Search results for: function of board members

Authors: Shiao-Wei Chu

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In order to enhance the ability of their graduates to compete in an increasingly globalized economy, the majority of universities in Taiwan require students to pass Freshman English in order to earn a bachelor's degree. However, many college students show low motivation in English class for several important reasons, including exam-oriented lessons, unengaging classroom activities, a lack of opportunities to use English in authentic contexts, and low levels of confidence in using English. Students’ lack of motivation in English classes is evidenced when students doze off, work on assignments from other classes, or use their phones to chat with others, play video games or watch online shows. Cooperative learning aims to address these problems by encouraging language learners to use the target language to share individual experiences, cooperatively complete tasks, and to build a supportive classroom learning community whereby students take responsibility for one another’s learning. This study includes approximately 50 student participants in a low-proficiency Freshman English class. Each week, participants will work together in groups of between 3 and 4 students to complete various in-class interactive tasks. The instructor will employ a reward system that incentivizes students to be responsible for their own as well as their group mates’ learning. The rewards will be based on points that team members earn through formal assessment scores as well as assessment of their participation in weekly in-class discussions. The instructor will record each team’s week-by-week improvement. Once a team meets or exceeds its own earlier performance, the team’s members will each receive a reward from the instructor. This cooperative learning approach aims to stimulate EFL freshmen’s learning motivation by creating a supportive, low-pressure learning environment that is meant to build learners’ self-confidence. Students will practice all four language skills; however, the present study focuses primarily on the learners’ reading comprehension. Data sources include in-class discussion notes, instructor field notes, one-on-one interviews, students’ midterm and final written reflections, and reading scores. Triangulation is used to determine themes and concerns, and an instructor-colleague analyzes the qualitative data to build interrater reliability. Findings are presented through the researcher’s detailed description. The instructor-researcher has developed this approach in the classroom over several terms, and its apparent success at motivating students inspires this research. The aims of this study are twofold: first, to examine the possible benefits of this cooperative approach in terms of students’ learning outcomes; and second, to help other educators to adapt a more cooperative approach to their classrooms.

Keywords: freshman English, cooperative language learning, EFL learners, learning motivation, zone of proximal development

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Authors: Zhi-Jun Lu, Qi Lu, Meng Wu, Qian Xiang, Jun Gu

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The analysis of perforated steel members is a 3D problem in nature, therefore the traditional analytical expressions for the ultimate load of thin-walled steel sections cannot be used for the perforated steel member design. In this study, finite element method (FEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) were used to simulate the process of stub column tests based on specific codes. Results show that compared with those of the FEM model, the ultimate load predictions obtained from ANN technique were much closer to those obtained from the physical experiments. The ANN model for the solving the hard problem of complex steel perforated sections is very promising.

Keywords: artificial neural network (ANN), finite element method (FEM), perforated sections, thin-walled Steel, ultimate load

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Authors: Vivek Upadhayay, Siddharth Deshmukh

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In recent years utilization of renewable energy sources has increased majorly because of the increase in global warming concerns. Organization these days are generally operated by Micro grid or smart grid on a small level. Power optimization and optimal load tripping is possible in a smart grid based industry. In any plant or industry loads can be divided into different categories based on their importance to the plant and power requirement pattern in the working days. Coming up with an idea to divide loads in different such categories and providing different power management algorithm to each category of load can reduce the power cost and can come handy in balancing stability and reliability of power. An objective function is defined which is subjected to a variable that we are supposed to minimize. Constraint equations are formed taking difference between the power usages pattern of present day and same day of previous week. By considering the objectives of minimal load tripping and optimal power distribution the proposed problem formulation is a multi-object optimization problem. Through normalization of each objective function, the multi-objective optimization is transformed to single-objective optimization. As a result we are getting the optimized values of power required to each load for present day by use of the past values of the required power for the same day of last week. It is quite a demand response scheduling of power. These minimized values then will be distributed to each load through an algorithm used to optimize the power distribution at a greater depth. In case of power storage exceeding the power requirement, profit can be made by selling exceeding power to the main grid.

Keywords: power flow optimization, power trading enhancement, smart grid, multi-object optimization

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Authors: W. Badla

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A significant portion of the buildings constructed in Algeria is structural frames with infill panels which are usually considered as non structural components and are neglected in the analysis. However, these masonry panels tend to influence the structural response. Thus, these structures can be regarded as seismic risk buildings, although in the Algerian seismic code there is little guidance on the seismic evaluation of infilled frame buildings. In this study, three RC frames with 2, 4, and 8 story and subjected to three recorded Algerian accelerograms are studied. The diagonal strut approach is adopted for modeling the infill panels and a fiber model is used to model RC members. This paper reports on the seismic evaluation of RC frames with brick infill panels. The results obtained show that the masonry panels enhance the load lateral capacity of the buildings and the infill panel configuration influences the response of the structures.

Keywords: seismic design, RC frames, infill panels, non linear dynamic analysis

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Authors: Jangje Park, So Young Kim

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The market demand for audio quality in mobile devices continues to increase, and audible buzz noise generated in time division communication is a chronic problem that goes against the market demand. In the case of time division type communication, the RF Power Amplifier (RF PA) is driven at the audio frequency cycle, and it makes various influences on the audio signal. In this paper, we measured the ground bounce noise generated by the peak current flowing through the ground network in the RF PA with the audio frequency; it was confirmed that the noise is the cause of the audible buzz noise during a call. In addition, a grounding method of the microphone device that can improve the buzzing noise was proposed. Considering that the level of the audio signal generated by the microphone device is -38dBV based on 94dB Sound Pressure Level (SPL), even ground bounce noise of several hundred uV will fall within the range of audible noise if it is induced by the audio amplifier. Through the grounding method of the microphone device proposed in this paper, it was confirmed that the audible buzz noise power density at the RF PA driving frequency was improved by more than 5dB under the conditions of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) used in the experiment. A fundamental improvement method was presented regarding the buzzing noise during a mobile phone call.

Keywords: audio frequency, buzz noise, ground bounce, microphone grounding

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Authors: A. Drapeaux, S. Aviles, E. Garfoot

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Stem cell injections are a promising alternative treatment for hip osteoarthritis. Current literature has focused on short-term outcomes for both knee and hip osteoarthritis; however, there is a significant gap for longitudinal benefits for hip OA and limited firm conclusions due to small sample sizes. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine longitudinal changes in pain, function, and radiographs following bone marrow concentrate injection (BMAC) into the osteoarthritic hip joint. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted over the course of 12 months at an orthopedic practice. The study recruited 15 osteoarthritic pre-surgical hips with mild to moderate osteoarthritic severity who were scheduled to undergo hip arthroscopy. Data was collected at both pre-operative and post-operative time frames. Data collected included: hip radiographs, i-HOT-33 questionnaire data, BMAC autologous volume, and demographics. Questionnaire data was captured using Qualtrics XM software, and participants were sent an anonymous link at the following time frames: pre-operative, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months. Radiographic changes and BMAC volume were collected and reviewed by an orthopedic surgeon and sent to the primary investigator. Data was exported and analyzed in IBM-SPSS. Results: A total of 15 hips from 15 participants (mean age: 49, gender: 50% males, 50% females, BMI: 29.7) were used in the final analysis. Summative i-HOT 33 mean scores significantly changed between pre-operative status and 2-6 weeks post-operative status (p <.001) and pre-operative status and 3-6 months post-operative status (p <.001). There were no significant changes between other post-operative phases or between pre-operative status and 12 months post-operative. Significant improvements were found between summative i-HOT 33 mean (p<.001), daily pain (p<.001), daily sitting (p=.02), daily distance walked (p =.003), and daily limp (p=0.03) and post-operative status (2-6 weeks). No significant differences between demographic variables (gender, age, tobacco use, or diabetes) and i-HOT 33 summative mean scores. Discussion/Implications: The purpose of this study was to determine longitudinal changes in pain and function following a hip joint bone marrow concentrate injection. Results indicate that participants experience a significant improvement in pain and function between pre-operative and 2-6 weeks and 3-6 months post-injection. Participants also self-reported a significant change in average daily pain with sitting and walking between pre-operation and 2-6 weeks post-operative. This study includes a larger sample size of hip osteoarthritis cases; however, future research is warranted to include random controlled trials with a larger sample size.

Keywords: adult stem cell, orthopedics, osteoarthritis (hip), patient outcome assessment

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Authors: Pumela Msweli, Dexter L. Ryneveldt

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This paper seeks to shed light on institutional logics and institutionalization processes that influence the successful implementation of financial sector regulations. We use the neo-institutional theory lens to interrogate how the newly promulgated Financial Sector Regulations Act (FSRA) provides for the institutionalisation of the Twin Peaks Model. With the enactment of FSRA, previous financial regulatory institutions were dismantled, and new financial regulators established. In point, the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) replaced the Financial Services Board (FSB), and accordingly, the Prudential Authority (PA) was established. FSRA is layered with complexities that make it mandatory to co-exist, cooperate, and collaborate with other institutions to fulfill FSRA’s overall financial stability objective. We use content analysis of the financial regulations that established the Twin Peaks Models (TPM) in South Africa and in the Netherlands, to map out the three-stage institutionalization processes: (1) habitualisation, (2) objectification and (3) sedimentation. This allowed for a comparison of how South Africa, as a developing country and Netherlands as a developed country, have institutionalized the Twin Peak model. We provide valuable insights into how differences in the institutional and societal logics of the developing and developed contexts shape the institutionalization of financial regulations.

Keywords: financial industry, financial regulation, financial stability, institutionalisation, habitualization, objectification, sedimentation, twin peaks model

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Authors: Chandrima Das, Sirshendu Chatterjee

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Tea (Camellia sinensis) is known as nature's low calorie wonder drink. Since ancient times hot consumptions of tea is very much popular. We have observed that many heat sensitive secondary metabolites which get destroyed on heating, moreover by people, who are permanently live at higher altitude or the members of high altitude expedition team, are deprived of various tea brewing facilities like electricity, fuel, etc. and the hence cold decoction of tea might be a good alternative. In this backdrop present study aims at the analysis of antioxidants like polyphenols, flavonoids and free radical scavenging activity as well as the l-theanine concentration of different types of cold brewed teas like black, green, white and oolong and compared with its hot decoction. Further, we also analysed in details about the bioactive components by using HPLC followed by green synthesis of nanoparticles. The study highlighted that the difference between the concentration of antioxidant in cold and hot brewed tea is insignificant and hence intake of cold decoction will be beneficial to health.

Keywords: antioxidants, flavanoid, polyphenols, HPLC, nanoparticles

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Authors: Emma Carr, Jennifer Morrison, Peter Walker

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Background: Due to COVID-19, there was a significant reduction in the number of children being treated under general anaesthetic (GA) within the health board, which led to a backlog of referrals. The referrals were being triaged and added to a waiting list in order of priority -determined by the information given. By implementing a checklist, it is anticipated that at least 70% of referrals will have the majority of the information required to effectively prioritise patients. The gold standard, as defined in ‘Guidelines For The Management Of Children Referred For Dental Extractions Under General Anaesthesia’, indicates that all referrals should mention: (i) Inability of the child to cooperate, (ii) Previously tried anxiety management techniques, (iii) Existence of psychological disorders, (iv) Presence of acute dental infection, (v) Requirement for extractions in multiple quadrants. Method: 130 referrals were examined over three months and compared to the recommended standard. A letter was emailed to referring dentists within Ayrshire & Arran outlining the recommended information to be included within the referral. The second round of data collection was then carried out, which involved an examination of 105 referrals. Results: The first round revealed that only 28% of referrals mentioned at least four defined standards outlined above. Following issuing a checklist to all dentists, this increased to 72%. Conclusion: As many of the children referred for extractions under GA have suffered pain and infection because of dental caries, it is important that delay of treatment is minimised, where possible. The implementation of a standardised checklist has enabled more effective prioritisation of patients.

Keywords: caries, dentistry, general anaesthetic, paediatrics

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Authors: Lombuso P. Shabalala

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This research paper investigates the importance of community involvement in tourism development activities from the initial stage. Community is defined as a group of people living in the same area and practicing common ownership and practices or with a commonality such as norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Globalisation has restructured economic, political, and social relationships at the local level, which impacts community involvement in activities taking place in their own space. Although social relationships and interests are no longer limited to local communities, the power of place remains. Whereas, tourism is considered as an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and their international relations. The existing literature has indicated that the four types of motivation in community involvement are best differentiated by identifying the unique ultimate goal for each motivation. In a nutshell, the ultimate goal for egoism is to increase one's own welfare; altruism is to increase the welfare of another individual or individuals; collectivism is aimed at increasing the welfare of a group, and the principlism is to uphold one or more moral principles. As a base of community involvement, each of these four forms of motivation exhibits its own strengths and weaknesses to be acknowledged. Purposive sampling was suitable to select the fourteen descendant group representatives. The representatives included chief/s, headman, senior descendants’ member, and members of the traditional council who descends from MWCHS. The qualitative research design was adopted for the study in the form of semi-structured interviews. Community development is a social process involving residents in activities designed to improve their quality of life. The key finding of the research is the importance of involving communities, in particular, the immediate community members from the initial stage of any proposed tourism development activity. Without a doubt, the immediate communities are well informed about the dynamics of the area (economically, politically, and socially). Therefore, the finding suggests that communities are in a better position to advise project managers on possible potential tourism developments activities that can address the real needs and benefit the community, instead of investing resources in a development that will not benefit or add any value in the lives of the targeted communities. It must be noted that the power of the place where the development will be implemented remains with the community. Furthermore, community support and buy-in are crucial to the success of prospective tourism development. In conclusion, it cannot be denied that community involvement comes with its own challenges, contrary to greater sustainable benefits that can be realized prior to articulation. The study suggests for project managers to ensure a fair and transparent community involvement process. Fair distribution of meaningful roles could secure trust and result in these communities to view the proposed development as their own.

Keywords: communities, development, involvement, tourism

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Authors: Ahmed Gaber Abdel Raheem, Nashwa Ahmed Mohamed

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Introduction: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is largely caused by the degeneration of the cochlea. Therapeutic options for SNHL are limited to hearing aids and cochlear implants. The cell transplantation approach to the regeneration of hair cells has gained considerable attention because stem cells are believed to accumulate in the damaged sites and have the potential for the repair of damaged tissues. The aim of the work: was to assess the use of bone marrow transplantation in repair of damaged inner ear hair cells in rats after the damage had been inflicted by Amikacin injection. Material and Methods: Thirty albino rats were used in this study. They were divided into three groups. Each group ten rats. Group I: used as control. Group II: Were given Amikacin- intratympanic injection till complete loss of hearing function. This could be assessed by Distortion product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAEs) and / or auditory brain stem evoked potential (ABR). GroupIII: were given intra-peritoneal injection of bone marrow stem cell after complete loss of hearing caused by Amikacin. Clinical assessment was done using DPOAEs and / or auditory brain stem evoked potential (ABR), before and after bone marrow injection. Histological assessment of the inner ear was done by light and electron microscope. Also, Detection of stem cells in the inner ear by immunohistochemistry. Results: Histological examination of the specimens showed promising improvement in the structure of cochlea that may be responsible for the improvement of hearing function in rats detected by DPOAEs and / or ABR. Conclusion: Bone marrow stem cells transplantation might be useful for the treatment of SNHL.

Keywords: amikacin, hair cells, sensorineural hearing loss, stem cells

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Authors: Jiří Barta, Josef Krahulec, Jiří F. Urbánek

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Education and practical training crisis management members are a topical issue nowadays. The paper deals with the perspectives and possibilities of ‘smart solutions’ to education for crisis management staff. Currently, there are a large number of simulation tools, which notes that they are suitable for practical training of crisis management staff. The first part of the paper is focused on the introduction of the technology simulation tools. The simulators aim is to create a realistic environment for the practical training of extending units of crisis staff. The second part of the paper concerns the possibilities of using the simulation technology to the education process. The aim of this section is to introduce the practical capabilities and potential of the simulation programs for practical training of crisis management staff.

Keywords: crisis management staff, computer simulation, software, technological education

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Authors: Fatemeh Norouzi

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Today, financial performance has become one of the important issues in accounting and auditing that companies and their managers have paid attention to this issue and for this reason to the variables that are influential in this field. One of the things that can affect financial performance is corporate governance, which is examined in this research, although some things such as issues related to auditing can also moderate this relationship; Therefore, this research has been conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between corporate governance and financial performance with regard to the moderating role of feedback and internal control weakness. The research is practical in terms of purpose, and in terms of method, it has been done in a post-event descriptive manner, in which the data has been analyzed using stock market data. Data collection has been done by using stock exchange data which has been extracted from the website of the Iraqi Stock Exchange, the statistical population of this research is all the companies admitted to the Iraqi Stock Exchange. . The statistical sample in this research is considered from 2014 to 2021, which includes 34 companies. Four different models have been considered for the research hypotheses, which are eight hypotheses, in this research, the analysis has been done using EXCEL and STATA15 software. In this article, collinearity test, integration test ,determination of fixed effects and correlation matrix results, have been used. The research results showed that the first four hypotheses were rejected and the second four hypotheses were confirmed.

Keywords: size of the board of directors, duality of the CEO, financial performance, internal control weakness

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Authors: Xiaoqian Cheng, Jon Kleppe, Ole Torsæter

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The properties of rocks have effects on efficiency of surfactant. One objective of this study is to analyze the effects of rock properties (permeability, porosity, initial water saturation) on surfactant spontaneous imbibition at laboratory scale. The other objective is to evaluate existing upscaling methods and establish a modified upscaling method. A core is put in a container that is full of surfactant solution. Assume there is no space between the bottom of the core and the container. The core is modelled as a cuboid matrix with a length of 3.5 cm, a width of 3.5 cm, and a height of 5 cm. The initial matrix, brine and oil properties are set as the properties of Ekofisk Field. The simulation results of matrix permeability show that the oil recovery rate has a strong positive linear relationship with matrix permeability. Higher oil recovery is obtained from the matrix with higher permeability. One existing upscaling method is verified by this model. The study on matrix porosity shows that the relationship between oil recovery rate and matrix porosity is a negative power function. However, the relationship between ultimate oil recovery and matrix porosity is a positive power function. The initial water saturation of matrix has negative linear relationships with ultimate oil recovery and enhanced oil recovery. However, the relationship between oil recovery and initial water saturation is more complicated with the imbibition time because of the transition of dominating force from capillary force to gravity force. Modified upscaling methods are established. The work here could be used as a reference for the surfactant application in fractured reservoirs. And the description of the relationships between properties of matrix and the oil recovery rate and ultimate oil recovery helps to improve upscaling methods.

Keywords: initial water saturation, permeability, porosity, surfactant EOR

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Authors: Charawee Butbumrung

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This research aim to study the financial service of the Thailand financial Institution, second is to identify "best practices" offered by four financial institutions, namely, Kasikornthai Bank, Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, and Thanachart Bank. In-depth interviews with managers of financial institution and borrowers reveal best practices from each financial institution. Close monitoring of and a close relationship with borrowers appear to be important for early detection of any problem. Another aspect that may be important is building up loyalty and developing reliability among members. A close and informal relationship with borrowers may also help in monitoring and early detection of problems that may arise in non-repayment of loans. Other factors that may be considered important to the success of a financial service scheme are cooperation and coordination among various agencies that provide additional support to borrowers. Indirectly, these support systems contribute to the success of a SME in Thailand.

Keywords: best practices, financial service, financial institution, SME in Thailand

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Authors: Aliyu Damri

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This study analyzed the emergence of WhatsApp and how employees at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Kaduna defined the concept base on their vast broadcasting experiences for over five decades and application of the phenomenon to the radio station. It also analyzed the nature, patterns, dimensions, features, challenges as well as the effects of WhatsApp as a social networking site with specific interest on the radio outlet. Also, the study identified how the radio organization responded to the challenges in an attempt to adapt to the new pattern of broadcasting characterized by many technological transformations. The study further explained in details such skills journalists need to function optimally using WhatsApp as well as the impacts of the WhatsApp on radio broadcasting. It used a combination of published materials, focus group discussion, in depth interviews and participant observation on the activities of the radio stations to address the research questions. The data generated provided insight to better understand the challenges posed to FRCN Kaduna as a result of WhatsApp application and how FRCN Kaduna responded to the challenges. It also provided information on the skills journalists need to function optimally in using WhatsApp application in the radio station. The interview and focus group discussion’s transcripts and the published materials were analyzed along thematic pattern related to the research questions in the study. The dominant response relied heavily on change in the radio station’s organizational and technical integration of newsrooms, the use of a multiskilled workforce, application of a flexible and user-friendly technology in all aspects of production, expansion of the station’s services in to new media such as internet and mobile phones as well as sharing of ideas across different units in the radio outfit.

Keywords: broadcasting, challenge, northern Nigeria, radio, WhatsApp application

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Authors: Stuart Noel

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In a streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams presents Blanche DuBois, a most complex and intriguing character who often uses prestige language to project the image of an upper-class speaker and to disguise her darker and complicated self. She embodies various fascinating and contrasting characteristics. Like New Orleans (the locale of the play), Blanche represents two opposing images. One image projects that of genteel, Southern charm and beauty, speaking formally and using prestige language and what some linguists refer to as “hypercorrection,” and the other image reveals that of a soiled, deteriorating façade, full of decadence and illusion. Williams said on more than one occasion that Blanche’s use of such language was a direct reflection of her personality and character (as a high school English teacher). Prestige language is an exaggeratedly elevated, pretentious, and oftentimes melodramatic form of one’s language incorporating superstandard or more standard speech than usual in order to project a highly authoritative individual identity. Speech styles carry personal identification meaning not only because they are closely associated with certain social classes but because they tend to be associated with certain conversational contexts. Features which may be considered to be “elaborated” in form (for example, full forms vs. contractions) tend to cluster together in speech registers/styles which are typically considered to be more formal and/or of higher social prestige, such as academic lectures and news broadcasts. Members of higher social classes have access to the elaborated registers which characterize formal writings and pre-planned speech events, such as lectures, while members of lower classes are relegated to using the more economical registers associated with casual, face-to-face conversational interaction, since they do not participate in as many planned speech events as upper-class speakers. Tennessee Williams’s work is characteristically concerned with the conflict between the illusions of an individual and the reality of his/her situation equated with a conflict between truth and beauty. An examination of Blanche DuBois reveals a recurring theme of art and decay and the use of prestige language to reveal artistry in language and to hide a deteriorating self. His graceful and poetic writing personifies her downfall and deterioration. Her loneliness and disappointment are the things so often strongly feared by the sensitive artists and heroes in the world. Hers is also a special and delicate human spirit that is often misunderstood and repressed by society. Blanche is afflicted with a psychic illness growing out of her inability to face the harshness of human existence. She is a sensitive, artistic, and beauty-haunted creature who is avoiding her own humanity while hiding behind her use of prestige language. And she embodies a partial projection of Williams himself.

Keywords: American drama, prestige language, Southern American literature, Tennessee Williams

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Authors: Athanase Gahungu, Karen Freeman

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Different groups of stakeholders expect the evaluation of an international, grant-funded program to inform them of the worth of the program - the funder, the agency operating the program and its community, and the citizens of the country where the program is implemented. This paper summarizes the challenges that intercultural teams of researchers faced as they crisscrossed a host country while evaluating a teaching and learning materials program, and offers useful tips for effective collaboration. Firstly, was recommended that the teams be representative of the cultures involved, and have the required research and program evaluation skills. Secondly, cultures involved must consistently establish and maintain a shared performance system. Thirdly, successful team members must be self-aware, inter-culturally knowledgeable, not just in communication, but in conceptualizing the political and social context of international grant-funded projects.

Keywords: program evaluation, international collaboration, intercultural, shared performance

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Authors: Matodzi Rapalalani

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In context with Spencer's (2018) classic labelling theory, labels influence the perceptions of both the individual and other members of society. That is, once labelled, the individual act in ways that confirm the stereotypes attached to the label. This study, therefore, investigates the understanding of gendered labelling and its effects on Vhavenda women. Gender socialization and patriarchy have been viewed as the core causes of the problem. The literature presented the development of gendered labelling, forms of it, and other aspects. A qualitative method of data collection was used in this study, and semi-structural interviews were conducted. A total of 6 participants were used as it is easy to deal with a small sample. Thematic analysis was used as the data was interpreted and analyzed. Ethical issues such as confidentiality, informed consent, and voluntary participation were considered. Through the analysis and data interpretation, causes such as lack of Christian values, insecurities, and lust were mentioned as well as some of the effects such as frustrations, increased divorce, and low self-esteem.

Keywords: gender, naming, Venda, women, African culture

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Authors: Rony Tawk, Boutros Ghannam, Maroun Nemer

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Topology optimization technique presents a potential tool for the design and optimization of structures involved in mass and heat transfer. The method starts with an initial intermediate domain and should be able to progressively distribute the solid and the two fluids exchanging heat. The multi-objective function of the problem takes into account minimization of total pressure loss and maximization of heat transfer between solid and fluid subdomains. Existing methods account for the presence of only one fluid, while the actual work extends optimization distribution of solid and two different fluids. This requires to separate the channels of both fluids and to ensure a minimum solid thickness between them. This is done by adding a third objective function to the multi-objective optimization problem. This article uses density approach where each cell holds two local design parameters ranging from 0 to 1, where the combination of their extremums defines the presence of solid, cold fluid or hot fluid in this cell. Finite volume method is used for direct solver coupled with a discrete adjoint approach for sensitivity analysis and method of moving asymptotes for numerical optimization. Several examples are presented to show the ability of the method to find a trade-off between minimization of power dissipation and maximization of heat transfer while ensuring the separation and continuity of the channel of each fluid without crossing or mixing the fluids. The main conclusion is the possibility to find an optimal bi-fluid domain using topology optimization, defining a fluid to fluid heat exchanger device.

Keywords: topology optimization, density approach, bi-fluid domain, laminar steady state regime, fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger

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Authors: Nur Emma Mustaffa, Hii Ping Ping

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Late payment is a common issue in the construction industry and the subcontractors are not spared from it. This study has been carried out with the objectives to identify the implications of late payment issues toward the subcontractors and the strategies adopted by them to overcome the late payment issues. In terms of the strategies which can be adopted in overcoming the late payment, the subcontractors may suspend or slow down the construction process, making periodic follow up with the client, demand the rights to interest on late payment or the issuance of a promissory note by the client. The focus of the study is primarily on Grade 4 to Grade 7 contractors in Johor Bahru, Malaysia who carried out subcontracting works and registered under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). Employing survey as the main research method for data collection, the analysis would therefore mainly be adopting Likert Scale Analysis, Ranking Analysis and Frequency Distribution Analysis. This research showed the main implication of late payment issues towards subcontractors is created financial hardship to them. Besides, the most effective strategy adopted by the subcontractors to overcome the late payment issues is follow-up with client using formal procedure. From the findings, most of the subcontractors had low level of experiences and frequency in the adoption of Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act (CIPAA) 2012 to solve the payment disputes in the construction industry. In a nutshell, it is hoped that these findings will become guidance to the subcontractors to overcome the late payment issues in their future projects.

Keywords: subcontractors, implications, strategies, CIPAA 2012, payment

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Authors: Peter K. Galenko, Stefanie Koch, Markus Rettenmayr, Robert Wonneberger, Evgeny V. Kharanzhevskiy, Maria Zamoryanskaya, Vladimir Ankudinov

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We analyze the structure of undercooled melts, crystal growth kinetics and amorphous/crystalline microstructure of rapidly solidifying glass-forming Pd-based and CuZr-based alloys. A dendrite growth model is developed using a combination of the kinetic phase-field model and mesoscopic sharp interface model. The model predicts features of crystallization kinetics in alloys from thermodynamically controlled growth (governed by the Gibbs free energy change on solidification) to the kinetically limited regime (governed by atomic attachment-detachment processes at the solid/liquid interface). Comparing critical undercoolings observed in the crystallization kinetics with experimental data on melt viscosity, atomistic simulation's data on liquid microstructure and theoretically predicted dendrite growth velocity allows us to conclude that the dendrite growth kinetics strongly depends on the cluster structure changes of the melt. The obtained data of theoretical and experimental investigations are used for interpretation of microstructure of samples processed in electro-magnetic levitator on board International Space Station in the frame of the project "MULTIPHAS" (European Space Agency and German Aerospace Center, 50WM1941) and "KINETIKA" (ROSKOSMOS).

Keywords: dendrite, kinetics, model, solidification

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Authors: Hai L. Tran

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Previous research on agenda setting effects has often focused on the top-down influence of the media at the aggregate level, while overlooking the capacity of audience members to select media and content to fit their individual dispositions. The decentralized characteristics of online communication and digital news create more choices and greater user control, thereby enabling each audience member to seek out a unique blend of media sources, issues, and elements of messages and to mix them into a coherent individual picture of the world. This study examines how audiences use media differently depending on their prior dispositions, thereby making sense of the world in ways that are congruent with their preferences and cognitions. The current undertaking is informed by theoretical frameworks from two distinct lines of scholarship. According to the ideological migration hypothesis, individuals choose to live in communities with ideologies like their own to satisfy their need to belong. One tends to move away from Zip codes that are incongruent and toward those that are more aligned with one’s ideological orientation. This geographical division along ideological lines has been documented in social psychology research. As an extension of agenda setting, the agendamelding hypothesis argues that audiences seek out information in attractive media and blend them into a coherent narrative that fits with a common agenda shared by others, who think as they do and communicate with them about issues of public. In other words, individuals, through their media use, identify themselves with a group/community that they want to join. Accordingly, the present study hypothesizes that because ideology plays a role in pushing people toward a physical community that fits their need to belong, it also leads individuals to receive an idiosyncratic blend of media and be influenced by such selective exposure in deciding what issues are more relevant. Consequently, the individualized focus of media choices impacts how audiences perceive political news coverage and what they know about political issues. The research project utilizes recent data from The American Trends Panel survey conducted by Pew Research Center to explore the nuanced nature of agenda setting at the individual level and amid heightened polarization. Hypothesis testing is performed with both nonparametric and parametric procedures, including regression and path analysis. This research attempts to explore the media-public relationship from a bottom-up approach, considering the ability of active audience members to select among media in a larger process that entails agenda setting. It helps encourage agenda-setting scholars to further examine effects at the individual, rather than aggregate, level. In addition to theoretical contributions, the study’s findings are useful for media professionals in building and maintaining relationships with the audience considering changes in market share due to the spread of digital and social media.

Keywords: agenda setting, agendamelding, audience fragmentation, ideological migration, partisanship, polarization

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Authors: Sanchai Ratthanakwan

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This research aims to study situations and characteristics of the problems facing the urban poor. The data and information are collected by focus group and in-depth interview leader and members of Four Regions Slum Network, community representatives and the social welfare officer. The research can be concluded that the problems of the urban poor faced with three major problems: Firstly, the shortage of housing and stability issues in housing; secondly, the problem of substandard quality of life; and thirdly, the debt problem. The study found that a solution will be found in two ways: First way is the creation of housing for the urban poor in slums or community intrusion by the state. Second way is the stability in the housing and subsistence provided by the community center called “housing stability”.

Keywords: urban poor, social welfare, Bangkok metropolis, housing stability

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Authors: Anupam Sibal

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Whatever is measured tends to improve. With a view to objectively measuring and improving clinical quality across the Apollo Group Hospitals, the initiative of ACE @ 25 (Apollo Clinical Excellence@25) was launched on Jan 09. ACE @ 25 is a clinically balanced scorecard incorporating 25 clinical quality parameters involving complication rates, mortality rates, one-year survival rates and average length of stay after major procedures like liver and renal transplant, CABG, TKR, THR, TURP, PTCA, endoscopy, large bowel resection and MRM covering all major specialties. Also included are hospital acquired infection rates, pain satisfaction and medication errors. Benchmarks have been chosen from the world’s best hospitals. There are weighted scores for outcomes color coded green, orange and red. The cumulative score is 100. Data is reported monthly by 43 Group Hospitals online on the Lighthouse platform. Action taken reports for parameters falling in red are submitted quarterly and reviewed by the board. An audit team audits the data at all locations every six months. Scores are linked to appraisal of the medical head and there is an “ACE @ 25” Champion Award for the highest scorer. Scores for different parameters were variable from green to red at the start of the initiative. Most hospitals showed an improvement in scores over the last four years for parameters where they had showed scores in red or orange at the start of the initiative. The overall scores for the group have shown an increase from 72 in 2010 to 81 in 2015.

Keywords: benchmarks, clinical quality, lighthouse, platform, scores

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Authors: Norlizam Md Sukiban, Muhammad Faisal Ashaari, Hidayah bt Rahmalan

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The role that a mosque or masjid have applied during the life of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was magnificent. Masjid managed to gather the community in lots of ways. It was the center of the first Islamic community and nation, with greatest triumphs and tragedies. It was a place to accommodate for the community center, homeless refuge, university and mosque all rolled into one. However, the role of masjid applied today was less than the time of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was alive. The advanced technology such as the internet has a major impact to the community nowadays. For example, community online has been chosen for lots of people to maintain their relationship and suggest various events among the communities members. This study is to investigate the possibility of the role of e-Masjid in adapting the concept of community online in order to remain the role played as such as role of masjid during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). Definition and the characteristic of the online community were listed, along with the benefits of the online community. Later, discussion on the possibility of the online community to be adapted in e-Masjid.

Keywords: e-masjid, online community, virtual community, e-community

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Authors: Gianluca Del Rossi

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Sub-concussive impacts occur frequently in collision sports such as American tackle football. Sub-concussive level impacts are defined as hits to the head that do not result in the clinical manifestation of concussion injury. Presently, there is limited information known about the short-term effects of repeated sub-concussive blows to the head. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine if standard clinical measures could detect acute impairments in neurologic function resulting from the accumulation of sub-concussive impacts throughout a season of high school American tackle football. Simple reaction time using the ruler-drop test, and oculomotor performance using the King-Devick (KD) test, were assessed in 15 athletes prior to the start of the athletic season, then repeated each week of the season, and once following its completion. The mean reaction times and fastest KD scores that were recorded or calculated from each study participant and from each test session were analyzed to assess for change in reaction time and oculomotor performance over the course of the American tackle football season. Analyses of KD data revealed improvements in oculomotor performance from baseline measurements (i.e., decreased time), with most weekly comparisons to baseline being significantly different. Statistical tests performed on the mean reaction times obtained via the ruler-drop test throughout the season revealed statistically significant declines (i.e., increased time) between baseline and weeks 3, 4, 10, and 12 of the athletic season. The inconsistent and contrasting findings between KD data and reaction time demonstrate the need to identify more robust clinical measures to definitively assess if repeated sub-concussive impacts to the head are acutely detrimental to patients.

Keywords: head injury, mTBI and sport, subclinical head trauma, sub-concussive impacts

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Authors: Jae Bok Heo, Yun Mi Lee, Hee Rang Yun

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Several GTPases are required for ribosome biogenesis and assembly. We recently characterized rice (Oryza sativa) nuclear/nucleolar GTPase 2 (OsNug2), belonging to the YlqF/YawG family of GTPases, as playing a role in pre-60S ribosomal subunit maturation. To investigate the potential factors involved in regulating the function of OsNug2, yeast two-hybrid screens were carried out using OsNug2 as bait. Rice serine/threonine kinase 1 (OsSTK1) was identified as a potential interacting protein candidate. In vitro pull down and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays confirmed the interaction between OsNug2 and OsSTK1, and like green fluorescent protein-tagged OsNug2, green fluorescent protein-tagged OsSTK1 was targeted to the nucleus of Arabidopsis protoplasts. OsSTK1 was not found to affect the GTP-binding activity of OsNug2; however, when recombinant OsSTK1 was included in OsNug2 assay reaction mixtures, OsSTK1 increased the GTPase activity of OsNug2. To test whether OsSTK1 phosphorylates OsNug2 in vitro, a kinase assay was performed. OsSTK1 was found to have weak autophosphorylation activity and strongly phosphorylated serine 209 of OsNug2. Yeast complementation testing resulted in a GAL::OsNug2(S209N) mutant-harboring yeast strain exhibiting a growth-defective phenotype on galactose medium at 39°C, divergent from that of a yeast strain harboring GAL::OsNug2. The intrinsic GTPase activity of mutant OsNug2(S209N) was found to be similar to that of OsNug2, was not fully enhanced upon weak binding of OsSTK1. Our findings reported here indicate that OsSTK1 functions as a positive regulator protein of OsNug2 by enhancing the GTPase activity of OsNug2, and that the phosphorylation of serine 209 of OsNug2 is essential for the complete function of OsNug2 in ribosome biogenesis.

Keywords: OsSTK1, OsNug2, GTPase activity, GTP binding activity, phosphorylation

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Authors: YU Kaijun, Liang Dong, Zhang Yarong, Jin Zhenzhou, Yang Zhaobao

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For the impact monitoring of distributed structures, the traditional positioning methods are based on the time difference, which includes the four-point arc positioning method and the triangulation positioning method. But in the actual operation, these two methods have errors. In this paper, the Multi-Agent Blackboard Coordination Principle is used to combine the two methods. Fusion steps: (1) The four-point arc locating agent calculates the initial point and records it to the Blackboard Module.(2) The triangulation agent gets its initial parameters by accessing the initial point.(3) The triangulation agent constantly accesses the blackboard module to update its initial parameters, and it also logs its calculated point into the blackboard.(4) When the subsequent calculation point and the initial calculation point are within the allowable error, the whole coordination fusion process is finished. This paper presents a Multi-Agent collaboration method whose agent framework is JADE. The JADE platform consists of several agent containers, with the agent running in each container. Because of the perfect management and debugging tools of the JADE, it is very convenient to deal with complex data in a large structure. Finally, based on the data in Jade, the results show that the impact location method based on Multi-Agent coordination fusion can reduce the error of the two methods.

Keywords: impact monitoring, structural health monitoring(SHM), multi-agent system(MAS), black-board coordination, JADE

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Authors: Lana Whiskeyjack, Kyle Napier

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The Spirit of the language embodies the motivation for indigenous people to connect with the indigenous language of their lineage. While the concept of the spirit of the language is often woven into the discussion by indigenous language revitalizationists, particularly those who are indigenous, there are few tangible terms in academic research conceptually actualizing the term. Through collaborative work with indigenous language speakers, elders, and learners, this research sets out to identify the spirit of the language, the catalysts of disconnection from the spirit of the language, and the sources of reconnection to the spirit of the language. This work fundamentally addresses the terms of engagement around collaboration with indigenous communities, itself inviting a decolonial approach to community outreach and individual relationships. As indigenous researchers, this means beginning, maintain, and closing this work in the ceremony while being transparent with community members in this work and related publishing throughout the project’s duration. Decolonizing this approach also requires maintaining explicit ongoing consent by the elders, knowledge keepers, and community members when handling their ancestral and indigenous knowledge. The handling of this knowledge is regarded in this work as stewardship, both in the handling of digital materials and the handling of ancestral Indigenous knowledge. This work observes recorded conversations in both nêhiyawêwin and English, resulting from 10 semi-structured interviews with fluent nêhiyawêwin speakers as well as three structured dialogue circles with fluent and emerging speakers. The words were transcribed by a speaker fluent in both nêhiyawêwin and English. The results of those interviews were categorized thematically to conceptually actualize the spirit of the language, catalysts of disconnection to thespirit of the language, and community voices methods of reconnection to the spirit of the language. Results of these interviews vastly determine that the spirit of the language is drawn from the land. Although nêhiyawêwin is the focus of this work, Indigenous languages are by nature inherently related to the land. This is further reaffirmed by the Indigenous language learners and speakers who expressed having ancestries and lineages from multiple Indigenous communities. Several other key differences embody this spirit of the language, which include ceremony and spirituality, as well as the semantic worldviews tied to polysynthetic verb-oriented morphophonemics most often found in indigenous languages — and of focus, nêhiyawêwin. The catalysts of disconnection to the spirit of the language are those whose histories have severed connections between Indigenous Peoples and the spirit of their languages or those that have affected relationships with the land, ceremony, and ways of thinking. Results of this research and its literature review have determined the three most ubiquitously damaging interdependent factors, which are catalysts of disconnection from the spirit of the language as colonization, capitalism, and Christianity. As voiced by the Indigenous language learners, this work necessitates addressing means to reconnect to the spirit of the language. Interviewees mentioned that the process of reconnection involves a whole relationship with the land, the practice of reciprocal-relational methodologies for language learning, and indigenous-protected and -governed learning. This work concludes in support of those reconnection methodologies.

Keywords: indigenous language acquisition, indigenous language reclamation, indigenous language revitalization, nêhiyawêwin, spirit of the language

Procedia PDF Downloads 128