Search results for: master's program in technology

Authors: Zaideth Zobeida Ponce Alonso, Laura Emilia Fierro Lopez, Maria del Rocio Dominguez Gaona

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The present study is part of the Master in Modern Languages at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, and it aims to analyze how the sociocultural background might influence the development of learner autonomy in foreign language education in order to propose some strategies to overcome such challenges. Given the lack of research on the sociocultural barriers in learner autonomy in a Mexican context and the need to hear teachers’ voices about this issue, qualitative data was obtained from semi-structured interviews with six language teachers on their perspectives on learner autonomy, its application to the language classroom, and their experiences with Mexican and foreign learners/contexts in order to find out differences regarding learner autonomy. The results suggest three main sociocultural characteristics: preference for an authority figure, tendency towards collectivism, and low tolerance of ambiguity. Finally, nine strategies were proposed in order to help language teachers to deal with such sociocultural characteristics when fostering learner autonomy in the border city of Mexicali, where this study was carried out.

Keywords: learner autonomy, Mexican context, sociocultural influence, teachers' perspectives, teaching strategies

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Authors: Tamer Mohamed Atef

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The tourism and hospitality education is a branch of the overall tourism and hospitality industry that is dedicated to providing the industry with well-educated, well-trained, skilled, enthusiastic and committed workforce. The Tourism Department at the College of Arts and Social Sciences (Sultan Qaboos University), Oman, has been providing the Omani society with undergraduate tourism and hospitality educational services since Fall 2001. Despite the fact that Tourism Department graduates are not facing any employment concerns, fluctuation in the number of enrollees and graduates, however, has been a significant characteristic since the inception of the program. To address this concern, several tactical and strategic decisions have been made, notably that the program has received accreditation from two prestigious international accreditation institutions, which mark two major milestones in the educational journey of the Tourism Department. The current study, thus, aims to provide a tourism and hospitality education efficiency management model. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were identified: to analyze students in - graduates out matrix, and to assess graduates’ employment trends. A survey was conducted to assess the current employment status of the department graduates. Secondary data were collected from Deanship of Admission and Registration statistical reports on the Tourism Department. Data were tabulated and analyzed in such a way that set forth the major findings from the survey and the secondary data. This study sheds light on the educational system created and followed by the Tourism Department, in an effort to provide a tourism and hospitality education efficiency management model, that would help educators and administrators better manage their programs.

Keywords: tourism, hospitality, education, students, graduates, employability, indicators

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Authors: Akanksha Dicholkar, Celin Jacob, Omkar More

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Work force instability, as demonstrated by high rates of staff turnover and lingering vacancy rates, continues to be a major challenge faced by health care organizations. The impact is manifested in workflow inefficiencies, delays in delivering patient care, and dissatisfaction among patients and staff, all of which can have significant negative effects on quality of care and patient safety. In addition, the staggering administrative costs created by a transient work force threaten health care organizations financial viability. One nurse retention strategy is to have newly hired nurses partake in Preceptorship. Precepting is a way to enculturate new employees into their role. Also good professional, collegial relationship between an experienced nurse and a newly hired nurse relations was evidenced. This study demonstrates impact of preceptor program on absconding rate, employee satisfaction & Patient satisfaction. Purpose of study: To decrease absconding rate. Objective: 1. To reduce the high absconding rate among nurses in Aster Medcity (AMC). 2. To facilitate the acclimatization of the newly hired nurse into their role, focusing on professional growth, inter-professional relationships and clinical skills required for the job. Methodology: Descriptive study by Convenience sampling method and collect data by direct observation, questionnaire, interviews. Sample size as per Sample size statistical table at 95 % CI. We conducted a pre and post intervention analysis to assess the impact of Preceptorship at AMC, with a daily occupancy of approx. 300 patients. Result: Preceptor program has had a significant improvement positive impact on all measured parameters. Absconding rate came down from 20% to 0% (P= 0.001). Patient satisfaction scores rose from 85% to 95%. Employee satisfaction rose form 65% to 85%. Conclusion: The project proved that Preceptor Development Programme and the steps taken in hand holding of the new joinees were effective in reducing the absconding rate among nurses and improved the overall satisfaction of new nurses. Preceptee satisfaction with the preceptorship experience was correlated with favorable evaluation of the relationship between the preceptee and preceptor. These findings indicate that when preceptors and preceptees have the benefit of formal preceptorship programs that are well supported, and when the preceptors’ efforts are rewarded, satisfaction is enhanced for both participants, preceptor commitment to the role is reinforced.

Keywords: absconding rate, preceptor, employee satisfaction index, satisfaction index

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Authors: L. Nevrivova, K. Lang, M. Kotoucek, D. Vsiansky

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This entry concerned with dense silica microstructure was produced as a part of a project within the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic which is being implemented in cooperation of the biggest producer of refractories the P-D Refractories CZ company with the research organisation Brno University of Technology. The paper is focused on the influence of mixture homogenisation and the influence of grain size of the mineraliser on the resulting utility properties of the material as well as its microstructure. It has a decisive influence on the durability of the material in a building structure. This paper is a continuation of a previously published study dealing with the suitability of various types of mineralising agents in terms of density, strength and mineral composition of silica. The entry describes the influence of the method of mixture homogenisation and the influence of granulometry of the applied Fe-mineralising agent on the resulting silica microstructure. Porosity, density, phase composition and microstructure of the experimentally prepared silica samples were examined and the results were discussed in context with the technology of homogenisation and firing temperature used. The properties of silica brick samples were compared to the sample without any Fe-mineraliser.

Keywords: silica bricks, Fe-mineraliser, mineralogical composition, new developed silica material

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Authors: Sakine Sincer

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In today’s world, the borders between countries and globalization are getting faster. It is an undeniable fact that this trend mostly results from the developments and improvements in technology. Technology, which dominates our lives to a great extent, has turned out to be one of the most important resources to be used in building an effective and fruitful educational atmosphere. Nowadays, technology is a significant means of arranging educational activities at all levels of education such as primary, secondary or tertiary education. This study aims at analyzing the attitudes of prep-class students towards computer-based foreign language education. Within the scope of this study, prep-class students at a university in Ankara, Turkey in 2013-2014 Academic Year participated in this study. The participants were asked to fill in 'Computer-Based Educational Attitude Scale.' The data gathered in this study were analyzed by means of using statistical devices such as means, standard deviation, percentage as well as t-test and ANOVA. At the end of the analysis, it was found out that the participants had a highly positive attitude towards computer-based language education.

Keywords: computer-based education, foreign language education, higher education, prep-class

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Authors: Radek Novotný, Martina Maněnová

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This article presents a summary of reviews on gender differences in perception of information and communication technology (ICT) by pupils in primary education. The article outlines the meaning of ICT in primary education then summarizes different studies of the use of ICT in primary education from the point of view of gender. The article also presents the specific differences of gender in the knowledge of modalities of use of specialized digital tools and the perception and value assigned to ICT, accordingly the article provides insight into the background of gender differences in performance in relation to ICT to determinate the complex meaning of pupils attitudes to the ICT.

Keywords: ICT in primary education, attitudes to ICT, gender differences, gender and ICT

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Authors: Olaniyi O. Omoyajowo

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To be successful in today’s competitive global environment, manufacturing industry must be able to respond quickly to changes in technology. These changes in technology introduce new risks and hazards. The management of risk/hazard in a manufacturing process recommends method through which the success rate of an organization can be increased. Thus, there is a continual need for manufacturing industries to invest significant amount of resources in risk management, which in turn optimizes the production output and profitability of any manufacturing industry (if implemented properly). To help improve the existing risk prevention and mitigation practices in Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) in Nigeria Manufacturing Industries (NMI), the researcher embarks on this research to develop a systematic Risk Management process.

Keywords: manufacturing management, risk, risk management, SMEs

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Authors: Bismina Akbar, Smitha M. V.

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Flooding is a global phenomenon that causes widespread devastation, economic damage, and loss of human lives. In the past twenty years, the number of reported flood events has increased significantly. Millions of people around the globe are at risk of flooding from coastal, dam breaks, groundwater, and urban surface water and wastewater sources. Climate change is one of the important causes for them since it affects, directly and indirectly, the river network. Although the contribution of climate change is undeniable, human contributions are there to increase the frequency of floods. There are different types of floods, such as Flash floods, Coastal floods, Urban floods, River (or fluvial) floods, and Ponding (or pluvial flooding). This study focuses on formulating mitigation strategies for urban flood risk reduction through analysis of different best practice case studies, including China, Japan, Indonesia, and Brazil. The mitigation measures suggest that apart from the structural and non-structural measures, environmental considerations like blue-green solutions are beneficial for flood risk reduction. And also, Risk-Informed Master plans are essential nowadays to take risk-based decision processes that enable more sustainability and resilience.

Keywords: hazard, mitigation, risk reduction, urban flood

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Authors: L. K. Karimova, K. I. Shariukova, A. A. Kirpichnikova, E. A. Razuvalova

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This article deals with technology of virtual reconstruction of Kazan Imperial University of XIX - early XX centuries. The paper describes technologies of 3D-visualization of high-resolution models of objects of university space, creation of multi-agent system and connected with these objects organized database of historical sources, variants of use of technologies of immersion into the virtual environment.

Keywords: 3D-reconstruction, multi-agent system, database, university space, virtual reconstruction, virtual heritage

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Authors: Abdulsalami Muyideen Deji

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Nigeria as nation got independence in 1960 from British government which allowed indigenous people to form self-government and rule themselves base on the acceptable laws and orders provided by indigenes. All citizens saw it as a welcome development that gave them opportunity to develop at their own pace. Certainly, this occurred at the first instance up to the first republic of 1963. But things became worse for the country when the first military coup of January 15, 1966 sowed apple of discord between the three major tribes in Nigeria Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo as a result of miscarriage of well-conceived plan of master-minder of that coup Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Although, the argument had emanated from different quarters that if Nigeria was given opportunity to develop at the pace it was going at that time probably the Nigeria would have been among developed nation today, but that ill-fated coup was a clog in the wheel of nation’s progress. The base of this argument is that Nigeria achievements after independence still depend on the work of leaders who secure independence and also directed the affairs of nation within that short period of time up till today. Since then Nigeria has been grasping with different system of government, yet, the nation is still far from the solution. This paper will analyze Nigeria politics from independence, offer suggestion on the way forward. The source is strictly base on secondary source from textbook, newspapers, internet and journals.

Keywords: politics, government, independence, development

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Authors: Vinodd Nayak

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10th & 12th are the most crucial period in a student’s life. It is the time when he or she has to make vital career choices and get the relevant professional education. Unfortunately most students are not aware of the multitudes of career options available to them. This leads to affect our social fabric of the society with issues like unemployment, stress etc. We have planned a guidance program for the youth in Maharashtra state which has 4 components; creating awareness about different career options, proper guidance and motivation, counseling for parents, and information on financial aid for unemployed youth we are conducting skill development programs. Currently we are conducting programs under 4 categories Uneducated Youth: Skill Development programs for unemployed youth in construction field (Carpentry/Masoning/Wlder/Electrician/Tiling etc..) in association with L&T Construction Training Institute Educated Youth: Il&FS: Training and Job Placement in the field of Finance and Customer Service NIS Sparta: Training and Job Placement in the field of Sales and Marketing Apeejay Inst. of Hotel Management: Training and Job Placement in the field of hospitality industry Skill India: Training and Job Placement in the field of IT Results: The results were really overwhelming. We were able to cater to approx. 10,000 students a year and the list is growing. Earlier we were only catering to schools and colleges, now we have started receiving invitations from other community organizations to conduct such programs for their communities Implications for Social Work and Social Development practice: It is a high time that Social work organisations need to get into such work as this will enhance people to improve their financial condition. We always believed that it is better to teach a man to fish than feed him.

Keywords: youth education, career guidance, skill development, parental guidance

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Authors: Kevin Yeo, Christine Hall, Babinchak Tim

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BAT® [Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent (A,B,C,D,E,F,G)-(Equine)] anti-toxin is a mixture of equine immune globulin fragments indicated for the treatment of symptomatic botulism in adult and pediatric patients. The effectiveness of BAT anti-toxin is based on efficacy studies conducted in animal models. A general explanation of the pivotal animal studies, post market surveillance and outcomes of an observational patient registry for patients treated with BAT product distributed in the USA is briefly discussed. Overall it took 20 animal studies for two well-designed and appropriately powered pivotal efficacy studies – one in which the effectiveness of BAT was assessed against all 7 serotypes in the guinea pig, and the other where efficacy is confirmed in the Rhesus macaque using Serotype A. Clinical Experience for BAT to date involves approximately 600 adult and pediatric patients with suspected botulism. In pre-licensure, patient data was recorded under the US CDC expanded access program (259 adult and pediatric patients between 10 days to 88 years of age). In post licensure, greater than 350 patients to date have received BAT and been followed up by enhanced expanded access program. The analysis of the post market surveillance data provided a unique opportunity to demonstrate clinical benefit in the field study required by the animal rule. While the animal rule is applied because human efficacy studies are not ethical or feasible, a post-marketing requirement is to conduct a study to evaluate safety and clinical benefit when circumstances arise and demonstrate the favourable benefit-risk profile that supported licensure.

Keywords: botulism, threat, clinical benefit, observational patient registry

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Authors: Reem I. Altamimi, Geoff D. Skinner

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Extended periods engaged in sedentary behavior increases the risk of becoming overweight and/or obese which is linked to other health problems. Adding technology to the term ‘active living’ permits its inclusion in promoting and facilitating habitual physical activity. Technology can either act as a barrier to, or facilitate this lifestyle, depending on the chosen technology. Physical Activity Monitoring Technologies (PAMTs) are a popular example of such technologies. Different contemporary PAMTs have been evaluated based on customer reviews; however, there is a lack of published experimental research into the efficacy of PAMTs. This research aims to investigate the reliability of four PAMTs: two wristbands (Fitbit Flex and Jawbone UP), a waist-clip (Fitbit One), and a mobile application (iPhone Health Application) for recording a specific distance walked on a treadmill (1.5km) at constant speed. Physical activity tracking technologies are varied in their recordings, even while performing the same activity. This research demonstrates that Jawbone UP band recorded the most accurate distance compared to Fitbit One, Fitbit Flex, and iPhone Health Application.

Keywords: Fitbit, jawbone up, mobile tracking applications, physical activity tracking technologies

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Authors: Shayem Saleh ALresheedi, Lu Song Feng, Abdulaziz Abdulwahab M. Fatani

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Cloud computing is an emerging concept in the technological sphere. Its development enables many applications to avail information online and on demand. It is becoming an essential element for businesses due to its ability to diminish the costs of IT infrastructure and is being adopted in Saudi Arabia. However, there exist many factors that affect its adoption. Several researchers in the field have ignored the study of the TAM model for identifying the relevant factors and their impact for adopting of cloud computing. This study focuses on evaluating the acceptability of cloud computing and analyzing its impacting factors using Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of technology adoption in Saudi Arabia. It suggests a model to examine the influential factors of the TAM model along with external factors of technical support in adapting the cloud computing. The proposed model has been tested through the use of multiple hypotheses based on calculation tools and collected data from customers through questionnaires. The findings of the study prove that the TAM model along with external factors can be applied in measuring the expected adoption of cloud computing. The study presents an investigation of influential factors and further recommendation in adopting cloud computing in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: cloud computing, acceptability, adoption, determinants

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Authors: N. Benkhettoua, Y. Barkata

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We present first-principles studies of structural and thermodynamic properties of MnNi According to the calculated total energies, by using an all-electron full-potential linear muffin–tin orbital method (FP-LMTO) within LDA and the quasi-harmonic Debye model implemented in the Gibbs program is used for the temperature effect on structural and calorific properties.

Keywords: magnetic materials, structural properties, thermodynamic properties, metallurgical and materials engineering

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Authors: Ahmad Idris, Bishir Kado, Murtala Umar, Armaya`u Suleiman Labo

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Superpave is the short form of Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement and represents a basis for specifying component materials, asphalt mixture design and analysis, and pavement performance prediction. This new technology is the result of long research projects conducted by the strategic Highway Research program (SHRP) of the Federal Highway Administration. This research was aimed at examining the suitability of Aggregates found in Kano for used in Superpave design method. Aggregates samples were collected from different sources in Kano Nigeria and their Engineering properties, as they relate to the SUPERPAVE design requirements were determined. The average result of Coarse Aggregate Angularity in Kano was found to be 87% and 86% of one fractured face and two or more fractured faces respectively with a standard of 80% and 85% respectively. Fine Aggregate Angularity average result was found to be 47% with a requirement of 45% minimum. A flat and elongated particle which was found to be 10% has a maximum criterion of 10%. Sand equivalent was found to be 51% with the criteria of 45% minimum. Strength tests were also carried out, and the results reflect the requirements of the standards. The tests include Impact value test, Aggregate crushing value, and Aggregate Abrasion tests and the results are 27.5%, 26.7%, and 13%, respectively, with the maximum criteria of 30%. Specific gravity was also carried out and the result was found to have an average value of 2.52 with a criterion of 2.6 to 2.9 and Water absorption was found to be 1.41% with maximum criteria of 0.6%. From the study, the result of the tests indicated that the aggregates properties has met the requirements of Superpave design method based on the specifications of ASTMD 5821, ASTM D 4791, AASHTO T176, AASHTO T33 and BS815.

Keywords: Superpave, aggregates, asphalt mix, Kano

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Authors: Tripta Dixit, Smita Sahu, William Selvamurthy, Sadhana Srivastava

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The translation of healthcare technologies is an expensive, complex affair, current healthcare challenges in Asian countries and their efforts to meet Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), necessitates continuous technology advancement to save countless lives, improve the quality of life and for socio-economic development. India’s consistently improving global innovation index (57) demonstrates its innovation potential, but access to health care is asymmetric and lacks priority in India. Therefore, there is utmost need of a robust translation system for point-of-care (POC) solutions, inexpensive, low-maintenance, reliable, and easy-to-use diagnostic technologies. Few cases of POC technologies viz. Elisa based diagnostic kits for regional viral disease, a device for detection of cancerous lesions were studied to understand the process and challenges involved in their translation. Accordingly, the entire translation ecosystem was summarized proposing a nexus of various actors such as technology developer, technology transferor technology receiver, funding entities, government/regulatory bodies and their effect on translation of different medical technologies. This study highlights the role and concerns pertaining to these actors for POC such as unsystematic and unvalidated research roadmap, low profit preposition, unfocused approach of up-scaling, low market acceptability and multiple window regulatory framework, etc. This provides an opportunity to devise solutions to overcome problem areas in translation path.

Keywords: healthcare technologies, point-of-care solutions, public health, translation

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Authors: Edgar Teixeira, Eurico Carrapatoso

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As 3D displays become increasingly affordable, while production techniques and computational resources to create stereoscopic content being ever more accessible, a new dimension is literally introduced along with new expressive and immersive potentialities in support of designing for the screen. Prospective design visionaries have already at the reach of their hands an innovative and powerful visualization technology, which enables them to actively envision future trends and vanguardist directions. This paper explores the aesthetic and informational potentialities of stereoscopic motion graphics, providing insight on the application of 3D displays in design practice, proposing strategies to investigate stereoscopic communication, discussing potential repercussions to extant theory and impacts on audience.

Keywords: design, visual communication, technology, stereoscopy, 3D media

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Authors: Raúl Bajo-Buenestado

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This paper studies the impact of the intensity of market competition on firms' willingness to adopt green technologies —which has become particularly relevant in the light of the debate on whether competition policies should be relaxed to achieve certain environmental targets. We exploit the staggered rollout of different rail-hailing platforms (most notably, Uber) across different metropolitan areas in Spain as a natural experiment that provides time and city-specific exogenous variation in the intensity of competition to study the impact on taxi drivers' decisions to purchase “green” or “dirty” vehicles. It was shown that the entry of these platforms significantly increased the takeout of green vehicles among professional drivers in incumbent (dominant) conventional taxi companies and decreased that of dirty vehicles. The exact opposite effect is observed in the cities where these platforms were extremely unlikely to enter. Back of the envelope calculations suggest that the entry of Uber is associated with an extra green vehicle purchase in every four among taxi drivers, resulting in a substantial drop in the level of emissions from the taxi fleet —still mostly dominated diesel vehicles.

Keywords: technological change, green technology adoption, market competition, diffusion of technology, environmental externalities

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Authors: Jelena Vucicevic

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Reliability analysis represents a very important task in different areas of work. In any industry, this is crucial for maintenance, efficiency, safety and monetary costs. There are ways to calculate reliability, unreliability, failure density and failure rate. This paper will try to introduce another way of calculating reliability by using R statistical software. R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It compiles and runs on a wide variety of UNIX platforms, Windows and MacOS. The R programming environment is a widely used open source system for statistical analysis and statistical programming. It includes thousands of functions for the implementation of both standard and new statistical methods. R does not limit user only to operation related only to these functions. This program has many benefits over other similar programs: it is free and, as an open source, constantly updated; it has built-in help system; the R language is easy to extend with user-written functions. The significance of the work is calculation of time to failure or reliability in a new way, using statistic. Another advantage of this calculation is that there is no need for technical details and it can be implemented in any part for which we need to know time to fail in order to have appropriate maintenance, but also to maximize usage and minimize costs. In this case, calculations have been made on diesel generator fans but the same principle can be applied to any other part. The data for this paper came from a field engineering study of the time to failure of diesel generator fans. The ultimate goal was to decide whether or not to replace the working fans with a higher quality fan to prevent future failures. Seventy generators were studied. For each one, the number of hours of running time from its first being put into service until fan failure or until the end of the study (whichever came first) was recorded. Dataset consists of two variables: hours and status. Hours show the time of each fan working and status shows the event: 1- failed, 0- censored data. Censored data represent cases when we cannot track the specific case, so it could fail or success. Gaining the result by using R was easy and quick. The program will take into consideration censored data and include this into the results. This is not so easy in hand calculation. For the purpose of the paper results from R program have been compared to hand calculations in two different cases: censored data taken as a failure and censored data taken as a success. In all three cases, results are significantly different. If user decides to use the R for further calculations, it will give more precise results with work on censored data than the hand calculation.

Keywords: censored data, R statistical software, reliability analysis, time to failure

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Authors: Arjun, Gautam, Sanjeev Naval

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Concrete technology has been changing rapidly and constantly since its discovery. Concrete is the most widely used man-made construction material, versatility of making concrete is the 2nd largest consumed material on earth. In this paper an effort has been made to use metal aggregates in concrete has been discussed, the metal aggregates has been named as “BAUT” which had outstandingly qualities to resist shear, tension and compression forces. In this paper, COARSE BAUT AGGREGATES (C.B.A.) 10mm & 20mm and FINE BAUT AGGREGATES (F.B.A.) 3mm were divided and used for making high performance concrete (H.P.C). This “BAUT” had cutting edge technology through draft and design by the use of Auto CAD, ANSYS software can be used effectively In this research paper we study high performance concrete (H.P.C) with “BAUT” and consider the grade of M65 and finally we achieved the result of 90-95 Mpa (high compressive strength) for mega structures and irregular structures where center of gravity (CG) is not balanced. High Performance BAUT Concrete is the extraordinary qualities like long-term performance, no sorptivity by BAUT AGGREGATES, better rheological, mechanical and durability proportion that conventional concrete. This high strength BAUT concrete using “BAUT” is applied in the construction of mega structure like skyscrapers, dam, marine/offshore structures, nuclear power plants, bridges, blats and impact resistance structures. High Performance BAUT Concrete which is a controlled concrete possesses invariable high strength, reasonable workability and negligibly permeability as compare to conventional concrete by the mix of Super Plasticizers (SMF), silica fume and fly ash.

Keywords: BAUT, High Strength Concrete, High Performance Concrete, Fine BAUT Aggregate, Coarse BAUT Aggregate, metal aggregates, cutting edge technology

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Authors: Eman M. Morgan, Hayam M. Lotfy, Yasmin M. Fayez, Mohamed Abdelkawy, Engy Shokry

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Two simple, selective, economic, safe, accurate, precise and environmentally friendly methods were developed and validated for the quantitative determination of valaciclovir (VAL) in the presence of its related substances R1 (acyclovir), R2 (guanine) in bulk powder and in the commercial pharmaceutical product containing the drug. Method A is a colorimetric method where VAL selectively reacts with ferric hydroxamate and the developed color was measured at 490 nm over a concentration range of 0.4-2 mg/mL with percentage recovery 100.05 ± 0.58 and correlation coefficient 0.9999. Method B is a reversed phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic technique (UPLC) which is considered superior in technology to the high-performance liquid chromatography with respect to speed, resolution, solvent consumption, time, and cost of analysis. Efficient separation was achieved on Agilent Zorbax CN column using ammonium acetate (0.1%) and acetonitrile as a mobile phase in a linear gradient program. Elution time for the separation was less than 5 min and ultraviolet detection was carried out at 256 nm over a concentration range of 2-50 μg/mL with mean percentage recovery 100.11±0.55 and correlation coefficient 0.9999. The proposed methods were fully validated as per International Conference on Harmonization specifications and effectively applied for the analysis of valaciclovir in pure form and tablets dosage form. Statistical comparison of the results obtained by the proposed and official or reported methods revealed no significant difference in the performance of these methods regarding the accuracy and precision respectively.

Keywords: hydroxamic acid, related substances, UPLC, valaciclovir

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Authors: Saikat Majumdar, D. C. Kalita

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The Agriculture sector plays an important role in the rural economy of India. It is the backbone of our Indian economy and is the dominant sector in terms of employment and livelihood. Agriculture still contributes significantly to export earnings and is an important source of raw materials as well as of demand for many industrial products particularly fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural implements and a variety of consumer goods, etc. The performance of the agricultural sector influences the growth of Indian economy. According to the 2011 Agricultural Census of India, an estimated 61.5 percentage of rural populations are dependent on agriculture. Proper Agricultural infrastructure has the potential to transform the existing traditional agriculture into a most modern, commercial and dynamic farming system in India through its diffusion of technology. The rate of adoption of modern technology reflects the progress of development in agricultural sector. The adoption of any improved agricultural technology is also dependent on the development of road infrastructure or road network. The present study was consisting of 300 sample farmers out which 150 samples was taken from the developed area and rest 150 samples was taken from underdeveloped area. The samples farmers under develop and underdeveloped areas were collected by using Multistage Random Sampling procedure. In the first stage, North 24 Parganas District have been selected purposively. Then from the district, one developed and one underdeveloped block was selected randomly. In the third phase, 10 villages have been selected randomly from each block. Finally, from each village 15 sample farmers was selected randomly. The extents of adoption of technology in different areas were calculated through various parameters. These are percentage area under High Yielding Variety Cereals, percentage area under High Yielding Variety pulses, area under hybrids vegetables, irrigated area, mechanically operated area, amount spent on fertilizer and pesticides, etc. in both developed and underdeveloped areas of North 24 Parganas District, West Bengal. The percentage area under High Yielding Variety Cereals in the developed and underdeveloped areas was 34.86 and 22.59. 42.07 percentages and 31.46 percentages for High Yielding Variety pulses respectively. In the case the area under irrigation it was 57.66 and 35.71 percent while for the mechanically operated area it was 10.60 and 3.13 percent respectively in developed and underdeveloped areas of North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. It clearly showed that the extent of adoption of technology was significantly higher in the developed area over underdeveloped area. Better road network system helps the farmers in increasing his farm income, farm assets, cropping intensity, marketed surplus and the rate of adoption of new technology. With this background, an attempt is made in this paper to study the impact of Agricultural Infrastructure on the adoption of modern technology in agriculture in North 24 Parganas District, West Bengal.

Keywords: agricultural infrastructure, adoption of technology, farm income, road network

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Authors: Bengi Demirci

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Out-of-pocket payments have become one of the common models adopted by health care reforms all over the world, and they have serious implications for not only the financial set-up of the health care systems in question but also for the people involved in terms of their access to the health care services provided. On the one hand, out-of-pocket payments are used in raising resources for the finance of the health care system and in decreasing non-essential health care expenses by having a deterrent role on the patients. On the other hand, out-of-pocket payment model causes regressive distribution effect by putting more burdens on the lower income groups and making them refrain from using health care services. Being a relatively incipient country having adopted the out-of-pocket payment model within the context of its Health Transformation Program which has been ongoing since the early 2000s, Turkey provides a good case for re-evaluating the pros and cons of this model in order not to sacrifice equality in access to health care for raising revenue for health care finance and vice versa. Therefore this study aims at analyzing the impact of out-of-pocket payments on the health finance system itself and on the patients’ access to healthcare services in Turkey where out-of-pocket payment model has been in use for a while. In so doing, data showing the revenue obtained from out-of-pocket payments and their share in health care finance are analyzed. In addition to this, data showing the change in the amount of expenditure made by patients on health care services after the adoption of out-of-pocket payments and the change in the use of various health care services in the meanwhile are examined. It is important for the incipient countries like Turkey to be careful in striking the right balance between the objective of cost efficiency and that of equality in accessing health care services while adopting the out-of-pocket payment model.

Keywords: health care access, health care finance, health reform, out-of-pocket payments

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Authors: Diana Mitova, Krassimir Mitrev

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To prepare the current generation for the future, education systems need to change. It implies a way of learning that meets the demands of the times and the environment in which we live. Productive interaction in the educational process implies an interactive learning environment and the possibility of personal development of learners based on communication and mutual dialogue, cooperation and good partnership in decision-making. Students need not only theoretical knowledge, but transferable skills that will help them to become inventors and entrepreneurs, to implement ideas. STEM education , is now a real necessity for the modern school. Through learning in a "learning company", students master examples from classroom practice, simulate real life situations, group activities and apply basic interactive learning strategies and techniques. The learning company is the subject of this study, reduced to entrepreneurship training in STEM - technologies that encourage students to think outside the traditional box. STEM learning focuses the teacher's efforts on modeling entrepreneurial thinking and behavior in students and helping them solve problems in the world of business and entrepreneurship. Learning based on the implementation of various STEM projects in extracurricular activities, experiential learning, and an interdisciplinary approach are means by which educators better connect the local community and private businesses. Learners learn to be creative, experiment and take risks and work in teams - the leading characteristics of any innovator and future entrepreneur. This article presents some European policies on STEM and entrepreneurship education. It also shares best practices for training company training , with the integration of STEM in the learning company training environment. The main results boil down to identifying some advantages and problems in STEM entrepreneurship education. The benefits of using integrative approaches to teach STEM within a training company are identified, as well as the positive effects of project-based learning in a training company using STEM. Best practices for teaching entrepreneurship through extracurricular activities using STEM within a training company are shared. The following research methods are applied in this research paper: Theoretical and comparative analysis of principles and policies of European Union countries and Bulgaria in the field of entrepreneurship education through a training company. Experiences in entrepreneurship education through extracurricular activities with STEM application within a training company are shared. A questionnaire survey to investigate the motivation of secondary vocational school students to learn entrepreneurship through a training company and their readiness to start their own business after completing their education. Within the framework of learning through a "learning company" with the integration of STEM, the activity of the teacher-facilitator includes the methods: counseling, supervising and advising students during work. The expectation is that students acquire the key competence "initiative and entrepreneurship" and that the cooperation between the vocational education system and the business in Bulgaria is more effective.

Keywords: STEM, entrepreneurship, training company, extracurricular activities

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: Clement C. Aladi, Zhaoxia Yi

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This study investigates factors influencing the implementation of flexible curricula in e-learning in Information Systems (IS) higher education. Drawing from curriculum theorists and contemporary literature, and using the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, it explores teacher-related challenges and their impact on curriculum flexibility implementation. By using the PLS-SEM, the study uncovers these factors and hopes to contribute to enhancing curriculum flexibility in delivering online and blended learning in IS higher education.

Keywords: flexible curriculum, online learning, e-learning, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Nitai Biswas, Prasenjit Kapas, Arumay Jana, Asish Paul

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Introduction: Motivation is basic drive for all kinds of action. It has direct influence on academic achievement and sports performance that builds urge to incentive values of success. In other words, it can be defined as the need for success to attain excellence. Anxiety in pre competition especially in sports formulates positive inward settings in mind to overcome the challenge. There is a tendency to perceive competitive situations as some threatening issues and to respond them with feelings of apprehension and tension. Aim: Aim of the study was to compare the achievement motivation and competition anxiety among three different classes of students. Methods and Materials: To conduct the study the researcher has taken 131 male subjects from three different classes as Extra Department, Bachelor of Physical Education-I and Master of Physical EducationII, aged 19-28 years. Achievement motivation and sports competition anxiety were measured by the questionnaire. To analyze the data mean, standard deviation for each parameter as descriptive statistics and one way analysis of variance as inferential statistics were employed. Results: From the result of the study in achievement motivation (p ≥ 0.05) and competition anxiety (p ≥ 0.05) no significant differences were found among the said three groups. Conclusion: The study concluded that all three groups had almost the same state of achievement motivation and sports competition anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety, sports psychology, sports competition anxiety, achievement motivation, academic hierarchy, E.D., B.P.Ed., M.P.Ed

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Sangho Park, Mansoo Kim, Kyujung Chae, Junhyuk Yang

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The International Maritime Organization (IMO) recognized the problem of invasive species invasion and adopted the "International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments" in 2004, which came into force on September 8, 2017. In 2011, the IMO approved the "Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships' Biofouling to Minimize the Transfer of Invasive Aquatic Species" to minimize the movement of invasive species by hull-attached organisms and required ships to manage the organisms attached to their hulls. Invasive species enter new environments through ships' ballast water and hull attachment. However, several obstacles to implementing these guidelines have been identified, including a lack of underwater cleaning equipment, regulations on underwater cleaning activities in ports, and difficulty accessing crevices in underwater areas. The shipping industry, which is the party responsible for understanding these guidelines, wants to implement them for fuel cost savings resulting from the removal of organisms attached to the hull, but they anticipate significant difficulties in implementing the guidelines due to the obstacles mentioned above. Robots or people remove the organisms attached to the hull underwater, and the resulting wastewater includes various species of organisms and particles of paint and other pollutants. Currently, there is no technology available to sterilize the organisms in the wastewater or stabilize the heavy metals in the paint particles. In this study, we aim to analyze the characteristics of the wastewater generated from the removal of hull-attached organisms and select the optimal treatment technology. The organisms in the wastewater generated from the removal of the attached organisms meet the biological treatment standard (D-2) using the sterilization technology applied in the ships' ballast water treatment system. The heavy metals and other pollutants in the paint particles generated during removal are treated using stabilization technologies such as thermal decomposition. The wastewater generated is treated using a two-step process: 1) development of sterilization technology through pretreatment filtration equipment and electrolytic sterilization treatment and 2) development of technology for removing particle pollutants such as heavy metals and dissolved inorganic substances. Through this study, we will develop a biological removal technology and an environmentally friendly processing system for the waste generated after removal that meets the requirements of the government and the shipping industry and lays the groundwork for future treatment standards.

Keywords: biofouling, ballast water treatment system, filtration, sterilization, wastewater

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Saeed Sayyad Hagh Shomar

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Traffic congestion pricing as one of the demand management strategies constrains expenditure to network users so that it helps reduction in traffic congestion and environment pollution like air pollution. Despite the development of congestion pricing schemes for traffic in our country, the matters of traditional toll collection, drivers’ waste of time and delay in traffic are still widespread. Electronic toll collection as a part of the intelligent transportation system provides the possibility of collecting tolls without car-stop and traffic disruption. Unlike the satisfying outcomes of using intelligent systems in congestion pricing schemes, implementation costs and technological problems are the barriers in these schemes. In this research first, a variety of electronic pay toll systems and their components are introduced then their functional usage is discussed. In the following, by analyzing and comparing the barriers, limitations and advantages, the selection criteria of intelligent systems are described and the results show that the choice of the best technology depends on the various parameters which, by examining them, it is concluded that in a long-term run and by providing the necessary conditions, DSRC technology as the main system in the schemes and ANPR as a major backup system of the main one can be employed.

Keywords: congestion pricing, electronic toll collection, intelligent systems, technology, traffic

Procedia PDF Downloads 594

Authors: Sofie Dewayani, Pratiwi Retnaningdyah

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Literacy practice is situated within the identity enactment in a particular time and space. The literacy practices in public places, ranging from city parks, urban slums to city roads are meeting places of discursive practices produced by dynamic interactions, and sometimes contestations, of social powers and capitals. The present paper examines the ways the literacy activists construct their sense of space in attempts to develop possibilities for literacy programs as they are sent to work with marginalized communities far away from their hometowns in Indonesia. In particular, this paper analyzes the activists’ reflections of identity enactment - othering, familiarity, and sense of comfort - as they are trying to make meaning of the communities’ literacy capitals and practices in the process of adapting with the communities. Data collected for this paper were travel diaries - serving as literacy narratives - obtained from a literacy residency program sponsored by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. The residency program itself involved 30 youths (18 to 30 years old) to work with marginalized communities in literacy activism programs. This paper analyzes the written narratives of four focal participants using Bakhtin’s chronotopes - the configurations of time and space - that figure into the youth’s meaning-making of literacy as well as their exercise of power and identity. Follow-up interviews were added to enrich the analysis. The analysis considers the youth’s ‘moment of departure’ a critical point in their reconstructions of self and space. This paper expands the discussions of literacy discourse and spatiality while lending its supports to literacy activism in highly diverse multicultural settings.

Keywords: chronotopes, discourse, identity, literacy activism

Procedia PDF Downloads 170