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

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

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

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Authors: Lucy Tsado

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

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

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Authors: Chante Van Tonder, Bart Bossink, Chris Schachtebeck, Cecile Nieuwenhuizen

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Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in national economies around the world, being contributors to economic and social well-being. Due to this, the success, growth and competitiveness of SMEs are critical. However, there are many factors that undermine this, such as resource constraints, poor information communication infrastructure (ICT), skills shortages and poor management. The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers new tools and opportunities such as digital transformation and business model innovation (BMI) to the SME sector to enhance its competitiveness. Adopting and leveraging digital technologies such as cloud, mobile technologies, big data and analytics can significantly improve business efficiencies, value proposition and customer experiences. Digital transformation can contribute to the growth and competitiveness of SMEs. However, SMEs are lagging behind in the participation of digital transformation. Extant research lacks conceptual and empirical research on how digital transformation drives BMI and the impact it has on the growth and competitiveness of SMEs. The purpose of the study is, therefore, to close this gap by developing and empirically validating a conceptual model to determine if SMEs are achieving BMI through digital transformation and how this is impacting the growth, competitiveness and overall business performance. An empirical study is being conducted on 300 SMEs, consisting of 150 South-African and 150 Dutch SMEs, to achieve this purpose. Structural equation modeling is used, since it is a multivariate statistical analysis technique that is used to analyse structural relationships and is a suitable research method to test the hypotheses in the model. Empirical research is needed to gather more insight into how and if SMEs are digitally transformed and how BMI can be driven through digital transformation. The findings of this study can be used by SME business owners, managers and employees at all levels. The findings will indicate if digital transformation can indeed impact the growth, competitiveness and overall performance of an SME, reiterating the importance and potential benefits of adopting digital technologies. In addition, the findings will also exhibit how BMI can be achieved in light of digital transformation. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in a highly relevant and important topic in management studies by analysing the impact of digital transformation on BMI on a large number of SMEs that are distinctly different in economic and cultural factors

Keywords: business models, business model innovation, digital transformation, SMEs

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